ebook of the month :: writing by colour

THE MAGNATE'S INDECENT PROPOSAL Paperback ::  ebook

Writing by colour

I talked last week about how my heroine was all wrong when I first started writing this book.  The vision in my head as I wrote was very red.  Red lips, red lingerie, red velvet.  Like chocolate covered strawberries, hot, sexy, decadent.  Here’s the collage I was using while writing.

 Yet it wasn’t working.

So I took down the collage, stripped away the heroine, and started afresh.  Let a new heroine appear on the page.  And suddenly the book took on a whole new colour.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but when reading the book I get such a sense of yellow it’s like looking at summer.

Chelsea makes Damien think of sunshine.  She’s blonde.  He drives a yellow Austin Healy.  The book ends in the Yarra valley, surrounded by hills covered in yellow grape vines, over which a bright yellow hot air balloon floats across the sun-drenched sky.  And again, none of this was on purpose.  It just happened.

I tend not to question where this inspiration stuff comes from in case it stops coming!

The excerpt:

 Then he and Chelsea were alone, hidden from view of the rest of the restaurant by the angle of their table, a large potted Ficus and the clever lighting.  Their booth was cramped.  But intimate.  Low candlelight flickering from an alcove on the rendered wall above shot waves of gold through Chelsea’s hair, and created shadows beneath her lashes, her nose, and full lower lip.

Simply looking at her he felt anything but unaffected.

A waiter with an eyebrow ring and three more through his nose came back with their wine.  Damien did the whole sniff, sip, thumbs up before they were each poured a healthy glass and the bottle was left in an icebox nearby.

Chelsea fussed with her dress, her hair, the placement of the napkin in front of her and said, ‘There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.’

Damien leant his elbow on the table and his chin on his palm.  ‘This should be good.’

Her hands fluttered to her lap, but she gave him direct eye contact.  All golden light and sunshine and radiant energy.  He could have snuffed out the candle and his senses would have told him exactly where she sat.

Re-released as part of the PASSIONATE PLAYBOYS collection.   
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