This
is my first appearance on Weekend Writing Warriors - so welcome all,
and enjoy the snippet below!
If
you've not encountered Weekend Writing Warriors, it's an opportunity
for writers from a range of genres to showcase their work. Find the
others here.
So
with no more ado - the first nine lines from my novel Impcatcher.
A high-pitched, manic giggle
cut through the velvet blackness of the wine cellar as the echo of
breaking glass faded. I took a deep breath, and the alcoholic fumes
from the shattered bottle left me feeling light-headed for a moment.
I had dropped the lamp when I dodged the missile. Doing this job,
there's no way I'd use a modern bound-imp lamp, so I'm stuck with an
oil lantern. The glass had not survived the accident, and now the old
stone chamber was stygian.
A slight clacking sound to my left, like a big rat in tap shoes, hinted at my quarry’s location. It was trusting to the darkness and my lowly human eyes to conceal it. I glowered into the gloom. This had been supposed to be an easy job.
A slight clacking sound to my left, like a big rat in tap shoes, hinted at my quarry’s location. It was trusting to the darkness and my lowly human eyes to conceal it. I glowered into the gloom. This had been supposed to be an easy job.
Impcatcher is a fantasy
novel set in the town of Freebridge. When mages make mistakes, imps
and elementals escape and make trouble. The Impcatcher of the title,
Tal Djandiss, has the job of dealing with the little horrors. The
novel opens with him facing just one such imp...
To
find out how he does, and to learn the more worrying plot he becomes
entangled with, get the book on
Amazon here, or in other epub forms on
Lulu, here.
As always, comments are
welcome!
Hi Peter. Good to see you here, and I love the creepy fun start to Impcatcher.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And thanks for inviting me to join in.
DeleteWelcome to WeWriWa, we're glad you found us :-) This is a great excerpt, and I especially like the "rat in tap shoes" phrase! These are some interesting characters stuck in an interesting problem. I wonder what kind of trouble these imps normally cause? Thanks for sharing your story with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you - you're being very welcoming! As to the trouble imps cause - they are pests and stroppy, but usually it's people who are the most dangerous characters around...
DeleteHi Peter - welcome to the fray. I liked your snippet, especially the line, "like a big rat in tap shoes..." Awesome description.
ReplyDeleteSo much for easy jobs, right?
Thanks, Paula! Imps are never easy - they're naturally troublesome! That's why Freebridge needs an impcatcher.
DeleteAlways enjoy the snippets here...glad you were able to find your way to the WWW site (although it took me a bit to find your link on the list :-) ). I also need to remember and snag a copy on my Kindle.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing opening that leaves plenty of questions;).
ReplyDeleteI like your writing voice. Wonderful opening. I am intrigued.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Weekend Writing Warriors! We're glad you're giving it a go. :-)
In the "Stygian gloom, hard to tell who's predator and who's prey. Very compelling writing.
ReplyDelete