THANKS FOR ALL THE CONGRATULATIONS

Well, I posted my news about L&L Dreamspell picking up both A DREAM LOST and THE DEVIL'S DUE, and decided to toot my horn on Murder Must Advertise and Reader's Express.

This morning I was delighted to open up many responses. When you work on something so long, it is a real feeling of both closure and accomplishment to see it coming to fruition.

However, there are some unexpected parts to this as well.

When I originally conceived the character Vince DeLuca, I knew what I wanted him to be, but like many of the other characters he went through a real metamorphasis as the writing went on and on and on.

One day, several years ago, as I read through the most recent draft, complete with several "Vince" scenes, I realized that his original personality had disappeared. He had become someone who was very close to me in the 80's--someone I loved who lived in Seattle. Aha. With that realization, came an understanding. That was why Jen Connor moved to Kirkland, Washington. So I could use him as a model for Vince in surroundings that were intimately familiar to me. That way, every time I wrote a scene with Vince, the person was with me. He owned a restaurant, just like Vince. Had been a hair stylist, had and incredible spirit and called it like it was---just like Vince.

The real person, died way too soon, a victim of cancer. Since I lived in Los Angeles at the time I found out in an awful way. I'd spoken to him a few days before he died, but I'd introduced him to another friend who wanted him involved in a restaurant he was opening in Northern California. As I held a conversation with my friend in California, she suddenly said, "I was so sorry to hear about it." Confused, I answered, "About what?"

Then my interest turned to shock as she said, "About Peter's death." It turned out that he died not long after I talked to him. My friend tried to contact him about the restaurant, and couldn't. So she called a mutual contact and was told that he had passed away.

I never got to say goodbye, so I guess Vince was my way of doing that. It's been many years and I'm still misty writing this. With the publication of these books, it will also be closure of a wound that's been open for many years.

More tomrorrow.

--ARLISS ADAMS