My latest title: Intrusions

Hello again!

My latest title, Intrusions, came out on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords yesterday.  This story was inspired by a picture I acquired from Shutterstock, which I use for the cover.  Here's the outline of the plot:

When Sophie catches her boss in a compromising situation with a client, a succession of events change her life bringing some exciting new opportunities.  But a co-worker bursts into her home and threatens to destroy all that she is working for; then a strange thug enters her room with his friends, demanding the use of her body for bestial acts.  Can she escape these awful situations?  Or will her wonderful new world come crashing down?

Two men who feature in this work (both of them are nasty guys) are drawn from people I've known in real life - although I never experienced the kind of rough treatment endured by the heroine here! 

And here's an extract, taken from somewhere in the middle of the book:


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       One evening, after I’d finished my session with Frank and was packing up, ready to go to bed, the doorbell sounded.  I wore only my dressing gown (or housecoat, as some people call it), so I put on the security chain - I wasn’t going to get caught out by someone like Mulford again - and spoke on the intercom. 
       “I have a box of documents for Mr. Spires,” the voice announced.
       I wasn’t expecting any shipment of documents, but assumed Frank had omitted to mention them to me.  I opened the door.
       A guy in a baseball hat stood on the doorstep, his face obscured by the large box he carried.  His peak was drawn down low across his eyes.  I realised I’d have to undo the security chain to take the box; not thinking about the risk, I quickly unhooked it and opened the door.
       “It’s heavy, so I’ll leave it in your hall,” he said.
       “No, it’s O.K.  I’ll take it.”  I reached out and he placed it in my arms; it was very heavy and I nearly dropped it.  My body bent forward as I tried to rescue the box.
       He caught it, and pushed forward into the house.  I moved back to let him in.
       “Just leave it there,” I said, pointing to the floor.  “Do I need to sign for it?”
       “No, Sophie.  It’s all right.”  He took off the baseball hat and revealed himself.  It was Mulford.  He shut the door behind him, and grinned.  We were alone in the house together, and I was vulnerable.
        “What do you want?” I shivered.
       “I told you I’d come back.  I think you know what I want.  Don’t bother opening the box.  It’s only some heavy junk.  It's a clever ruse, though, don’t you think?”
       “I’ll call the police.”
       “But you invited me in, remember?  We work together.  I came round to discuss a business deal we’re working on.”
       “A business deal?”
       “Yeah.  You give me what I want, and I won’t pester you again.”
       “What do you want, exactly?”
       “Oh, thirty minutes with your body should be enough.”
       “No deal.  Forget it.  Now get out of my life before I call the police.”
       “Not so fast.  I’m a paralegal.  What do I do?  I do legal research.  And I’m good at it.  Give me a ton of due diligence projects and I’m as happy as Larry.  And I’ve been doing some research on your friend Frank Spires.  He’s not all that he appears to be.”
       “What do you mean?”  I wanted to keep him talking while I tried hard to think what to do next.  Did I have anything within reach that I could use as a weapon to drive him away?  There was nothing in the hall, and I didn’t want to draw him further into the house.
       “I have enough on him to do him serious professional harm.”
       “But he’s one of our firm’s clients.  That’d be counterproductive, wouldn’t it?”
        “It would look bad for the firm if it became known that we had a criminal for a client.  I’m only looking after the firm’s interests.”
       “So what is he alleged to have done?”
       “Not so fast.  You do as I ask first, then I’ll tell you.”
       “What do you want?”
       “Let’s go through to your living room.  Are you making coffee?  Then we can relax and I’ll explain what I want.”
       Against my better judgement, I led him into the living room and gestured a seat to him while I went to the kitchen to pour him a coffee.
       “Thanks,” he smiled when I passed him a mug.  I braced myself to listen to his demands.
       “This is perfectly simple, really.  I’m a guy with basic urges...."

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I have several other stories in the pipeline - and I'm not sure which one will get finished first.  If I don't write any more here until January, may I take this opportunity to wish you and yours all the very best of happiness during the festive season and for 2014.

Keep smiling!
Rachel

Twitter: @RachelCray1
email: rc@rachelcray.com