Wednesday with the Writers: Reality TV, Life, Love, and Childhood Sweethearts by Zanna Mackenzie

Reality TV comes in all shapes, sizes and types, from the sensationalist attention grabbing headline variety to the ones with a genuine self-help ethic.

It was this which sparked the idea behind my contemporary romance novel The Love Programme.

What if someone who had never had the opportunity to date much, fall in love and discover all about themselves in the process ended up as part of a reality TV series about finding love…

In the novel Lucy has to get away from her home town for a while thanks to her ex-boyfriend and former childhood sweetheart Marcus abandoning Amelie, his bride to be, at the altar. The reason he walks out on his wedding? He says he’s still in love with Lucy, even after all this time!

Lucy feels stifled by Marcus and his reluctance to accept they don’t have a future together so she jumps at the chance to be a last minute replacement on a TV series called The Love Programme. Two weeks of luxury living on a grand country estate in the Highlands of Scotland – complete with castle and handsome laird – and the chance for some expert help and advice from the programme’s love psychologist Zelda. Maybe this will give Lucy the chance to finally discover who she is and what she wants from life, men and relationships.

In the book the reality TV series The Love Programme is based on contestants having one to one advice sessions with the TV psychologist and then going on tailor made dates with the programme’s ‘love interest’ Isaac. All designed to help each person learn about their dating likes and dislikes and get a picture of the right kind of man and relationship to suit them in the future.

This is Lucy’s chance to, for once, just be herself and not who Marcus, or anyone else for that matter, wants her to be. Unfortunately things are not as straight forward as Lucy hoped when she fails miserably at her first task – to complete a detailed profile questionnaire for Zelda the psychologist! Lucy simply doesn’t know the answers to all those thought provoking and soul searching questions!

The handsome laid and estate owner Paul – definitely not part of The Love Programme course and firmly off the agenda, or so the contestants are told – provides something of a welcome if confusing distraction for Lucy. He’s charming, friendly and good company but who is the mysterious Hannah who keeps being mentioned?

Working with Zelda and her programme date Isaac, Lucy starts trying to figure out her feelings about life, love and relationships but then she hears Marcus isn’t giving up just yet and is on his way to Scotland to find her and convince her to give him another chance.

It seems The Love Programme has its work cut out if it’s going to sort out Lucy’s life…

 

****

The Love Programme by Zanna Mackenzie is available in paperback and ebook formats via Amazon:

Lucy’s life is a mess. With her ex pursuing her across the country, she flees to Scotland and finds herself part of a reality TV show about love… will she find some answers or end up even more confused in matters of the heart?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Love-Programme-ebook/dp/B00BCL6C8U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361623394&sr=8-1&keywords=zanna+Mackenzie

 

 

Wednesday with the Writers: Deleted Wedding Scene from Vala: Agendas by J.F. Jenkins

Hi :) We are going to start something new on the blog. Every Wednesday, we are going to have something special from an AP writer! Today's post is from J.F. Jenkins. It is the wedding scene from way back...

 

~Kelly

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

 

WEDDING NIGHT

 

Nine hours later and it was finally time for them to rest.  Neither Anj nor Jewl would have ever guessed that a wedding would require so much time, work, and energy.  After all, the mechanics of it were all very simple: look nice, show up, say your vows, and then party.  That is what had happened, but of course there was always the Murphy’s Law factor to bring in as well.  There were issues with the clothes, and members of the wedding party had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning and decided to be particularly difficult, there were guests that caused emotions to run high, and there was the ever possibility that someone would show up that wasn’t supposed to be there.  Neither Anj, nor Jewl had invited their legal guardians.  Anj had decided to disown his mother.  Jewl was finally sticking it to her evil Aunt.  When it came time for the ceremony itself, the only snarl in the event was an unexpected stair that had caught Anj off guard.  He was saving his magic for the reception, as much as he wanted to use it to just stare at her all night, he knew he would need it more for then.  And of course, he spent more time dancing and visiting than eating, so he was incredibly hungry.  Not that he would have been able to eat if he had wanted to.  He was far too nervous for that.  Tonight was the night after all.  His night to finally be one with the woman that he loved more than anything.  His night to finally end three years of waiting, or even more accurately, a whole life time of waiting. 

