Thursday, March 10, 2016

Cheerleaders: The excerpt behind the teaser





FOOTBALL GAMES FILLED that afternoon. Occasionally the family room was overly loud when favorite teams fouled or scored. Evan got along so good with her brothers and brothers-in-law that she didn’t worry about staying close to keep him comfortable. She kept an attentive eye, making sure her brothers weren’t harassing him too badly, but mostly the women stayed in the cushy breakfast nook, playing cards and talking. It wasn’t that they weren’t interested in the televised game. In fact, every touchdown held their attention as the large screen was easily viewable from the adjoining room. However, they used the time as a chance to girl talk.

During halftime of the second game, she cut through the den area en route to the downstairs restroom, and found Evan among the missing. She had been restocking the drinks in the fridge and hadn’t noticed his exit of the room. A halftime show was on the television. Her eldest brother and her father were the only two still in front of the television.

Going on to her original destination, she took care of business and dallied before the mirror, combing through her hair before leaving the tiny tiled room. The socks on her feet were silent on the hardwood hall floor, and she detoured, hearing voices drifting from her father’s study. With her hand on the doorjamb, she took in the scene before her.

Her brothers-in-law were just winding up a game of darts. And Mart and Evan were standing before the shelves encasing the various trophies, ribbons, and achievements she and her siblings had accumulated through their school and college years.

Seeing on the room’s small television that halftime was over, the male gender all vacated back to the family room and the large-screen television. Evan was the exception, and he threw a grin her way. “You played basketball.”

It was a statement, not a question. Her eyes swung to the trophy that had occupied the same spot since high school. “Does that surprise you? Don’t tell me you thought I was a cheerleader!”

“Last night, you were cheering instead of playing.” With another engaging curve of his lips, he let his eyes travel over her features. “But no, somehow I don’t see you standing on the sidelines while somebody else has the ball.” His fingers touched the thick vinyl spline of a photo album on a shelf. “Do you have pictures of when you were on the team?”

Hesitating, she wavered, afraid of opening more doors and crossing more thresholds in their relationship. Finally, relenting, she pulled out a particular album and went to the sofa. In the organized and old-school way her mother did things, among the many photo albums were scrapbooks—one dedicated to each of her children.

Evan settled beside her on the overstuffed worn couch as she opened the book. He smiled over her first grade field day ribbon, and seemed impressed with her fifth-grade science project picture and ribbon. Basketball team pictures. Prom pictures. Senior pictures. He gazed intently.

“Codi!” Randi popped her head in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to run to the store. Your car’s behind me.”

“I’ll move it,” Evan offered with his usual chivalry. “I didn’t know who it was safe to park behind.” By the time he had arrived earlier in the afternoon, the driveway was already lined with vehicles. A touchdown was scored at that moment, and his attention riveted momentarily to the tv.

“I’ll do it,” Dakota replied, not wanting him to miss any of the game.

It took her a few minutes to locate her car keys. When Evan had returned them to her, she hadn’t put them directly into her purse. The kitchen ‘catch all,’ a blue speckled stoneware bowl, was where she found them.With the car re-parked and Randi on her way, she returned to the house, entering through the kitchen. 

In the quarter of an hour she had been out of pocket, she fully expected Evan to have returned to the den’s forty-two inch plasma screen, but he was where she had left him. His eyes were on the game and the scrapbook was still spread on his lap. As she advanced across the plush piled carpet, he redirected his gaze, and the newspaper clipping in his fingers fluttered back to the open page.

With a laugh, she reached for the scrapbook. “You’ve got to be bored with that—” Her words came to an abrupt halt, and her hand dropped when she saw something different in his expression.

“You had your fifteen minutes of fame.” Husky with compassion, his voice had her scrutiny converging to the article still at his fingertips.

Dread seeped like a poison through her cells. A poison she had drank and somehow survived, but never forgotten it’s vile taste.

Without a doubt, having never seen them, at least not neatly tucked in the scrapbook, she knew the subject of the articles. But why, she wondered, confused and disgruntled, had her mother kept something so grim mixed in with her daughter’s greatest achievements and happiest moments? Needing no confirmation of the direction of her thoughts, but seeking it anyway, she dropped to the cushion beside him and skimmed the newspaper byline.

“It was more than fifteen minutes.” Her words were dull, completely devoid of any passion. There was no anger, embarrassment, or regret. Long ago, the situation had vacuumed any emotion pertaining to it from her.

“How did it all begin?” His inquiry was soft, and he suddenly seemed closer, though he hadn’t moved.

Was there a beginning? She teleported back to the problematic days of her first teaching position. Crowded classrooms, delinquent teenagers, disinterested staff. For a young woman fresh out of college, ready to pursue her dreams and make a difference in the world, it had been a time of great disillusion. She had made her mark on the world. Her little part of it anyway...

...spoilers removed...

...Tawny brown eyes regarded her intently for a few long seconds before he dropped another seemingly disbelieving glance at the papers and then slowly closed the book.

Later Dakota asked her mother why on earth had she kept the clippings, and even so, had placed them in her scrapbook. Her mother replied that as difficult as that time had been in her life, it was one of her achievements, and she should be as proud for standing up for her beliefs as she was for achieving the honor roll.

 



 Sheltered by Hope Shyne

 is currently free to read on Kindle Unlimited. Also available on Kindle and in Paperback from Amazon. Click Here









Sunday, March 6, 2016

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Fictional Pets

As a reader, I find some pets as interesting as-and at times more lovable than-some of the characters! 
I adore fictional pets with personality.

Some authors have a knack for weaving a pet into a book so well that the story would be lost without. In one novel I read recently, the heroine's cat had social network pages with thousands of followers. The heroine would dress the cat up in homemade clothing, tierras, etc. The social pages for the cat were built as a supplementary following for her own Etsy type business, but the cat became famous through it. Not only was this an interesting way to use a pet, the pet also served as friction between her and the hero who couldn't stand cats. All in all, I found it a very unique way, plot-wise, to intertwine a pet into a story.

In Sheltered, the dog of the hero, Ranger, although very lovable, is a bit of a spoiled troublemaker, yet the hero doesn't see it. Ranger has a way of breaking up tense moments and adding humor to scenes that need a smile.

What are your favorite fictional pets?

Excerpt from Sheltered by Hope Shyne



Sheltered is listed on Kindle at a special release price of 0.99
Available in paperback
Also available on Kindle Unlimited

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

New Release! Christian/Inspirational Romance Sheltered by Hope Shyne

Hey, that's me! I still can't believe this is published. It's been a long time coming. Shout out to my wattpad followers who gave me the courage!