Welcome to this week’s edition of Christian Fiction Friday brought to you by me and my lovely and talented co-host, Alana Terry! This is a chance for Christian authors to post short snippets from their works in progress! Easy and fun!
This week, I completed the final edits in a second generation Jewel Series titled Christmas Star Sapphire. It follows the story of Madeline Viscolli and Joe Westcott. Here is a snippet from Chapter 4 (you can preorder this Christmas novella, releasing November 1st, at this link):
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The kitchen area looked spotless, and the entire living area lay in complete order before her. Even the bed beyond the doorway was made. Joe walked to the bow and sealed the port leading to his bedroom, hiding his bed from sight before turning back to face her.
“Expecting company?” she asked, curious about the tidiness.
“No, I wasn’t,” he answered ironically. He gestured toward the galley area. “Can I help you with anything?”
As she set the basket on the small counter, she opened the lid and started pulling out plastic containers of food. “Can you set the table?”
About thirty minutes later, they sat at the little dining nook in front of the spread of roasted and sliced turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and homemade rolls.
Madeline sat across from Joe and placed a napkin in her lap. He looked at the food and then at her, his green eyes filled with emotion she couldn’t quite identify. Then he spoke.
“This is my first home cooked Thanksgiving meal in about thirteen years.”
Wanting to ask questions, but deciding to let him lead, she held her hand out. “I’m thankful we could spend it together. Would you mind blessing the meal?”
He covered her open hand and his fingers wrapped around her palm. His grip felt carefully light and warm though she could feel the strength in his fingers. He prayed a simple prayer, thanking God for the food and the fellowship. She enjoyed holding his hand and regretted the moment the prayer ended. While they filled their plates, she said, “This is my first Thanksgiving without my family in my entire life.”
His eyebrow twitched. “Why didn’t you go home?” As he spoke, he loaded mashed potatoes on his plate.
“I still have a paper due Monday. I can’t work on a plane. I get motion sickness very easily, especially on Papa’s corporate jet. It’s so little. I do better on a bigger plane and the flights are so crowded this time of year.” As she handed him the gravy, she smiled when he met her eyes. She made a mental note to stop babbling.
Spooning gravy over half of the items on his plate, he asked, “So, how does preparing this amazing smelling meal equal you finishing your paper?”
“I wrote it yesterday. I’m giving it a day, then I’ll go start proofing it.” She started to launch into the theme of the paper before she remembered that she had stopped babbling. Instead, she sliced into her turkey meat, relieved that it didn’t look too dry. Thinking back to his statement, she asked, “How is it that you didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving? Did your family not do holidays?”
His hands paused in cutting his meat for just a second – long enough for her to see it and identify it, before he resumed his task. His voice remained pleasant while he answered. “I went to a military boarding school from sixth grade on. I never went home during Thanksgiving break. The cooks always did their best to give the boys who stayed a nice meal.” He held up his fork. “But nothing like this. Thank you. I appreciate the thought. These Brussels sprouts are really good. How did you do that?”
Now it’s your turn! Just link your Christian Fiction Friday! Here are the rules:
1. Christian Fiction Friday is a blog hop where authors post short (400-ish words or less) snippets from their current works in progress (not published pieces).
2. Keep it PG-13 or lower. No swearing, no sex scenes. If you have a particularly violent scene or deal with a heavy or controversial subject matter, please include a disclaimer at the beginning of your post.
Suggestions:
1. Visit at least some of the other Christian Fiction Friday authors each week and comment on their blogs.
2. Don’t offer critiques unless the author specifically asks for it in his or her post.
3. Please include this blurb at the end of your weekly post:
Christian Fiction Friday is a weekly blog hop where authors post snippets from their current Works in Progress. It is hosted by Alana Terry and Hallee Bridgeman.
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