I'm a little late posting today but as they say, better late than never. Right?
Today's guest is new to our blog, so please welcome, Sharon Black!
When not writing, she reads, walks and sees friends. She co-founded a local book club 14 years ago. She loves theatre, old Hollywood films, science fiction and good stand-up comedy.
She lives in a Dublin coastal village, with her husband and their three children.
Find out more about Sharon by visiting her Blog and connecting with her on Facebook and Twitter!
Derry Cullinane is a fashion writer, gossip columnist and sophisticated man-about-town. The go-to guy for any woman seeking expert advice on what fabulous outfit to wear for any given occasion. He’s also tall, dark, good looking – and straight! So what’s the snag? He has a track record of dating glamorous, vain and shallow women.
Charlie gets an opportunity to write a new column under the pen name Side Swipe, but is soon drawn into a war of words and wit with a rival paper’s columnist The Squire – and their verbal fireworks get readers and editors talking. Yet neither Charlie nor Derry knows just whom the opponent is...
When Charlotte and Derry meet at the Races, the attraction is instant. As their relationship develops, so much more proves at stake, than protecting their alter egos. But a blunder puts Charlotte’s job in jeopardy just as Derry’s past makes front page, and Charlotte begins to doubt her feelings.
When Side Swipe and The Squire are finally forced to reveal themselves, will they revert to type – or confound everyone’s expectations?
Excerpt:
In this excerpt, my heroine, Charlotte has been invited to a dinner party. Here, she’s introduced to Derry Cullinane – the man she briefly met at The Galway Races, when he tread heavily on her foot!
Charlotte smiled nervously as Fiona fussed around her.
‘How many people are you having?’ she whispered.
‘Oh there’s ten of us altogether. You’ll love them. I’ve put you sitting next to a friend of Jack’s. Actually, you might know him, he’s a journalist but not a sports writer. Cone in and I’ll make the introductions.’
Great, she is matchmaking. Charlotte sighed inwardly as Fiona led her toa tall, dark haired man who stood with his back to them, chatting to the three other women in the room. They seemed to be mesmerized.
The man turned as he heard Fiona. Oh good grief, Charlotte thought. It’s Panama Hat Man. She found herself blushing as Fiona steered her into the man’s line of vision.
A slow, amused smile of recognition spread across his face. Brown eyes locked hard with green. Okay Charlotte, play it cool. With a show of dignity, she looked away.
‘Everyone, this is my old school friend, Charlotte Regan. Charlotte, this is Clare, Tina and Rosemary.’
Charlotte smiled and shook the other women’s hands, quickly memorizing their names, acutely aware of the man’s attention.
‘And Derry Cullinane,’ Fiona said. Almost reluctantly, Charlotte met his gaze again, forcing herself to breathe normally. She smiled politely and extended her hand. Derry held it a fraction longer than necessary.
‘Tiny hands too,’ he murmured. Charlotte flushed.
‘How’s your foot?’ he asked, releasing her hand but holding her gaze.
‘Oh, do you already know each other?’ Fiona asked, looking slightly puzzled.
‘No,’ said Charlotte, quickly.
‘We met at the Galway Races,’ Derry said at the same time. An image of the peroxide blonde woman popped into Charlotte’s head.
‘Can I leave you for a minute? I must check on things in the kitchen.’ Fiona briefly squeezed Charlotte’s hand and left. Charlotte glanced quickly about, hoping to engage with the other women but to her frustration she found that they’d drifted away. Leaving her with this egotistical…
‘So as an experiment, do you think we’ll work?’ Derry said, interrupting her thoughts.
‘Um, will what work?’
He shot her an arrogant smile.
‘Fiona’s matchmaking attempt. Either Cupid will be on target or we’ll end up throwing bread rolls at each other.’
Charlotte gritted her teeth.
‘I’m a crack shot with a bread roll.’
Sounds like a good story! Get your copy today and find out.
Hope you enjoyed the spotlight! See you next week for more Tuesday Treasure, Thursday Thoughts and of course Saturday Spotlight.
Until later...take care and God bless!
PamT
8 comments:
Sharon, thanks for being on the blog today. I love Ireland, although I've only been in the south. Your excerpt from Against Type made me want to run right out and get your book. Good work. Cheers
This story sounds delightful, and I love a good Irish accent.
I love novels set in Ireland! This sounds like a winner. Congrats.
Hi Pamela,
Apologies for only getting to this so late. I had some unforeseen travel yesterday, and just wasn't near a computer! Thank you so much for having me on your blog. And thank you all for your very kind comments.
I've lived in Ireland, specifically in Dublin, all my life, so it made sense to set my debut novel here.
I hope my love of Dublin comes through in my writing.
Take care,
xx
Sounds like a fun story--LOVE all things Irish! Good luck.
I enjoyed the excerpt and setting. Good luck with sales.
From the Irish woman who drew her inspiration for Going Against Type, from that fabulous Hollywood movie 'Woman of the Year' with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey, thank you all for your incredibly kind comments about Ireland.
I was lucky enough to visit the United States (New Jersey, New York and Washington DC) when I was in my 20s, and loved it.
Sharon, you've got a great set up with this story. Good job! My family and I have taken three home exchanges to Ireland. We love your country! The last time we went, we swapped houses with a family in Blessington, a little town not too far outside Doublin!
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