It's All in the Details

Time again for Snippet Sunday!

Last snippet from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This scene takes place the first day of summer vacation after the fifth grade, a summer of major changes for Jeana and all three of the boys. Wade and Jeana are in the shed behind his house that they used for their Mystery Masters meetings. Wade has just given Jeana the bad news that his family is moving across town, but he also shows her a heart he carved on the shed door with their initials in it and officially asks her to be his girlfriend.

He set the flashlight down and took both of her hands to pull her closer to him. Jeana knew what was about to happen and couldn't believe none of the butterflies had come back to life in her stomach. She wasn't a bit nervous, because she'd been waiting for this to happen ever since the night they'd looked at the constellations together and she'd made her wish on the shooting star. It had taken awhile, but it was finally coming true.

Wade moved his hands to her waist, and she put hers on his shoulders. For a few seconds they just looked at each other, then he leaned toward her and she watched his lids slowly hide the green eyes she loved so much. When their lips touched, she closed her own eyes and tried to memorize every detail about the moment—how soft his lips felt pressed against hers, how fast his heart was beating, the way his arms trembled slightly as they held her close to him, even the clean, soapy smell of his skin and hair. It's not every day a girl gets her first kiss, and Jeana wanted to remember everything about it.

Okay, so we know which boy she likes first, but will it last through high school and beyond? You'll have to read all three books to find that out, and you can buy the True Blue Trilogy here. ;-) And please do also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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Change of Plans

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last few snippets from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I said this was going to be the last snippet before I moved on to Book Two in the trilogy, and I also said this one was going to be from Jeana's POV, but I decided to invoke Writer's Prerogative and change my mind about both things. You've met Mickey already, but I thought we needed one more snippet about him to show how important he'll be in the next books. This skips ahead a good deal from the last snippet about him. His family has since moved to Chickasaw because of his dad's new job and he's met Billy Joe, but up to this point in the book, Mickey thinks all girls are silly and giggly, and he especially doesn't understand why Billy Joe and his friend Wade are always hanging around that redheaded girl who thinks all sports are dumb and boring.

My apologies for the extremely creative punctuation, but I wanted to include all of this. I'm also going to put Jeana's poem in the comments so you can see why it made such an impression on Mickey.

Mickey had no idea what was going on—for the first time in his life, his heart was pounding in his chest, and it had nothing to do with baseball.

He'd been sitting in the school cafeteria waiting for the fifth grade honors program to begin, wondering if he might get a P.E. award along with the math award he knew he was getting and laughing at the joke Billy Joe had just told him. When the principal announced that the redheaded girl—her name turned out to be Jeana Russell—was going to recite a poem she'd written, Mickey rolled his eyes and slid down a little in his seat, thinking Man, talk about boring. He folded his arms across his chest and got ready to suffer through some dumb stuff about rainbows or kittens or ponies—or unicorns, what was it with girls and unicorns?

But then she'd started speaking, and Mickey slowly sat up in his chair because every word she said was the way he lived every single day, and it was like she knew he had to work harder and always be better than everybody else at baseball so his dad wouldn’t drink anymore, like she was telling him she wouldn’t think he was weird because all he thought about was baseball and couldn’t settle for anything less than the best.

It was like she was telling him that she understood, because she was the same way.

Mickey watched her face as she said the words that described his life, and he felt his heart speed up even more, because although he'd never noticed it before, now he realized that her hair was the same coppery red color as his mom’s, and the sunlight streaming in the windows behind her made those wispy curls on top of her head look almost like a halo. When she finished her poem, Mickey didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as the way her smile lit up her whole face and made it seem to glow like her hair.

For a second he thought she was actually smiling at him, then he realized she must be looking at Billy Joe and Wade sitting in front of him, and his heart stopped pounding then because fear gripped it as he wondered if she liked one of them for more than just a friend. He knew they all lived close to each other and had probably known each other for a long time, but the way she was smiling made Mickey think she might feel something more than friendship for one of them.

He had to meet her and find out.

Uh-oh. Looks like the adolescent love triangle just because a quadrilateral. (Mickey's a math whiz, so he'd appreciate that analogy.) Next week we'll get that glimpse into Jeana's heart as promised. 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!

