by Sarah | Apr 9, 2013 | Books, Holiday, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Another Hump Day Hook!
And this week it’s time for something new and completely different!
One of the WIP’s I’ve been working on in the background is a story for a holiday submission call. It’s tentatively called Santa, Maybe although I’ve also had the quirky suggestion of Holiday Peace (which both fits the story and matches the fact that I keep calling it my “holiday piece”. :D). I wish I could settle on a name, but it’s just not happening.
If this book is contracted and published, all proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 🙂
Anyhow, here’s one paragraph from this WIP…just one…don’t hate me:
“No. No more wishes.” She had to get a grip on herself or she’d fall back into the trap. Sniffling against the tears, she pulled back and swiped at them. Her fingers pressed to the bridge of her nose to try to settle them down. “This has to be the last time we walk away from each other. There’s nothing else left to wish for.”
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Apr 5, 2013 | Books, Hybrid, Tuesday Tales, Writing
The prompt this week was Noisy.
Remember, this is a meme with many contributing authors, so make sure to click the link at the bottom of the image to take you to see more!
Anyhow, as always this is un-edited mostly, so forgive any errors. :
“Why did you wait so long?” I leaned my cheek against his arm as I had when I was young. “I might have been able to help you smooth things over.”
“I wanted you as far as possible while Alatus made trouble. As the first hybrid to ever exist, you have been in the most danger.”
“Because the other hybrids are not natural born…”
“And therefore nothing more than noisy little humans with a bit of magic.” Jdyne’s nose wrinkled, a huff of smoke erupting with his snort. “At least according to the most stubborn and elderly of the Assembly. They never have seen the value of humans.”
“Whereas you have a great affection and weakness for them.” I frowned. “What made the situation split our people so decisively?”
“Alatus captured a hybrid in the attack on Kryztalia. He forced the lad to show what he was capable of in front of the Assembly. Unfortunately, luck was with Alatus as the hybrid he captured was one of those more dragon than human.”
I stretched out my elegantly patterned hand, to see the now red nails grown to resemble talons. “Does he have the same capability as I do?”
“Alatus tortured the boy until he was half transformed, half human. It was a grotesque display.” My father took a deep breath before he stopped avoiding my question. “And yes, he learned of the unique skill you have, and a handful of the hybrids have. It incensed the assembly that any hybrid should have more power than a true dragon. Like I said, you have been in great danger.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I responded in a dry tone. “So why risk bringing me before the Assembly now?”
“You are skilled at making them see reason. They need to hear the other side without the rhetoric of Alatus in their ear.”
“Where is he now?”
“The Other World.”
“Getting reinforcements.”
“Aye.”
*~*
Hope you enjoyed it! Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!
*~*
by Sarah | Apr 2, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Publishing Credits, Secret Cravings Publishing, Writing
Another Hump Day Hook!
So [amazon_link id=”B00BEMN5SC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Changing Tracks[/amazon_link] has been out almost two months and Masked Hearts, is due out any time now (this month!!).
In the background I’ve been working on some other things. I have a holiday WIP that’s maybe 1/3 done (or more, since I don’t know the length, I’m not sure. lol)…I have a couple of horror shorts that I’m working out the details for.
But beyond that I’ve been doing work on the sequel to Changing Tracks, which is called Derailed. While it’s not due out until July, I have turned in my manuscript to my editor (who also worked on CT, and I love her 🙂 )…and shockingly enough, I managed to design, submit, and get approval for the cover art. I can’t tell you how squealingly happy I am that my art got approved again and I’m SUPER excited to show it off…but for once in my life i’m practicing patience. I’m going to do a slow reveal once the Masked Hearts publishing push is over. 😀 There may just be a prize involved in it.
~deep breath~ So after all of that, are you still with me? Today I’m going to go back to Changing Tracks and give you another snippet…as I’m still waiting on my galley of MH and I’m not sure I’m ready to show of my WIP yet…
In this hook, Jane is going head to head with the town’s richest man. She pissed him off recently at a horse auction, and he retaliated with a dastardly deed. This is her response to his affront:
“Sorry? Is this a real apology?”
“Of course. I am deeply sorry you haven’t got the sense of humor God gave much simpler men. That you take more pleasure in the size of your home than your heart. That you haven’t the faintest idea how to keep a friend, much less a woman. I may have the reputation of a jezebel, but I will never die as alone as you.”
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Mar 31, 2013 | Books, Challenge, Hybrid, Tuesday Tales, Writing
The prompt this week was Funny. Of course, considering the MC’s in this piece are in the midst of a dramatic reveal…Funny was an interesting challenge to fit in, but I did it 😉
Remember, this is a meme with many contributing authors, so make sure to click the link at the bottom of the image to take you to see more!
Anyhow, as always this is un-edited mostly, so forgive any errors. :
“This had better not be a joke. Because if it is, it’s not in the least bit funny.” Hot prickles of anger rushed up my chest to my cheeks. If my face wasn’t red before, it sure was now. “Tell me the truth, Father. What happened?”
“As the last natural born dragon, you already know the answer to that.” Jdyn sat on the ground near my feet. Fingers twined together, he flipped his hands and stretched his back, his entire form growing several inches with the action. More scales began to appear beneath his thinning human flesh.
