Six Sentence Saturday

And so we come to our final Six Sentences for 2012, a day earlier than usual. We will be back on Monday for a New Year's blog, so keep an eye out for that. As for today, we're going with something a little different, an early part from Same Time Tomorrow. This features Gabriel at home, musing on a conversation he had earlier in the day with one of the instructors at a fencing club in Philadelphia. Chloe has made fencing a way of life, so to speak, and so in this early scene, it has piqued his curiousity about the sport. Enjoy, and let us know what you think of it!

"Curious about the sport," he had said.

"And where's the curiousity come from?"

He had sheepishly smiled. There's a woman."

The instructor had laughed. "My friend, we don't fight duels anymore."

Six Sentence Saturday

Today we're going with our usual Six Sentence Sunday a day early, seeing as how we have plans for something on Christmas Eve as well here in our pages. In case you're wondering if we might have gotten our days mixed up. We plan on doing the same next week for the end of the year.

The star of this week's Sentences is Chloe's best friend and maid of honor, Dana Butler, who's stolen the show several times in the course of the novel...usually with her escapades with wildlife. Here, she makes a realization about her feelings regarding Gabriel and Chloe's marriage....

Dana was fighting back tears...not because she was one to get overly emotional at weddings, or even that she was happy for her friends—though she was happy for them---but because she suddenly realized that in a few short minutes, she would have no single friends left. No one to join her on the manhunts. No one to talk into those pathetic singles weekends. If there's another great flood, I'll be the one standing on the dock when the Ark sets sail. No singles allowed, only pairs.

I've got to find myself a mate, for crying out loud!

Six Sentence Sunday

Today we have another passage from Same Time Tomorrow, this one set in the Lake District in Great Britain, during a storm. During the story, Gabriel is on assignment as a photographer in the area for a few weeks, spending time working with a colleague and friend, a writer named Terry. Terry is something of a rascal, which of course makes him fun to write.

In this scene, the storm is just starting to influence the area, and it has already cut off phone contact to the outside world.. Terry and Gabriel find themselves stranded for awhile at their lodgings, where they find themselves trying to stay occupied as the weather goes from bad to worse (this is England, remember, so rain's to be expected)...

            “It’s a couple of days of downtime. And it’s not as if we’re stranded. There’s plenty of food, some good company. This isn’t going to turn into the Donner Party, you know.”

            Gabriel laughed. “That’s disgusting, Terry.”

Six Sentence Sunday

For this week's Six Sentences, we're putting the spotlight on the mother of the bride, Linda, who is dying. She has pancreatic cancer and only a very short time left. Her last wish is to attend Chloe and Gabriel's wedding, and for that reason, they've rushed to make it happen....

Linda watched them in silence as they spoke the vows they'd written. She blinked back a tear. Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be here with Chloe on this day. Thank you for sending Gabriel into her life, for letting me get to know him. Now I can leave this world in peace...almost.

Forgive me for not being able to let go of my anger at Jay for what he did to her. It's his loss, after all...never knowing the woman his daughter has become....
 

Six Sentence Sunday

Today we have another Six Sentence Sunday, and this is taken from early on in Same Time Tomorrow. One of our two main characters, Gabriel Miller, having had finished a photo assignment in Scandinavia, has stopped in Ireland to pay a visit to his grandmother Bridget, who lives there in retirement, the last living member of his family. Before going to see her, he is having a moment of reflection near a church in her hometown, Headford, in County Galway.

St. Mary's Parish, Headford, Ireland

His work kept him on the road. It also rewarded him with the chance to travel, but from time to time, he felt this way. That he was missing something, and the absence troubled him. Coming home to an empty home, lad. That’s what’s bothering me. Gabriel shook his head, banishing the thought, and walked back towards the car.

Six Sentence Sunday

It's that time again!

For this week's Six Sentences, we're going with the events leading up to Gabriel and Chloe's quickie wedding (and no, she's not pregnant!)....

“You do realize you’re marrying a man whose home you’ve never seen?” Dana asked with a grin. “I mean, the man could be a slob, for all you know, or have paintings of dogs playing poker on his walls.”

Chloe grinned. “I’ve been living with him long enough now to know he’s not a slob. Though I’ll admit, I don’t know if the dogs playing poker part might be the case.” She paused. "Is Mom ready?"

 

 

Six Sentence Sunday

Today we have another Six Sentence Sunday blog, with some additional material from Same Time Tomorrow. This passage is set at the Mid West farm that belongs to Chloe's mother Linda. It's an interlude involving Gabriel on his own, looking through photos and assorted items from Chloe's past, and discovering that she has a talent of her own that matches his work in the field of nature photography.  Give it a read, and let us know what you think!

Acadia National Park, Maine

It was a sunrise picture, marked as Acadia National Park, Dawn. The date corresponded to that time of her life, and showed a sea shore with the sun just rising on the ocean horizon. It was an outstanding picture, with careful consideration for lighting and place. He wondered if she had picked the place out earlier for its potential or had come across it some lonely morning while hiking the beach. Gabriel smiled. She’s really gifted, he thought.

Six Sentence Sunday

In keeping with our last Six Sentence Sunday blog, we thought we'd play around a bit more with the coyote theme. Though most of Same Time Tomorrow is told through the eyes of our main characters and supporting characters, we have, on occasion, given ourselves a moment of levity and shown things through the eyes of wildlife, such as a family of coyotes who pass through the farm where Chloe's mother lives. This is one of those moments from the coyote's point of view, seeing Chloe and Gabriel arriving at the farm, fresh off a flight from New York...

The coyote had seen the car pull up at the farmhouse from a distance, had seen the younger couple step out. The female was related, in some way, to the woman who lived there.  Her cub, he thought. The male was a newcomer, had only shown up recently. I wonder if they’ve mated yet, the coyote thought. The two of them behaved in that way humans seemed to do when they were due to mate.

Six Sentence Sunday

Today, we have something a bit different for our Six Sentences. In Same Time Tomorrow, Chloe's best friend, Dana, is a real city girl with wildlife issues. Here, Dana's plight is seen through the eyes of a family of coyotes who find amusement in scaring her....

(Could this coyote be going to visit Dana in New York City???)

Coyote Mom and Dad

The male coyote looked at his mate. “Hmmm...want to have some fun?”

“What have you got in mind?” his mate asked.

“Watch this.” He let out a long, loud howl.

Dana forgot all about the lost battery and her new shoes and went running for the house, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Coyote pups--cute, huh?

Six Sentence Sunday

It's Sunday...time again for Six Sentences!

This Sunday, we have Chloe's friend Dana, a true city girl, who's having trouble adjusting to life on a farm. She's just been awakened by an owl...and her own screams have awakened everyone else in the house....

Dana was shaking. “Someone's being killed outside! I heard the screams!”

Gabriel went into the guest room and returned a few moments later, laughing. “Dana, what you heard was a screech owl,” he told her.

“The damn thing sounded like it was being murdered,” Dana said, embarrassed.

 

 

Six Sentence Sunday

Today we have another Six Sentence Sunday blog from Same Time Tomorrow, this set earlier in the book, with Gabriel meeting a friend and working partner in the Lake District of England....

Cumbrian Mountains, Lake District

“Hello there, Terry,” Gabriel greeted his friend.

“Hello yourself, you young bastard,” Terry said with a grin, his Scots accent as distinctive as ever. He rose from the chair, extended a hand, and Gabriel shook it, smiling. He made a show of looking at his watch.

“As punctual as ever, I see,” Gabriel remarked, teasing him.

"Some of us didn't have that far to come, so we left late," Terry replied with a straight face.