Six Sentence Sunday (March 25)

Jeez, people... This is the last SSS for March. Where's the year going? Happy Spring for you all, and thanks for visiting!

Taking up where we left off last week... Remember that "brown paper package tied up with string"? Sorry about putting that song into your head again :)

The paper crackled as I folded it back. There, nestled in sand, sat three small shells, delicate and intricate. 

“Michael, they’re beautiful! Where did you get them?”
“I found them,” he said, “and since I was thinking of you when I saw them, they’re yours.” 

Acapulco beaches are notoriously empty of shells--finding these must have taken some serious luck.

So there you have it--Michael's little offering. Cute or dud gift? What do you think? Are you the type to prefer to receive (or give) diamonds and gold, or would seashells melt your heart?

In any case, it's not all Michael brought back for Alexia :) See you back next week!

Thanks for your visit, and remember to visit the other Six Sundayers for more fun snippets. Have a great Sunday, y'all!

Six Sentence Sunday (March 18)

Another Six Sentence Sunday!

I'm skipping forward into Chapter 12, because I'm afraid after all this time you might have forgotten about Michael--the American that crash-landed into Alexia's life a few days ago, in the narrative timeline. He and the other American students spent the weekend in Acapulco, but Monday evening they're back.

He stopped just before we stepped outside. “I brought you something.”
He withdrew a little package from a pocket in his cargo pants. Brown paper tied with string.
"One of my favorite things," I said.
"Huh?"

Looks like he needs to brush up on his Sound of Music trivia :) Next week I'll do my best to choose six sentences that show Michael's gift.

Now--off we go, you and I, to visit the other Six Sentence Sundayers. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Six Sentence Sunday (March 11)

Yay! I'm back for SSS after a long hiatus. I missed you--did you miss me?

Had a blast at the San Francisco Writers' Conference (you can read more about it here), and learned a lot. The results include a superstar editor interested in helping me with the novel, as well as six agents that asked for samples. I'm waiting on the editor before sending stuff out--don't want to burn my chances, as all six are great GREAT choices for agents. We'll see :)

Let's pick up where we left off, shall we? Alexia is spending a Saturday afternoon at her boyfriend Dan's place, with his family. Caro is Dan's mom.

Caro was easy to talk to. During the seven years Dan and I had been together, his mother and I had built a comfortable friendship. She was easier to talk to than my mother, and I looked forward to the day we’d be officially related. Yes, I’d be one of those lucky wives that had no issues with the infamous mother-in-law. 

“You’re a little distracted today, m’ijita,” she said, her hand on mine. 

I smiled, trying for a lightness I didn’t feel. “Am I?"

Hope you liked it! Next week I'll share a bit more of this conversation that is so momentous (for Alexia), and then we'll move on to the next chapter. Thank you for your visit, especially for your comments, and I hope to see you here next week, too. Remember to visit the other Six Sundayers!

Happy weekend, everybody!

Six Sentence Sunday (Feb 12)

This might be my last SSS... sniff... for the month. Yeah, just the month. But it feels like withdrawal, man! I'm flying to SFO for a writer's conference this Tuesday, and my dushi boyfriend is meeting up with me after to stay for another week of sightseeing--he's never been, so we'll probably be doing all the touristy stuff--and shopping for BOOKS! Yes, we're both avid readers.

So--without further ado, another snippet from Restoring Experience, the novel I'll be pitching at the conference (for practice only--one can dream, of course, but every time I read through I find more stuff to add/take out, improve, tighten... You get the drift). You can read last week's post here, and previous SSSsnippets here.

“No, you’re holding it upside-down,” Dan said, laughing, and turned the picture back around. 

“What is this?” I pointed at the burner-vent thing. 

“That, Lexie, is a stove.” 

“What’s a stove doing in the bathroom?” 

“The bathroom is off the kitchen--see the doorway here,” he pointed, “and the bathroom is through there.”

Ah--poor Alexia. All those dreams of living the artist life in a loft with wooden floors and rafters, a view of "history crumbling at the street corners"--dashed against the reality of European bathrooms :D

Thanks for stopping by, everyone, and I promise to do better rounds this week--last week, what with shaping up the last five chapters of this novel and refining (yet again) the first five, I went dark. But I do appreciate your visit, especially your comments--every time one of them pops up in my inbox, I feel like we connected, somehow. And that feels great.

