PW #105: Adult  Romantic Women’s Fiction: JANE DARLING’S RULES OF INHERITANCE

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Susan Bishop Crispell

Mentee Name: Megan McGee

Title: JANE DARLING’S RULES OF INHERITANCE

Category: Adult

Genre: Romantic Women’s Fiction

Word Count: 84,000 words

Pitch:

The humor of SOPHIE KINSELLA meets the charm of AMY E. REICHERT: Commitment-shy Serie Little believes there’s nothing some homemade tiramisu and a few choice cuss words can’t fix. But that philosophy gets shot to hell when her long-time employer dies, leaving Serie a generous inheritance meant to force her out of a self-imposed rut. Now, she must make quick use of her new-found wealth or risk forfeiting everything. Including a chance at happiness with Rocco DeLuca, her co-inheritor and no-strings-attached, hottie fling.

Excerpt:

The Haro Strait is calm, our gin and tonics are ice cold, and Jane Darling, my dear friend and employer, reads aloud from The New York Times. Something to do with socialites.

“Garish,” she sniffs, pointing at a young woman’s scanty dress. “These girls are in need of sensible guidance.” Her eyes scan the page, lips pursed. “Things were different in my day.” You can sure say that again. Jane’s collection of silver tea sets and monogrammed table linens are proof positive. God love her, but she’s a relic from a bygone era.

“Orca,” I shout, and Jane’s head snaps in the direction of my finger. From May through September, whale watching is our thing. When I’m not scrubbing her toilets, paying her bills, or rolling out more Italian meatballs than the two of us could eat in our lifetimes, we scan the strait for dorsal fins.

“Marvelous,” Jane purrs, having spotted the pod. She picks up her rocks glass, pinky pointed, and finishes the last drop. “Shall we begin, Serafina?”

I nod, knowing better than to correct her. I go by Serie, but Jane doesn’t do nicknames. “Yep, let’s get some shit done, Janey-girl.”

She smiles and pats my arm as I help her out of the chair. “Exactly, dear heart.”