Some Words Deserve to Be Cut, Even When It Hurts

A Deleted Scene from Lavender Bay (and a Sneak Peek at What’s Next 👀)

Every book has its ghosts: scenes that never made it, chapters that got rewritten a dozen times, and PLENTY of moments that only exist in an abandoned draft.

Lavender Bay is no exception.

Originally, Isolde (our female main character, if you’ve not read the book yet!) was a writer. In fact, the very first version of Lavender Bay had an entire subplot about Isolde confronting that dream, despite being too scared to admit she even wanted it.

By book two, she would have rediscovered the outline of a novel she started while living under the same roof as Jake. And in a moment of pure, impulsive frustration, she would have deleted it.

Here’s the scene that never made it into Bondi Street Blues

I read back the words I’ve written and—surprise, surprise—they’re shit. Engulfed in the lullaby of emotion and isolation with Jake fooled me into thinking I had anything memorable to say. Like the first two books I wrote, it lacks honesty, substance, a cohesive thread that entertains anyone. In a fit of impostor syndrome, I delete it. For good measure, I delete the first two. Then, permanently erase them from the trash folder. There. Gone. Like they never existed.

Ultimately, I cut this subplot because it didn’t fit the final version of Isolde; she wasn’t a writer, at least, not in the traditional sense. But I still loved the idea of her pouring her thoughts into something real, hence why her handwritten notebook stayed in the book. It became her way of plucking at her memories, while having somewhere to place the things she was too afraid to say out loud.

What’s Next? A Sneak Peek at Pacific Cold Front

While Lavender Bay was the beginning, Bondi Street Blues was the storm, and Pacific Cold Front is the reckoning, assessing the spoils and discovering what needs to be discarded for good versus what is worth salvaging.

The final book in the 3 Truths 1 Lie trilogy is coming in less than two months (eek!) and trust me, it’s going to be a ride.

I’ll be sharing more soon, but for now, I have a question (you totally saw that coming by now, don’t pretend you didn’t 😅):

Have you ever had a dream you gave up on, only to realize later that you weren’t ready to let it go?

Until next time,
Rachel