“But I’m not dragon. Not entirely.”
“No. You’re unique.”
“You mean I was.”
“You still are.” He frowned. “They didn’t clone you. You are still the only natural born of your kind, you are still the only one just like you. For the others they…”
“What, father?”
His nose twitched, his lip curled. “Understand that I am paraphrasing, Jyoti. As Laewyn put it – they perfected the mix with the help of you. Griffin blood only helped make it all hold together, as a natural hybrid itself.”
My stomach churned and I wrinkled my nose. “Laewyn always had the greatest contempt for what I am. For what you created with the help of my weak mother.”
“You mother lay with dragons. She was far from weak.”
I joined his chuckle and dropped next to him with a heavy sigh. “And this is why Alatus fights now. How he has gathered so many close. The hybrids can’t properly transform. How old is the oldest?”
“Two hundred years.”
“When a dragon doesn’t return to form for that long, it looks suspicious. I would say I’m surprised Alatus hadn’t noticed sooner, but he as always rather self-centered.” I studied the lines on my hand. “So he has raised the ire of the masses. For the flock of hybrids you brought to our people.”
“I believe all will see in time that there was no choice. It was this, or we die off completely. The last born true dragon is almost a thousand years old now.” He sighed, a hand that now revealed claws folded over hers. “I wanted our race to live. Even if it meant by carrying on our line through hybrids. Many agreed, they were the sires.”
“Kryztalia sheltered them, didn’t they?”
“Not all of them. But it was a better location to live. The weather and land was more vibrant and green than most of our other cities. At the time of the attack, there were five hybrids restoring their energy there.”
I curled my hand over his. “Alatus will attack the Terran plane, because that it where most of the hybrids live and thrive.”
“Yes.”
*~*
Hope you enjoyed it! Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!
*~*
by Sarah | Mar 26, 2013 | An Uncivil War, Books, HerStory - Pagan Writer's Press, Hump Day Hook, Publishing Credits, Writing
Another Hump Day Hook!
With all this talk about [amazon_link id=”B00BEMN5SC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Changing Tracks[/amazon_link] and my upcoming Masked Hearts, I haven’t bestowed on my friendly hookers anything about the wonderful anthology I got to be a part of this past month.
[amazon_link id=”1938397495″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]HerStory: Fiction Honoring Women’s History Month[/amazon_link], is a compilation of stories about strong women throughout history. From the medieval times, to the recent past, and through into the future. 31 stunning stories of strength of the female spirit, told by 27 authors.
I was honored to be a part of the anthology with my own story, An Uncivil War. Cathay is a nurse in the US Civil War, and on the fields of Gettysburg she takes a chance and bucks the traditional role of nurse.
In this hook, the doctor that is upset the female nurses are even near the battle, is about to head out into the field. She asks to go along:
“You’ve already seen too much.”
Cathay bit down hard on her tongue to withhold a sassy reply. Her skirts bunched up in her fists until her hands grew almost numb. “Aye. I have, doctor. I haven’t let it scare me though. I believe I have performed my duties well and without the weakness you attribute to my sex. Sir.”
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Mar 19, 2013 | Books, Hump Day Hook, Masked Hearts, Writing
Another Hump Day Hook!
This week I’m so excited to reveal my disturbingly gorgeous cover! Dawne Dominique did an amazing job at capturing just what I wanted and couldn’t get for myself.
Minnie and Roy are unlike any other couple I’ve written before. Their strength is quiet, their relationship simple and complex all at once. I created their story as a challenge to myself…to write something shorter than my typical 300k story that required breaking down into a series.
I wanted a set story, and went so far as to plan it out (and I succeeded, with only one surprise thrown in). Minnie and Roy did not come easily, both were so guarded about their past and themselves, but once they warmed to each other, they let me in a little more.
So here’s a little hint of Minnie and Roy…the blurb will follow. No release date yet, but hopefully soon I’ll have that for you 🙂 In this snip, Roy is trying to get Minnie to talk to him. To explain why she hates the Cheyenne that are part of their travelling wild west show, inevitably he turns her reasons back on herself:
“You stay.”
“I have no choice.” Her jaw worked. A glimmer of a tear shimmered at the corner of her eye before a rapid blink carried it away.
“And Max?”
“There’s a price on his head, and he’s old. He has no choice.”
“And me?”
“You don’t matter.” She tossed aside the tomahawk, and then turned to leave. “You’re one of them.”
BLURB:
Minnie Woodward lives a lie. After barely surviving the Bear River Massacre she’s spent her life in the white world of her guardian, Mister Rawlins. The burden of her life debt to Rawlins grows heavier with each passing day. The last thing she needs is Roy’s continuing attempts to gain her favor. With her fate sealed she’s never believed in hope, and not even Roy can make her start now.
Roy Ornum rescues Minnie every night in the traveling Wild West show. The job he took to pay his debts and break his gambling habit brought him a new addiction – her. He knows she doesn’t want to be rescued, but maybe he does. She’s the key to a past he lost, one he wants to find again more than anything.
As the two grow closer old wounds are reopened and their burgeoning trust is shattered. When lives hang in the balance of their choices they’ll need to put aside their fear and work together. Otherwise everything will be lost before hope can be found.
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
Another Hump Day Hook!
