Bros Before Hoes is Easier When Gardening

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Hey, notice that "trilogy" part in the series title? There are indeed three parts to this coming-of-age saga, and the eBooks are now all available! Check out the three gorgeous covers my daughter created for me. I just LOVE them! You can buy one or all of them here, and I'm having a Facebook Launch Party with games and giveaways next Saturday (Oct. 1) from 9-1 Central Time. Come join the fun!

This week's snippet shows another side of Billy Joe, the jokester in the group. He and Wade and Jeana were watching Shane on the afternoon movie together at Wade's house, and Billy Joe witnesses a look Jeana and Wade shared because Wade was trying to hide his tears at the end when Shane left. This part takes place after Billy Joe gets home.

Wade had been his best friend for as long as either of them could remember, but the knot in Billy Joe's stomach made him afraid that was about to change.

Because of Jeana.

Billy Joe had been in love with Jeana since they were four years old and she'd told him he was funnier than Bugs Bunny. She was the smartest girl he’d ever known, but not too smart to like most of the same goofy stuff he liked. She was also the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, but what made her even prettier was that she didn't seem to know it. He loved the way her hazel eyes looked really green if she got mad when he was teasing her—which was all the time—and he loved how she never backed down from an argument, but what he loved the most was her smile and the way he could make her laugh so hard that her eyes almost disappeared.

And he knew Jeana loved him too, but only as a brother. For a while now, he’d been noticing how Wade looked at her when he thought no one was watching, and today he’d seen her looking at Wade the same way. She never looked at him like that, and seeing her look at Wade had felt like somebody punching him in the gut, but the scariest thing was how mad at Wade it had made him feel. What kind of a best friend did that make him?

I think I'll do one or two more snippets from this book before I move on to Book Two. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Tetanus Shots are Important

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Since the snippets from the last two weeks about what Mickey and Wade are dealing with at home have been so sad, I think we need something much lighter this week. I always try to have a good balance of humor and darker issues in all my books. Here's another scene with Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe in the clubhouse, about to sign the honor contracts that bind the members of the Mystery Masters together and swear them to secrecy. Jeana had originally told the boys they had to sign their names in blood and neither of them liked that idea at all.

“I got a better idea when I was reading this afternoon,” Jeana said. “We'll prick our fingers and press them together to mix our blood, but instead of signing our names with it, we'll put our fingerprints at the bottom of the contract under our signatures.” She pulled a hat pin from where she’d stuck it in the collar of her shirt.

“Geez, what were you reading?” Billy Joe said, “Nancy Drew Tortures the Hardy Boys?”

Wade laughed but stopped when Jeana gave him a look.

“No, it was a book about an Indian boy and his white friend who become blood brothers. I like that better. Plus, it’ll take less blood than signing our names, since both of y’all are weenies.”

“Weenies who don’t wanna pass out from blood loss,” Billy Joe said. “Me and Wade got longer names than you, ya know.”

No, that picture isn't a real book. I don't know who did the Photoshopping, but it cracked me up. Next week we'll get poignant again when we take a peek into Billy Joe's heart and see that he's more than just a jokester. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

Flip Side of the Coin

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with snippets from my new release, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week you met Mickey, who pushes himself to be the best at baseball because he loves his dad so much and wants to make him happy so he won't drink. Wade is dealing with some father issues too, but they're a lot different from Mickey's. This scene takes place after Wade is sent to bed early for fouling out of his basketball game, but he sneaks out to meet Jeana and Billy Joe in the clubhouse for their Mystery Masters meeting. His little sister accidentally gets him caught when he comes back in. Forewarning: there's some major creative punctuation going on in this snippet to make it fit our guidelines.

I couldn't find a snippet that applied to today's memorial, but here's a photo to commemorate those we lost.

“Boy, why aren’t you in bed?” Mr. Strickland said as he came down the hall, then he added, “Have you been outside?”

“Yes, sir,” Wade said, backing into his bedroom, “but I only went out for a minute, I had to... go look for something.”

“Yeah, I know what you were looking for—that little Russell girl! Didn't I tell you I was tired of you following her around like a stupid puppy dog?” He unbuckled his belt and walked into Wade's room, shutting the door behind him as he said, “That's probably why you can't keep your head in a ballgame long enough to win. Maybe this'll help you remember how to mind!”

When he came out a few minutes later, Sissy waited for him to sit in the recliner again, then she slipped into Wade's room and ran to where he was curled up on his bed and hugged him as she said, “I'm sorry I got you in trouble, bubba, I didn't mean to.”

Wade hugged her back and said, “Don't cry, Sissy, it's not your fault.”

“Why is Daddy always so mean to you?”

“He wants me to do better at sports—I just have to try harder, then he won't get mad at me.”

I'm sure you can guess that these father/son relationships are going to play a big part in how both boys grow up. Can't wait for the next snippet? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page

The Boys of Summer

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's the third snippet from my NEW RELEASE, True Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) You've already met Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe. Now meet Mickey, a blue-eyed baseball player whose dad named him after Mickey Mantle. He's only ten like the other three characters, but he's dealing with some pretty deep stuff because of what he sees out on the patio one night when he wakes up and goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. Edited from the published version to fit our guidelines.

Oh, and check out the cover my amazingly talented cover artist made for me! I think she's the greatest, and I'd say that even if she wasn't my daughter. ;-)

His dad stood up and emptied the bottle into the glass, but instead of putting it back down, he stared at it in his hand for a long time, then he slowly went into a windup and hurled the bottle out into the yard like the all-star college pitcher he’d been—before he'd had to drop out of school and get a job to take care of his wife and unexpected baby.

Mickey never said anything to his dad or his mom about what he’d seen. He didn't want to embarrass his dad, and he also felt a little ashamed, as though he’d been spying on him. Sometimes he’d find empty bottles out in the yard and would always put them in the garbage so his mom wouldn’t see them, because he didn’t know whether or not she knew his dad was drinking and didn’t want her to think anything bad about him.

For the next few weeks, Mickey worried about his dad and tried to figure out a way to help him. Then it was time for Mickey’s baseball team to start the new season, and he got so busy practicing that he almost forgot about his dad’s problem—until the night that Mickey hit his first home run of the year and he saw that when his dad picked him up in celebration after he crossed the plate, there wasn't a trace of sadness in his eyes as he looked at his son.

That’s when Mickey knew what he had to do. He'd work harder than everybody else and be the best baseball player in the whole league. Maybe he could even play in the big leagues when he grew up, like his dad had wanted to do—maybe even for the Yankees. Then his dad could be happy all the time, and he wouldn’t need to drink anymore in the middle of the night.

Hey, you knew everything couldn't be all sweetness and light in any of my books. Next week you'll get a peek at what one of the other boys is dealing with. Can't wait? You can buy True Blue here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

~Stay true to yourself and your dreams will come true!

See all my books at my Web site
Follow me on Twitter
Like my Facebook Fan Page