(excerpt from the book “When the Whistle Blew”)

Emma and Abby stared at each other. For a moment they were sure they could read each other’s mind. Gretchen Branch had a gun.

Emma Deen is excited when she lands the job of business office manager on staff at Colonial Acres Nursing Home. It isn’t long, however, until her excitement turns to worry, and then to fear as she wades through the paperwork left by her predecessor and realizes there are serious inconsistencies in the handling of residents’ finances.

Abby Pepper, the director of nursing and Emma’s good friend, tries to help Emma get answers to the disappearance of the residents’ money and possessions. However, Abby is quickly fired on trumped up charges. As the facility administrator, Gretchen Branch, applies pressure trying to coerce Emma into becoming a part of the illegal activities in which Gretchen is deeply involved, the bookkeeper’s worry turns to terror. Emma’s only recourse is to become a whistleblower on the illegal activities of her boss.

Now the only way to regain her reputation is to take her case to court and prove the deceptive practices going on at the home and the abuse she took there. After three years, the trial comes to a surprising ending.

Meet the Author

Mari was born in northern Indiana and was the only daughter of 6 children. She met her husband as a blind date, proposed marriage after only a month and celebrated their 32 years together last April 2010. She and husband Greg have a son , Jason. She has been an EMT (back in the 70′s), manager of a hardware store (in the 80′s), been an Army Mom for 12 years, graduated college at age 50, and helped her husband build three homes together.

Mari’s family moved to NC in 2004, which make her miss the snow in Indiana every winter. She is hyperactive and the more things she juggles the more fun she is having. She also enjoys cooking and reading as favorite hobbies that round out her busy lifestyle.

She shares her time between work, family, and supporting American Soldiers overseas. Every fall, she yearly promotes a project called “Operation Soldier’s Christmas” through her current employer, where they send Christmas boxes to a group of soldiers in Afghanistan.

Her father always wanted her to follow his footsteps as a bookkeeper, but she wanted to go into the healthcare field. He died before seeing her blend the two into a career as a medical biller. Currently she is an Administrative Assistant in a large community medical center in Henderson, North Carolina.

Now, Mari is already working on another book set in the Civil War, a romance
novel this time. Working title…” Some Northern Hospitality”

Contact the Author.