A Word Please

As many of you know, I’m working on the edit for my upcoming novel called Secrets. I wrote the original manuscript a couple of decades ago. The printed pages have been sitting in a box, and I’ve juggled that box from one spot to another with each move over the years.

A couple of months ago, I decided I have too many unfinished projects. I pulled the Secrets box out of the cabinet on the side of my desk and decided I had to do one of two things:

1. Give it a final edit and release it to the world.
2. Pack it away where I wouldn’t have to see it and continually be irritated by its presence.

This was a harder decision than you might think. You see, the story is dark. Yes, I know, most of my stuff is dark. But this one tackles a difficult topic and I knew the content would set some people on edge. That’s one of the reasons it gathered dust for so long.

Then I thought, Since when do I shy away from controversy?

Way back, when I was seeking an agent and a traditional publisher, I knew this book wouldn’t fit the neat little set of expectations. Then the indie movement happened, and it’s been years since I’ve even considered going mainstream. I looked at the manuscript again. Controversial, sure. But I’d written the story for a reason. And that reason wasn’t to have it sit in a box for eternity.

One of the first things I realized when I dove into the edit was how much things have changed in two decades. I wrote this before Windows was invented for computers and we didn’t have cordless phones, much less cell phones. I knew right away I couldn’t update the story. The inclusion of ‘modern’ technology would have forced me to make too many changes. Much of the story wouldn’t work if my characters suddenly had access to an entire world with the click of a mouse, or if everyone was walking around with cell phones. I wanted to be true to the original story, so I kept the setting in 1991.

Now I’m on the tail end of the major edit. Afterward, I’ll do another read and minor edits. I’m hoping to be done with that by late June. From there, it’s off to my editor. I hope to have the book out to the world around the first of September.

Last week, I shared the blurb. This week, I’d like to share an excerpt. This is not the final edit, though most of it will remain as is:

Thunder crashed angrily outside Samantha’s bedroom window. She sat motionless, as if the slightest rise and fall with each breath would cause the lightning to strike her. Moments crawled, each feeling like hours. Lately time ran together in a jumble of emptiness.

Gradually the thunder subsided. The quiet made it too easy to think. She didn’t like to think, because it allowed room for the memories she’d buried deep to force their way into her consciousness. She pushed them back, almost physically, to the corners of her mind.

She uncurled herself from the tight ball she’d wrapped herself in. Rising from the bed, she stepped slowly toward the brass floor mirror. Her blonde hair hung in loose curls past her shoulders. Her large blue eyes glistened. Dark lashes, long and thick, fluttered above them. Delicate features gave her face a kind of china doll beauty. Stunning, she was often called. But what did it matter?

Discouraged, she walked away from her reflection. No one understood her depression. After all, she had everything a woman could want. Only twenty-two years old, she was a successful model married to an incredibly handsome and equally successful advertising agent. So what was her problem? Why did her moods change drastically from one moment to the next?

How could she explain a past that never happened was now haunting her?

The sound of the doorbell broke into her thoughts. She chose to ignore it, a habit she’d been practicing increasingly more often. She turned back to the mirror, studying herself intensely. She saw the sparkling blue eyes looking back. But within those eyes she saw something no one else did. Emptiness. Sadness. A fear that gripped her so tightly she couldn’t breathe.

She jerked away from her reflection. Memories flashed like ten second movie blips. Images. Voices. Never anything specific. Just broken pieces of a distorted puzzle.

Her past. It forever haunted her. But remember, it isn’t real.

I’m working on the blurb for my upcoming novel Secrets. I have two versions below and would love some opinions. Do you like the first, the second, or a mixture of the two?

If you hate them both, go ahead and say so. I’ll sob quietly.

Thanks for reading.

My new novel – Into The Light – is almost ready to make its debut! I’m excited to share Max and his story with everyone. Here’s a look at the cover and blurb:

Max Paddington refuses to go into the light until he finds his killer. This presents a dilemma, since Max is even less competent as a spirit than he was as a live person. No one sees or hears him and he can’t manage to get anywhere or do anything on his own.

Joe Cavelli is a private investigator, living an ordinary life. Then one day he walks across a parking lot, gets yelled at by a ghost, and his life only gets stranger from there.

Max and Joe team up to find Max’s killer. In the process, they form an unlikely friendship and change each other’s lives in ways they
never expected.

