Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Drum roll...

I'm just coming up to the twentieth anniversary of the publication of my first book. Those early books are now out of print and there aren't that many copies still around to buy second hand so it's with a very special pleasure that I can announce the reissue of A Stranger's Kiss - my fourth book, published in 1994 - in ebook format.

It's available from today - for a short period - at a special introductory price of 77p/99c - links opposite. It's also on sale for the equivalent price in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Japan. (What I would have given to be able to download English books when I was living overseas!)

Here's a little taster to whet your appetite: -



‘I DON’T believe it! Where on earth did he spring from?’
Tara Lambert moved quickly to the door but the tail lights of her partner’s car were already disappearing into the blackness of the evening, taking with them any possibility of help from that direction.
       She glanced back to where the man was waiting across the street. He too was staring after Beth’s car, obviously wondering if she'd gone home with her partner. Well it was too late to regret refusing the proffered lift, but if she moved quickly it might not be too late to escape.
       Shrugging her raincoat collar up high around her ears she snapped open her umbrella, stepped out into the wet evening and took off swiftly down the street.
       She had gone only a couple of hundred yards when she heard her name being called from the other side of the street. Her escape bid had not, after all, gone unnoticed. With a sinking heart she glanced around her; the shops were already closed and there was nowhere to seek refuge in the shuttered street. Even the taxi rank was deserted, although no cabbie would have thanked her for wasting his time on the short ride to her flat.
       She hurried on, urging the traffic lights to stay green and keep the traffic moving, but even as the thought entered her head they flicked to amber.
       She stopped, cursing herself for every kind of an idiot. She could have stayed in the office and phoned for a taxi. Maybe it was not too late to beat a strategic retreat.
       ‘Tara!’ Her name, much closer, startled her and she glanced back before she could stop herself. He was weaving through the slowing cars and cutting off all possibility of escape in that direction.
       A burst of light shone briefly on the pavement just ahead of her and a couple emerged and ran, laughing, their arms about each other, along the road. They had come from the wine bar on the ground floor of a glossy new office development and shopping arcade. She had watched it come to life during the past few weeks but a quick glance at the menu outside had convinced her that it was far too pricey to be included on her list of lunch venues. Everything about Victoria House was expensive, but right now that was the last thing on her mind.
       The urgent sound of closing footsteps propelled her through the door before she had time to consider what she would do once inside.
       It wasn’t quite seven o’clock and it was still busy with people from the surrounding offices and shops, but there was no one she recognised. She dumped her umbrella in a stand and hung up her coat. At least there were plenty of people about, and now she was inside she would have something to eat. It had been a long, hard day and as the aroma of good food assaulted her senses she realised just how hungry she was. She would just have to choose whatever was cheapest on the menu.
       As she looked around for a vacant table the door opened behind her. ‘Tara!’
       Galvanised into movement by the sound of his voice she threw herself into a bench seat hidden from the door by a small grove of potted palms where a man whose deep concentration on a business document and navy pin-striped suit suggested a certain safety.
       ‘Please pretend that I’m with you!’ she whispered, urgently. He looked up, a frown momentarily creasing his wide tanned forehead and in that instant she knew, without any doubt, that the impression of safety was all illusion.

This is the first of three books I'll be republishing during the next few weeks. Look out for Old Desires and Dangerous Flirtation.

1 comment:

Fiona Marsden said...

Yummy hero and cute heroine. An overseas trip and you have all the ingredients of an enjoyable read.