First Cut Contest: Mad Man

The last time she was alone in a room with a man and had pulled her weapon, she'd shot that man to death. That was five years ago, but it seemed like yesterday...Most cops retire without ever firing their gun in the line of duty. She thought that would be her story. She already had the blood of one man on her hands. This was different, she told herself...Watch the hands. The hands could get you killed.

In Dianne Emley's crime thriller, The First Cut, trouble starts for Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining when she encounters T.B. Mann (her daughter's nickname for "the bad man") in one of Pasadena's early 20th century two-story colonial mansions. The address where the fictional incident takes place doesn't exist, but I thought I'd use this home as the example because it's used to being photographed. It's not the home of a Bad Man but of a Mad Man. I have it on good authority that AMC's Mad Men uses this as the exterior for the home of their hero, Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm).

As you may recall, we've been running a contest on this here blog. You can click on the label "Emley" below and see all the related posts. Midnight tonight is the deadline for getting your entry to me via email (the link is on the upper left side of the blog). Three winners will be randomly selected from all the correct entries, and those winners will each receive a free copy of Cut to the Quick, the second book in Dianne Emley's Nan Vining thrillogy! (Which goes on sale today, by the way.)

I've received only one request for a photo of location in The First Cut, but the offer's still open. If you want me to post a shot of a Pasadena location mentioned in The First Cut, send your request in an email or in the comments, and please mention the page number.

Meanwhile, the sun has returned. So, to fulfill the first request, I'm off to pool-crash.