Fiction

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone’s week was good. It’s been busy here as usual, but it’s also been good. Counting down the days to the next 3 big things: My book launch, my fall concert, and my kids’ school musical.

Speaking of book launch…I’m still looking for bloggers willing to host me for the book tour for Walking by Faith. You’re not obligated to review, but if you were going to read it anyway, here’s your chance for a free copy! Just sign up at the linky-doo: WbF Blog Tour Form.

On to the WIPpet. In happy news, Nightsong is no longer a WIP. It’s stick-a-fork-in-it done, so today is the last snippet. I figured you’d at least like to see a bit of Nate and Izzy interacting. Not like you didn’t know they’d end up together, of course. Next week, I’ll have to figure out what to post. I have 4 WIPs, so I may take a page out of Fallon‘s book and post rotating snippets. (And thanks, Fallon, for that—I finally have a system that works with my brain’s wiring! 🙂 )

WIPmath: 10/19/16 = 16 short paragraphs for the year because I’m lazy today and I like this snippet.

Around him, he heard clinking of forks, but no one said anything else. The phone in Nate’s pocket buzzed, and he pulled it out, grateful for the distraction. Mom glared at him for checking it at the table, so Nate pushed back his seat as he answered. He stood up and walked into the kitchen.

“Hello?”

“Hey…is this Nate Kingsley?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Israel Kaplan.”

“Who?” Nate frowned.

“Oh. Um, TaTa, from the bar.”

Nate sucked in a breath. TaTa had a real name after all. He grinned. “I’m glad you called, Israel.”

“You can call me Izzy. I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt your dinner.”

“You did, but you rescued me from the clutches of parents who ask too many questions they don’t want a real answer to.” From the dining room, Nate heard baby Margot’s wail. “Hang on, let me go somewhere quieter.”

He skipped up the stairs to what had once been his bedroom but was now an office. He shut the door and dropped into a plush chair.

“Was that a baby I heard?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah, my niece. She’s ten months. So, how are you?”

“I’m good. I’m sorry it took me so long to call.” There was an extended pause. “I was nervous.”

Nate laughed. “For real? I’m not that scary, am I?”

“No.” Izzy chuckled. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve called anyone for a date.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone’s week was good. I spent the last several days deep in my editing cave, getting the last of my manuscript ready for beta readers. It’s in the “cleaned up” first draft stage, which means it’s been combed through several times. My excellent betas are on the job looking for trouble spots and where I could do a bit better. Then it will go through a last round of my edits before I send it off to my publisher. I think I should be all done by the end of the month!

Aside from that, we’re still dealing with some issues at school with one of our beans and their educational needs. Fighting for them to get the support they should have is not fun, and I anticipate a contentious battle.

On to the WIPpet. I mentioned last time that there are now a lot of spoilers, but I can definitely still post a few things. This week, I’m drawing from a scene later in the novel. Yesterday was National Coming Out Day, and in this bit, Nate has just revealed something important to his family. Not that he’s gay—they already know that—but something else which [spoilers]. This is Nate talking to his older brother, who has also revealed something to Nate.

WIPmath: 10/12/16 = 10 + (1 + 2) + 16 = 29 sentences.

They stood there for a long time. Nate studied his brother. They looked so much alike that they’d been mistaken for twins despite their age gap. Nate wondered if it would have made a difference, knowing. If he’d have cut his parents some slack or tried harder to get along with Dean as a teenager. In fairness, their parents hadn’t been upset when Nate came out, and they’d put him through college. They’d just expressed their disapproval of his profession the whole time. He wondered if things would have been different if they hadn’t felt guilty about what happened to Dean.

Nate gave a sharp nod. There wasn’t anything left to say. An understanding passed between them, and Nate turned back to his work. Beside him, Dean began clearing his end of the shelf into another box. He paused, and Nate glanced over.

“I went, you know,” he said in a low voice.

“Went where?”

“To every single one of your concerts and plays. I sneaked in and hid in back. Last fall, I saw Die Fledermaus twice.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “You’re not a screw-up. I’m really proud of you, little brother.”

Nate ducked his head so Dean wouldn’t see the tears forming. A warm hand ruffled his hair before disappearing. The thunk of something metal dropping into the box made Nate look up.

“What the hell was that?”

Dean bent and picked it up again. “Ancient roller skate. God, don’t Mom and Dad ever throw anything away?”

They laughed, and Nate no longer felt the cold out in the garage.

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! Finally fully into the swing of the new school year. Play rehearsals have started for real, and my older child is back to early morning jazz band practice. I think we’re done adding new things to the schedule. Whew!

It’s been a mildly frustrating week with a lot of things going on, including my stress over editing this novel. It’s basically done but still in pieces as I figure out how to fit it all together. Realized that in adding scenes, I’d created a huge gap in the timeline. I might have fixed it now. I hope.

On to the WIPpet. We’re sort of into spoiler territory with Nate now, so I’m going back to Izzy. He and Nate have yet to meet in person. In this scene, Izzy is lamenting how he keeps getting dragged into his ex-wife’s business despite having been divorced for a few years and not having children together. (Note: “Shomrei Sholom” means “peacekeepers.”)

WIPmath: 5 paragraphs for the 5th.

Val got up to throw away her trash. “This is why I suggested setting you up. She can’t have this power over you every time something happens with her. You’re not part of her life anymore, and she needs to wake up and realize it’s not your concern.”

“I know. Eema and Ma Rose mean well too, and I’m sure if I were involved with someone else, they would stop dragging me into it as well. I don’t want to have to go meet people with that in mind, though.”

“If this is all because you know the same people, maybe you need some new friends.” Val arched an eyebrow.

Izzy looked away. He couldn’t explain to Val the ways in which his family life was intimately tied to other members of his community, in part because of the choices his mothers made. They couldn’t go back to where they’d come from and relied on their friends and neighbors from Temple Shomrei Sholom. Maybe he was exaggerating the extent to which he was unwelcome, but he didn’t like being eyed with pity over the collapse of his union with Lynne. He’d grown up with these people, including Lynne’s family. Even though he’d blanched at the idea of an entire group of his mothers’ friends discovering his night life, he knew none of them would care or hold it against him. Judith Rivkin’s daughter married another woman, after all, and Eema’s rabbi and the rebner—his husband—had a houseful of kids and a menagerie of pets.

The realization Eema and Ma Rose’s social circle was probably talking about his alter ego amused him. He turned a huff into a chuckle. “Maybe I do need to expand my world. Should I try online dating?”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!