Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, where I share snippets from new and past releases and works-in-progress, and occasionally pester author buddies into doing the same.

Yep, we’re back on deck after missing last week’s Teaser Tuesday due to post Romance Writers of Australia annual conference exhaustion. It was worth it though. There is something truly inspiring about hanging with your tribe, and romance writers are a generous and joyful lot, happy to share their experiences and expertise. I always come away enthused and full of new ideas and learning. Well done to the organising committee and all those involved. I’ve already blocked out my diary for next year’s conference in Melbourne.

Now onto to what we’re here for: booky goodness!

I’ve been wondering what to share for this Teaser Tuesday. Sometimes I worry I’m boring you with things you’ve already read and while I’d love to show off more of Eddie and the Show Queen, my work-in-progress, it’s a bit of a mess right now. Nor do I want to give too much away. There’ll be plenty of that in the lead up to and after release.

So today I thought I’d do something different. I’ve been tooling around with a short story called The Race since – would you believe it – 2009. It’s a cute story about an elderly couple that I was going to share with newsletter subscribers as a special thank you but didn’t because it never felt quite right.

Yeah, perfectionist. Or procrastinator. Take your pick.

One of these days I’ll happy with The Race, and you’ll get to read it in its entirety. In the meantime, here’s the (unedited) opening few paragraphs.

Molly squeezed the throttle of her mobility scooter and leaned forward. The path lay clear of pedestrians, the bridge within sight. The race was on.

She glanced behind her. Damn. Jack was closer than she expected. Like a geriatric Biggles, he’d pulled the goggles of his canvas Korean war era flying helmet down. Its black communication ear cups stuck out like Frankenstein’s bolts, the chin straps flopping and flailing around his jaw.

Molly turned back to concentrate. Speeds like this could be dangerous. Not to her. There was never any danger to her. She was a pro, a veteran mobility scooter racer, undisputed champion of Acacia Lodge. But walkers and joggers had a habit of getting in the way. 

It’s funny but reading the full story now (it’s very short – only 1200 or so words) I’m actually quite pleased with it. You never know, you might find it in your inbox sooner rather than later. Which means you’d better join my newsletter now, if you haven’t already. Sign up using the newsletter tab on this website. Easy!