Tuesday, June 20, 2006

HOORAY!

The book I delivered before I went to Holland has gone through without a single revision. To say I'm stunned is to put it mildly, but to celebrate I'm posting a little taster here. Not the opening, which has a surreal comedy all its own, but the "meet"; that moment when Ellie's world collides with Ben's...

I was also going to post a picture of the totally gorgeous Ben, but Blogger is playing silly beggars again, so that will have to keep.


‘Good book?’

A deep, velvety voice penetrated the cold, swirling mists of the Yorkshire moors, jerking Ellie back into the twenty-first century.

Not an entirely bad thing.


She’d started the afternoon with the intention of giving the study a thorough bottoming. Keeping on top of the dust in the rambling old house she was “sitting” while its owner was away was not onerous, but it did require a schedule or she lost track; today it was the study’s turn. Unfortunately, her attention had been grabbed by the unexpected discovery of a top-shelf cache of gothic romances and she’d forgotten all about the dust.

But then again, it was not entirely good, either.

Being startled while perched on top of a ladder was always going be risky. On a library ladder with an inclination to take off on its tracks at the slightest provocation, it was just asking for trouble. And trouble was what Ellie got.

Twice.

Losing her balance six feet above ground was bad enough, but her attempt to recover it proved disastrous as the ladder shifted sideways, taking her feet with it.

Too busy attempting to defy the laws of gravity to yell at the fool who’d caused the problem, she dropped her duster and made a desperate grab for the bookshelf with one hand -- while clinging tightly to the precious leather-bound volume she’d been reading in the other.

For a moment, as her fingertips made contact with the shelf, she thought it was going to be all right.

She quickly discovered that she’d been over-optimistic and that in lunging for the shelf – the laws of physics being what they were -- she’d only made things worse.

Her body went one way, her feet went the other.

Fingers and shelf parted company.

Happily -- or not, depending upon your point of view - the author of her misfortune took the full force of her fall.

If she’d been the wraithlike heroine of one of those top shelf romances – or indeed of her own growing pile of unpublished manuscripts -- Ellie would, at this point, have dropped tidily into his arms and the fool, having taken one look, would have fallen instantly and madly in love with her. Of course there would have to be several hundred pages of misunderstandings and confusion before he finally admitted it either to himself, or to her, men being a bit dense when it came to romance.

Since this was reality, and she was built on rather more substantial lines than the average heroine of a romance - who wasn’t? - she fell on him like the proverbial ton of bricks and they went down in a heap of tangled limbs. And Emily Bronte gave him a cuff round the ear with her leather binding for good measure.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Liz, that was wonderful. Thanks for the chuckle. When does this one come out?

Gail from Canada

Anonymous said...

Absolutely fantastic, Liz! I can't wait to read this book. Ben sounds absolutely delectable and I love Ellie especially as she shares my love for Gothic romances!

Liz Fielding said...

It'll be out in May next year, Gail.

Susan Rix said...

Congratulations!

Oh, we have to wait nearly a year?!(I'm aka Ms Impatient)

I've recently finished reading (and enjoying) The Five-Year Baby Secret. Towards the end (one of the hospital scenes) I confess you made me cry.

My weakness in my previous manuscripts has been the conflict and 'emotional punch', and I was amazed at how much conflict you had in this book. I learned a lot from seeing how you successfully carried it all the way through. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Oh, you TEASE! We're going to have to wait nearly a WHOLE YEAR? (Foams at mouth and gibbers.)

I love your curvy heroines. I also love the sound of that house. A room full of books with a library ladder... (Sighs in bliss - then remembers this room is, ahem, full of books.)

I'll be looking forward to that one.

Sharon J said...

It's no wonder you're my favourite Tender author, Liz. Absolutely fabulous, as always!

I wonder if whoever owns that house would let me house sit next time they go away? I'd happily do the dusting in exchange for spending the rest of the time in that study!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Liz, fantastic news! I CAN'T WAIT FOR MAY! That was such a teasing, tantalising whetting of the appetite!!! The hero, the curvy heroine, the setting ... just to die for. Roll on May.

Love,
Mags

Nell Dixon said...

That was wonderful Liz!