It’s that time again—another Wednesday, another week down. So far, it’s been a little challenging, balancing writing and editing with having both kids home. Next week, the kids are at camp, so that means a whole 7 hours a day to work. Good thing, because I keep having projects land in my lap. At the moment, I’m working on stuff with several other writers: three novels consistently, one inconsistently, and three fan fictions (those are also inconsistent, though).
I settled on Passing on Faith for the new title. Others seemed to like it, and I’m partial to its lovely multi-layered meaning to the story.
I thought for this week, I’d give you the bit that immediately follows last week’s snippet. I posted the beginning of this scene some time ago. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ll recap: Micah has gone to the lake house he inherited. His neighbor stopped by. Micah’s first impression was to be caught off-guard (Cat’s irritating, but he is adorable)—until he opened his mouth and Micah just wanted him to close it again.
Just for fun, my math is 9 (for the day) + 1 + 4 (for the year) = 14 sentences. Um…I could’ve just used the year, actually. But it’s more fun and convoluted this way. Which kind of describes Cat, so it fits.
Cat’s mouth twitched like he might smile; he didn’t, but his eyes twinkled. He turned around and retreated up the walkway. Micah was certain he saw Cat sway his hips flirtatiously just a little, but by the time he’d convinced himself, the moment was gone. Cat rounded the front hedges and disappeared from view.
Cute, a traitorous part of Micah’s brain supplied helpfully. He forced the rational portion of his mind to answer that thought with, No. He’s more like a damn chipmunk. Right…a sexy chipmunk. Wait. No. Not at all. That just sounds wrong. Plus, he’s too young, as well as nosy and annoying.
Micah let out a frustrated growl and unlocked the front door.
For a bit of clarification (before someone comments to that effect), when Micah says “too young,” he doesn’t mean Cat is a child or even barely legal. Micah’s a couple of years younger than I am, and Cat’s twenty-seven—about an eight- or nine-year difference. There’s nothing creepy going on, but there’s a reason Micah’s wary of the age gap that I’m not telling you yet.
WIPpet Wednesdays are hosted by K. L. Schwengel, so be sure to go see what she’s up to on her page. If you want to join us, post a bit of your current WIP, associate it somehow with the date, and add it here. Don’t forget to read the other entries and leave some love on the authors’ blogs. Happy writing!
OMG I’m laughing so hard!! I love them both now.
Oh, good! I was worried people would be like, “What the hell, Micah.” Actually, I wrote it, and even I’m kind of thinking that. Ha!
It makes sense all the while not making sense at the same time
LOL! Exactly. Hopefully, it will make more sense over time.
You’re a conundrum and he’s a conundrum so it makes sense already
That made me snort. And, which “he”? Or both?
Micah
Ah. I promise, he’s not a Mary Sue, but there’s a bit of me in him for sure. He, like Cat, is an amalgam of several people I know in real life.
“Um…I could’ve just used the year, actually. But it’s more fun and convoluted this way. Which kind of describes Cat, so it fits.” Way too funny! And so is the excerpt. A sexy chipmunk! *snort* It’s still going to take me some to actually warm up to Cat, though. And, I have to say, I didn’t think he was that old. Now I have to reform my mental image.
He comes across as a bit younger because…reasons. I do hope I can convince everyone to warm up to him. Being about 30,000 words into this thing, I have a good sense of who Cat is and why I adore him (even if he does drive me nuts). There’s also a reason for his age, which is personal and I’ll eventually get to that, too.
“Because…reasons.” That made me chuckle; it’a common line here!
Beat me to it, Shan! And Kathi is dead on with the “sexy chipmunk”. I had flashes of around third grade when I decided I had a crush on Chip (of “‘n Dale” fame).
Off to go blush in private now….
I would tease you, but….I was the one who wanted to marry Grover from Sesame Street at 6 (he’s so BLUEEEEEE, and cute, and furry, and now I see maybe why Jim dyed his beard….hmnnn)….and Spider-Man at 8.
