Handpicked
by Dani Oden
Publication Date: August 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Synopsis:
College freshman
Jill Holloway takes one look at the stuck-up girls going through sorority rush
and nearly returns her borrowed dress and heels. Against her best judgment, she
ends up falling for the prestige and parties, and snagging a bid from a top house.
After moving in, she quickly grows skeptical of her too-perfect sorority
sisters. She tries to ask questions, though no one will take time from their
busy social calendar to give her any real answers.
Jill wastes no time
digging for everything she’s not supposed to find, and soon comes face-to-face
with a big and bloody secret hidden in her sorority’s basement. She knows she’s
in over her head, but taking off so soon would raise the perfectly-plucked
eyebrows of her suspicious new sisters. She’s stuck until she can make a smooth
exit.
But the closer she
gets to leaving, the more it becomes clear that it won’t be as simple as she
hoped. A tempting fraternity guy, a best friend who needs her, and new details
about what has really been happening in the basement have her questioning what
her next move should be, and whether or not it’ll be worth the risks.
HANDPICKED is
a New Adult coming of age, with elements of suspense and romance.
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GUEST POST
Deleted Scenes
Thank
you so much for having me! I thought I’d offer readers a “behind-the-scenes”
peek at some sections that were part of earlier drafts of HANDPICKED, and why
they didn’t make the final cut.
This
first one is part of an extended version of the opening scene. Our main
character Jill is trying to get ready for her final night of sorority rush in
her dorm bathroom…
The girl from the stall emerged,
wearing a gold lacy number and looking movie-star perfect except for her red,
watery eyes. She reached around me, grabbed a paper towel, and daintily dabbed
her mouth. "I can't effing handle this," she said, squeezing into my
mirror space and fluffing her wavy brown hair. "I haven't been able to eat
for days."
Blond handed her a piece of gum.
"Couple more hours, and it'll all be worth it. And that dress looks
amazing on you now."
The brunette caught me staring at
her reflection and raised her eyebrows. She sized me up, clearly not approving
of how I was still in my yoga pants and a tank top, and how my long red hair
was in a loose ponytail. "Where are you preffing?" she said casually,
asking which sorority parties I was visiting for the final round of rush that
night. Thankfully, I had just learned the jargon earlier that day.
I shrugged. "I can't
remember, my list is back in my room."
She gaped at me. Her hand stopped
not even an inch from her face, her lip gloss still pointed to her mouth.
"You can't remember?"
Blond started to laugh as if I'd
been joking.
I bristled. "Well, all their
names sound the same, don't they?"
They stared at me.
"I guess some do," the
brunette said slowly, like she didn't really think so at all.
My cell phone started buzzing
from my pocket, so I quickly grabbed it and scooped up my small make-up bag.
"Excuse me," I said, glad to get away. They smelled like a Victoria's
Secret store mixed with throw-up.
Ultimately,
this exchange was cut simply for pacing. I wanted to speed up the time it takes
Jill to get back to her room so we can get her out the door and to the
sororities faster.
This second one is from
a scene when Jill dozes off next to her crush, Tad…
In
my sleepy state, I was less guarded than I would have been under most
circumstances. He started tugging at my sweatshirt, and instead of encouraging
him to explore underneath it with his hands, I simply raised my arms up high.
Obediently, he lifted it. The hood was tight over my head, but he managed to
squeeze it off me, pulling out my ponytail holder. My long red hair fell loosely
over my face and I imagined it looked quite sexy. Well, sexy for me, which is
about as sexy as like, one of those live-action Disney movies that gets played
on Sunday night cable.
This
section was cut because of Jill’s reference to being less guarded because she
was tired. I was concerned that her comment it made it seem like she wasn’t that
into Tad, which was not at all what I was going for – the final version of the
scene makes it *pretty* clear that she’s excited to be with him :)
Thank you for giving
me the chance to share these scenes!
Author Links:
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A kindle, ePub or PDF copy of Handpicked up for grabs.
Ends September 2nd (Midnight GMT).
Prize will be sent out after September 8th.
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