9 days to go before TLP is out in the world

Nine is my favorite number. To celebrate, I’m sharing an excerpt from Chapter 1 of my debut romantic thriller The Lavender Phantom. It reveals a little bit about a special skill that Sophie the protagonist has (and hint - it will get lots of high-stakes use later in the story). I hope you enjoy!

PS If TLP sounds like your cup of tea, the pre-order is $2.99 now until the first week after launch (16 Feb 2021) - so grab it now before the price goes up!

PPS Tomorrow I’m sharing one of my favorite quotes over on Facebook so come join me. It will have a pretty picture too! :))

Excerpt from Chapter 1

“That looked nice,” she says as we enter the changing area. I need a quick shower to get rid of the sweat making my dressing gown stick to my body.

“I enjoyed it. He definitely pushed me. I was blissed out.” I unlock my locker and pull out my phone. No messages from Melanie. She was supposed to drop me one when she got back home.

“Watch out for sub drop. I hate it when all the brain chemicals start to equalize and I go from being ecstatic to depressed.”

“I know, Hana, don’t worry. I don’t usually have it very bad. Have you done anything interesting yet tonight?” I close the Messaging app and open up Instagram. I find Melanie’s profile and tap on the latest picture. It’s a stray dog, its fur a mix of dark yellow blond and splotches of black, eating out of a discarded Frenzy Eats box. Probably enjoying some chicken bones.

“Not yet, we’ve just been hanging around talking to people. We’ll find a private room in a bit,” Hana says and heads towards her own locker. “I want to check my phone though, to make sure I have no urgent appointments for tomorrow. Maybe I can have a late night and sleep in.”

It is nice to chat about nothing. Comfortable.

I pick up my phone and stare at the dog photo. Melanie loves dogs. The post was made five hours ago. She was supposed to have come home or been in touch by now, but when I left, our apartment was still empty.

It is unusual for her not to be in contact, but teenagers can be volatile, right?

Something doesn’t sit well with me. A gut feeling that I want to ignore but can’t. I switch back to Messaging.

Did you get home all right?

Placing my phone back in my locker, I start peeling the gown off my damp skin.

“Oh fuck,” I hear Hana say as she rummages in the tiny purse attached to her tiny dress.

“Can’t find your key?”

“No, I must have dropped it somewhere. You know this is the third time,” she huffs. “Another ten dollars down the drain…”

I narrow my eyes and examine my locker’s mechanism. “I can save you the money, I think. Let me try opening it. You will still have to sneak out after, pretending not to have taken a key though,” I say with a smile. Moon Garden lost key penalty rules are extortionate.

“Really?”

“Give me two of your bobby pins.” I put my gown back on. A conspiratorial smile blossoms on my lips without being invited.

It has been a while since I’ve picked a lock. I hope it is like riding a bike. I bend the bobby pins to resemble a lockpick, then insert one to act as the tension wrench and started picking the pins with the other. I empty my mind, silencing the voice which reminds me of how I had gained my skills and why I had stopped picking locks.

As I advance on the lock, I fight with the urge to look at Hana. Is she impressed? Bored? Is she looking at me at all? I reach the last pin and turn the lock. It clicks open with a soft sound. I smile victoriously.

Letting the door swing open, I take Hana’s phone and hand it to her with a bow. “Your phone, my princess,” I say jokingly.

“You opened it so quickly,” she says in awe. “Where did you learn that?”

“Ah, just watching a YouTube video.” Not really. On the streets of a city I have long since put behind me.

“Really? How come?”

“A party trick. To entertain.” A skill I was instantly good at. To belong when I was figuring out who I was.

“I’m amazed, Sophie Taylor. I bet you could crack a safe like that. Have you tried?”

“No, that would be criminal,” I say with a wink. But the answer is yes. And it was criminal. Just a bit.

“Awesome,” Hana concludes as she scrolls through her phone. I stuff my dressing gown in my locker, press it shut, and go to shower.

“Have fun out there,” I shout over the sound of water.

“You know I will,” Hana shouts back. “See you later.”

I scrub my body, alone with my thoughts. I’m not a criminal. In fact, I’m meek and responsible. But as everyone else, I have a past. I remember it rarely, because its contents don’t fit my current lifestyle. My lockpicking days are behind me, and so are the days when I went looking for trouble.

My new normal is different, and that’s fine. It is to be expected of a twenty-four-year-old who looks after her fourteen-year-old sister. Life changes when you get parenting responsibilities.