Suddenly One Summer

April 27, 2015
Sparks fly when divorce lawyer Victoria Slade moves in next door to Chicago Tribune reporter Ford Dixon—but they are not the falling-in-love kind of neighbors. She thinks he’s an arrogant jerk with a parade of women; he finds her judgmental and abrasive. This has the makings of a long and uncomfortable summer, until Victoria is roped into helping Ford’s sister. Their childhoods—Ford with an alcoholic dad and Victoria taking care of a mother with depression—taught them to sidestep relationships and entanglements. The boundaries they place around their tentative friendship and eventual affair are distressing but realistic, and it’s gratifying to see the barriers eventually fall. Victoria’s struggles to face her fears and acknowledge her shields are raw and heart-wrenching, but each healing step toward a future with Ford feels like a victory. Ford is a genuinely nice guy, and it’s easy to root for him to win the woman of his dreams. Their happy-ever-after is not a sweet and foregone conclusion, but a hard-won battle involving risks and blind faith. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House.

April 15, 2015
After a scary break-in, divorce attorney Victoria Slade rents a new condo, but that doesn't stop her panic attacks-and it brings complications in the form of a sexy neighbor. After years watching marriages come to harsh endings as a successful divorce lawyer, Victoria has concluded that happily-ever-after doesn't exist. She makes good money and has a nice life, great friends, and the occasional fling, so being single's no hardship. When a violent home invasion forces her into a rented condo and brings on a spate of panic attacks, though, Victoria goes into therapy, then meets her sexy neighbor Ford Dixon, who comes across as an arrogant player. But her opinion of him changes when she meets his sister, a struggling single mom, and agrees to help her find her daughter's father and get financial support for the girl. Ford, it turns out, is an investigative reporter, and the two join forces to track down the missing parent. It's clear they share an intense chemistry, but discovering she likes him is a surprise to Victoria. They're both confident, successful people, neither of whom believes in love or commitment, so it makes sense they'd have an affair, but when her attraction kindles into something more, Victoria can't reconcile her distrust of relationships with what she's beginning to want with Ford. When her panic attacks increase, she chooses to break it off with him rather than face her fear of commitment and the uncharacteristic uncertainty that's become part of her life. Unused to confronting problems she doesn't know how to solve, Victoria must decide if her unattached life is really all she wants or if Ford is worth fighting for. Known for smart characters and witty banter, James maintains intensity and high emotional stakes even as, for the second time, she moves beyond her typical suspense subplot, incorporating a psychological rather than physical sense of danger. James' trademark mix of bright humor, emotional perceptiveness, and sizzling sexual tension make this a radiant winner.

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