Thank you Jana for letting me stop by today to share a favorite scene from my latest book, “Asylum Harbor”. From time to time I get asked if certain places or people in my stories are real. Usually, they’re a mix of different things. This is the case in the scene where the heroine, Devon Brown, arrives at the boarding house where she’ll be staying on Shell Island. From the moment she opens the door, she feels like she’s been swept back in time.
This scene was fun to write because the room is a combination of a bedrooms in my grandparents’ home. Their house was built in 1885 and they very rarely changed the décor during their years there. While the metal frame bed and the radiator are gone, the rose printed linoleum still remains. The armoire is with me now but I still have wonderful memories of spending summer nights with them. Even though there was no air conditioning!
Here's Isla's favorite scene:
“Oh my God,” Devon whispered when she glimpsed inside. The room was stuck in whatever century the house had been built in. She walked across the room, unable to divert her attention from the large pink roses imprinted on the floor’s linoleum and almost tripped on a tattered scatter rug in the middle of the room.
The rusty metal frame of the bed squeaked when she put her things on it. She sat on the edge, praying it was sturdy enough to hold her, and buried her head in her hands. If the situation wasn’t so ridiculous, she would have cried. She reached for the antique lamp on the bedside table and pulled the beaded copper chain that hung down. “Yes!” she cheered when the light came on. At least the place had electricity.
Devon examined the rest of the sparsely furnished room. She trailed her fingers across a vanity that wobbled under her touch and paused in front of a dusty armoire wedged in the corner. She flung the door open and coughed at the overwhelming scent of mothballs. At least there would be a place to hang her clothes once it aired out, since there wasn’t a closet in the room.
An overpainted radiator stood against a boarded-up fireplace, to be used for heat in the winter. Unfortunately, it was only late spring. The room was already stifling, and it wouldn’t bring relief in the sweltering heat of summer. Devon opened both of the room’s windows to let the breeze flow through and to air out the musty smell.
Publisher’s Info.
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Title: Asylum Harbor
Series Name: The Salty Dog Series, Book One
SubGenre(s): Contemporary, Suspense
Rating: Spicy (PG-13)
Page Count: 198
Word Count: 45,430
Buy link: Available from Amazon
Tagline
“Still Waters Run Deep”
Blurb
Trouble is the last thing Devon Brown needs when she leaves the painful memories of her past behind and heads to Shell Island. As the Salty Dog’s new bartender, she finds herself drawn to Kerr, the Shell Island harbormaster. But finding her happily-ever-after is difficult when dealing with an obnoxious bootlegger who supplies the bar with illegal liquor and a jealous coworker.
A standoffish loner with damaged emotions, Kerr avoids relationships like the plague. Things change when Devon catches his eye. As a simple flirtation grows serious, the coworker and bootlegger quickly become obstacles to any future Kerr and Devon may have together. As the situation worsens, Devon realizes that even the still waters of Asylum Harbor are no refuge during a storm.
Excerpt
“You already got dibs on this one Kerr?”
Porter shot an evil glare at the opposite end of the bar and looked back toward her. “I’ll see you tonight.” He flicked his tongue. “After work.” He raised his glass in a mock toast and chugged it in one gulp.
The lights dimmed for Victoria’s dance of the night. Devon watched Kerr, who was usually headed for the exit by now, and breathed a sigh of relief when he remained glued to his seat with his back to the stage. He wasn’t staying for Victoria’s peep show. There must have been something about this Porter character that got under his skin in a bad way.
Devon was eager for the quick break. She hustled to the back as the chords to “Simply Irresistible” began to pelt over the speakers and ran some cold water over her forearm. A red welt was beginning to show where Porter had held onto it. She hoped he would be gone by the time she got back.
Making it out before mid-song, Devon rounded the bar when someone snagged her wrist and thrust her hard against the bar, knocking the wind out of her. She could smell Porter’s alcohol-laced breath as his weight pinned her under him. One of his grubby hands shot under her shirt while the other wrestled with the button on her pants. “Let’s give them a real show.”
She struggled to reach the Equalizer, but it remained hidden, out of her grasp. Devon hoisted her knee toward his crotch, but Porter lost his balance and fell backward before she could make contact.
Kerr towered over him. “Get your hands off her.”
Isla Grey is from Central Virginia and still lives in the same small town she grew up in. She developed a love of writing at an early age and over the years has tried her hand at penning poetry (some good, some not so good), screenwriting, newspaper articles and historical stories. She’s “old school” when it comes to writing and is a hoarder of more pens, post-it notes and writing journals than she’ll ever need. Isla likes to write different types of stories from romance to mystery and anything in between and loves a “happy for now but there could be some bad things coming” feel.
When Isla’s not writing, she spends her time being called “Mom, Mama, Mommy” (well, you get the picture) by her daughter who is forever active, even in her sleep. She considers herself an unofficial “cat whisperer” and is a pet human to a plethora of cats that have taken up residence at her home over the years. Isla also enjoys reading a good biography or ghost story, traveling even though “there’s no place like home”, good music played loud and walking.
Isla loves movies and is the movie mistakes editor at Bellaonline.com where she talks about…well…movies. Her novella, “A Voice in the Dark”, is available now and her book, “Asylum Harbor”, will be released September 16th, 2015 through Wild Rose Press.
You can connect with Isla at:
Website: http://www.islagrey.com/
Blog: http://www.islagrey.com/islas-inklings
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorIslaGrey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IslaGrey1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/islagrey
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MMTEYEK
Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfqmyddcQ4
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