Meet Duke

I've been inside Duke's head so much lately.  If you don't know Duke, let me fill you in...

Howard Ellington Noble, given the nickname Duke by his grandfather, is a private investigator.  Some people call him Hank, and that's okay with him, but he's Duke.  He's in his 50s and his hair is shot with gray.  He has an eye for the ladies, and they have an eye for him, but he's single and always has been.  He smokes.  He drinks. He drives nice cars.  He's loaded, partly because of an inheritance and partly because he does his job exceptionally well.  He's attractive and fit, even if he's not a young buck anymore.   

He was expected to take over the family business - Ellis Industries - when he completed his degree in business, but he stepped aside to start his private investigations.  His brother, Harry (or Harrison Farnsworth Noble), took over the business when their dad passed away.  He's okay with that, although sometimes his family isn't - even after all these years.

Basically, he's a good guy.  Basically, he's a law-abiding citizen.  Of course, he's willing to be a bad guy if the situation warrants it, and he's not afraid to break a law here or there if he needs to.  He has a healthy respect for police officers, treats people like he wants to be treated, and doesn't suffer fools.  

Intelligent, but not a brain.  Rich, but not a fop.  He'd rather eat at a diner than a 5-star restaurant.  He enjoys poker, but he's not a gambler.  

And he loves his mother, Bernice, even if she irritates him and makes him a little crazy from time to time. 

As an aside, Bernice is named after one of my own great-whatever grandmothers, so no, it's not misspelled. And it's pronounced Ber-niss in my head because that's how Mom pronounces it, but readers can pronounce it however they want in theirs.  I'm not picky.  No clue if the personality of the real Bernice is similar to the fictional one.  My Bernice died before I was born.  I don't think she'd be mad at the portrayal, though.  By the way, Bernice Noble named her sons, so that ought to give you some insight into her.  She didn't figure in RUMOR HAS IT, but she's pivotal to this new book.

The rest of Duke?  Well, you'll just have to read the book... soon to be books... and fill in the picture for yourself.  ;o)

Thursday This n That

Remember that Jon Lovitz character from SNL who always had a story about how he did whatever the other characters were talking about?  I think I've reached the point in my life where I am that character.  I mean, I'm 52 and I've been all over, doing all sorts of things, so yeah, I pretty much have a story for loads of situations.  And I'm my father's daughter, so I tell the stories.  The difference between me and Lovitz?  My stories are true.  :shrug:  

Yep, Dad was a talker.  He had a story for any situation and they were true.  And if he didn't have a story, he told a joke.  Dad's jokes... totally NSFW.  

So, I'm working full time and I'm still doing spreadsheets for the office.  This was busy spreadsheet week.  Eight spreadsheets.  Well, 7 spreadsheets came in Mon-Wed and those were worked into 15 other spreadsheets.  So, another 4-5 hrs worth of work.  Plus another single spreadsheet came in with 3 tabs that need to be worked into 6 total sheets.  I gave up last night and sent my time sheet in.  I'll do that last bunch tonight.  Woohoo.  No seriously.  It's good to be busy.  

Speaking of busy, Hubs has been deep cleaning the house and rearranging to make things tidy.  Not furniture.  Like closets and junk.  Well, he's moving furniture to clean under it, but he's putting it back where it was.  It's all good.  He moved all the extra pillows and blankets out of the closets, put them in their own bags, squeezed all the air out, and slapped labels on them.  Then he took a shelving unit and put all the bags on it in the storage closet.  It's genius.  And we now have scads of room in the closets.  I tell ya, Hubs is better at this than I ever was.  LOL

I've been searching for clothes online.  Shirts are easy.  I found some nice breathable polo shirts for like $15.50  each.  Huzzah.  And I raided Hubs' closet, so I'm good until I get new shirts.  Trying to find pants that I can wear to work that will be comfortable enough to wear all day, that won't cost both my legs to buy, isn't easy.  Between day-job and pay-job, I have the money.  I just hate spending more money on something than I think is necessary.  I may have to suck it up and spend more for pants.  Blerg.  The tightwad in me is squealing like a wee piglet.  

I'm wondering if I should change the name of this blog.  I'm not really writing much anymore.  Eh, that may change, so I'll leave it for now.

Okay, I got a late start today, so I guess I'd better get my buns a-movin'.  Have a great day wherever you are.  And drink plenty of fluids.  It's a scorcher out there.  Yuck.