Book Extract: The Placeholder by Lynda Wolters

Published November 5, 2022 | By Laura

I am pleased to be welcoming Lynda Wolters to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, The Placeholder.

THE PLACEHOLDER, a mash-up of Thelma and Louise besties meet Eat, Pray, Love and Me Before You.

Middle-aged Serenade Kincaid has lost everything: her stepchildren, her house, half her earnings, her sports car, and her husband, all to a decades younger–and more fertile–woman.

Sera now drinks boxed wine from a plastic cup as she attempts to start over from her new home, a seedy motel, as she kills time scrolling dating apps in search of a semi-decent-not-mass-murderer-please-just-spend-time-with-me port in the storm.

As Sera discontentedly leapfrogs through men, her snarky, meddling boss and sometimes-best friend, Carolyn, encourages her to focus more on finding a friend with benefits, just until Prince Charming comes along, of course. Zac fits the bill.

He’s a self-proclaimed “unsuitable boyfriend” who looks to have jumped straight from the pages of a romance novel. Zac also insists he, too is only looking for some fun, which is perfect for Sera.

Cue the booty calls. And wow, are they hitting the spot. But just when Sera is starting to figure herself out, get her life back on track and think she may have found someone, life takes a sharp left. And all fun and games come to a screeching halt.

Now, Sera, Zac, and Carolyn must race against time to disentangle their web of lies and deceit before it’s too late.

The Placeholder is an unconventional, unforgettable, unputdownable story of loss and love.

Lynda has shared an extract with us today. Enjoy!

*****beginning of extract*****

I never had a sister, but I did have a best friend, and oh, did we get ourselves into some tricky situations; but we always had each other’s backs. Decades later, I still have that BFF, and while we live a thousand miles apart, we still have each other’s backs. While writing the friendship scenes in The Placeholder between Sera and Carolyn, I drew on my relationship and how crazy and daring, and trusting a good relationship is; I hope the same comes through in this fun, somewhat crazy scene where Carolyn is driving Sera’s sporty Barracuda to see Sera’s mom. Here’s the scene:

The drive north is otherwise uneventful. We rock out to seventies disco when my head and ears can handle the noise, with an occasional Etta James and requisite Pat Benatar – because no girls’ trip is complete without “Heartbreaker.”

“Detour,” I call out. “Take old Highway 7. I want to show you something.”

Carolyn follows my directions, keeping to the posted speed.

“Faster,” I blurt. We are at the bottom of a hill where the intersecting road sign reads, Greencreek 6 miles. “Go faster.”

“I’m driving at the speed limit.”

“Just do it.”

I see Carolyn push the peddle down slightly.

“Faster.”

Carolyn jerks in her seat, and I see her foot press toward the floor. The speedometer surges. I scan the upcoming road for cars: all clear. “Pin it,” I yell.

“I am.”

“No, you’re not. Pin it.” I reach over and place my hand on Carolyn’s knee.

“Are you trying to kill us?” she screams, swatting at my hand.

“We have to be going as fast as possible when we reach the top of the hill.”

“What?”

“Trust me. It’s a Thelma and Louise moment.”

“We’re driving off a cliff?”

“Drive,” I scream at the top of my lungs, laughing and coughing and whooping.

“Oh, what the hell,” Carolyn yields. “Dibbs on Louise.”

I shrug. “Works for me.”

Near the crest of the hill, I draw in a dramatic breath and stare at Carolyn. She glances at me and follows suit, her cheeks puffed. I grab the door’s armrest and reach for Carolyn’s hand; it’s clammy. She’s nervous.

The car’s nose dips, and I let loose a loud, “Whoo-hoo.”

Carolyn’s hand tenses in mine, and she releases an even louder, “Oh, God!”

The familiar scrape of metal as the car bottoms out causes me to release a crazy, knee-slapping, Thelma-like laugh as the wheels inch off the road.

The Cuda lands with a stomach jolting thud.

“Brake,” I command, my tone stern, controlled, and unwavering. “Hard.”

Carolyn obeys. The thunder of the Hemi subsides, and the car bunny hops until it slows enough to take the first curve.

“Oh. My. God.” Carolyn laughs and screams, “You’re crazy! Woo-hoo!” She shakes her head, her mane swishes around her face. She looks happy, beautiful. “I think I peed a little.”

“I know I did.”

We laugh.

*****end of extract*****

About Lynda Wolters:

Lynda was born and raised in a tiny farming community of 400 in northern Idaho. She worked on the family farm, with her first job being picking rocks out of the fields with her dad and grandpa. She graduated to driving both the truck and combine during harvest season. After high school, Lynda traveled to New York to be a nanny for a few months before moving to Las Vegas to further her schooling.

Lynda has worked in the legal field for 30+ years and enjoys ballroom and swing dancing, horseback riding, kayaking, and river rafting. She has a heart for people and regularly volunteers. Following a diagnosis of incurable cancer, Lynda began writing. Her first non-fiction book, Voices of Cancer, was released in 2019 (a piece was done by Jane Brody on January 20, 2020, and published in the NYT, and a grant purchased the Chinese translation rights, and Voices of Cancer is now offered to medical students in the Tawain area), and her second non-fiction book, Voices of LGBTQ+, was released in 2020.

The Placeholder, Lynda’s debut novel, was released on November 1, 2022. Lynda currently has a middle-grade historical fiction manuscript about her in-laws, who were children in the Netherlands during WW2, in editing.

Say hello to Lynda via her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Click to buy The Placeholder on Amazon UK and Amazon US.