Monday, January 08, 2018

SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS/ A Christmas Visitor #blogabookscene and #PrairieRosePub.

Blog-a-Book-Scene is a monthly themed blogging endeavor from a group of authors who love to share excerpts from their stories. Find us on Twitter with the hashtag #blogabookscene and #PrairieRosePub.

January’s theme is Baby, It’s cold outside.  The snowy excerpt below is from my western romance short story, A Christmas Visitor included in the anthology SWEET TEXAS CHRISTMAS.


He left her…Now he’s back…But not for long…

Blurb:
Sterling Thoroughgood was Matilda Barton’s first and only love, but he left her three years ago to seek his fortune in Wyoming. And now he’s come back with a puzzle box as a gift with a secret inside. But as far as Matilda’s concerned, it’s three years too late.
Is love lost forever or does the mysterious puzzle box hold the key to happiness?

Excerpt:

Matilda swept the floor for the second time that morning to give herself something to occupy her instead of thinking about the tall, handsome Sterling Thoroughgood. She recalled the sight of him standing tall and slender with wide shoulders in his long black coat and the broad-rimed hat with that light dusting of snow gathering on both his hat and coat. His dark hair and brown eyes framed his strong, angular face and all those memories came back to her—memories of those warm lips on hers and whispers of endearments. They were all lies, every single one. Matilda sighed a heavy breath. And why in tarnation does he have to be so handsome? It’s just not fair.
A glance in the mirror from her bedroom as she walked by into the kitchen told her that her dress was shabby and worn. Her light brown hair tied back in a tight chignon at the base of her neck made her look severe and old. What does it matter? He’ll be gone come morning and I’ll probably never see him again anyway.

Excerpt:

The house was ghostly quiet as she cleaned away every remnant of her life there. As she worked, she took her time to touch and smell, and remember her life, her father, and Sterling. She let the fire go out in the stove. Once she swept the old plank floor to make the house presentable to the new owner, her home of twenty two years became a stranger’s house to her. The weight of her feelings were almost too heavy to bear. Instead, she grew numb to them.

Two hours later, she shut the door on her previous life, leaned her head against the heavy wood of the portal, and said goodbye. It didn’t take her long to pack up Hector with what little remained of her belongings and then rode into Sunray to Mrs. Pritchard’s Boarding House.
The attic room where she would reside was nothing like she imagined. Instead of a quiet, cozy little nook where she could find peace and solitude, she found a dark, cold attic with a sheet hung from a clothesline to claim a small space with a cot and a washstand with a pitcher, a basin, and a single candle on it to call a room. The unfinished walls had openings where the wind blew through and the rafters offered little to cheer the place. There was no fireplace or stove for heat. Thank goodness she had plenty of blankets and her mother’s quilt to keep her warm in the dank, gloomy space.


February’s Blog-a-Book-Scene theme: All You Need is Love

Diverse stories filled with heart

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