Moments for the Heart

Hey Weekend Writing Warriors. Well it has been an eventful week. It seemed that one thing after the other, tiny incidents kept on happening to try and prevent us from having a good time. But if you know me, and I hope you do by know, all incidents I don’t see as setbacks, but as reasons why we were at where we were supposed to be, for one reason or another. God has a purpose in all things. From flat tires (yes, there were two of them) to getting stuck in the sand. We joked with our daughter and friend that perhaps there were sharks out there and the delays kept them from being breakfast. But in all seriousness, I am a firm believer that God kept us from something that day, somewhere. His timing is perfect. And we had a wonderful time with extended family.


Speaking of timing, It is time for our snippet. If you missed anything, here is last weeks entry.

The Five Barred Gate is a Dystopian Suspense novel that takes place about 20 years after the events after the first novel. It surrounds the life of Michael, Jacob’s son. He faces the same, but different challenges his father faced. Times are much more difficult. I am excited to revisit this world. I love my characters and getting to revisit the Dystopian genre. You can catch up with past entries here.

SYNOPSIS:

Still working on a full synopsis:

Michael Andrews is Jacob’s son. He is now the main character. His wife has been arrested for talking to someone on her trip to the store about God. Now he must find a way to fight for her release and raise their twins. He has the help of Rachel’s grandfather Frank Dunham, his parents, and a supportive attorney that will do their best to protect Rachel. But they must fight Federal and local laws that are even more strict than what his father had to deal with. They must also struggle with a corrupt accuser and an old family adversary to ensure justice is served and Rachel is able to come home to her family.

>>>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:

Summary:
We are finally back home. We have made a small jump. Skipped over the drive home, but nothing of much worth. Here we are post bath and all tucked in. You can last all past snippets here.

—First, here is a the tail end of last week:

“Nooo,” again in unison.

“We’re having fun, Daddy,” Angela said.

“Can we stay the night again?” Aiden asked.

“We have stayed enough nights, buddy. It’s time to go home and sleep in our own beds.

Now go get your stuff so we can get going.”

“All right,” Aiden said. “C’mon, sis.”


This week are jumping ahead into the next chapter. Michael gets the kids home, bathed and now he is tucking them into bed.

Angela was tucked under her paisley-colored bedspread; blue eyes focused on him. Aiden was on the edge of the bed, cross-legged with hands in his lap, holding his stuffed dinosaur Selly. Michael had pulled up a chair two sizes too small for him and sat looking at their clean, smiling faces. It was now or never.

“Okay, guys,” Michael began. “There is something I need to tell you about mommy. And I’m not sure how I can tell you in a way you can understand it. So, I am going to say it as plainly as I can.”

“Is mommy hurt?” Angela asked, gripping her covers.

“No, no. Nothing like that, Angie.” Michael patted her leg.

“Mommy is in jail. That’s as simple as I can put it.”


::There is your ten (or so). Here is a bit more::

“Jail? Mommy did something bad?” Aiden asked.

Michael wasn’t sure how to answer the question. He was torn which answer to give that a five-year-old would understand. In some sense, it was true that she had broken the law, but on the other hand, she had done the right thing by sharing her faith.

“It’s not that mommy did something bad. It’s that as adults, there are certain rules you can’t break, even if what you are doing is good.”

The two crinkled noses showed him he wasn’t getting through. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

“Okay. You know how your mom and I tell you to be nice to people and say nice things to them.”

Both kids nodded.

“And that it’s not nice to be mean,” Michael continued.

Again, understanding nods met his explanation.

“Well, sometimes when you try to be nice to some people, they don’t like it.”

“Some people don’t like you being nice to them?” Aiden asked.

“Unfortunately, not, Aiden,” Michael said.

“That’s not nice,” Aiden said.

Michael half-laughed, “No, that’s being mean.”

“Was somebody mean to Mommy?” Angela asked.

Michael was glad for the question. It was the main one he was hoping for. “Yes, Angie. Someone was. Very mean.”

“And they put her in jail?”

“Yes, Aiden. They did.”

“But why?” Angela asked.

Michael wished he could answer the question. Besides the answer being over his daughter’s head, he didn’t fully grasp what was going on himself. He felt honesty would be his best bet.

“I don’t know, sweetie,” he said, lifting the curls from her face.

“How long will she be in jail?’ Aiden asked. The second question Michael feared.

“That’s another one I can’t answer. I wish I could. I want mommy home, too.”

Michael finally tore off the bandage. The kids seem to handle it well, so far. But this could just open the door. — I don’t know where I commented on it, thought it was here, but it is funny the differences between real time and writing time. It seems like the kids experience the missing mom for months, but in reality, in book-time it will only be a few days. So it really isn’t that bad. And the missing will never fully set in. Funny how our minds work like that.

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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. — I am way behind on this… sorry.
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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THIS WEEK’S WRAP-UP:

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT:
Thanks for reading this week. And for your continued support.

Keep your eye on my social media. I have something to announce this week!!

Catch up with everything even writing a blog. You can read it here, Please check it out.
Here’s to living the dream. God bless Writing Warriors!!

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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.

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