Border line, p.17
Border Line,
p.17
The principal then proceeded to give the details of the kindergarten orientation. As Eva listened, she thought to herself that the information could have been given on a one-page memo. At the most. What a royal waste of time.
A half hour into it, the principal introduced the blonde woman as the head of the Guidance Facilitators Organization. As Eva listened, she realized the GFO was a fancied-up name for PTA—parent teacher association. Something they’d not been aware of while she was growing up in Sicily, but learned from her neighbor, Sue. The PTA at her daughter’s school, Sue had claimed, was a way for parents to volunteer. It seemed the GFO was a way for bored, rich parents to boss other bored, rich parents around.
The blonde woman was in the middle of talking about the annual fundraiser, when Alessandra got fussy and started to cry. Eva didn’t want to miss the presentation nor disturb the rest of the room, so she lowered the scoop neck of her knit top and began to nurse.
She smiled down at Alessandra as she nursed. Breastfeeding had been an unexpected joy of becoming a mother. Something that seemed animalistic had actually turned out to be a sweet bonding between mother and child. Nothing was sweeter than seeing Alessandra’s lips curve into a smile as she paused from suckling to meet her mother’s eyes. It was one of the most natural, loving things she’d ever done for another person.
Suddenly, as she looked down, Eva realized the room had grown silent.
When she looked back up, she met the blonde woman’s eyes. The woman froze mid-sentence. She was watching Eva with a glance full of both disdain and disgust.
Heads turned to see what the woman was staring at.
Faced with dozens of people looking at her, Eva froze. Her goal in her new life was to not bring any undue attention to herself. It was crucial for her survival. Her instinct was to tell them all to fuck off and turn around, but she knew that wouldn’t work so she smiled sweetly and looked down shyly.
A few of the women smiled at her. Others looked at her with disregard.
The principal saved the day, approaching the podium and taking charge.
“Thank you, Krystal. We can go into more details about the fundraiser later.”
Eva game the principal a grateful smile as heads turned back toward the front.
And yet, today, here she was volunteering under Krystal’s tutelage.
The things she did for her children. Lorenzo had begged her to volunteer saying if she didn’t she’d be the only mother not on the volunteer committee.
Reluctantly, she’d agreed.
Someday, when they were older, she’d explain to Lorenzo and Alessandra the sacrifice she made kowtowing to such a controlling bitch, but for now she’d do whatever it took to make sure she and her family blended in.
Finally, the meeting was over and chairs scraped back as people stood.
As Eva did, her phone vibrated. She looked down.
The picture that appeared on her phone took her breath away and made her world spin and her legs grow weak and unsteady. She stumbled, grasping to clutch the table to keep herself from collapsing.
Her phone fell to the floor, landing face up, the photo of a man’s severed head filling the screen.
BUY QUEEN OF SPADES HERE
Author’s Note
* * *
Getting to know my readers and building strong relationships with them is one of the best parts of being a writer. I’d love to know more about you and more about what you thought about this book. What did you like about it? Who was your favorite character? What do you want to see, or think will happen next?
* * *
Please reach out to me and let me know. I want to hear from you. Because while I’m a writer, I’m always a reader first. I know that when it comes to the books I read, I love connecting with the author. Often, when I interact with authors I love I get downright giddy!
* * *
Ask my family how I act each and every time S.E. Hinton responds to my tweets. (HINT: I am a ridiculously starstruck fangirl! Every. Single. Time.)
* * *
Or what about the time I got to interview Jackie Collins on Huffington Post’s live video. (Still one of the greatest moments of my writer life!) (Only thing that tops that is when I opened up an email from Lisa Unger telling me that she read and liked my book and would be happy to support it with a quote we could use on the book cover! A dream come true right then and there!
* * *
Or years and years ago when I was a new, sleep-deprived mother who looked forward to my monthly book club for every second of the days leading up to it and having the New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani call into our book club. (I had her on speakerphone and when I said hello, she said, “Hey, baby, how’s it going?” and proceeded to chat with us and talk to us about what we thought would happen in her next book.
* * *
I told myself right then and there that if I were ever a published author I would interact with readers the way she did. And sometimes dreams come true! I’m a published writer who has readers who enjoy my books. Even writing that still seems surreal.
* * *
So, all of this leads me to tell you about my two favorite ways to interact with my readers:
My newsletter. My private Facebook group. Hopefully you will consider joining both.
I send out a newsletter with details of new releases, special offers, giveaways and other bits of news about my books.
When you sign up for my no-spam mailing list, I’ll send you all of this free stuff:
* * *
A copy of GIA, the introductory novella for my Gia Santella Crime Thriller series.
A copy of THE SAINT, the introductory novella for my Gabriella Giovanni Mystery series.
A copy of EVA, the introductory novella for the Queen of Spades Thrillers.
* * *
You can get the three novellas by signing up at https://www.subscribepage.com/KristiBelcamino
You can join my private Facebook group, Crime, Coffee & Cannoli here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrimeCoffeeCannoli/
Also by Kristi Belcamino
Gia Santella Crime Thriller Series
Gia – prequel novella
City of the Dead
Forgotten Island
Dark Night of the Soul
Lone Raven
Black Widow
Taste of Vengeance
Day of the Dead
Border Line
* * *
Gabriella Giovanni Mystery Series
The Saint – prequel novella
Blessed are the Dead
Blessed are the Meek
Blessed are Those Who Weep
Blessed are Those Who Mourn
Blessed are the Peacemakers
Blessed are the Merciful
* * *
Queen of Spades Thrillers
Eva – prequel novella
Queen of Spades (May 2019)
* * *
Standalones
Coming For You
Sanctuary City
Dead Wrong
Did You Like This Book?
* * *
Reviews are the lifeblood of this author business. Reviews, honest reviews, mean the world to me. They don’t have to be fancy, either. Nobody is critiquing you on your review. And they don’t always have to be five-star, either. What matters is that people are reading and have opinions on my books. I am a fairly new writer and don’t have the marketing push that many other writers do that gets their books out in front of other readers.
* * *
What I do have is you.
* * *
I am unbelievably lucky to have very passionate and loyal readers who take the time to let me know what they think of my books (and sometimes even where they think I could improve).
* * *
If you liked this book, I would be extremely grateful if you could take a few minutes out of your day to leave a review. As I said, it doesn’t need to be long or involved, anything will help. Thank you!
About the Author
Kristi Belcamino is a USA TODAY bestselling author, a Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Award-nominated author, a newspaper cops reporter, and an Italian mama who makes a tasty biscotti. As an award-winning crime reporter at newspapers in California, she flew over Big Sur in an FA-18 jet with the Blue Angels, raced a Dodge Viper at Laguna Seca and watched autopsies.
Her books feature strong, kickass, independent women facing unspeakable evil in order to seek justice for those unable to do so themselves.
Belcamino has written and reported about many high-profile cases including the Laci Peterson murder and Chandra Levy’s disappearance. She has appeared on Inside Edition and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Writer’s Digest, Miami Herald, San Jose Mercury News, and Chicago Tribune. Kristi now works part-time as a police reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and her two fierce daughters.
Find out more at http://www.kristibelcamino.com.
Kristi Belcamino, Border Line
