Well, not a whole lot. Some words?

Yep, it’s Christmas Eve and nope, the book isn’t finished (editing wise). It’s closer! It gets closer. But it won’t be out this year.

Next year? 99.9% sure. I mean, I could be hit by a bus.

However, I do have a little something. It’s really not much! At all! But it’s something and hey, if I don’t drop it here it’s going nowhere else because: it’s a cut scene.

Literally until this week, this (small) scene was in the draft. And then for reasons I won’t bore you with (right now; I reserve the right to bore you later), it got cut. It ain’t going back in. It’s just never going to happen in the book. So you might as well get it here, eh?

Regardless of the fact this scene isn’t going in the book, it’s still full of spoilers for reasons you’ll see.

Sooo SPOILERS AHEAD. You will spoil stuff about the book if you read beyond this point, regardless of it not being in the book. Trust me.

Last chance. Okay, here we go.

---

A public bathroom, off the hotel lobby. It would do. Kate didn’t even care if someone saw her.

She barged her way inside, checking to see if anyone was in the stalls, anyone was there. A dumpy looking middle aged woman was washing her hands, who gave Kate a slight smile as she entered. Kate ignored her, found the stall at the end, and stepped inside.

This wasn’t going to be anything special, she told herself. It was pragmatic. Necessary. They needed this, and she was playing her part, literally.

The mask of Ginny’s face was pulled from her bag, her features floppy and unwelcoming. It was a face she hadn’t wanted to wear again. Resigning herself, she pulled off her top, shivering slightly in the air-conditioned room, then without hesitation, spread the neck of the Ginny mask and plunged her head inside.

Her reality twisted and warped as it always did. This wasn’t a piece of clothing, it couldn’t be. It was a gateway to another person, another life. She slid her hands out from beneath the mask’s interior and pressed carefully against the features that fitted over hers, allowing them to slide into place. The craftsmanship was impeccable, perfect. She wondered for a split second if the person stalking them was actually the creator of this mask – but even if they were, what could they do? Expose Kate in public?

Slipping her top back on, she listened for a few moments. The bathroom sounded empty, so she carefully slid back the bolt on her stall and peered out.

In the mirror opposite, Ginny was watching her. Kate caught her eye and sneered.

Stepping out of the stall she checked the mask as best she could, doing what she could with Ginny’s hair, ensuring there were no obvious gaps in the disguise. It looked good. It looked better than good, she had to admit. It felt intoxicating as it always did.

Even if this face had been used against her. Even if this woman she now embodied had slept with Billy.

“Maybe I will again,” she whispered, and without even trying, Ginny’s voice edged into her own. Like she was creeping up inside her, ready to take possession. “Maybe I’ll fuck your boyfriend so good, he’ll never want to be with the real you again.”

She shuddered, closed her eyes and spoke, firmly and in her own voice.

“Not today.”

The bathroom door banged open to admit another patron. She turned, walking back into the sprawl of the con, a new woman.

---

Yep. F2F masking. This is not the only time Kate becomes Ginny in the book, trust me, so you’re not missing a whole lot.

It’s not much, I know. More excerpts to come in the New Year.

Whatever you’re doing, hope you have a good rest of weekend/holiday.

And I’ll see you in 2023.