Friday 1 July 2011

Lies, Lies, Lies!


Another contribution to the "Romantic Friday Writers" Challenge, where contributors offer 400 words on a specific subject.

This week my excerpt (392 words!) is from 'Fragrance of Violets'.  I've just heard from Whiskey Creek Press that it's scheduled for release in February 2012. 

Abbey is furious when she discovers something Jack hasn't told her, and calls him.

“When were you going to tell me, Jack?  Or maybe I should call you John.   The famous, best-selling John Tyson.”

There was silence.

“Who told you?” he said eventually. 

“That doesn’t matter.  What matters is that it wasn’t you.”

“Abbey, I can explain –”

“Oh, I’m sure you can.”  The anger flared inside her.  “I’m sure there were very good reasons why you turned me down.  You obviously think Marsha Hewitt is a better actress than me.  So good luck with her.”

“Actually I don’t but –”

“But what?”  Her eyes widened.  “Oh, right, I get it.  So it was your way of getting your own back, was it?  I rejected you ten years ago, so now it was your turn to reject me.”

“You know I’m not like that, but there were various reasons –”

“Oh yes, of course.  Just as there were probably various reasons why you didn’t tell me you were the author.  You built our whole relationship on a lie.”

“I’ve never lied, Abbey.”

“You didn’t tell me the truth.  It’s the same thing,” she snapped.  “Did you think I’d never find out?”

“No, I was going to tell you –”

“I’d really started to think you were different”

There was a moment’s silence. 

“Different from your father, you mean.”

“This has nothing to do with him.”  Abbey clenched her hand tightly round her phone.  “This is you.  You’re no different than every other lying, deceitful bastard.”        

“I understand that you feel let down, betrayed, whatever, but if you’d just listen to my reasons –”

“Reasons?”  She spat the word out.  “Reasons are excuses and excuses are usually lies.  Reasons don’t matter.”

“Yes, they do, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.  I know your father’s reasons turned out to be lies, but it doesn’t mean every man is going to lie to you or let you down.”

“No?  How can I believe that when I find out about all this?  Not just that it was you who turned me down for the Maggie Rycroft part – but all the time while we were sorting out what happened ten years ago, you were hiding this from me.  I thought I could trust you –”

“And now you’re damning me out of hand without giving me a chance to explain anything.”

“There’s nothing to explain.  The facts speak for themselves.”

17 comments:

  1. And the tension builds :) Sounds like this is a great story...Abbey is unwilling to hear out John...and I have a feeling she'll figure out this was a mistake later on. Just a guess. I look forward to reading your entire book in February. First, I have to read His Leading Lady!! Cheers, Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  2. The anger and frustration is palpable. I also wonder if she's going to realise a mistake later....but, he knew she would feel like this. Oh, the intrigue! Great piece.

    ReplyDelete
  3. To tell or not to tell...that's the trouble with lies. Lots of intrigue. Great excerpt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very dramatic. I agree with Margo. The anger and frustration are palpable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oooh. Great teaser.

    And congrats on your release date!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice job, and congratulations with the release!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know there's more. Good teaser. I'm glad she is venting and not allowing him to say anything.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is a good teaser. Anger is indeed deaf. If she responded to finding out like this, no wonder John was reluctant to tell her. Roland

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you all! As most of you have guessed, all is not as it seems, and she's going to be mortified later!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi,

    Hee hee, OMG is Abbey being OTT! She is so going to regret this outburst, and it's a classic piece of shoot first ask questions afterwards! Nice one. ;)

    best
    F

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really like the setup for this, and Abbey certainly shows a lot of passion. Looking forward to more of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  12. In Abbey's defence, Jack hadn't been totally honest with her - but there WERE reasons!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I like how heated this exchange is. Lots of tension. I can't wait to see how he pulls this out of the fire.
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

    ReplyDelete
  14. To listen or not? To give him another chance or not? Maybe he was telling the truth ?

    Nice excerpt ~

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love all your comments, than you so much! At the moment she's mad as hell and feels betrayed - and he thinks she'll never learn to trust anyone. How are they ever going to resolve this? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. that was intense. I liked the back-and-forth flow, the interruptions on both sides were well placed. Even with him trying to explain, you could feel the frustration eating just below the surface. Very well done.

    Congrats on the release date :)

    ......dhole

    ReplyDelete
  17. Abbey is certainly passionate about what she believes and he can barely get a word in edgewise. You've definitely conveyed the fact that she has issues and that he has some reason for not being up front with her. Good job on showing just how teed off she is with him.

    ReplyDelete