Welcome to my world and beyond...

A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Weekend Writing Warriors December 27, 2015

 

Hello all.  Last Sunday of the year!
Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, a weekly bloghop.  Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished, to go live between noon, Saturday, and 9:00 AM Sunday EST. Then we visit each other and read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

              Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE

This week, I'm excerpting from a short story called, "Jack and the Christmas Journey." 

It's the beginning of chapter three. The MC, sixty-something year old Tildie--who was widowed three years ago, is not happy about her little group of friends dragging her out of her house to go Christmas shopping. It's been three years since she lost her husband Harp, and she's still working through it all, teetering between grief, and a need to get on with her life. She is the POV character. Carol, Lindy, and Sissy are her friends. Ben is a man from her past. It's five days before Christmas. My last post ended with this sentence:  Sissy said through a smile, ""The man's still got it." We continue from there.


     Tildie looked down at her plate, doing everything she could to avoid their conversation.
     "Oh look, he's coming this way," Sissy was out of her chair before Tildie could stop her. "Ben! Oh Ben?" Her voice rose well above the patrons' chatter while her arm, waving like a turning windmill, completed the spectacle. "Hey, come sit with us."
     Tildie's cheeks burned and her smile felt stiff when she looked up and met his eyes. He stood before them, wearing his easy, lopsided grin. God, still shades of the handsome kid he was decades ago.

    

That's it. Thank you for reading it. Though this story is published, I still learn from your feedback--and I'm so grateful for any insight you share.

Next week, I'll be barrelling into the New Year with my Nano story from 2014, a scifi/dystopian.

Happy New Year!! Have fun--and be safe. :-)


 

35 comments:

  1. He sounds gorgeous. Nicely done Teresa. Ben has gotten Tildie's attention, but will she get his?

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  2. Wonder imagery. Really enjoyed this tale, Teresa.

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  3. Sweet. I love her reaction/observations.

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  4. I'm wondering the same thing Kim is! Great snippet. Have fun writing in the new year! :)

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    1. Thanks, Amy. I hope 2016 is grand for all of us!

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  5. Her shyness makes me wonder what went on between them so long ago. Very fun snippet.

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  6. Love behind the schoolyard. Oh yes. Lovely snippet, my friend.

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  7. Love this story! Didn't know it was published, so I'm off to put it on my Kindle! I want to know if they get together after all this denial. :)

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  8. I'm a big fan of an easy grin, myself. Especially when it's reflected in open eyes. Something new for my Kindle, too! =)

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  9. With friends like these... I really feel for her embarrassment!

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    1. I'm so glad that came through the words. Thanks, Caitlin. :-)

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  10. Nothing like a friend to embarrass the heck out of a person.

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    1. Haha! Yeppers, friends'll do that. Thanks, Victoria! :-)

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    1. Nothing makes a girl melt faster. :-) Thanks, Aurora!

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  12. Ben sounds great. I do feel her embarrassment, though. Nice excerpt.

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  13. I very much enjoyed reading this story in the set...great snippet for today, with the hero's lopsided grin.

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    1. Thanks, Veronica! And thanks for reading the story! :-)

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  14. Sounds interesting. Blast from the past stories can be a real hoot.

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  15. Oh man, nothing like busybody friends to liven up the scene, eh? Wonder how much food she'll manage to actually eat with "shades of handsome" at the table! LOL! Great snippet. Have a happy New Year!

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    1. :-) Yeah, they are sort of busybodies! Thanks, Rose!

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  16. I liked this story a lot. In a world that often seems all shoving and harsh words, it was a lovely picture of good friends and gentle romance.

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