Meet Isobel Rey, author of Substitute.
Isolbel Rey is a Cambridge graduate. After interning at a stage/film talent agency, Isolbel now works at a London advertising agency. This is her debut novel. Originally from Surrey, Isobel lives in London with her partner and a one-eared rescue cat called Thumper.
Find Isobel at:
| Goodreads |
Substitute by Isobel Rey
Substitute is my first novel and my main character Alexia was born after far too many glasses of wine!
I fell into this genre almost by accident. I was out with a friend one evening and she introduced me to a publisher friend of hers. The three of us ended up having dinner and a lot of wine, and I mean a LOT of wine! I was talking about some of the crazy worlds that I get a window into from my job and all the politics and sexual tension that go with them. I work in advertising in London and I’ve worked with clients from all kinds of industries, some of them pretty glitzy and glamorous. And what I’ve learned is, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you are fro, how much bling you wear or how much money you earn, everyone wants the same things in life and everyone worries about the same things.
Several more glasses of wine into the conversation the publisher asked me to tell her some of the stories of the things I’d seen and heard. Well the stories came tumbling out didn’t they?! There’s a scene in Substitute involving a one way mirror, three guys, two girls and a hidden audience, and many people have asked me how I made that up, and they’re astonished when I explain that I didn’t. And no, before you ask, I wasn’t there, but the story was told to me by someone who was. Even though the book is in the Erotic Romance genre, I think you still have to have a ring of truth in your stories!
I told the publisher how hard it can be for women to navigate the high octane worlds some of our advertising clients live in, when they are looking for love. There are a lot of very good looking, charming guys out there, but they’re usually ambitious and ruthless and don’t want to get tied down.
I really feel for Alexia and the way she has to navigate the world she’s in, I know how she feels and I know a lot of women who feel the same way. She’s come out of an abusive relationship and she’s raw and quite naïve, but despite that she tries to hang on to her pride. Being ruthlessly pursued by a dangerous but attractive man is head-spinning, especially when your eyes are firmly fixed on a different man who doesn’t even seem to know you exist.
I had so much fun writing the main characters. Alexia shares the fears and hopes of so many women I know, and I have sat, as I’m sure you have, listening to girlfriends and their stories of trying to work out which are the good guys and which ones are best avoided even if they make your knees turn to jello.
I really enjoyed writing the character of Tony. He’s our hero Nathan’s main rival for Alexia’s affections. He’s a total predator. He wasn’t difficult to write as he is almost completely based on someone who works for one of my company’s clients. Names have obviously been changed to protect the innocent, oh and hair colour and nationality of course! But it’s him. He’s so in love with himself that I actually caught him, not just checking out his hair and face in a mirror, but checking out his bulge to make sure it looked impressive enough as he strutted through the office!
It certainly impressed at least half of the women in that office, and those are the ones I know about…….
Nathan is my hero in the novel. He’s an emotionally cut off ex-army officer who has seen too much fighting. There is so much to him that we don’t get to see as I wanted my reader to have the same puzzlement over him as Alexia does, trying to work out what’s going on under his cool exterior. I have met quite a few Nathans and I really wanted him to get one over on Tony, which of course is entirely possible when you’re the writer!
If Hollywood came calling, who would I cast in the main roles?
Well funnily enough a good friend of mine is a pretty successful TV and film producer and he persuaded me to show him the novel, I agreed after too many glasses of wine…..there’s a running theme here with wine, as you may have noticed…….
He said, I don’t produce this type of drama but I love these characters, I can totally see this as a mini-series about life in this environment. I was so shocked I think my wine glass stopped half way to my mouth, and it never does that. I asked him if it was a little racy for that , and he said ‘Have you seen Spartacus?!” ………. ‘I see your point!” I said. So you never know, but I think I need to get a few more novels under my belt before I venture into script writing.
I’d love to cast an unknown as Alexia, so the audience can totally identify with her, but I think I’d have to have Hugh Jackman or Matthew Goode as Nathan and Bradley Cooper as Tony if he can do a British accent! Although there’s no reason it couldn’t be set in New York or L.A.
It took all of Alexia's courage to leave her abusive boyfriend. When old school-friend Romy offers her a temp job at the glamorous London sports agency where she works, Alexia thinks she is saved. But shy, blonde and beautiful, she is totally unprepared for the fast sexual politics of rich sports men, big money and ambitious women. After witnessing junior agent Tony having sex on the boss's table, her dormant sexuality is awakened with a violence that frightens her. Tony's sees her need and Alexia finds herself almost giving in to his desire to dominate her. But despite his devastating sexual charisma, she only has eyes for the boss. Nathan Fallon is the ex army officer, dazzling but damaged, who has risen to the top of the cut-throat world of sports agents. But he thinks she's Tony's latest conquest. Desperate to win his respect, Alexia agrees to become his substitute PA for a week. But Alexia finds herself trapped between one man bent on bending her to his sexual will, and another she cannot read. Can she navigate this whirlpool of fame, money, and sex to fend off Tony long enough to win Nathan?
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