Synopsis, Page One

[Jude Hardin]

He’s not a cop. He’s not a private investigator, or a bounty hunter. The only rules he plays by are his own, and he doesn’t take American Express.

Meet Nicholas Colt: Pool hustler, bass angler, Runaway Recovery Agent. If all other avenues fail, and if you have cash, he’ll bring your kid home safely. Guaranteed.

He’s having a damn good day. Before sunrise, he catches and filets a few fish for breakfast. Later, he snags a thousand-dollar retainer from a desperate young woman named Leitha Ryan, whose fifteen-year-old sister Brittney, it seems, has run away from home. The siblings were orphaned at a young age, and Leitha is now Brittney’s legal guardian. Leitha doesn’t want the police involved, fearful Brittney will be sent back to foster care.

Colt figures to wrap the case tomorrow, in a few hours tops. He does a little research, but spends most of the day in bed with his girlfriend Juliet.

He’s weeks behind on his car payment, his home phone has been disconnected, and Juliet constantly gripes about his living quarters--a 1964 Airstream Safari travel trailer. He’s forty-five, living payday to precarious payday, but all-in-all life is good. Not bad for a Tuesday, anyway.

Rule #34 in Nicholas Colt’s Philosophy of Life: If you have a good Tuesday, Wednesday is going to be a bitch.

When a runaway girl has a forbidden boyfriend, she’s usually easy to locate. Find the boyfriend, find the girl.

Not this time...

Thoughts?

[DADavenport]

Like it! It would definately be a book I'd pick up and buy. Already want to know more...How'd he get in the business? Was it personal or a way to pay the Airstream bills? Why the complacency? There could be a lot of potential with this guy. Keep at it. Would love to read the rest on day.

[Jude Hardin]

Thanks, DA. Those are good questions. Perhaps I should address them with a sentence or two early on.

[carole gill]

love it, wish i wasn't paranoid about posting stuff.
1

[Jude Hardin]

Thanks, Carole. Jump on in and get your feet wet. We don't bite (well, not usually, and not hard enough to draw blood, LOL).

Really, you're among friends. We're all just writers, at one stage of the game or another, trying to find our way.

[Karen J. Laubenstein]

Send Colt to my book! And hurry up with the rest of this one -- you left us hanging by one fingernail! More! More!

[Jude Hardin]

Thanks, Karen. That's one of our goals, of course--to always leave the reader wanting more.

[Karen J. Laubenstein]

Too true. So now, the big question... is there more? Or is this as far as it goes for now?

[Jude Hardin]

I have the complete synopsis and the complete novel. Sorry, for editors' eyes only for now. :)

[Karyn J. Powers]

Okay, I like this stuff, but mixing it up with minors scares the heck out of me. Why runaways? They are hell to catch and the laws on physical contact with junveniles are different in every state of the union. Maybe it's just a future story line for this guy's good day/bad day philosophy, but he has to have a way to bag'em and tag'em with a get-out-of-jail-free card, or his court calendar would make "Dog, the Bounty Hunter's" Mexican nightmare seem like a Sandal's vacation.

[Jude Hardin]

You're right about all that, Karyn. His clients have to sign a contract giving him temporary custody rights. Still, he has to verbally coax the runaways to come along. He can't physically force them. He's good at making the alternative seem quite unattractive, though.

[Karyn J. Powers]

Ahhhh, that makes sense and I like the "free choice...NOT" option that is always out there.