Dot in the Weeds

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Much beloved and fan favorite Dot Baverstock is back in this fourth installment of The Em Suite—but not in a way you'd ever expect. Dot and her son Waverly have a deep, dark secret they've been keeping for years. When Dot suffers a traumatic fall, they make the difficult and daring decision to expose themselves to their extended family.

 Waverly has orders to report for Air National Guard duty which would leave Dot, seriously injured, on her own or in the care of strangers. Em and Eve, with their son, Liam rush out to the Palm Springs desert to the rescue. Along for the ride is Em's ex and Liam's aunt, Prairie Fire Vaughn.

But, there's something else...

Dot and Waverly's secret—the "Big Mystery" and the true reason the family is needed—is revealed soon after their arrival. It appears far more will be needed from them than caretaking, while also putting them in peril. There's no question. They love Dot. They'll do anything for her—even if it means breaking the law.

Regrettably, Dot's fall reignites an antagonistic foe, prompting memories of her late partner, Ivey, and the root of the "Big Mystery," taking her back to the early 1970s to when they first met. In mourning for her best friend and long-time infatuation, Fiona, Prairie is on bereavement leave from her job as a major league baseball physical trainer. While Em and Eve deal with the "Big Mystery," Prairie takes on the role of primary caretaker to Dot for her physical care, and to orphaned Liam as familial continuity. Prairie and Dot haven't seen each other in twenty years, not since Dot first found her to rehabilitate Em after a life-altering car crash. Their friendship grows as they spend day after day confined to Dot's upstairs bedroom.

Meanwhile, secluded on the other side of the property, lovers Em and Eve dutifully tend to Dot and Waverley's problem. They're also still adapting to being parents. Two weeks earlier, upon her untimely death, Fiona left her not-quite-three-year-old son to Em to raise as her own. Em, too, is mourning Fiona, her long-time soul mate. No one but Em truly understands why their bond was so deep. If she has her way, they never will. 

Love, tragedy, humor, heartbreak; adventure, mystery, and danger all deliciously intertwine in this fun, yet heart-tugging installment of The Em Suite. 

 Though Dot in the Weeds is part of a series, it is also a story that also firmly stands on its own.

The Em Suite

About the author

Djuna Shellam

I write novels, poetry, music and lyrics, and non-fiction. I love writing. I've been writing in some form or another since around the age of ten. I'm particularly fond of the novel. I love the process, and the opportunity to create a fictional tale from nothing but what's knocking around in my head.
 
My first novel began as a short story I started while living in England in the mid-1970s. It then became a screenplay which I finished in 1978. It took another 16 or so years before I managed to finish my first book which was so large I had to ultimately split it into two. The finished novel hardly resembled the short story, but it's where I began. 

I've written four non-fiction books that are now out of print, six novels, and am at work on two others. With each book I like to stretch myself, to see if I can tell a story in a different way.

I love the idea of the series. I become so attached to my characters, I don't want to lose them when each book is finished; so, I let them live on in a series.

My influences began with Victoria Holt whose books I devoured as a youngster. Then, Anne Rice, Tom Clancy, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jane Rule, and Armistead Maupin. Yes, an incompatible group, but I like to think of them as my teachers. I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite book of all time which is House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. I read it in high school (and I still have it), and I believe, still, to this day, it continues to fuel my creative aspirations.

​​​​​​​In addition to writing novels, I now produce a weekly podcast, The Djuna Shellam Podcast, which is available at nearly every podcast venue.