At thirty-three, Tally Wainwright has it all – a loving, successful husband, two great kids, supportive friends, and a house in suburbia heaven. But after eight years of marriage and motherhood, Tally’s ideal life no longer seems quite so perfect. Her writing career has never taken off, and the housewife-life of SUVs and PTA meetings bores her.

When a spree of robberies in her neighborhood and a chance encounter with her arch enemy, Cee Cee Hays, spark her curiosity, Tally knows she has discovered the key to igniting her defunct writing career and her boring life. And if she wreaks a little revenge in the process...well, so be it!

With the reluctant support of her two best friends, Tally sets out to solve the mystery of the Sterling Heights’ robberies and put an end to a ten-year rivalry with her husband’s ex-flame once and for all. But when her plans run amok and Tally finds herself implicated in the robberies, she faces the biggest challenge of her life. Proving to her family, her friends, and herself, that she’s more than just a little wife and mother.

HOUSEWIFE ON THE EDGE is a story about friends and enemies, love and loss, betrayal and forgiveness. And most of all, it’s about learning to appreciate what’s right in front of you.

Excerpt from Housewife on the Edge

     “I’m never drinking another rum punch as long as I live!” Jules wails.
     We’re all piling into my SUV when Cee Cee’s black Mercedes whizzes by and leaves us in the cloud of her contaminated dust.  “That b-i-t-c-h!” I say.  “That slimy piece of s-h—”
     “Our kids can spell, Tal,” Reese reminds me.  “They’re in first grade.”
      In the rearview mirror, I see Jake’s lips moving as he sounds out the word I’ve just spelled.  “Mom, what’s a—”
      “Never mind,” I interrupt him.  Once kids learn to spell, how are grown-ups supposed to communicate?  I climb into the driver’s seat and slam the door.
      “I knew this sarong made me look fat,” Jules cries from the backseat.  “That’s why I specifically asked you guys that question when I got in the car!”
     While Reese and Jules buckle the younger kids into their seatbelts, I lean my head against the steering wheel and try to calm my racing heart.  It’s no use.  The fire in the pit of my stomach refuses to abate, and my hands shake until I squeeze them around the steering wheel.  Reese finally joins me in the front seat.  “Why do I let her get to me like this?” I ask.
  Reese just shakes her head.
      “Mommy?” Jake says from the back seat.  “Why was that lady so mad?”
      “It doesn’t matter, sweetie.”  I give him a tight smile as I pull out of the parking lot.  “Mommy’s going to take care of that mean lady.  Don’t you worry about a thing.”  I turn to Reese.  “What was I supposed to do?  Not date Rich because he dated her first?”
     “Of course not,” Reese says.  “Rich is your soul mate.  I’ve never known a stronger couple.  You and Cee Cee are never going to be friends, but you should try not to be enemies.”
     “For everyone’s sake,” Jules calls from the back.
     I open my mouth then slam it shut again.  Flipping down the television screen attached to the ceiling, I turn on the Ice Age DVD to drown out our voices from the kids, and Jules’s whining in the back.
     “I just don’t understand how you can be so cordial to her after all she’s done to me,” I say.  “It really hurts, Reese.”
     Reese rolls her eyes.  “Look, Tal, I’m not on her side.  You know that.  But Cee Cee is a big part of this town, and a big part of Sterling Heights, and I’d rather not be on her bad side.  I know you hate her, but a lot of people around here really like her.”
     “Hey up there, I need to borrow your South Beach Diet book,” Jules calls over the cartoon music.
     I ignore Jules.  “That’s c-r-a-p,” I spell, before I realize what I’m doing.  “People don’t like Cee Cee.  They’re scared of her and intimidated by her money.  I’m not, and I never have been.”
     Reese smiles.  “I know.  Don’t forget I was your roommate when you accused her of stealing Mindy Lu Petticrew’s necklace.”
     My lips tighten and my stomach cramp intensifies.  “Cee Cee stole that necklace.  I saw her coming out of Mindy Lu’s room, and the next day it showed up missing.”
     “You’ve got more balls then a gym full of basketball players, Tal.  You always have.  But sometimes you need to think about the consequences of your words before you open your mouth.”
     “Consequences or not, I told the truth, and I’m not sorry.”
      “Which is why — ten years later — you’re miserable every time you and Cee Cee are in the same room.”
     Jules sticks her head under the TV screen and into the front seat.  “Are y’all talking about how fat I am?”
     “Oh, shut up, Jules!” I say.  “You’re not fat.  Cee Cee is a horrible, horrible person.  The worst.  She will s-h-i-t on you every time she gets the chance.  She’s rude to me, she’s rude to my friends, she flirts with my husband, and now she’s made my child cry.”  The burn in my stomach flares to an all out blaze.  “Well, I’m not going to take it anymore.  I know I saw her coming out of Mindy Lu’s room ten years ago, and I know I saw her at Marjorie’s new house on Monday.  I’m going to prove once and for all that that b-i--”  I clear my throat.  “That that you-know-what doesn’t hurt one more person I love.”
     Jules gasps and bangs her head on the television screen.  “What are you going to do?”
     “Whatever it takes.”  I step on the gas, cross Woodway, and take us out of silver spoon land and back to the world of plastic forks.
In my periphery, I see Jules and Reese exchange a look. 
     “What about Rich?” Reese asks.
     “What about him?”
     “He’s not going to like this, Tal.”  She shakes her head.
     “He’s not going to know.”  I narrow my eyes at her.  “Now, I may need some help.”
     “Oh, no, Tally!” Jules says immediately.  “I’m not getting involved in some hair-brained revenge scheme against Cee Cee Hays.  That’s a death sentence for the country club.  A death sentence.”
     At least she’s honest, I think to myself.  “Fine.” 
     I look at Reese who is studying me with a look of concern.  “Why are you doing this?  You know what will happen if you accuse her of something and then you can’t prove it.  The same thing that happened last time.”
     I swallow back bile as the rum punch turns over in my stomach.  “I can handle it.”
     “Can you?  Because I’m not sure I can.”
     “I don’t expect you to get involved,” I tell her.  “I’ll do it myself.  I’m looking forward to it really.  It’s ten years coming.”  I take a deep breath, the plan already formulating in my mind.  As I pull in front of her house to drop her and the kids off, I say, “Remember what you told me on Monday when we were running?  That I should write what I know?”   
      She hesitates, her fingers clenched around the door handle.  “Yeah?”
      “I’m going to solve the Sterling Heights crime of the century, then I’m going to write my award winning screen play about it.  Cee Cee Hays will have a starring role.  She’s hurt me, my friends, and my family for the last time.”