Murder Scene Blogfest!

It's Murder scene blogfest day! Today, blogs around the blog-o-sphere are posting scenes from their WIP, or scenes they wrote just for this day, where someone gets murdered or almost murdered. Fun! (That makes me sound crazy.)

OK, here's the deal...death is a huge theme in my novel. Like HUGE. I explore different relationships with death - people who want to die, people who don't want to die, and people who don't know which would be better for them. So I had a few scenes to choose from. But all of my favorite murder scenes were big spoilers for the book, and like I've said in the past, I like to pretend that you all care about spoilers. Therefore, my options were:

1. Write an entirely new scene just for the blogfest.
2. Post a spoiler scene.
3. Post a non-spoiler scene that's semi-lame and not necessarily that bloody/obviously muderiffic. 

I decided to go with option three because, well, I don't have time to write a new scene (as much as I love Anne Riley, I really want to dedicate my time to my WIP), and I just don't have it in me to post a super-spoilery scene. This one is pretty good, though, and even though it's not bloody or gory, and it's really short (less than 400 words...but the set-up is really long because it winds throughout some other action), it is quiet and a little disturbing and I thought it would be a nice change of pace from all the other Murder scene blogfest entries which you should definitely, definitely read.

This scene takes place early in the novel, so I'm not going to give a lot of set-up. Basically, you need to know that my book is a YA future dystopian novel, and my main character is part of the government group which helps control the population...in a way. 

Enjoy! Comment! And don't forget to visit Anne's blog and read all the other entries!

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In the foyer, a slight man with curly black hair and the deep maroon uniform of a dispatcher was bent over Joseth’s sleeping body. I watched as the dispatcher pulled a case from his pocket, a case which, at the beginning of the evening, had been full of needles. Now, there was only one left. He removed the cap off its pointed end and tapped the glass edge with his nail. A tiny clink echoed in the marble room. Then, the dispatcher lowered the needle to Joseth’s arm and plunged it into his bicep. My eyes lingered on the boy’s chest as it rose and fell, rose and fell, then, simply, stopped. The dispatcher smiled and removed the needle, leaving the now-empty vial on the floor next to the dead child.

“Aren’t you going to check his pulse?” I called.

 The man turned to me, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“Isn’t that what you’re here for?” he asked.

 He picked up the now-empty needle case and made for the door, feet crunching on the bits of broken table scattered throughout the room. I hesitated for a moment, but I knew what I needed to do. It wasn’t the cleaners’ responsibility to check the dead. I had to be sure Joseth was gone.

Hand outstretched, I approached the body. It was slouched against the wall, limp and definitely not breathing. My fingers found the spot on his neck where his heart would pulse through. Nothing. I exhaled deeply. I brought my other hand around to do an ocular check – examining the eyes was part of the process. With my thumbs at the tops of his cheeks and my forefingers resting on his soft eyebrows, I pulled apart Joseth’s thin eyelids to reveal the most startling pair of golden-brown eyes I’d ever seen. Golden-brown wasn’t even the right description, as they had almost no brown in them at all. They were the color of honey, the strangest thing I’d ever seen. I pulled my hands back in surprise, but his lids didn’t close. I turned away, scrambling to stand up and get out.  

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So, there you go! The world's smallest blogfest entry ever. 

And for those who want a little more blood...here's some Dexter!

(Season 2, Episode 2 spoiler...plus some naughty language and obviously graphic content.)

Happy kissing day!

Happy Kissing Day Blogfest! Sherrinda over at A Writer Wannabe was inspired by the mistletoe that abounds this season, and came up with the genius idea of having a kissing day throughout the blogging world! Being a big fan of kissing, I think it's a great idea. We're supposed to post a snippet from our WIP that involves a kiss, and/or some clips or snippets from other movies or books that show a great kiss.

