by Sarah | Dec 25, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. While I’m waiting for my editor at Secret Cravings Publishing to get back to me with my edits, I’m getting a little antsy now that the distraction of Christmas is over. Soon enough I’ll be wishing I could go back to the days of not pouring over edit notes and corrections.
Until then, I thought I’d give a glimpse into the future of The Dominion Falls Series. Book 3, called Dark Territory has a scene set soon after Christmas with my FMC, Jane, discussing Christmas presents with her bestie, Kat. I decided to use that to keep in the spirit of the season 😉
In the scene, Kat is admitting that she thought the man she (scandalously) lives with might ask her to marry him again after she turned him down the first time. She reveals she had expected an engagement ring as her Christmas present…and what she got was…
Keep in mind, this is ROUGH 1st draft, & I haven’t touched it in over a year…it’s waiting for rewrites…so be kind:
“He kept hinting that he had gotten me something special for Christmas. I wondered if he wasn’t going to risk asking again.” Kat fiddled with her napkin, biting her lip as her cheeks flamed as red as her hair.
“He didn’t…”
“It was a new bed warmer.”
Jane’s eyes grew wide and her lips quivered with barely contained laughter. “A….A…new bed…warmer?”
“Shhhh,” Marjorie pursed her lips. “It’s not that funny…”
“Of course not.”
“Jane…”
“A bed warmer?” Laughter burst from its seams and Jane covered her mouth to try to stem the volume.
“He wanted to make sure my feet were warm,”
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by Sarah | Dec 18, 2012 | Books, Hump Day Hook, Morgana Chronicles, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. This week I heard from my editor for Changing Tracks at Secret Cravings Publishing. It’s funny how each little step makes the whole thing real and exciting all over again.
But, as I’m not hard at work on actual edits yet, I need to keep busy while I’m waiting on the notes that might drive me to tears.
And so I have. Into a Mirror Darkly is coming along nicely. I’m only 3 chapters in, but the FMC, Red, just rocks my socks. The male lead is going to be an interesting one. Their relationship…well it will be fun to write.
It’s a dark UF w/ romantic elements…so the romance won’t be the focus of the story by any means, but I don’t think Red or Wulfric will let me ignore it.
But I’m digressing. Here’s a small little snippet I wrote yesterday that gave me giggles. Remember, this is first draft and completely unedited & uncritiqued:
Wulfric, on the other hand, grinned and handed her his own sandwich. His rich laughter boomed through the small cottage when she took it despite her apparent anger at him. Brown eyes twinkled with amusement, crinkling at the corners. “Hunting ogres is a horrid business. Thought you’d have moved up in the ranks by now.”
“I have,” Red spoke around her food before grabbing her cup and slurping the tea out of it. Thick lumps of bread washed down her throat and she wiped a drip from her lower lip. “But the bounty on an ogre can handle two households for a full year while I hunt more elusive prey. At least I’m still hunting bounty – unlike some people that cater to the evil that invaded this land.”
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 HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Dec 12, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. Once again I’m talking about my upcoming release with Secret Cravings Publishing. (Their logo will be on the cover soon, I’m still waiting for the final copy – this is the cover I’m pleased to say I designed myself 😀 )
Changing Tracks is the story I worked on for a while. Jane & Cole became such a part of me, I thought I’d never be able to write anyone else. I’ve since learned I have a tremendous amount of characters in my head, but Jane & Cole will always hold such a dear & special place in my heart. I’m so glad that I already have more books to (re)write for them – it is a series after all. Maybe soon I’ll show something from book 2 – but for now I’ll stick with CT and show you another giggle worthy interaction between Cole & Jane. Jane is a sassy smart-mouth minx, with enough opinions to fill an ocean:
“Well you are a woman.” He eyed her appreciatively, “And women should keep their mouths shut. They don’t get opinions.”
“Just because you own the women you bother to keep company with and they must do as you say doesn’t mean they lack opinions. Just means you lack the fortitude to listen to them.”
“If you’re trying to curry favor, you ain’t on the right path.”
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 HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Dec 4, 2012 | Books, Hump Day Hook, Masked Hearts, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. I’m excited for this week, because I get to use it to announce my latest contract! Once again I’ve signed on with Secret Cravings Publishing, and I couldn’t be more excited!
Masked Hearts is my latest WIP. I finished it a couple of months ago and have been working on edits for it diligently while plotting my upcoming WIP (Into a Mirror Darkly, of which you saw the 1st paragraph HERE).
Masked Hearts didn’t come easy to me. It was my own personal challenge to write something under 50k (I’m super-wordy and writing short isn’t my forte), and I went into it blind with only some horrors of the past to trigger the story. Eventually everything fell into place and after some hefty editing of the first 10 chapters (before I knew Minnie & Roy very well), I felt it was ready. I just got my contract signed, and can look forward to publication in April!!
So without further mucking this up with words, here is my selection for this week:
Minnie turned again, her long black hair shimmering in the colorful glow of sunrise. The sense of perfection shifted the moment she lifted her hair.
Roy couldn’t stop his sharp intake of breath. A patchwork of scars stretched across her back in varying shades of white and pink. From her neck to just above her backside they were a glaring difference to the bronze perfection of the rest of her.
At the same time the scars added so much beauty. Only a strong woman could survive the torture of a fire hot enough to sear itself into her flesh.
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 HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Nov 28, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
If you’re here from the link on Kerrianne’s site, Welcome! Click here to see the latest HDH posts!!
Time for another Hump Day hook. I’m excited for this week, because I’m showing you a paragraph from my contracted book, Changing Tracks (due for pub in February w/ Secret Cravings Publishing). Jane & Cole are two of my favorite characters so far. It makes it very difficult to ever pick just one paragraph (or very short exchange) for the pair of them. So I found this little section from Cole’s POV. Just this one little moment of him looking around his room encapsulates the two of them pretty well in a few simple words.
Then he saw it.
The book.
It had to be hers because he couldn’t read.Obviously he left her alone too much. She’d taken the chance to add herself to the room.
All it took was a book.
Damn her.
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 HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Nov 20, 2012 | Books, Challenge, Hump Day Hook, Morgana Chronicles, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. I did miss last week because of all the hospital craziness with Denver, but I’m glad to dive back into it this week.
In the past few weeks I’ve started another new story. It’s taking a lot of world building, but the idea started small and really blossomed from there. Can’t get into too many details, but it’s a new series that’s going to be a dark urban fantasy – probably a few romantic elements thrown in.
So, without further ado, I give you the first paragraphs of “Into a Mirror Darkly” – book 1 of the Morgana Chronicles.
Red held her breath and kept every muscle relaxed to avoid twitching. The tiniest move would reveal her hiding place. She kept her long sword against her chest, her right hand folded in the familiar grooves of the handle. In her left she clutched the dagger still sticky with green blood.
Damn ogres.
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 HHH banner below:
