Happy Holidays to you, my wonderful readers. As my gift to you, here is a sneak peek at my current book in progress. Lola Nolan is a former teen idol once paired with co-star hottie Lance Romero both onscreen and off–until he broke her heart. Now they are heading toward 30 and thrown together again as star and producer for a cable television movie being shot in Three Lakes, Maine. Behind the scenes, a stalker lurks, waiting for his walk-on moment. The working title of the novel is “Bride.” I hope you enjoy this holiday-themed snippet.
Lance plowed down the corridor, a stack of scripts in his arms and a pen clamped between his teeth, heading toward the conference room.
Penelope had called him in for a meeting with the other studio execs to discuss possible projects for the next big winter holiday lineup. Luckily, he’d prepared for just such an opportunity.
Last week he’d called all the publishing and screenwriting agents he knew and put out a call for sweet romantic comedies. He also directed his assistant to trawl the online writing platforms for possible adaptations for Garnet movie material. The work paid off. He had several solid ideas to pitch.
Rounding a corner, a voice yelled, “Watch out!” just as he collided with a small, warm body. Scripts flew everywhere, falling like giant snowflakes to the industrial carpet of the hallway.
His jaw dropped, releasing the pen.
Amidst the papers, a furious Lola sprawled. She propped herself up on one elbow, her eyes shooting death daggers at him while he bent down to offer her a hand, sputtering apologies like there was no tomorrow.
There might be no tomorrows for him if he put Garnet’s queen bee out of commission just before the big seasonal promo shoot scheduled that morning.
“Lola! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you hurt? Is anything broken?” He put his hand closer to her, gratified when she reached out to take it and let him yank her to her feet. She ended up standing a half-inch from him, her eyes at his chin level, wild strands of hair brushing against his face.
So, maybe he held her hand a little longer than necessary. She looked up at him, and his breath caught as their eyes met. Every cell in his body demanded that he put his arms around her and pull her closer. Before he could do so, however, she flushed and stepped back.
“I’m okay.” she said, hands on her hips. “But next time watch where you’re going!” She gave a mocking laugh as he bent to collect the scripts, now mangled. “Still a klutz, I see.”
“Um, I’m the klutz? I was carrying this stack of scripts. What’s your excuse?”
She stared at him through a pair of funky, purple reading glasses. Her makeup was done, but her hair was piled up in a messy knot or whatever girls called it on top of her head. He couldn’t help but notice her shapely legs in tight, black leggings and how the deep red sweatshirt exactly matched the color on her plump, lipsticked mouth. Her frowning lipsticked mouth. Uh-oh.
“I’ve said the wrong thing again, haven’t I?” He stacked the scripts one on top of the other and looked around for the pen before standing. “I’m sorry, Lola. It was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
She nodded and an expression he could have sworn was disappointment crossed her features. “Okay. See you around.”
“Wait!”
She turned, eyes hopeful. He had no idea what he wanted to say. He only knew he wanted to keep looking at her. Talking to her. “Is that what you’re wearing for the promo? ‘Cause I have to say, something a little dressier might glitz up the production value a bit.”
She squinted her eyes at him, but the corners of her mouth turned up. “I was just on my way to grab some breakfast after makeup, before hair. There were some last-minute changes to the set. Something about silver reindeer instead of gold. I don’t suppose you want to join me?”
He thought about blowing off Penelope, but then he shook his head. “Can’t, I’m afraid. Big meeting with the execs.”
“You’re really on board with Garnet, aren’t you?” She put a hand to her hair, smoothed it. Then she said in a funny imitation of Bogart, “Of all the cable channels in all of Hollywood, you had to walk into mine.” With a wink, she spun around and headed down the hallway toward the cafeteria. The sparkle of rhinestones on the back of her sweatshirt caught his eyes.
“Garnet Queen,” he murmured, watching her sassy strut down the hallway. At least she’d made a joke. He’d send her flowers later. Another apology on the card and an invitation to meet him for drinks tonight so he could hopefully persuade her to play Georgiana in Betrothals & Bouquets.
“Hey!” he called. “I still need an answer about the part!”
She turned, walked backwards. “I already told you. N.O.”
He grinned at her. “So, you’ll get back to me tomorrow to let me know.”
She shook her head, laughing, and turned the corner and out of sight.
*****
“Heard you had a literal run-in with Lance Romero this morning.” Angela Vigue ran a light brush over Lola’s eyelids, retouching her makeup in between segments. “There. All set.”
Lola blinked at her friend. “Who told you? Geesh, the gossip around here is worse than high school.”
“It must be so weird to see him after all these years, though. I mean, the two of you were like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in the Twilight years. Everyone loved you together.”
Lola grimaced. “Not everyone.” She spoke lightly, trying to hide the twinge of pain deep in her gut. “A bunch of people were Team Allison if you remember. And of course, she won, didn’t she.”
She grabbed her script and pretended to run through the lines she’d memorized. Each segment was dedicated to introducing one of the fifteen movies in the Summer Holidaze lineup. She had to remember the names of the films, the principal actors, and the short synopsis as well as “off the cuff” quips about how the movies made her long for snow and hot cocoa and mittens and kisses under the mistletoe.
Why people wanted to watch Christmas movies in July baffled her, but it wasn’t her call. The split with Lance hadn’t been her call either.
“Hey, I’m sorry.” Angela touched her shoulder. “That was insensitive. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“That’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’m totally over it. Him. Totally over him.”
She thought back to the moment they collided in the hallway. For just a moment there, when he helped her up, she could almost swear there was a spark of the old attraction between them. His hand, warm and strong, held hers a second or two longer than necessary. She remembered the widening of his eyes and the way his lips curled up at the corners in that grin that used to drive her crazy. “He does look good, though. I’ll give him that.”
Angela tapped her shoulder. “I knew it. You’re gonna get back together with him.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yup. I’m predicting it. I have an intuition about these things. I’m never wrong.”
Lola rolled her eyes. “Well, get ready to break your winning streak, because I’ll never fall for Lance Romero’s charm again.”
Angela grinned. “Whatever you say.”
When the director called, Angela removed the makeup cape from her shoulders, and Lola took her place beside a fake stone fireplace from which stockings dangled. It was like stepping into Christmas eight months early. The set sparkled with silver and gold and Garnet red. A giant Christmas tree stood to one side, loaded with white twinkle lights and sprays of berries, gleaming round ornaments and giant gold bows.
One of the cameramen gave her a thumbs up. She winked back at him. “Hey, Brewster. Merry Christmas.” He laughed and swung the camera into place.
You’re looking for great women’s fiction and mystery. I’m looking for my ideal readers. Sounds like a perfect match!
I promise to always keep you, the reader, in mind while I’m creating
- relatable, character-driven stories with
- engaging voice/style
- vivid descriptions
- and cozy settings
My characters want to live balanced lives full of love, laughter, fulfilling work, and strong relationships. Like us, they sometimes falter. They aren’t perfect. They make mistakes. They learn along the way.
I’m a fan of happy-for-now endings.