"Build Me Up Buttercup..."

After the excitement of the new feature yesterday I thought I should keep up the momentum of this blog. As you know, I don't normally post every day but with the imminent launch of Surfing in Stilettos I thought I'd give my regular blog visitors a sneak preview of what they can expect from the new book.
It'll be launched on 16th August but you can get your hands on a pre-launch copy from my publishers FeedARead (by clicking on their name) and it is rumoured that Amazon have a couple of copies.

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Surfing in Stilettos

     Amanda Wilson is all geared up for an exciting gap-year, travelling across Europe. She soon finds her plans thwarted when she is abandoned in France with only a cellarful of Chateau Plonk, a large, orange Space Hopper, and Old Ted, the dog, for company.

     Fate has intervened to turn Amanda’s life on its head. First, Bertie, the camper van, breaks down. Then her dopey son, Tom, who is staying in their house in the UK, is wrecking it, one piece at a time. Next, the jaw-dropping video Skype calls that her irrepressible mother insists on making are, by contrast, making Amanda’s humdrum trip even less palatable.

     Finally, she discovers that her new-found, French friend, Bibi Chevalier, had engineered a plan to ensure that her philandering husband would never stray again; unfortunately, Amanda is unwittingly drawn into the scheme, becoming a target.

     Meanwhile, on a beach in Sydney, a lonely Todd Bradshaw realises that his first true love, Amanda Wilson, is definitely the only woman for him. Can he get back into her good books and hopefully back into her arms with his latest plan? Or will fate intervene yet again and turn everyone’s lives upside down?

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“Surfing in Stilettos is a comedic tour de force, glittering with wit...” 

“...original, funny, witty and refreshing novel” 

“extremely funny and very addictive...” 

“Don’t miss this book!” 

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Chapter One

     Todd Bradshaw lay exhausted in bed. The sheets were jumbled together on the floor. Sunlight streamed through his condominium window, which had an enviable view overlooking the coast at Hawk’s Bay. He had rediscovered paradise. In his arms lay his first true love, Amanda Wilson. He had not been this blissful since the last time he had held her. Admittedly, she was older. There were some lines around her eyes, and her body was softer and a fraction rounder, but that ­made her even more delectable.

     He recalled the afternoon of passion they had just savoured. Age had had an agreeable effect on her. She had matured in many ways and was far more confident about her body than she had been all those years ago when he had first known her. Where had she learned to do that thing with an ice cube?

Amanda opened a sleepy eye and smiled up at him. The laughter lines accentuated a little, making her look even more appealing and full of mischief.

     “What are you staring at?” she asked huskily.

     “You,” replied Todd, tenderly tucking a stray hair back behind her ear and admiring the gleam that shone in her green eyes. “Shall I go and get some more ice cubes?” he asked.

     She placed her hand behind his head and guided him towards her, kissing him fervently. She still had that power over him. Thirty years and more than double that number of women had been and gone from his bed since he had last been with her, but it seemed as if the years hadn’t passed at all. What a fool he had been to wait this long to reclaim her.

     Reawakened with desire, he ran his hands over her soft, smooth skin. His hands travelled past her firm, round buttocks and onto the tops of her legs. She panted hard. That wasn’t right. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realised none of this was right. Her skin wasn’t very smooth at all. Actually, it was quite hairy. Gosh, she had really let herself go! Had she stopped waxing her legs? The panting was getting more urgent and louder in his right ear. His ardour receded rapidly. Yuck! Was that slobber?

     Todd Bradshaw woke with a jolt. The television was still showing the same football match he had started to watch half an hour ago when he had dozed off. Digit, his cattle dog, was asleep next to him, panting and drooling in his ear. Todd shrugged the heavy dog off and stared at the figures running about on the screen. What was the matter with him? In recent weeks he had been dreaming nightly about Amanda, but now the fantasies were spilling over into the day.

     He really should forget her. 

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