The Girl in White Pajamas
By Chris Birdy
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Bogie McGruder, a private investigator and Florida real estate investor, learns that his cop brother is gunned down on the streets of Boston. When Bogie and his teenage daughter return to Boston for the funeral. he finds his family reeling out of control, fueled by alcohol and mired in scandals.While home for his brother's services, Bogie is contacted by his old flame, a young Boston attorney named Bailey Hampfield, who is seeking protection from a dangerous and unknown stalker. Bailey also has yet to tell Bogie that he is the father of her three year old daughter.
What begins as a short condolence trip to Boston for Bogie, soon turns into a deepening investigation into a twisted tale of murder, deceit and family lies.
Witty and dark, The Girl In White Pajamas is an entertaining read, filled with gritty characters and broken morals.
She
looked up, took in a quick breath and gasped before she said, “God dammit,
Bud! What do you want from me!?” She yelled over the wind not expecting an
answer to her question. Bailey shouted,
“Stop stalking me!”
“I want you to give me a chance. Don’t want you to do anything...” Bud stopped speaking. His heart raced, and his eyes opened wide as
he heard a familiar metallic click behind him.
As the trigger was engaged, he dived toward her, knocking Bailey to the
ground. The bullet entered the back of
his head and exited the front, taking brain and bone fragments with it. Bailey lay motionless where she had fallen
with Bud’s body slumped on top of hers.
“That’s the beauty of the ‘Bogie Man’. He decides when your time is up, and you’re
gone, history.”
Several years ago, while sitting in a courtroom with a client, I watched as a police officer was lambasted by an attorney. The attorney was defending a young woman who crashed her car into two other vehicles before she passed out drunk behind the wheel. The occupants of the other cars were seriously hurt and the cop, a former EMT, tried to assist the injured while waiting for ambulances to arrive. The attorney questioned the cop's every move, shredded his testimony and made him seem inept.
Embarrassed, the cop returned to his seat beside me and muttered, "Everybody lies. The judges lie, the lawyers lie, the witnesses lie.." I wanted to tell him not to worry that in about five years he'd be just as good a liar as they were.
The seeds for The Girl in White Pajamas were planted in that courtroom.
Social Media Links:
Email: chrisbirdy9@gmail.com
Website: http://www.chrisbirdy.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHRISBIRDY1
Book Links
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Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girl-in-white-pajamas-chris-birdy/1115417678?ean=9781481871983
What would I like to tell people. I lived in the areas I write about and have
witnessed and/or survived most of the things I write about.
Latest news.. The second
book in the series, The Girl in Black Pajamas is coming out in the fall.
First bitten by writing bug?
I’ve always written in one form or another. Easily bored, I drew pictures or wrote
letters to imaginary friends when I was a student.
When did you consider yourself a writer? I believe I’ve always considered myself a
writer. That is my way of expressing
myself and helped me make a living.
Although my primary job was investigations, I also assisted attorneys in
writing settlement briefs from the raw data.
That was fiction writing at its finest.
What inspired you to write your first book? A few years ago, while sitting in a courtroom
with a client, I watched as a police officer was lambasted by an attorney. The attorney was defending a woman who
crashed her car into two other vehicles before she passed out drunk at the
wheel. The other drivers were seriously
hurt and the cop, a former EMT, tried to assist the injured while waiting for
ambulances to arrive. The attorney
questioned the cop’s every move, shredded his testimony and made him seem inept.
Embarrassed, the cop returned to his seat beside me and
muttered, “Everybody lies. The judges
lie, the lawyers lie, the witnesses lie...”
I wanted to tell him not to worry that in about five years he’d be just as
good a liar as they were.
That day I realized that many of those who are entrusted with
upholding and enforcing the law have the least regard for it. The seeds for the “The Girl in White Pajamas”
were planted in that courtroom.
Specific writing style: I
write like I speak, profanity, vulgarity and all. That’s me.
The title grew from the story.
It started as a love story wrapped up in a murder mystery, but the
child’s role became pivotal and she became the object of the story.
What do you want readers to get out of your novels? I want them to be entertained. When I read a book, I want to be entertained
and feel that I’ve had a positive experience.
I have no secret message or platform other than the belief that people
are what they are – take them or leave them but don’t try to change them.
Is the book mostly fantasy?
NO! Sadly most of the things I
write about have happened.
Music: Bogie’s old school
and macho. He like Frank Sinatra, Dean
Martin, Michael Buble. Bailey’s father
was a country/western singer to she likes country music, being a Francophile
she also listens to French music.
The experiences in my writing are definitely fact based.
What books influenced your life the most? Gone with the Wind, Angela’s Ashes and,
strangely, Forever Amber, which I read when I was ten years old.
Authors with the most influence:
John Sandford, Joseph Wambaugh, Susan Isaacs
What book are you reading now?
Just started Concealed in Death, the J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) futuristic
detective stories. I think I’ve read all
of them.
Have any authors interested you by their writing style…
Frank McCort. He told a
tragic story in Angela’s Ashes with hope and humor. He even threw in some verses and songs.
What are your current projects?
Working on the edits on the second book while going through the first
draft of the third novel.
Do you see writing as a career?
I do now. I believe that all my
previous jobs were done to get life experiences. At times, when I was in a dangerous
situation, I’d think to myself, “This is going to make one hell of a story!”
Change anything in your latest book. No, I don’t think so.
Current work: In the
second book one of Bogie’s employees in his Boston security firm is shot in the
back and a hacker is trying to break through his computer network. Meanwhile, in Florida, deputy sheriffs are
making porn movies and selling them on the internet.
Three favorite authors:
John Sandford, Michael Connelly and Joseph Wambaugh.
The covers: The cover for
the first book was designed by Erica Baert – she’s a graphic artist. I told her what I wanted and provided her
with snapshots of my granddaughter at three years old. Yes, my granddaughter was the model for
Isabella.
I don’t find writing a book hard. I have a vague outline in my head when I
begin and then start writing. I’m amazed
how a story turns out when it’s finally over.
Because I’m a newbie in the publishing world, I don’t have the pressure
of contracts and deadlines. The book is
ready when I’m comfortable with it.
What did I learn from writing the book? I learned more after I wrote the book and
that is that there’s no silver bullet or fast track to the top. There’s a lot of steady, hard work and
marketing to get noticed. And that’s a
job in itself.
Advice to other writers?
Unless you love what you do and feel compelled and driven, stop! Writing is not a group activity. It’s a solitary business that allows you sit
and wonder why the hell you chose this path.
Which comes first – For me it’s the characters and then how they
react to different situations?
Published writer:
Advice: Unless you’re a
celebrity, don’t sit around and wait for an agent or publisher to notice
you. If you think your work is good,
self-publish. You’ll learn the business
by the seat of your pants the others before you have.
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