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Stars Fell on Alabama

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last few snippets from my MG novel, True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I chose this snippet for two reasons: to explain the significance of the stars on the cover, and to give you some perspective on the major change Wade will undergo between this book and the next one. This scene takes place the day of Jeana's 11th birthday party. Jeana had promised earlier to teach Wade the names of the constellations and tell him the myths behind them as soon as the fall games were over at the ball park behind both their houses. (The park lights would've made it impossible to see the stars.) Edited from the published version to fit our guidelines.

Later that night after supper, she was sitting in her porch swing, trying to decide which one of her new books to read first, when Wade came over holding a wrapped package.

“Oh, I forgot you said I'd get your present later,” Jeana said, her eyes shining in the porch light, “but why didn't you give it to me at the party?”

Wade sat beside her on the swing and said, “Because I wanna ask you something after you open it and didn't want Billy Joe to hear.”

That brought a little tingle to Jeana's spine as she carefully opened the gift that Wade had painstakingly wrapped in white paper on which he'd drawn books of different sizes. They were just crudely-drawn rectangles, and most of the titles were misspelled, but Jeana thought it was the best wrapping paper ever, and when she saw that the gift inside was a rotating star wheel that showed every constellation in the night sky and how to locate them, she gasped with delight.

“Oh, Wade, this is so neat!”

"I thought you could use it when you show me the constellations, and since the ballgames are over at the park now, we can do it tonight if you want to.”

“Okay, sure,” she said, “but if you kept this for yourself, you wouldn't need me to show you anything.”

“Oh yes I would," he said, nodding for emphasis. “There's no way I can figure that thing out by myself, and you always explain stuff better than anybody, Redhot. Like I told you before, you should be a teacher when we grow up.”

I just realized I haven't shared any snippets from Jeana's POV yet, so I'll probably finish with one next week. I'll try to pick one that best shows why all these boys are in love with her at such a young age. 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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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Puppy Love? Maybe Not

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Last week you met three of the four main characters in True Blue, the first book in my True Blue Trilogy releasing next month. (If you missed it, you can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Jeana, Wade and Billy Joe live on the same street and grew up together, but why would two ten-year-old boys hang out with a girl who usually has her nose in a book, hates sports and is pretty bossy? Here's why.

When they left the shed in Wade’s back yard a few minutes later, they blinked as their eyes adjusted to the brightness of the late afternoon sun that was still warm enough for all of them to be wearing shorts in the middle of October—business as usual in Chickasaw, Alabama. The three of them said goodbye at the privacy fence that separated Wade’s yard from Jeana’s. Wade swung the loose board aside so Jeana could slip through, then he and Billy Joe watched until she was safely on her back porch.

They'd been looking out for Jeana all their lives, and neither of them planned to stop anytime soon. Sure, she was bossy and kind of a know-it-all, but she also wasn’t silly and giggly like most of the other girls at school. She was so smart it was scary sometimes, and she’d been making up cool games for the three of them to play for as long as either boy could remember.

Of course, neither of them would ever consider admitting to anyone—including each other—the real reasons they would always look out for Jeana. That was a secret they kept hidden deep in their ten-year-old hearts and only thought about when they were lying awake at night, remembering the way Jeana's eyes looked when she smiled and the way it made her face glow like the strands of her curly red hair in the sunlight. Her smile made them want to be smarter, nicer, braver—someone who deserved the admiration of a girl as special as Jeana.

Those were the things that kept both boys willing to do anything she wanted as long as it meant they got to see that smile again.

Next week you'll meet the fourth main character—another ten-year-old boy named Mickey who's obsessed with baseball, but for a reason you might not expect. And he doesn't know it yet, but he's gonna end up feeling the same way about Jeana. I also hope I'll be able to share the cover art next week too! 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!

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Girls Gotta Stick Together

Time again for Snippet Sunday!

I didn't sign up for Weekend Writing Warriors this week because I knew I was going to run way over on my sentence limit, but since this is the last snippet I'm sharing from Shades of Blue, I couldn't help it. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) I'm skipping ahead quite a bit, but I wanted to end with this part.

After Sam's mom finds out that Russ is molesting her step-daughter Britney in addition to hitting her, she's finally promised Sam that she'll quit drinking and taking pills so they can get away from Russ. This scene takes place when JoJo and Britney have an unexpected talk in the back yard. JoJo has been trying to be nicer to her because of her abuse, but they still can't stand each other at this point. This is Britney's response when JoJo asks her why she lied about Sam groping her and got him beaten for it.

