Rainbow Snippets: Entering the vault

Happy Saturday! This afternoon, I get to go hear my older kid play some jazz! After several years of auditioning, he finally made it into the All County Jazz Band. He’s having a blast, and the conductor is amazing. I can’t wait to see the concert.

For today’s snippet, I’m going back in time to my first novel, Lower Education. The reason is that I’m giving away a copy later this week as part of a virtual egg hunt. Be sure to join the event on Facebook for an introduction to some amazing indie authors!

Here, we get a glimpse of our…uh…”hero,” Phin. His methods (and his ethics) often leave a bit to be desired.

Before leaving his room, [Phin] glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He smoothed his sandy blond hair, which he’d had cut and styled for the occasion, and gave himself a cheeky wink and a smirk. Surely he wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone to kiss up to. Or something more. That usually works better, he thought. There was always someone willing to provide dirt on a coworker, even in a school, for the right price.

Synopsis:

Phin Patterson is an educational consultant dissatisfied with his job and his life.  On a mission to complete one last assignment before escaping his unfulfilling career and figure out what he wants, he accepts a commission from Donald Murdock at the New York State Education Department.  He’s sent to evaluate a tiny school in New York’s Southern Tier, not far from the town where he grew up.  Now his only goal is to get in, do his job, and get out before anyone from his past remembers him.

That turns out to be easier said than done.  Dani Sloane, the sharp-witted administrative assistant to the principal, learns the truth about why Phin is really there.  With the help of her friends, she sets out to unmask him and force the local board of education to stop the plans that could ruin their school.  Discovering that her sometime-lover is an old business associate of Phin’s only complicates both the situation and their relationship.

Meanwhile, Phin, who has committed himself to keeping his emotional distance, can’t resist the charm of the town and its residents—especially the school psychologist, who turns out to be an old friend he hasn’t seen in over twenty years.  While Dani works to take him down and save her school, Phin wrestles with learning how to do the right thing, including telling the truth to the man with whom he’s already falling in love.

Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!