A New Snippet

This one is not from the Family Secrets sequel.  It's part of a story that I've been calling Broken.  I don't know if I'll stick with that name.  We'll have to see how that works out.  The name aside, it's a powerful story and I really, really want to tell it.  The going is very slow because I want to get it right.  I'm hoping for comments on this post because I'm dying to know what a reader might think.  Here goes:

BROKEN:

Fear and dread rose up in me like bile. I was shaking so badly that I had to lean against the wall. The door was only four feet away, but I wasn’t sure I could make it. I wanted to scream, cry, run from this place and never look back. But I couldn’t. I made a promise – maybe the most important promise I’d ever made in my life.


The others began to arrive and I watched them file slowly into the room. No one looked at me - or at each other for that matter. I don’t suppose I really expected them to. After all, it wasn’t exactly a social gathering. The only person who did look my way was one of the guards. After the others had gone in, he came over and spoke to me, “Are you okay, ma’am? You don’t look so good. Can I get you some water or something?”

“No thank you. I’m fine.” It was a lie and I’m sure he knew it, but he was kind enough to let it go.

“You should go on in and sit down. It’s almost time to start.” He walked beside me, as if to catch me should I fall.

We entered the room and he saw me to my seat. There were twelve chairs laid out in three rows of four. I was right up front. I heard the door close in the rear of the room. It was a sound that would haunt me for the rest of my life. It was the sound of the end.

The lights dimmed and the curtains on the other side of the plate glass window moved slowly to either side. There she was, lying on a gurney. Her eyes were closed and I could see her chest rise and fall with each breath. I was a little amazed at how peaceful she looked. When she opened her eyes, I could see the raw fear and I knew that there would be no peace in this place tonight. Her head was slightly elevated so that she could see the onlookers. She looked around for a moment until she saw me. Her eyes locked onto mine and for one fleeting moment, I was glad that I had come. And then they started.

The warden appeared from behind a door. She was a small, well-dressed woman but I knew from experience that she was tough as nails. “SueAnn Saxton, do you have anything that you’d like to say?”

SueAnn opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She forced her eyes closed to try and block the sudden onslaught of tears, but it didn’t work. “I’m sorry,” she gasped with one of her lasts breaths. When she opened her eyes again, they were still locked on mine. I wanted to look away, but she held me with her gaze.

The warden took a step back and nodded to an unseen person behind a mirrored window. It was then that I noticed the tube in her arm and the contraption to which it was attached. After the warden’s nod, the contraption came to life. The first of three mechanical syringes began to inject chemicals into the tube. Within seconds, SueAnn’s body began to go limp. Her eyes stayed open, though, and locked onto mine. When the second syringe pushed its poison into her body, her eyes began to glaze over but they never closed. When the third syringe emptied its contents into her, her body stiffened and then relaxed. I could no longer see the rise and fall of her chest. I knew she was dead.

A nurse in medical scrubs entered the room with a clipboard. He checked for a pulse. Then he looked at the warden and gave a single nod. The warden responded in kind and the nurse noted the time of death on his clipboard before covering SueAnn’s body with a sheet.

Guess Who's Back!

I know it's been a little while. Okay, okaaay. It's been a LONG while. All I can say is, "Cut me some slack. I've been busy!" Besides, writing is a creative endeavor and creativity can be random. At least that's the theory we're applying here.

So now that I'm back at it, feel free to check in from time to time and see what's up. I'll be posting excerpts from the next Charlee Hudson mystery. I'm also ditching the 'Broken' blog and will be incorporating much of that work here.

Keep an eye out. I promise to try and make it interesting.

A Not-So-Sudden Burst of Inspiration

To those of you who have been urging me to finish the second Charlee Hudson book; I have to confess that I haven’t written a word in quite a while now. Don’t worry, though. I haven’t given up. I’ve been struggling a bit over exactly how the story unfolds. That means, of course, that I’ve been doing plenty of daydreaming. I’m happy to report that I think I’ve finally got it figured out. I’m actually starting to get anxious about it. I want to lock myself in a room and start cranking out the words!

WANTED: Beta Readers

Beta readers are people, usually friends who can be relied on for honesty and not flattery, who read a writer’s work while it is still in progress. I already have one beta reader – my good friend Brianne. Brianne read every chapter of Family Secrets as soon as they were written. Her input was invaluable and, on a couple of occasions, helped shape the direction of the story.

Having reader input along the way was so valuable that I’d like to recruit three or four more beta readers. As work progresses on the Deceptions, the second Charlee Hudson story, I will upload portions of it to my website. My beta readers will log in, read a few pages and then send me their comments.

I’ll post more information on this as I get closer to implementing the beta reader section of the website. Anyone who thinks this sounds interesting should consider giving it a try. Future posts will provide instructions on how to become a beta reader.

The Check . . . er . . . Book Is In The Mail

I’m so happy to be able to fill the first few orders! Copies of Family Secrets will go out in the mail today to those who ordered them over the weekend. It’s very exciting for me!

I’m also preparing a mailer to go out to independent booksellers across the country. Maybe I’ll be able to drum up a little interest on that front, too.

In the meantime, I’m happy to have the project finished and out there. It gives me energy and motivation to move forward on other projects – like the second book in the Charlee Hudson series.

Deceptions and Daydreams

Deceptions is the title I’ve chosen for the second book in the Charlee Hudson series. I’ve spent quite a bit of time already working the story out in my head. That’s where the daydreams come in. This, by the way, is the coolest thing about being a writer – you get to spend lots of time daydreaming! It’s productive daydreaming, though. I started out with one idea and, over the course of several daydreaming sessions it evolved into something way cooler. As usual, though, there are pieces missing. I am off to a good start and I have a pretty good idea about the action in the last half. Building up to the action is the tricky part. I’m getting there, though. In fact, I need to sign off the blog for today and start writing down some of the daydreams before I lose those ideas and have to start over.

Proof Copy In Hand!!

My first proof copy of Family Secrets arrived in the mail the other day! I say ‘first’ proof copy because I’m sure I’ll find a treasure trove of typos. That means I’ll have to correct them and then get another proof copy. It’s all progress, though, and it’s very exciting.

When the proof copy arrived, I took it out of the package and I was a little overwhelmed. It looks exactly like a real book. My daughter just rolled her eyes when I said that out loud. It’s a wonder her eyes haven’t fallen out of her head by now. She rolls them a lot.

At any rate, I hope to have the proofreading finished in the next few days. When I return from my business trip to San Francisco, proof copy number two should be waiting for me. Maybe I’ll get it even sooner so that I can review it on the flight.