“I knew the old man was gonna blow his top when I told him I was tired of getting groped, but I didn’t care. Probably because I was still pissed that somebody at school that day had decorated my locker with a bunch of rubbers blown up like balloons, but I just wasn’t in the mood to take it from him that night. I knew he’d hit me for saying it, but getting hit ain’t so bad compared to getting felt up by your old man, you know?”

I was glad she didn’t wait long enough for an answer from me, because I didn’t have a clue what to say to that.

“Anyway,” she said, “Sam must’ve heard us and knew I was about to get my ass whipped, because he comes busting into my room yelling for me to stop lying to get him in trouble for something he didn’t even do. The old man bought the whole thing and beat the shit outta Sam, even with me screaming that he never touched me.”

I had no problem believing Sam would do something like that. And if I’d had any doubt before that he was the best person I’d ever know, I knew it for sure then. But that didn’t keep me from being furious with him for doing it, and he was gonna get an earful from me the next time I saw him.

“Okay, I believe you,” I said. “I can see Sam doing that. And now that I think about it, he never actually told me you said that about him. He knew what I’d think and just let me think it, same as he did with Russ.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty slick,” she said. “I asked him later why he did it, and all he said at first was that it wasn’t a big deal and I had to learn not to talk back to the old man. But after I kept pestering him about why he did it, he said he only did what brothers are supposed to do.”

She closed her eyes, and big tears squeezed out from the corners and ran down her cheeks.

“Nobody’s ever done anything for me like that before," she said. "Hell, nobody’s done nothing for me at all unless I gave ‘em something for it first. So as much as I hate having a sorry asshole like Russell Hart for an old man, I gotta be kinda glad about it since it means I get to have Sam for a brother.”

I changed my mind then. I wasn’t gonna yell at Sam for what he’d done when I saw him, but I was sure gonna kiss him for it.

“Look, Britney,” I said. “You don’t deserve to get treated the way you do, by Russ or by anybody else. I’m sorry for being such a bitch to you before, and I hope we can get along from now on. You know, since you’re Sam’s sister and all.”

She looked up at me, and I could see a smile fighting with the tears that were leaving tracks in the dirt on her cheeks.

Maybe it's just me, but I think I see a budding friendship sprouting here. ;-) And I'm sorry to leave you hanging like this, but you'll just have to buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here to find out how they all get away from Russ and uncover the truth about Sam's real dad. Please also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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Repercussions

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Closing in on the last few snippets from my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue before I switch to another book. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week we left Sam and JoJo after he climbs in her window in the middle of the night to get away from his drunken step-father, and JoJo is surprised to hear that his step-sister Britney (not his mom as some people mistakenly thought) helped him get away. After talking to Sam about how he and his mother have to get out and never go back and getting a wishy-washy response from Sam, JoJo is terrified that they'll never leave despite Russ's abuse. Sam sleeps on the floor of her bedroom and goes home early the next morning when he sees that Russ's truck is gone.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I got ready for school in a hurry so I could go next door and talk to Sam before Daddy came out to the car. When Britney answered the door, I had to bite my lip because her left eye was an ugly reddish-purple color and was swollen almost completely shut. She might be a spiteful tramp, but she didn’t deserve to get beaten. Especially by her own father.

Before I could think of anything to say, she turned around and called Sam then walked away. He came out of his room with his book bag slung over one shoulder and grabbed my arm when he got to the door.

“Come on, JoJo. I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

More next week, or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please 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!

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More to the Story

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Happy Easter! Here's another snippet from my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) JoJo has just found out that Britney told Russ about Sam trying out for football, but Sam claims she didn't do it out of spite. I warned everyone last week not to jump to conclusions, but some people did anyway. Here's the explanation.

“She had just come in the room and didn’t know he’d already hit me. I don’t think she would’ve said anything if she’d known how mad he would get about it.”

“Oh, I just bet,” I said, my fists squeezed so tight that my fingernails were cutting into my palms.

“No, really,” he said, “because when he grabbed me by the throat, she started yelling at him to stop. And she hit him over the head with a lamp when he wouldn’t let me go, then she told me to get out of the house until he sobered up.”

“Oh my God.” I didn’t know if I was more shocked because Russ had tried to choke Sam or because Britney had actually done something decent. I rose to my knees and put my arms around Sam’s neck. “I’m so glad you got out of there, and you can’t go back.”

