RAVE
REVIEWS BOOK CLUB “SPOTLIGHT” AUTHOR, Bruce A. Borders
was born in 1967 in Cape Girardeau, MO. Bruce’s childhood years were spent in a
number of states, including Missouri, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
During his high school years, he was a member of
the football, basketball and track teams, involved in various non-athletic
activities such as school yearbook production and photography, and won numerous
awards for his artistic creations. Bruce graduated Valedictorian in 1984.
While in school, Bruce held three part-time
jobs; a store clerk, a janitor, and a dental technician, working about 60-70
hours per week. After graduation, he became employed full time as a dental
technician. Other jobs have included restaurant manager, carpenter, and grocery
store cashier. For the past sixteen years, he has worked as a commercial truck
driver, logging more than two million miles.
At the age of fifteen, Bruce decided to become a
writer. He began by writing songs, news articles, and short stories.
Eventually, books were added to the list. Over the years, he continued to write
and currently has a catalog of more than 500 songs, numerous short stories and
over a dozen completed books. He writes on a variety of subjects such as
fictional novels of legal issues and westerns. Titles include: Inside
Room 913, Over My Dead Body, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Journey, and in The
Wynn Garrett Series - Mistaken Identity, Holy Terror, Remote Control, Judicial
Review, Even Odds, and Safety Hazard.
Excerpt from Miscarriage Of Justice
Pulling up to her office, parking outside on the street as lately she'd
begun to do, Mariana quickly forgot her woes. Engrossed in her work, she didn't
notice the phone ringing until her secretary said, “That's your line.”
Without having time to consider whether or not it would be Ethan, she
answered. After a brief pause, she almost hung up. Then she heard Jessi’s
familiar voice.
“What are you up to?”
“Working,” Mariana said sharply. Then realizing she’d snapped at her
friend, she said in a softer tone. “Some of us have to do that you know.”
“Hey, I work,” Jessi insisted.
“Yeah, right. Does your job now consist of calling your friends?”
“Not really,” Jessi answered. “Only the ones I'm worried about, which at
the moment is just you.”
“Why are you worried about me?” Mariana asked innocently.
“Because I haven't heard from you since I was down there, and as I
recall, you had a certain lunatic trying to kill you.” Jessi retorted.
“I'm fine,” Mariana told her. “As you can see, or hear actually, I’m very
much alive.”
“Has Ethan called anymore?” Jessi pressed. “Or come to visit?”
“Um…” Mariana hesitated, uncomfortable discussing the issue in the office
setting. Glancing around nervously she said, “I’ll call you back.”
As the rest of the day dragged on, she nervously chewed her lip and found
herself staring out the window, dreading the conversation she knew would be
coming with Jessi. Her friend was pretty good at getting information out of
people, while she herself was woefully incapable of not blabbing while being
pressured by a friendly interrogator, especially Jessi.
She decided not to mention Ethan’s visit while she'd been in the shower,
or his other activity, and even though it had been her friend’s idea, she
wasn't about to bring up Frankie
Arimante and the deal they’d struck.
Leaving work early, at two minutes past four, she dialed Jessi’s number
on her way home in the car. “Don't say anything,” she reminded herself as the
phone rang.
As if she’d been sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring, Jessi
answered immediately. “Start talking,” the impatient nurse demanded. “What
happened?”
“Nothing,” Mariana responded evasively.
“Uh-uh. Something is going on. The way you shut right up when I mentioned
Ethan today.”
“I just didn't want to talk about the subject in front of everyone at the
office,” Mariana insisted.
“It's more than that. This is Jessi, remember? I know you. I can hear it
in your voice that something isn’t right.”
“Honest,” Mariana continued her charade. “Nothing is wrong.”
“Has Ethan called?”
“Well, yeah, he has. But only a couple of times. That's nothing new.”
“Has he been back to your house?”
Mariana bit her lip. “No.” she said.
“You're lying,” Jessi accused. “I can tell.”
“Okay. He’s been there, but...”
“You're going to have to do something about this sooner or later,” Jessi
warned. “You know that, right?”
“Hm, maybe,” Mariana avoided the question. Then projecting her usual
optimism she said, “It's no big deal. I can handle it.”
“Until he kills you!”
“Look,” Mariana said. “You don't need to worry about me. In a few days
it’ll all be over.” Instantly, she kicked herself. This is what she'd been
afraid would happen. She hadn’t meant to say it; the words had just sort of
slipped out. A subconscious effort to quell the grilling from Jessi, she
supposed.
“And how do you know that?”
Sighing Mariana said, “I just know.”
“Okay. Now you’ve got me worried,” Jessi breathed. “What did you do?”
“What makes you think I did anything?” Mariana protested.
“You wouldn't be so confident this would be over in
a few days unless you knew something,” Jessi pointed out.
“All you need to know,” Mariana said, “is that it’ll all be over soon.”
“Why do I have to drag every bit of information out of you?” Jessi
lamented. “I am your friend, you know. And you can trust me.”
Mariana took another deep breath. This is exactly what she’d wanted to
avoid. She should've known better. She did know better. Yet, for some reason
she’d tried to buffalo her friend anyway. “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I'll
tell you. I hired a guy to get rid of him.” The words came in a rush, like she
found them distasteful and wanted to get it over with.
“Get rid of him?” Jessi sounded suspicious. “How?”
“You know, just get rid of him.”
“Permanently? As in dead?”
“Yes.”
“You hired a hit man?” Jessi was incredulous. “What were you thinking?”
“It was your idea,” Mariana reminded her.
“I was joking.” Jessi said in dismay. “I didn't expect you to actually do it.”
“You also said I was going to have to do something sooner or later. Well,
I did.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant. What happens when you get caught?”
“I don't plan on being caught,” said Mariana dryly.
Thank you Rave Reviews Book Club for voting me this
week’s Spotlight Author! And, a huge thanks to all the members who agreed to
host me on their site!
Bruce A. Borders
Miscarriage Of Justice
Connect with Bruce:
@BruceABorders
