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, October 3, 2020

WeWriWa: EU48

 


                                      
          

Happy October! Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. Thank you to everyone who left a comment last week. If you'd like to participate or read tempting morsels from other authors, please sign up--or check the linky list at: http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/

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     This snippet is from Emmily, Unbound, an SFR story. 
To read a compilation of all snippets posted for this story, click Here: Emmily Unbound, Chapters 1 & 2  Emmily, the main character, has lost pretty much everything in the last twelve months: her marriage, her parents, her job, and her house. She and her dog, Murphy, have moved to the mountains of Pennsylvania into an old, remote, hunting camp her parents willed to her. On her first day there, along a desolate road she's been forced at gunpoint to haul a wounded man to her house. She's doubting what she's seeing.
Last week ended with this: I remember--in a numb sort of way--that there are groceries  in the car. Autopilot kicks in and I turn to go back out the door, but Kade’s hand gripping my arm stops me. “I need help.”
Now, the  snippet:

     “And I need to get things out of the car. Food. To eat.”  I don’t know why I do it, but I motion with my hand like I’m scooping air into my mouth and chewing.

    He shakes his head and again says, “I need help… now.”

    "If I don’t get the food out of the car, it will spoil and then we,” and I enunciate the word ‘we’ as I point to all of us, “will have nothing to eat.”

    What is wrong with me? I could die in the next five minutes and I’m arguing over saving a jug of milk and a pound of bacon? Maybe he’s not planning on me being around to cook for them?

    Assumptions do a lot more than make asses out of people. I tell myself in my most scolding mental voice that assuming things can kill when you’re being held at gunpoint. Even maybe-fake-ray-gunpoint. 

That's the snippet. A few more lines if you're interested...

 
   And this guy? He does not look happy. He speaks in a language foreign to me. One of the men heads out the door, and Kade pulls me into the bedroom.

    I swallow and try not to think about how hard my heart is beating. I hope I don’t get sick. There’s a lot of blood. 

    He looks up at me, away from the small box in his hand, and asks in halting English, “Do you have  bandage, a…thread? Something to kill…to clean with? Heat? Clean cloth?”

    He's struggling with words. English is not his native language. I volunteer, “I have a first aid kit. It’s still in a box. I’ll have to find it.”


 
     Maybe she can get away...

     Or maybe not...

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The working blurb for this story follows: Tagline:
   
     Sometimes the simplest plan doesn’t turn out so simple...
     After losing everything that bound her to her ordinary and happy life, Emmily has one plan: move to the mountains. Oh, and never give her heart away again.
     But everything goes sideways when a UFO crash-lands on the ridge next to hers, and on a desolate road she’s waylaid by men demanding help for their injured ‘General’. He’s confused, bleeding, and sweet Lord, good looking—even while sneering and growling at her.
     Fleeing an ambush meant to kill him, Gen Rael is gravely injured when his ship crashes on Earth. The human woman his crew captures to aid them is a confounding mixture of terrified, defiant, and beautiful. A female distraction is the last thing his hindered mission can afford. But this Emmily woman is cutting through the steel wall he keeps around his heart.
     Despite being their hostage, Emmily isn’t blind to the peril they’re in: there’s a threat coming from the stars, and it’s lethal to all of them, including her.
     And her simple plan to never-ever fall in love again? Looks like that’s in peril too…
 
 

        That's it for this week. Thank you so much for visiting and for reading. :-)

 


25 comments:

  1. This is definitely a complicated situation for all involved. Always curious to find out what happens next!

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    1. It is--for all of them. We just happen to be experiencing it through her eyes. :-) Thanks, Jessica!

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  2. I strongly suspect she won't be left alone to find the first aid kit!

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    1. Your gumshoe instincts on right on! Thanks, Ian. :-)

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  3. Great hook! Will she try to escape or will she stay and help? I think going for the groceries is a lost cause, however.

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    1. Thanks, Jenna! :-) Her options are about to be limited to none--just do what she's told to do.

      It's so hard doling this out in little snippets. :-)

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  4. Yeah, I don't think he's going to let her out of his sight. And running away into the woods doesn't sound like a good idea.

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    1. They're all a little off-kilter, now. But (spoiler) ...an escape is not to be. :-( Thanks for visiting!

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  5. Would sahe really be thinking about bringing in the groceries if a man's bleeding all over her bedroom? Of course she's in shock and you've established her thought processes aren't exactly tracking too well throughout this incident...lots happening in this snippet!

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    1. I think so, Jean. She jumps from rational thought, to ridiculous thoughts, fueled by the shock she's in. Any rational thoughts she has are pretty much autopilot stuff. :-) Thanks for visiting. As always, your observations are very much appreciated. :-)

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  6. Somehow I can't picture her doing the stitching!

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    1. Haha! Indeed. She might be tough in some ways, but she's a pretty big weenie in others. And at the end of this scene, we're about to see a demonstration of that. ;-) Thanks, Nancy!

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  7. I wonder what Cade thought she could do without medicine or bandages. Or maybe he just wanted her to tend to him, rather than the groceries.

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    1. He needs a few things. A lot transpires in the next few hours. :-)

      Thanks for visiting, Ed!

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  8. That sounds like something I'd do: argue about getting my groceries in when someone was pointing a ray gun at me. I don't like things that disrupt my routine.

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    1. Me too, Cie. The older I get, the worse I am about changing my routine. lol Thanks for visiting!

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  9. Like the freudean slip there... "kill... clean with" The English language is definitely not his native language.

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    1. :-) You caught that. lol Thanks for visiting, Jeff!

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  10. The things that are important when under stress - milk and bacon.
    Tweeted.

    P.S. My snippet -with the dance moms and Peyton - you are reading it right - it wasn't written as a serious scene.

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    1. Thanks, Daryl!

      Glad to know I read your snippet the right way. :-)

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  11. Nice snippet. I think it's great how she's holding onto something like the groceries. That's a bit of stability and normality in a freshly chaotic world.

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    1. Thanks, Elaine! I'm so glad you caught that--a tiny piece of normalcy in a world that has otherwise fallen apart. :-)

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  12. At least he's making the effort to try to communicate with her? That has to count as something.

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    1. Yep. It does! He's in a bad place, but he's really a good guy. Thanks for visiting, E.D.!

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  13. Maybe? a fake ray gun. And yes - there is a bit of a double entendre there with her wanted to "save the bacon" LOL
    Tweeted.

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