If only it were that simple. More next week, or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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Sins of the Father

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's a little more from my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) As a lot of people guessed last week, there's more to the story of Sam's real dad than we know so far. I'm skipping ahead a little for this snippet, so I need to set it up. This takes place after Sam shows up at JoJo's bedroom window in the middle of the night and she helps him climb in. He's just told her that his mom and step-dad were both drinking heavily all night and arguing. While Sam was trying to help his mom to her bedroom, she accidentally called him Keith, his real dad's name.

I knelt on the floor beside his legs so I could look up at his face and said, “What did Russ do when she called you Keith?”

“He really lost it, JoJo--I’ve never seen him that mad before. He slapped my mom and told her he never wanted to hear that name again, and before I could say or do anything, he backhanded me and said it was my fault she did it.”

“How could it be your fault?”

“He said I’ve been trying to look and act like my dad on purpose because I want to turn my mom against him, and he said next I’d be wanting to go out for football so I could play the big shot quarterback like my old man.”

"You didn’t tell him you were trying out, did you?”

He looked at me and shook his head. “No, but Britney did.”

Now, don't jump to too many conclusions. More next week. Or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here and find out. ;-) Please also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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Where is Ancestry.com When You Need It?

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing for a few more weeks with my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) As promised last week, here's a scene where JoJo and Sam are talking about his real dad who left when Sam was a toddler.

Photo by Torsten Bolten, AFpix.de, via Wikimedia Commons

“My mom didn’t seem like she’d been drinking as much as usual when I went to tell her goodnight, and she kept saying how much I was starting to look like him, then she got out her yearbook so I could see for myself. It said under his picture that not only was he quarterback for Pine Grove, he was a High School All-American signed by Florida State.”

“Do you really look like him?” I asked.

“Yeah, except he’s a lot bigger. He’s got blond hair like me, and our chins are the same shape. You know, that was the first time I ever saw a picture of him, and he didn’t look like a guy who would run off and desert his wife and kid. He looked like he’d be kinda nice, and you should see how pretty my mom was in high school.”

I’d always wondered if there was more to the story about Sam’s dad than we knew, but unless he suddenly decided to come back someday, I didn’t see how we’d ever find out the truth.

I'm guessing they do find out more about him, what about you? Of course, you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here and find out. ;-) Please also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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The Real (Painful) Thing

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Here's another snippet from my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week Sam and JoJo shared their first kiss, and it was everything and more that JoJo hoped it would be. This scene skips ahead to the next day after school.

We talked about the usual school stuff the rest of the way to the Minit Mart, and we were still holding hands when we stopped to get a Coke. I didn’t see Chip and his two stupid friends behind the comic book rack until it was too late.

“Look, guys,” Chip said as they walked toward us, “Sam finally got up the nerve to hold her hand, and it only took him ten years to do it."

Freddy and Danny yukked it up like the total morons they were, and the three of them walked toward us.

“Just think, Sammy-boy,” Chip went on. “Only five more years and you’ll be feeling her up like I did yesterday.”

Before Sam could say a word or do anything to stop me, I grabbed a can of Coke from the tub of ice by the counter and chunked it at Chip’s head. It bounced off the cowlick at his crown and landed in the middle of a loaf of Wonder Bread on a rack nearby. He stumbled backward into Freddy, and they fell against the comic book rack and knocked it over.

“How did that feel, Chip,” I said, “because it felt pretty damn good to me!”

Glad to see everything that happened didn't make JoJo lose her mojo, huh? Next week we'll find out a little about Sam's real dad who left when he was a toddler. Or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please also check out the other Snippet Sunday folks and the Weekend Writing Warriors. Something for everyone among these talented writers!

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Silver Linings

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This scene skips ahead a bit and needs some setup. JoJo has just discovered that Sam's step-father beats him and molests his step-sister Britney, and that Sam's mom drinks and takes sleeping pills. Sam is afraid he'll be sent out of state to live with his grandmother if the authorities find out everything, and he makes JoJo promise not to tell anyone. They talk it all through and Sam admits it's part of why he's been avoiding her for the past week. She tells him he'd better not ever keep anything from her again because he's her best friend and she's missed him. When she says that, Sam gives her the same look he gave her a few days earlier when they were wrestling and she thought he'd been about to kiss her. That brings back the horror of what she's just gone through with Chip, and this is how she reacts. (Creative punctuation alert!)

He put a hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him, then he said, “What’s wrong, JoJo, you’re shaking.”

