Leprechaun Luck

LEPRECHAUN LUCK:

ROMANCE DWELLS WITHIN A HEART OF GOLD

Blog Hop Tour

March 23-25

 

 

I have always loved rainbows. They are probably the most colorful things found in nature.Whenever one crops up around here, I grab my camera and run out to capture the phenomenon. And of course, if you're lucky enough to capture a double rainbow...well, that's a good day.


Rainbows are the subject of old wives' tales, myths, legends and beliefs. There is the ever-popular pot of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow, the path Iris (the messenger of the gods) takes when travelling between Mt. Olympus and earth, and of course, the symbol of the promise that the earth would never again be destroyed by a flood.


That's what I want to discuss. The rainbow as a promise. A promise of new beginnings. There's nothing quite as promising as a beginning.


The beginning of the school year for me means a new group of students to get to know. And with that the promise that this will be the best year yet. One year on the first day of school, I had the pleasure of waking up to a double rainbow hanging in the horizon. It was an optimistic omen.



A wedding holds a promise of wonderful beginning of a life with the one you love.


The dawn each morning brings promise of a new day. And I am reminded of Anne Shirley's (from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables) assessment of a new day, "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"


Another wonderful new beginning is the start of a book. There are so many possibilities when you sit down to read that first line. 


I love the first lines of some books. They set the stage for what is to happen. A promise of an amazing adventure the author will lead you on.


Consider some of the most famous first lines of Western literature:


It was a pleasure to burn. ~ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. ~ The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Call me Ishmael. ~ Moby Dick by Herman Melville

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a good wife. ~ Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... ~ A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. ~ 1984 by George Orwell

The first lines in books are the rainbows of good reading. Here are the first lines from my books.

Sacred Ring: “Your Holiness, there has been a development at the Saint Hippolytus catacomb site.”

The Parting Gift: David Graham stood over his wife’s grave while the minister prayed.

Waltzing with the Wallflower: “Do you think it best to fight your brother so deep in your cups?” Wilde asked a foxed Ambrose.

All We See or Seem (w.i.p.): His orders lay unopened on the table.

What are your favorite first lines?

Leave a comment for me with your contact information for your chance to win a $10 gift card for Amazon or Barnes and Noble and a copy of your choice of Sacred Ring or The Parting Gift.

The winner will be chosen at random, notified, and posted on March 26th.

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Friday, March 23rd, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

THIS TOUR ENDS: Sunday, March 25th, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

Winners will be drawn and posted Monday, March 26th!

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

Back to the Linky List.

Lucky Leprechaun Hop

I have always liked Saint Patrick's Day. I can't explain why, but I think it's because I love the color green. That, and while everyone else answers "Christmas" to the question "What's your favorite holiday?" I felt like I wanted to pick something that not as many people chose. I guess I just don't like to conform to the status quo.


Besides Ireland is enchanting. The scenery, the history, the legends. I love to study them. For instance, have you heard the legend of the Giant's Causeway on the northern coast of Ireland? There are a few different versions of the explanation for the amazing geological feature pictured above.


One of which says a giant wanted to build a bridge between his home and another place, so he could travel across the water and engage the enemy in battle. But when he got there, he realized the enemy was a much larger giant. This scared him, so he ran home and dressed up like a baby and told his wife to tell the approaching opponent that the father of this giant infant would soon be home. When the enemy arrived, she did just that. And when he saw the size of the infant, he ran home in fear of the enormity of giant who must have sired the baby. As he ran, he tore up the bridge between the two places leaving only what is now known as the Giant's Causeway as proof the bridge had existed.

The picture on the right is a courtyard view of Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland located in Coleraine, a town near the Giant's Causeway. It is believed to be built on the original site of Saint Patrick's church which was in use back in the early 400s. The present church building was built in the late 1800s and has undergone renovation a few times since then. The history behind this beautiful building is amazing to learn about.

Saint Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland for obvious reasons. He worked there as a Christian missionary sent from Rome for many years.

He is not the only Irish saint though. Saint Valentine was adopted as an Irish saint around 1836, when his remains (found in Rome) were brought to the Catholic church in Ireland as a gift for a famous friar who had visited Rome and impressed the Pope. These remains were enshrined at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, which houses the shrines of a number of Catholic saints.