And here’s a little tease – the start of chapter one:

Divorce. She slid the word across the table like it was part of his breakfast. Here’s your toast and coffee and I want a divorce.

Max Paddington stared into his wife’s clear brown eyes and said the only thing that came to mind. “What?”

“I want a divorce,” Rachel repeated.

At least she’d left out the toast and coffee bit. Divorce hadn’t been a side order, after all. “Are you still mad about the golf clubs?” he asked. “I’ll take them back if it’s that big of a deal.”

“Max…”

Rachel said his name as if it left a sour taste on her tongue. Max swiped a hand through his damp hair. He’d been awake less than a half hour and already his day had turned to shit. Rachel, his wife of fourteen years – no, it was fifteen now – stood in front of him with her arms folded over her breasts. She wore a black camisole, pantyhose, and three-inch heels. And he was supposed to take her seriously?

“Rach,” he said. “You want to get divorced over golf clubs?”

“It’s not the golf clubs, Max.”

“Well, what the hell?”

“I need to finish getting dressed or I’ll be late for work.”

“So be late! You can’t tell me you want a divorce, like you’re telling me the weather for the day, then walk out the door.”

“I can’t be late today.”

“Or what? The world will implode because you don’t serve your boss’s coffee on time?”

Rachel glared. “I do not serve my boss coffee. I only did that for you and I won’t be doing it anymore.”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Max pushed his coffee mug aside, the object having suddenly become an obstacle between them. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just that you dumped this bombshell on me and you won’t even talk to me about it.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so surprised.”

“What? I should have been expecting a divorce with my breakfast?”

“Think about it, Max.”

With that, she turned and strode from the room. He watched her ass, naked beneath the pantyhose. Divorce. What the hell?

You can read the rest of chapter one on my website: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/intothelight.html

I hope to have the book available before the end of the month. Max’s character came to life for me as I wrote. I have to say that he was probably my most stubborn character so far. He had a story to tell and it was going to be done his way. And he was right. His story captivated me and I hope it will do the same for you.

Thanks for reading.

I am long overdue for posting an update. Here’s a rundown on all the excitement going on:

Many of you know that a character by the name of Max has been chattering in my head for some time now. The book Max stars in is called Into The Light. Max is a ghost, you see. A stubborn, somewhat clumsy middle-aged man who is not at all happy with being dead. Max’s story is not what I’d set out to write. He had other ideas. (Hence, the stubbornness.) Then again, I hadn’t set out to write his story at all. I was working on something entirely different but he popped into my head and refused to go away. He talked to me constantly, kept me up at night. The other characters were forced from my head, that project was put aside, and Max took center stage. I’ve got a very cool cover design in the works and will be unveiling that, along with the book’s blurb, soon. I hope to have Into The Light out in July.

Next up: Free books! May is International Giveaway Month over on my contest page. Joining me in this giveaway is friend and author Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick. I’m offering two print copies of my novel Hit List. He is offering two print copies of his tantalizing novel Breathing Into Stone. Have you entered? If not, what are you waiting for? This is international. You can live anywhere. We’ll send the book as long as you have a mailing address, even if it’s a igloo in Antarctica! You need to enter by midnight EST on May 31. All you need to do is fill out the form: www.QuietFuryBooks.com/contests.html

Wait! don’t run over there yet! I have one last piece of news.

I’ve remodeled my website. The look is a little different and I’ve added a bunch of new stuff. You’ll find a Free Downloads page, where you can download short stories and anthologies. And you’ll also find a Things of Interest page, with a bunch of random nonsense written by me. I’ll be adding to these pages and, hopefully, keeping you entertained. I hope you’ll check out the site and let me know what you think. In case you’ve forgotten the directions there: www.QuietFuryBooks.com or www.DarciaHelle.com (Same building, different address. Weird, I know.)

As always, thanks for hanging out with me!

My upcoming dark comedy / suspense novel The Cutting Edge will be available soon! I’m working on the cover design now and should have it all ready to go in another couple of weeks.

Here’s an excerpt from the start of the first chapter:

My name is Lilly Skye Destiny Summers. My parents thought it was a great idea to give me three names with the initials LSD to go with my last name. For years they called me LSD Summers. They lived in a commune and did way too much acid.

