A Kernel of Truth Part Two by Sherry Harris

LUCY BURDETTE: Hurray for our friend Sherry Harris's new book! We knew her back in the days before she was published and she's come so far, and given a lot back to the community--welcome Sherry!

SHERRY HARRIS: First, Happy fifteenth anniversary to the Reds! Think of all the joy you’ve given me along with all your readers, all the books I’ve discovered, all the writing tips, the laughter, and the tears. To be a tiny part of this has been a treat. I checked and my first blog post for the Reds was in December 2014. What a way to celebrate a debut book! Thanks, Lucy and Reds for your continued generosity and support! I’m thrilled to be back to celebrate the third book in my Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries, Three Shots to the Wind.

During my visit last August after A Time to Swill released, I talked about how a real story led to my fictional one. You can read it here.

An incident that occurred years ago while I was visiting family in Destin, Florida was part of the spark for Three Shots to the Wind. It’s a little dark so skip this paragraph if you need to. We were leaving Destin Commons—an outdoor shopping mall—and drove by a small pond on the way home. I glanced at it, thought, that’s an odd-looking orange log, but didn’t have time for a second look. You can probably guess where this is going. The next morning the newspaper had an article about a body being found in that pond. Okay, so that wasn’t a log, I’d glimpsed. At the time it never occurred to me that incident would ever spark a story.

The series is set in the Florida Panhandle so another element I wanted to use in Three Shots to the Wind was something unique to South Walton County Florida – the coastal dune lakes. There are only a few spots in the entire world that have them: Australia, Madagascar, Oregon, New Zealand, and the Florida Panhandle. South Walton County has fifteen of them and I put one of them near Chloe Jackson’s house when I wrote the first book. She runs by it almost every day. 

This is how I describe it in From Beer to Eternity: I passed the lake, seventy-five yards, three-quarters of a football field to my right. Compared to Lake Michigan, this was a pond that was given the grander name of lake. It was surrounded by pines on three sides. Giants protecting lily pad–covered water. Monet probably would have liked to paint the scene given the chance. I hoped there weren’t any alligators in the lake. 

But what do coastal dune lakes have to do with a body? In Three Shots to the Wind Chloe is out for a run and this happens: As I ran toward the coastal dune lake that was between the preserve and my house, I spotted Deputy Biffle walking toward a man who was gesturing wildly at the lake. Coastal dune lakes were unique because of their close proximity to the Gulf, their shallow depth, and because there weren’t many places in the world that had them. I heard sirens wailing. This couldn’t be good.

It wasn’t and Chloe’s life is about to get very complicated. If you’re curious about coastal dune lakes here’s an interesting article.  Weaving those two things together led me down a dark and yet funny path where Chloe’s past life in Chicago collides with the present. 

Readers: Is there a natural phenomenon you love? I’ll give away a copy of Three Shots to the Wind to someone who leaves a comment. 

Bio: Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries. Sherry is a past president of Sisters in Crime, a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Sherry loves books, beaches, bars, and bargain hunting — not necessarily in that order. She is also a patent holding inventor.

Blog: https://wickedauthors.com/

Twitter: Sharrisauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SherryHarrisauthor

Instagram: SherryHarrisAuthor

Website: https://sherryharrisauthor.com

Chloe’s Windy City ex-fiancé gets blown away in the Florida panhandle . . .
 
DEAD EXES TELL NO TALES
 
Saloon owner Chloe Jackson appears to have a secret admirer. She’s pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove when an airplane flies by above the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON. She immediately rules out Rip Barnett. They are in the early stages of dating and no one has said the L word. Then a bouquet of lilacs—her favorite flower—is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine. It couldn’t be . . .
 
Sure enough, her ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants’ convention. But is he trying to mix business with pleasure and win her back? Unfortunately he’s not in a hotel conference room, he’s floating facedown in the lake next to her house, clutching a photo of Chloe. Who murders an accountant on a business trip—it just doesn’t add up. When Rip becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the secret murderer. But if she isn’t careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her . . .