I've decided to publish the first 10% of each of the stories in the Cuffed series here as an example of the work. Echelon Press has contracted to bring out six books in this series, each containing two stories. The first three books are out now and are available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and smashwords. The fourth book is due out on July 15th, 2012.

This first story tells how Bill Howe discovered his abiding fear of heights. Names, of course, have been changed to protect the ridiculous.

Out on a Beam (Cuffed, Book One)

By Bill Howe and Suzanne Rorhus

When people are scared, they call the cops. Burglar in the bedroom? Dial 9-1-1. Rabid dog ready to bite? Call 9-1-1 again. Involved in a horrible car crash, then the other driver punches your nose, takes your wallet, and steals your car? Yep, 9-1-1 once more.

Who is a cop supposed to call when she’s afraid? 9-1-1?

No way. An officer’s job is to race to the rescue in her patrol car with lights flashing and sirens blaring, then fight the criminals with courage and a nightstick. She can never show fear or the bad guys will attack and the other officers will laugh.

When Officer Kim Brunetti applied for a job as a police officer, the interviewer asked if she was afraid of guns, of huge criminals who wanted to fight dirty, or even of driving fast. The interviewer didn’t ask if she was scared of spiders, small dogs that bite ankles, or snakes. As it happened, almost every officer in Brunetti’s department was afraid of snakes, except her.

Sometimes a person doesn’t know what she’s afraid of until she meets it. Turned out Officer Brunetti was afraid of high places. Who knew? Tonight, though, Officer Brunetti was more afraid of getting her uniform dirty than anything else. She'd already changed her uniform three times, and she was hoping her fourth uniform would last the rest of her shift.