Marina Neff and her BFF by Laura Alden

Hello, folks! Marina Neff here, and there’s something I need to tell you: I hate boring. I also hate average, and I really hate everyday run-of-the-mill life. It’s…well, boring, and to me, boring is about the worst thing in the world.

My best friend, Beth Kennedy, thinks I’m nuts. She says daily life has enough excitement in it for her, thanks very much, without adding any unnecessary drama. Best friend or no, I think she’s the one who’s nuts.

I mean, what’s so exciting about owning a children’s bookstore, which is what she does. What’s so exciting about being secretary of the PTA, which is what she also does. And while I’m a mom myself, four times over, and I love my kids more than chocolate on chocolate, raising them isn’t what you’d call exciting. Rewarding and interesting, yes.

Exciting? Not so much.

This is why I tend to push Beth into doing things she’d never do otherwise. Take the other day, for instance. I’ve been trying to get Beth out of her boring old rut, so I kidnapped her from her store – she has staff to cover for her, so that’s no problem – and took her to one of those laser tag places. After I zapped her a few times, she got the hang of it faster than I would have guessed.

And then there was the time I got us lost when we were supposed to be finding a U-pick strawberry place. I still say we had a better time pushing my van out of that muddy trail than kneeling in the dirt picking berries all day. If you want fresh, that’s what farmer’s markets are for, right?

But the most exciting times of all are when we help track down killers. Nothing like it, not even close. We’ve done it three times now, and with any luck we’ll do it a fourth time. Or even a fifth!

Now, to get Beth out of those boring old clothes and into something fun…

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Thanks to Penguin, I have one (1) copy of CURSE OF THE PTA to give away. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. Contest ends April 7; US entries only per publisher’s request.

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You can read more about Marina in Curse of the PTA, the fourth book in the “PTA” mystery series. The first book in the series is Murder at the PTA.

Meet the author
Laura Alden grew up in Michigan and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in the 80’s with a (mostly unused) Bachelor of Science degree in geology. Currently, Laura and her husband share their house with two very strange cats. When Laura isn’t writing, she’s working at her day job, reading, yanking weeds out of her garden, or doing some variety of skiing. Laura’s fourth book, Curse of the PTA, was released in April 2013. Her debut novel, “Murder at the PTA” was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel 2010.

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.