I’ve finally finished editing the final chapters Striking Balance. I have a few overall tweaks to complete and then the manuscript is off to my betas. Finally! Whew!

And, yes, I’m running behind in this post as a result.

Welcome to my 131st #Rainbowsnippets*. This one, as always, 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.

Striking Balance: The Peculiar Making of Beatrice Benjamin Sophia Scott Schnell Gow is a queer Historical Paranormal Fantasy set in, you guessed it, Appalachia. This Appalachia, however, is the frontier, and the story takes place during the Revolutionary War era and the time after, meaning the late 18th century. This explains the narrator’s voice. If you’ve read the letters and journals of the period, you’ll recognize it as reflective of those.

This week I’m picking up where I left off in Chapter One. The part in orange comes from last week’s post, “Got You Now.”

     Conall slows so I might keep pace. “What’d you say about me?”

     “I said you appreciate my cooking.” I center my cocked hat on my head. ‘Tis larger than I need, but ‘twas the best price when I obtained it… Free. It matters little who lost it, ‘tis a fine hat indeed, better than Conall’s truth be known.

     “‘Tis as if you stayed by your mother’s side long enough to learn proper cookin’.”

     “I’ve heard the great cooks in Europe, the ones who cook for King George, are men. And my father journeyed as a baker.”

Tiny History Lesson: A quick one this week because I’m so tired. Journeyed here means to work at a journeyman’s status. Ben’s father spent time as a journeyman baker.

I’ll have something better for you next week. Promise.

*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.