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