Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Somebody Stop Me!!!

Okay, so I am being pulled in a thousand different directions right now. I am vacillating between TWO equally wonderful WIPs and now, I'm being assaulted from all sides by a gaggle of SNIs...one of which is a sequel to the suspense novel I wrote last year entitled FIRST INSTINCT (check sidebar for description).

So, instead of beating you over the head with yet another tag-team tease, I decided to give you a little taste of the world according to Charlie Pryce, the most reluctant psychic you will ever meet.

Enjoy!

I slowed the car to barely a crawl as the bridge crept into view. I peered anxiously over the steering wheel. It was now getting late, almost full dark, which reduced visibility to almost nothing, but I saw no approaching headlights.

Pulling in a deep breath and sending up a quick prayer, I maneuvered the car up onto the bridge. Slowly, ever so slowly, I directed the station wagon across, my hands locked in a white-knuckled death-grip around the wheel. I was halfway across the bridge when a pair of bright, bright headlights flashed out in front of me, blinding me.

“Ahhhh!” I groaned, squinting against the brightness. I honked my horn and flipped my high beams on and then off in quick successions to let the other driver know that he had his brights on.

The other car was headed right for me! And, it wasn’t slowing down.

Fear plowed through me. What was I going to do? He was headed right for me, with no sign that he was slowing. I honked the horn wildly and in my panic, I slammed my foot on the gas.

Get off the bridge! Get off the bridge!

But the other car was faster. We were going to collide! At the last minute, something inside me made me jerk the wheel sharply to the right. I heard a horrible screech fill the air as metal rubbed up against metal. I was rocked in my seat. Then the car turned, teetering as if on a seesaw that wasn’t quite sure in which direction it was going to go.

In the next moment, I was falling. My head hit the steering wheel, and I let out a pain-filled cry. Icy, frigid cold was suddenly surrounding me, making me realize that the car was now in the river.

And, I was about to die.


Now, somebody stop me from going forward with the sequel. Someone, please tackle me, screaming "No sequels till you sell the first! Don't do it!" Somebody? Anybody? Bueller?

10 comments:

  1. Dude I heart Charlie!!! I love a good mystery!

    I hear ya on a million ideas at once, it's hard to pick and then stick with one. I always write a query (rough one,anyway) for each SNI I get, and if it doesn't sound so good once I put all the stakes and the plot on paper, I scrap it.

    Do the one you can't get out of your head. The one that constantly screams at you. That'll be the one you finish. :)

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  2. OMG WOMAN NO SEQUELS. But I do love this part. Work on those WIP's or SNI's then send them over.

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  3. Oh wow, what an intense scene! Will he be okay?! Well done on the snippet :)

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  4. I was always a believer in Nathan Bransford's advice not to write the sequel until the first one sells---until I got a REALLY good idea for a villain for the sequel. Now I'll probably write it anyway, but try to craft it as a stand-alone as well.

    Good teaser today, by the way!

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  5. I'm a stand alone book type of girl, I can barely write one book about one set of characters before quickly hopping on to something else! LOL

    GREAT teaser. Very enjoyable to read.

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  6. I really liked this, very intense at the end!

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  7. But this was a great teaser, and I love the psychic/mystery aspect

    (in which Sage doesn't help)

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  8. Annie: I love Charlie too! She's one of my fave characters that I've written...probably because she's a lot like me. Talks a big game but when push comes to shove, she's scared of her own shadow :)

    Liz: I know! I know! But Charlie and Mickey and Vi just won't stop screaming at me. They're getting harder and harder to ignore :(

    Deltay: Yes, Charlie will be fine for now...this scene is actually from only about halfway through the novel, so the shit hasn't really hit the fan...yet

    Angelica: I too am a believer in not writing sequels until you've gone somewhere with the first...that's probably why I haven't begun the story that keeps echoing in the back of my head...but things might change ;)

    Girl: I love to read books in series...not so much the ones that drop off and then make you wait for the next installment but the ones that highlight the same characters throughout. It's just that some characters are so real, you just don't want to let them go when the book is over. At least that's how I feel

    Bethany: thanks! I love cliffhangers...In fact, I probably over-use them.

    Sage: Thanks! and I'll forgive you for not being helpful...just this once. Next time, I might have to whip you with a wet noodle :)

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  9. Amazing teaser. I hope he's okay! Stupid other driver! :(

    But yes, no sequels until you finish and sell this one! :P

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  10. Oh snap, so intense! Awesome teaser :)

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