THE OTHER NEIGHBOR - Gail Sattler - One Free Book

Bio: To sum myself up, I am a wife, mother, writer, and musician, and the order of those things will depend on what day it is. Friends tell me that I lead a busy life, and I suppose that’s probably true. Yet, even above all my music affiliations (jazz band and string orchestra), writing is my passion. I remember the first book I wrote, back in middle school – on a clackety old manual typewriter. It was uniquely based on a pre-teen girl named… Gail… and her 3 best friends, all of whom shared the same names as my own best friends. Despite dangers and unknown perils, we raced against time following cryptic clues to seek a precious treasure in a haunted mansion before the ghosts, police, and relatives of the deceased owner of the house caught and locked us in the damp, dreary cellar until we perished. I can’t remember if we found the treasure, but I have to assume we did. After all, I’m here to tell about it.

My writing has changed a lot since then (PTL!) Now I write romantic comedy, and most of the books I’ve written in the last few years are part of a series. I love to continue a story, to make a new book with the story of a minor character from a previous story.

When I’m not writing, I love to take pictures. My primary targets, I mean volunteers, are usually my family, pets, friends, and bandmates.

Welcome back, Gail. Why did you become an author?

I was working full time, evening shift while my husband worked day shift so we didn't have to put our kids in daycare. When my youngest was about two years old I was laid off, and I decided that while I was off I would catch up on a long lost enjoyment that I hadn't had time for - reading. While I was reading voraciously, I read one book that was really bad, and thought I could do better. So when the kids were napping, I got on my husband's computer and started writing. I can say I did not do better, and that first book I wrote has long since hit that great delete button in the sky. But it got me started. I joined some writing groups and learned everything about the craft, and my first published book sold on my 40th birthday. I haven't looked back since.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?

Musician. I play piano, acoustic string bass, and electric bass. I play in 3 bands, but none of them make enough money that I can't say I have any income from them, I do it for fun.

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?

No other time in history appeals to me. The only historical book I've written was in the depression era and I definitely wouldn't want to live then. I love our modern technology and the computer age.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to?

I'm Canadian, but I have traveled more in the USA than I have in Canada. One place I have not been that I would love would be Disney World in Florida. Reasons are obvious, I think. J

How about a foreign country you hope to visit?

Rather than a foreign country, both me and my husband would like to take a Mediterranean cruise and visit the ports along the ship's sailing route.

What lesson has the Lord taught you recently?

To be happy with what I've got.

A very good lesson to learn. That gives us a thankful heart toward God. Tell us about the featured book.

The Other Neighbor is based on a true story. Years ago my husband owned and ran a web design business. He got a strange phone call about one of his customers one day. We later figured out it was the FBI finding a little bit more about him, and if we were involved with him in any way (which we weren't except for designing his website). This fellow owned and operated a hydroponics store - back when marijuana was not legal anywhere. But this wasn't about the plants, it was about the fertilizer - because it could be used to make bombs. First the owner disappeared, then the business closed, owing us a lot of money in unpaid bills. Then we read in the paper that the owner had been arrested for a plot to plant and detonate a series of bombs along the Alaska Pipeline.

My husband I have joked that we hope this book helps us break even with the money we lost when his ex-customer didn't pay his bills and went bankrupt.

Back cover blurb

Cheryl Richardson doesn’t know that her landlord who owns the other half of the duplex where she lives is plotting to build a bomb—but the FBI does. In order to discover what her landlord is planning to blow up, agent Steve Gableman moves next door to get closer to Cheryl to learn what she knows, namely the target and motive, so they can stop it. But when Steve involves himself in every area of her life, including her dog, will Cheryl be the one to explode?

Please give us the first page of the book.

When he first joined the FBI, Steve Gableman had anticipated a life of action and intrigue. International espionage. Secret missions. Dangerous liaisons. But this wasn’t one of them. After the fallout from his last assignment, he’d been downgraded. Just surveillance.

Although, he couldn’t complain. It wasn’t often an agent got running water with indoor plumbing on a stakeout, much less a whole house with comfortable furniture, a full fridge, and not a rodent in sight.

An elderly lady had called the FBI’s tip line after a bomb threat at her grandson’s school, saying the teen tried his luck on the Internet to see how difficult, or easy, it would be to build a bomb. While researching, the boy read a post from Jeff Schuster, the owner of a hydroponics store, also asking questions on building a bomb and then planting one. Except, unlike the boy, Schuster’s enquiries were serious. The FBI sent a mole into Schuster’s store, confirming that Jeff Schuster was indeed collecting the components to construct a bomb.

However, so far they hadn’t uncovered his target or his timeline.

When the FBI began their surveillance of Schuster’s home, they’d observed a group of four men who visited him at least three times a week, using different cars on rotation. They came and went quietly, returned a few days later in a different car, and the cycle repeated.

Schuster’s cohorts were quite an eclectic group. A couple of them had prison records, and only one had a real job. Steve’s team had a number of good leads, and they were following them.

Then there was Schuster’s neighbor, Cheryl Richardson, in the other half of Schuster’s duplex. Every second day, Schuster quietly knocked on her door and gave her a bag of unknown contents from his store. She always accepted it then quickly went back inside.

It had taken a month, but Steve finally managed to discover the contents of the bags.

Tomatoes. Grown in his hydroponics store to demonstrate his equipment.

She wasn’t helping Schuster make a bomb. She was making salad. His surveillance of her showed that other than accepting the unknown bags from Schuster, she led a clean and relatively boring life. She was a florist. She went to church faithfully. The highlight of her week was taking her small, fluffy dog to the library.

Tonight, here he sat, alone in a dark house, documenting the cleanest suspect he’d ever had the misfortune to be assigned. His report concluded that Cheryl Anne Richardson had no part in the operation. He could now re-join his team to research the real suspect.

He checked the monitors one more time. He'd planted two surveillance cameras to watch her, both planted in his own yard, so he had visual, but not audio. The camera in the front caught both Cheryl and Schuster's front doors in front of the duplex, allowing both Steve and his team, depending on who was on duty to watch, to capture images of who came and went. The second was mounted on a tree in his back yard, for now aimed both rear patio doors which exited to the shared porch. Cheryl Richardson had gone back in the house, and the pattern of lights turning off showed that she’d gone to bed.

He would complete his report in the morning.

His head had barely touched the pillow when his monitor beeped. Steve grumbled and trudged to his display to see what she was doing. The panel indicated movement, so he flipped on the view screen. The sliding door to the back yard was open. Cheryl stood in the gap, bundled in her housecoat. He turned the camera remotely, to watch the same thing that he did every night at this same time. Her fuzzy little dog made his way to a tree in the middle of the back yard, did his business, and hobbled back into the house.

Steve nearly groaned. The most exciting thing the woman had done in twenty-four hours was let the dog out.

When the door closed, he reached to aim the camera back at the house, and then he'd turn off the monitor. His finger had begun its downward path to press the button when the light on the motion detector flashed again. He froze. He couldn’t see what, but something in the yard had moved, and it wasn’t her dog.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website – http://www.gailsattler.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/gail.sattler.3

Facebook author page - https://www.facebook.com/Gail-Sattler-author-568988573496833/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Amazon.com - just type my name - Gail Sattler - for a list of all my books

Thank you, Gail, for sharing this new book with us. I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here are links to the book.

The Other Neighbor

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com