I was, and I couldn’t stop.

“I just . . . I don’t want things to change between us, Sam. We’ve been best friends since we were five years old, and that’s the way I want it to stay.”

He looked at me a few seconds, then he touched my cheek and said, “You’re a lot more than a friend to me, JoJo, I think you know that.”

I knew it as well as I knew that he was gonna kiss me and I was gonna let him this time, even though I was terrified.

He leaned toward me with his eyes slowly disappearing under his eyelids, and as soon as our mouths touched, I knew everything would be okay. All I could think of was how soft his lips were and how much I liked the way they felt against mine. Sam’s kiss completely erased the memory of Chip’s tongue in my mouth, and I made up my mind about something—what Chip had done didn’t count. This was my first kiss, and I refused to think otherwise.

More next week. Or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please 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!

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Secrets and Lies

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Continuing with my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week we found out just how much of a scumbag Sam's step-father is. As promised, here's more about why Sam doesn't want JoJo to tell anybody what happened to her and get him involved with the police. This part is right after JoJo sees the bruises on Sam's back and asks him if his mother knows about the beatings.

His head fell lower and he said, “She’s been drinking pretty heavy for a long time and... now she takes sleeping pills too. Some days she doesn’t even know who I am. She keeps calling me Keith—my real dad’s name. I guess I’m starting to look like him.”

Sam’s mom had never been a candidate for Mother of the Year, but I didn't know it had gotten so bad. “What does she say about Russ hitting you?”

“She’s the one who made me promise I wouldn’t tell anybody. She said if he goes to jail, he’ll tell them about her problems and say she’s not fit to take care of me, and I’ll get sent to live with my grandmother in Tennessee.” He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I don't want to have to move away, JoJo. That’s why the police can’t know about any of this.”

His mom is actually hiding more than just her drinking and pill problems, but that comes later. Can't wait? You could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please 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!

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Talk About Your Scumbags

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry my snippet isn't romantic, but I wanted to continue with my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) Last week JoJo saw the bruises on Sam's back and realized that's the reason he doesn't want to be involved in anything to do with the police. Sam doesn't want to tell her why he got hit, but she threatens to take back her promise not to tell anyone what happened if he doesn't talk to her. Here's the first part of the explanation. And a blue Valentine for everyone! :-)

Photo from MJBnTx's photobucket

His breath came out in a frustrated huff, but he said, “It was something Britney did—well, something she said.”

“You mean she lied about something?"

“Not exactly, see, my dad was really drunk when he got home Friday night, and he always gets... affectionate with Britney when he’s like that. She said something about being tired of getting groped, and it made him really mad.”

“So what does that have to do with you?” I said then realized something. “Wait, you mean she told him you’d been groping her?”

“No, but that’s what he ended up thinking.”

“I’m gonna beat that tramp's lying ass!”

“No, JoJo, that would just make everything worse, and it probably won’t happen again anyway because he only does it when he’s drunk and—” He realized what he’d just told me and hung his head.

Uh-oh. It's happened before. And don't be too quick to judge Britney here. Things aren't always what they seem, especially in my books. More next week, or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please 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!

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Gotta Love Those Title Moments

Time again for Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

I'm continuing with my YA coming-of-age mystery, Shades of Blue. (You can catch up on the earlier excerpts here.) This scene takes place a little later after Sam shows up to rescue JoJo from being molested by Chip Wiley in the woods on the way home from school. Sam and JoJo share a tender moment, but he surprises her when he says she can't tell anyone what happened because he can't be mixed up in anything to do with the police. He says that if she cares anything about him, she has to promise not to tell. JoJo reluctantly agrees, then she remembers seeing the bruises on his back through his T-shirt and realizes that his step-father has been beating him. Sam tries to deny it, but JoJo isn't fooled.

“Let me see your back.”

He sighed and turned around slowly. I lifted his T-shirt, and his back was so bruised that it was hard to find any part that was the normal color of his skin—big splotches in every shade of blue imaginable. Blue had always been my favorite color until then, but I didn't like it anymore. I guess I must have gasped, because he turned around and hugged me.

“I swear it’s not as bad as it looks,” he said. “It doesn’t even hurt much anymore. Please don’t cry.”

I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “I hate him, Sam."

Find out next week why he got beaten. Or you could always go buy your own copy of Shades of Blue here. ;-) Please 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
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