Thursday 28 February 2013

SFFSat 2/3/13

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this set - you can find the information here.


I missed last week - blame real life for getting in the way. This week my snippet is from Sorrel Snowbound, which will be the sequel to Sorrel in Scarlet.  My hope is to publish it some time around the end of April.  These are the first ten lines of the novel.




A scream echoed from the towers, a banshee wail of mingled rage, loss and despair. Above us the ever-present clouds that closed the night sky of the Chasm were still reflecting the red glare of the fires that were tearing Daryan apart. But the dragon that had been floating like a vengeful ghost above the graalur army, casting fiery death into the ranks of the invading soldiery, was no longer there.
And that was why I was screaming.
Impatient hands gripped my shoulders, trying to pull me towards the stairs. Voices shouting in my ears, telling me that he was gone, that we had to go. I took a shuddering breath and wrenched out of their embrace, struggling to the top of the battlements again, my eyes vainly scanning the seething ground around the city. The walls that we had told them were weak had fallen in two places, and the bellowing, gleeful graalur were pouring inside. Way back, beyond the emptying encampments, a small cluster of figures, a few dozen at most, were heading away from the doomed, crumbling city, not waiting to see the results of their victory.
And with them was Wrack. 

 Comments welcomed!

21 comments:

  1. Oh noooo!! This is exciting!! Love the imagery in this and the tension. Good luck with the release!!

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    1. Thanks - got some way to go at the moment, but watch this space.

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  2. Wonderful description and pace to this snippet. The frustration of your character comes across extremely clear.

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    1. Sorrel gets frustrated and irritable very easily...

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  3. I always enjoy getting thrown right into the mix and having it explained as we go. What a cool place to get us started - fleeing a city under attack. Looking forward to seeing more.

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    1. Start with a bang, that's my usual approach!

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  5. I could feel the anxiety and despair. Good work! Now I'm dying to know who Wrack is.

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    1. Wrack is a dragon... and also (when in human form) Sorrel's lover. Which is why she is not a happy bunny...

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  6. Is there anywhere they can flee to? and who is Wrack?

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    1. They can flee... but whether Sorrel will thank them for it is another matter.

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  7. A breakdown of the wall can only mean one thing: invasion. Why do I get the feeling that things are going to get worse?

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    1. When Sorrel's around, things usually get worse. Of course, that's the job of a hero - to get into deep trouble and to get out of it in interesting ways.

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  8. This was awesome. I second S A's comment about being thrown right nto the mix of things.

    I like how we started it with a scream and then we find out that it was the narrator screaming. It was just assumed that it was someone else, but to find out that it was the main character adds a different layer to it all. Good job!

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    1. I was nervous about writing it this way, so I'm really glad it works - thanks for the vote of confidence!

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  9. "And that was why I was screaming."

    Loved this. The beginning draws me right in and plops wonderful questions at my feet. Why is the dragon being gone an issue? Who is invading? Who is Wrack?

    Nicely done.

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    1. The danger of the sequel! Wrack is the dragon, and he is Sorrel's lover (when in human form) - all material from the first volume. But I wante dto throw the reader immediately into the action - I'm glad it seems to have worked.

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  10. Wow, that was really intense for such a short snippet. I love how you keep the energy high while slipping in detailed imagery. Great job!

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