by Michelle Cox
She sat down in a chair to think but just as quickly stood up, anxious, and walked to the long mirror hanging above the sideboard where the cold remains of breakfast still sat out for her perusal. She stood in front of it, gazing at her own image but not seeing it. And what about Eugene’s story regarding the stolen goods and Fr. Finnegan? Had that all been a lie, too? What had really gone on in the rectory? If she told Clive the truth, would she be jeopardizing the job he had promised Eugene or, worse, the help that the Exleys had hinted at? She felt sick to her stomach and groaned. What was she to do? She and Clive had pledged no more secrets, no more half-truths, only honesty. She had told him that she trusted him, and she did, but how could she explain this? Did it really matter, now, since it was all said and done, neatly explained? Perhaps she should just throw the letter away, or better yet burn it upstairs in her room. She paused for several minutes, considering.
Taking a deep breath, then, she slipped the letter into her pocket and left the room, knowing in her heart what she had to do.
Acknowledgments
What a long, strange journey it is to get a book published, even a second one. And though I’ve been told not to compare one’s book to something more personal—say, a baby—it’s hard not to.
This book, like most second children, was naturally conceived and birthed in the distracted wake of the first one, which has its pluses and minuses. Mostly pluses, I would say, as this second one, A Ring of Truth (aptly named), has not been overly subjected to the nervous frettings of a first-time parent. Much of the near-paralyzing worry that gripped me every step of the way with my first book was blessedly absent this time around, allowing this one to breathe and grow with much more latitude. And being less preoccupied with the process, I was able to indulge the writing more, and I hope that shows. Everyone’s a better parent the second time around, all the usual mistakes having already been made, and I think this experience is no exception. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
And as much as conceiving and writing are quite private endeavors, publishing and promoting certainly are not. I again thank my publisher, Brooke Warner, for taking me on and for her amazing insight and navigational abilities. I have a deep respect for her and what she is building. She calls us trailblazers, but, in truth, it is she that leads us forth. I would also like to thank my project manager at She Writes Press, Lauren Wise, for her ability to maintain calm at any given moment and for her extreme expertise.
And on the promotional side of things, I’d like to thank Crystal Patriarche and her fabulous team at Booksparks, who taught me, more than anything else, to see the publishing landscape through a wide-angle lens. It has been invaluable.
And thanks to my core readers, who unfortunately have to slog through the first drafts, bereft, as they are, of the finishing polish. Thank you for the sacrifice of your time and for your excellent feedback: Otto, Marcy, Liz, Amy, Margaret, Kari, Jason, Carmi, Sue, Wally, Hilarie, and Justine. And a special thanks goes out to Rebecca Cartwright, who was a reader in a very different sense, and whose services and insight were essential.
Also I’d like to thank all of you, known to me and unknown, who graciously read A Girl Like You and took the time to comment or even to pass it along to a friend. It is amazing to get e-mails from strangers (or friends, for that matter!) telling me how much they liked the book. Thanks for that little slice of heaven. I hope you keep on.
And, lastly, as usual, I’d like to thank my husband, Phil, who is a reader of mine, of course, but thankfully so much more. “You to me are everything, the sweetest song that I can sing.” Thank you, my love.
About The Author
Michelle Cox holds a B.A. in English literature from Mundelein College, Chicago, and is the author of the award-winning, A Girl Like You, the first in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series. She is known for her wildly popular blog, “How to Get Your Book Published in 7,000 Easy Steps—A Practical Guide” as well as her charming “Novel Notes of Local Lore”—a blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. Michelle lives with her husband and three children in the Chicago suburbs.
SELECTED TITLES FROM SHE WRITES PRESS
She Writes Press is an independent publishing company
founded to serve women writers everywhere.
Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.
A Girl Like You: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox
$16.95, 978-1-63152-016-7
When the floor matron at the dance hall where Henrietta works as a taxi dancer turns up dead, aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene—and convinces Henrietta to go undercover for him, plunging her into Chicago’s gritty underworld.
The Great Bravura by Jill Dearman
$16.95, 978-1-63152-989-4
Who killed Susie—or did she actually disappear? The Great Bravura, a dashing lesbian magician living in a fantastical and noirish 1947 New York City, must solve this mystery—before she goes to the electric chair.
Just the Facts by Ellen Sherman
$16.95, 978-1-63152-993-1
The seventies come alive in this poignant and humorous story of a fearful rookie reporter at a small-town newspaper who uncovers a big-time scandal.
Water On the Moon by Jean P. Moore
$16.95, 978-1-938314-61-2
When her home is destroyed in a freak accident, Lidia Raven, a divorced mother of two, is plunged into a mystery that involves her entire family.
Murder Under The Bridge: A Palestine Mystery by Kate Raphael
$16.95, 978-1-63152-960-3
Rania, a Palestinian police detective with a young son, meets cheeky Jewish-American feminist Chloe at an Israeli checkpoint—and soon becomes embroiled in a murder case that implicates the highest echelons of the Israeli military.
The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G. Hall
$16.95, 978-1-63152-009-9
When the current owner of a black velvet coat—a San Francisco artist in search of inspiration—and the original owner, a 1960s heiress who fled her affluent life fifty years earlier, cross paths, their lives are forever changed . . . for the better.