Monday, January 02, 2006

Excerpt from "Caroline"



       David slid his glass over the bar. Back and forth. Back and forth. The lazy sound wandered the room.
       In a distant corner of the old inn, a wedding reception swelled and quieted over the passing hour.

       David's mind was drifting when the feeling struck him. A warmth. A breath of fragrance. He turned and started. A touch of his drink darkened on his pants. Someone had slipped into the room behind him.
       He didn't register her face at first. Only her eyes. He stared down at them. Blue as the winter hills before dawn. Brilliant as candles shining in dark windows.
       "My God," he whispered aloud. And it wasn't just the gin talking.


From "Caroline," a new short story series I will be posting to kick off the new year!

(Picture from my winter adventures Dec. 31st. Wayne County, Pennsylvania.)

23 comments:

Unknown said...

I LOVE that pix! Sigh...kick some snow down this way!

Terri said...

Yay!!! More stories :-D
Beautiful photo btw.

anne said...

Beautiful shot. And that excerpt shows promise. Or is it threat? ;)

Mindy Tarquini said...

He turned and started. A touch of his drink darkened on his pants.

Very well done, that last line.

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

Very intriguing, Jason!!!

mermaid said...

"Blue as the winter hills before dawn. Brilliant as candles shining in dark windows."

I can't believe how well this description goes with the picture. The candle part gives them such depth, as well as the writing.

Linda said...

Beautiful photo, will be looking forward to reading the rest of Caroline.

Anonymous said...

Robin, sure, I'll get the snowblower out. ;)

Terri, thanks! More pictures to come. I got some good ones on this trip, if I do say so myself.

Anne, I don't want to spoil it. ;)

M.G., thanks!

Kelly, stay tuned. :)

Mermaid, see how dedicated I am? I went out and got a picture of winter hills before dawn just for this post. Er, well, the other way around actually.

BeadinggalinMS, I'm really looking forward to this one. Glad you'll be along!

Shesawriter said...

What a wonderful excerpt. I'd read that story. Very nice, Jason.

Tanya

jane said...

That is a gorgeous shot!

Happy New Year to you!

Jeff said...

jason- Yep, very nice photo. :)

Sandra Ruttan said...

I love the photo. Very moody. It has atmosphere.

LiVEwiRe said...

So you are teasing us, are you?! And the pic is stunning! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Tanya, soon. Very soon. ;)

Jane, thanks! Happy new year!

Jeff, looks like a good sledding hill, doesn't it?

Sandra, the blue light is intriguing.

Livewire, well, um, yes actually. :)

Bernita said...

Mundane question:
Is he refinishing furniture?

Anonymous said...

Bernita, my wife had a similar confusion. I think I'll make the tweak now that I was going to do in order to clarify.

Bernita said...

Ahhh!
Got it. Nice.

mysfit said...

you've got a really talent for matching up images with text - there's nothing quite like it and i can't wait to read the next exerpt - i'm glad you promised more... um, you did promise, right?

Anonymous said...

Bernita, :)

Mysfit, thank you for the compliment! I'm trying to play to my strengths. This excerpt is an advertisement. In a couple of days, I will start the full story at the beginning. In the meantime, I'll have a cemetery post.

Shesawriter said...

Jason,

Have you submitted it yet? Or is it still a WIP?

Tanya

Anonymous said...

Tanya, the story is only in my head at the moment. I will write each segment for the blog separately. I like to see where the feedback goes in order to strengthen the themes people are connecting with. Each of my story segments takes me 1 - 2 hours, from first key stroke to posting.

Shesawriter said...

I envy you. I'm too anal for that. It takes me much longer, but it's my own fault. BTW, here's one of my favorite quotes:

"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again." - Oscar Wilde

:-)

Tanya

Anonymous said...

Tanya, I know what Oscar is talking about. For whatever reason, I don't have as much difficulty (er, obsession, maybe I should be spending more time) with the shorter pieces.