Dellani's Quote for the Week

The following is a scene from one of my crime/ romance novels. It hasn't got a proper name yet, I just called it "Chase" after the main character. I liked this exchange and wanted to share it as a sample of dialog pacing.

Tracey was very subdued the rest of the drive. Standing in front of my house, she collapsed in my arms.

"Chase, why does Ted keep doing things to me? Why can't he leave me alone?" She wailed.

"Because assholes like Ted want to win at any cost. The more vulnerable their target, the better they like it. Comes from having low self-esteem and a tiny winky." I said that with the straightest face I could.

Tracey stopped crying, staring at me incredulously. "You're not serious?"

"Compensating." I held my fingers about three inches apart.

She giggled, tossing her long, red hair over her shoulder. "And you wouldn't know anything about compensating?" She patted the Jag's sleek fender.

"Me? Nope. That's advertising."