On
the surface, Valerie Anthrope was happy with her life. She had her own
brokerage with Sunny Oak Insurance and was financially solvent. But once
asleep, she was plunged into a world of nightmares that reminded her she was
cursed.
And
that meant she couldn’t fall in love. Ever.
Lex
Kendal was a multi-millionaire. Women flocked to him, preened and flaunted for
his attention. But one woman, Valerie, knocked him back. Hard. It dented his
pride and Lex set out to convince himself he still ‘had it’ by pursuing her.
Only
he found himself being needed in a way he never, ever, expected and, for once
in his life, money wasn’t the answer.
________________________
Excerpt
I risked a look at the tall man sitting
beside me. His golden eyes were on the road. I took a chance to observe his
ruggedly textured face and noticed a small scar on his left eyebrow, and the
laughter lines that fanned out from his eyes.
My eyes slid
over his dark-coloured dinner jacket; his body contoured to it as though it’d
melted over him. And, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself, my eyes
dropped lower still towards his groin. I brought my head up, shocked at my
actions, and stared straight ahead with my hands folded in my lap.
He looked
askance. ‘Have I passed?’
‘At least you’ve
combed your hair.’
Lex laughed.
I watched his
hands as they managed the powerful car. He really was a magnificent looking man
– if you liked the arrogant feral type. I sniffed, and looked away.
The restaurant
was in the heart of London, close to the London Eye. The city was alive with
people, music and laughter. Both manager of the restaurant and the maître d’
were there to meet us, and reminded me how influential Lex was. He was greeted
with firm handshakes, and a few courteous words about Ladwick. Lex answered
politely, but kept a possessive hand firmly on the small of my back. Instead of
feeling annoyed, I felt cherished. It was a nice feeling.
The maître d’
showed us to a small table for two in an alcove. A bottle of champagne on ice
was waiting for us, and my place was set with a red rose lying across a side
plate. The maître d’ lit the candle in the centre of the table, and then
uncorked the champagne bottle with a bang. My nerves evaporated - it was
obvious that Lex was trying to impress me. I almost laughed; probably would
have too had I not been trying not to throw up at all the over-the-top
sweetness and ickiness of it all. I watched the vapour rise from the top of the
green bottle, then the maître d’ filled our glasses and finally left us alone.
‘Dear God,’ I said,
as a violinist serenaded a blushing woman while her partner looked on. Lex
handed me my glass of champagne.
‘Just call me
Lex,’ he said.
I looked back at
him. He honestly thought I’d be impressed? ‘Lex, be serious, are you sure about
this place?’
He looked
puzzled, but then winked and said with a grin, ‘It’s where I bring the ladies.’
I remembered the
kissing and the female voice on the telephone and the spear of jealousy to my
stomach shocked me. Keep it light, I reminded myself.
‘Your
conquests,’ I said. I’d forgotten how nice champagne was as the bubbles hit the
back of my throat. ‘Tell me, Lex, do you win them all?’
He frowned. ‘Not
all, no.’
It wasn’t the
answer I was expecting. To hide my confusion I picked up the menu. It was one
of those restaurants where there were only a few choice dishes with the prices
absent. I put it down again.
‘How was
Dublin?’ I asked.
He pushed the
candle to one side and the shadows danced against the wall. ‘Irish. How was
your day?’
‘Fine. How’d the
plans go for another Ladwick there?’
‘Do we have to
talk about business? I’ve been talking about Ladwick nonstop for four days now.
I want to talk about you.’
‘Short
conversation,’ I said and he chuckled.
‘How do you like
the champagne?’
‘You’re a hard
lady to impress.’
‘Why’d you want
to impress me? We’re having a casual dinner, that’s all.’
He stared at me
a moment. ‘What if I don’t want it to be casual?’
‘I wouldn’t
believe you. You’re the country’s latest famous bachelor and enjoying every
moment.’ I picked up the menu, but then put it down again. ‘There’s a little
Greek restaurant around the corner. Fancy it?’
‘I thought women
liked these types of places.’
I pushed back my
chair. ‘Oh, you so need to be educated!’
Lex peeled off
some notes and laid them on the table, and then, giggling like kids, we dashed
from the restaurant. Leaving the car where it was, we walked across the road
towards a sedate little taverna. It was quiet and the gentle music of Greek
ancestry played. A dark-haired waitress escorted us to a small table at the
rear, and gave us both a menu.
‘This is
better,’ I said.
‘You always
surprise me,’ Lex said. ‘I really thought you’d have liked the Coral.’
‘Did you now?’ I
peek over the top of my menu at him. ‘You don’t know me at all, Mr Kendal. You
just assume you do; like you assume you understand women.’ I dropped my gaze to
the words on the menu, not paying them much attention, but feeling his burning
gaze on the top of my head.
‘You’re right.
I’ve underestimated you. I apologise.’
I raised my
eyes. His hands were clasped in front of him on the table and he was actually
looking contrite. ‘I was going to wine and dine you. Impress you with my fluent
French –’
‘Parlez-vous français?’
He smiled but
said, ‘Oui.’
My face remained
passive as I said, ‘Dites-moi que
vous avez toujours été un idiot?’
He looked
shocked, but then laughed. ‘Yes, I’ve always been an idiot, I guess. So you
speak French too?’
‘A little,’ I
said. I was smiling too, only my smile was hidden behind the menu. I didn’t
want him to see me thawing – not yet. ‘So, supposing you’d impressed me by
speaking French, then what?’
‘The French and
champagne not enough?’
I shook my head.
‘Well, after
dinner we’d have gone for a drive. It’s a nice starry evening, and what could
be better than cruising along listening to Van Morrison? ’
‘You made up a
CD especially, didn’t you?’
He pulled a
rueful face, and I laughed.
‘So where would
you have taken me on the drive?’
‘A place where
we could walk along the Thames just by ourselves; it’d be beautiful watching
the silver moon dance on the surface. I’d have taken your hand…’
‘Yes?’ My heart
was thumping; the menu – my guard - was lowering from my face.
‘Kissed each one
of your fingers, and told you how beautiful you looked.’ His honey-coloured
eyes were watching me intently. ‘I’d lean in, you’d lean in and we’d kiss.
Gently. Softly. You’d look shocked, maybe embarrassed, and then I’d say, let’s
walk. And we’d walk along the river bank. My coat around your shoulders. We’d
hold hands, you’d relax. Then, beneath the moon, I’d stop, pull you against me
and kiss you again. This time you wouldn’t be embarrassed.’
I couldn’t
believe this. He was doing it again!
‘Did you have
lessons?’ I asked, breathless.
‘Lessons?’
‘In seduction.’
His mouth
twitched. He sat back, and picked up the menu. ‘Admit it, Velvet, you were
falling for it.’
Insufferable,
but correct, man. He was good, I’d give him that. Playboy at his best. I’d have
to stay alert. Maybe I shouldn’t drink anything alcoholic tonight. Just in
case.
Ooh, they had
cocktails! I love cocktails. I snatched up the cocktail menu and, yep, they had
my favourite – Fuzzy Navel.
One wouldn’t
hurt.
________________________
Author Interview
DNK: You
originally entitled your book "The Fall of the Misanthrope". How do
you define misanthrope?
LW: A
misanthrope is a pessimist, a cynic and someone who doesn’t get on with others.
She, Valerie Anthrope, is the misanthrope. She doesn’t cope well in groups of
people, but the title conjured up literary or ‘serious’ and the book is
anything but, so a title change had to be done and Oh no, I’ve Fallen in Love!
sums up Valerie’s dilemma perfectly.
DNK: You describe
your book as dark, and others have described it as "funny" (although
maybe darkly so) and having a bit of "magical realism". That's a lot
in one book! What motivated you to write that kind of story?
