The Maine Nemesis by R. Scott Wallis

The Maine Nemesis

by R. Scott Wallis

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GENRE: Suspense

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BLURB:

Fiercely independent, insatiably curious, and always up for an adventure, public relations hotshot Skyler Moore is a hero for our time. She's decidedly not a sleuth by trade, but mayhem often comes knocking as she and her friends visit the small towns and big cities of America.

In "The Maine Nemesis," Skyler decides to spend the summer at her seaside cottage in Wabanaki, Maine, with her best friend—celebrity chef Brenda Braxton—and they have no idea that murder will be on the menu. But women are turning up dead in the once sleepy village where nothing ever happens. With the residents up in arms and the rinky-dink police force overwhelmed, Skyler and her friends feel compelled to lend a hand to save the town they love so much. The backdrop is classic New England Americana: lobster rolls, the whole town out for the Fourth of July, and summer evenings cooled by the ocean breeze. That...and an occasional murder, a kidnapping, and a few dangerous liaisons.

Skyler's mile-a-minute adventure will keep you turning the pages to see what comes next for her and her Down East 'friends.'

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Excerpt Two:

There were only a handful of orangeries in the United States and Lois Millhouse had one in her side yard. The tall metal and glass structure was an architectural marvel—fashioned after the original 17th century orangery on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in France, albeit much smaller—and had been featured in several magazine and newspaper articles over the years. Most recently, House Beautiful did a cover shoot on the property.

Inside, orange trees flourished year-round at one end and flowering plants such as Tropical Anthurium, various varieties of roses, African Violets, and scores of orchids were extremely well maintained on the other. Lois employed three part-time employees to tend to ‘her babies’ and she toiled in the greenhouse herself most mornings after she ate breakfast and had carefully read every page of the Wall Street Journal. She had a thing for financial news and plants, in that order.

And, of course, for making Wabanaki everything it should have become decades earlier.

On Tuesday morning, she was on her hands and knees cleaning up a broken pot and spilled soil when she heard someone approaching. She turned her head to see Skyler holding a pie plate and smiling widely.

“I hope I didn’t startle you,” Skyler said. “I was knocking, but I don’t think anyone heard me.”

“I don’t startle too easily, Skyler,” Lois said, getting to her feet. “How are you, dear?”

“I’m fine. I brought you a pie. It’s apple. Not blueberry.”

Lois chuckled. “You are very sweet. And, yes, I do not eat blueberries anymore. I appreciate them, mind you.” She waved her arms around like a flight attendant pointing out emergency exits. “I wouldn’t have all this without those little blue berries, now would I?”

“I have a feeling that you’d be successful no matter what.”

“You didn’t come over here just to give me a pie, now did you?”

“You’ve seen right through me.”

Lois pulled off her gloves and set them on the potting bench. “You’re working with my grandson to keep the Chowder House from sinking in bad press.”

“I am.”

“Thank you for that. And Wabanaki thanks you.”

“Well, Madam Mayor, I too have dedicated my life to this town.”

“I know that very well,” Lois said. “Let’s go get some coffee. There’s always a fresh pot in the kitchen.”

Skyler followed the old woman through a side door, down a covered breezeway, and up a few steps into the main house. They were in the cavernous kitchen and sitting at the built-in banquette sipping coffee out of enormous mugs when a young woman appeared out of nowhere and set a plate of muffins in the center of the table. She was gone as quickly as she appeared.

“Who was that?”

“Midge,” Lois said softly. “She’s new. And like a ghost. I hardly hear her moving about the house but she manages to clean and bake and sort the mail and she changes my bed sheets every day like at a first class hotel. I’m paying her next to nothing. It makes me feel bad. But I enjoy the help.”

“Maybe she deserves a raise,” Skyler said, biting into a muffin. “These are amazing. And still warm.”

“I will be sure to compensate her appropriately. So, what is on your mind?”

“Brenda and I were talking yesterday and she told me that she had a drink with an old mutual friend of ours, a man named Augie Alameda.” Skyler stopped and inspected the woman’s face for some kind of recognition.

“And?” Lois asked evenly.

“Well, to be very blunt, we wondered if perhaps you hired him.”

“Hired him to do what?”

“Seriously? Do you not know him?”

“It’s really none of your business, frankly.”

Skyler blushed. “It’s sort of my business. I mean, that’s my business. I’m a public relations professional. It’s what I do. And it’s what I’m doing for Tanner and the Chowder House. We all want to see Wabanaki overcome this slump, don’t we? Especially the mayor?”

“My dear,” Lois began sweetly, “I want nothing more than for this town to flourish. Just like my plants out there. But I did not hire this Mr. Alameda to do anything and I have no idea what he does anyway. How could he possibly help?”

“You said it was none of my business, like there was something there.”

“Because I meant that, not because I actually have something to hide from you. I don’t think I like you coming in here and interrogating me, that’s all. You’re a P.R. professional, not a detective on the Wabanaki police force.

“I see. And I am sorry if I upset you.”

“I’m not upset. But I will bite. Who is Augie Alameda?”

