Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Carol Kilgore Presents: Gracie and the Peach Thieves - Part Two


Before Gracie concludes her thrilling cliffhanger adventure, I would like to thank her for sharing her story here. To show my appreciation, I tried to make her feel at home by putting out a peach spread. Unfortunately, peaches are out of season here, but I don't give up easily. I thought I might be able to track down a few on the Internet. This is what I found instead: Peaches & Hot Sauce (Comedy Production Studio), Peaches Boutique (specializing in prom dresses), and a company that ships Peach Bourbon Fried Turkey.

Since I couldn't reach any of these places in time, we'll have to settle for some hot peach tea, and fresh scones with peach jam. Wait a minute, a truck from the Peaches and Hot Sauce Comedy Studio just pulled up. Gracie, I'll try to stall them while you tell your story.                                                      
Gracie and the Peach Thieves – Part Two


Hi, this is Gracie again. When I left you at Carol’s blog on Monday, I was trapped in a peach tree with peach thieves on the ground below. Here’s what happened.

My only weapons were peaches. They’d have to do. Some of the ones around me were still as hard as rocks. I’d have to take care not to disturb the branches when I pulled the fruit, and I wondered if I could do that. I had to try. I shoved Mama’s basket into a fork so it wouldn’t fall.

Then I pulled a hard peach. Both men kept picking. Petunia and Daisy yapped in the distance, but I couldn’t tell where they were. They didn’t sound concerned. I pulled another peach and looked down.

The men were working fast. They’d already picked a bushel of Mama’s peaches and were working on another basket. They didn’t know how mad Mama would get, that’s for sure. With my two peaches in my pockets, I yanked off two more, took aim, and fired the first peach. The second. Two hits!

The men were loud! All the words I was taught never to say spewed from their mouths. I fired the next peach, and then the fourth. The dogs were louder and coming our way. I reached for another peach, but I wasn’t careful enough.

I lost my balance, and fell through the branches.

The next thing I knew, a wet nose was pushing on one cheek and a warm tongue was licking the other.

“Gracie, wake up. C’mon, honey, wake up.” Daddy’s voice.
I opened my eyes. “Peach thieves.”

“Buster saw them drive up and called the sheriff. He’s out at the road with them now waiting for the deputy. They said you hit them with peaches. One’s got a black eye.”

“Good. They got into Mama’s trees. I couldn’t stop them in time.”

“Thanks to you, Mama still has plenty of peaches. She can make an extra cobbler for Buster. Maybe some ice cream, too. If you hadn’t stopped them, they could’ve wiped out a whole row of trees before the dogs found them.”

I smiled, remembering how good peach ice cream was on top of warm peach cobbler.

“Let’s check you out. Move your arms and legs.”

I sat up. “I’m okay. I have to get Mama’s cobbler basket.”

Daddy took the two bushel baskets along with Mama’s basket and sent me off to play. When he walked into the kitchen, I heard Mama all the way from the hay barn. Those thieves were lucky they only had to face the deputy and not Mama.

After high school, I went on to college, graduated, and joined the San Antonio Police Department. Nothing there quite equaled the thrill in that peach tree, so I searched for more.

Now I’m the newest member of a still unnamed taskforce to be based in San Antonio. We’re all still training, so look for more to come! My name is Gracie Hofner, and I’m Carol Kilgore’s newest character. She’s writing a whole trilogy of books based on me, which is why I’m writing this instead of her.

You can find out more about Carol here:
Under the Tiki Hut blog: http://underthetikihut.blogspot.com/
Website with Monthly Contest:  http://www.carolkilgore.net/contest/
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.kilgore1
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carol_kilgore
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094110.Carol_Kilgore
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Kilgore/e/B008FRCXQY

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SECRETS OF HONOR

By the end of a long evening working as a special set of eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities were so simple.

As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of her dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.

Kat and Dave quickly learn the real stakes are higher than they or the first lady believed and will require more than any of them bargained for.

The kicker? They have twenty-four hours to find the girl—or the matter of life or death will become more than a possibility.