Remember to visit the other Six Sundayers, and happy Sunday, everyone!
G

Six Sentence Sunday (Feb 5)

February, people. The year is flyin', I tell you. This week flew by so fast I forgot to sign up for SSS until Thursday--oops :) If you scrolled down the list far enough to find me and make it here, thank you :)

We pick up where we left off last week--Alexia's looking at the pictures Dan, her boyfriend, is showing her of the apartment he found for them in Milan. It's been a long-standing dream of theirs to live there for a year or so while Dan works on a master's degree in graphic design. The excerpt is from my WIP, currently undergoing serious re-re-revision, RESTORING EXPERIENCE.

This was not the loft with high ceilings I’d pictured. It was bland, as impersonal as a hotel room and only slightly larger. The wallpaper looked crackly, old. Two tall and narrow windows let in subdued light. 

The third picture showed what looked like a bathroom, but I was probably holding it upside down. I turned it, but the objects refused to fall into a recognizable layout--something in a corner looked suspiciously like a stove burner, but it had to be a ceiling vent of some kind.

I promise next week we'll skip ahead to some action again :) Thanks again for the visit, and remember to visit the other Six Sundayers--excellent writing all over.

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday (Jan 29)

Welcome, Sixers! Thanks for stopping by--it's so good to see you all :)

We pick up where we left off: Alexia's boyfriend, Dan, is showing her some pictures of the apartment he found in Italy for them. It's not a permanent move--he's a graphic designer, and wants to get a Master's in Milan. Dan and Alexia have been dreaming of this a long time.

But these snapshots I held in my hand didn’t belong in the dream.  The first picture was taken outdoors, a 70’s cookie-cutter-style block of apartment buildings painted a faded brown. Could be yellow—it was hard to tell under the city grime. The area looked like a modern suburb; no haughty architecture, no history crumbling in the corners. No, only chain-link fences, meager vegetation and overcast skies. 

With a straight face I flipped to the next one, the interior of the apartment.

I do apologize--six sentences wasn't enough to show the inside. Next week!

Happy Sunday, everyone, and remember to visit the other Six Sundayers. Some awesome blogs to keep coming back to: Zee Monodee, Natalie R. Owens, Jen Burke, Monica Enderle Pierce, Cindy Dwyer, Siobhan Muir, Dan H. Kind, Sue at SassySpeaks, and many others!

Six Sentence Sunday (Jan 22)

Thanks for stopping by today--hope you're having a great Six Sentence Sunday!

Here's this week's snippet for you, a bit further down the same scene from last week, where Alexia and Dan, her 7-year-boyfriend, are talking about the apartment he found for them in Italy--the fulfillment of a long-standing dream is about to come true, and Alexia is surprised she doesn't feel more excited.

“I got some pictures of the apartment.”  Dan fished in his shirt pocket and produced some snapshots.  “Now, don’t be disappointed,” he said, holding them back as I reached to take them.  “It’s small, not even close to luxurious.” 

I laughed, trying to pry his fingers from the photos.  “Poverty is the mother of all art, right?"

Next week you'll get to "see" the photos through Alexia's eyes :)

Take a stroll over to the Six Sentence site for more authors and more snippets of great works. You'll find me for sure at Zee Monodee, Natalie R. Owens, Monica Enderle Pierce, Cindy Dwyer, Melissa Mackinnon, Siobhan Muir, Krystal Wade, and many others. Enjoy!

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday (Jan 15)

Middle of January already, people--where is the year going????  I do hope it's a great one for you so far.

Another Six Sentence snippet for you from Restoring Experience, the novel I'm planning to pitch at the San Francisco Writers' Conference next month.  You can read last week's snippet here, and previous SSS posts here.  Remember to visit the Six Sunday site for links to other participants--great writers there, and some have new releases, books you can actually read, all at once :)

With no further ado:

“Are you happy?”  He put an arm around my shoulders.
“I am.”
“About the apartment in Italy?”  The excitement that spilled into his voice was tinged with triumph.  He was proud of himself for finding this apartment.

Look forward to your comments and your own snippets :D Happy Sunday, everyone!

Six Sentence Sunday (Jan 7)

And... My first Six Sunday post of the year!  My apologies to everyone that dropped in last week and didn't find an SSS excerpt--somehow I programmed the post for February 1 instead of January 1.  I lay my head down at your feet, and beg forgiveness.  Please.

With that out of the way, I invite you to jump right into Alexia's story of loss and regret.  You can read previous excerpts here, and please remember to visit the other Six Sundayers.

We walked into the park, and when Dan’s hand took mine I flinched with guilt.  I should tell him.  And what exactly will you say, Alexia?  Dan I have a confession to make—I’ve been holding hands with someone else?  I’d done nothing wrong, really.  Still, the guilt didn’t subside, and I tightened my fingers around his.

Thank you for the visit, and do I hope you'll leave a comment--feedback is always appreciated, good or bad (yeah, I'm a masochist).  

