Hi. My name is Zoe Chambers, and I’m a paramedic and deputy coroner for Monongahela County in Pennsylvania. I’ve been asked to share my day with you.
Today begins with the alarm going off way too early. Six a.m. It’s still dark out and the winter wind howls, the cold seeping in around the drafty windows of the circa 1850s farmhouse I share with my landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Kroll. I bundle in long johns, jeans, and a ratty, but bulky sweater before heading downstairs, careful not to trip over Merlin and Jade, my two cats. They get fed first. I’ll make do with a cup of coffee before squirming into a pair of Carhartt coveralls, a coat, and my Muck Boots to head out to the barn.
Besides my work with the county, I also manage this horse farm. In exchange, the Krolls give me a huge break on my rent, plus I can keep my gelding here. It’s the perfect deal for me. On this cold January morning, there isn’t a more welcoming sound than fifteen nickering horses. I make the rounds filling the feeders with grain. While they munch, I open the back door and check the hay supply. The round bales might hold out for two more days. I’ll have to remind Mr. Kroll to move two more down from the upper barn with his tractor.
One by one, I open the stall doors and let the horses out into the sunshine. The younger ones kick up their heels in the brisk air. The older ones drop their noses to the ground and snort at the snow, seeking out a few blades of grass. Once they’ve all been turned out, I slog back to the house for breakfast—my turn finally—and more coffee. Later, I’ll head back to the barn to clean stalls and hammer the ice out of the water buckets.
Sometimes Franklin Marshall, the county coroner, demands I come into the city to assist on an autopsy. I confess…whenever possible, I try to find an excuse to avoid the morgue. It’s not the body or the cutting that bothers me. I’ve been on some pretty gory ambulance calls and gone straight out for dinner afterwards. No problem. But with an autopsy, it’s the smell I can’t take. Franklin insists I have to get over it. Thankfully, he hasn’t called today, though, so I spend the rest of my morning in the barn. By the way…the smell of manure doesn’t bother me one bit!
After a shower and lunch, I don my Mon County EMS uniform (complete with thermal underwear). My shift doesn’t start until four o’clock, but I leave early so I can drop in at the Vance Township Police Station. I’m in luck. Chief Pete Adams is in his office.
Pete and I are friends. Good friends. Just friends. Okay, he’s hot. If I were thirteen, you could say I had a “crush” on him. But my history with men sucks. My choices haven’t been the best. Besides, he might disagree, but I know in my heart he hasn’t gotten over his ex-wife.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble on about me and Pete. We enjoy each other’s company and work well together. Plus I can beat him at poker during our regular Saturday night game with a few other guys. That’s all you really need to know.
Pete and I talk about a car crash we both worked last week. One of the hardest parts of working EMS in a small community is coming upon the scene of an accident and recognizing the people involved. Pete tells me both the driver and her passenger will be okay. Thank goodness. I’d been concerned. Most times, once we drop a patient off at the ER, that’s the last we hear about them.
I leave Pete to his paperwork and head to the ambulance garage in Phillipsburg. I’ll be on duty for the next sixteen hours straight. The place is a second home to me, and the other guys on the crew are like brothers and sisters. We bicker, complain about each other’s cooking, fight over what TV show we’re going to watch, but we have each other’s backs through thick or thin.
Ten minutes before I plan to crash in my bunk, a call comes in. Another car crash with injuries. Hopefully I’ll only need my paramedic skills tonight, not my coroner’s training…It’s been fun telling you about my day, but I have to go save lives now. Bye!
You can read more about Zoe in Circle of Influence, the first book in the new “Zoe Chambers” mystery series, published by Henery Press. Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
Blurb for Circle of Influence
Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in a rural PA township, has been privy local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President’s abandoned car.
GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post by noon EST on March 28, and you will be entered for a chance to win a signed Advanced Reader Copy of CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE. One winner will be chosen at random. Unless specified, U.S. entries only.
Meet the author
Annette Dashofy, a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred, grew up with horses, cattle, and chickens. After high 
school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service. Since then, she’s worked a variety of jobs, giving her plenty of fodder for her lifelong passion for writing. She, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy. Her short fiction, including a 2007 Derringer nominee, has appeared in Spinetingler, Mysterical-e, and Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology. Her newest short story appears in the Lucky Charms Anthology (December 2013).
You can visit Annette at her website, on Twitter or on Facebook
Follow dru’s book musing on Facebook for book giveaways, contests, posting about discounted books and some of my reading musings.
I think I’m going to love this series.
I hope so, Gram!
Looks like a great book, a must-read. Thank you for the chance to win it 🙂
jslbrown2009(at)aol(dot)com
Looks like a great book, thank you for the chance to win 🙂
jslbrown2009(at)aol(dot)com
This new series caught my eye a few days ago and it’s definitely on my book list. Thanks for the introduction to Zoe.
Sounds like a good read and I like getting in on the ground floor of a new series.
Annette — Congrats on having Zoe’s story published. Wishing you the best success with this book and the future. ~ Jim
Thanks, Jim!
Hi, Lisa, Jane, and Sharon. I hope you all enjoy Zoe’s world.
This sounds like a great book that I’d love. Would be so happy to win and read it
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for an opportunity to win an advanced reading copy!
I grew up in Pittsburgh so I am super curious to read this book. Thanks for the chance to win.
Sounds like good one – thanks for the chance to win an ARC.
This sounds fabulous! I’d love to win. 🙂
Thanks for the opportunity to win this interesting sounding book.
This looks a new series that I would very much like to start. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Congratulations on your release Annette! I am so excited to read the rest of Circle of Influence! <3
– Chloe Harper, Henery Press Marketing Assistant
Good luck to everyone! I wish I had enough ARCs to go around for all of you to win one.
I’d much rather muck the barn than ride in the ambulance!
LOL, Libby! Having done both, I’d have to say mucking the barn is much less stressful!
I would love this. I have assisted with autopsies so it would be very interesting to me.
I’d like to know more about paramedic service and winning this ARC would be a nice way to do so. Thanks for the giveaway.
Oh, goodness, what a combo—paramedic and coroner. I think this book could be very interesting.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I would be happy to read Circle of Influence. Anytime I see that a mystery is based in Pennsylvania and the author lives and is from Pennsylvania I know I will enjoy it since I also live in Pennsylvania. Makes me feel like I am right in the town the author is writing about. Thanks Dru
I like Zoe’s character already! I love a new series.
This sounds like a good series!
This sounds like a really good series. I’m going to have to read it.
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
As with all the books that you have on your blog Dru, this sounds like another really great series to begin. Henery Press has such wonderful authors and I am sure Annette will be as great as the other ladies that I follow. I would be so pleased to win a copy of her new book too, as would everyone else. Hard to believe how many stories are created each year and how many new authors there are. Thanks for everything Dru.
Congratulations, Annette. Much success to you.
Cynthia
Thank you, Cynthia.
ok, I’m hooked!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!
This sounds like a great series! I’m already liking Zoe and want to know more about her life. Thanks for the opportunity to win an ARC of the new book! 🙂
Thanks Annette for introducing us to Zoe.
Zoe sounds like a great character and I loved reading about her day, and would enjoy reading the rest of this book. Thanks for having the giveaway.
This book sounds very interesting. Will check it out.
Dru – I love visiting with you. You have the scoop on all the best reads and new series!
Thanks. I try my best.
Thanks for sharing with us another series that looks wonderful.
contest is closed.