I’ve struggled with this assignment.

In my everyday job as Vice President for Student Affairs at Morton College, I’m more comfortable writing meeting minutes, strategic plans, or academic articles for Chronicles of Higher Education than entertaining people with stories about my day. Normally most people would say I lead a pretty boring life.

At least I did until recently.

Every few weeks I send my gran who lives in a nursing home a short note. Usually I fudge the truth, omitting the part how I moved from the tropical paradise of Hawai’i to the middle of nowhere in Nebraska. Gran had a few strokes and her memory is spotty, so I’ve gotten away with vague pleasantries all semester.

My mom isn’t so gullible.

If Mom doesn’t hear from me every few days, she worries. I send her carefully edited email versions of the truth because if she knew the extent of the chaos I’ve experienced my first semester, she’d be on the first plane to the mainland to pack my belongings and move me home. In a few short months, a student died, mysterious “accidents” occurred, a stalker broke into my house, then campus protestors took over the student center, and there’s been barely a moment of peace since.

No way editing is going to fix this one.

I woke up today looking forward to the first day of Winter Break. Most of the faculty and students have gone home or on vacation. No important business meetings are planned, and I can wear casual clothes. I thought I’d be wrapping up end of the year paperwork and deep cleaning our office suite with my student workers. My DIY home improvement list is long, beginning with stripping the 1950s wallpaper off the walls in my galley kitchen.

Not going to happen.

I’ve punted on my daily yoga session because—let’s face it—there’s no way I’m going to be meditating on a peaceful intention any time soon.

Overnight we had a blizzard.

I miss the tropical paradise of my hometown on Oahu. Instead, I’m drinking a second cup of fragrant Kona coffee and talking myself into pulling on an extra pair of sweatpants along with my snow boots so I can go out and shovel my driveway.

I’ve never seen so much snow in my entire life.

Already I texted my student worker and told her to stay home. Cancelled my meeting with my new-old boss, Dr. Nielson. Something’s wrong with him. We all thought he had moved to Florida last month, but he appeared at the Fall Commencement Saturday amid rumors that he was returning to work for the spring semester.

I’m dying of curiosity to find out what made him move back to Nebraska so quickly.

Excuse me, Murphy, my new foster dog, is barking.

Housebreaking a reluctant pet during the winter has proven more of a challenge than I anticipated. I thought my first Christmas in Nebraska would be filled with hot cocoa and flannel pajamas by the fire, but so far, my plans are a mess—

Someone’s knocking!

Well, how strange. I peeked out the front window, and I’m pretty sure the Sheriff’s Deputy’s car is in my driveway.

I wonder what he wants.

I don’t suppose he’s volunteering to shovel my driveway.

Dead of Winter Break is the third book in the “Cassandra Sato” mystery series, released November 17, 2020.

Suspects.
Her boss is dead, and the police are calling it burglary gone wrong. But when the killer comes after her, it’s going to take more than a pair of furry boots to keep the smart, witty Morton College administrator, Cassandra Sato, out of the deep. . .

Snow.
Her first Christmas in Nebraska could be her last unless her friends help unravel the mystery and housebreak her dog.

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Meet the author
Kelly Brakenhoff writes the Cassandra Sato Mystery series including DEATH BY DISSERTATION, a 2020 RONE Award Mystery Finalist, DEAD WEEK, “a diverting whodunit,” (Publishers Weekly), and DEAD OF WINTER BREAK coming in November, 2020. Kelly is an American Sign Language Interpreter whose motivation for learning ASL began in high school when she wanted to converse with her deaf friends. The mother of four young adults and a hunting dog, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home. Visit her website at kellybrakenhoff.com.

All comments are welcomed.