Manny walked in her door, looking tired and feeling worn out. She wondered ruefully why the only thing not on a schedule was the time she could leave the office. She dropped her purse on the table and hung up her coat and keys. With a tired sigh, she walked into the living room and plopped into the armchair. She closed her eyes as Harvey walked out of the kitchen with a glass of white wine and began to rub her shoulders. He again looked impossibly handsome, this time wearing a sweater and jeans. She sighed in imagined bliss, and looked at him with sad eyes.

Excerpt

You have no idea how much I wish you were real.

In a blink, he was gone–and the phone was ringing. For a split second, Manny considered not answering it.

There’s your chance to talk to a real person, Harvey murmured.

Probably a telemarketer.

Probably Rebecca. Or Daisy. They’ll worry if you don’t answer.

All right, all right.

Manny heaved herself to her feet and walked to the phone.

Maybe I’m glad you’re imaginary after all.

She caught a glimpse of his grin as she answered the phone.

It was Rebecca, asking her to go out the next night.

“I don’t know…” Manny sighed.

“Oh, come on–you’ll have fun! And seriously–you haven’t gone out with us in months!”

“I’ve been tired…”

“You’ve been tired your whole life I think. You need to break out of this rut you’re in! Come out for a few drinks and dancing with me and Daisy. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet a good-looking guy and be swept off your feet into a red-hot love affair.”

Sounds like a plan to me.

Yeah, ’cause that’ll happen.

“I’d love to go dancing,” Manny said to Rebecca, “but the guy is just a figment of your imagination.”

“Only because you don’t put any effort into it. Seriously, it’s not healthy to do nothing but work and go home. That’s how people go crazy you know.”

“Huh. You mean next thing you know I’ll be talking to my imaginary friend?”

Harvey grinned wickedly and Manny abruptly turned her back to him.

“Exactly!” Rebecca said. “Come on–what do you say?”

“Okay, okay,” Manny sighed. “Tomorrow night–the usual place?”

“Yep–and sound like you’re actually looking forward to it, okay?”

“I’m sorry. I am looking forward to it–it’ll be fun.”

About Victoria

Victoria Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a “woman of a certain age”. After twenty-something years of writer’s block, she began writing again in 2008. Victoria enjoys reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody’s guess. She lives in Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). A Life Less Ordinary is the first novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.

The Cutting Room Floor

(Guest Post by the Author)

Good morning!  Thanks for hosting me today!

One of the hardest things I have to do is edit a book I’ve written.  Other people’s work – no problem!  I love telling other people what to do – LOL.  My own work, though?  A wee bit of a struggle.

Of course, the editing I’m talking about here isn’t the basic stuff:  spelling, punctuation, and grammar.  I’m talking about that edit where you read the book as a reader and not as a creator.

This is the point in the process when I read the book with an extremely critical eye, and assess each scene and character to determine if they actually serve a purpose in the story.  It’s the point where I have to determine the story I really want to tell, and let everything else go.

The end result is, I hope, a better story, but the number of things I’ve had to leave on the cutting room floor over the years is rather heartbreaking, and proof I’m far too easily distracted by shiny things.

A Life Less Ordinary is a prime example of this.

In my first (still incomplete) draft of the book, every person Manny and Zeke meet on their trip had a backstory that was explored in some depth.  They all had their own hopes, dreams and purposes in life.  I was passionately in love with all of them.  They made me laugh, they made me cry, and they made me want to hug them and tell them everything was going to be okay.

But then I put on my Reader Hat, and realized the story I really wanted to tell came to a screeching halt every time I delved too deeply into these minor characters.

I struggled against it, but in the end, I had no choice but to take out my editing scissors and leave these mini-plots on the cutting room floor.  I know the story is better for it, and the characters are still in the book, although not as extensively, and I continue to love them passionately…but I do still mourn those scenes.  Just a little.

How about you and your readers?  Are there scenes or characters you wish you’d kept?  Are there books you’ve read where a Reader Hat edit would have been helpful?

• Victoria’s Website | Twitter | Goodreads
  
• Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
• Genre: Chick Lit / Contemporary Fiction
• Length: 371 pages
• Release Date: December 10, 2012