31 comments:

  1. Gracie sounds like a cool customer :) -- this would be a kicker of a series!

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  2. Hi Julie and Carole .. yes thieving bandits and a girl with some gumph to her .. seems you've found the right character for a few more stories .. cheers Hilary

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  3. Hello Julie and Carol, Gracie sounds a wonderful person, hope all goes well with the book and is a success it deserves

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  4. She sounds feisty. Can't wait wait to meet her in print.

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  5. peachy keen! Fun writing and a great character.

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  6. D Biswas - Thanks. I hope so!

    Hilary - "a girl with some gumph to her" ... I love that description! Exactly what I'm aiming for :)

    Yvonne - I appreciate the good wishes :)

    Alex - Gracie's pretty determined.

    Delores - She is!!!

    Joanne - Thank you!

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  7. Gracie's a feisty character!
    Sounds like a great series!

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  8. Woo Hoo. If Gracie retains any of her mother's strong sense of right and wrong and feistiness the bad guys will be lining up to lock THEMSELVES up before she gets to them.
    And peaches are just coming in to season here - I will have a couple today in Gracie's honour.

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  9. Michelle - She is feisty. Hope readers like her story!

    EC - Gracie does take after her mother :) Enjoy those peaches. We won't have any more until spring. Sigh.

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  10. Gracie is an awesome character.

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  11. I love peaches. If anyone came between me and my peach trees, I'd turn them into vegetables.

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  12. She sure sounds like she gets things done, one way or another.

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  13. She sounds like she's going to be a fantastic character to follow! Great job, Carol.

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  14. Fun story, and now I am really wishing for some peach tea and scones. :-)

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  15. Now that's how you do it! Anything's a weapon if you're mad enough. Very cool intro to the character.

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  16. Medeia - Thank you.

    Michael - Too funny :)

    Pat - Gracie is resourceful :)

    Loni - Thanks! I hope so!

    Daisy - Sounds yummy :)

    Beer - Gracie was more afraid of her mama than those two peach thieves!

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  17. Thanks to everyone for cheering Gracie on. Sounds likes she's on her way to becoming the next "Pit..." I mean "It Girl!" You've done it again, Carol!

    Julie

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  18. Cool! A new character... heck, a whole new trilogy! You go, girl!

    I hope both of you ladies have a wonderful weekend.

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  19. What fun! I'm really liking this story! And what a great idea to blog-hop like this.

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  20. Julie - There are rumblings that Gracie can be a real PITA :)

    Susan - I'm just hoping it doesn't make me crazy keeping everything in order.

    Caryn - Thanks!

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  21. Gracie sounds like a quite a character. I bet Carol has fun writing her story. Glad she foiled the thievery attempt and didn't hurt herself too badly in the process.

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    1. Joy - I hope Carol had as much fun as we did! Looks like Gracie will have more tricks in store for us! Thanks Joy!

      Julie

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  22. What a great way to introduce a new character! I so enjoyed reading Parts 1 and 2. Well done, Carol!
    And thanks for sharing, Julie.

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  23. Joy - Gracie is fun! She keeps me on my toes.

    Julie F - I'm glad you liked this!

    Julie the Host - I'm having a blast being here! Thanks for hosting me :)

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  24. This was an endearing series. And now I'm wanting hot peach cobbler with vanilla (yeah, not peach, too much peach isn't right) ice cream topped with hot fudge.

    Thanks, Carol and Julie. Have a peachy Thanksgiving week.

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  25. Carol - It was a pleasure having you and Gracie here! Thanks for a fun week!

    Robyn - Hot fudge makes every ice cream flavor taste better! Remember when peach cobbler was the dessert of the month at Howard Johnson's? I agree that this was an "endearing series!" Thanks Robyn!

    Julie

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  26. Carol is awesome - thanks for sharing some of her amazing writing here :)

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  27. Robyn - Wishing you a peachy week, too :)

    OE - Aw, you're sweet, Keith. Thanks.

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  28. This was fun to read and love peaches:) Great way to get rid of those thieves.

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  29. Birgit - Gracie is quite resourceful :)

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