Monday, 10 December 2012
Sheryl Browne grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art &
Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a
foster parent to disabled dogs. Sheryl
has been writing for many years, the road along the way often bumpy. She was therefore thrilled beyond words when
Safkhet Publishing loved her writing enough to commission her to write for
them.
Sheryl's debut novel, Recipes For Disaster - combining deliciously different and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, is garnering some fabulous reviews and has been shortlisted for the Innovation in Romantic Fiction Festival of Romance Award. Sheryl has since been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint. Somebody to Love, a romantic comedy centering around a single father's search for love and his autistic little boy, launched in July 1st 2012. Warrant for Love, bringing together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly, released August 1st 2012 and A Little Bit of Madness releases Valentines Day 2013.
Here's a message from Sheryl!
Oh time for me to get my thinking cap on! You can read my review for Warrant For Love tomorrow on the blog!
Warrant for Love
Love,
blackmail, lies, adultery, entrapment.
Three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly.
Three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly.
Life for Paul sounds like your typical country
song. He comes from a broken home, his wife is divorcing him, he's got no place
to live, he's losing custody of his son, and his sergeant, who's sleeping with
his wife, is a loud-mouthed braggart who won't let up on him – not even at
work.
Leanne's caught her (now) ex cheating on her again,
but before she can give him the what-for, she's wrongfully arrested for
soliciting – by Paul and his partner. One thing leads to another and things
could be looking up for Paul, except for Leanne's friends – quarrelling mom
Nicky and financial goddess Jade – have it out for her ex.
Leanne wants closure, Paul wants a home, and Nicky
and Jade want revenge. Blackmail, lies, adultery, entrapment. Will it all work
out in the end or will Paul uphold the law? It sounds like he needs a Warrant
for Love.
‘Hi, hon, got any plans
this evening?’ Jade asked, when Lee answered her mobile half an hour later.
‘No, not really.’ Lee
clutched her phone to her ear, glancing at Paul, who’d extracted himself from a
conversation to walk back over to her. The other guests were departing, but
Lee’d continued to linger, wondering whether Paul wouldn’t perhaps consider
being a little dishonourable and invite himself back to her house again,
hopefully.
‘Good,’ Jade said. ‘How
do you fancy watching a real man get his kit off?
‘Hm?’ Lee started
mentally undressing Paul.
‘There’s a Full Monty on
at Tenbury Village hall, and I’ve seen one of these guys perform. His routine,
that is. Believe me, he’s good.’
‘A strip show!’ Lee
gasped. ‘In the village hall! Blimey. That’ll ensure a full house on bingo
night,’ she remarked, noting Paul’s sudden choking fit.
Jade laughed. ‘I’ll
assume you’re coming, then. Um, what will you wear?’
‘I don’t know.’ Lee
pondered her wardrobe. ‘A disguise probably.’
She signed off, wondering
whether naked male torsos were quite the thing to take her mind off Paul. ‘I
have to go,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to…’
‘Ogle naked men?’ Paul
suggested.
‘Girls’ night.’ Lee
blushed. Lord, she hoped he didn’t think she made a habit of frequenting sleazy
village halls, as well as soliciting.
‘Oh, right. I’ll see you
around then.’
‘Yes.’ Lee wavered, then
waved her mobile cheerily. ‘See you around.’
She smiled wanly and
headed for her car. So, he didn’t really fancy her, then. He was just after a
quickie to shore up his confidence, and then he was going to string her along
until he was sure she wasn’t going to file a complaint.
And he was now, sure of
it, so it was bye-bye, Lee.
Who cared? Lee’s heart
belly-flopped into her boots. Not her.
‘Leanne,’ Paul called
from behind her.
‘Yes?’ She turned, more
eagerly than she should.
Paul smiled, clearly
amused. ‘Where are you going?’
Lee cocked her head to
one side, confused.
‘Your car’s in
Birmingham, Leanne. What are you going to do? Thumb a lift?’
****
‘Hi.’ The blue-eyed
copper smiled, as he opened the front door.
‘Bye,’ he added,
squeezing past Nicky and Jade, who stared after him stupefied.
He doffed his cap from
what he no doubt considered a safe distance, climbed into his car, and drove
off, while Lee refused to elucidate on his presence, other than to say, ‘I
showed him some properties, and he gave me a lift home.’
Well, if that’s all he’d
done, Jade thought, the man must be…principled?
Lee had to be mad. Jade
would swap a relationship with Dickhead for a night with the boy in blue
anytime.
But then, she wasn’t Lee.
It was time to make
absolutely sure that Richard exited the scene, Jade vowed as she pulled up in
front of the village hall.
‘You’re sure it’s not a
local craft exhibition?’ Nicky eyed the white walls and wired windows of what
looked nothing like a den of iniquity.
‘Trust me, sweetie, the
wares on display here would send the crochet club in search of Valium. Come
on.’ Jade steered Nicky, who hadn’t quite got the hang of her four-inch heels,
through the door.
Lee trailed behind them
looking somewhat distracted. Jade hoped it was the blushing policeman providing
the distraction.
‘I’ll get the drinks in.’
She nodded towards the bar. ‘You two go and find a table. No, Nicky, not one at
the front, hon. Unless you want to help them get down to their socks?’
Jade rejoined them as the
lights went down. ‘Strobe lights.’ She ran her tongue over her lips. ‘That
definitely looks a bit promising. Drinks, girls.’ She plonked the tray on the
table and slipped into her seat, as through a haze of stage-smoke appeared two
gleaming chrome and white Harley-Davidson’s, with tell-tale red stripes and
blue lights flashing.
‘I don’t believe it.’ Lee
clamped disbelieving eyes shut.
