romance novels

My Romance Novel – Chapter Six (NaNoWriMo)

Note: Don’t forget all comments left on ANY post between November, 4th and November 30, 2010 will count as one entry into the Wii should be friends giveaway.

If you are interested:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Bridget stood in center of her entry-way and turned in a slow circle taking in all of the chaos. She’d forgotten how bad it was. She’d tried not to think about it over the past twenty-four hours. Her parents had wanted to hire a cleaning firm to help clean it up, but the police had suggested that it shouldn’t be done until Bridget had time to go through the contents more thoroughly and advise them of any missing items.

At first glance on the night of the break-in Bridget had been unsure if there was anything missing. She’d checked out the obvious like her jewellery, but with all the mess it was very hard to tell. Her jewellery box had been over turned and bits and pieces of jewellery lay on the top of her bureau, on the floor. With it scattered all over, it was just too difficult to know what might not be there.

All though it was fairly obvious to Bridget that her entire house had been gone through, by far the worst damage was in her office. Her beloved books were strewn all over the room. Many lying open and trod upon, torn, ripped and ruined. Her filing cabinets had been emptied. Paper work, receipts and photos joined her books on the floor. By far the most upsetting to Bridget was her camera equipment. Her extra lenses and external flash lay broken and ruined on the floor amongst the paper mess.

Thankfully for Bridget she always carried her camera with her, but the loss of her additional equipment was definitely a low blow. She scrimped and saved for every last item. They’d been important to her, but not nearly as important as the photos she’d take with them.

Most of those photos were saved on external hard-drives that were in her desk. Only the most recent photos were saved on her laptop. Bridget scanned the floor of her office looking for the drives. There weren’t immediately visible. She started pushing around books, paper and office supplies with her feet looking for the hard-drives under the mess on the floor. They didn’t seem to be there.

Her desk had been tipped forward and was lying face down on the other side of the room. The position of the desk made it impossible for Bridget to know what was still left inside. She could see that the large flat screen monitor that she used with her desk-top computer was lying partially under the desk. She hoped it was still operational. She didn’t use her desk-top very often anymore, but if she planned to in the future she’d need a functional monitor.

Bridget crossed the room and bent to lift her desk. It was surprisingly light and Bridget had no trouble setting it upright. As she did so all of the doors and drawers swung open. There was very little left inside any of the compartments. Her desk-top was missing and unless her external drives were lying somewhere in the midst the chaos in her office, it looked like they were missing too.

(more…)

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My Romance Novel – Chapter Five (NaNoWriMo)

Note: Don’t forget all comments left on ANY post between November, 4th and November 30, 2010 will count as one entry into the Wii should be friends giveaway.

If you are interested:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Bridget threw her back and let out a hearty laugh. “You’re killing me Detective. I’m not mailing-posting. I’m blog posting. It’s what I do, well that and photography. “

“You mean like a hobby, or for a living?” Lane was interested, how in the heck did you make a living writing a blog?

“A living of course, I have to eat and pay bills,” Bridget snapped. “I suppose you think I live off of my parents? Am I right Detective?”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Lane lied. One quick glance at her disbelieving expression, made him switch gears. “Okay fine, you’re right. I figured you probably have a trust fund or something. Are you telling me you don’t?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Bridget retorted. She crossed her arms over her pink bag and stared straight ahead. She didn’t even want to look a Lane Johnson. It seemed he had a bunch of preconceived ideas about whom and what she was, so far it seemed like ‘probable criminal’ and ‘spoiled rich girl’ were at the top of his list. She wondered what other negative labels he’d conjured up.

Well she had better things to do than prove her worth to the likes of Lane Johnson. Even if he was the best-looking man she’d ever laid eyes on. Oh dear Lord, she was doing it again, she thought. Stop. It. Bridget.

“So tell me about blogging, explain to me how it works,” Lane prodded. He could tell from her body language and the frosty atmosphere in the cab of his truck that he’d managed to piss her off AGAIN!

Silence.

“Oh come on Bridget, give a guy a break,” he appealed.

(more…)

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My Romance Novel – Chapter Three (NaNoWriMo)

Note: Don’t forget all comments left on ANY post between November, 4th and November 30, 2010 will count as one entry into the Wii should be friends giveaway.

I’ve gotten over the angst of sharing. Once it’s done, it’s done! However, the actual writing has become more difficult, mostly because I worried about what you all may think. Nevertheless, I am still on track with FIVE chapters under my belt (so to speak).

If you are interested:

Chapter One
Chapter Two

Chapter 3

“What? A bodyguard, that’s absurd! It was just a break-in; they happen all of the time!” Brigitte couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Dad come clean, are you hiring me a baby-sitter? I want the truth.”

Brigitte strode across her father’s dark, masculine office, planted her hands on her father’s desk and leaned forward staring him intently in the eyes. “Spill it!”

“Bridget calm down. I haven’t hired anyone. John Daniels is sending a detective to provided protection and get to the bottom of this”, Joe Riley sighed and pushed in hand through his silver hair, then he took a deep breath, paused to collect his thoughts and continued, “Bridget if I had my way, you wouldn’t leave the property. I’d happily hire as many men as it takes to keep you safe. I don’t like this one bit. However, John Daniels is my closest, dearest friend and if he says Detective Johnson is capable of keeping you safe. I’ll trust him, but don’t push me girl, I’m more than happy to lock you up and throw away the key.”

