The Trouble with Words

With: Suzie Tullett

My name is Suzie Tullett and I’m a born romantic. There, I said it. Although you’ve probably already guessed that, why else would I write contemporary romance when there are so many other genres to choose from?

According the dictionary, romantic isn’t just defined as anything evoking or given to thoughts and feelings of love, it gives us words like impractical and idealistic.

Yep, that’s me alright. At least according to my husband, it is.

We can often be driving along and come across a little country cottage. I sigh at the beautiful stonework, the roses around the door, and imagine many a cosy night, the two of us warming our toes in front of the log burner within. He, on the other hand, considers all the blood, sweat and tears he’d have to shed chopping all the wood to get the fire going.

We might spot an abandoned chateau in the distance and I think about its rich history, the stories it can tell and the lovelorn ghosts wandering through its now crumbling halls. He again thinks about his bodily fluids, as well as the amount of cash it would take to make the building liveable, let alone meet modern day standards.

Naturally, I appreciate where the man is coming from.

Whether we’re talking about living in a country cottage, a chateau, or even considering our relationships, achieving any ideal doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of hard work and there are countless ups and downs along the way.

However, in both reality and in the fiction I write, I like to believe we can all get there in the end.

Oh yes, I’m definitely a sucker for a happy ending. Why? Because I’m a born romantic, of course. 

THE TROUBLE WITH WORDS

Promises – easy to make, hard to keep.

Having long made a promise to her husband, young widow Annabel has no intentions of breaking it. What she does plan to do, though, is have a baby. Not the easiest of tasks for a woman with a deceased other half, and having explored all her options, her only choice is to take the unconventional route. Setting out to find her own donor, Annabel meets Dan. Single, fun-loving and definitely not looking for commitment, this unruly blonde, blue-eyed man seems perfect for the job.

Dan wants nothing more than to find his dream woman. But with a mother intent on sabotaging his every relationship, he can't help but think he's destined to remain single. Of course, he knows his mother doesn't really want him all for herself, why else would she keep insisting he meet Maeve? Why else would she insist Dan promise to find himself a wife before she meets her maker?

Forced to negotiate matters of love, life and death, Annabel and Dan seem the answer to each other's prayers. But will they really be able to keep the promises they made? And is having a baby really the solution?

Safkhet Publishing

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon EU

  

Author Bio: 

Suzie Tullett is an author of contemporary humorous fiction and romantic comedy. As well as The Trouble with Words, her novels include Going Underground and Little White Lies and Butterflies, which was short-listed for The Guardian's 2013 Not the Booker Prize. She has a Masters Degree in Television & Radio Scriptwriting and worked as a scriptwriter before becoming a full-time novelist. And when she's not tapping away on the computer creating her own literary masterpiece, she usually has her head in someone else's.

Website: http://suzietullett.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzietullett

Facebook

Excerpt:

Opening out the deckchair, she plonked herself down in it. “So how’s your week been?” she asked. She paused, not that she really expected a reply, but it was nice to know he was listening if nothing else. “Mine’s not been too bad,” she continued. “The shop’s still doing okay. Oh, and your mum called round the other day.” Remembering the visit all too well, Annabel tried not to scowl. “She said to say hello.”      

She reached down and dipped her hand into her bag again, this time pulling out a flask of coffee. “Caffeine, just what I need after the hassle of getting here,” she said. “As usual the traffic was horrendous.”

Pouring herself a drink, she knew her ramblings were an attempt at stalling the inevitable; that she was worried about Tom’s reaction once she’d told him what she was up to. While her plans for the future might be a positive move on her part, she certainly wasn’t daft enough to think everyone would understand. If anything most people wouldn’t, especially if his mother’s reaction had been anything to go by.

She thought it strange how everyone and their dog insisted she move on, yet the second she did they created such a song and dance over it. Although if Tom did choose to join in with the dissenters, then just like them he’d only have to get used to the idea; particularly when this was entirely his fault to begin with. Annabel didn’t want to play the blame game, but just like she’d said to his mother, she wouldn’t be in this position if he hadn’t upped and died in the first place. In her mind’s eye, she could see Tom sitting opposite, his hands clasped as he patiently waited for her to tell him what was really on her mind. The man always could read her like a book.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “Just give me a second.”     
     

She took a couple of sips of coffee, determined to reveal all. But, in spite of practicing her speech all week, now that it came to it, those well-chosen words seemed to fail her. Resting her cup on her knee and refusing to let her conviction wane, she realised she was just going to have to come out and say it.

After three, she told herself. One, two, three…

She squeezed her eyes shut, in anticipation of the lightning bolt no doubt about to strike her down.

“I’m going to have a baby,” she said.

Contact:

Hanna Oliwa

Publicist

editorial@safkhetpublishing.com

Safkhet Publishing