Split

I spend a lot of time talking about what I don't like in a Romance novel. I make fun of dumb heroines, overly macho heroes, and every other aspect of the genre - but only out of love. The sad truth of the matter is that I, like so many other Romance readers, aspire to become a published author.

Despite all my complaining, it remains to be seen whether I can avoid the pitfalls I rail against in published novels. And who am I to point fingers, anyway? It's not as though people actually pay to read my writing. In the spirit of fairness, I submit an excerpt from one of my current WIPs.

Title: Split
Genre: Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Pop-Culture Pastiche Erotic Romance
Length: 65,000
Condition: Unfinished

Mara Keane was arrested for murder, but that’s nothing new. She’s a woman with a past, and the crooked cops in Dark River City won’t ever let her forget it. What is new is the shadow that tracks her path as she leaves the police station, a vigilante assassin called the Left Hand of Death who’s come to town to take out the city’s biggest crime boss.

Jack Sinistral may not know Dark River, but he has Mara’s number. Danger and desire go hand in hand for the smart-mouthed professional knife-thrower, and Sinistral is the sort of man who can mete out pain and pleasure in deliciously equal measures. But he has competition.

Though Sinistral has staked his claim on her body, Mara’s heart belongs to hunky Dr. Jake Wright. Jake is everything she ever wanted in a man, and if Mara could resist the dark temptation of Sinistral’s touch she would happily spend the rest of her life in Jake’s strong embrace.

But Dark River isn’t like anyplace else. Here, passions run as deep and deadly as the river that divides the city. Here, nothing is simple, everyone has secrets, and no one is what they seem – including the good doctor Wright. Soon the cops are closing in on Sinistral, the crime boss wants Mara’s head on a plate, and Jake begins to suspect that he’s something less than sane. In order to survive, the killer must meet his conscience, the doctor must face his dark side, and Mara must discover whether love is enough to unite two sundered souls in a city where everything else is split.

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