#WriteTip - Take a Walk by @Gina_Wynn, spotlighting her @DecadentPub #Romance Her Dollmaker's Desire
/Fellow Decadent Publishing author Gina Wynn has a brand new addition to the Beyond Fairytales series. It features an ex-dancer, an evil stepmother, and a biker with a leather jacket—what more can a romance reader ask ? In addition to snagging an excerpt from Her Dollmaker’s Desire (which has a stunning cover, by the by), I also convinced her to give me a writing tip. As Fitbit-wearer, it's one I can wholeheartedly endorse.
Take a Walk
by Gina Wynn
If ideas stop flowing, take a walk. I have my best ideas when I’m pushing my two year old in her pushchair. Of course, this might be more due to the two year old than the walking as I don’t often walk without her. If that’s the case, you may borrow mine.
I write stories by theft. I steal time from being an active parent, or an attentive wife…but mostly from doing my housework. Unless I’m procrastinating. Then my house is a shining example worthy of Stepford, my children sparkle and are fully entertained, and my husband experiences the contentment of a full stomach and being able to find the remote control.
I usually set out with a germ of an idea. A niggle of a thought gleaned from a sound, an image, a random thought or a snippet of conversation. For example, while I sat with my daughter in the still of her bedroom the other night, I heard a strange high pitched whining outside…what if that sound signaled the end of the world? Or, my husband drove me through the centre of Birmingham, and I looked out between two tall tower blocks. What if a dragon came swooping between those right now? I have no idea if normal brains work this way. I can claim a lot of things, but normal has never been one of them.
Her Dollmaker’s Desire
By Gina Wynn
A Beyond Fairy Tales story
Rule number 123: Once upon a time is for fairy tales, not for broken ex dancers who live at home with Daddy and a textbook evil stepmother, and who only manage to get through life by counting every single step.
Amy knows her rules inside out…who to spend time with, what to eat, what to drink and what to do - until danger shows up in a leather jacket on a shiny chrome motorbike. Suddenly, breaking the rules seems to be all she can manage no matter how hard she tries, and her rigid control starts to slip.
Peder’s violent past has shaped him into the man he is, much the way he has learned to shape dolls with the help of his grandfather. He used to have only one rule in his life, courtesy of his absent brother and their shared gang past. When Amy is sent to write an article on his grandfather and his history of doll making for a paper her father’s company owns, she captures Peder’s interest and his heart. After his brother makes an ill-timed return and issues an instruction that threatens his future with Amy, Peder becomes trapped in a fresh web of lies and family ties. He must decide if he should start breaking the rules he didn’t know he lived by to take a chance on a future with Amy while knowing he could still lose her if she finds out.
Is Amy brave enough to put her faith in Peder, and can he overcome his past and convince Amy to follow their destiny, rather than her rules?
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Excerpt
Lost in her thoughts of the past, Amy reached to grasp the ballet dancer’s tiny form.
“I’ve brought the cake, if you want to come and sit with us for your cup of tea?” A new male voice, deep and confident, startled her.
She jumped and straightened, coming nose to nose with the unhinged grin and vacant leer of a circus clown.
A gasp tore from her lips. “Oh, my God.” She backed into something warm and solid,
and shrieked before spinning round.
“Sorry. Sorry…it’s just me.” The man’s eyes, rich with the colours of wild woodland moss, held an unexpected glint of danger. She shivered as an electric jolt shot straight through her when she met that green gaze. It glimmered with mischief and laughter, and he didn’t look quite as sorry as he should have.
Reflex led to her almost leaning into his strong grip as he reached out to steady her. Almost. She tugged her arm away and held out her hand.
“Pleased to meet you.” Superficial manners and years of rules kicked in, and she averted her gaze from the man who hadn’t introduced himself, and especially from his dangerous eyes. Her heart continued to race over her close encounter with the clown…yet the warmth in her arm lingered where the man had wrapped his strong fingers around her.
“Quite,” came his polite reply, and the obvious disinterest in his tone echoed through her, but what had she expected? Rule Number 15: Know your place, always.
She sneaked a quick look at him, and his very attractive lips upturned in an amused smile. One she almost returned, while wishing he’d speak more words once she could hear him over the rushing of blood in her ears.
His voice melted her, creating sparks and exploring long-forgotten depths of attraction. It made promises for ways they should spend time together he couldn’t even be aware of, and she wanted him to talk forever. She took an uncertain step away. Space seemed necessary…safe.
About Gina Wynn
Gina has fly-away hair that has always done its own thing, doesn’t feel as old as she looks, owns three children (aged 2, 5 and 7) who can’t be tamed, and writes in spare – stolen – time. ‘Her Dollmaker’s Desire’, published by Decadent Publishing, is her debut book, but she is brimming with further ideas and is willing to invest money in the first person who is able to add extra hours to a day.
She has a second book, ‘Her Undercover Christmas’ contracted with Decadent Publishing, and ‘What You Wish For’ contracted with Three Worlds Press and due for release September 2015.
Her love of the written word extends to owning a To Be Read pile that is probably longer than the rest of her natural life (more investment available for anyone who perfects anti-aging, then) and editing for a small press, as well as co-hosting a free promotion website for writers and their books at http://alwayswrite.club.
