Teaser Tuesday: THE OTHER DAUGHTER

I haven’t shared much about The Other Daughter with you yet, have I?

The Other DaughterI’m still deep in the middle of revisions, so the book doesn’t feel entirely like a book yet. That’s the odd thing about revisions– once the draft of the manuscript is done, voila! There’s a book. But then along come revisions, and you begin pulling it all apart, and that book that was once a book is suddenly all in flux again. Until it comes together and you can’t imagine it ever having been any other way.

But I digress.

To tide us over until I get these revisions in and my head back on my shoulders, here’s one of my favorite little snippets of dialogue from The Other Daughter.

Rachel, our heroine, is attending a lecture at the home of Lady Frances Heatherington-Vaughn, along with the elusive Simon Montfort, gossip columnist, and John Trevannion, Tory MP (who happens to be her sister’s fiance).

“Should we secure seats? I shouldn’t wish to miss the lecture.”

“Oh, yes, you would,” said Simon, without bothering to lower his voice. “It’s bound to be pure drivel. The man thinks he can cure criminal behavior by injecting pigs’ glands into the livers of potential felons.”

“You’re joking.” Looking from Simon to Mr. Trevannion, Rachel realized he wasn’t. Quickly, she said, “I hadn’t realized that pigs were such miracles of good temper.”

“Provided they have a bit of mud in which to wallow,” said Simon caustically.

There were pots and there were kettles. Rachel wasn’t letting him get away with that. “Brought to them courtesy of the gossip column of the Daily Yell?”

Simon lowered his chin in acknowledgment. “A hit, a palpable hit. The principle is largely the same.” He gestured over the parapet, towards the people milling about in the hall below. “Bread and circuses make for a happy mob. Or, in this case, slime and slander.”

“It doesn’t actually turn people to pigs,” said John patiently. Looking to Rachel, he said, “I can’t claim to understand the science of it—”

“Dr. Radlett’s theories are about as scientific as bleeding to balance the humors.” Simon struck a pose. “Does your neighbor have too much bile? Are you detecting signs of choler in your spouse? Suffer in silence no more. Pig spleen will soon set them right.”

“A vast simplification.” Mr. Trevannion spoke only to Rachel. “The tests—”

“Simples for the simple.”

Mr. Trevannion’s smile was ragged around the edges. “Even you, Montfort, must allow that the potential uses are inspiring.”

“Must I?” Simon extracted his cigarette case from his jacket pocket. “I, personally, would prefer not to be shot full of extract d’oink.”

Mr. Trevannion pointedly turned his back on Simon. He turned to Rachel, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. “For centuries, we have grappled with the baser parts of our natures.”

“Maybe you do,” murmured Simon. “I like to cosset mine and take it out for tea.”

More of The Other Daughter coming up soon!

The Other Daughter appears on shelves June 2, 2015. You can find it for pre-order on Amazon, B&N, Books-A-Million, Indiebound, Powell’s and wherever else books are sold, as well as for Nook and Kindle.

9 Comments

  1. Karen on December 9, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    Loving Simon

    Does he work with Kevin O’Connell at the Daily Yell?

    • Lauren on December 10, 2014 at 12:00 am

      Karen, YES! I’m so pleased you caught that.

    • Michelle on December 10, 2014 at 11:56 am

      I was wondering if there would be any red-headed Irish reporters popping up.

  2. Sheila on December 9, 2014 at 1:27 pm

    Sounds great!

  3. Am7 on December 9, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    He seems a darker than your usual hero.
    I fascinated by the book isn’t a book stuff. It sounds really interesting.
    Also totally looking forward to all the new Lauren Willig books. I have to admit I’m a bit behind, but look forward to catching up.

  4. Rachel Adrianna on December 9, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    I’m so excited to read a heroine with my name!

  5. Joan on December 9, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    I think Simon sounds like my kind of hero– snarky and witty but probably decent underneath? We’ll find out!

  6. Lora Lynn on December 10, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    I originally planned to just comment “Snort” which was my actual response. But then I realized that sounded too porcine and punny… and then I said it anyway. 🙂 Love it! Can’t wait for more!

  7. Dara on December 12, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    Is this Vaughn one of THE Vaughns? And oh, how I love “extract d’oink”!

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