Moments for the Heart

Welcome back, Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve been complaining about the weather lately. Well, we are finally moving into Spring. Even our swallows have made their annual return to their nest. Spring has also brought in a new swell of followers. If you are here for the first time from Twitter, welcome. I am excited to have you part of this ride. You can catch up on the Five Barred Gate II past posts here. If you are part of those who have been around since day one, thank you for your faithfulness and I hope to continue to bless you with adventures through reading.

BEFORE WE DIVE IN:
Two months to go!! The Transference hits shelves on May 11. This is the Crime Thriller I introduced you to last year. The cover is still a bit behind, but hopefully will be released soon. I am really eager to promote it. I will be sharing a few snippets before it’s release. I am pumped for its big release day. So much I may even have a give-away. I’ve done one already through Twitter, haven’t I Twitterverse? Look for that in April.

Okay, we are all caught up. Here we go for this week’s snippet.

SYNOPSIS:

(more of an outline right now) – Our main character is Michael Andrews. He is the son of Jacob and Renae, the MCs of the first novel. He was two years old then. He is now 24. Michael is married with twin daughters. His wife, Rachel is the granddaughter of Frank Dunham. He is the owner of a restaurant mentioned in the first novel and part of the original group that met.

Twenty years later, the laws have gotten stricter. Several amendments have been added to The Federal Speech Act. People are now more apt to turn someone in when they are offended. This has especially affected the religious community. Churches are sparse, even Our Savior’s Cross, the local church that existed during TFBG has disbanded and gone into hiding again. Jacob had been the pastor since the end of the first novel.

>>>If you are curious about the first novels snippets, I have them archived: Here is a link to them if you want to read up on The Fiver Barred Gate <<<

SNIPPET:

— For this weeks snippet I am moving on a bit into the next chapter. The bit after our last snippet is filler about Michael and background about what happened with Frank Dunham between the last novel and this one. The chapter ends with Michael arranging to pick up the kids at Frank’s ranch. —

— Here is a bit from last week —

“Just givin’ ya reasons,” Frank said. “But we both agree that she didn’t go pickin’ a fight.”

“Agreed. That isn’t Rachel.”

“Not my daughter in the least,” Mr. Dunham said with an exhale. “Let me call a buddy or two and see what I can find out. I’ll get back to you if I find out anything.”

“Thanks, Frank,” Michael said. He had known that Rachel’s father was connected with law enforcement and would call up the chain and find out what exactly happened. He arranged a time to pick up the kids and ended their call.”

AND WE CONTINUE ON:

— Now we move into this weeks snippet. — This will move us later into Chapter One. Michael is with his kids, Aylse and Aiden, at the Dunham ranch for dinner and wondering how to explain the situation to them; we pickup there… — P.S. — I am still in Little Reminders mode. I find myself still calling Michael, Derrick at times, so forgive me if you see it occasionally. I am trying to catch it. —



Neither Alyse nor Aiden asked about mommy when Michael arrived or during suppertime. They ate as a family and talked about feeding lambs and that Aiden could run faster than one of the chickens. The questions came when they loaded into the Suburban, and the smell of mom’s perfume that must’ve lingered hit the three of them.

“Where’s mommy, daddy?” Alyse asked first. “She said she was gonna pick us up.”

“Ya, she said she would have a surprise,” Aiden followed.

“Mommy had a few things she needed to do before she comes home.” Michael replied, not sure what else to say. “She asked me to pick you up and take you home,” he hated to lie. But what could he do?

“Can we get some ice cream?” Aiden asked, Alyse echoed his sentiment. Michael smiled looking at them through the rearview mirror; ignorance was for the best. He should be grateful that children were often unaware of how complex life can be. It took him back to the stories of when he was young. He was told stories of when he was two when his parents nearly divorced but that certain life events brought them back together. He had no memories of the incidents that surrounded that time period. He now wished he had asked his dad about it. His little ones will soon not settle for ‘mom is doing a few things.’

“Sure, why not. Double scoops for everyone,” Michael said, turning down the road leading to the ice cream parlor.

“Make mine a triple,” said Aiden. “I am almost five. I can take it now.”

“Hey,” Alyse reached across the backseat and whacked her brother, “I’m almost five too, silly-head.”

“Oh, come on now, you two. She was just playing, Aiden. And Alyse, you don’t need to be hitting your brother.”

A duet of ‘okay’s’ sang from the backseat.

Okay we are updated and now we have a glimpse into Michael’s world with his kids. This is where I began to struggle writing. I loved the concept of them having twins. But with the cast of character I have in the novel and the struggles Michael is going to experience in the novel, dealing with two children seemed difficult to write. But the more I thought about it, the more I leaned to the fact that It is supposed to be difficult. The character’s life is going to be the most difficult experience a parent will face. It leant to the novels premace. So, I kept him with two children. And as you can see, they will play off of each other. And having a sister myself I know how it felt fighting in the backseat of a car. I’m sure those of you with siblings understand Aiden and Alyse’s sentiments.

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Monday is Memory Monday
We remember an important event that occurred on that Monday or sometime that week.

Tuesday is Two Twenty-Two Tuesday
A weekly vlog where I talk about writing or something that’s been on my heart, all in two minutes and twenty-two seconds.
This is posted on my YouTube channel.

Wednesday is when I post my blog for the week.
I speak from my heart on various topics from writing to faith.

Thursday is This or That Thursday
A weekly two-option poll that raises the question, do you like this, or do you prefer that?
I host this on this on Twitter, IG, and Facebook.

Friday is Fun Fact Friday
I find and share interesting or obscure facts on my pages.

Saturday is for Weekend Writing Warriors
Saturday is for Snippets from a current piece or past work.

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Featured Titles

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In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

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 into how the mind of a writer works and a behind-the-scenes look at works before they hit bookstands everywhere.