WICKED WEDNESDAY
What could be more fun on a Wicked Wednesday than humor? And I am proud to host my guest, Terry Newman, on her release day. How special. Congratulations, Terry.
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JJ Spritely is
a romance author who is known for creating characters that jump off the page.
Of course, we’re talking figuratively. Until we’re not.
One day the
hero and heroine of her work in progress, Alex Zurich and Blake Teesdale, leap
out of the pages of their story and smack dab into the real world. And they’re
determined it’s time JJ writes her own love story.
Once they’ve
delivered their message, the fictional couple discovers they can’t return to
their world. Alex is especially eager to get back, so they try various methods
that, well, look like they should work, like, imitating Dorothy in The
Wizard of Oz.
While JJ is at
her sister’s dinner party (having a disastrous time, by the way) Alex and Blake
watch the movie. If the ruby slippers worked for Dorothy, then why wouldn’t it
work for them? But, for it to work they believe they have to replicate the
scene as accurately as possible, even if it means stuffing six-foot Blake into
a dress made for a woman who’s barely more than five foot. Oh, yeah, and
instead of ruby slippers, they’ve rounded up red high heels in JJ’s closet.
And this is
where it gets good…
“Oh, Alex,”
he chimed. “I'm ready. And I'm coming out.”
And with
that Alex heard the clicks of the heels on the hardwood hallway. “Damn it!”
Click. “Bloody heels.” Click. “How do you women wear these things?” Click. “Oh,
my aching back!”
His voice
grew louder till he reached the living room where she was standing expectantly.
She couldn't believe what she saw. Standing in front of her was the man she
loved, dressed nearly exactly as she was. The white dress was barely long
enough to cover even a small fraction of his thighs and a pair of red stiletto
heels stuffed into his feet.
“Love,” he
said grimacing through his pain, “does this outfit make me look fat?”
She merely
shook her head. Then she noticed something even more bizarre about him.
“Are those
pantyhose you're wearing?”
“Yeah, but
they barely come to my waist. I never realized how short JJ was till I put on
her pantyhose.”
She doubled
over in laughter. He appeared so sincere yet looked so ridiculous. “Uhm, dear,
do you know how short that dress is on you?”
“Hey, it's
not my fault. It's not like I was shopping at Harrods. JJ had two white dresses
in her closet, and you picked the better of the two. My choices were limited.”
He turned
his back to her. “Look, I can't even button this bloody thing.” At the sight of
the open white dress against his hairy back, she laughed uncontrollably.
“What's so
funny?” he asked, as he planted his hands on his hips. “You get to wear the
good Dorothy dress. I'm stuck with this.” He looked down at his apparel.
“I just want
to make sure we have every detail in place, just in case it's not the ruby
slippers that actually work the magic.” He took a deep breath and held out his
hand.
“Now could
we get on with this please? I think these pantyhose are strangling my manhood.”
They held
hands, closed their eyes and clicked their heels together. Secretly, Alex
prayed the red-heeled shoes would be a good enough substitute for the ruby
slippers.
“Okay, at
the count of three,” Blake instructed. Alex nodded. “One, two, three. There's
no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home.”
When they opened their eyes, they were still standing in JJ's living room.
“Let's try
it one more time,” Blake urged, “just in case the Universe was busy doing
something else and wasn't listening.” Disappointed and on the verge of tears,
she slowly nodded her assent.
They had
resumed their stance and held hands when she heard JJ walk in through the back
door. As the writer entered the living, she asked, “What in the world is going
on? Blake, is that you in that dress?”
The
sharpness of JJ's voice sparked the flood of tears Alex had tried to hold back.
She was so frustrated. She only wanted to return to her world, check on her
cat, and make sure that pot of soup she had started hadn't boiled over. She
didn't believe JJ when she said she took care of it for her.
Blake turned
around, smiling. “We watched—”
“I know
exactly what movie you watched and it’s time the male Dorothy gets out of that
outfit.”
Blake
harrumphed an unintelligible reply and clomped clumsily to the bedroom,
slamming the door loudly. Then from behind the door, he said, “And to think, I
shaved my legs for this.”
Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/bP7YAr
Two things you should know about me: I have an offbeat sense of humor and characters are constantly talking to me, trying to get me to tell their stories. Other than that, I’m a normal person.
I’ve spent most of my adult life writing in some fashion, from small-town reporter, to editor-in-chief and ghostwriter for a national natural health publishing firm. The last decade and a half I’ve worked as a freelance writer, penning ebooks that range from starting a doula services business to Native American herbs.
I’ve finally took the plunge to fiction after pushing oh, so many doubts aside. My first novel with The Wild Rose Press, Heartquake, won a 4.5 crowned heart review with Ind’tale Magazine.
All my books are set in fictional towns in northeast Ohio, where I grew up, and I write about things I love—like coffee.
I have a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandpuppy and live in North Lima, a real town in northeast Ohio with all my characters. Yes, it does get crowded.
Social Media Links
https://terrynewmanauthor.com/
Facebook: Terry Newman
https://www.facebook.com/terry.newman.31521
Twitter: @tnewmanwrites
https://twitter.com/tnewmanwrites
Instagram: terry.newman.31521
https://www.instagram.com/terry.newman.31521/
TikTok: @terrynewman614
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60574351-heartquake?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=99H2V7dnWm&rank=1
Bookbub: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60574351-heartquake?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=99H2V7dnWm&rank=1
Thank you for hosting me, Brenda!
ReplyDeleteThis book is a hoot. I totally enjoyed it. Great job Terry!
ReplyDelete