NaNo-Excerpt-Palooza, Part 3

Today's Excerpt: "The Huntress" NaNo WriMo 2010

This is a scene from the opening chapter of my monster hunting NaNo Novel. And you must know this, the fireman in the scene, pulling out his hose and ready to help fight the dragon is my dad. He gets that cameo purely because when I texted him one day asking, "If the Lovell Firefighters had to fight a dragon, what would they do?" he fired back a very logical answer without even blinking an eye. He's the coolest dad ever.

NaNo-Excerpt-Palooza, Part 2

Today's Excerpt: From "High School Revolution," NaNo WriMo 2011

Candice the Secretary met me at the door of the student council room after school the next day. She checked a name off the list in front of her. “Meeting’s cancelled for today,” she reported. “Mr. Leopold got called into some meetings with the superintendant.

NaNo-Excerpt-Palooza

Well, NaNo WriMo is winding down. All over the world, I'm sure, people are feverishly trying to get the last four thousand, six thousand, or in my desperate case, twenty-five thousand words before November 30th. Since it's seemingly impossible for me to accomplish 50k, I think I'll post excerpts every day until the end.
Today's excerpt: From "Lodore" NaNo WriMo 2011

I started this draft a while ago, but just never got to finishing the last few scenes. So, when I ran out of ideas for "High School Revolution" this year, I went back to get some of my words finishing "Lodore." This is one of the final scenes where the MC Rane and her sister vanquish the evil witch Storma.

In Celebration of NaNo: From my 2009 NaNo Novel

As I began editing and rewriting "Bloom" and its sequels -- The original version of "Bloom" was my first NaNo Novel, although I didn't complete it during November -- I knew I needed some background for my characters. Since I had so much story in my head, I thought, Why not kill two birds with one stone? I'd flesh out my back story and write my NaNo novel all in one, and maybe someday I'd release it as a prequel if "Bloom" ever gets published. Without further adieu, and excerpt from the still untitled 2009 NaNo Novel: (remember, it's still rough)

Sweet Saturday Samples: More From "My Best Friend is a Superhero"

I just finished polishing it up to start sending out queries, so I figured what better way to celebrate than giving everyone another "sweet" taste! So here's the hook, and the sample from Chapter 2. (For a sample of Chapter 1, check out this post; for another from Chapter 10, check out this post.)

Hook: (And definitely tell me what you think)

If seventeen-year-old Bek Black is right about her best friend being a superhero, falling in love with the notorious player means putting more than her heart on the line.

Sweet Saturday Samples: Excerpt from "The Gates of Lodore"

The Gates of Lodore is named for a recreation spot of the same name in northwestern Colorado, near Brown's Park. When my family and I lived there last summer, I saw the name and said it was too good not be to the name of a book!

Rane Barton and her sisters only have their exceptional beauty to recommend them and save their ailing family estate. Rane even catches the eye of the prince. But when she discovers the reason for her beauty and her uncanny abilities, Rane has to choose: protect her family or protect her heart.

Sweet Saturday Samples: Excerpt from my 2010 NaNoWriMo Novel "Mae Nickson: Monster Hunter"

Beware! This novel has not been edited at all since I wrote it in a mad rush in November of 2010. But the scene is one of my absolute favorites. :)

Mae Nickson: Monster Hunter
Mae Nickson has been hunting monsters her whole life--her whole eighty-plus years, and she still only looks 17. And most of those eighty years she's pushed away every one, until she meets Porter Heyward, the boy who won't quit. When the ultimate bad-guy Cirraco targets a small town, Mae is forced to team up with Porter to figure out why. 

Sweet Saturday Samples: Another Excerpt from "My Best Friend is a Superhero"

One of my FAVE scenes, from Chapter 10

The doorbell rang at exactly six, but I stayed in front of my mirror. No time to change again. I settled for giving myself a lecture. “It’s a study date, Bek. You’re fine if he just wants to be your friend. It’s just studying.”

Adam was sitting in his usual chair at the dining room table when I came in. He waved a paper at me. “I got a copy of the test for you to practice on. Mr. Williams won’t put the same problems and questions on it, but the retest will have the same information.” He held out his other hand, revealing a plain white sack. “And I brought dinner. Orange chicken and fried rice. Plus I stopped and got those breadsticks you love.”

Would You Want to Know More?

I noticed that a lot of authors post their work on their blog. I guess I'm already doing that over at the "Garbage" blog. (btw, you NEED to go check that out! The action is getting intense as the story races toward the ending!) But if you didn't know, "Garbage" is my first foray into dystopian. I'm usually writing YA fantasy or something similar.
Lately, while I pretend I don't need to study for the GRE, I've been editing "My Best Friend is a Superhero," one of my favorite WIPs to date. (Is it because the hero is named after my husband? Quite possibly...) So today for your reading pleasure, is the first chapter. Will you comment below and tell me if you'd want to know more?

Mom ran her finger along the corrugated lines of my forehead. She sighed. “Bek, at some point you’re going to have to accept that you’re going to Lincoln Academy this year and try to be happy about it.”