Skyler gave the woman a rundown of Augie’s credentials and history. “And he got Brenda her start.”

“But you don’t like him?” Lois asked.

“I don’t, but that’s because we worked together a few times and we’re both pretty much independent contractors. We’re both solo practitioners, if you will. We butted heads and it wasn’t pretty.”

“But he can get the job done?”

“Oh yes. He can. And he most certainly will. Which is why the Chowder House and the Lobster Shanty and the Sea Captain’s Inn and all the businesses in town need to be prepared. Combined with the Boston Globe piece that’s coming, we could get quite busy.”

“I’m thrilled, Skyler,” Lois said, standing, indicating that the visit was over, “I really am. But it wasn’t me.”

They exchanged pleasantries and Skyler was shown the door. It didn’t actually slam shut behind her, but it felt that way.

Skyler was more suspicious than ever and wondered if the Mayor was lying to her…or if someone else was behind Augie’s coming to town.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

R. Scott Wallis is endlessly inspired by his surroundings and adventures. And he thrives on new chapters and creating unique projects to keep himself out of trouble. Scott started his working life as an advance person and assistant to a sitting United States Vice President. Later, he served as the creative director for a leading Washington think tank. That led to working directly for one of the richest men on Earth, conceiving and executing exclusive events for his billionaire friends. Tired of working for the man, Scott became a top-rated pop-culture podcaster and celebrity interviewer, while also dabbling in both the worlds of clothing manufacturing (creating his own baby clothes brand that was sold in over 300 stores nationwide) and retail sales, with his own well-received men's clothing store.


Always willing to lend a hand or donate what he can, he's an enthusiastic philanthropist, championing causes such as childhood bullying, animal adoption, and feeding the less fortunate. A wide-eyed world traveler, Scott has been to four continents, mostly by sea. While he loves exploring Europe and the Caribbean islands, it's the vast United States that he likes best. He's been to Alaska four times, Hawaii twice, and can't wait to explore the eight states he hasn't been to yet. Technically a Connecticut Yankee, Scott grew up in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, and lived for 25 years in the Washington, D.C. area, before recently discovering that the American West is where he is most at home. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.


Learn more at www.rscottwallis.com

Author Website:

http://www.rscottwallis.com

Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1729813321/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_b7guCbE7B2WJN

The book is on sale for only $0.99.

Facebook Link:

https://www.facebook.com/skylermoorethrillers

Interview with Scott Wallis

1. What is your favorite part of this book and why?

I have two answers. First, I love it all, so how could I possibly pick just one? But honestly, one of my favorite things to write is dialogue and dialogue is how I essentially tell my story. Perhaps I should have been a screenwriter instead of a novelist—I love putting words in my characters’ mouths and figuring out their various manners of speech. I’d much rather tell you what’s happening through my characters’ words over endlessly describing things. So, dialogue is my favorite part.

But if I have to pick one particular scene, it would probably be the climactic confrontation in Skyler’s cottage in Wabanaki. Of course, I can’t tell you what happens there, or it would ruin everything, but it’s exciting and fast and just a tad bit hair raising. And it might surprise the reader when they see who ultimately saves the day.

2. If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

Who wouldn’t want to spend the day with a celebrity chef? Well, my hand is up. I am absolutely in love with my Brenda Braxton character. She is Skyler Moore’s lifelong best friend and she’s kind of a cross between Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Gordon Ramsey. She’s over-weight, talented, uber-successful, sarcastic, and loves her dogs more than she loves food. I’d want to hang out with Brenda on the set of her television show and see how an episode comes together behind the scenes. Then I’d want to go out to eat at a fancy restaurant with her and totally let her order everything from soup to nuts. In THE MAINE NEMESIS (and book two in the Skyler Moore Thriller series, THE NEW MEXICO SCOUNDREL, also out now), I describe more than a few meals that Brenda has concocted. I love writing about (and eating) great food.

3. If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

Probably Jane Austen’s EMMA. It’s one of my all-time favorite novels. I love the time period, the setting, and the humor. It’s a quite flawless novel and I would be so very proud to call it my own. (And if you’ve only seen the movie and never read the original book, you have done yourself a huge disservice.)

4. Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

Both. How could any writer anywhere ever come up with entirely original characters? We are all influenced by the myriad people we have encountered in our lives and that ultimately seeps into our work. At least, I’m sure that’s happened to me. While Skyler, Brenda, and the people in their lives are all figments of my imagination, there are parts of each and every one that I have borrowed from real people. And if anyone in NEMESIS is most like me, well, it’s Skyler Moore. I guess I’m the male version of my hotshot P.R. heroine.

5. What made you want to become a writer?

It’s got to be my endless imagination. Some might hate me for it, but I’ve never once had writer’s block. I have so many ideas about what I want to do with my characters that I don’t even have time for it all. I guess that’s why I write my stories: my brain just keeps coming up with crazy ideas and I have to download them to paper just as fast as I can—you should see my crazy notes! I’ve been like this since I was a kid. I lived in my head most of the time, making up entire imaginary worlds to play in. I was the kid playing alone most of the time and I had a ball doing it.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

R. Scott Wallis will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway