Author j. leigh bailey stops by the blog today with a deleted scene from her latest Shifter U story, Fox Hunt. Find more about this paranormal romance from Dreamspinner Press & be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway too! Good luck!
—Killing Your Darlings—
I’d like to start with a big “Thank you!” to Boy Meets Boy Reviews for having me here today to celebrate the release of Fox Hunt, the third book in my Shifter U paranormal series.
Normally I don’t write “extra.” Whenever I’ve needed to delete chunks of text, it’s rarely over a paragraph or two, and never because I exceeded the word count allotted for a book. Not with this one! As I was writing Fox Hunt, I started having fun, developing moments between the characters that deepened their relationship, or that I thought were just cute. So, as much fun as I was having, Fox Hunt just got too long. Unfortunately, books classified as “Category” have fairly strict size limits, so at a certain point, anything not explicitly moving the plot forward can be subject to deletion.
Which means I had to do the thing most authors dread… I had to kill my darlings. Killing your darlings is a phrase coined by Willian Faulkner that basically means getting rid of the things you love the most—the words, side plots, characters, or turns of phrase that you, the author, personally loves but that, if you’re being honest, don’t really advance your story in any way.
The scene I’m sharing with you today was probably the most painful casualty from my war to reduce my word count…please keep in mind that the scene is unedited, but hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Deleted Scene:
I almost rolled my eyes, but that would probably constitute taking my eyes off the road. And while I wasn’t afraid to defy Buddy, I didn’t want to actively antagonize him.
Several more miles passed. The weighty silence grated over my skin like a sleet storm.
I reached behind the seat, contorting my body until I could grab my messenger bag. I caught the strap and attempted to pull it into my lap. The car rocked, but the bag didn’t move.
I made sure there was no one else on the road, then I peeked over my shoulder and saw that the bag had twisted, angled all wrong to pull between the seatbacks.
A disgusted grunt, then, “Eyes forward, hands on the wheel.” Buddy knocked my hand aside and yanked my bag into the front seat.
“Thanks, I—” I reached for the bag.
Buddy drew it out of reach.
“What the hell?” I glared at him.
“What did you need?” He unzipped the messenger bag.
“Dude, that’s my stuff.”
“And if you’re driving, you don’t need to be pawing through the bag. Either you tell me what you’re looking for or wait until we’re stopped so you can get it yourself.”
This time I did roll my eyes. “I’ve been driving for years now. I think I can handle multitasking—”
“Do you want to know the statistics connecting distracted driving to automotive deaths?”
“Geez, you’re uptight.”
He shrugged.
I could be stubborn when I wanted to. I could wait him out, demand he hand over my stuff. But the clenched jaw and determined stare told me I probably couldn’t out-stubborn him. “Christ, you’d think you were someone’s overprotective mother.”
His stony expression didn’t shift.
“Fine.” I sighed loudly to convey just how stupid I thought this whole thing was. “I want my phone and the USB connector. They should be in the front pocket.”
“Phone?” Disapproval colored his voice.
“I want music, damn it. The silence is killing me.”
He reached into the bag to retrieve my phone. The cord, which had gotten tangled into a messy knot, came next. Between quick glances to make sure I stayed on my side of the highway, I watched as his thick fingers worked deftly to untangle the slippery cord. He made it look surprisingly easy. Jesus, those hands. I had to admit I had a thing for big manly hands. The kind with broad palms, callused fingers, and—
The obnoxious sound of the tires on the rumble strips on the side of the road dragged my attention back where it belonged.
I refused to look at Buddy’s face, no matter how much I wanted to see his expression. Instead I reached forward and turned on the air vents. Man, it was getting warm in here.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Buddy plug the phone’s cord into the appropriate port on my dash. “The music app is on the first screen,” I told him.
He grunted.
Another pause long enough to make me wonder if he even knew what he was looking for. Then he huffed. Not laughter, not really, but it was totally a show of amusement.
“What?” I turned to look at him.
“Eyes. Road.”
“Yeah, yeah. What’s so funny?”
“Your playlists.”
“What about them?”
“Dance Club Divas.”
“Well, sure. They’re dance mixes from the greatest divas of the last few decades.”
“Run for Your Life! complete with exclamation mark.”
“Helps me maintain a good pace. They’re songs with perfect rhythm and timing for a three-mile run.”
“Right. How about Breakup Bastards?”
That one was a little bit more embarrassing. But sometimes a guy needs to vent his way through a breakup. I cringed a bit. “Lots of old school Alanis and Staind.”
Then I remembered what was next on the list. Shit.
“Hot Night Hookups?”
“Uh…” I licked my lips I needed a distraction. “Hey, there should be one there called Red Bull Energy. You know, high energy songs. Good for keeping focused while driving.” Or while pre-gaming for a party, but still….
