WeWriWa: Every Picture Doesn't Tell YOUR Story!

If you're like me, you develop a full 3D picture in your imagination of the characters you read about. And when that cover or movie treatment doesn't match up to what you've envisioned, you're incensed, to say the least! That's not MY hero! Who is this . . . this imposter? This poor substitute? So, in picking up where last week's excerpt from my to be rereleased Texas historical, TEMPTATION'S TRAIL, left off, picture our tired, desperate heroine's indignation in this 8-10 line tease.

"There's been some mistake," she murmured faintly as she started to rise, then his hand closed around her wrist, not in a painful or aggressive grasp, just a firm, controlling circle of rough, dry fingers that made her stiffened all over as he spoke, softly, with a steel-threaded quiet. 

"I've just ridden a hundred miles for the promise of pay. I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I'm tired, and right now I'm getting more than a little annoyed, so you just sit yourself back down." 

Dropping into the chair without so much as a whimper, Amanda wasn't cowed by the command, just properly cautious as she demanded, "Who are you and how did you get that letter I posted in care of the Texas Rangers." 

"They sent it to me," he drawled, one corner of his mouth crooking up wryly as he tapped a dirty forefinger on the cover of her dime novel, "cuz you wanted the heroic Harmon Bass bad enough to offer up a thousand dollars, and here I am to collect." 

She studied him candidly for a moment, the violent shock wearing off, returning her usual brash spirit as she said, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't plan to offer up that money to just anyone and if you could read, you'd know perfectly well that you are nothing like Harmon Bass." She sized up his insignificant appearance with a clear eye and a cool word, clarifying, "Why, you're too young, you don't carry a gun, you don't dress like any gentleman I've ever seen, you let yourself be pushed around by a stranger, and you're shor . . . not tall." 

"No, ma'am," he claimed calmly in the face of her fierce blush, "tall, I'm not, but I can read, and I can tell the difference betwixt fact and fiction, so if you were counting on some steely­eyed, quick-fingered fool like the one in that there book, and like our dear departed neighbor, then no, I'm not what you want. I'm no gun-handy hero, but in your letter you said you needed a tracker, and ma'am, I'm the best there is." He said that with a quiet modesty, as a piece of fact and not a point of bravado, but it still didn't convince her until he added, softer still, "And I need the money."

Sometimes what you wish for . . . isn't what you need. What word pictures were you particularly disappointed in when they became flesh? Or which hit the mark (Hello, Rhett Butler!)?

I can't WAIT to get back into this story full-time! But until then, I'm enjoying the PR build up for my current soon-to-be-released PRINCE OF FOOLS and especially, this first review snippet!

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

“5 Captivating Stars (or Hearts)! A stunningly raw, heart racing story that held me in a trance from cover to cover! Intense and seductive paranormal romance/suspense at its best – PRINCE OF FOOLS is another Page Burning, Must Read by an author that delivers every single time!” – Cross My Heart Reviews

I'm off again to recover from a looooong weekend and day after tending to son until he could get four wisdom teeth/molars extracted. Why is it always over a holiday weekend? Anyway, I'm at a three FULL day Write-In with a dozen author friends trying to get into the figurative saddle with my next WIP, PRINCE OF DREAMS. So far, so good!!

Happy September! And Happy Writing to my Warrior friends!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.