Better late than never ...

Here at last, and the fridge is now full. ;)

Today I have finally got round to a Lucky 7 post that was sent to me a while ago by one of my fellow Joan Hessayan finalists, Rhoda Baxter. You can find her at http://rhodabaxter.com  Her debut book is Patently in Love. Do take a look, but don't forget to come back.

You may be familiar with the Lucky 7 concept - you look at your WIP, find page 77, move 7 lines down and then publish the next seven lines on your blog. You are supposed to tag 7 more authors to pass it on to. I've done the first part, but I've not yet decided where I'm going to pass the favour on.

When I first read the instructions I thought it was the current published book. As page 77 of Never Coming Home is right in the middle of the first love scene,  I shut the book at that point. No way was I putting that bit up on the blog, out of context! Luckily it is not current, but future work. Heave a sigh of relief.

The WIP is a novella, which I hope might be published by the end of the year. It is my favourite crime/romance mix, but a little lighter than the novels - no dead bodies, although the heroine does feel a distinct inclination to strangle the hero on occasions - hey, this is romance - it's all about the conflict. :)
It's called Watching the Detective and it's a crime caper in the sun - think Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief or the various versions of the Thomas Crown Affair. Cassie and Jake are running around causing mayhem in some of my favourite bits of the Riviera - Nice, Menton and San Remo. They're trying to find a man who may not exist and a load of stolen cash, while getting mixed up in some kidnapping and the activities of a film crew. And, of course, the most dangerous activity of all, falling in love. They have history - they were teenage sweethearts. (He still calls her Slick, a nickname she professes to hate.) Cassie thinks Jake dumped her, all those years ago. Jake can't understand what all the fuss is about. (See, strangling, above.) Jake has a second agenda too, all centred around winning a bet ...

To set the scene - Cassie and Jake are hosting a cocktail party at the luxury villa Jake has hired. (Did I mention that Jake is loaded? And Cassie isn't. Conflict again) They are hoping to spot their mystery man amongst the guests. Cassie's idea of a party is to get plenty of wine and beer in, turn up the music and hand round crisps and sausage rolls, with pizza ordered for later ...

   Cassie leaned over the balcony rail. Below her on the terrace the caterers were setting up the bar. Ice and glasses chinked invitingly. A string quartet - a string quartet ! - was tuning up beside the pool.
   'Come on down, Juliet.' Jake appeared below, like the demon king, stage left. 'Our guests are arriving.' 


   'Looking good, Slick.' He eyed her approvingly as she stepped through the French doors. Obligingly she twirled. The soft silk of her dress whispered around her, a pale green cloud. You're going to be paying for it until Doomsday,so you might as well enjoy it. 
   'Not so bad yourself.' Cassie took in the cream linen suit and the dark blue shirt. Did his secretary order that, to match the exact colour of his eyes? 
   She wrenched her own eyes away, to stare beyond him. At the other end of the terrace waiters were opening champagne, and arranging tiny portions of food on silver trays. 


That's it. It's a little longer than seven lines on the blog. Now I just have to edit the rest of the manuscript.