Two for Tuesday: Tiny Teaser and Some Tunes
I haven’t been playing along with Teaser Tuesday in the past few weeks–too busy with queries and edits to get any real writing done. But a new project has been floating around on the back of my mind. I need to do some prewriting for it; this one is going to necessitate much more planning than any previous project. But one of my narrators was begging me to jump in last night, so I sat down and banged out an opening passage. Richie, take it away:
1 – Richie
It was the summer everything was fucked.
Like our cell phones, and the wifi. On the news they kept saying that it had something to do with solar flares. It was a hot kind of summer, rainless and blistering even in June, and after the sun went down I could almost see them—crimson tongues of the sun, searing out in curling waves into the black, black night, and I could almost believe it was true when I shouted into the phone, “No! Wait! Don’t!” and my own voice and a rush of static echoed back to me, and then a stuttered pause, and then Aadi, through laughter, said: “What? What? I can’t hear you! I’m coming over!”
And then I threw the phone down, and it bounced against my wallpaper, the stupid teddy bears in their baseball uniforms. And I got up and went to get dressed, feeling nauseous at the thought of it, at the thought of Aadi, of his soft lips and onyx hair.
Because I’d been having dreams for weeks. The kind you’re not supposed to have about your best friend. About Aadi. About his hands falling against my neck. About the way he looked in his boxer shorts, the lean line of his hips veering out of the elastic. About how it would feel when I crushed my chest against his.
Like I said, it was the summer everything was fucked.
I also came up with a little Seas Run Dry playlist this afternoon–it’s a summer soundtrack of music I love. Only a few of the songs are referenced even obliquely in the text, but I think it captures the mood of the book nicely. I’ll be up on the book’s page shortly, but I share it with you now, to get you in a summer mood before August ends.
Phoebe
Phoebe is a 20-something writer who lives in New York State with her husband and cat. She is a dork, not a geek or a nerd.
Her debut novel, Starglass, will be released from Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers in Summer 2013.
11 comments
It was the summer everything was fucked.
That might be the best opening line ever.
Also I initially had a problem with describing a month as 'rainless', but actually it works really well – much more evocative than just saying 'dry'.
Thanks, Sean! Glad this worked for you.
Great opener
Thank you, Sage!
Looooooooooooooooooooooove this. I read the fourth paragraph nice and slow.
Hehe, when I posted this, I thought "I bet Jaimie will love the m/m action!"
Oh, I love the fourth paragraph too!!
Thanks, ChristaCarol!
Wow, you have me hooked! The voice in this is great, and it creates so much intrigue. I'd definitely read on
How about changing the first line to: It was the summer everything was GAY.
Bahaha.