I think there’s very little wiggle room for me to be passing judgment, so maybe we should just blush together? =)
Sounds like a plan! 😀
Yup! =D
Hahaha! I had a big crush on Kermit the Frog. Although the version of Chip and Dale in “Chip n Dale’s Rescue Rangers”? Totally crush-worthy. LOL!
I see I am in good company. 🙂
I obviously need to know more about these characters… and soon…xx
🙂 They’ll be around for a while.
These two made me giggle. And a sexy chipmunk? I totally snort-giggled at that. 😀 Looking forward to hearing more about Cat and Micah in the future!
The “sexy chipmunk” think may come up again at a really inopportune moment. 😀
Great excerpt. Ha ha – love the chipmunk analogy! Micah’s certainly tying himself in knots about that one lol. 🙂
Yes, he certainly is. 🙂
hahahahaha!! Okay, I laughed at the ‘damn chipmunk. Right… a sexy chipmunk.’ hahaha!! I love it. I a chipmunk with provocative swaying hips. You know that means I now envisioned Cat’s voice to also *sound* like a chipmunk, which made it all the more amusing!
*giggle-snort* Nope, he doesn’t have a chipmunk voice. But now I can’t stop hearing him in my head like he’s just sucked the helium from a balloon.
sexy chipmunk – I love it! I think you need to find a photo and create your own animal meme or something. 🙂 Congrats on landing a title too! That’s always huge. Here’s hoping for a productive week while your kids are at camp!
Ha! Ooh, a meme…the wheels are turning.
Yes, choosing a title is huge. I always have to have something in order to name the file in Scrivener, and I’m not fond of calling things “Manuscript 482” or whatever. So I tend to give stuff really silly/boring titles until I come up with something better.
I just knew there was a reason I liked Cat! This excerpt is great (and hilarious)!
I adore him, so I’m glad you like him too!
sexy chipmunk. hehehe. totally made me laugh. I think I’m going to like these two 🙂
🙂 I love writing them. They’re fun because they’re not going to just leap into “we heart each other but the world/circumstance/a giant natural disaster is against us.” They’re going to dance around each other for a while.
okay, the sexy chipmunk bit made me giggle and snort loudly enough that my Mother in Law came racing in to my room to see what was wrong. Cat and Micah sound so adorable, and I can’t wait to read more about them 🙂
Hahaha! Did you tell your MIL what you were laughing at? Too funny.
Methinks Micah needs to surrender to the allure of the sexy chipmunk with the swaying hips….
And if Cat is annoying when he opens his mouth, there are several ways to engage an open mouth that make the pouring-forth of words far less likely…jes’ sayin’!
These two are delighting me. Cat is saucy and sassy; Micah is suitably curmudgeonly. More, please? *sits in front of milk saucer with big eyes and twitching whiskers.*
Oh, yes. I was so worried because people seemed awfully wary of Cat at first. Micah (rightly) gets a lot of sympathy in a “get off my lawn, dang it!” kind of way. But Cat is very sweet, if a bit enthusiastic.
I’m rather fond of cats, and actually have a dear friend named Cat. So, I’m rather predisposed to finding Cat as sometimes irksomely charming as my PPP(Personal Pocket Panther), Squeak, who likes to try to shove my laptop of my lap whenever she’s ready to use me as a combination cat bed/ masseuse…
My furry kid is named Susan. (She had a sister, Lucy, who has gone to live with my in-laws because they weren’t getting along. And yes, they are NarniaCats.) She likes to try to sit on my lap while I write, which sometimes results in her adding her 2 cents. I have a feeling Cat-the-character is pretty much the same way. Er…that sounded wrong, didn’t it?
It didn’t sound wrong to me. I kinda want to see Cat-the-character sit on Micah’s lap and mess with the keyboard in a cheeky sexy chipmunk way….
Hahahaha! *considers how to work that in*
Will it help if I dare you?! =D
It might. 😀
Then,
I DARE YOU! =D
Challenge accepted! I think I know how to work that in, actually. It fits with a sub-plot. LOL!
WAHOO!!!