ACCORDING TO PLAN
Page 17
“Hey, Daran.”
“My favorite author.” Daran’s crisp British accent whipped through the phone’s speaker.
Jared waited for Daran to cut to the chase. Never one to mince words, it didn’t take long.
“How far are you in the manuscript?”
The manuscript in question, Double Crossed, sat neglected in the laptop upstairs. He took the stairs two at a time and entered a small bedroom he’d converted into an office. While speaking with Daran he glanced out the window into the backyard. “Daran, I moved to Ravenwood to escape all the pressure and find peace and quiet. I don’t—”
A flash of color in his neighbor’s yard caught his interest. Lindsay, in a bright pink tank top and denim shorts, set up a lounge chair, sauntered back inside and returned with a book and a sandwich.
Most likely made with my loaf of bread.
Golden curls, slightly damp, skimmed her shoulders until she secured them into a loose ponytail. When she reached for her sandwich, Jared leaned into the window and—
The phone vibrating in his hand jerked him back to his office. So engrossed with watching Lindsay, he’d terminated the call with Daran. What was wrong with him? It’s not like he hadn’t seen beautiful women sun tan before. With one last glance at the vision in pink, he answered his agent and paced back to the desk hoping she hadn’t seen him through the window.
“Sorry, Daran. I must have hit the end key.”
“No problem.” A tight chuckle came from the other end. “Thought for a minute you’d cut me off on purpose. I have been riding you pretty hard, but if you don’t produce, you’ll lose your fan base and the publisher’s good will.”
“I know.” Jared sat and faced the blank screen of his laptop. “I’ve got some chapters written and a rough outline of the rest. How ‘bout I send you those and we’ll go from there?”
After ending the call, Jared stretched back and stared at the ceiling. Five chapters into ‘Double Crossed, he knew where the story was going, but words weren’t flowing. This time there was – nothing. It was like Homicide Detective Aiden Beaumont, his main character, had retired with no notice.
Frustrated, Jared shoved away from the desk and headed downstairs. What he needed was a fresh perspective. The past six years, ever since making the New York Times Bestseller list with his debut novel, At the Crossroads, his life had become a constant stream of conferences, speaking engagements and publicity appearances. Everybody wanted to know how he came up with his ideas. How could he explain the process when he no longer knew the answer himself?
So he’d moved to Ravenwood, a speck on the map west of Chicago, to recharge his batteries and take stock of his life. His grandmother had been born and raised here, and he always loved hearing her stories of community and how neighbors looked after each other.
He returned to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of pizza. Leaning against the counter, he studied the run down room. Peeling paint on walls and cupboards complemented curling linoleum and outdated countertops. A large five-burner Moffatt stove dominated one short wall, and a green Admiral fridge struggled to keep his milk cold.
Much like his dried up brain, this kitchen needed a complete overhaul. Luckily, he knew the perfect person for both jobs, and she happened to live next door.
About the Author:
Sue Barr was born in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan, population 1300 + one or two. Her love of reading began at the tender ager of four and by the time she turned ten, she’d read almost every book in the tiny library tucked away in the back of the local carpet shop. Her father once stated that she’d better marry someone who could afford to keep her in books. After raising her family she decided it was time to put fingers to keyboard and write her own stories.
Her dreams came true in 2010 when she sold her first book to Turquoise Morning Press and quickly followed up with several successful sexy novellas under a pen name. In 2014, Sue made a personal decision to follow Christ and focus on writing Sweet Contemporary Romance. She regained the rights to all her works and the first thing she did was go through the story you just enjoyed, reformatting and editing the story line to meet the personal criteria she’d set for herself.
Sue is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America and its satellite chapter Toronto Romance Writers. When not busy writing, she loves to spend time with family and friends, amazing them with her recall of completely trivial, nonsensical facts. She is also completely fluent in Starbucks Spanish. Grande Latte anyone?
To find out more about Sue, please visit her website:
www.suebarrauthor.com
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13