One Last Kiss

By Shirley Spain

To those who have experienced the joy and unconditional love of an animal companion, survived the heartache of saying goodbye, and continue to rejoice in the cherished memories.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU. Were it not for Peggy Beach—my dearest friend and an amazing editor—issuing me a “gnarly challenge” to write a memoir shortly after saying goodbye to Annie, I would have never attempted such a heart-wrenching feat.

And a gnarly challenge it surely turned out to be, for I never cried so hard, for so long, for so many days, as I had writing, rewriting, and tweaking this memoir.

Having said that, I am grateful for Peggy’s gnarly challenge not only as an exercise to hone my writing skills and delve into unchartered territory for me as an author, but for the therapy and closure it brought me.

SHIRLEY’S NOTE. What you are about to read is exceedingly personal. Something I’ve written for me but desire to share with you. I hope you accept it in the loving spirit in which it’s offered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shirley Spain
• Release date: Dec 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215624227

Shirley Spain

An animal lover, fitness instructor, and author of dark and chilling thrillers...Shirley strives for what she calls, "plausible realism" in her books and garners critical details from her "police ride along" experiences as well as educating herself by attending and graduating from the West Jordan Citizen's Police Academy and receiving training as a CERT member (Community Emergency Response Team). She is currently a West Jordan Police Department VIPS (Volunteer In Police Service).​When researching Ultimate Trust (book 2 in the Jewels Trust M.U.R.D.E.R. series) her antagonist built a bomb and consequently blew up a house. To ensure the scene was "plausible" she met with the fire chief and a SWAT arson investigator who helped her "build a better bomb" for her story!"Thinking up and plotting the dastardly deeds of demented killers is a challenge," Shirley says. "However the real fun begins when figuring out how my heroine--and her studly hero, of course--will turn the tables, outsmart the twisted murderer, and survive."In real life, Shirley has been a victim of human predators more than once, yet lives by the motto: No matter what horrible circumstance life hurls at you, choose to survive and become stronger because of it. She uses that maxim as a guide when writing her novels.Shirley often wrangles friends into "role playing" when researching scenes and admits she "experiments" on herself and has done so with some of the tools her bad guys use, including duct tape, a variety of rope, and handcuffs. She even locked herself in the trunk of her car and attempted to escape. Hmmm. Knowing this, you may wonder how many of the stunts described in her books she tried on herself ... but she'll never tell!

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One Last Kiss

Copyright © 2014 Shirley Spain

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All Rights Reserved

This book is a work of fiction.

The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

Dedication

To those who have experienced the joy and unconditional love of an animal companion, survived the heartache of saying goodbye, and continue to rejoice in the cherished memories.

A Special Thank You

Were it not for Peggy Beach—my dearest friend and an amazing editor—issuing me a gnarly challenge to write a memoir shortly after saying goodbye to Annie, I would have never attempted such a heart-wrenching feat.

And a gnarly challenge it surely turned out to be, for I never cried so hard, for so long, for so many days, as I had writing, rewriting, and tweaking this memoir.

Having said that, I am grateful for Peggy’s gnarly challenge not only as an exercise to hone my writing skills and delve into unchartered territory for me as an author, but for the therapy and closure it brought me.

Shirley’s Note

What you are about to read is exceedingly personal. Something I’ve written for me but desire to share with you. I hope you accept it in the loving spirit in which it’s offered.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.

Love leaves a memory no one can steal.

—From a tombstone in Ireland

One Last Kiss

The weight of the long-handled pointed shovel is heavier than I ever remember. As are my feet. The agony of each step as I trudge toward the designated site is almost more than I can bear. Without control I quiver inside and out. Sorrow is eating me alive.