“Okay Dad, I hear you and I can see you are really worried, so I’ll accept Detective Johnson’s help”, Bridget conceded. Then she folded her arms and stood her ground, “for now”.

“According to John the two thugs that broke into the house are extremely dangerous and not too swift. They’re not playing with a full deck and don’t work alone. He is convinced they are on Max Giovanni’s payroll. If that’s the case you’ve made one very dangerous man angry my girl.” Joe rose slowly from his desk and walked to the window, behind his desk to stare out at the lush gardens below, even in fall they were spectacular, but today he didn’t see beauty. He was lost in thought, consumed with worry. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity to Bridget. Then he spoke quietly and firmly, “Bridget do you have any idea at all, why Max Giovanni would send those thugs to ransack your home? If you do, please tell me now. I can help.”

Bridget walked around her father’s massive desk and stood beside her dad. “Dad I have no idea. I’ve never met Max Giovanni, I don’t want to. I promise you there has to be a reasonable explanation for this.” She reached for his hand, “Please Dad, look at me … believe me … there is NO reason for Max Giovanni to break into my house. Tell me you believe me.”

Joe turned and looked at his daughter, into the blue eyes that were so like his own. “I believe you Bridget, but I am still worried. Please tell me you’ll take this seriously and let this Detective Johnson do his job.”

Bridget wrapped her arms around her dad and squeezed him tight. She knew she could count on him, “I promise Dad”.

(more…)

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My Romance Novel –> Chapter Two (NaNoWriMo)

Note: Don’t forget all comments left on ANY post between November, 4th and November 30, 2010 will count as one entry into the Wii should be friends giveaway.

Here is Chapter 2 of my NaNoWriMo. If you haven’t read Chapter 1 –> You may click here to do so.

Chapter 2

“Detective Johnson, I don’t think you understand. This isn’t a request, it’s an order.” Chief Daniels let out a big sigh, removed his glasses, and massaged the bridge of his nose. “Listen son, Bridget Riley is the daughter of my oldest friend. She’s insisting on going home, and I promised Joe Riley only the best to keep her safe.”

“I hear you Chief”, Lane Johnson was far from happy, but there was no arguing with the Chief. “I just don’t get it Sir. Why would she insist on going back to that run-down and now ransacked house? Wouldn’t she be more comfortable staying with her parents for a bit longer, and safer?” Lane couldn’t believe that after a dozen years of service, he was being forced into a glorified ‘baby-sitting’ job for a spoiled socialite.

“Detective, I agree that it seems odd. The old lady next door identified the perpetrators as Lionel Frank and Seth Robbins. You know as well as I do that they’re on Max Giovanni’s payroll. Whether or not Bridie is intentionally involved isn’t the issue. If she has something that Giovanni wants, she’s a sitting duck.” The Chief stopped, looked Lane straight in the eye. “I want to bring Max Giovanni in and I want Bridie Riley safe. You are just the man to do it. If Bridget Riley has committed a crime, she’ll have to answer for it just like anyone else. I want her alive to do it.”

“I understand sir. I’ll do my best.”

“I’m counting on it Johnson!” The Chief planted both of his hands on this desk and hoisted himself from his desk, indicating to Lane the meeting was over. “I realise it’s a Saturday, but please take as much time as needed today to clear up any necessary paper work. I’ll let Joe and Edie know you’ll pick Bridie up about 5 p.m. She spent last night with them.”

“Thank you sir”, Lane excused himself from the Chief’s office and headed straight for his desk, two floors below. Lucky for him, he didn’t let himself get behind with paperwork, so just a couple of hours later his desk was clear. He was ready for his new assignment. He figured he’d better head to his apartment and pack a few necessities. He really wasn’t looking forward to spending God-only-knows how long with a spoiled heiress in that dump! He supposed maybe dump was a bit harsh. If you looked past the mess that Frank and Robbins had made, he figured the first floor of the old place definitely had appeal.. He wondered what was keeping her from finishing up the upper floors. She couldn’t possibly be short of money. He wondered if maybe she had a drug or gambling problem and was into Giovanni for money. Why would Joe Riley’s daughter be living off of 97th street? It couldn’t be what she was used to.

Lane made a quick stop at his apartment to pick up enough clothing and toiletries for a few days. He hoped he wouldn’t need much more time than that. If Bridget Riley was playing games, he was pretty sure he’d be able to get to the bottom of the situation before long. He hadn’t mentioned it to the Chief, but a week from this Monday he’d booked off three weeks of vacation and had planned to drive out to Vancouver Island, to Tofino for some rest and relaxation. He sincerely hoped his babysitting duty would be over by then. He was willing to stick around if it meant nailing Giovanni, but he worked hard and he didn’t want to miss out on a well-deserved break for some spoiled, strung-out brat.

After packing, Lane decided to stop by and visit his Mom. He wasn’t sure how busy he’d be or for how long. He also knew she’d feed him, and if he was moving in with a drug addict, it might be smart to get a decent meal in him.

He knew his mom would be pleased to see him, and he was just as happy to see his mom. If he were honest, he was really happy to see her lasagne as well.

Over a huge plate of pasta he explained his new assignment to her. “Keep an open mind Lane. You can’t be sure she was involved. She may ‘just’ be a victim and in that case she’ll need some support and understanding. She’s probably terrified.”

(more…)

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