Good Tuesday morning! Today on Reade and Write I welcome Iris Chacon, another member of Mystery Authors International. You may remember recently I featured another MAI author, Nicole Fitton (you can read that post here). Iris is here to talk about her book Duby’s Doctor.
Take it away, Iris!
When he can steal time away from his undercover assignment (as an arms dealer’s bodyguard), Agent Yves Dubreau jogs with all the other muscular Coconut Grove athletes. He enjoys the morning tai chi group in Peacock Park, and he quietly remains on the fringes of the Grove’s art scene — until he blows his cover and gets himself murdered. When resuscitated, he is a scarred, nameless giant with no memories, no language, and only his drawings with which to communicate. Of course, he still has the same deadly enemies he had in his former life; he just doesn’t know it. Neither does naive, lady surgeon, Dr. Mitchell Oberon. Soon, Duby’s unscrupulous supervisor forces the unsuspecting Mitchell to shelter this recovering “John Doe” in her home and begin teaching him how to live again. Both Duby and Dr. Oberon will learn a lot about living— they just may not be living long. A murderous arms dealer will soon be stalking them.
Tell us about the inspiration for the book.
Duby’s story was inspired by the landscapes, art culture, elaborate mansions, and live-aboard sailboats of Coconut Grove. For years I passed through the magical Grove community on my way to work in the high-rise offices of Miami. The unique aura and ambiance of the Grove always launched my imagination into a happy stratosphere of quirky characters and exotic locations. Sometimes the girls in my carpool would simply stop in the Grove and watch the panoply of beautiful people (mostly male) passing by. Thus, a secret agent, who lived on a boat and worked undercover in an arms dealer’s mansion, was born. And if he lived in Coconut Grove, he had to be an artsy type, so Agent Yves Dubreau, a/k/a Duby, became a talented sketcher and painter.
Got an excerpt you can share with us?
Sure. Here’s the context: Mitchell picks up John/Jean from his maintenance job at St. Luke’s Daycare.
“He’ll be right out,” the nun said. “He’s all right. We were just cleaning him up. It looked worse than it is. The bleeding seems to have stopped—”
“Bleeding?”
“—and the paramedics said—”
“Paramedics?”
“—they don’t think Mister Kavanaugh’s ribs are broken, just bruised—”
“Who?”
“—and the police said, since nobody seems to want to press charges, — ”
“Police?”
“—that we can just forget about it. Of course, Jean had to be punished for hitting—”
“Hitting?”
“—so he had to run laps. And that started the nosebleed again. But everything’s all right now. Here he is.”
Jean limped out of the back room, holding a bloodied washcloth against his nose.
Sister Elizabeth sighed. “It’s been an exciting day.”
Mitchell studied Jean from head to toe, incredulous. She pointed at his swollen left knee. “You ran on concrete? And hitting? You were hitting! The children?”
“Oh, dear, no!” said Sister Elizabeth. “He was hitting Mister Kavanaugh.”
Mitchell stared at Sister Elizabeth and back at Jean. “You ran on concrete and you hit Mister Kavanaugh? Who is Mister Kavanaugh?”
“Debbie’s father,” answered Sister Elizabeth.
Mitchell was looking at Jean. “Excuse me, Sister, but unless Kavanaugh cut his tongue out, I’d like to hear Johnny answer something. John, why did you hit Debbie’s father?”
Jean pulled the washcloth away from his face to say, “He hits Debbie.”
After a pause, Mitchell muttered, “I told you never to run on the concrete.”
Ooh, sounds good. Thanks for visiting today, Iris, and best wishes with Duby’s Doctor!
Iris’ bio:
Iris Chacon has written for radio, television, motion pictures, and magazines for more than 30 years. She has taught writing-related courses at Christian schools from grade 5 through college, and she has worked as a musician. Duby’s Doctor is her fifth novel, and it carries on the Chacon tradition of good, clean fun, mystery, humor, romance, and a “sunshine state of mind.” Iris hails from the Sunshine State, Florida, where her ancestors have lived since Florida was a Spanish colony, before the United States existed. She is working on her next novel, which incorporates many of the adventures she has enjoyed in the American Southwest.
And here’s where you can find Iris online:
Website: https://www.authoririschacon.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoririschacon
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/IrisChacon1371
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2kmLxAq
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8551298.Iris_Chacon
Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/guatemom578
Thanks for visiting Reade and Write, Iris!
Until next time,
Amy
Reade and Write 