TWINKLE WINKLEMAN FINDS HERSELF IN A DANGEROUS, LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION, AND LOVE FORCES HER TO CONFRONT THE NEAR-IMPOSSIBLE

An e-original short story featuring a sneak peek of the next J. P. Beaumont novel, Den of Iniquity.

A skilled mechanic and certified spitfire, Twinkle Winkleman is as hard as nails; she has to be with a name like hers. Twinkle learned everything there is to know about cars from her time in her daddy’s garage in Anchorage, and when her father dies, she gains ownership of the shop and Maude, her dad’s prized 1973 International Harvester Travelall.

Life has not been kind to Twinkle: she grew up without her mother, her daddy’s gone, her ex-husband betrayed her, and her son Tad was killed after a trip to Seattle to handle some “unfinished business.” Right now, the only things Twinkle truly cares for are her garage, Maude, and Cindy—her daughter-in-law and Tad’s widow.

One evening, Cindy and her friend, Leslie, have a girls’ night out at the local karaoke bar. Even though neither Twinkle nor Cindy are fans of Leslie’s boyfriend, James, Twinkle is happy to see her daughter-in-law enjoying her freedom and a night on the town. That is until she wakes up in the middle of the night and discovers Cindy hasn’t come home. Even more concerning, she isn’t picking up her phone.

What follows is a mother-in-law’s desperate and bold attempt to find her daughter-in-law—even if it means leading the dangerous search on her own, with a little help from J. P. Beaumont. As an Alaskan Winter rears its head, Twinkle is up against the clock: will she be able to save the person that means the most to her?

When I sent J.P. Beaumont to Alaska in the dead of winter in Nothing to Lose, it soon became apparent that, as someone with virtually no experience with snowy weather driving, he needed some assistance. Enter Twinkle Winkleman.

Twink’s name came into my head first, reminding me of Johnny Cash’s Boy Named Sue. Obviously she’d have to be one tough cookie. Next, since she ran a solo wintertime car service, what kind of vehicle would she drive?

Having just watched an episode of the TV show Wheeler Dealers in which the mechanics brought a 1973 International Harvester Travelall back to life, I immediately knew the answer to that question.

Twink and her Travelall were supposed to be in the book for only a single day—Beau’s stay day in Anchorage. Nope, that didn’t happen. She was one of those characters that simply refused to go away. Not only did she stay in the book until the crashing climax, she absolutely stole the show. My readers loved her.

They begged me for another Twinkle Winkleman book, but my knowledge of Alaska is so thin that I didn’t think I could write a whole novel. After thinking it over for a while, I figured I could at least manage a novella.

And that’s what Girls’ Night Out is, another wintertime adventure with Twink and her Travelall.

Enjoy.