Thursday, March 7, 2013

Battling March Madness by Barbara Edwards


I’m battling my own March Madness. After finishing my Christmas short and sending it off, I wrote a great scene for the third book in my Rhodes End series. Only the scene didn’t take me where I wanted to go. I needed to delete it. The worst part was knowing I had plotted this scene months ago. It was supposed to work. Huh,
Of course I saved it to the ‘maybe in the future file’. Then I spent a week staring at my computer screen.  I’m within a couple chapters of finishing. I know the end. I know what’s going to happen between the hero and heroine, my secondary characters have their parts. So I had to change an action scene to a transitional one.
I wrote it yesterday and I’m so excited I wanted to share my feelings with you.
Here’s a taste of Ancient Curse. It’s still a work in progress.

August humidity spread a soggy blanket over the flagstones and threatened an afternoon storm. The Broker nodded at a pair of totally powerful males sprawled on the wicker seats like relaxed puppies, not the wolf-like hunters they could be. The lowering sun gleamed like a falling coin.
“Why is it no surprise you’re here?”
“Something smelled,” said Cole Benedict. A sleek, muscular man with black hair and golden eyes, he was the CEO of Benedict Herbals and a talented botanist. His family had lived in Rhodes End for generations.
“I don’t have your nose.” Doctor Steve Zoriak shrugged broad shoulders before he grinned at Thomas. His silver eyes glittered. Another recent resident of Rhodes End, he was married to the only female cop. “But I agree anything Mason had his fingers into stank.”
Both saluted him with opened pop cans. His powerful relief at their presence came as a surprise. These men were the closest he’d come to friends in many years. Cole and Steve knew who he had been and would keep his secrets.
“Sammy says you got a problem. Danger might affect us all,” Steve explained. He finished the contents and crushed the can in his fist. “Not that he said, but he does have a feel for what’s happening.”
Cole pushed to his feet and paced to the edge of the stone patio. Tall and dark, his lean strength was obvious. His golden gaze searched beyond the high wall. Gerbera Daisies, Delphiniums, and massed roses drew insects that hummed and buzzed. Cole’s heritage gave him the ability to sense things beyond normal human capacity.
When his gaze shifted to a heavily carved pedestal and crown, he frowned. He moved closer to study the ornate mosaic surface. “Looks like Mason installed a moon-dial. Too bad the dial is missing.”
“What are you talking about?” Thomas followed him to the shallow bowl. “I thought this was a sundial.”
“No, it’s used for astrological computing.” His hand hesitated above the center. He shrugged as though a weight had settled on his shoulders and lifted his head to sniff the wind. “Something is wrong.”

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2 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Barbara,

Way to transition from 'all is well' to 'this is bad'. Though I have to say a creepy scene, one I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Jannine Gallant said...

Isn't it great when everything finally falls into place? Great scene!