Hi. My name is Rebecca Robbins. Dru was nice enough to ask me to stop by and talk about a typical day in my life. I wish I could say that my life was filled with excitement, but the dead body in the rink toilet last month was a total fluke. Honest. Life in Indian Falls isn’t exactly the stuff action movies are made of. It’s just…well…Indian Falls. Okay, that sounds lame. So why don’t I just show you a day in my life and let you decide how to describe it.
The sound of the whizzing skates, laughter and the Village People streamed into the office as I fired up the computer and got to work. After two hours, I’d finished cutting payroll checks, ordered a shipment of nachos and frozen pizzas and called my Realtor twice to see if any new bids had come in on the rink. Yeah – I was that desperate to sell. Owning and operating the Toe Stop roller rink in Indian Falls, Illinois was my mother’s dream. My heart squeezed knowing that dream died the minute she did.
Shaking off the melancholy threatening to descend, I zipped off an e-mail to my best friend in Chicago promising her I’d sell the rink and be back in the city soon. Hey – it could happen.
Pushing back from the small, wooden desk, I decided to take a whirl by the rental counter. Exchanging smelly shoes for skates wasn’t the most exciting job in the world, but long periods of standing was the best way I knew to resuscitate the butt muscles that had fallen asleep. Sitting at a desk had that effect on me, which made me wonder if I shouldn’t get a different job when I got back to the city. The only physical action required of a mortgage broker was chasing a client who’d panicked at the sight of all those zeros.
After an hour of watching people skate counterclockwise, my butt muscles were feeling revived and ready to go. Since my staff had things running smoothly, I headed to the front door into the sunshine ready to pay a visit on my favorite ex-circus camel, Elwood, and his equally fascinating owner, Dr. Lionel Franklin. Maybe if Elwood was up to it we could go on a camel ride. And if not… Well, Lionel and I had been avoiding taking a ride of our own. Maybe it was time to seriously think about fixing that.
“Rebecca. Wait up.”
I smiled at the familiar voice and turned. Coming toward me in a sequined silver shirt and skin tight white pants was my grandfather. The sunlight hitting his shirt was enough to make me go blind. A month ago, Pop had taken a spin on the Senior Center float as Elvis. What has started as a one day lark had morphed into a new career complete with a wardrobe that could be seen from Mars.
Pop came to a stop next to my car with a smile. “I’m glad I caught you. It’s Marcy Jones’s birthday. Her mother hired me to surprise her with a song and a scarf and my car is on the fritz.”
Marcy and I were in the same grade growing up. Back then she jumped at every loud noise. I hoped she didn’t startle as easily now otherwise Pop’s singing was likely to cause tears.
“Can you give me a lift to the Jones farm?” Pop asked.
“Sure Pop.” The farm wasn’t too far from Lionel’s place which meant I could help my grandfather and still get my camel ride. Could I multitask or what? Wait… “Do you need me to come back after the party and give you a lift home?”
Pop flashed me a perfectly white, dentured grin. “Not if I play my cards right with Marcy’s grandmother. If that’s the case, I’ll be staying until breakfast. I hear she makes a mean omelet.”
I had to ask.
Plastering a smile on my face, I revved the engine on my yellow Civic and listened to my grandfather’s off-key voice practice “Falling in love with you” as I drove. Maybe the rink would sell soon, but until then this was a typical day in my life. Gotta love it.
————————
You can read more about Rebecca in SKATING OVER THE LINE, the second book in the “Rebecca Robbins” mystery series. The first book in the series is SKATING AROUND THE LAW.
Joelle Charbonneau has performed in a variety of operas and musical theatre productions across the Chicagoland area. She now teaches private voice lessons and uses her stage experience to create compelling characters in her books. The first of the Rebecca Robbins mysteries, SKATING AROUND THE LAW (Minotaur Books) was called “Sexy and funny” by Kirkus Reviews. The first of her newest series, MURDER FOR CHOIR, will be published by Berkley in the fall of 2012. Visit Joelle at www.joellecharbonneau.net
** Joelle has generously offered to give away two copies of SKATING AROUND THE LAW. To enter, leave a comment with a valid e-mail address in the comment box. Please break it up using (at) and (dot), like domain(at)host(dot)com. One entry per person and this is open to anyone with a U.S. mailing address. Contest ends on October 3, 2011 at 6pm EST. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator and will be notified by e-mail and has 2 days to respond. Book will be shipped directly from the author. **
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
Sounds like a fun read
idlivru1(at)gmail(dot)com
Risa
I would so love to win a copy!!!! Great Post!!!
