No Dice (A Detective Dave Mason Mystery Book 1)
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- Introducing Dave Mason of the Santa Monica Police Department | Mar Preston.
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No Dice: A Detective Dave Mason Mystery Book I
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Mason and Delgado usually work cases together but when one of the occasional whodunit murders comes along that eats up the budget and gives Mason hives, Laura Fredericks is assigned to them. Fredericks is an over-eager, loud and brassy investigator with a crush on Mason. Is it a natural death, a suicide, or a homicide? Delgado has to testify in an old court case, and so Fredericks is assigned to go with Mason to check it out. Fredericks fusses and fumes, cursing slow drivers. Mason goes silent while she brags through the entire 8-square mile city about taking down the krav maga instructor.
She could put Mason down in a heartbeat and she knows he knows it. Finally he tells her to tame down her mouth or get out and walk. Her red-head freckled face goes pink with embarrassment. Mason makes a string of short calls on his cell phone keeping other cases going. Illegal use of cell phones while driving really sets a good example for the citizens.
The dead body is a suicide so Mason and Fredericks are back at the station for a meeting to update the Sarge. Their major cases are burglaries.
My Guest Author – Mar Preston: A Day in the Life of….Homicide Detective Dave Mason | Jane Risdon
A sign of things to come some hot August Sunday when the subway brings half a million people to the beach looking for a good time? Back about 3 pm to snatch a half-hour writing reports, which usually takes up too much of his day. He postpones his weapons qualifying test for another week hoping sometime this weekend he can get in some practice. He clatters downstairs to the vending machine in the lobby for a candy bar. Will she change her mind if this goes to court? Down to a beach parking lot…more traffic. Ginger knows how to have fun.
His day ends with a call from the wife of the victim of a carjacking. No, nothing new to tell her.
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He slaps his partner on the shoulder as he passes his cubicle, checking out for the day. Maybe Ginger will have a frozen dinner to heat up for him in a hurry. Does he juggle a career and a family? His daughter lives 70 traffic-choked miles away through the Los Angeles sprawl. At nine, she likes spending time with her old Dad, but he worries about when she becomes a teenager. Her mother has a new baby and a new life and the custody arrangement is now amicable. Does Dave have a love interest?
Are they important to the story or just there in the background? They are political opposites, a factor which appears in the books in a minor way. You want me to be number two out of four? Ginger skids from one non-profit fundraising or public relations job to another. Contracts get cancelled, agencies get blown up, and executive directors embezzle. She bounces back, but every job loss takes a toll on her.
But she loves Mason and his daughter Haley. It astonished me that I could write plus pages and it never occurred to me they would be series characters. Does he have political views? Strong views about controversial topics for example? Perhaps you steer clear of involving your character in strong viewpoints, being vocal about them — why?
Mar replied, mentioning Santa Monica, a place I know well: Mason never had strong political opinions until he met Ginger who was running a Santa Monica election campaign. Like a lot of cops, he came out of the box cautious and conservative. Ginger is an avowed progressive. She faces him down nose to nose with arguments that make him think. These arguments are played out in the books around the ideas of urban development.
Santa Monica, also known as Silicon Beach—is a leftist, progressive city for the most part.
People have strong opinions about urban development, environmental regulations, and smart growth. This is back ground for some of the books and sometimes the McGuffin. Are you worried about writing anything too controversial? Is he the amalgamation of several people you know, or have you created him from scratch?
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Like a lot of cops, Mason is tall, strong and assertive, and aggressive when he needs to be. Was his profession or personality the driving force behind you creating him? Is he a music fan? Which genre and why? Which authors and why? Help us get to know something about Homicide Detective Dave Mason.
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This, along with the tango, he keeps to himself. Did you want a perfect all rounded lead character or a flawed one? Is he kind and caring or a bully, arrogant, cruel….? Dafne rated it liked it May 21, Nicki Fairbanks rated it really liked it Aug 28, Meyer rated it it was amazing Jul 10, Doug Page rated it really liked it Dec 21, Jack Malone rated it it was amazing Oct 24, Taylor rated it really liked it Dec 03, Susan Degaia rated it it was amazing Aug 07, Liz Donatelli rated it liked it Nov 15, Fred Hughes marked it as to-read Apr 03, Laura Erickson marked it as to-read Apr 30, Jenny Engler marked it as to-read Apr 30, Mike Franks added it Dec 17, Kasane Teto marked it as to-read May 09, Barb added it Jun 26, Linda marked it as to-read Jul 18, Bev marked it as to-read Jul 25, Laurie Rhoades marked it as to-read Aug 07, Cindy marked it as to-read Oct 09, Rebekah marked it as to-read Jan 05, Daniel Von marked it as to-read Apr 28, Patricia Stoltey marked it as to-read May 04, Martha marked it as to-read Sep 29, Richard White marked it as to-read Oct 27, Patricia Mccammon added it Oct 10, Brittany marked it as to-read Jan 27, Tehila marked it as to-read Aug 27, Donna marked it as to-read Sep 21, Dave marked it as to-read Jun 21, Eva marked it as to-read Sep 04, Kathey marked it as to-read Dec 23, Jack A Hanson is currently reading it Jan 23, Ashley marked it as to-read Aug 07, Stacie marked it as to-read Nov 15, Suzie Nunley marked it as to-read Jan 03, There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
The Most Dangerous of Species is the latest. I was a long-time Santa Monica activist and once divided my time between glitzy Santa Monica and a village similar to the one in Payback. But I assure you only nice people live here. The Most Dangerous Species is the second one in this series.
They are a pleasure to write and I hope useful to new writers.