Moments for the Heart

Good afternoon Writing Warriors!! Here we are for another session of Snippets from our favorite writers. I hope everyone had a great week. I wanted to thank everyone for their support. I am feeling much better and getting through what I am dealing with. But as any of you who deal with a chronic illness know, it is a day to day struggle.

This week has been marked with a celebration. My wife and I have been married 23 years. We didn’t do much as we had spent last weekend with our family down for a BBQ, which was well enough for us. We are past the bells and whistles of throwing a party for every year. Perhaps at 25 we may do something celebratory. (NO this is not a guy thing. IF anything she is more of the guy in our relationship than I am 🙂 🙂 🙂 )

Anyhow, just a reminder, The Transference will hit shelves on May 11. This is the Crime Thriller I introduced you to last year. And speaking of my wife, no one is more excited for this book than she is. She couldn’t put it down. And I am excited to get it into your hands.

Okay now. Enough about me; let’s get into what you are here for, this week’s snippet.

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’m 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:

OKAY HERE WE GO WITH THE NEW SNIPPET: I am going to jump ahead a chapter. In this scene we find a new character. Derrick has just left Davies Deli after meeting with Aaron about Carter mysteriously leaving after a recent meeting:

[Setting up the scene. – Aaron has recently learned that Derrick has been visited by Carter. The same angelic visitor who had visited him and Deborah in Book One. But for some reason Carter has vanished. Derrick knows something is up after he finds the second Little Reminder. Aaron gives Derrick advice to be patient, but doesn’t reveal what he knows of Carter’s true identity. Derrick has just left the Davies Deli as this scene opens.]

[Sorry Admins I took a little liberty as this scene is a bit long]

“We sure are in a pickle, aren’t we, Aaron,” said a voice behind him.

Aaron turned around, not recognizing the voice. He looked the man over, unable to place him: Blue jeans, plaid shirt, and a Houston ball cap over his shoulder-length blonde hair. The face was solid and serious. His blue eyes locked on his and wouldn’t let go.

“Do I know you, sir?” Aaron asked.

“Indirectly, yes. I don’t get around much. But I make an appearance now and then, especially when warranted. And right now, nothing is more important.”

Aaron looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of him. They seemed familiar. giving him comfort and fear at the same time. It was almost overwhelming.

“Who are you?” Aaron asked.

“Let’s just say a friend of a friend. For now.”

Aaron had learned to live with the vagueness of a new visitor, so he went with it, “Alright, friend of a friend. How can I help you?”

“Our friend, Carter, is in trouble, and the only ones who can help him are right here, right now. I’ve looked at this from every angle, and I have no other choice but to come to you for help.”

Aaron looked back and forth at who was watching them. “Are you an angel too, friend of a friend?”

“You can say that.”

“Where have I heard that line before? I’ll take it as a yes,” Aaron chuckled. “And Carter needs my help?”

“He is lost.”

“How’s that?” Aaron asked. “How can an angel of the Lord be lost?”

“Carter’s not a heavenly being. He is earthbound, so he assumes the same temptations and risks humans face. It’s one of the drawbacks that earthbound angels accept when they receive their assignments. It helps them empathize. But it also carries the inherent risk of falling into human emotions. That’s what happened with Carter. We need your help to bring him back.”

“Why me?”

“One, he connected with you when he oversaw Deborah’s case. And two, to be perfectly honest, you’re here right now. Proximity always has it’s benefits,” the angelic being shrugged.

“Do you know where he is?”

“I haven’t looked in on him lately, but last time I saw him, he was in the park.”

“That’s where Derrick saw him,” Aaron explained.

“Yes, I witnessed that interaction. Derrick was almost injured there. We had other messengers on guard that kept him safe. But he needs an earthbound guide. He needs Carter for the Reminders to be effective.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Find Carter and convince him to complete his assignment,” the visitor said, tilting his head.

“What makes you think I have that much influence?”

“Because you are one of his success stories. It’s what he needs to see right now.”

Aaron sat, weighing the angelic being’s words. Jasmine walked by, refilling his tea and exchanging concerned glances between the three of them. Aaron waved her off.

“Is there anything else I can do?”

“Now that you mention it?” the man picked up a backpack from the floor that Aaron had not noticed before. He pulled out a worn shoe box. Aaron immediately recognized it.

“That’s Carter’s shoebox,” Aaron said. “Is that what he holds his Little Reminders in?”

“It is,” the visitor said, placing the shoebox on the counter in front of Aaron.

Aaron could only stare at it. That box once held the Bible with a decorative shell that now sits on his nightstand, the two cookie cutters that he and Pop use to make the cross-shaped cookies for Easter, it may have even held the Coke glasses that were on the shelf above their head right now. Aaron looked up at the glasses, then found the nerve to touch the box.

“How is Carter’s box going to help me find him?”

“There are still Reminders he hasn’t placed yet.”

“For Derrick?”

“Yes,” the angel began, then took a deep breath.

Yeah, the scene was a bit long, but after reading it you can see why. I couldn’t find a good cutting off spot anywhere else in there where it wouln’t have taken away from the scene.

I hope you enjoyed the scene, and if you have read the first installment, you may have guessed who the character is; he is mentioned in the first book. 😉 In a way he is mentioned in this one as well, now that I think about it.

I had struggled with this novel, thinking it wasn’t my best work. But the more I get into editing it, the stronger I feel about it. I am really enjoying the characters and loving the connection Derrick and Breonna are making with each other. Hah, but at times there are paragraphs I will spend two hours on restructuring them to get them sounding cohesive enough to flow with the rest of the story. I tend to fall back into my technical speak at times and my writing gets robotic. I hate it when that happens.

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 and share it out!! Here is what you can expect to find there.

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

—Tuesday is Two Twenty-Two Tuesday – I post a weekly video where I talk about writing or something that has been on my heart, all in two minutes and twenty-two seconds. This will be posted on my YouTube page and shared on Twitter and Facebook. I tried to put it up on Twitter, but Twitter doesn’t allow personal video posting.

—Wednesday is when I post my blog for the week. I am attempting to make this regular, but I am spoadic at best.

—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 interesting or obscure facts.

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

I am trying to make my site and pages fun and engaging. Something that people look forward to visiting. It’s been something that has been on my heart (pun intended) for a long time and I’m now acting on it. I’d love your support!! I’m also finding ways to link these over to Twitter because I’ve been more active on that platform lately than 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 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. You can also follow me on Twitter as I am a regular over there.

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

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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.