Confessions of Julia George – Author.
I fell in love with him right from the start. I couldn’t help myself. He was so . . . I don’t know . . . wonderful! I’m referring to the hero of my award-winning cozy mystery novel, Galya Popoff and the Dead Souls. That was the venue that brought us together.
Alas! I’m the victim of a hopeless passion. Because he doesn’t even know I exist. And yet, he should know, because I created him. And, in a way, I am him. At least a part of him. His thoughts are my thoughts. His dreams, my dreams.
Here he is. My hero.
Tanned by the California sun and looking like he’s getting away with something. Which he usually is.
His name is Lance Steel. That was his idea. His real name is Pavel Popoff, but he wanted a name that wasn’t ridiculous. He’s an actor, you see, so it’s important. I suggested he use the name of the hunky, romantic ski instructor he played in that ever-so-popular TV show, Aspen! But he said he would rather forget that show because it was cancelled. And now he’s out of work. Or, as they say in Hollywood, between engagements.
Besides, Lance said, the name Brick Mason wasn’t as dashing as Lance Steel.
I agreed. I always agree with him. What a pushover!
It seems I just can’t resist those soulful hazel eyes with a mesmerizing ability to shift from golden brown to shady green on a whim of emotion. And don’t get me started on that rogue lock of chestnut hair that persists in flopping over his forehead and makes you long to smooth it back in place just to feel it run through your fingers. Sigh.
Is he tall, you ask? Oh yes. But not the towering-over-you kind of tall. The just right kind where you have to look up a bit to catch his eyes but not so much to feel small and insignificant.
Muscular without being bulky. Agile without being rangy.
And when he smiles . . . well . . . I’m not the only one charmed by that boyish grin.
No. I am not delusional.
You have to understand my obsession. I spent an entire year with Lance. I went everywhere with him. Every thought he had, I had. Every frustration he suffered, I suffered with him. Every dangerous situation he found himself in, I rescued him. And that included some very creepy nightmares where he almost . . . but that would be revealing too much. Suffice it to say, he needed me!
And then there was his overbearing, demanding mother, Professor Galya Popoff.
I got him out of trouble with his mother so many times I felt like a crisis intervention worker. Professor Galya Popoff teaches Russian Language and Literature at Lobo del Mar College. A charming little town on the California Coast. Let me tell you, Galya is a formidable woman. Stubborn, bossy, determined, but a soft touch underneath. Some of her students call her Mama Popoff. Others are terrified of her.
Well, Professor Popoff cast herself in the role of detective after witnessing the suspicious death of a fellow professor who fell, or was pushed, off the the-hundred-foot-high campanile on campus. The fact that he was free-climbing it in the dead of night – illegally, I might add – was irrelevant to Galya.
Also irrelevant was the fact that her son, Lance, did not want to play Watson to her Sherlock. He was badgered into it. Which nearly got him killed. Several times!
Women were another problem I had to deal with.
I had a harder time getting Lance out of trouble with women. You see, he can’t resist a pretty face or a sexy figure, and he’s so easily manipulated by tears and pouts and, well, just about anything a woman throws at him. Does he learn from his mistakes? Frankly, no, but he is aware that he’s making those mistakes at the time. It’s just that . . . well . . . he’s Lance.
There was Tanya, and Roxanne, and the sexy secretary at Argus Investments, and . . . Wait! I was the one who introduced him to all those women. To my credit, I also got him out of some pretty sticky situations with them. A couple of them were downright dangerous. Especially that time when he ended up naked by the pool.
Is he grateful? Like I said, he doesn’t even know I exist.
Whoops! I didn’t mean to add this photo. But here he is wearing nothing but a silly grin when the shotgun was pointed straight at him. Never let it be said that my hero lacks nerve.
I’ve done everything for him.
C’mon! I made him the charming, hapless star of a farcical, off-the-wall detective adventure. “Wacky but wonderful,” fans called it. And that led to him being cast in another successful TV series. So, he’s no longer between engagements.
I took him to some of the most beautiful and fun places along the California coast.
I gave him his favorite car. A red Corvette. Just so he could look cool.
And I was with him on those hair-raising hairpin turns as we swept along Highway One looking for clues and following suspects.
Like when we ended up at that posh wellness resort with the trendy little yurts where Galya got in trouble.
Lance had to save his mother from being carted off as a murder suspect. And don’t tell me I was the one who set her up. I may be the author, but I never would have made her do what she did in that yurt. It was purely a case of the character getting totally out of control.
Devoted. That’s what I am.
I even gave Lance a cute and clever little dog to help him solve the murder of the free-climbing professor. It wasn’t my fault that Kroshka stole the scene most of the time. Or that he was smarter than Lance when it came to nosing out clues. And I know Lance appreciated him because he took him everywhere and called him Brother Breadcrumb.
Do you think I should see someone about this obsession?
If not, you may be on the way to being in love with Lance yourself. If you are, you may want to spend more time with him. Check out the cozy comic mystery he’s starring in. Hope you enjoy it. And Lance, being an actor, knows how important reviews are. He would love for you to leave one.
Just click here to find him on Amazon – Galya Popoff and the Dead Souls.
Lance sends his thanks.
And if you’re interested in me – the author – you can find out all my secrets and more on my website.