Pictured here is the shrine of Saint Valentine at Whitefriar. The statue of Saint Valentine shows him in the red martyr vestments and holding a crocus, his special flower.

All three of these settings are explored in Sacred Ring. Kynan Murphy and his two friends are on a field trip to the Saint Valentine shrine when they hear about the existence of a ring once belonging to the revered saint. A ring with special miraculous powers that can mend broken relationships.

The rocky relationship between Kynan's parents spurs him on a quest to find that ring and use it to help his mom and dad. Their quest takes them to Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland in Coleraine to search for clues in the church's archives. Those clues lead them to the Giant's Causeway, where a hidden uncharted cave holds more than just adventure for the three kids.

Here's what happened in the archives of Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland:

The archives were nothing more than a room the size of a walk-in closet with walls lined with bookshelves and one old wooden file cabinet in the corner. There was a small table and two chairs off on the side, but other than that it was unfurnished. Not that there was room for much else.

“Feel free to look around. There may be something here to help you with your project,” the man said.

“My project?”

“Your friend said you were working on a school project,” he reminded him. Kynan could feel heat rushing to his face.

“Uh, right. Our school project… I’m sure I’ll be able to find something for it. Thanks.”

The man scrutinized him for a moment, then stepped backward out of the doorway and pulled the door closed as he said, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Kynan took a deep breath and turned to the shelves surrounding him. He coughed. The breeze from the closing door seemed to have stirred up the light layer of dust. It must’ve been awhile since the last time someone was researching the archives. Where to start…

Tracing the shelves with his eyes, his gaze fell upon a familiar brown leather binding on the top shelf. It looked remarkably like the book Brianna had borrowed from the reference section back at the school. Could it be another copy? Brother Leroy had insisted it was the only one of its kind. He grabbed the chair and dragged it across the short distance from the table to the shelf and stepped up on it to reach the book.

As he slipped it from its place, dust particles scattered through the air, floating down into his face and hair, making him sneeze. Whatever it was, it hadn’t been disturbed in ages judging by how much dust was there. Kynan brought the ancient book down and stepped off the chair. It definitely looked like the same title. It was hard to know for sure since he couldn’t translate Gaelic. He’d have to ask Brianna. He placed the book on the table and gently blew away the dust.

Holding back the urge for another sneeze, he lifted the front cover of the book and began to leaf through the brittle parchment pages. The drawings and script were familiar. It had to be another copy of that same book. When he came to the back he noticed the glue had begun to deteriorate under the endsheet pasted to the inside coverboard and was peeling away. He smoothed his hand over the thick parchment, but it felt as though something was under it—something hidden beneath the endsheet.

Kynan lifted the edge of the curling paper but stopped and looked over his shoulder at the closed door. He wiped his palms on his thighs to blot the nervous moisture while he glanced around at the ceiling for security cameras. This was an old book. Brother Leroy had been upset about them removing the other one from the library; if Kynan was seen damaging this one, he would certainly get into much more trouble.

Satisfied he wasn’t being watched, he reached again for the detached corner and pulled the endsheet away from the inside cover. The antique glue was brittle and came easily.

Hidden beneath the fragile parchment was a pale ivory papyrus folded in quarters. The corner nearest the peeling edge of the end paper showed had discolored with age. Kynan slipped the thick paper from its hiding place and closed the book.

Licking his lips nervously, he took the folded page and slowly opened it. In aged brown ink, a hand-drawn map of the northern Irish seaboard appeared as he smoothed the creases with a gentle touch. The broad hand stroke of Gaelic script marked landmarks along the coast. Again, Kynan cringed with remorse for not having paid more attention in Irish class.

            This had to be it. The map to the Sacred Ring.

What is your favorite thing about Saint Patrick's Day?  

Follow me and leave a comment with your email address to enter the giveaway on this blog. One person with the luck of the Irish will receive a $10 Amazon gift card and a free copy of Sacred Ring. I will also give away two more free copies of Sacred Ring -- all three winners will be chosen at random and will be posted and notified on March 23rd.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to make your way to the other blogs on this hop.

Flirting with Love: Giveaway Winners

Thanks to everyone who participated in this blog hop! I appreciate everyone who took the time to leave a comment, and I hope you'll come back often.