dollycas79 at gmall dot com
Lori
Hey Joelle and Dru Ann. Tons of mysteries have pets, but they’re usually of the cat/dog variety. A camel is quite unusual. Where’d you come up with that idea, Joelle? (Don’t you love it? A where’d-you-get-that-idea question! Feel free to answer only if it really sprang from something interesting.)
barb at barbgoffman dot com
Can’t remember the last time I was in a Skating Rink. But what I do remember is that I could never get the hang of it. Great interview, and sounds like a great book.
TerryParrish(at)hotmail(dot)com
Barb – yeah – the camel is unique. AND there is a story. One of my day jobs is to teach voice lessons. Around the time that I was noodling writing SKATING AROUND THE LAW, I had a lesson with an adult student who owns horses. She came into the lesson and let me know she couldn’t make the next one because her horse had to go to the U of I. Since I’m the sarcastic type I said “Wow! Smart horse.” She laughed and told me that they were going to the large animal clinic at the university. In fact, the last time she was at the clinic she ran into a guy who had brought in a camel. And stranger still, the camel didn’t belong to the guy. The camel belonged to the farmer who lived next door only the camel didn’t like the farmer. The last time the farmer brought the camel to the vet the camel broke out of his carrier and went running down I57. The idea of a camel running down a road surrounding by corn and soybeans made me laugh. Then it made me wonder – what was a farmer in rural Illinois doing with a camel? And Elwood the camel was born!
That is so cool.
I agree. Very cool!
Congrats, Joelle! Sounds like another terrific Rebecca Robbins book! llrodriguez (at) sbcglobal (dot) net
I cant wait to read it. If I dont win a copy I will be buying one.
tonycat73 at gmail dot com
Sounds like a very interesting book.
areta16(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for all the book reviews and the giveaways. Sounds like another to add to my to read list
jplungas at gmail dot com
I can’t skate worth a darn—but sure will be fun reading about it. I think this book will keep me turning pages ’til the end.
suefarrell(dot)farrelll(at)gmail(dot)dom
What a great story about how you decided on a Camel.
Would love to win this book.
nlb1050(at)yahoo(dot)com
OK, This is a must have book for anyone who likes mysteries and roller skating. I love both.
NoraAdrienne (at) gmail (dot) com
This sounds great! I loved the first one and am definitely looking forward to this book! I think you should sing the audio book… lol! (And just curious – why are you having us write our e-mail addresses this way?)
jank(at)erols(dot)com
Jan
Thanks for the giveaway!! I remember the last time I was at a skating rink I kept falling down and trying to hold onto people to stay up let’s just say I’m not very good at it.
temarasheppard(at)yahoo(dot)com
Sounds like a fun read. Thanks.
blwilstead(at)aol(dot)com
You got me interested and I don’t even skate 🙂
Judy
I’m using my alternate email, which is:
cliffonline (at) rocketmail (dot) com
Jan – Thanks for stopping by! The e-mail addresses are written that way to keep the spam programs from finding and honing in on you. At least, that is what I’ve been told:)
And thanks to everyone else for stopping by. Most of the time I can keep upright while skaing, but I live in awe of my mother who can jump and spin with the best of them. If I tried that I’d be flat on my backside!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and reading about Rebecca’s day.
Great story about the camel! We’ve been skating a lot here lately. My just turned six-year-old, had a skating birthday party, because she loves it so much.
rebecca(at)losey-farms(dot)com.
Looks like I have a new series to start – sounds like a fun read! Maybe i will win the copy!
Beverly
tnbjw(at)hotmail(dot)com
thanx for the heads-up on this series, Dru!!! i love how i’m constantly discovering new cozies, especially from you!!!
i can’t wait to read this series!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!
cyn209(AT)juno(DOT)com
Sounds like a fun book. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to go to the skating rink. When my kids were young, I loved to chaperon skating parties, so I could skate again. :::good memories:::
tonya(at)urbatsch(dot)com
Great post, Joelle and Dru! Rebecca, we love you! And Pop, you still got it. Would love to win a novel, but like everyone else here, I’ll be buying a copy if I don’t win. (Though I might cry…no pressure.)
Contest is closed.
Congratulations to our winners: Barb Goffman and Beverly