Most people call me Skye. Except my father’s parents, who always call me Lilly, and even that name is said with some disdain. They’re partial to my father’s sister’s kids. My cousins’ names are Victoria Marie and Benjamin James. Benjamin is a gay surgeon living his life in the closet and Victoria is a P.T.A. mom with a Princeton degree in bullshit and an addiction to painkillers. My grandparents are in their late eighties and live in a fancy housing complex for old people. My grandfather wears Depends and drool constantly dribbles from the corners of his mouth. He still puts on a tie before going down to dinner every night. The whole thing is rather comical.

I’m 37, married to an electrician who could have made huge money as a porn star. I’ve kept my maiden name for reasons other than my love of LSD Summers. My husband’s name is Scott Skyler. Had I changed my name, I would have been called Skye Skyler. Skye Summers is bad but Skye Skyler is ridiculous.

I work as a hairstylist in a salon called The Cutting Edge. When I started my career 17 years ago, I had visions of my unfettered creativity transforming ordinary women into sexy tramps or glowing goddesses. I was terribly naïve. Now I spend my days trying to explain to the round-faced Oreo-addict that, no matter what I do to her hair, she will not leave looking like Angelina Jolie. Try and pull that off tactfully.

At the moment I am contemplating murder. Today is Friday and I have been on my feet since 8 a.m. The clock above the desk tells me it is now 2:10. I have not eaten lunch. Have not even peed all day. The woman in my chair is speaking nonstop and I am thinking about killing her.
***

Read more! www.QuietFuryBooks.com/thecuttingedge.html

I have created a page for my upcoming dark comedy/suspense novel The Cutting Edge and posted the blurb that will be on the back cover! Soon I’ll be posting an excerpt and unveiling the book cover!

www.QuietFuryBooks.com/thecuttingedge.html

Here’s the blurb:

My name is Skye Summers. I’m a hairstylist and I can’t stop fantasizing about killing my clients. Not all of them, of course. I only want to kill the ones who irritate me, which, if I’m being honest, is most of them. My occasional fantasies have turned into chronic daydreams. They’re bloody and vivid, like watching a slice-and-dice movie on IMAX.

I also want to kill my husband’s ex-girlfriend. She’s not a client but she tops my list. Eighteen years ago, she gave birth to his daughter and she has tormented him ever since. I should be troubled by this growing desire to use my surgically sharpened shears for more than a haircut. Instead, I wonder how I can get away with it.

This morning, I received my manuscript for my upcoming book The Cutting Edge back from Bob, my editor and good friend! My next mission is to go over and make his suggested corrections. Then I’ll move on to formatting for the book and cover design. Soon my work-in-progress will become a published novel.

A huge thank you to Bob, whose friendship and expertise I treasure.

I’ll also be working on the blurb for the back of the book. I hope to have that ready to post soon!

Last night, I sent my upcoming novel The Cutting Edge off to Bob, my good friend and also my new editor! It’s a huge relief to have a professional editor to do the fine-tuning. This means I will not be forced to re-read my own words countless times, to the point of losing my last shred of sanity! Editing your own novels is tedious and difficult – and not something I’d suggest.

This will also be the first time someone else reads it. That always creates a bit of anxiety.

My mother also received a copy to read that night. But that doesn’t really count.

This novel is about a hairstylist with murder on her mind. Her clients are driving her mad and she fantasizes about killing them in gruesome ways. She crosses paths with a serial killer who believes she’s a kindred soul. Is she?

The first paragraph of my upcoming novel The Cutting Edge:

My name is Lilly Skye Destiny Summers. My parents thought it was a great idea to give me three names with the initials LSD to go with my last name. For years they called me LSD Summers. They lived in a commune and did way too much acid.

The book is about a hairstylist who fantasizes about murdering the clients who irritate her. Along the way she crosses paths with a serial killer, who then begins to fantasize about her.

I’m hoping to have The Cutting Edge complete and available sometime in mid summer. I hope you’ll all join Skye on her journey!

Ever wonder what your hairstylist is really thinking? In my upcoming book The Cutting Edge, I’ll be revealing some secrets from my 15 years in the business. You may never feel the same way about getting your hair done!

Skye is a hairstylist with murder on her mind. She’s burned out and people are driving her crazy. She fantasizes about what she could do with her scissors while smiling at her clients. Then she runs into a real-life serial killer who believes that Skye might be a kindred spirit. If given the oppportunity, would Skye really kill someone?

I was hoping to have The Cutting Edge complete and available by summer. Health complications have set me back a bit, so I’m shooting for late summer / early fall.