Determined to confuse my senses, Susan Willis has sent me her take on a foodie extract. The fruit is alive with colour but isn’t as delicious as it seems. Let Susan tempt you another cheeky extract from The Girl in the Dark. Find out if all is well and whether the kitchen is too hot.
Kim sliced large Jaffa oranges and bright, full Sicilian lemons while Alex made the images look like big cartwheels bursting with droplets of fresh juice. He’s such a clever guy, she thought.
She began to peel a kiwi fruit while Alex watched. He grinned at her. ‘I haven’t had this much fun for ages,’ he teased. ‘What do you think about this, Kim?’
Kim giggled. ‘Hmm, not a shade of lipstick I’ve ever used before, but, I suppose there’s always a first time for everything?’
Alex stared into at her mouth. ‘Maybe not, but you do have those big kissable lips!’
She felt her cheeks flush and touched her bottom lip. It feels as though I’m in some type of trance, she thought, and knew for certain that she was falling for this guy in a big way.
Kim shook herself. ‘Let’s see what this pineapple looks like when sliced?’
Alex danced a little jig from one of his big loafers to another. ‘God, I love it when a plan comes together.’
Kim laughed at the sight of his huge feet skipping lightly.
Alex placed three apples together, but Kim frowned knowing the image didn’t look original compared to the rest of the work.
Touching his arm, she suggested, ‘How about if we make long rows of the apples?’
He nodded as she placed the fruit. ‘Fab.’ he said. ‘But maybe the first one could be cut in half to show the white crispness inside, or, I could always take a bite out of one of them?’
‘What a marvellous team we are,’ Kim cried.
Alex agreed and came up close to her. He bent down to her ear. ‘Not just a pretty face, then,’ he whispered. ‘But more of a very clever lady, methinks.’
‘Oh, I think any stylist can come up with new ideas,’ she said gently shaking her head.
Alex smiled. ‘Aah, but you’re my food stylist and nobody else comes close.’
End of Extract
About the Novel
The Girl in the Dark is the latest Grip Lit novel from Susan Willis. A thrilling romantic suspense story that will keep you turning pages long into the night.
When Kim goes to old friend, Sidney’s, photography studio to start a new food styling contract she meets his new assistant, Alex. Kim is catapulted from her mournful existence into an explosive romantic relationship with Alex. Sidney, however, is wary. He thinks, there’s something not quite right about Alex, and urges caution.
Will Kim look back and wish she’d listened…
Susan Willis is a published author of three novels, and five novellas’. She lives in the North East of England surrounded by family and friends. Following publication of a love story about a chef and her boyfriend, she wrote more foodie-based love stories and wove them into her first novel, ‘Yes Chef, No Chef’.
Now Susan has ventured into romantic suspense with her latest novel, The Girl In The Dark.
Set in her home town of Durham City, this storyline is not a who done it thriller, but, a psychological page-turner which she loved writing. We can only hope the heroine hasn’t put her trust in the wrong man?
Best of luck to Susan with this novel.
The heat is certainly on with this great summer read set in a photography studio in Durham. Kim is styling fruit for the new photographer, Alex, but it’s not only the July sunshine that is making her sizzle with anticipation.
Follow Susan on:
Twitter: @SusanWillis69
Email: williseliz7@aol.com
Please see all my extracts and excerpts at Book Extracts and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.
Alexa and Rosie are presented via a first person narrative, and this insight plays tricks with the reader’s mind – one questions whose ‘game’ is dominant. The contrasting characters are presented using animal imagery of the cat and the mouse. Careful choice of verbs indicates who is ‘ambushing’ the friendship.
Before reaching the crisis point, Alexa wears a mask of control like a cat waiting to pounce. Rosie, is forced to confront her vulnerability. She learns how ‘empathetic skills’ are viewed as weakness by some, if not ‘managed’. Rosie’s language flows, driven by emotions, and she explains:
The long sentence and outpouring of emotions amplify the sense of vulnerability. But the ‘sweet and sour’ characters begin to shift, as the dichotomy is not fixed. If one deconstructs the manipulator’s ‘game’ it is possible to fight back. However, Alexa becomes isolated, vulnerable and needs support. I was intrigued with the way that this story manipulated my emotions.
Leuschel cracks open the fragility of the human psyche in an artful manner, and clues about the characters’ vulnerabilities are woven into the text. This brutal, haunting story of the human psyche arms the reader with some survival tactics. Despite an uneasy feeling, one finds empathy for the manipulator. Perhaps, this novella will lead to a novel examining what shaped the manipulator’s behaviour, and what happens next.