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| Simon with Max, circa 1981 |
Simon Wood
is the USA Today bestselling author of a dozen thrillers and mysteries. Originally from
the UK, he resides in California with his American wife, Julie, a longhaired
dachshund, six cats, five chickens, a few dozen tropical fish and several
thousand bees. Learn more about Simon and his books at his website.
Christmas
with Max
I suppose my fondest Christmas memory was my first
Christmas with my longhaired dachshund Max. It was 1981. I was thirteen, and it
was his first Christmas. As someone new to this Christmas thing, he was quite
excited to see the tree go up and the house get decorated.
However, the week before Christmas, he didn’t cover
himself in glory. My mum had finished baking a Christmas fruitcake. She was
letting it cool on the kitchen table so she could add marzipan and icing later.
I wandered into the kitchen at some point to find this eight-month-old
dachshund puppy had managed to hop onto a chair, then climb onto the table, and
was now chowing down on the cake. This cake, which was still warm, was easily 5
lbs. or so and he was about 3 lbs. into it. He stopped eating, stared at me and wagged his tail guiltily.
I called out to my mum with the news. She told me not to tell tales (somewhat
of a thing for me) but I said no, no, scout’s honor. My mum came out to see the
carnage. I thought, along with Max, that he was going to get a walloping, but
my mum said his punishment would come in about 6-8 hours when nature had taken
its course.
Max made up for his indiscretion on Christmas
morning. I guess our excitement of opening presents infected Max. As we tore
the wrapping off our gifts, Max joined in. We stopped unwrapping our presents
and let Max do it for us. If we showed him the corner where to start, he would
carefully strip the paper off. We might not have had any Christmas cake in 1981,
but that dog turned Christmas morning into a joyous occasion.
Max is long gone, but the memory of that morning has
never left me.
Half-Inched
An Aidy Westlake Mystery, Book
1.5
Christmas has gone sideways for racecar driver, Aidy
Westlake. Aidy’s grandfather, Steve, was just putting the finishing touches on
a classic Ford GT40 he was restoring for a British millionaire when it was
stolen from his workshop. They quickly establish that the supercar was stolen
to order and is in now in Moldova in the hands of the notorious gangster,
Lupul. There’s a wrinkle. The police in Moldova don’t care. The theft of a rich
man’s toy doesn’t rank high on their priorities. The client’s ultimatum is simple—cover
his one million pound loss or recover the car by Christmas Day. With the threat
of financial ruin hanging over his grandfather’s head, Aidy’s crew has only one
option—steal the car back.
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