Thursday, October 08, 2015

I’ll Be Seeing You… Entice Me @ParisBrandon #RB4U #kindle #RomFantasy

I’ll Be Seeing You…




What author doesn’t want their book turned into a Hollywood blockbuster? I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t ever want to hear my words uttered on the silver screen. The idea for the heroine of my latest story came about one day as I was reading about the early days of the film industry.  I came across the surprising bit of information that in the beginning, and I’m talking the silent era, women were actually some of the first screenwriters.

Before you get too excited, let me say it wasn’t because the powers that be thought they were brilliant at the time. Writing for the movies was not considered to be a particularly respectable or lucrative way to earn a living.

Although the budding industry was considered beneath most male writers, women flourished in the early days. Anita Loos wrote adventure films for Douglas Fairbanks, June Mathis discovered Rudolph Valentino and wrote two of his best known films, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Blood and Sand. Then there’s my personal favorite, Marion Fairfax who scripted the 1925 version of The Lost World and was a pioneer in the use of stop-motion animation.

A couple of decades later; the world is at war and Hollywood is playing a large part in keeping morale boosted. Many in the movie industry enlisted but some of those left behind contributed to the war effort in other ways.

The heroine of I’ll Be Seeing You, young war widow, Lulu Lane, ghostwrites scripts for her uncle’s studio by day but her evening hours are spent as a junior hostess, serving doughnuts to servicemen and women at a local USO club. Hiding behind her horn-rimmed glasses and sensible shoes, she’s been content to stay in the background until she’s singled out by handsome army lieutenant, Jack Howland, who doesn’t seem to be very happy about asking her to dance and isn’t forthcoming about why. 

Jack Howland, part of an elite group of OSS special agents can’t resist the pull of the moon or widowed USO hostess, Lulu Lane. After the war, while chasing a Nazi war criminal, their paths cross again but will the truth about what Jack is send Lulu screaming into the night or back into his arms?

Here’s an excerpt: Heat level 2 chili peppers…

She wasn’t used to having someone pay for a cab or open the door of the small cottage she hadn’t shared with anyone else in three years.
The young lieutenant had barely closed the door before pulling her into his arms and kissing her—hard, as if he’d wanted to imprint his mark for all time instead of forty-eight hours. She pushed the thought away. He’d made his intentions very clear. Lulu had come to terms with the fact that forty-some hours with Jack Howland was worth more than a lifetime of regret.
She hadn’t been kissed in a very long time or been pressed against a wall while large, masculine hands swept over her bare flesh. His mouth tasted of cigarettes and coffee, unfamiliar and delicious. His touch, tender and demanding, sparked a need she barely remembered but knew, after this night, she’d never forget.
Her experience had been limited to a young husband whose enthusiasm often over-shadowed anything she might have desired, if she’d been brave enough to ask. Much like their dance, she followed where he led and was surprised by the stray tear he kissed away and didn’t ask her to explain. He’d glanced at Toby’s picture on the fireplace mantel and held her while she explained her two-week marriage and being widowed when the Arizona sank.
Jack was tender and passionate and she had to keep reminding herself that their time together was temporary, but she’d never been kissed so intimately or devoured so completely; consumed.
As much as he gave she couldn’t help but feel that there was part of himself he held back and she found herself wishing that might come before their time together ended. If it didn’t, she couldn’t fault him. He hadn’t made any promises past forty-eight hours and she didn’t expect any. He attended to her protection without comment and she was alternately grateful and sad. A child would have been impractical.
She thought she’d convinced herself that the last thing she needed in her life was the complication of a romance during this damn war until at the end of their time together, he kissed her goodbye and climbed into a cab while the radio played Jo Stafford singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” in the background.
He didn’t look back until she turned to go inside. One last glimpse found their gazes locked as they had been only hours ago. If she lived to be one hundred, she was never going to forget the desperate sadness he’d refused to explain.
It would have made a great movie scene. A real tearjerker, if her reaction was anything to go by.

Available for pre-order here

In case you haven’t already guessed, I have a fascination with the movie industry and the 1940’s.I knew when I started developing Jack that he was going to be a little different, and the story would read like an old movie, complete with a smart-mouthed heroine, a mysterious alpha hero with a secret, creepy settings and even creepier villains. I haven’t had so much fun writing anything in ages. Happy Halloween and I hope you enjoy I’ll Be Seeing You, my contribution to the Entice Me boxed set.

A little bit about moi…

An avid reader and a devoted History Channel junkie, Paris can be found most days bent over her keyboard, creating worlds where a wolf shifter saving the woman he loves from a Nazi war criminal is all in a day’s work.

A member of Romance Writers of America and published since 2009, she lives in Southeast Kansas with her husband of many years and considers a job where she doesn’t need to wear pantyhose the best career possible.

Please feel free to drop me a line via my website, Facebook or Twitter!

Happy Reading!
Paris Brandon



1 comment:

  1. Denyse,

    Thank you so much for hosting me today! I'm truly honored to be in this collection with you.

    ReplyDelete

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