Monday, November 6, 2017

Focus on: Opposite Sides by Judi Phillips

Can love prevail or will they remain on opposite sides?

. . . Janelle Whitney now owns her father's law office and fights for the little guy.
. . . Scott MacGregor is a lawyer in a large firm and represents big-shot clients..
. . . They physically collide on the courthouse steps. Then discover they're on opposite sides of a divorce case and sparks fly in the courtroom. They don't know they also have cabins on opposite sides of Campfire Circle, a cul de sac close to Sebago Lake in Windham Maine. Over Thanksgiving, sparks flare again around the Circle.
. . . Can love prevail or will they remain on opposite sides?

Opposite Sides, a novella, is part of the Tales From Around Campfire Circle series.

An Excerpt:

Monday morning, Janelle Whitney hustled up the granite steps of the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland, Maine, purse slung over her shoulder and briefcase in her hand. She shot a hasty glance at her watch, groaned and quickened her pace. I can't be late.
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice startled her. "Watch it."
Colliding with an unyielding body, she stumbled, did a quick two-step and caught her balance. Her briefcase flew one way and her purse the other, the contents cascading over the steps, clattering and finally rolling to a stop some distance away.
A strong, masculine hand reached out to steady her. A tingle traveled up her arm at the moment of contact. Startled, she looked up from her scattered items.
Scott MacGregor. Not the time to resurrect history.
As they stood, rooted in place, a stream of passing people swirled to either side of them.
Her gaze settled on his face, the planes and angles and high cheekbones she remembered, now shadowed with a light scruff. Clearly, her response to his touch was a mistake. She masked her unexpected reaction.
Now a leading trial attorney in Portland, Scott also frequently appeared on the local news, during the entertainment segment, attending this or that opening, usually with a beautiful woman hanging on his arm. Precisely the kind of attorney her father had disapproved of.
"Why don't you watch where you're going?" She attempted to keep her annoyance out of her voice, but wasn't entirely successful.
He grinned. "I wasn’t the one who ran full-tilt into an innocent pedestrian who paused to enjoy the fall air."
Having her error pointed out with wit and a dash of arrogance didn't help. Hating to lose, especially to this man, she shot back a quick response. "Why didn't you move out of the way? You could see I was in a hurry."
Exasperated, Janelle bent down to retrieve the scattered articles, her hair falling around her face.
Fan-friggin'-tastic. He can't miss seeing I'm upset.
She gathered up her lipstick, compact, wallet, checkbook, pen. Pushing long strands of hair behind an ear, she spotted a major embarrassment beside his foot and grabbed it. She didn't miss his smirk as she stuffed everything, helter-skelter, into her purse. Damn it, why hadn’t she thrown out that pair of pantyhose she'd shredded on a file cabinet days ago?


Buy on Amazon or read on KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076VC2G3H

A Bit About Our Focus Author:

Judi Phillips has had stories in her head as far back as she can remember. However, being lazy (her friends like to point out that she’s efficient), and being a legal assistant, she knew she could never complete a manuscript if she had to write it on a typewriter. Then, along came word processors, and those magic cut and paste and delete icons. There was no stopping her after that. Within a few weeks of her first job with a computer, she started her first story, a house-beautiful, vogue thing about lawyers. Originally named as A Case for Love, it is now entitled Opposite Sides
Judi has recently relocated to New Mexico and is living in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains at the southern end of the Rockies. No more Februarys in Maine for her. She lives with two dogs, a Yorkie, Mishka, and a MinPin, Gizmo,--who lives up to his name. Both have acclimated easily, although Gizmo does miss eating snow in the winter. Despite their small size, they rule the house.

Where to find Judi:



Twitter: @judiphil

Sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cJIJWD
or e-mail her at: judi.phillips.writes@gmail.com

You can watch trailers for her books at

Drop in anytime.

13 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great book! Good luck.

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    1. Thanks. It was fun to take a very, very old story and make it work -- as in waaay less description ;-)

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  2. Judi - Can't wait to read the finished story (I read part of it as your critique partner, and what chemistry!).

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  3. Congratulations on the new book, Judi! I love your trailer for this one. Wishing you many happy sales!

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    1. Thanks, Nina. They're always fun to do. Now struggling with one for a book I wrote several years ago. Trailers are much easier when the story is still fresh ;-)

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  4. Judi. I love your books, they are so much fun.

    Michelle

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  5. Judi, WOW, from ME to NM. Big change and hope you love your recent move. Dogs sounds wonderful. Love this excerpt. I adore when chemistry zings. This sounds like a delightful read and have put on my TBR list. So nice meeting you. Was trying to remember if I met you at ME last year at the conference when I attended with vKat. Wishing you much success with this one and all future ones.

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  6. Thanks, Beverly, for your kinds words. Yes. NM rocks!!! 4 seasons, but not frigid winters. And 2 grandkids here a block away. I didn't make it to the Retreat this year. Other travel plans. Hope to make it next year.

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  7. Hi Judi, sorry for being late to comment - one of the trials of living in the back of beyond and having to drive down the road to find internet, hehe. I remember reading part of this story in it's earlier incarnation and I can't wait to see how it ends!! Happy sales to you!

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  8. Thanks, Luanna. Tough about the sparse internet. Hope it improves.

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  9. Thanks for providing good information,Thanks for your sharing.

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