When Dru Ann asked my daughter to tell you about her typical day, Cassie agreed without thinking ahead. My daughter’s like that—jump in with both feet and worry about the repercussions later. Cassie, if she had just thought a moment, would know she doesn’t have time for any extra work right now! Not only is she busy with her job—she’s a college professor—but she’s also managed to get herself a five-year-old child to take care of. Not that I’m complaining. Little Truman is cute as a button and smart as a whip. He’s a delightful addition to our household, but he’s keeping Cassie on her toes.

Once she realized she’d taken on more than she could handle, Cassie asked me to fill in for her, and hopefully Dru Ann will approve of my typical day. Unexpected perhaps, but the life of a seventy-year-old retired English teacher who lives with his daughter in a teeny tiny town in rural Vermont is anything but boring. Trust me, no one who lives with Cassie Baxter need worry about boring. The girl is always getting herself into the most unexpected pickles. . .But I digress. Let’s get back to a day in the life of me—Bobby Baxter.

We Baxters, despite what Cassie tries to claim, are morning people. I’m up by five a.m., and since I know that deep down inside she’s a morning person also, I go upstairs to my daughter’s room to greet her. Lately, I pick up Truman along the way. The child is always wide awake and waiting for me. He fits right into our household! I take a seat in the rocking chair beside Cassie’s bed, Truman joins me, and by the time our Labrador retriever Charlie gets himself comfortable on top of Cassie, she’s awake, too.

Of course she starts complaining, but that doesn’t last long, because I immediately regale everyone with the latest Chance Dooley dilemma. Upon retirement I took up writing science fiction, and Chance Dooley is the hero of my stories. A whiz-bang pilot, Chance is the owner and operator of Dooley’s Delivery Service: The Delivery Service That Delivers Where No Delivery Service Has Ever Delivered Before! Chance and his trusty Spaceship Destiny spend their days flying here, there, and everywhere throughout the Hollow Galaxy. And Cassie, and now Truman, always make fantastic suggestions to help Chance navigate (no pun intended) his latest exciting adventure. Indeed, Chance Dooley gets into almost as many unexpected pickles as my daughter!

Once we figure out what Chance and I will be working on while everyone else is off at school—Cassie to Crabtree College to teach, and Truman to his kindergarten class in our one room schoolhouse in Lake Elizabeth, Vermont, I cook breakfast. We Baxters love a big breakfast, despite what Cassie might tell you. By the way, she tells me I drive her nuts. But anyone who knows Cassie, knows the girl is completely Looney Tunes with or without my help.

With my daughter and Truman gone for the day, Chance and Charlie and I enjoy a few hours of quiet while I write. On second thought, ‘quiet’ might be a bit of an exaggeration. Life around here is never as quiet as you might expect—we have neighbors. Joe Wiley lives next door and also works from home on the most fascinating contraption called the FN451z. Noisy? Let me tell you. What I cannot tell you is exactly what the FN451z does. My daughter calls Joe Wylie a mad scientist, but Cassie can’t fool me. The girl is head over heels for Joe, and Joe feels the same about her. But between you and me, I also have to wonder about a certain state trooper named Jason Sterling. He and Cassie do seem to spend a lot of time together. . . Hmmm.

But back to me. As far as my own love life is concerned, we have another neighbor, Maxine Tibbitts. The FN451z is our noisiest neighbor, and Maxine is our nosiest. Cassie insists Maxine has a crush on me, and truth be told, she may be right. But I’m not sure how I feel about Maxine, and the woman is busy enough without me anyway. Maxine is a columnist for our local newspaper—a gossip columnist to be specific. And what with Cassie as her neighbor, Maxine always has plenty of interesting fodder for her weekly column.

Speaking of interesting, my daughter has gotten herself involved in yet another murder investigation! Let’s just say, we’re having a very busy autumn here at Lake Elizabeth—where the water is getting colder, the leaves are turning orange, and my daughter Cassie Baxter is going nuts.

Learn more about Cassie, Bobby, Truman, and the whole lovable gang at Lake Elizabeth, Vermont in Unexpected, the second Cassie Baxter Mystery. New release! Here’s the scoop:

Small sleuth, tiny town, unfailing fun.

Welcome to Lake Elizabeth, Vermont, where the water’s growing colder, the leaves are turning orange, and Cassie Baxter is going nuts. Who wouldn’t go nuts with this latest unexpected development? Meet five-year-old Truman Tripp. Cassie, who is most definitely not a kid person, can’t understand why his mother left the child with her. But some even more perplexing problems soon present themselves, and Cassie’s already Looney Tunes life gets even loonier. Expect the unexpected when Lake Elizabeth’s most unlikely duo, Cassie and Truman, team up to catch a killer.

The Cassie Baxter Mysteries: They’re not Cue Balls, but they are screw balls.

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About the author
Cindy Blackburn writes cozy mysteries because she thinks grim reality is way overrated. When she’s not thinking up unlikely plot twists and ironing out the quirks and kinks of her lovable characters, Cindy is feeding her fat cat Betty or taking long walks with her cute hubby John. A native Vermonter who hates snow, Cindy divides her time between the south and the north. Most of the year you’ll find her in South Carolina. But come summer she’ll be on the porch of her lakeside shack in Vermont. Yep, it’s a place very similar to Lake Elizabeth. Cindy’s favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory, her favorite movie is Moonstruck, and her favorite color is purple. Cindy dislikes vacuuming, traffic, and lima beans.

Cindy is giving away a Kindle copy of Unexpected. Giveaway ends February 22, 2017. Leave a comment to be entered in the random drawing. The e-book will be sent directly by the author.

Learn more about Cindy Blackburn and her books at www.cbmysteries.com. Cindy can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

All comments are welcomed.

Unexpected is available at online booksellers.