LW: I like
realism and as you know life has a habit of being funny. There is dark in the
book and that’s down to Valerie’s realisation that her behaviour is due to her
being depressed, but because the book is a romantic comedy I’ve written it in a
fun and chatty way, but by no means am I laughing at the illness. Depression is
a serious condition and very misunderstood, as is Valerie.
I’m not
sure what the motivation was, I’d like to say I was doing it for the depressive
society (is there one?) but I’d be lying. I just wanted Valerie to be as
damaged as she possibly could be.
The
magical element is a matter of what the reader will take from the story. It is
magical or a coincidence? I’ve left that up to the reader to decided and going
by reviews, they’ve decided on the magical element.
DNK: Not to
give too much away, but mental illness is a theme in this novel. How difficult
was it to write from the point of view of someone suffering from that?
LW: I work
in medicine (pharmaceutical) so was able to research the drugs well. Also,
mental illness seems to run in our family. I have members of my (not immediate)
family who have all suffered, but all
find the illness an embarrassment. It’s something to hide from and never admit
to, just like Valerie. So in answer to your question, I didn’t really find it
difficult, in fact I think it’d be easy to switch off, withdraw and allow the
world to pass me by so I could ‘get into character’ very easily. Maybe I’ve the
depressive trait…? Personally, I don’t think there is enough being done to
treat the illness. It’s far more common than anyone thinks.
DNK: Money
is a bit of a theme here too, particularly the ways in which can protect us (to
a point). What made you write along those lines?
LW: In chick
lit it’s usually the rich man helping out the poor defenceless female. I wanted
them equal but still have that ‘typical’ theme. Lex was rich and Valerie,
although not poor, wasn’t as well off as Lex. And in the end, Lex’s money
couldn’t help Valerie. It’d protected him all through his life, from childhood
(expensive schools) to opening doors at work and climbing the ladder to where
he is now as a director at Ladwicks, until it couldn’t protect him from the
devastation of love.
DNK: What
can you say about another theme: not growing up?
LW: [Lex] was a rich kid and grew into a rich adult. Spoilt rotten and treated
women like fine clothes (to be worn and discarded for something new).
DNK: Isn't
there an extent to which Valerie is also trapped by her childhood?
LW: She is
trapped. By her upbringing, her memories and her own perception of this 'curse'
that she thinks she has. It's all a bit tragic really, but she sees no way out
and Ellen is truly her fairy godmother by realising in time that Valerie needs
professional help. I think we could all do with an interfering friend from time
to time!
DNK: What
are you hoping people walk away with after they read this story?
LW: I want
them to walk away wondering about the so-called magical element at the end of
the book. Was it something paranormal/magical going on, or pure coincidence?
And then I'd like them to take away that mental illness isn't all about
tortured people sectioned in institutions, but everyday people like you and I.
________________________
Purchase Links
________________________
Married, with four children, Louise Wise
lives in England. She is a pharmacist technician by day and a writer by night.
She was educated in an ordinary state school and left without achieving much in
the way of qualifications; you could say she was the result of a crap school.
Hungry for knowledge she enrolled in an Adult Education centre and studied
English, maths and creative writing. Whereas other young girls asked for makeup
and clothes for their birthdays, she asked for encyclopaedias!
Louise Wise used her general love of
romantic fiction and interest in astronomy to write her first book. The book
received many rejections stating the novel was too original for the current
market, until finally, an agent took the book on but subsequently failed to
find a publisher for it. Instead of becoming despondent, it made Louise realise
that becoming a published writer WAS possible. She turned her back on
traditionally publishing, threw herself into the indie world and went on to
publish her first chick lit book, A
Proper Charlie and then Oh no, I’ve
Fallen in Love!
As for the ‘too original’ Eden it has been such a hit that Louise has now followed it up with the
sequel, Hunted. So far, they are both
selling well.
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