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Book: Deceiving Derek (Love & Other Calamities) by Cindy Procter-King

categories: Book, Romantic Comedy Shorts, Short Story Series, Funny Romance Shorts, Humor Romance Shorts, Connected Short Stories, Bachelorette Party, Lingerie Designer, Police Detective, Panty Thief, Bridal Shower, Contemporary Romance Shorts, Romantic Comedy

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Cindy Procter-King

about this book: Deceiving Derek is the first of five connected romantic comedy short stories in the series, Love & Other Calamities. Each story features a heroine introduced or mentioned in Deceiving Derek. You don't have to read all the stories to enjoy them individually. Each is a story unto itself. But the overall story arc begins in Deceiving Derek with a bachelorette party for one of the heroine's (Lacey's) friends. The friend, Tanya, who the reader meets in Deceiving Derek, will become the heroine of the last story in the series. So each story in the series brings the reader closer and closer to Tanya's wedding (that is, if it occurs!)

The Indie ebook edition of Deceiving Derek has been substantially revised and updated. The short story first appeared as a stand-alone on the website of the first publisher of my romantic comedy novel, Head Over Heels. At that time, I had no plans to turn Deceiving Derek into a series. However, in the summer of 2012, when I was revising and updating Head Over Heels for Indie publication, a friend asked if I would consider writing a romantic comedy short story series. I thought that was an excellent idea, and I wondered what I should write about. when it occurred to me that Deceiving Derek, already in my arsenal, offered a wealth of story and characterization opportunities.

I set about revising and updating the story and then realized that, in the first edition of the story, I hadn't quite gotten my facts straight regarding the hero, Derek McAllister's, career as a detective in a fictional Seattle suburb. A friend with a retired RCMP husband gave me tons of great advice, but I also reached out to a detective with the Edmonds police and an officer with the Lynwood police, both near Seattle. Each helped me immensely.

I had great fun revising and updating Deceiving Derek, and I can't wait to delve into the other characters' stories and meet their heroes.