ABOUT THE BOOK
A hook-up turned lethal. A spurned, angry cowboy. Can rebel Maggie turn the tables before a killer adds her to the list of lost causes?
Washed-up alt-country rocker-turned-junker Maggie Killian is pulled to Wyoming by an irresistible force . . . former bull rider Hank Sibley, the man who broke her heart fifteen years before. When she unexpectedly meets his Sunday school-teaching girlfriend at a saloon, Maggie seeks liquor-fueled oblivion between the sheets of a younger man’s bed. But after her beloved vintage truck breaks down and leaves her stranded in the Cowboy State, she learns her hook-up died minutes after leaving their rendezvous. Suddenly surrounded by men with questionable motives, Maggie searches for the murderer while fighting the electricity between herself and her old beau, and her new penchant for local whiskey.
When the police zero in on Maggie despite a disturbing series of break-ins at her guest cabin, she realizes she’s got no one to rely on but herself. To keep herself happily in bars instead of behind them, she must stop the killer before the cops realize the man she really suspects is a jealous, angry Hank.
Live Wire is the first standalone book in a trilogy featuring sharp-tongued protagonist Maggie Killian from the addictive What Doesn’t Kill You romantic mystery series. If you like nerve-racking suspense, electric characters and relationships, and juicy plot twists, then you’ll love USA Today best seller Pamela Fagan Hutchins’ Silver Falchion award-winning series.
Book Details:
Title: Live Wire
Author: Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Genre: Romantic Mystery
Series: What Doesn’t Kill You
Publisher: SkipJack Publishing, (March 6, 2019)
Print length: 207 pages
GUEST POST BY PAMELA FAGAN HUTCHINS
A Day in the Life of Maggie Killian, Star of Live Wire in the What Doesn’t Kill You world of romantic mysteries
Pamela: We’re here today with Maggie Killian, alt-country rocker-turned-junker. And I have to say, she’s wearing the coolest rodeo belt buckle I have ever seen. I hear she got it from that super hot champion bull rider Hank Sibley. (silence) Okay . . . Anyway, Maggie is the star of several books in my What Doesn’t Kill You world. Most recently, USA Today bestseller Buckle Bunny and the follow-up, Shock Jock. Now she’s tearing it up in Live Wire, with two more novels to come, Sick Puppy and Dead Pile.
Maggie interjects: Great. Just what I was hoping for. More intrusive writing about me.
Pamela: Readers, in case you’ve never had the pleasure, talking to Maggie has been described as a little like cuddling a porcupine.
Maggie (smiling): Thank you.
Pamela: So, if Live Wire is made into a movie, who would play you?
Maggie: Hopefully no famous sell out.
Pamela: I think Emmy Rossum would be great.
Maggie: She’s not as bad as most. I like Shameless.
Pamela: I’ve heard you have the cutest house, ever.
Maggie (nods): Well, yeah, she’s a sexy beast.
Pamela: Tell us about her.
Maggie: Honestly, she was a piece of shit when I got her. It was a package deal, another way for my record label to rip me off by trading it to me for rights to my music and royalties: the land and everything on it, which turned out to include a barn, a shop, a magenta vintage Ford pickup, and the falling-down house. For a long time, I basically camped in her. The junk really spoke to me, and I repurposed a lot of it into the refurbished shop and opened Flown the Coop. Next, I got the truck running and spent years restoring it. Finally, once the shop started making money, I brought the house back up to code. Then, over the years, I decorated it and remodeled it in line with its farmhouse roots with pieces I found or created myself. When my birth mother passed—which is when I learned of her existence—I inherited her art collection. She was a painter and gallery owner. So I’ve added pieces that were gifts to her, and also priceless paintings by her.
Pamela: Sounds wonderful. Do you have a favorite?
Maggie: Front Porch Pickin’. It’s a joyfully melancholy painting of a guitarist. And of course it’s a Gidget Becker original. I keep it in my bedroom.
Pamela: Do you have a favorite room?
Maggie: The house is tiny, so there’s no modern open concept flowy element to it. It’s tight and cozy. For that reason, I like the kitchen best. It’s like a hug, which is what cooking is all about. Warmth and comfort. The cabinets are all reclaimed wood, painted and pickled. I have a skirted butcher block island in the middle. And the appliances are gas and electric, but they’re throwback style. And I have a big porcelain farm sink.
Pamela: What do you like to cook in there?
Maggie: Slabs of meat. I’m a carnivore.
Pamela: No veggies?
Maggie: To the extent they enhance the meat. Otherwise it’s just a waste of room on my plate.
Pamela: Dessert?
Maggie: If someone brings it. Then I prefer chocolate. I’m more of an expert in the cocktail making department.
Pamela: Care to share a recipe for your favorite?
Maggie: Sure. It’s really a two-part recipe. The cocktail, and the morning after cure.
Pamela (eyes widen): This sounds dangerous.
Maggie: So they say. (hands papers to Pamela) Here you go.
Pamela: Thanks. Now, if you would, take us through the typical Maggie day before we go.
Maggie (shrugs): Consume the hangover cure I just gave you. Shop estate sales. Work on old junk. Sell shit to collectors, decorators, and city folks who want to pretend they live in the country. Eat a slab of meat. Drink cocktails. On a good day, test the bed frame with a friend with benefits. Drink more cocktails. Start over at noon the next day.
Pamela: Friend with benefits?
Maggie: A person to have sex with. I don’t do relationships.
Pamela: What about Hank Sibley from Buckle Bunny?
Maggie: Not up for discussion.
Pamela: Oh, come on. He was the love of your life, wasn’t he?
Maggie (chair scrapes back): Love is bullshit. I told you I wouldn’t talk about him. I’m outta here. (Door shuts behind her as she leaves.)
Pamela: And . . . that was Maggie, folks. Recipes are below. Imbibe at your own risk.
Maggie’s Favorite Cocktail
One bottle Koltiska Liqueur
One cocktail glass
Pour two fingers. Sip. Keep sipping. When empty, pour four fingers. Take bigger sips. Repeat until everything feels peachy. For me, that’s when I quit thinking about that SOB Hank Sibley.
Maggie’s Hangover Cure
Sleep until noon. Drink a glass of water. Make and quickly consume Maggie’s Favorite Cocktail. Have someone whip you up some egg and chorizo breakfast tacos. Go back to bed. Second Maggie’s Favorite Cocktail optional.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
If you'd like Pamela to speak to your book club, women's club, class, or writers group, by Skype or in person, shoot her an e-mail. She's very likely to say yes.
You can connect with Pamela via e-mail (pamela@pamelafaganhutchins.com).
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