“Nice try.” He reached forward to increase the volume.
The first strains of Moves Like Jagger filled my car. Heat burned up my chest, to my throat, and onto my cheeks. I was probably as red as the paint of my MINI. And given my Weasley-worthy ginger hair, there was no way it was a flattering look.
He continued to scan my downloaded songs. He burst into laughter, a deep guffaw that made me want to smile. “Boy Band Bonanza?”
“I didn’t do it!” And I hadn’t. As a joke since he got a kick out of my song categorizations, my old roommate had uploaded a bunch of boy bands from original New Kids on the Block to Back Street Boys to One Direction to my iTunes. And sure, I may have listened once or twice—almost always when drunk, I swear—but I refused to take credit for them.
I chanced a glance at Buddy. He was smiling. No, not just smiling. He was grinning in absolute pleasure. The look of unfettered amusement was so different from the grumpy bear thing he’d been perfecting that I wanted to share in the moment and smile in return. Something sweet and warm bloomed in my gut.
And as the music changed from Maroon 5 to Britney Spears’ Toxic, that warmth grew sharp edges and burned a little brighter. Sure, I’d experienced a low-key appreciation for Buddy’s appearance because the guy checked every one of my papa bear fantasies, but personality-wise we clashed. So it had to be the music. Usually when I heard these songs physical things of an adult nature were happening. So my reaction to him in this moment, and the little tendrils of arousal that grew in me, had to be a Pavlovian response. Sexy song equals arousal, regardless of the person those tendrils aimed toward. Sure. Right.
Buddy inhaled a little deeper.
And crap. Buddy was a shifter, and his senses—like smell—were as enhanced as mine. If I could smell how turned on I was becoming, he surely could too.
I cranked up the air fans, hoping it would help dissipate the odor. “So, um, what kind of music do you like? Anything on my list sound good?”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t listen to much music.”
“Excuse me? How’s that even possible?”
“I don’t dislike it or anything. I just listen to a lot of podcasts.”
I gestured for my phone. “Well, let’s put it on shuffle and see what appeals—”
My fingertips barely grazed the screen before he changed his grip to his other hand, out of my reach.
“Seriously, I can manage my phone and a deserted highway at the same—”
My object cut off abruptly when the music changed again. Marvin Gaye’s smooth voice encouraged us to get it on.
Buddy choked.
Red as my face had been a minute ago, it was nothing compared to how hot it was now. Damn it, I must have hit the Next icon on the screen.
“Really?”
I tried for a calm and collected tone when I replied, “It’s meant to be a joke. I mean, it’s like the epitome of sexy songs. I couldn’t not do it.”
He jabbed at the app, and the music changed to the first song in my Red Bull Energy list.
I couldn’t look at him for at least twenty minutes after that, though I swore I felt him watching me.
BLURB
A Shifter U Tale
Outfoxing their enemies will be a bear of a task.
Aspiring journalist and fox shifter David ends up with a target on his back after hacking the Moreau Initiative, the shifter world’s greatest enemy. But he won’t let that stop him from the campus tour road trip that’ll help him become the next Anderson Cooper… even if his family insists he travel with a grumpy grizzly bear bodyguard.
Buddy Brady is older, sexy, and too damn distracting for David, and as the sexual tension builds, so does the suspicion around the repeated attacks—first in Chicago, then in New York. Someone is tracking them, and all clues point to a traitor in the shifter ranks. Worst of all, they could be after David’s family....
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Author Bio
j. leigh bailey is an office drone by day and the author of Young Adult and New Adult LGBT Romance by night. She can usually be found with her nose in a book or pressed up against her computer monitor. A book-a-day reading habit sometimes gets in the way of... well, everything...but some habits aren't worth breaking. She's been reading romance novels since she was ten years old. The last twenty years or so have not changed her voracious appetite for stories of romance, relationships and achieving that vitally important Happy Ever After. She's a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, sexual orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending. For upcoming releases and appearances information, sign up for her newsletter at https://t.co/FfL9gFVJLQ.
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**GIVEAWAY** I had so much fun coming up with possible play lists for this scene. I’d love to know, if you had a playlist called “Hot Night Hookups”, which songs would you include? I’ll be giving away a digital copy of the Shifter U novel of your choice (Stalking Buffalo Bill, Chasing Thunderbird, The Night Owl and the Insomniac, or Fox Hunt) to a random commenter! Giveaway will close on July 18.
Thank you for having me!
ReplyDeleteGreat scene. As for your question, I am sure it would start with You Star me up by the Rolling Stones, and follow immediately by Too Sexy by Right Said Fred ;)
ReplyDeleteOne I would include is Afternoon Delight.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com