Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.
I’m sharing again from Cleaning House. The novel is an Appalachian-set Contemporary/ Paranormal Fantasy where the past and the present are blended with a healthy dose of granny magic. The mountains are alive, and a little moonshine can cure what ails you.
My blog tour is full (YAY!) and I’m creating tour posts for the stops while I work on the sequel and do some editing for someone else. My dance card’s filled for the next few months, and I like it. But I work better with music, so, at the moment, I’m listening to Shinedown’s “Human Radio.” I’m thrilled by the new song and plan to purchase their newest release Attention Attention later this week.
On to this week’s snippet…
The setup: Cent’s still talking things over with Aunt Tess. Leaving what was supposed to be your dream is never easy, so Cent’s struggling with the idea.
[Tess] “We all know you ain’t got it easy up there so why not come home for a spell? I won’t charge you no rent. You can eat from my pantry and garden and drive my pickup. Everyone says I shouldn’t be driving anyway. And Mister Jones said he’ll give you some work— cash money paid weekly that you won’t have to use for that dump you’re living in.”
“How do you know—”
“I taught her how to use Google maps!” Aubrey chirped in the background. “Your neighborhood’s crap!”
He would. Cent ran her hand down her face a second time as she looked around her apartment in the growing twilight. “I don’t know. Really. Things will straighten out here sooner or—” She cursed under her breath when she flipped the living room light switch. The electricity. The lease’s all-utilities-paid clause didn’t necessarily mean that the electricity always stayed on, only that it would eventually be paid. “Give me a day or two to think about it, okay?”
What would you decide? Would you go back to a place where you’re loved but your identity isn’t always embraced, or would you stay where you’re at and hope for the best? Cent does have friends in North Chicago, but she’s down one of her part-time jobs and isn’t certain how she’s going to pay her rent next month. Tough choices, to paraphrase a Disney villainess. Life’s full of them, innit it?
Ready to read more from Cleaning House? You can do so HERE and/or pre-order the ebook version HERE or at other online book retailers. There’s a link to the print version on the same page if you’d druther.
*RainbowSnippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!
Sweet scene! Cent’s family seems like a lot of fun. It sounds like Cent could use a change at that point.
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Thanks. Yeah, Cent can use the change, I think but as much as she loves Tess and Aubrey, she’s afraid of sliding into the way things were, afraid she won’t be able to be herself. Fear makes any sort of change difficult.
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For me, the choice would be a hard one, but I couldn’t live somewhere I can’t be me so I would only return if the only alternative was the streets. I’d keep on fighting to the end. Cent is a tough lady. Hopefully, if she does return home it will be on her terms and she will keep true to herself
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Cent’s not one to give up, but she’s never faced a decision like this before and then there’s Aunt Tess, who’s been a mother figure to her. And really, I did come back home to the mountains but not because of the choices Cent’s facing. Family, yes, my family is here, but a job and such… my reasons were school and my children. Being who I really am came a bit later when I figured that out for myself.
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I love Aunt Tess more every week. Can she adopt me? (And I love that Aubrey taught her to use Google maps. LOL!)
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I think Tess would adopt most anyone who wanted her to. She’s one of those comfortable, accepting, just be a good human, and I’ll claim you as mine sorts.
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Tough decision. Not sure what I’d do.
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It is a difficult one at that.
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Take the offer, Cent. It has to better than what you have. Nice snippet.
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LOL. Yeah, Cent’s got it bad right now, but she does have one good friend in North Chicago. That’s part of her reluctance. Thanks for reading!
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Wow! That is a tough choice. Well done. Thank you for sharing, as always, and Happy Writing!
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Thanks.
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Loved the bit about Google maps! And yes, quite a dilemma. 🙂
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Thanks. Yeah, Cent’s got a problem, but Aubrey’s simply fun.
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That’s a tricky one. Depends whether Cent’s more comfortable relying on friends or on family. And right then, it seems that it’s the family giving her another option.
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Most of her friends are in a similar spot, so it might well be a matter of taking a leap of faith. We’ll see.
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Google maps – love it! This was brilliantly done – thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Thanks! Aubrey’s a great character to write.
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I like Tess more and more. That’s a tough choice for Cent, though.
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Yeah it is a hard one. We’ve all been there. Perhaps not that particular choice, but we’ve all faced such life-changing decisions.
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