Moments for the Heart

It it time to switch gears friends, family, and Writing Community. Thanksgiving is now behind us, as is NaNoWriMo. That baby is on the shelf and wont be touched until January 1, now we have Christmas to look forward to. For me this means family is just around the corner. For those of you who have been with me a while know that my California family visits the second week of December and that is when we celebrate Christmas. So, for as long as my kids can remember, they’ve always celebrated Christmas twice. Once when Nana visited in early Dec and when we officially celebrate it on Dec 25… lucky kids.

This year will be no different. My mom arrives on Thursday and I’m not sure if I will have time for a post next week, but I shall do my best. But I love this time of year with family. It is the only time of year I get to see them. And this year will be an emotional year. My sister will be here. She was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and we are not sure if we will have another Christmas with her. My mom is bringing her out for this trip. It is a blessing that she is still able to get up and around. It will be good to see her. Please keep her in your prayers. Well, let’s move on to he snippet…

Synopsis:
Not really much of one but its what I wrote last week. I am still developing one.

Stephanie Marshall is the owner of a successful writing firm. She has an office and a staff who write prose for big clients across the Charlotte, NC area. Her company is in demand, but she is struggling with the monotony of home life. She is on the verge of an affair and on her way to a rendezvous when our angelic friend, Carter Jennings, steps in to teach her three lessons about life. One from her past, one from her present life, and one about her future self that will leave her in a state of shock, placing two paths before her.

SNIPPET:

Enough toying around, you can pick up that she has interest in the guy at work, but she’s married. Let’s jump ahead a bit:
Last week we left Stephanie arriving home and washing off the scent left over from the hug she received from Kenneth at work. We are picking up where we left off. — And so you are not confused with the new name here, Ethan is a writer that works for Stephanie’s agency.

First a bit from last week:
She could’ve sworn she heard a sniff.

Jason left her to finish dressing. “Dinner’s in the microwave. I made you a plate before I put everything away. Chicken parmesan”

“Thank you,” she said, putting her pants and top at the bottom of the hamper. She shook her head. At least if she had been with a client, she could explain the smell from the valet at the restaurant.

Now here we go with our new snippet:
After washing her makeup and any lingering scent off, she went downstairs. Jason was watching the end of a playoff game. She couldn’t tell who was playing; she wasn’t a sports fan, another thing that attracted her to Kenneth. Even though he was an avid writer, sports was not his thing. He couldn’t tell you the difference between DiMaggio and DiGiorno. That was Ethan’s thing. Now that it was October, Jason would be lost to post-season baseball and football. She would be lucky if her husband noticed her sitting on the couch next to him.

Stephanie headed to the kitchen and heated up the leftovers. One thing that Jason was good for was he was one heck of a cook. Even though the game was on, he didn’t just throw a pizza in the oven or nuke anything for Evelyn and Joshua. Stephanie looked to the ceiling. Both kids were probably lost in video games or television by now. She had been so wrapped up in erasing evidence she had forgotten to knock on their doors. She put the plate her husband had prepared, set the timer, and headed back upstairs.

The dust has settled but you can somewhat feel the tension releasing from Stephanie, and her reasoning surface.

This is one area that I intend to tackle in my rewrites. I do this a lot in the book. The … “Oh, crap, they have kids. I need to write them in at this point.” As I have said, I am half way considering on the rewrite to remove them. This is like one of three places they are mentioned. I am still trying to figure out the dynamic of keeping them in because they have been married 10 years. It could play into their struggle by not having them, but I think by not having them it would make leaving Jason easier. The kids are what is keeping her around and help the story line a bit better. I will figure it all out upon revision in January.

Thanks again for reading Writing Community. Merry Christmas and happy writing to you all. I look forward to trying to get the time to read y’alls work. I did better this week with seeing some work. God Bless!!

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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 will 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.

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 love your support!!

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Thank you for visiting my page this week. I look forward to your input on my snippet. Have a blessed week. Remember to express your thankfulness to someone this week. We are often so busy taking that we don’t remember to thank those around us and most of all we forget the One who gives us it all. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the blessing of my Lord and Savior. He has been gracious enough to give me this success and this platform to spread His love through words. It is an amazing thing to do this for a living. To wake up and be able to do the thing I love to do. May God bless you and continue to bless you in your writing endeavors.

Have a wonderful week my writing buddies. You all are always in my prayers even if time doesn’t permit me to visit all of you. And I do thank you for those who supported the Elissa Celebrates Christmas pre-sale. More info to come.

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.