Talk About My Favorite Authors: Nell Dixon (My Guest Blogger)

Today is a special day because I have a special Guest Blogger, her name is Nell Dixon and she has a new release today that she will be talking about today. Nell was nice enough to stop by the blog and talk about her new release Blue Remembered Heels. I'm happy that she had enough time to stop by and tells us about how Blue Remembered Heels came to be written and what it is about. You can visit her website and her blog.

Hi all, I’m Nell Dixon. I’m thrilled to be guest for the day here. Today is a special day for me as it sees the release of my first book for Little Black Dress. The Little Black Dress books are fun, sassy reads and boast authors like Julie Cohen, Phillipa Ashley, Susan Donovan and Rachel Gibson to name but a few so I’m really excited.

Blue Remembered Heels is about a family of con artists, Charlie, the older sister, Abbey, the heroine, and Kip their younger brother. Their mother disappeared without trace when they were small and they make their living by scamming people. Then Abbey gets hit by lightning and can’t tell lies any more. A bit of a snag in her career especially when there’s a very hunky detective hot on her trail. It gets even more complicated when she starts to suffer other side effects from the lightning strike—flashbacks to her mother’s disappearance—and then their latest scam victim decides he wants his money back and he’s not asking nicely.

I got the idea for this story after I read an article in a newspaper about a man who was hit by lightning and when he came round he could speak fluent French, a language he’d never learnt. The more research I did the more amazing it got with the different stories that people told about the bizarre side effects from the strikes. Then I started thinking and Abbey’s character leapt into my mind.

Here's the blurb:

Life is sweet for con-woman Abbey Gifford until, one ordinary Wednesday afternoon, she's struck by lightning. They told her she might have some bizarre side effects, but nothing could have prepared Abbey for the fact that, since that fateful day, she can never tell lies again…

Truthfulness is a big drawback for a con-woman, especially when suddenly she's being followed by the suspiciously gorgeous detective Mike Flynn. If only Abbey could stop blurting out secrets every time he asks her a question! And if only Mike knew the real reason Abbey spends her life tricking other people out of their money…

And an excerpt—where Abbey first meets Mike...

Many down was a typical country village. It boasted a pub, church, bakery, general store, butcher, greengrocer, ironmonger and a couple of clothes shops. I parked the minivan in the small car park behind the church and trotted across the street to the bakery.

Of course it was shut. I'd forgotten about it being Sunday. The small general store at the end of the road looked as if it was open so I headed down the street in the hope that they would at least have some crisps and chocolate.

At first glance it looked pretty deserted when I stepped through the old-fashioned door complete with jingly bell. A middle-aged woman at the counter served an elderly man with whisky and cigarettes while the rest of the shop appeared to be empty. I picked up one of the battered wire baskets from the end of the counter and looked along the shelves for something to keep my stomach quiet on the journey home.

The tinkle of the shop bell signalled the arrival of another customer right before I spotted some tubes of Pringles right up on the top shelf.

"Allow me." A masculine arm reached over my head and handed me a tubeof "Cheesy Cheese" flavour.

"Thank you…" The words died on my lips as I turned to look at my snack saviour. Holy crap, it was the same man who'd been in the hotel bar when Charlie and I had been setting up the sting on Freddie!

"You look familiar. Have we met?" Dark brown eyes the colour of melted chocolate gazed into mine. A shiver ran down my spine and I knew he was being sarcastic. He knew damn well where he'd seen me before.

"I saw you in a hotel bar once." Crapity, crap, crap—why couldn't I regain control over my mouth? Charlie would kill me and we were all going to go to jail if I didn't learn to zip it. He smelt delicious though, masculine and woody. I knew I was in trouble and not just because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

His eyes narrowed and I guessed my openness had caught him off guard.

"Yes, you were with a very pretty dark-haired girl."

"My sister, Charlie." I smiled at him even as I cursed myself for being unable to stop blabbering like an idiot. Typical—even the coppers fell for my sister. That idea dampened my spirits somewhat.

"And a Mr Freddie Davies was with you?"

"Yes." Blast.

"Are you and your sister friends of Mr Davies?" His tone was casual but I knew a cop interrogation when I heard it. The problem was I couldn't disengage my mouth from my brain.

"Business only."

He might have a very sexy voice for a cop, but all the same I had to get out before he could ask me anything else. I'd said far too much as it was.

"Nice meeting you but I'll have to go; my brother's waiting for me." I squeezed past him. The heat from his body shimmered into mine in the confined space of the aisle and I bolted through the tinned goods section to the till. Thank God I had cash. I plunked my Pringles in front of the cashier and added a couple of Crunchie bars from the display next to the till.

With the change in my pocket I made for the door only to find Mr Sexy Voice waiting for me.

"Don't I even get to know your name?" He pulled the door open.

"Abbey Gifford." I stepped outside, praying he wouldn't try and follow me.

"Mike Flynn. Perhaps we'll meet again?" Cute little crinkles formed at the corners of his eyes as he smiled.

"Maybe." I was flirting with the enemy. That bolt of lightning had a lot to answer for.

© Nell Dixon 2008
http://www.nelldixon.com

Available from all good bookstores or order from Amazon and Amazon UK.

I hope you all enjoy it!

5 comments:

Kealie ShayThursday, July 10, 2008 at 2:35:00 PM EDT
What a great excerpt! Loved it... *sigh* Yet another book goes on my out of control To Be Bought list.

Thanks for contributing to my addiction! No, really, I'm serious... I love books keep em coming. :-)
Phoebe JordanThursday, July 10, 2008 at 2:43:00 PM EDT
I also love books, especially romance novels. If you want more just read all of my past blog post. I'm sure you'll find more authors and books to keep you entertained for a very long time.
Diana CastillejaThursday, July 10, 2008 at 4:13:00 PM EDT
Great job Nell! Always fun to hear more about my author friends!
Shelley MunroThursday, July 10, 2008 at 4:53:00 PM EDT
What a great premise for a book, Nell.
Nell DixonFriday, July 11, 2008 at 9:44:00 AM EDT
Thanks all!

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