I could have sworn that I printed up a passage from my novel. But it appears that I haven't. Maybe I put up a spoiler back on Facebook some time ago.
I finally got through my writer's block two weeks ago (it's only taken 2 years!) and have been able to make sufficient progress on this novel to announce that I aim to have it completed by the end of April and will launch it on the first day of summer. This year!!!
I thought a good way to whet the appetite of potential readers (I hope) was to put up an excerpt from the first chapter.
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. . . .“How the hell did you manage to loop your jeans though this damn branch?”
“I knew this was a mistake.”
I snorted derisively and contemplated how to extricate my best friend from her leafy prison. Seeing as she had backed herself onto a thin branch and couldn’t get a good footing to climb back up and off it, I set about trying to cut the limb with my pocket knife.
Neither of us were aware that the mattress Olympics had come to an end and that we had become the noisier duo. It seemed that Char had managed to snag the one green limb on the entire tree, which my knife was unable to sever.
I tried another approach. “Char, I’m gonna cut up the belt loop.”
“The hell you are! Do you know how long it took me to find a pair of jeans that didn’t make my ass look like I’ve birthed 10 kids?”
“Look, I’ll buy you a new pair,” I pleaded. I wanted to get out of this tree and the hell away from his house. The tears that I’d been fighting back were now rolling down my face. “I’ll by you two pairs.”
As I continued to struggle, the widow flew open . “I‘m not imagining things. I hear something out there,“ said the man. I went stock still, hoping that it was too dark for Eddie to make out our shapes in the branches of the Magnolia.
“You’re being too paranoid,” drawled the female, her voice like molasses sliding across Saran Wrap. “Now come back here.”
“I dunno, Missy. This doesn’t seem right.”
“Where did these morals come from all of a sudden? You didn’t say that last month. I believe your words were, “Norma Jeane could use some lessons from you.”
That was so much to handle. “BASTARD!” I bellowed. Forgetting the possibility of deadwood, I propelled myself to my feet and heard an sharp crack. Before I could react, the branch snapped and I shot down feet first.
My arms pin-wheeled, seeking purchase of tree limbs but finding none.
Some say time slows to a crawl when bad things are happening, but a million thoughts raced through my head:
This is gonna hurt.
Dummy, you knew the answer before you climbed the tree.
I hope Char figures out how to get down.
Why didn’t he just dump me?
I will murder both of them if I’ve gotten an STD. And no one in town will blame me.
Prison orange is really ugly.
Fuck.
Fuck.
And then my left knee took the full impact of my fall. I can’t even begin to explain the pain. Imagine a bowling ball made of concrete smashing into your nose. Or an elephant flying a spaceship and landing it on your foot.
The front door exploded open and the screen door shuddered violently as Eddie kicked at it. Clad in ratty jeans, he stomped across the porch. I groaned as I tried to rise. Eddie reached out an assisting hand, but I knocked it away.
“Don’t touch me, you filthy yard dog,” I growled, still dazed from the fall. “I don’t want your whore hands on me.”
“Norma Jeane, I’m so sorry. It was an accident.”
“Oh, really?! What happened? Did you trip and Missy just happened to break your fall with her hallway-sized vagina?”
“That’s uncalled for.”
“No, I’ll tell you what’s uncalled for,” I yelled. The front porch light flickered on next door and Mrs. Ginny Crawford peered out the crack of the door. I glared at her and she quickly shut the door. To hell with the neighbors and their opinion of me. They’d never see me on this side of town every again.
“Norma Jeane, you are causing a scene. What are the neighbors going to think? Come inside.” Eddie grabbed my arm.
And then I did a horrible thing. . . .
I finally got through my writer's block two weeks ago (it's only taken 2 years!) and have been able to make sufficient progress on this novel to announce that I aim to have it completed by the end of April and will launch it on the first day of summer. This year!!!
I thought a good way to whet the appetite of potential readers (I hope) was to put up an excerpt from the first chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1
Morons in the Magnolia at Midnight
. . . .“How the hell did you manage to loop your jeans though this damn branch?”“I knew this was a mistake.”
I snorted derisively and contemplated how to extricate my best friend from her leafy prison. Seeing as she had backed herself onto a thin branch and couldn’t get a good footing to climb back up and off it, I set about trying to cut the limb with my pocket knife.
Neither of us were aware that the mattress Olympics had come to an end and that we had become the noisier duo. It seemed that Char had managed to snag the one green limb on the entire tree, which my knife was unable to sever.
I tried another approach. “Char, I’m gonna cut up the belt loop.”
“The hell you are! Do you know how long it took me to find a pair of jeans that didn’t make my ass look like I’ve birthed 10 kids?”
“Look, I’ll buy you a new pair,” I pleaded. I wanted to get out of this tree and the hell away from his house. The tears that I’d been fighting back were now rolling down my face. “I’ll by you two pairs.”
As I continued to struggle, the widow flew open . “I‘m not imagining things. I hear something out there,“ said the man. I went stock still, hoping that it was too dark for Eddie to make out our shapes in the branches of the Magnolia.
“You’re being too paranoid,” drawled the female, her voice like molasses sliding across Saran Wrap. “Now come back here.”
“I dunno, Missy. This doesn’t seem right.”
“Where did these morals come from all of a sudden? You didn’t say that last month. I believe your words were, “Norma Jeane could use some lessons from you.”
That was so much to handle. “BASTARD!” I bellowed. Forgetting the possibility of deadwood, I propelled myself to my feet and heard an sharp crack. Before I could react, the branch snapped and I shot down feet first.
My arms pin-wheeled, seeking purchase of tree limbs but finding none.
Some say time slows to a crawl when bad things are happening, but a million thoughts raced through my head:
This is gonna hurt.
Dummy, you knew the answer before you climbed the tree.
I hope Char figures out how to get down.
Why didn’t he just dump me?
I will murder both of them if I’ve gotten an STD. And no one in town will blame me.
Prison orange is really ugly.
Fuck.
Fuck.
And then my left knee took the full impact of my fall. I can’t even begin to explain the pain. Imagine a bowling ball made of concrete smashing into your nose. Or an elephant flying a spaceship and landing it on your foot.
The front door exploded open and the screen door shuddered violently as Eddie kicked at it. Clad in ratty jeans, he stomped across the porch. I groaned as I tried to rise. Eddie reached out an assisting hand, but I knocked it away.
“Don’t touch me, you filthy yard dog,” I growled, still dazed from the fall. “I don’t want your whore hands on me.”
“Norma Jeane, I’m so sorry. It was an accident.”
“Oh, really?! What happened? Did you trip and Missy just happened to break your fall with her hallway-sized vagina?”
“That’s uncalled for.”
“No, I’ll tell you what’s uncalled for,” I yelled. The front porch light flickered on next door and Mrs. Ginny Crawford peered out the crack of the door. I glared at her and she quickly shut the door. To hell with the neighbors and their opinion of me. They’d never see me on this side of town every again.
“Norma Jeane, you are causing a scene. What are the neighbors going to think? Come inside.” Eddie grabbed my arm.
And then I did a horrible thing. . . .
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PS-The juicing and weight loss (with only a few set backs) have been going great. I've lost about 8lbs so far. And that's a good thing because I have to be in a wedding in the fall.
