Finished!

Yaay! I finally finished rewriting Crossed Wires. I managed to pare it down to about 8,500 words in the end, and that included upgrading both the sex scenes, so I'm really pleased. It's out for betaing at the moment and once I've had a few comments back and had another look at it myself, I'll be sending it off to Whiskey Creek Press.

Here's an incredibly brief snippet, just to set the scene:

Reuben Duncan was grumbling. First he groused about the state of the canteen coffee. Then he started on his overtime payments - or lack of them. By the time he'd got onto the perils of cigarettes, even the squad's regular smokers had decided enough was enough and stalked out, slamming the door behind them. Which left Eddie, weathering the storm as usual.

"Job not going well?" he said gently, knowing from past experience that sympathy worked wonders when Reuben was in one of his moods.

Reuben snorted, took a swig of the much-maligned coffee, screwed his face up and tipped the rest down the sink. "Well? It's not going at all. Four days I've spent in that place, four sodding days, and what've I got to show for it? Absolutely bloody nothing. I'm beginning to think there's nothing there to find. And I never want to see a phone again."

Eddie sucked in his cheeks, suppressing the bubble of laughter that threatened to erupt. Wouldn't do to set his partner off again... but mischief won over caution. "So, erm, who are you today, then? Rampant Reuben? The squad's Siren of Sex?"

"Pack it in, Eddie."

"Okay, keep yer hair on, there's no need to take it out on me. Besides, you've got to admit it's funny, the thought of you as a telephone sex-line operator."

Reuben rubbed a hand through his hair and scowled. "Nothing funny about it, mate, not when you have to listen to the blokes on the other end. There's some right nutters out there."