Tap, Tap, Tap

 "Tap! Tap! Tap!" Those are the first three words of the new hardback book that I got for Christmas. It was Nancy Drew 16: The Clue of the Tapping Heels. I don't know where my mom bought it, but I remember that it had that new book smell and it was mine! I didn't have to return it to the library.

Escondido didn't have a bookstore back then before the Escondido Mall was built in 1964. I asked where my mom could have bought it new on a Facebook Group page, "I Grew up in Escondido." Mom isn't around to remember. The consensus was the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew could be purchased at drug stores, grocery stores and even through the Sears catalog, which was a big thing at our house. I'd get my new underwear each year from that catalog and maybe one new school dress (we sewed the others.) 

 

But a new book was a treat, and I still remember this first new one about Nancy tapping out Morse code to get out of a basement. She was a smart girl detective, and I decided to become a detective after reading that. It was a short-lived goal. I was a farm girl, raised out in the countryside of Escondido and belonged to 4-H. I loved animals and wanted to be a large animal vet. My dream college was CalPoly, and I stayed on that path until one revealing day when my lamb got sick, and I needed to give it a shot. 

I woke up after fainting, and being the logical person that I was, I switched to plants and decided to focus on teaching the starving world to grow food. During college, they started killing Americans in Central America, so I changed from International Agriculture to Agribusiness and then to business with a focus on accounting and, later, computer programming. But I never forgot Nancy and my dream. My first solo novel was Murder in the Magic Kingdom, which combined my love of everything Disney and mystery. That title was taken, so it was published as Pixie Dust Death, A Wilma  Wallaby Genius Girl Detective Novel. 

This month, I signed an agreement with a UK production company that wants to develop Wilma Wallaby into an international kids TV show.  As a modern-day Enola Holmes, Wilma Wallaby is an aspiring kick-ass detective who thinks her bully of an older brother is always trying to murder her. You might remember a previous blog where I shared my childhood struggles growing up with a tyrant of an older brother. I still have a cap on the broken tooth from one of our fights that he won. I had a tiny closet in my room, and he'd stuff me in there for hours when my folks weren't home and lock me out of the house at other times. I hated being home alone with Stan. He'd hit me hard and threaten to do worse if I told Mom and Dad. He's dead now (no, I didn't kill him,) but I spent most of my childhood wishing I was an only child.

Getting back to Wilma Wallaby, there was one problem with my book; it was set in Disney World. Trying to get Disney to sign off on a murder mystery set in the happiest place on earth would take years. This month, I had to rewrite it to be set at a fictitious theme park in Florida, which I called Castle Country. It was fun; I invented rides, lands, restaurants, and hotels. There is Medieval Castle Land, Fairy Castle Land, The Swiss Alps and rides like Troll Trek and Screaming Sleds through the Swiss Alps. I think my Viking Cruise trip starting in Switzerland through the Rhine River castles last year finally paid off.

The new title is Wilma Wallaby Castle Caper - A Genuis Girl Detective Novel.

You can read for free with Kindle Unlimited or order it on Amazon. It opens similar to my favorite Nancy Drew - with a tap, tap - enjoy!

Amazon Link - https://us.amazon.com/dp/1736034863