First off, something from my WIP. There is one reference to a character name, but I took it out because...well, there are a few people out there who might be curious as to who exactly Kaia is kissing here (there are two prospects) and it's more fun to keep them in suspense. This scene is actually out on critique right now, so it's still a little rough. But in the spirit of kissing day...rough can sometimes be a good thing. ;-)

As he said it, I released his left hand from the restraints. Both hands now free, he lifted them to my face, pressing has fingers into my checks and gathering me toward him. He kissed me, hard, not bothering to take his time working up from a slow, romantic gesture. My head spun, my stomach felt light and airy. I wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up and faint or lift right off my feet. He tasted smoky but just a little sweet, like roasted cherries. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, parting his mouth with my tongue. His lips were warm and full against my skinny bird-like ones. Blood rushed to my head, making me so dizzy I thought I would drop any minute. My knees started shaking a bit, but he simply pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my body and entwining his fingers in knots in my hair.

When he finally pulled back, my lips felt numb and raw. I couldn’t look him in the eye, so I looked pointedly at his shoulder, and wiped a drop of spit – mine or his? – from my chin.   

So there you have it. That was the first kissing scene I'd written in a very long time, too, although it's seen an edit or two since the first draft. I do wish there was a decent synonym for lips, but oh well. 

And now some videos! I couldn't decide between my favorite two kissing scenes, so I'm just posting them both. Apparently I really like scenes where people OMGTOTALLYMAKEOUT in the rain. 







And if the Half-Blood Prince movie hadn't screwed it up, I'm sure this scene would have made my list too:

That was such a great moment. *Sigh*


Want more kisssing? Head on over to the official Mr. Linky list of blogs participating in the Kissing Day Blogfest and click away! Better yet, post some kisses on your blog and join the fun!

Sneak Peek!

Yesterday, I wrote 5,611 words in my NaNoWriMo novel. (If you don't know what that is by now, you haven't been paying attention.) It felt really great, even if I'm pretty sure all 5,611 of those words were terrible. I only have 44,389 words to go before I can consider NaNo won. Of course, that won't be the end of the novel. I'll still have to finish it (because I'm sure mine will be longer than 50,000 words), edit it, edit it again, let someone read it with a red pen in hand, edit it some more, hide it in a closet, cry at how terrible I am at writing and how I'll never amount to anything, recover, edit again, then forget all about this novel, write a new one in a more normal time span, edit that one, and send it out into the universe to take the publishing world by storm. Years later, this novel will be the one that is released as the genius first attempt at writing from the best-selling author that is me. (I aim high.)

But in the mean time, I thought it would be nice of me to share at least some of what I wrote, no matter how bad.

So, here it is...a raw, random sampling from my NaNo novel! I went to a random number generation site and had it choose a number between 1 and 120 (the number of paragraphs I have written). This is the paragraph it chose, and I decided to give you two paragraphs, just for fun. Again, this work is completely and totally unedited, so if it sucks, well...it's supposed to. Ernest Hemingway said, "The first draft of everything is crap." So true, Mr. Hemingway. So true.

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After the dispatchers have administered the poison, it is my job to leave the letter that will inform the family that their loved one has become deceased. Usually, the cleaners have already arrived to remove the body. For this, I am thankful. Once in awhile, I will get there first. The dispatchers are lazy and arrogant with their work – they almost always leave the body of the deceased exposed, limbs shriveled, eyes open in terror. It is terrible to stare into the eyes of the dead, but it is even worse to look at their families the next day at the market, knowing that you were the one who delivered the fateful register. They say the poison causes no pain, but the bodies I have seen never look peaceful. Often, there is a foul stench of bodily fluids and excrement.

But tonight, I am fortunate. Each bed I have visited so far has been cleaned thoroughly, leaving no indication that a living, breathing human slept soundly in it mere hours ago. I raise my forearm to a small black scanner on the outside of the last house on my list: the home inhabited by Edoqua, Joseth. The flashing red light on the scanner pauses momentarily, then, without a sound, turns green. The door opens, and I slip inside.