Welcome to my segment of Sneak Peek Sunday, where various authors share six paragraphs from either a published work or a work in progress. Just enough to entertain, to entice, to spark your curiosity.
Today I'm sharing from my historical novella set in a fictional town of Cicero Creek, Wyoming Territory, shortly after the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. A MAN FOR ANNALEE is a "sweet" romance with a feisty heroine and a hero who finds her both comical and annoying.
Here's my six. The opening scene of the book that literally starts with a bang...
Gunfire jarred Annalee Gallagher.
She straightened in her seat, her heart pounding. Another bullet zinged past
the stagecoach, and the older couple sitting across from her gasped in unison.
Heaven help her, she’d escaped one nightmare only to find herself in the middle
of another.
The broad-shouldered man who’d
been drowsing against her jerked upright and drew a pistol from his holster in
a blur so fast Annalee wondered if he hadn’t been holding it all along.
He fired six shots out the window
before leaning back to reload. “Think I winged one.” Was he speaking to himself
in affirmation or bragging to the occupants of the stagecoach?
One thing for sure, though,
Annalee wanted a look at the gunmen. Did they resemble the criminals in her dime
novels? She slowly leaned toward the open window next to her. Surely one peek
wouldn’t hurt. Thus far her journey from Chicago to Cicero Creek, Wyoming
Territory had been blessedly uneventful. She’d met none of the miscreants and
bloodthirsty Indians written about in her books, so the thrill of living
through a stagecoach robbery, like those in stories she’d read, warred with her
sense of self-preservation.
If she’d had her wits about her,
she’d be afraid, or so she told herself as she glanced out of the window, hoping
to see the highwaymen. With her mind and heart so absorbed with grief this past
week, this incident, no matter how perilous, was a welcome respite.
The gunmen were out of her line
of vision, but the pounding of their horses’ hooves grew closer. More shots
rang out. The stagecoach driver cracked his whip and bellowed an order to the
team of horses. “Hi-ya! Go! Go!” The
stage swayed precariously as it accelerated over the bumpy road. Gritty dust
blew into the coach with such force the air seemed alive with it.
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SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
1 comment:
Enjoyed your six, Vonnie! I'd want to peek out of the coach too. I'd want to know what was coming at me. LOL! Now, I need to know what happens next. :)
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