And the winners are:

Melanee

Book Attict

(each of whom will receive their choice of Sacred Ring or The Parting Gift)

and Tammy Ramey

(the Grand Prize winner, who will receive a copy of each)

Congratulations to the winners! I will be contacting them by email today. Thanks again, to all the participants. Have a wonderful day!

Flirting with Love: It's All About the Romance Blog Hop Tour (Feb. 24-26)

FLIRTING WITH LOVE: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ROMANCE BLOG HOP TOUR (FEB 24-26)

TOUR RULES:

1) HAVE FUN!!!



2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!


3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Friday, February 24 (Arizona Time)


THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, February 26, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

Winners will be drawn and posted February 27th! ***


4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS AND BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW PARTY DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR AND BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERYONE SOME LOVE!


6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

Sometimes when writing romance, you have to also write the hard stuff. The things in life that aren't extremely romantic, but more realistic. The things that are real. In my latest novel The Sacred Ring, young Kenyan struggles with the idea that his parents once perfect marriage is crumbling at his very feet. 

A stroke of genius hits, and he is soon on his way to discovering the one object that he believes will keep his parents together--Saint Valentines Ring! 

Here is the blurb:

Nothing in Kynan Murphy's life is going right. His grades are horrible, he's always in trouble, and the girl he likes doesn't know he exists. But things go from bad to worse when his parents tell him they have decided to split up. Angry and confused, he wants nothing more than to lash out against the world. The closest thing he can find, however, is the Saint Valentine shrine during a school field trip. Armed with some fireworks and encouraged by his best friend, Michael Connell, he's all set to vent his frustration with life.

His best laid plans fail when a mysterious priest confronts him, sharing an ancient secret about a hidden ring with special powers. Kynan believes the answer to all his problems and the only way to fix his parents' broken marriage is to find the ring — a task he won't be able to accomplish on his own.

It was easy enough to convince his friend Michael to join him, but the irritating Brianna Collins insists on tagging along. Fortunately, her knack for language and interest in history is a valuable asset in the search. Their quest leads them to the northern coast and into dangerous territory where, in spite of theirgood intentions, they may lose their own lives.

But what if the true love, no matter how difficult is really the type of thing you like to read? My latest romance novella "The Parting Gift," deals with love and loss, and yes a lot of romance. Come on, who doesn't think a pilot in uniform is sexy?

Meet Blaine Graham, the confident hero of "The Parting Gift," who can't seem to forgive his father for the wrongs done to him as a boy.

It takes one womans love to bring him back.

With her forgiveness and care, he can finally become the man he was created to be. He can finally be whole.

Blaine Graham lost his mother at the tender age of eleven. Grief over the loss drove a wedge between him and his father, and soon proved too difficult for him to deal with. At the age of sixteen, he falsified his papers and made the trip across the border into Canada with his best friend to join the Royal Canadian Air Force and enter the war in Europe as a pilot. Ten years later Captain Graham finds himself flying commercial jets in Boston – his estranged father and his past life all but forgotten, until the day he receives a telegram from his dying father asking him to come home.

The persistent Mara Crawford, a live-in nurse, has experienced her fair share of loss as well. Her attachment to Blaine’s father drives her desire to bring reconciliation between the two men before time runs out for her patient. But her best laid plans didn’t include falling in love again.

Contest!

1. Follow my blog and find me on Facebook: Leah Sanders

2. Leave a comment with your name and email, you don't necessarily have to comment about anything in particular, I just need your info to put you in the drawing!

GRAND PRIZE:

A copy of both The Sacred Ring and The Parting Gift

1st and 2nd Place

A copy of your choice of The Parting Gift or Sacred Ring 

Need to go back to the linky list? Click HERE

Random Acts of Kindness

Welcome to this segment of the 

Random Acts of Kindness Giveaway Hop!

There are many legends surrounding the martyrdom of Saint Valentine. One such story is that of the beloved saint and the jailer's daughter. Valentine had been imprisoned for defying Caesar's orders against military aged men getting married.

The jailer who was entrusted with Saint Valentine's captivity had a young daughter who was blind. Valentine had a reputation as a healer, so the jailer brought his daughter to see him on several occasions. Valentine would pray for her and try different treatments on her eyes. The two became friends.

