Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Girly Book Blog Hop!

Today I'm part of a fun blog hop all about secondary characters!!

What gal is complete without her super fab BFF?????

Secondary characters give our main characters depth. I think you can tell a lot about people by who they keep closest to them. In my writing, my secondary characters are usually quirky and wild. They're usually a person my main character wishes they could be more like...and learns a lot from them.

Below is a scene from my newest work in progress...just wrote this scene! It's the first glimpse that readers get of the dynamic between Deeni and her BFF Lydia. Basically, Deeni has just been dumped by her longline boyfriend and concocted a wacky plan to save face at her sister's wedding. Enjoy!

(PS...except has a bit of strong language...18 and over only please!)

Deeni took a deep breath. She was about to share this crazy plan with someone who was not physically involved in it. Lydia wouldn’t sugarcoat. She’d tell her exactly how nutty they were to even attempt it. 

“It’s not how it looks.” 

“You looked pretty damn cozy, if you ask me. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? And were you cheating on Eddie?”

“Hold on. I’ll answer all that. We just met this morning.”

“Wow. You jump back in the saddle fast. And by the way, I’m kinda pissed I had to hear about the breakup from my mother, of all people.

“I know. There really wasn’t any time. It all happened late last night, and then I had to get to work. The wedding takes precedence over any other thing in my life right now.”

“Fuck the wedding.”

“I’d love to, believe me. But anyway, we met this morning and he just got dumped too. He needs someone to pose as his fiancĂ© and I need someone to pretend to be my new boyfriend cause I kinda told my mother I had been cheating on Eddie for months.”

“And why would you do that?”

“Because she was gonna sit Uncle Fred in Eddie’s empty seat at our table for the reception, and I don’t know, it seemed like a good idea at the time. She had that pitying look in her eye and I couldn’t stand it. I think I’d rather be a cheater than a pathetic dumpee.”

“Okay. I think I get it.” Lydia pulled up in front of Deeni’s place. “But that doesn’t explain the almost kiss I witnessed at Allegretto.” 

 I can’t explain it either. “Uh, I guess when you take two recently dumped people and give them two bottles of wine, they get a little out of control.” 

She shook her head. “Just be careful. You don’t know this guy.” 

“I will. Thanks for the concern, Mama Bear.”

“You don’t want to end up like me."

“What are you talking about? You’re blissfully happy.” 

Lydia’s fling the summer between junior and senior year turned into a baby girl that spring. Luckily, she was good at picking someone to fling with. She and Chuck fell in love, adding two more kiddos to the crew.

“Yeah, I am. But it’s not fun to have a baby with someone you barely know. It wasn’t exactly easy getting to where we are now.” 

Deeni remembered. She’d listened to Lydia cry numerous nights back then.

“So how are you, really? It had to suck being dumped like that.”

“It did. It does. I’m not sure how I feel. One minute I’m devastated and feel completely blindsided, the next, it’s like I dodged a bullet. Can you imagine if I’d married him and had kids and then he decided to cheat on me?”

“That woulda sucked. But I guess now that it’s happened, I’m not really all that surprised. Do you wonder if he’s cheated on you other times than this?”

“I never suspected until now.” She turned toward Lydia. “Do you think it’s cause I’m bad in bed? A girl like Gina G probably does all kinds of freaky stuff.”

“First of all, I can’t say for sure having never had sex with you, but you are not bad in bed. And secondly, that tramp is a freak. If he’s attracted to a girl who flashes her lady parts all over Miami and will blow him anytime, anywhere, then you don’t want him anyway.”

“You’re right.”

“And now you can find a better man. Who knows? Maybe something will happen with the tasty one you had for dinner."

“Uh, no. He’s just been dumped too. Nothing good can come of me thinking I can start a relationship with Carter. If anything, he’d be a fun fling.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that. Best way to get over a guy is hot sex with an even hotter guy.” 

Deeni giggled and shook her head. “Thanks for the love. And the ride. I appreciate it.” She leaned across and hugged Lydia. “I’ll talk to you later.”

 So there it is! I love a great set of BFFs! And in honor of great BFFs, I've giving one lucky winner a digital copy of my book, Soap Dreams, which also stars a feisty BFF sidekick!



Giveaway is international and you must be a blog follower to enter! Just leave a comment below with an email address so I can contact you! Contest ends on Oct. 1st at 11:59 PM! Thanks for stopping by!

And make sure you check out all the other participating blogs and all their awesome giveaways!!!

17 comments:

  1. Now that is what a best friend is for! Thank you so much for this awesome contest and for the great excerpt! Deeni sounds like an awesome heroine! I can't wait to find out what happens when she figures out who he really is. :)
    slinkydennis@yahoo.com

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  2. I love the expcert. Very well written. Dying to know what happens next. :D

    catandacecreations@gmail.com

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    1. Thanks so much!! I noticed a couple typos as I was rereading this morning! Fixed them though! LOL!! Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Love the expcert! Ahuston24@gmail.com

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  4. Stephanie, that excerpt just sucked me in! Write this one super fast, okay? :)

    sam.stroh.bailey@gmail.com

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  5. This book sounds awesome. I'd love to read it!
    GFC: Molly Frenzel
    molly dot frenzel at gmail dot com

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  6. Book sounds amazing, can't wait to read :)
    bmurphy_lucky@yahoo.com

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  7. I loved this post. This sounds so fun!

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  8. What a great excerpt, Stephanie! Despite what they're talking about, the exchange is so relaxed, it's clear they're good friends. It's very natural - perhaps that's what I'm struggling to say. Looking forward to reading it!!

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  9. I love the excerpt and can't wait to read this book! My favorite sidekick is Cookie from Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series. She is loveable, funny, and loyal. Thanks for the hop and the chance to win!

    I follow GFC - Elizabeth H.
    ehaney578 at aol dot com

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  10. Love the excerpt! :) The book sounds great!

    catenabi@gmail.com

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  11. Great excerpt! I can't wait to read the book now:) Thanks for the chance! Enjoy your weekend!
    allysonbrann06@yahoo.com

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  12. Thanks for the amazing giveaway!!!! I'm enjoying discovering new to me authors!!!
    Tobi
    tobihelton at gmail dot com!

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  13. Loved the exerpt! Hope you've enjoyed the Blog Hop! Pop on over and visit with me. xo cindy

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  14. I'm an email follower :)
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    cassandrahicks1989@yahoo.com

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