Friday 1 July 2011

Book Trailer & Challenge No. 8 - "Lies!"



Even though I dreamed up the theme "Lies" I found it quite hard to come up with a piece that had any romantic elements. "Lies" is a tough one, because there might be hurt along the way even if romance the end result, and this is the opening to a romance novella. 


When would life again be simple?
       Damn it, he just couldn’t erase the image of her leaning on the top rail of the paddock; her attention solely transfixed on the horses and ponies, a swathe of poppies dancing in gentle breeze beside her. 
       She hadn’t come to kiss him goodbye, and she’d never missed doing that before. Had she known, known then that he’d lied?  Why hadn’t he got off his damned Ducatti and strode across to her, swept her of her feet and hugged her?  But no, he’d glanced at his watch and running late had set off with nothing more than wave of hand.
       O.K., so he’d sort of said his goodbye at breakfast: her cornflower blue eyes following his every movement. Something in her expression throughout had implied distrust at every word uttered from his mouth, her raven hair tumbling over her shoulders and petulant air about her. And, when she’d left the house she’d looked remarkably unconcerned about his going. But to just stand and not even watch him leave, as though he merely motoring into the village for the morning paper when in fact he would be away for months It all made him feel a worse rat than usual. 
       Damn and blast it, he couldn’t let her coolness get to him. He had an important business meeting. He needed to be focused on matters at hand not have his mind wandering to Anna Marie, not when he had Caroline to pick up on the way. But then again, Anna Marie had every right to be mad at him. He’d promised so much one way and another and delivered little or nothing, bar for lavish gifts that always seemed to delight her.      
       What of Caroline, though, and how would Anna Marie react if she knew there was someone else?
       He knocked on Caroline’s door, sense of guilt weighing him down.
       The door opened in a flurry, Caroline’s ever provocative smile teasing the senses.           
       “Nick, lovely to see you back. You didn’t call.”
       “I had things on my mind.”
       Oh God. When would the lies end?  When would he finally be able to tell his daughter the truth about himself?  Anna Marie deserved so much more from him than that of absentee father, and of being left with his aged parents. 

386 words.

To see work by other participants go here


And please, take a look at this book trailer!  This is my meagre attempts at a book trailer for my novella "Her Favoured Captain". 
Be kind, please, I'm a novice at this game.  
"Her Favoured Captain" is now published and available on Kindle at Amazon.
The Amazon link can be seen top right side-bar.
If you look at the bottom left corner of cover image you'll see a motif: RFW. There's a reason for this and I'll explain more, later, on a RFW set-aside page.

16 comments:

dolorah said...

Wow, such an exciting excerpt. What a scoundrel this man seems. But with heart for the present love.

And the trailer was beautiful; rich in romantic themes. Unrequieted love and mysterious motivations.

I love buccaneer sagas . .

.......dhole

Margo Benson said...

Wow, the piece was filled with lies and regrets - makes me wonder how he can ever get out of the spiral. It sounds as if he wants to, though.

Great trailer for your book (which I'm off to buy!) Lovely music and images...and a totally gorgeous buccaneer, where did you find him? LOL!

The Poet said...

Oh the lies...sooner or later they'll come back to haunt him!

Excellent trailer! Love, betrayal, intrigue and I love the music.

Anonymous said...

Oh the twist at the end was unexpected. I like the build up, too :O)

JENNIFER WILCK said...

Terrific post, Francine!

N. R. Williams said...

You had me. I was certain he was cheating with another woman! Great twist, and of course, his daughter is the most important woman in his life. Great trailer for Favored Captain. I don't think I have enough of the romance theme in mine, just a slight suggestion at the end.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

Raquel Byrnes said...

Oh man, I'm totally curious when everything is going to topple. Wonder what happens to everyone? Great piece.

Edge of Your Seat Romance

Susan Kane said...

Excellent video, really drew me in...great idea. Wonder what she will do. Guess I will check at Amazon.

Paula Martin said...

Excellent twist at the end!

Great video too - I shall be picking your brains on how to create videos!

Sorry I didn't get round the RFW yesterday - am now trying to catch up!

Francine Howarth said...

Hi,

Many thanks to every one for comments. They're much appreciated, and I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply in a personal and individual basis. Because of my publishing deal at WCP I've had a lot of form filling to do so I'm running behind with every darn thing at the mo.

best
F

Scarlet said...

To tell the truth or not? It gets everyone in a twist and mad moods.

Nice excerpt....I am catching up on my reading too.

J.L. Campbell said...

Liar he might be, but Nick has a conscience on him. Makes him somewhat admirable.

You're one up on me with the trailer. At least you know how to make one! :)

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Love your book trailer. Your excerpt is excellent and teasing. Congrats on the contract and on learning how to format for Kindle. I am, alas, a cyber Wiley E. Coyote when it comes to that, Roland

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Heaven,

Thanks for dropping by. Yep lies can get one into a whole heap of trouble.

best
F

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Joy,

Nick's lovely, and he does make things right for Anna Marie: eventually! ;)

best
F

Francine Howarth said...

Hi Roland,

Thanks for kind words... I'm going to be posting a tutorial on formatting for Kindle and a guide to DIY book trailers. I kept mine simple to have effect of pages turning as in book. After all, I'm selling a book not a DVD. ;)

best
F