On the day he was to die, Valentine asked the jailer to deliver a letter to his daughter. He wrote her a note and signed it Your Valentine. Inside the envelope, he put a beautiful crocus flower. He was taken and executed shortly after giving the letter to the jailer.

According to the legend, when the little girl opened the letter, her sight was miraculously restored.

Saint Valentine lived a life full of random acts of kindness. He helped the Christians, healed the sick and befriended the friendless. We can all do with a little more Valentine in our lives.

In Sacred Ring, Kynan Murphy and his two friends go searching for Saint Valentine's ring, which they believe has the power to fix broken relationships. The quest leads them to the northern coast of Ireland where they risk their lives in a dangerous coastal cave in order to find the Sacred Ring.

Sacred Ring is now available for e-readers on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Want a free copy? Leave a comment here with your contact email for a chance at your free copy in the e-format of your choice. Recipient of this giveaway will be chosen at random and will be notified on February 22nd.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to the linky list.

New Release: Sacred Ring

I am pleased to announce the release of my Valentine's Day novella, Sacred Ring.

Here's the cover blurb:

Nothing in Kynan Murphy's life is going right. His grades are horrible, he's always in trouble, and the girl he likes doesn't know he exists. But things go from bad to worse when his parents tell him they have decided to split up. Angry and confused, he wants nothing more than to lash out against the world. The closest thing he can find, however, is the Saint Valentine shrine during a school field trip. Armed with some fireworks and encouraged by his best friend, Michael Connell, he's all set to vent his frustration with life.

His best laid plans fail when a mysterious priest confronts him, sharing an ancient secret about a hidden ring with special powers. Kynan believes the answer to all his problems and the only way to fix his parents' broken marriage is to find the ring -- a task he won't be able to accomplish on his own.

It was easy enough to convince his friend Michael to join him, but the irritating Brianna Collins insists on tagging along. Fortunately, her knack for language and interest in history is a valuable asset in the search. Their quest leads them to the northern coast and into dangerous territory where, in spite of their good intentions, they may lose their own lives.


I'm pretty excited about this book. It is amazing how much you can learn about a subject when you are going to write about it. I feel like a veritable font of information about Saint Valentine right now. :) Interesting bit of trivia about the writing of this book. Several of the characters (minor and major) are styled after my students, with their permission, of course. In fact, Brianna is so much like one of my girls that I have called her by the name Brianna on more than one occasion. Scary. Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind.


My favorite thing about this book is the way the characters interact with each other. Very much the way my students are with each other, which can be rather amusing most days.


Sacred Ring can be purchased on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or Astraea Press. I hope you enjoy it! And please let me know what you think by leaving a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Thanks!

Sweet Sample: Sacred Ring

“It’s kind of gross, when you think about it,” Michael whispered, squatting beside him.

“I think it’s cool,” Kynan replied. “He used to be my favorite saint.”

“What? He’s the love saint, dude. All the romance and mushy crap. What’s cool about him?”

“I don’t know. He defied the Roman emperor. He helped the Christians and performed marriages even though it was illegal. I think he had guts.”

“You think that’s what’s in the box?” Michael chuckled at his own joke. “His guts?”

Kynan laughed too.

Behind him he heard a revolted snort. Brianna stood there with that look again. “You guys are so disgusting,” she muttered and rolled her eyes.

Kynan tossed a glance around. Brianna’s annoying friends weren’t with her. “You lose your stupid friends?” he asked.

“No, Braindead. They’re still by Our Lady of Lourdes.”

“You following us or something?” Michael prodded.

“As if. I just like Saint Valentine. Not my fault you two are a couple of freaks and came over here first.”

“We are not!” Michael protested, taking a step away from Kynan. He was getting red in the face, and with his bright orange hair, it made him almost glow when he got mad.

“Come on, Mike, she’s just trying to get under your skin. Ignore her. She’s dumb,” Kynan said, making an attempt to calm him down.

Brianna frowned at Kynan. “Are you guys gonna hog the shrine all day?”

“Maybe,” Michael snapped.

“Just scoot over, Mike,” Kynan told him. “She can look.”

