Welcome to your early-bird peek at some of the fantastic authors who are already signed up for the conference. Today I'm showcasing
Vanessa Knight!
Hi Vanessa! Can you tell us a little about your work?
Hi Nicola! I have always enjoyed writing and once I found romance, that was it. I was addicted. It's only fitting that I when I started writing, I'd gravitate toward stories with a strong romantic element. I write contemporary romance with a dash of humor and splash of snark.
Personally, I think almost everything is better with a *liberal* splash of snark.
Ok, Vanessa, let's talk about RustCity!
1. Fill in the blank: "I used to be really good at
singing
, but these days I'm pretty rusty." You do know, there's a rumor about karaoke at RustCity--or possibly I'm just starting one...
2. Eminem or Aretha? Explain.
Aretha. Eminem is great but you can't help but love Aretha. The songs stay with you. Her voice just resonates within you.
3. Choose One:
Vernors
Faygo
I'm confused. And not from around here.
4. What are you looking forward to most at the RustCity conference?
There's so much I'm looking forward to when I visit. I hear that I have to visit the Summerset Collection Mall. I'm all for a trip to the mall. I've also been told that I haven't experienced BBQ until I've had Slows BBQ. I'm a Chicagoan. We love BBQ and I can't wait to ""officially"" experience it.
I'm looking forward to meeting all the fans and learning new things in the workshops.
BBQ, the mall, and learning stuff! doesn't get much better than that.
5. What is an off-the-cuff association you have with Michigan, Detroit, or Troy?
Detroit Rock City, the Pistons
6. Your latest work of fiction features a wealthy industrialist and an R&B singer. What's the first sentence?
David Troughby couldn't dance to the hum of the cash counting machine, but the hiss and clatter of money streaming through the prongs was a rhythm he'd learned to love.
Very nice -- makes me think of the opening to Pink Floyd's Money.
7. And finally, would you like to participate in the Alpha Heroes Five Words Fiction Game? Yes please!
Hurray! You chose to work on our Contemporary story, Hook and Curve (or possibly Curve and Hook?), which is shaping up to be a reunion romance between Maddie, a formerly-curvy romance writer, and Hunter, a booking agent for MMA fighters. They have a past... but do they have a future?
The world-building rules are: set in contemporary times, with no magic or paranormal elements. It's not required to be a romance. Have fun!
Your challenge words are:
Administrative assistant (one word), Maui, shark, sun-streaked, lazy
Delayed. The word flashed red and bold the next morning, taunting Maddie as she tried to Jedi-mind-trick the board to change the status to on-time. Alas, Obi-Wan she was not, she wasn't even fit to be his Administrative Assistant. Her mind tricks were severely lacking. She kept watching as more flights changed from the on-time designation to delayed. At least they hadn't switched to cancelled. Yet.
Maddie looked out the floor to ceiling windows. Sunlight shimmied along the ripples in the glass, sun-streaked mini rainbows reflected on the red patterned floor. Her heels clicked as she walked away from the monitor and stood in front of the terminal counter.
“Good morning.” A woman in navy blue airline garb attempted a smile, her hair falling from the clip at the back of her head. “I'm sorry about the delay.”
“Morning. Any idea when they might let us fly out?”
“The weather is keeping all flights grounded.” They both looked out the window at the fluffy white clouds hovering against a bright blue sky. The question about the weather must have hung in Maddie’s eyes, because the attendant kept talking.
“There's a storm covering the Midwest and moving toward the eastern seaboard.” She cringed with a bit of pity pinching her eyes. “I'm not sure when or if they'll let anyone fly out today—maybe not even tomorrow. Do you want me to help you find a hotel room? I think they might be full, but we might be able to get lucky.”
Luck. That wasn’t a force Maddie was channeling these days. If she were lucky, she'd be on a plane far, far away from Hunter and all the drama of last night. Instead she was looking at a night or two on metal airline chairs. “No thanks. I'm sure the hotel rooms are booked.”
And she was sure she'd have a heck of a time finding a hotel room, which meant she’d have to call Jenna—which meant she might see him again.
Maddie made her way across the room and sat in the hard chair. Uncomfortable. Awful. But not nearly as bad as the alternative. She didn't want to think about Hunter, but after seeing him that's all that seemed to float in her brain. His hands. His lips. Everything about him was different, he wasn't that boy from long ago. He was a man now. A man that made all her lady parts clench.
Ugh! She slid down the chair and groaned as the arm rest dug into her side. There was no way she'd make it all night here. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Maybe Maui, drinking Mai Tais and spending a lazy day in the ocean. Of course, with her luck she'd end up as shark food.
Not that any of that mattered. Right now she was here and there was only one way to leave. Maddie pulled out her cell phone and clicked Jenna’s picture.
It was time to confront her past.
That was great! I love the details, like "pity pinching her eyes" and "jedi-mind-trick" as a verb. Thanks so much for playing, Vanessa! If you'd like to see more from Vanessa Knight, here are some places where you can find her -- other than Troy, Michigan in August, of course!
