Let's Talk with Maggie Toussaint

Are you familiar with the international distress call of “mayday, mayday”? It’s used by airplane pilots and boat captains when life and/or vessel is in extreme danger. Because this is the radio call of being in severe emergency, authorities exert heroic means to try to avert the danger or stage the rescue of survivors.

Did you know that mayday has a French origin? It is the French phrase “m’aider,” which means “help me.” The use of “mayday” catalyzes an immediate and urgent response of aid during a crisis in the air or on the water.

Growing up the daughter of a shrimpboat captain and living by the Atlantic Ocean, I can’t remember when I didn’t know about this important phrase. In point of fact, I don’t know that my dad ever used it, even when he rode out a hurricane in the gulf. Such was his determination to survive despite giant waves breaking over the bow of his shrimp trawler, he hung in there and kept steering into the waves…and rode out the storm.

That’s a testament to our plucky heritage down here in coastal Georgia. It takes tough stock to survive the heat and natural dangers here. And yet, there’s always a lifeline if anyone feels they are in mortal danger.

As kids, we were instilled with utmost caution about using this phrase. It is absolutely reserved for emergencies. Serious business, indeed.

I’m reflecting on this phrase today as I work on edits of my forthcoming release. My protagonist and amateur sleuth is a self-made businessman, Bob Calloway, who experiences the worst disaster ever when his wife dies. Authorities get the means of death (suicide) wrong and nothing Bob says gets them to change their minds.

His personal mayday calls for friends and family to listen to him go unanswered because they all believe the officials. Bob spirals into a very bad place, which includes drinking too much and bar fights. Much to his chagrin, everyone insists he needs time off from life. He doesn’t agree, but the option provided to him-a therapeutic center- beats the alternative of jail time.

Lo and behold, the time away does him a world of good. His anger cools and he once again becomes the even-tempered man he’s always been. But he still believes his wife was murdered. It’s his goal in his new life to prove he’s right. Thanks to therapy and time to chill out, he knows to stay “in bounds” of societal rules and laws, but nothing can sway him from his course.

And that’s the launch moment for my fall cozy mystery. You have a jump-start on knowing about this passionate guy who loves and lives with everything he is.

My question for you is: have you ever had a mayday moment? Was it life changing? If you didn’t experience this, can you share a bit about someone who did?

One lucky commenter will win a copy of FLAMED OUT, book 5 of my Magic Candle Shop Mystery series, writing as Valona Jones. (The book is available in digital form to all locations and the US only for print books. Prize must be claimed in a week or it is forfeited.)

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