Moments for the Heart

Hey Writing Community. Here we are with another week of snippets from our writing buddies. I enjoyed your snippets last week. Sorry if I didn’t make it to everyone’s. We had revival services at our church and I had to make sure all my work was complete before heading over for those. If you didn’t know I run our FB Live feed for our church, I then come home and convert it to a file and post to our YouTube page. That takes time, and energy. But it was a blessing and I was refreshed and feel even more assured that I need to be writing more and focused on putting God in what I do as a writer.

My books are all Christian based, as are my blogs. But I know I can always do more. I am not talking Bible-thumping. Far be it. I am not one of those ‘turn or burn’ Christian bloggers. Nor will I ever be. Nor will I ever be a prosperity flower-and-roses all-is-good-on-our-side-of-the-fence blogger. If you read them you see that I speak freely, but I also hope that readers have fun with them as well. That is my aim. Well, sorry to talk your ear off. It was just on my heart to share with you what I expereinced this week.

Here we go with this week’s snippet:

SYNOPSIS:

Current Expanded Novel Synopsis:
Detective James “Grady” Gradiosa, is a Savannah, Georgia detective who recently transferred from Atlanta. He relocated after his wife, Elizabeth, was promoted with her real estate firm. He is placed under the charge of Lieutenant Daniel Masters, a gruff 27-year Major Crimes veteran. They are immediately handed a case that will change their lives. Grady is the first to see the abnormalities. But will the rest of the team listen in time? There is a murder on the loose in South Georgia. For some reason, the killer leaves their final victim alive just before committing suicide by cop. But why? Masters and Grady must find out before it’s too late and the killer strikes again.

SNIPPET:

— For this weeks snippet we will continue from where we left off last week. Enjoy. First a bit of last weeks snippet.—

Branson took a step back and raised his gun as LaCrosse turned the knob. However, neither man would need their weapon. Thoran wasn’t in the room. Just as the others, it was lightly furnished, and a layer of dust was on everything. LaCrosse stepped out of the room and pointed toward the hallway. Both men positioned themselves on either side of the hallway entrance and waited.

Branson keyed his radio, whispering, “Three bedrooms to the south cleared. Living area cleared. Proceeding to north, creek-facing interior now. Over.” He immediately turned the radio down. He turned to LaCrosse, “Ready?”

WE PICK UP RIGHT WERE WE LEFT OFF:
Branson and LaCrosse are searching the cabin where they believe Thoran to be held up. They have just cleared the front rooms, now they are about to head down the hallway into the back of the cabin.

NEW SNIPPET:

LaCrosse nodded. Being on the left, he took point. He stepped back and aimed his weapon toward the hall. Branson, his back against the wall, edged his head around the corner and took a quick glance. He nodded to LaCrosse, who then stepped into the hallway aiming high. Branson remained in a crouch, stayed low. Both toed through the hallway, ending up in a kitchen area with a center island; there was no sign of Thoran.

Both knelt behind the island, weapons at their shoulders. The room was well lit by the setting sun. “Now what? LaCrosse said. “We are sitting ducks now with so much light in the room.”

Branson shrugged. He bit his lower lip in thought and took a deep breath. “I have an idea,” he said in a low voice. Then, with a shout, “Thoran. We just want to talk. Give yourself up.”

No response.

“You can make this much easier if you put down your weapon and surrender yourself,” Branson said.

Still no reply.

“Thoran.”

Nothing.

“You’ve killed two officers, shot at two more. You really think this is going to end well for you? If you value your life, you’ll surrender now,” Branson said.

“Yeah, that’s giving her incentive to surrender,” LaCrosse said, rolling his eyes.

Still, no sound came from the room. Branson nodded his head toward his side of the room, then to LaCrosse and his side of the room. LaCrosse agreed and shifted his weight. Branson mouthed a countdown, “Three… Two… One…”

Branson rounded the island with his gun trained wherever he thought a target could be. LaCrosse followed the same pattern on the left. The room was well furnished. Far better than the front of the house; filled with more probable hiding places: chairs, a couple of couches, two end tables, a dining set, and a gun cabinet. On the side wall was a fireplace, but it seemed improbable she would hide in there. No additional rooms were leading off of this room, only exit doors leading to the patio. Those doors were closed.

“Clear?” LaCrosse asked.

“Clear,” Branson said. He keyed up his radio, “Grady. Do you read?”

“10-4. Status?”

“We have made our way through the cabin. Subject is not here. Repeat. Thoran is not in the cabin.”

The cabin is cleared with no sign of Thoran, AKA Tanner. What this means I cannot go into, you will have to read the book to find out. It was exciting to write this book. You know how it is to really get into your work. To feel the passion of your craft and have words ooze out of your fingertips and onto the pages. I don’t think I have ever been so excited for a book than I am for this one. Just a little over a month and this will hit shelves. Well, if I could ever get a cover for it…

Visit Jeff S. Bray on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more!!

Head on over to check out my Facebook and Twitter pages and follow them both. They have something new and exciting happening every day of the week. I’m also building up my Instagram page.

Like, follow, and interact with each page and share them out!! Here’s what you can expect to find there:

—Monday is Memory Monday – I search for and share on my pages an important event that occurred on that Monday or sometime that particular week.

—Tuesday is Two Twenty-Two Tuesday – I post 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 and shared on Twitter and Facebook.

—Wednesday is when I will post my blog for the week. – I speak from my heart on various topics from writing to my 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? Make your choice on all my social media platforms.

—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 do my best to make this site 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 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 available on Amazon in Hardback, Paperback, and Kindle versions.

–You can purchase Little Reminders and TFBG direct from me on my Home Page. The benefit of buying direct is you will receive a personalized signed copy!! Great as gifts for the reader in your family.

–My Children’s series, Elissa the Curious Snail is 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. The release date will be May 11, 2022. Visit the link above for where I will be appearing and other release info.

Little Reminders of Who I Am

The Five Barred Gate

Elissa the Curious Snail Series

Fellow Warriors, I also have a weekly blog that is post in between these snippets. I would love to hear your thoughts. You can also follow me on Twitter. I am a regular over there. I do have a Medium page that I post from time to time. I mainly talk about Children’s Learning and am currently posting my Children’s stories there.

AND for your little warriors running around I now have many of my Children’s Short Stories on this website. These 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. They make great bedtime or anytime short stories.

Thank you for visiting and your support. God bless you!!

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