The three stood quietly for a moment, until Michael elbowed Kynan in the ribs and pulled his hand out of his school bag revealing a handful of snappers. “You wanna?”

“I thought you didn’t want to get in trouble,” Kynan whispered.

“You were right. Nobody will know it’s us – besides, we can blame it on Brianna,” Michael coaxed with a wicked grin. Kynan regarded the noisemakers for a moment. This was a church, after all. But on the other hand, snappers at Saint Valentine’s shrine seemed like the perfect revenge for his parents’ divorce.

Another surge of indignation threw his stomach into an uproar. He reached out and grasped several of the small white poppers, then smiled surreptitiously, lifting one eyebrow at his friend.

They both took a step behind Brianna and held up their contraband in full readiness to flick them with a finger right behind her. When out of the corner of his eye, Kynan caught sight of a priest moving towards them in full robes. He grabbed Michael’s elbow and nodded in the direction of the approaching father. Both boys instantly slipped their hands into their pockets and eyed him. The priest seemed to be coming straight for them, and he seemed to be on a mission.

           Kynan knew they had been caught.

Six Sentence Sunday: Saint Valentine

Kneeling down so he could get a better look, Kynan studied the Reliquary encased there. Saint Valentine's remains were hidden in there, along with a vial of his blood and a few other relics. Kynan wished he could get a good look at them.

"It's kind of gross, when you think about it," Michael whispered, squatting beside him.

"I think it's cool," Kynan replied. "He used to be my favorite saint."

Sweet Saturday Sample: Sacred Ring

Sacred Ring is a young adult novella due to release around Valentine's Day. In this excerpt, Kynan and his friend Michael plan to stir up trouble on the school field trip.

The annual school trip to the shrine was something Kynan had been looking forward to for weeks. But not anymore. Usually learning about Ireland’s saints was a favorite pastime. Today it was a painful reminder of his parents’ stupidity. When his best friend Michael Connell slid into the seat beside him on the bus, he didn’t even notice.

“Hey, butthead.” Michael’s voice jolted him back into reality.

Kynan glanced up at him and scooted closer to the window, giving him some room. “Hey,” he replied flatly and turned his gaze back on the view out the window.

“Look what I brought,” Michael said, seemingly oblivious to Kynan’s distance. He pulled a small plastic bag out of his school satchel. Kynan looked at what Michael held which contained about a dozen snap noisemakers. He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“Where’d ya get those?”

“My Uncle Joseph. Well, I snuck one out of each box, so he wouldn’t notice. Thought we could toss a couple out of the window and scare the wick outta the peds.”

Kynan suddenly had a wicked idea. He knew it was wrong, but he felt this need to do something bad. “Okay. And maybe we can save a few for the shrine.” A haughty and mischievous grin curled across his lips.

Michael’s eyes grew wide. “The shrine?” he whispered, his voice quiet. “I don’t know. We could get into a lot of trouble – and it’s a holy place. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He carefully slid his treasure back inside the bag.

“Come on, Mike, nobody will know it’s us. Think of the laughs!”

Michael didn’t answer. Instead he crammed the plastic bag down further in his satchel and wrapped both his arms around it, hugging it to his chest. He slid down in the seat and propped his lanky knees up on the back of the seat in front of him as the bus rumbled into motion.

Though there was plenty of chatter and laughing on the bus, Kynan and Michael spent the ride in silence. Neither looking at the other.

Looking out the window, Kynan watched the buildings fly by in a blur. The way to Whitefriar Street Church was familiar. It would only take a few minutes. Just long enough for Kynan to get lost in his mental replay of the conversation with his parents from the day before.

A repetitive thumping on the seat in front of him caught his attention and he glanced up to see who could be so annoying. It was Brianna Collins. She was smacking her gum nonchalantly and drumming her fingers on the top of the seat. Her long strawberry blonde hair was already falling out of her loose ponytail. “What’s the matter with you two?” she slurred through her gum, popping a small bubble on her tongue with a loud snap.

“Bug off, Brianna,” Kynan mumbled. Her clear blue eyes danced with temper. Usually Kynan enjoyed making her mad. The instant flush of red in her cheeks and the fire in her eyes made his stomach do flip flops. But today, he just wanted her to leave him alone.

