Moments for the Heart

Good afternoon Warrior clan. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It was fairly quiet over here. We usually have a house full, but only had one guest this year, my mother-in-law. And she had to be at a friends later in the day. So we had an empty house by 3. I don’t think that has ever happened here.

Well NaNoWriMo 2021 is officially over. And I am glad to say this novel did cross its finish line. I completed just over 70K words. Now it will sit on the shelf until January, then I will begin edits. Ideally, this will carry over into next year given I have a novel due out in May. Not sure if the publisher will allow more than one per year. I will see when I submit my pitch to him.

I wish you all the best on your writing endeavors. Thank you for reading my shippet and for your constructive advice. One thing I love about you is that you are not afraid to tell me if something sounds off. I appreciate both sides of input.

SYNOPSIS:

I am still working on an official Synopsis for this novel. — The book is about Derrick Anders. He is a college student who works in a bookstore. He is struggling with school, work, and a recent loss in his family. So, he has little time for friends, much less a love life in spite of a coworker, Breonna, who has her eyes set on him. I am still working on an official Synopsis for this novel.

Carter has been sent to bring them together, just as he was sent to bring Deborah and Aaron together in the first installment. There will be obstacles on their road to getting together. a couple of missed opportunities, and an unexpected bump in the road for the one responsible for their connection. Carter may even need an old friend to help him get back on track.

SNIPPET:

Here is a little bit from our last time:

“Understood, boss,” Carter said with a salute. “Anything else?”

“Be prepared for anything,” Gabriel’s voice dropped to a tone that inflected ‘pay attention’. “Remember, God is in control. No matter what happens, know that He is with you and will see you through any struggle you face.”

Carter nodded as he stood. He picked up his shoebox and bid his visitor farewell.

OKAY HERE WE GO WITH THE NEW SNIPPET: I am going to jump ahead a few paragraphs into Chapter One.

Derrick turned down the Crime Fiction aisle and placed the final book of his returns on the shelf. He turned around to see a dark-haired grin staring at him. Derrick sighed. “Hey, Breonna.”

“Hi, Derrick,” Breonna said, handing him a copy of L.A. Confidential. Keven Spacey and Kim Bassinger stared at him. He looked at it as she continued, “That is not the original cover. They redid it after the movie came out. The novel by James Eloy was written years before the movie came out.”

“Is that right?” Derrick said. He had heard of the movie and knew the actors but could care less there was a book about the film.

“Yep. Most of the books in section have been made into movies. The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, and I’m sure you know almost everything by Stephen King is a movie nowadays.”

Derrick nodded and placed a couple more books on the shelves, even one by Stephen King; The Gun Slinger. He didn’t ask Breonna about it because he didn’t want a lecture about the old west or a Siskel and Ebert review. “That’s interesting. You must love books to know so much.”

“You know me,” Breonna shrugged and smiled, which Derrick had to admit was pleasant. “Well, I gotta get back to work. Talk with ya later.”

Derrick returned to the front counter and finished his day with a couple more Mr. Johnsons but more Patty Clawsons, making his job tolerable. Every now and then, Breonna would pop her head around the corner to say hello, taking returns for restocking, more books that customers second-guessed themselves on. By closing time, his size 12’s hurt, and his mind was exhausted.

Here we are introduced to the MC, Derrick, and Breonna a co-worker. You can see that Derrick particularly doesn’t care for his job. But he bears it. As stated in the ommited paragraphs, he works it to pay his bills. While a college student, most of his fees are covered through scholarships he earned. But you can also see hints of maybe an interest in Breonna. We shall see where this goes in future snippets.

See you next week fellow warriors. I also include updates and share a bit more in detail on the novels page. Hope you are getting your home all dolled up for Christmas.

Visit Jeff S. Bray Facebook and Twitter pages for more

I have a Facebook and Twitter page that have something going on everyday of the week. I have also stared to build up my Instagram page as well. Come on over, follow, and interact with my pages to check it out! Here is what you can expect to find there. I have been quite lazy lately. But with the new year, it is my resolution to get back on track and keeping up with posting on schedule and being more interactive with my audience.

—Monday is Memory Monday – I share an important event that occurred on that Monday or sometime that particular week.

—Tuesday is Talk About it Tuesday – I post a weekly video where I cover a topic that has meant something to me over the past week. ——I don’t do this much anymore—–

—Wednesday is when I post my blog for the week.

—Thursday is This or That Thursday – A weekly two option poll that raises the question, do you like this, or do you prefer that?

—Friday is Fun Fact Friday – I find and share an interesting or obscure facts.

—Saturday is for Weekend Writing Warriors – This is when I post my 8 Sentence Snippet from a current piece or past work.

I really am trying to make it fun and engaging. Something that people look forward to visiting. It has been something that has been on my heart (no pun intended) for a long time and I am now acting on it. I would love your support!! I am also finding ways to link these over to Twitter because I find that I have more interaction on that platform over Facebook.

Important Links!!

– Little Reminders of Who I Am is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

–The Five Barred Gate is still available on Amazon in Hardback, Paperback, and Kindle versions.

–You can purchase TFBG direct from me on my Home Page. The benefit of buying direct is you will receive a personalized signed copy!!

–My Children’s books, Elissa the Curious Snail are also on Amazon. There are 4 books about an adorable snail teaching children about prayer and believing in themselves.

–You can see all updates regarding the progress of The Transference, publication dates, and appearances.

Little Reminders of Who I Am

The Five Barred Gate

Elissa the Curious Snail Series

Fellow Warriors, I also have a somewhat weekly blog that is posted in between these snippets. I would love to hear your thoughts.

AND if you have little warriors running around I now have many of my Children’s Short Stories on this website. They were originally on my Elissa the Curious Snail publisher’s website, but I now control that domain and have moved that content here. There are many stories for your little reader. These are great bedtime or anytime short stories.

In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

Check out Weekend Writing Warriors!!

Check out amazing established and emerging writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. Each week we post new snippets from either published works or works in progress for each other to comment on. Gain insight of how the mind of a writer works and a behind-the-scenes look at works before they hit book stands everywhere.