so, let me ‘splain…
“No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”
~Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
As I mentioned last week, the Harlequin Desire I just turned in—currently known as A BABY IN THE BILLIONAIRE’S BOARDROOM—is now scheduled for November 2012. But since that’s about three months earlier than expected, there’s a lot to do in a short amount of time in order to get it into production.
The Art Fact Sheet, for one. The Art Department is working on November covers now, so in order to get mine in the line-up, I was given only two days to complete a process they normally give authors 4-6 weeks to deal with. :slamdesk
This isn’t a complaint, simply a statement of fact. And the great thing is that A.) since I’d just read through the book before turning it in, everything was really fresh in my mind, & B.) since I was being asked to fill out the form in such a short amount of time, Editor C was hugely generous in telling me just to hit the main points—hair color, eye color, clothing, & scene suggestions—& not worry too much about the tinier details. Yay!
The one thing that did stump me was the need for a short synopsis/blurb for the story. Normally, I pluck the main plot points from my original outline. It’s never easy to boil a 12-page synopsis down to only 3-5 short paragraphs, but I can usually muddle through. This time, however, I’d gone completely off the reservation with the story. Only the most basic portion of the story’s set-up was the same as I’d originally pitched. In my defense, the book turned out way better than it sounded in the original outline, but that did not make this part of the AFS very easy to complete. I pretty much had to start from scratch.
It took me all afternoon, but this is what I finally came up with:
When Jessica Taylor spots Alexander Bajoran, the CEO of Bajoran Designs, at the hotel/resort where she’s working as a chambermaid, she and her cousin plot the perfect plan for revenge. After all, Alexander is the man who singlehandedly ruined her family and drove their company–Taylor Fine Jewels–out of business. But plans backfire when Jessica allows herself to be seduced by the wealthy businessman…or maybe she’s the one doing the seducing.
A year later, Jessica is out of work, out of money, and desperate to care for her three-month-old son. She has no other choice but to go to the baby’s father. But Alexander knows her only from that one-night stand, and as a hotel maid, to boot. He has no idea that she’s a former socialite, the daughter of his one-time business partner, or that he even has a child.
When Alexander enters his conference room and finds an infant on his boardroom table, he doesn’t know whether to be shocked or furious…especially when the note attached to the child’s carrier asserts that the child is his. Until he can get to the bottom of things, he takes the baby home with him. But he knows nothing about children, and even less about squalling infants.
Jessica may have abandoned her son to his father, but she didn’t go far. Witnessing Alexander’s failed attempts to quiet the baby, she makes her presence known and immediately calms the crying child. But being face-to-face with Alex again puts not only her own future, but her child’s future at risk. Can Alexander trust that Jessica’s child is really his? And what happens when he discovers her true identity?
Does that make sense to anybody else? Does it sound good? At this point, I think I’m a little too close—& a little too mentally cross-eyed—to judge accurately.
When I sent it to Editor C, he declared it “Perfect!” but he may have just been relieved to have anything to work with, since this was around 4:48pm the day the AFS was due. (I did mention we were working on a tight schedule & cutting it close, right?)
But that really is the general storyline. And it only gets better from there…in my 
not-so-humble opinion. :cool
So what do you think?
Comments
9 Comments • Comments Feed
Donna says:
No fair! We have to wait until November.
On April 19, 2012 at 5:34 am
Heidi says:
I know, I’m sorry. :patrick2 But think of it this way…I’m whetting your appetite, helping you become more intrigued with the story & characters, & at least you’ve got this month’s I DO to tide you over.
Did that help? At all? :bubble
On April 19, 2012 at 11:12 am
Kathleen O'Donnell says:
:thumbsup I think it is right on the money… Can’t wait untile November… when the weather starts to get cold… Will have something “”HOT” to warm me up with this book… :cool
On April 19, 2012 at 10:12 am
Heidi says:
Thanks, Kathleen! Yep, it will be cold again by the time this one comes out. Sheesh. :nowait But no worries—you know I’ll give you plenty in the book & here at WIPs to keep you warm. :bed
:lolol
On April 19, 2012 at 11:13 am
Pat Cooper says:
This works for me and now I can’t wait to get my hands on it
On April 19, 2012 at 10:15 am
Heidi says:
Thank you, Pat!
Btw, did you see the news about I DO hitting the USA Today list? I’m *so* excited, & I feel like I should thank you for helping to get it there, since your (positive, glowing, multi-starred :happysun ) review was one of the first it received *&* you said it was possibly the best in the entire series, which I totally believe helped give it an extra boost. :eeee
That’s my story, anyway, & I’m sticking to it. :cool
On April 19, 2012 at 11:15 am
Laura J. says:
Well considering it was written by a USA Today Bestselling Author, I think it perfect and it going to get you on the list again! And just when we get used to calling USA Today Bestselling Author, we are going to have to start calling you Multiple USA Today Bestselling Author. Or how about Award Winning USA Today Bestselling Author? :chickendance
On April 19, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Heidi says:
:happysun Thank you, Laura! I can only hope the next Desire hits the list, too. This one came as such a surprise, tho, I’m not sure I should get my hopes up. But you can bet I’m celebrating today’s news. :cheer
This is pretty much how I looked dancing around the house this morning, too: :chickendance :patrick3
:lolol
On April 19, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Ruth Chestnut says:
:thumbsup Oh now you’ve done it. Nov. is too long to wait for this one, but glad I don’t have to wait till 2013. Do you get to approve the cover before it goes to print? Unfortunately some of the covers I’ve seen are nice, but once you start reading the book the man and woman on the cover just don’t resemble the the inside description. Hope you get a great cover. :cheer
On April 21, 2012 at 11:26 am