 

The two had since changed out of their ceremony clothes.  Which was a shame in a way, because she looked absolutely gorgeous in her large and elaborate white dress.  She looked like a princess in so many ways, but much like he was uncomfortable in his tuxedo, he couldn’t imagine how she was feeling in her dress.  The only signs of her previous elegance that remained was that her hair was still done up in the same perfect pile of curls on top of her head with a few small jewels placed decoratively.  Otherwise, the two looked very plain in their jeans and t-shirt.

 

He grabbed the key to their hotel room for the night, a simple suite for them to rest in before they caught their flight the next day for their honeymoon, and unlocked the door before carefully maneuvering all of their luggage for the trip into the room.  He refused to let her do any work or lift a finger.

 

“I’m not helpless, I can-.”

 

“I obviously do not care,” he said quickly.  “Honestly, this is the kind of treatment I get for trying to be a gentleman?  I’ll remember in the future to not do anything nice or out of character that might make your life easier.”  He had to watch his mouth.  The last thing they needed was a fight.  They were both so drained that if that happened, there’d be a lot of unnecessary words thrown around and they’d end the night in the exact opposite kind of heat than he wanted it to end.  “Stay there.  I’m going to do this proper.”

 

“Proper?”  She asked confused, “What do you mean prop-.” But she never finished her thought as he whisked her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. 

 

“Aren’t I supposed to carry my bride over the threshold?”  He inquired before placing her onto the bed.  He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, “Now, I believe it’s time for what we’ve been waiting for all night.”

 

“I think so too,” she said in agreement.

 

He smirked down at her, “Lay back, relax, and tell me what kind of toppings you’d like on your pizza.”  He watched as she settled onto the bed and nodded at him.  He was far too hungry to even think of anything else.  He was still nervous, but his need for food was starting to impair his ability to function properly.  They had all night right?  “I personally am feeling in the mood for some pepperoni, but I’m very adaptable as well.”

 

“Hmm,” she thought for a moment before laughing, “I’m fine with that.” She yawned, he could hear it, and it was deep which meant she was very fatigued.  “I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t order anything too fancy since neither of us got to enjoy it really.”

 

“I guess so!”  The room was difficult for him to move through.  He didn’t have much magic left.  What little he had was giving him massive headaches to use.  He would need a good solid night’s rest in order to regenerate enough to use it even more minutely than he was already.  He didn’t want to disturb or rely on her however.  He wanted her to rest more.  He took a quick flash in of the room and found the telephone, quickly memorized the number for room service and placed their order.  Some how he had managed to make it back to the bed without any help or problems.  He was greatly impressed with himself.  Nervously, he reached his hand out to her and placed it on her arm, running his fingers up and down her skin ever so gently.  The thought of food being on the way was enough to keep his stomach at bay.  It was promised sustenance and was now willing to behave.

 

“Well,” he said quietly.  “The chef said it would take forty-five minutes to an hour to make.”

 

Jewl didn’t respond outside of a quiet mumbled as she leaned in towards him.  She mumbled something else, and it took him a moment to realize that she was talking in her sleep.  This meant that she was barely conscious and had some how managed to slip into a lightly slumber in the ten minutes that it took for him to make a phone call.  Very disappointing.

 

He let out a deep sigh and reached over for the television remote.  The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up.  She was obviously very tired if she was falling asleep quickly.  Jewl was never a light or fast sleeper.  Making sure to keep the volume low, he yawned and waited for their late dinner.  Maybe after that, after both of their more urgent needs were met…maybe they’d both feel ready….

 

 

 

Vala:Agendas is available at all ebook retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Astraea Press