I looked up from the map full of tiny squares I got when I registered thirty minutes before. I’d been trying to locate my classes on the campus of one of the most prestigious private schools in the country even though school didn’t start until the next Wednesday. “I don’t have to be happy about it.”

She stared at the traffic jam that made Lincoln Boulevard look like a parking lot. “Fine. But having a bad attitude won’t change our minds about sending you there.”

I smoothed out my scowl and turned to Mom with wide, pleading eyes. “I’m a junior! Only two more years left at Whitson.”

“Bek, you have friends at Lincoln, too. Tessa, Josh, Adam…”

“Josh is my brother.”

Mom turned back to the road.

I didn’t give up. “Whitson is a good school. The kids there are just as rich as the ones that go to Lincoln. The curriculum is…good. Couldn’t we be grateful that Calvin made it possible for me to cross districts?”

“Bek, how many times do we have to have this argument? Lincoln is a top notch school, and the fact that I finally convinced Calvin to pay part of your tuition is not something we can turn our noses up at.”

I turned my face back to the window, my scowl returning. Mom maneuvered through traffic, the tall, shiny buildings of downtown Pride City passing slowly by. I folded my arms, and the registration folder on my lap fell to the floor of the car. I didn’t bother picking it up. I looked down the street. The suburban houses in the distance seemed too far away. Mom had several minutes at least to argue with me. “I don’t have to have everything Josh has.”

I could practically hear Mom’s teeth grinding together. “This isn’t about forcing Calvin to acknowledge that you are his child too. This is about you getting the best education you have the opportunity to get. We’re not changing our minds. You know that. I can’t force you to be happy about this, but I think you’d like your life more if you’d try to have a good attitude. Think about the bright side, Bek. You won’t have to see Dan every day.”

She had me there, but I wasn’t about to let on. “Whatever.” I leaned over and gathered the scattered papers off the floor of the car, frowning at the shiny map. A beautiful campus, top-notch classes and extracurriculars, a sports complex that rivaled most colleges, and even a food court and gift shop on campus—it was all worth leaving my friends at Whitson High School to go across town to Lincoln Academy where my brother and his friends went. But honestly, my I objected mostly because of my pretentious father, Calvin.

Mom cried out in surprise, and I turned just as she slammed her arm against my chest. It knocked the breath out of me. I couldn’t even scream when the car rose off the ground, flying backward.

The car landed, jolting me forward. I gripped the sides of my seat. The car dropped an inch or two, crushing the hood of the car beneath us. Mom and I sat there in silnce. We waited to see if the car would move again.

“Are you okay, Bek?” Mom asked breathlessly.

I stared in surprise out the window and tried to find my voice. “Is that a robot?”

“Looks like it.” Mom pulled out her cell phone and pushed a button. I frowned, confused when she shoved it back in her pocket. She turned and pushed against her door. The car shuddered again. The robot loomed over us, looking gigantic. It stood up, it’s head level with the third story windows of the Pride City National Bank. Shiny black metal reflected off the windows until the robot shattered half a dozen with its fist.

“Bek? I could use your help with this door.”

Mom’s calm voice broke me out of my thoughts. It didn’t surprise me she remained unruffled in the face of a giant robot making Honor Park look like a construction site. When you live in a town with a super-hero, I suppose you get used to weird stuff like that happening.

“How?” I asked.

“Get as close to me as you can and we’ll kick together.”

I scooted across the seat and braced myself against the steering wheel. “One…two...” I pulled my knees back. “THREE!”

We both jammed our feet against the door. It didn’t budge.

“Again,” Mom yelled.

We pulled our feet back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black streak. Was it The Fox? The door disappeared. We didn’t notice in time to stop the momentum of our feet. Mom tumbled out of the car. I grabbed the steering wheel.

“You okay, Mom?”

“Been better.” She stood up slowly, turning toward the robot. I looked out the windshield. The Fox—Pride City’s local super-hero—had jammed our car door into one of the robot’s eyes.

“Come on, Bek. Let’s get out of here.” The calm tone of Mom’s voice freaked me out.

I scooted out to the edge of the seat, preparing for the short jump to the road below. Out of the corner of my eye, the metallic gleam of the robot’s arm blinked at me. I threw my arms around the steering wheel as the robot scooped our car up and sent it air born.

I screamed. I closed my eyes, trying to somehow brace myself for when the car hit the pavement again. But it never came. My descent slowed. Then stopped. The car dropped softly next to the overturned swing set in the park.

Scrambling out, I tumbled into the sand. The Fox, in black spandex from head to toe, shot off the ground toward the robot. In one swing he decapitated it. Its head flew into the side of the shattered bank building. Its body crumpled lifeless to the ground. Applause met my ears. For some reason I grinned.

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Okay, so I lied. That's not the whole first chapter. (It was sort of long for a blog post...) And I cheated and cut it off at a pretty good part. Sorry about that. ;)