Hello
all my fellow Warriors (and Snippeteers)! :-)
Weekend Writing
Warriors is a weekly bloghop. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 to 10 sentences of
their work, published or unpublished, on their own blog to go live before 9:00 AM Sunday EST. (We check signups and remove links when we don't find a wewriwa post-- to save our participants from clicking on empty links--so please have it live by 9:00 Sunday morning--eastern USA) 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.
Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE.
I'm changing up for a week or two. My second short story in the fictional world of Maple Cove was released this past week by RVPublishing. So, back to Earth we go, and Lily and Jobe are going to have to fend for themselves until I get back to them. :-) (I'll keep Jobe safe.)
Set up: This is Sissy's story. She's in her early 60s, and has been looking forward to her golden years with her husband. But, a recent series of events has convinced her that he's cheating on her. In this snippet, she's shopping in a grocery store in Maple Cove (small town where everyone knows your name--and your business). She just stumbled upon a couple of women gossiping in the aisle.
"She stepped back around the corner of the aisle and
trained her ears on their conversation. "Guys never cease to
amaze me, thinking they can keep something like that from
their wives."
Sissy's heart started to pound. Her old Irish grandma's
words came back to her. "People who eavesdrop never hear
anything good about themselves." She pushed the cart
around the corner and watched their reaction to her sudden
appearance. Yep. She'd been the focus of their conversation.
They avoided eye contact with her; all of a sudden the two
women were real busy looking at cans of chow mein."
"She stepped back around the corner of the aisle and
trained her ears on their conversation. "Guys never cease to
amaze me, thinking they can keep something like that from
their wives."
Sissy's heart started to pound. Her old Irish grandma's
words came back to her. "People who eavesdrop never hear
anything good about themselves." She pushed the cart
around the corner and watched their reaction to her sudden
appearance. Yep. She'd been the focus of their conversation.
They avoided eye contact with her; all of a sudden the two
women were real busy looking at cans of chow mein."
That's it. What works? What doesn't? Even though it's published, I appreciate your comments and learn from them. :-)
Definitely damning evidence. Another homily includes hearing what you expect to hear, I hope she gets the truth and not recycled fiction. Poor Sissy!
ReplyDeletePoor Sissy! I do hope it's not as bad as she thinks, but with gossiping like that, one never knows. Great excerpt, and congrats on the new release! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release, Teresa! Oh no! But Sissy shouldn't listen to gossip, rumors are always exaggerated. I hope things turn out ok for her!
ReplyDeleteI like this story! I'll have to get it. I like your line in your intro "where everyone knows your name...and your business." I hope you used that in the book!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the title of this book? Blurb? Link?
You can't always believe gossip, but in a small town, man, they do know everything. Sorry for her. Love that the ladies were suddenly fixated on something very mundane--like chow mein!
ReplyDeleteSounds realistic, although perhaps she should have waited to hear what they said.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the release! I grew up in a very small town and this definitely rings true.
ReplyDeleteMost people would be tempted to eavesdrop, that shows strength of character that she didn't. However she might be jumping to conclusions if she doesn't know what "something like that" is. For all we know, her husband might be secretly planning a romantic Caribbean cruise for them :)
ReplyDeleteI like it! Is there a buy link? You know I love your stories set in this town...great snippet, so true to life.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautifully subtle way for her to learn the painful truth.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, my Grandmother used to say that, of people listening in to other people's conversation. If it had been me, I might have stayed hidden for a while longer to hear more. The piece works for me. Good snippet, and glad you are keeping Lily and Jobe safe.
ReplyDeleteOh that small town gossip! This reads very realistically to me. You can tell a lot by the way people look at you. Do we get more of this story next week?
ReplyDeleteI agree it's good she stopped listening, but she may also be leaping to conclusions. Great peek into human character and how there's no privacy in a small town.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing happened to me when I was in the 9th grade. I hid until the girls left, but I sure had a conversation with my boyfriend. the outcome? We broke up.
ReplyDeleteI sense a confrontation... Great writing!
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty horrible conversation to stumble into, particularly when evidence suggests you were indeed the topic of discussion. I love eavesdropping and spying, but I'd probably be tempted to confront them if that happened to me.
ReplyDeleteUh oh... I think I would've waited a little longer to see what they said, even if I'd be too suspicious to believe it. Good snippet!
ReplyDeleteYut-oh...now what? Did Irish granny have any advice on what to do after the fact? Good snippet!
ReplyDelete