Writer's moments

8-Sentence Sunday

wewriwa_square_2It’s time again for a snippet from my current WIP. This time I’m switching to a scene from the fourth Women of Willow Bay book–yeah, I’m working on two at once and no, neither one has a title yet. This one is a little different in that it contains a bit of suspense. Setup is 46-year-old Sophie Russo has always been a summer resident of Willow Bay, coming up every summer of her life with her grandfather who owned two cottages on the Lake Michigan shore. Sophie is a quiet, shy freelance editor, who has been caring for her sick grandfather for the last two years. Her beloved  Papa Leo has died, her marriage has bored itself to death, and she’s decided to sell her house in Indiana and move to Willow Bay permanently. Her plan is to live in one cottage and rent the other. Her first summer renter is her favorite client, computer geek, writer, and publisher Ben Dugan, who’s made millions with his no-nonsense computer how-to books. Ben is taking a break after a nasty divorce and hopes to spend his time in Michigan writing the novel of his dreams. But Sophie and Ben get caught up in an 80-year-old mystery involving a gangster’s lost treasure, Sophie’s long-lost mother, and a shipwreck. This is the first scene in the book:

1933: Captain Frank McGuire shivered, pulling his navy wool pea jacket closer and peering into the misty afternoon as he guided the Caroline Howe south along the western Michigan coast. The temperature was dropping and grey clouds drooped low on the horizon. According to the brass thermometer outside the window of the bridge, the temperature had reached a balmy thirty-six degrees.

This was a fool’s errand—they should have stayed put in Harbor Springs. Nobody asked any questions. The men were comfortable at the pub on Bay Street, and upstairs…well, upstairs at the pub, Ruth lay in her warm bed. He sighed deeply at the memory of the buxom blonde’s remarkable skills.

Dammit, what’s the rush?

I hope you’re intrigued. Stay tuned–I’ll be going back and forth between the two books because…well, because I can. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Please don’t miss the other Weekend Writing Warriors.   Head on over and check out the work of dozens of other writers. You’ll be so glad you did!

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