UPDATE:
From: Editor
Subject: The book is wonderful
Body: I’ve finished INFATUATED and I love it!
UPDATE: In case you didn’t know *g*, my hero, Rennie Bergen, is based on Jesse James of West Coast Choppers and Monster Garage where “ordinary cars become extraordinary machines.”
In lieu of a real post (since I’m dying here, DYING I say *g*), I thought I’d post a snippet from my November Blaze INFATUATED. I haven’t said much here on the blog about the story, but I’ve written a hero who is not your average doctor, lawyer, graphic designer, or spy . . .
“Yo, Ren. Jin’s on the phone. He says the frame’s got a nickel-sized rust hole on the cross panel support. He wants to know if you want he should haggle the Captain on the price since it ain’t so pristine as he said.”Son of a barking dog. Rennie Bergen planted the rubber of his heels on the garage’s slick concrete floor and rolled the creeper out from beneath the panel van that had once been an ice cream truck. The water pump was pissing like a baby kangaroo. Story of his life.
He got to his feet and looked for Hector who was halfway across the hangar-sized building and heading Rennie’s way with the phone. If he didn’t find a workable frame and soon . . . aw, hell, who was he kidding?
It wasn’t the frame that was the problem. It was the entire concept. Turning a VW bus into a submersible had seemed like such a good idea when he’d been eight beers under the table and scrambling for new show ideas.
He grabbed the phone from Hector’s hand and yelled at Jin. “You tell the Captain thanks, but no thanks. And if he keeps hitting me with this crap, he can forget seeing another dime of my business, I don’t care how long he’s known my father.”
His voice still echoing, Rennie disconnected before Jin could respond, tossed the phone back to Hector, and headed for the huge stainless steel sink on the wall outside the office and the john. From the exterior, the garage looked like nothing, a big metal building like any other warehouse or shop. Except it wasn’t.
The garage was home to the cable TV phenomenon Hell On Wheels. The show had made Rennie Bergen a star with a cult following few car buffs could claim. That was because few, if any, managed what he and his crew accomplished, turning passenger vehicles into mechanical wonders such as low-rider school buses and rolling techno clubs.
The best part of his success was that he wasn’t a household name. He could still walk down an average city street and never turn a head. He stood a better chance of being recognized in blue-collar neighborhoods where a man’s vehicle of choice was less a reflection of his portfolio or family status and more an extension of his personality.
Rennie had grown up in such a neighborhood. Good people, living and loving paycheck to paycheck, hoping the life they were able to provide their kids would be enough. It had been for Rennie. The summer vacations, the balancing of school and athletics and work, the nightly dinners at seven. The holiday celebrations that included his father’s employees and their families–from salesmen to secretaries to grease monkeys–along with the extended Bergen clan.
It had been an insular world of tightly woven bonds, but growing up in that atmosphere had given him an appreciation for men willing to get their hands dirty while taking care of their own. His first real exposure to the flip side hadn’t come until college. His roommate, Derek Randall, had been all about paying other men to do his dirty work while taking care of himself. And Derek’s girlfriend, Milla Page . . .
Rennie shoved off the water and yanked enough paper towels from the dispenser to dry his arms up to his elbows. Derek hadn’t been a bad guy, just from a world Rennie hadn’t been used to. The fact that they’d butted heads so often had been only the tip of the iceberg Rennie had eventually faced, trying to fit in with that crowd before realizing the futility of the effort.
He’d made his way in the world, and then he’d come home, belonging here, comfortable here, employing men who shared his background and his belief that there was no such thing as a job that was too dirty when a little muscle and degreaser made cleanup a breeze. Still, he had to admit it was a hell of a lot more fun working for the man when he was the man and was rolling in a big fat pile of greenbacks.
“Yo, Ren,” Hector hollered. “Today just ain’t your day, man. Angie called up from the showroom. Some blonde’s here to see you.”
Rennie tossed the towels in the trash and glanced at Hector where the long time Bergen Motors employee who was now Rennie’s right hand man stood in the office door. “This blonde got a name? Better yet. Did she bring me a rust-free frame?”
“She didn’t even bring much in the way of a female frame, Angie’s saying.” Hector frowned as he listened to the other end of the phone conversation. “She’s like a stick figure with white skin and white hair, and eyes like big green double spoke rims. Her name is–”
“Milla,” Rennie said, swallowing hard as his gut drew up into a knot of fiery emotions like he hadn’t felt in years. “Her name is Milla Page.”
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nice.
by kim h May 8th, 2006 at 1:59 pmGood stuff there! :)
by Laurie May 8th, 2006 at 3:02 pmNovember? But…but…but…I want it now! *g* It sounds awesome!
by Shannon May 8th, 2006 at 8:01 pmOh, wow. This story is gonna be soooo good! If the weather stays sunny & in the 70’s, then I’m gonna pray it’s November soon! LOL
by Stacy ~ May 8th, 2006 at 9:24 pmWaay, cool. November you say? Hmm… that gives me more than enough time to hunt you down.
Your books, that is.
by Jaye Patrick May 8th, 2006 at 9:41 pmThis is an unusual profession choice! Sounds like fun
by Little Lamb Lost May 9th, 2006 at 9:19 amThis sounds really good!
by Carol May 9th, 2006 at 10:24 amHavent seen Monster Garage but they have the equivalents here in the UK but I must say, they’re not as yummy as your Mr Bergen :) Cant wait…
by Jopee May 9th, 2006 at 6:14 pmI’m not at all surprised that your editor loved it!!
by Laurie May 9th, 2006 at 7:47 pmDon’t ask me what it is but there’s just something about Jesse James, maybe the whole bad boy thing. Sandra knows what it is….he sounds like the perfect Rennie.
And duh, of course your editor loved it. What’s not to love?
by Stacy ~ May 9th, 2006 at 11:05 pmI LOVE Monster Garage! I’ve gotta get this book.
by Charlene May 11th, 2006 at 4:09 pmCongrats on the Editor’s comment!
by Little Lamb Lost May 12th, 2006 at 10:54 pm[…] […]
by Alison Kent » Blog Archive » June 4th, 2006 at 10:38 pm[…] I also have galleys to read for INFATUATION with changes due back by the 12th, so must do those, too. Then will be getting copy edits back on BAS probably first of next week - if not by Friday (since I know they’re going back to Kensington asap!) I’ve told you a bit about Rennie & Milla’s story, and even gave you an excerpt awhile back, so I figured it was time for an excerpt from BEYOND A SHADOW. Here’s what the only person who has read it so far has said: Well, drained or not, what I’ve read so far absolutely rocks. I love Ezra, and I love what you did with Emmy Rose, and I love Alexa, too. The town, the interactions between Molly and Alexa, the atmosphere — this book has a slightly different feel than the others, but in a wonderful way. I’m trying to remember if anyone else has been so rooted in their daily life during one of the books, and I don’t think so. Also, there’s a different vibe to a full-length book — the novellas were awesome, but you didn’t get to develop the story and the characters as fully for obvious reasons. […]
by Alison Kent » Blog Archive » Have a GREAT 4th of July weekend! July 1st, 2006 at 9:10 am[…] Update: You can read an excerpt here! […]
by Alison Kent » Blog Archive » We have NEW cover! August 11th, 2006 at 9:06 am