‘So, how do they compare
to PC Plod?’ Jade gave her an insinuating nudge as shirt-buttons popped.
‘They don’t. I mean… I…
don’t… know.’ Lee’s cheeks flushed as two police pelvises simultaneously
gyrated. ‘I can’t look,’ she said, peering through fingers.
‘Cor!’ Nicky drooled, as
precision-pressed trousers were discarded true Monty style. ‘Oh, wow!’ She
fanned herself, gawking as loincloths were removed with teeth. ‘I bet those
aren’t standard issue.’
****
Jade directed Nicky and
Leanne towards a double pepperoni for afters. ‘Did you see what the dark-haired
hunk was packing under his uniform?’ She smirked.
‘No, Jade. Your tongue
was obscuring my view,’ Lee informed her.
Actually, she’d quite
fancied the dark-haired hunk in his uniform. Lee indulged another sneaky fantasy about Paul,
reprimanded herself, then started all over again. She was all hot-flush and
fluster by the time Roberto handed her a menu.
‘Nice buns,’ Jade
observed as Roberto hip-swung back to the bar.
Lee’s attention, however,
was drawn to another, more familiar derriere. She stopped flapping the menu
mid-fan. Sure her eyes must be deceiving her; she wiped a hole in the
condensation on the window. Then paled. ‘It’s Richard,’ she said calmly.
Nicky stared. ‘It can’t
be. He’s in London.’
‘He’s not.’ Lee ducked
below window level. ‘I’d know that self-assured swagger anywhere.’
‘I don’t believe it.’
Jade joined her. ‘Where?’
‘Jade! Get up, and watch
what he’s doing. He’s diagonally opposite, heading for his car. And he’s not on
his own.’
‘You’re right,’ Jade
confirmed. ‘He’s not. And judging by the arm around her waist, she’s either his
sister, or…’
‘The trollop with the
size-ten feet!’ Lee shot up, just in time to see Richard assisting a
long-legged creature into the passenger seat. He closed the door with a gallant
smile and headed around to the driver’s side, glancing towards the restaurant
en route.
Lee ducked again, almost
planting her face in the cheesy-garlic bread. ‘What’s he doing now?’ she asked,
as if she needed to know.
Jade squinted. ‘Fastening
her seat belt.’
‘Why?’ Lee growled. ‘Have
her bloody arms dropped off?!’
‘She might be a client,’
Nicky hazarded.
‘If she’s a client,’ Jade
fumed, ‘Roberto’s Italian.’
‘But he is Italian,’ Nicky said,
clearly confused as she watched Roberto expound the delights of pesto and pasta
to an all-female audience at the next table.
‘Yes, Nicky.’ Jade rolled
despairing eyes. ‘Come on… Lee? Lee, sweetie, you’re going to tip it all down
your cleavage if you don’t let go, aren’t you?’
Jade wrestled the carafe
of wine from Lee’s iron grip and left cash for the bill. ‘Right,’ she glanced
out of the window, and then caught hold of Lee’s hand. ‘God’s gift has gone.
Come on. We’re out of here.’
Finding
footprints on the windscreen for her boyfriend’s car as evidence of his
infidelity was worst case scenario for Lee. What would YOURS be? What would you do about it? Witty but NOT too rude suggestions,
please. One name will be randomly
selected from the blogs taking part to receive a copy of Warrant for Love.
Amazon.com
Author Facebook
Romantic Novelists’ Association
Sheryl is a loveahappyending featured Author and Editor.
Twitter: @sherylbrowne
Great books! Funny, yet endearing.
Obviously, I (as opposed to Lee), would be calm and dignfied about the whole thing, rather than sink to HIS level. Simply remove said windscreen - along with one or two other bits and pieces. ;) THANK you for featuring me on BROOK COTTAGE BOOKS, Jonty! FAB site. :) xx
Great excerpt! Love this book and laughed out aloud so many times whilst reading it. Nice one JB!
Ha, no idea what I would do if I were Lee. I might be inclined to take the garlic bread out and smear it all over the windscreen. Or better still, in his (and her) face. But then that would be mean, and I don't do mean and vindictive. Grace and poise, right? So... I might just swan by and wave airily, then wipe his number off my phone and throw all his things out my flat/life. Great excerpts and I can't wait to read the full story. You rock, Sheryl!
Haw, haw. Ooh, but she did throw him and his posssessions out of her life, Nicky. Told him to wait outside while she 'passed' him his PC - from the upstairs bedroom window. He wasn't going to go quietly, unfortunately. :) xx
Thank you, lovely Linn! Brook Cottage Books is looking fab, isn't it! :) xx
Great review. Book on my TBR tower. Will savour over Christmas.
Thanks soooo much, Kit! :) xx
Looking forward to reading this fab story, Sheryl. And what a fantabulous (okay, I made that word up as it mixed fantastic and fabulous)new book review blog, Jonty!
Janice xx
Glad you all love the feature and the blog. With regards to what I would do if I had been Lee? Well, I was Lee once, many years ago and I did one or two things which I'm not sure were strictly legal lol. However, one of the things I did do which I can tell u about was create posters naming and shaming the naughty perps and posted them all over town! ahem!(hangs head in shame)lol
Hold your head up, girl. This is called therapy, right? Expressing your emotions. At least you didn't post bits of them all over town. Sorry, sorry, but it's about trust, you know. OK, soooo, I didn't cut up his shirts. I went for the whole wardrobe, including socks (toes off). Felt guilty, yes, but (a)I bought most of them, and (b) he got to face a much calmer me. Fair deal I'd say. ;) xx
I can't wait to read this one, Sheryl! Great review, Jonty!
Not sure what I would have done if it were me in the situation. Like your solution, JOnty.