Changing the script by Lee WinterChanging The Script by Lee Winter is a Hollywood Romance that highlights we must be willing to conquer our fears to achieve true happiness.

LA-based English indie filmmaker Alex Levitin has built a reputation as a director with a great vision. When she’s unexpectedly slapped with an IRS bill, Alex’s ability to turn silver into gold is put to the test when she takes a job in New Zealand to save the “worst movie ever”, Shezan: Mistress of the Forest. Before Alex even sets foot in the country, the film has had multiple directors and more changes than any project should be allowed. If that wasn’t bad enough, her arrival doesn’t spark much enthusiasm from the locals, especially after she almost runs over the standoffish, beautiful local cop on her first day.

When Ika Whenu’s Senior Constable Sam Keegan isn’t trying to stamp out crime in her town, or riding her prized motorcycle, she’s publicly slamming everything about the exploitative film, Shezan. She just wants these Hollywood divas to finish their film and go home. That includes the nerdy, cute director, Alex, who has woeful driving skills to go with her smart mouth.

Motorcycle drug dealers, saboteurs on set, stunning scenery and a chaotic film production will become the backdrop as attraction flares between the two warring women.

Will Sam and Alex solve the case and ride off into the sunset together? Or will their romance fizzle out before they can get it rolling?

The Characters

What’s great about these two women is that they are two sides of the same boat. Both of them are looking for unconditional acceptance from a significant other.

Alex Levitin’s career takes up an enormous amount of her life. As a director-in-demand, she’s constantly jetting off from one project to the next. It doesn’t hurt that every project she’s touched is getting positive recognition, hence her rising star. But that lifestyle doesn’t bode well for intimate relationships. This is a real shame because Alex is a witty, charismatic, and passionate woman. What she truly needs is someone who’s willing to stand by her through her busy life and give as good as they get.

Sam Keegan has had a hard life. It’s been a sticky point since she was a child because everyone in town is aware of her past. While she loves her family and Ika Whenu, she’s also cautious about letting too much of herself out into the world. This extends to her romantic relationships as well. She’s afraid the world will laugh at her if they knew who she truly is, allowing the walls around her heart to be fortified with granite. It’s going to take an outsider who is also a kindred spirit to break through those walls and show Sam there’s more to love and see in the world outside of her one-horse town.

The Writing Style

What stood out to me with this story was Winter’s attention to detail on all fronts. She does a great job of illustrating the town of Ika Whenu by giving depth to all of her secondary characters. Whether they’re residence or staying temporarily, you really know each and every one of these characters by the end of the story. And each person, setting, and action is intricate to the developing romance between Sam and Alex, thus making them just as important to the story as the two women themselves.

The Pros

The banter between Sam and Alex is so much fun. It has that quick back-and-forth that I love so much, with the perfect balance of being comedic and dramatic. Watching them go at it in the bar scene? Yeah, you can totally see the sparks fly and are patiently (or impatiently) waiting until that first kiss from that point on.

The Cons

While I enjoyed the final chapter, I don’t really think it was needed. I understand that Winter was probably trying to illustrate that all of Sam’s fears to live in Alex’s world were unfounded. I just don’t think it was needed in such great detail. That said, it was fun to watch Sam get some good licks in during the Shakespeare game.

annas favourite booksThe Conclusion

This was a great continuation of the Breaking Character series. We get to learn more about Alex as a woman, visit a beautiful country, and experience love, action, and drama. It truly has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster and needs to be picked up today.

Excerpt from Changing The Script by Lee Winter

Alex flung open her door and sprinted over to the unmoving, black-leather-clad rider, who was pinned under the bike.

“I’m so sorry!” she called. “I didn’t know that was an actual road.” Stupid comment.

“Well, now you do.” The reply was low, annoyed, and unmistakably female. It was accompanied by a pained grunt.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’ll know when I’m vertical again.” The woman tried to shift and gasped. “My leg’s stuck. Do you think you could make yourself useful and pull the front up a little while I…?” The woman stopped mid-sentence and peered up at Alex. “Oh. Never mind.”

“What?”

“You’re the size of a sparrow. It’d probably kill you. Even faster than you almost killed me.”

Alex glanced down at herself. Her thin, black, tailored pants, jacket, and white shirt didn’t exactly bulk out her frame. But she had muscles, if you hunted for them, and…

Adrenaline was kicking in now, though. Couldn’t people do amazing acts of strength in a crisis? She’d read that somewhere. With a firm step forward, Alex grasped the handlebars, gave the woman a determine look, and said, “Don’t count me out. I may surprise you. Ready?”

With a skeptical look, the woman said, “Guess I don’t have much choice.” She bit her lip, braced her arms against the bike, and nodded.

Alex could do this. She would! She pulled with all her might. Astonishingly, the bike shifted. And then shifted again. It moved almost a quarter of a foot.

Yes! Sparrow, may ass!

Then, to her horror, her back gave out. The handlebars started to slip. Her strength left her like a deflating balloon as the weight of the bike wrenched down on her trembling arms. “No…nononono…Bollocks! Watch out!”

The metal deadweight dropped back onto the woman’s hip and thigh with a sickening thud.

So much for adrenaline.

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Series

Breaking Character Series

Breaking Character

Changing The Script 

Bits and Bobs

ISBN number: 978-3-96324-297-7
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Lee Winter Online

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