“You’re such a jerk, Spud. I was just making conversation.”

Usually he didn’t mind the nickname, but today he cringed as he heard it. He didn’t want to be reminded he was a Murphy. “Well, don’t. If we felt like talking, we’d talk to each other.” He elbowed Michael and rolled his eyes.

Michael chuckled. He elbowed Kynan back, leaned his head down and reached to his eyes. When he lifted his head again, his eyelids were flipped up. Michael crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her. Kynan burst out laughing. Brianna snorted in disgust.

“You guys are so immature!” She flopped around in her seat and faced the girls in the seat in front of her.

Michael reached into his bag and pulled out a snapper. Using his satchel as cover, he threw it hard on the floor under Brianna’s seat. A loud pop resounded in the enclosed bus, setting off a chain reaction of girls’ screams and squeals.

Kynan and Michael put on their best innocent expressions and pretended not to notice anything had happened when Brother Leroy stood at the front of the bus and demanded to know what the trouble was. Brianna shot a scorching glare over her shoulder at them.

Six Sentence Sunday: Sacred Ring

In Sacred Ring, Kynan Murphy and his two friends sneak out early in the morning to go search for the sacred ring they believe has special powers. Kynan and Michael are just realizing how unprepared for the trip they are when their friend Brianna shows up.


Before he could answer, Brianna hailed them from across the street. And, of course, she was fully decked out in her heavy coat, a hat, scarf and warm gloves. She strode across the empty street toward where they stood under the street lamp. "I brought some snacks and water for later. One of you guys wanna carry one of these backpacks?" Must be nice to think of everything.


Back to the Six Sunday List

Saturday Sample: Work in Progress

After what seemed like an hour, though Kynan knew it had only been a moment or two, Brother Leroy cleared his throat, drawing Kynan’s attention back to the cold black eyes. “Do you know why I’ve called you in here?” he finally said, his deep voice resonated.

Kynan looked at Brianna. She looked like she was about to faint. It dawned on him then that she had probably never been in this office. Of course she would be freaking out. It was up to him to take care of this, no matter how terrifying it was.

“No, sir,” he answered.

Brother Leroy raised a thick disbelieving eyebrow. “No ideas?”

“No, sir,” Kynan said again.

“I see,” the teacher mumbled. He stood from his chair and moved to their side of the desk. He leaned back on it and crossed his hands over his chest, then fixed his gaze on Kynan again. “Let me see if I can jog your memories. Do you recall a certain old reference book? Perhaps something that went missing from the library yesterday and then turned up again just now in the hands of your friends?”

Kynan and Brianna exchanged glances. Then Kynan looked back to Brother Leroy. “I don’t think so, sir. Did you say you lost it yesterday? What did it look like?”

“Very clever, Mr. Murphy. I am familiar with this answering technique, however. I ask a question, you evade it by pretending you know nothing about it.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know what you mean.” Kynan shrugged. There was no way Brother Leroy could pin this on them. He hadn’t actually seen them with the book, had he? And surely Michael and Caitlyn wouldn’t have ratted them out – well, Michael wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t matter anyway. He would just deny, deny, deny until the end of time.

What's In the Box?

Sometimes I get stuck.

Actually, it happens a lot. I'll be writing, making good progress, when all of a sudden I'll come to a roadblock and the roll I'm on comes to a screeching halt.

For example, a character opens a box and says, "If you're going to join the search, you'll need these." But I have no idea what is in the box. I just know that whatever it is, they need it.

I know I could just skip to the next part and start writing and eventually it will come to me, but for some reason, most of the time, I just stop writing for awhile and worry about what is in that box. That stupid box taunts me and keeps me awake at night.

When you're co-authoring something, the solution is easy. Let someone else take a whack at it. While writing The Parting Gift I would leave holes and move on. I knew that if I couldn't fill in the gaps, Rachel would. But leaving holes when I'm writing on my own makes me nervous. Not sure why, but I just gotta know:

WHAT IS IN THAT BOX!?

Six Sentence Sunday: Work in Progress

“I don’t wanna ask. Did you see how mad he was?” Kynan begged off too.

            “Geez. Gotta do everything, don’t I?” Brianna rolled her eyes and stepped out of the alcove, looking both ways to see where the priest went.