Here is a tiny little excerpt from my novel/novela birds trees water sky, which I'm working on slowly but steadily. This is from chapter one, which I just finished last night.
"“Clar…” Papa said, getting up and extending his hand to the stranger who was, I had no doubt, here to rip our family apart.
“Jon William…” Clare returned the greeting and shook hands with my papa. And I stood there like a lost baby lamb, not knowing what to think or how to feel. I did not have time to consider much of either, because just then another four Amory girls (all but Mollyann) came pouring out of the front door, all smiles and curtsies and warm words.
I stood back apart from them all, feeling nothing but a growing cold, a hungry cold, feeding on my breaking heart…all the while Clare Reynor’s icy blue eyes kept finding me and his smile was cold whenever his gaze landed on me.
I know what you are trying to do, I thought at him, trying to pick him to pieces with my own frozen stare. I was imagining a hundred ways to get rid of him, but not one of them I could actually accomplish, since I was smaller and frailer than him. But my determination was firm. I wished to all the Whorls that one of us had a “send away” magic like our long-dead uncle Bolin, but that magic was rare, or so it was said. Even if one of us did have that rare ability, I bet this strange young man had a way to counter it, or he would just keep coming back. It would be like trying to wave away pesky blue flies in hot summer before a hard rain.
I will not let you take anyone away from me. I thought with a bullet of hot fury sent out to him. I clenched my fists and watched my older sisters and Jon Warren fawn over him.
I turned to go into the house and then my thought bullet was returned to me, with tenfold power…but without fury. Just icy cold words, equally determined to do what he came here to do, destroy my family.
Then why don’t you try stopping me?
I froze for a solid minute before acting like nothing was wrong and heading on into the house. I went to the kitchen and found Mollyann, doing what she does, and imbuing dinner and drink with the magic to make everyone comfortable and relaxed. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, and she turned quickly, and almost dropped the ladle.
“Ol’ Mountains and all the whorls, Virgie! You scared the life outta me!”
Then she saw my face.
And my tears streaming down like waterfalls."
Thank you for reading. The following is a tentative cover. I will probably change the images before uploading, but I rather like this font.
I just finished uploading an ebook to Amazon under my (sort of) real name. (the M is real, the X is not), and it is available now for download for only $1.99. Get Four & Twenty Blackbirds HERE.