More from Sum of the Whole this week, my first novel and the beginning of a series I had not planned to write. I like to call Rowan House my accidental series because I didn’t intend for it to be a series but secondary characters sometimes demand their stories be told. My only regret is not starting a series bible sooner. I have started one now as I’m fairly certain the series which stands at three books now (Sum of the Whole, Both Ends of the Whip, and Knotted Legacy (September 2018) will be six books in total. Today’s snip is a bitter moment between Sarah and Jaya.
From Sum of the Whole:
Sarah walked over to Jaya and reached up to touch her face. “It’s not because I don’t care for you.” She pulled the number tag from her collar and dropped it in Jaya’s palm. Jaya looked down at the small disc in her hand and found no words for the gift she had been given or the pain that wrapped itself around her heart and refused to let go.
“I’ll stay with you tonight if it pleases you.” Sarah’s fingers rested on Jaya’s chest.
“It pleases me.” Jaya closed her fingers around Sarah’s tag, letting the hard edges dig into her palm. The familiar pain of loss filled her. She let Sarah lead her to the bed and pull her down. Sarah settled Jaya’s head on her chest and carded her fingers through Jaya’s hair. The silence between them deepened, heavy with unspoken thoughts and whispers of shattered love.
Jaya stayed awake after Sarah had drifted off to sleep, savoring the feel of her body against her and memorizing the way her breath puffed out against her skin and the quiet noises she made in her sleep. She eased out of the bed and crept to her dressing table, where she pulled a small cedar box from its hiding place. She opened the lid and dropped Sarah’s shiny brass tag next to Deidre’s tag, blue-green now with the patina of time. She ran her fingers over the tags and closed the lid on her pain as she shuttered her heart.
Rainbow Snippets( https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/)is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).
In this group, you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag.
Brenda Murphy writes short fiction and novels. She loves tattoos and sideshows and yes, those are her monkeys. When she is not loitering at her local tea shop and writing, she wrangles two kids, one dog, and an unrepentant parrot. She reviews books, blogs about life as a writer with ADHD and publishes photographs on her blog Writing While Distracted . You can find her on Facebook by clicking here.
Website: www.brendalmurphy.com
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Wow! That is beautiful and so bittersweet. Thank you for sharing. Be well and Happy Writing!
Oh my, that sure tugged at the heartstrings. I want to know the story behind this.
Sensuous and sweet in every detail. (heart)
The pain and sorrow are palpable in this scene.
Loved that line ‘whispers of shattered love.’
Lovely and sad at the same time. ♡
That was an intriguing snip. And strangely painful, even though I don’t know the significance of the tags just yet.