What would we do without our smartphone's camera when we need a quick photo to save the moment for later celebration? (along with shameless promotion of an upcoming novel). But there is it. 100,000 and counting. Right now, the plan is to write six more sections of the last chapter. Then proof read and send it to a friends for editing. The goal is to have it ready for Spring Break and Summer Vacation Travel.

Till then, how about two more looks behind the scenes with an excerpt from today's writing and the tentative music playlist for the novel. First, the excerpt … Léa and Tara just made a daring escape from the Empire Builder, an Amtrak Superliner. A pack of 'sunglasses people' (bad guys) hopped the train looking for our two super spies. After their escape, they found the perfect spot in Minneapolis to re group after jumping from under the moving train. A coffee shop appropriately called: SPYHOUSE COFFEE!

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(legal notice: the following is from the upcoming Novel: Castle in the Mountains by TD Cochran and is protected by copyright).

PLAYLIST:
“Warning Sign” - Scars On 45 - Scars On 45
~ ~ ~
Light rain began to fall as Léa and Tara made their way to one of the tables by a big window. Normally, the two young spies wanted a table near the back and away from windows. But the coffee shop was clearly a popular place in town and most of the tables were taken.

After a few moments of listening to the various conversations around them, Léa reached for her backpack and the zipper holding her stash of Bailey’s mini bottles. After a few moments, she withdrew her hand and looked down at her black cup of coffee.

“Back on the train, if I hadn’t tossed my empty into the trash, the ‘sunglasses people’ probably would have never come through that door,” she said.

Tara took a sip of her own cup of black coffee and looked at her best friend closely. It wasn’t like Léa to second guess herself and that worried Tara. She sat in silence until her best friend looked up from her cup of coffee.

“Don’t even fucking think about starting to second guess yourself. You didn’t blow our cover by tossing an empty in the trash,” said Tara.

“But how did they even know I like Bailey’s? asked Léa.

“Look. We know Perry Drilling has The Castle completely wired. Chances are he read your file months ago and made sure all of his goons know you like Bailey’s and I like dark beer,” said Tara.

Léa nodded, sipped some coffee and turned to look out the window. She sipped her coffee a few more times before turning back to Tara.

“Here it comes,” said Tara under her breath.

Léa closed here eyes as her head slightly snapped from side to side. When she opened her eyes, she was smiling. The same look of confidence that Tara recognized had returned to her friends eyes.

“So predictable,” said Tara.

“Hopefully not too predictable,” smiled Léa.

“Just to me,” said Tara.

“You’re right. People toss empties away hundreds of thousands of times each day. And you’re right about second guessing. It’s probably fatal in this business. Thanks,” said Léa.

“Any time,” said Tara.

“That being said. None of this feels right,” said Léa.

“Yeah. It feels pretty weird. But this is not a perfect business. Things hardly ever go smooth and by the numbers,” said Tara.

“They seem to know what we’re going to do, long before we do it,” said Léa.

“One of the things you learn in Spy School is to trust how things feel. If things don’t feel right, chances are, you’re in serious trouble,” said Tara.

“When things don’t feel right, they probably aren’t,” said Léa.

“It’s a warning sign,” said Tara.

“Well things certainly don’t feel right to me,” said Léa.

“Me too,” said Tara.

“So how do we beat bad guys who seem to know your every move, long before you make it?” asked Léa.

“They do seem to know way to fucking much about us, what we’re doing and where we’re going,” agreed Tara.

Léa turned away from Tara and stared out the window. Without looking, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a mini bottle of Bailey’s. She smiled at Tara as she dumped it into her coffee.

“One thing’s for sure. Second guessing will get us killed for sure,” said Léa.

“That it will,” said Tara.

“But sill, and I’m not being a ‘Doubting Debbie’ here, but something still really feels wrong. Like we’re being pulled and pushed in a direction Perry Drillings wants us going in,” said Léa.

“It does feel like that,” agreed Tara.

“It feels like we’re heading into real trouble. Fatal trouble,” said Léa.

After a few moments, Tara spoke up.

“You hear the song that’s playing?” she asked.

Léa listened carefully for a few minutes.

“I never knew a warning sign could hide and fade.” sang Aimee Driver from Scars on 45.

“Warning signs. How appropriate,” said Léa.

“Listen a bit more,” smiled Tara.

Léa looked up to see the warmth her best friend hardly ever showed. Tara’s hard, black eyes were warm. Her full smile was genuine. It was the best friend no one ever saw.

“I will rescue you, if you rescue me. There's a hole inside that they never see,” sang Danny Bemrose.

“No matter what happens, you and I will be there for each other. It could get ugly for us. But that’s the risk we take,” said Tara.

“We’ve got that best friends advantage,” said Léa.

“Drink up. We’ve gotta get tickets for the next train west,” said Tara.

On her way out the door, Léa suddenly turned back to the table, grabbed the empty mini bottles and stuffed them into her backpack. Tara looked at her best friend.

“I’m not second guessing. But I don’t want to make it easier for them either,” smiled Léa.
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You may have noticed the section began with a Playlist entry. Music is almost always playing while I'm writing. To help set the mood while reading, I've been including some of the music I'm listening to while writing. Most is available on iTunes and I'd guess Amazon. It'll be included in the actual eBook and print copy. Maybe this will help you get in the mood for the upcoming release of: CASTLE IN THE MOUNTAINS!
TARA'S PLAYLIST:
“Waking UP” - Oblivion - M83
“Science” - Miracles - Two Steps From Hell
“Sun Gazer” - Miracles - Two Steps From Hell
“Rain” - Reach for Glory - Blackmill
“Blizzard” - Skyworld - Two Steps From Hell
“Jupiter” - Voices in My Head - Celldweller
“Fearless” - Sun - Thomas Bergersen
“Piano Prelude” - The Spy Who Came In from the Cold - Sol Kaplan
“Breathe” - SkyWorld - Two Steps From Hell
“Aura” - Illusions - Thomas Bergersen
“The Ascent ” - Pulse of Life - Futureworld Music
“From Zero to Galactic Hero” - Other Worlds - Really Slow Motion & Instrumental Core
“Main Title” - Where Eagles Dare Soundtrack - Ron Goodwin
“Journey Through the Castle Part 1” - Where Eagles Dare Soundtrack - Ron Goodwin
“Run Boy Run (Instrumental)” - Run Boy Run - EP - Woodkid
“Overnight Sleeper” - Natural Elements - Acoustic Alchemy
“Warning Sign” - Scars On 45 - Scars On 45
“Corso” - The Ninth Gate (Soundtrack) - Wojceich Kilar
“No Light, No Light” - Ceremonials - Florence + The Machine
“Into Darkness” - Into Darkness - Single- Thomas Bergersen
“Scars” - Allegiant Soundtrack- Tove Lo