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday (December 18)

Welcome to Six Sentence Sunday!  Hard to believe that next week it'll be Christmas already, but there you have it--2012 is done, ladies and gents.

This excerpt is from Chapter 8 of Restoring Experience, one of my current WIPs.  I promised you'd meet Dan, Alexia's boyfriend of seven years (yikes!) and... here he is.

“Come walk with me,” he said, shut the door behind him.

I tried not to fidget as I watched him come around to my side.  It was so stupid, having to wait inside the car for him to get the door for me, but all the men I knew insisted, and the hurt on their faces whenever I did it myself generated enough guilt to make me desist.   

I didn’t mind when he held a door open for me, or when he pulled out a chair for me at a restaurant--I liked it--but when it came to the car it made me fidget.  I felt helpless, locked in.  None of the other girls seemed to mind, and it never looked awkward with them--just with me.

Thank you so much for your visit, and triple thanks for your comments and feedback--they make my day, every time.  Plus, I really want to know what impression you got of Dan so far.

Have a fantastic Sunday, y'all, and remember to visit the other Six Sundayers--one day you'll see a new bestseller at your local bookstore and say, "Hey! I read a piece of that online, when it was just a work-in-progress, at Six Sentence Sunday!"

P.S.--I'm celebrating this weekend because a short story of mine was published Friday at Fiction365.  If you're in the mood for a creepy story about legends that won't stay *just* legends, take a hop over and read it here.  I'd love to hear what you think about that one too!

Six Sentence Sunday (December 11)

And... another Six Sentence Sunday!  This is the last excerpt I share from Chapter 7 of the WIP (Restoring Experience)--next week you'll meet Alexia's boyfriend.  I know you're all rooting for Michael here, but poor Dan also deserves a chance :)

Michael just tried to kiss Alexia before leaving for Acapulco, and she's outraged.  Now, she's a good Mexican girl who's been in a steady relationship for seven years, but...  I can't help thinking she's overreacting a bit.  What do you think?

“A kiss is not just a kiss.”  

What did he mean, ‘just a kiss’?  A kiss is—surrender.  Silver-screen romance ends in a kiss, princesses are woken from cursed slumber by a kiss, marriages and other worthy commitments are sealed with a kiss.  A kiss is acceptance of everything else to come.  It’s the beginning of…  well, everything.

Michael is a broad-minded guy and I'm sure he'd have been open to all sorts of reactions...  But I don't think he was expecting this one.

If you're getting tired of this story please do let me know--we'll switch to the new WIP, the NaNo novel, see how you like that one.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone, and remember to visit the other SSS participants this week.  Great talent there, and some awesome blogs to discover.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Six Sentence Sunday (December 4)

It's December already, people.  Where'd the year go?  Can't say it hasn't been productive--I quit my office job, writing full-time now, mortgage be damned--but it just went by so fast.

One of the nicest things, though, in this new writer life of mine, is the Six Sunday community.  There's a bit of everything, something for every taste.  And the people are fantastic.  Remember to stop by and visit some other SSS bloggers--make your Sunday special :)

And--back to Alexia and Michael, about to kiss in the language school lobby.  Enjoy!

A muscle in my neck, more sensible than I, contracted--my head twitched and his lips met only the tiniest portion of the corner of my mouth.  Disgusted at the unreasonable twinge of disappointment, I pushed hard at his chest and went for outrage. 

“What the hell was that?” 

Instead of exhibiting remorse, like any good Mexican boy would, his mouth opened into a big O.   

“Why’d you move away?”  

“Michael, you were going to kiss me!  What were you thinking?”

*Sigh*.  I was kind of hoping she'd let him kiss her.  But--there's a boyfriend involved.  A serious boyfriend, with whom she's about to move to Italy with on a graduate program.  And Michael...  Well, he's only here in Mexico for a few weeks.  The attraction's strong, but--is it worth it?  There's just too much to lose, isn't there?  

What would you do?  Take the fling?  Stay faithful to the boyfriend?  What does your decision hinge on?  What's more important, in the end?  The moment?  Or loyalty?

Six Sentence Sunday (November 27)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  I thought of you all last Thursday, you lucky people with big turkey dinners on your tables, surrounded by family and friends, eating pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing and cranberry sauce...  Oh, yum.  See, down here we don't celebrate Thanksgiving. And, man, I miss it.  So I hope you enjoyed it double--for me.

We're back to Alexia's and Michael's goodbye scene from Chapter 7 of Restoring Experience for another six of Six Sentence Sunday.  I skipped a couple paragraphs between last week's six and this, but I doubt you'll notice.

“Okay, Friend,”  Michael said, “can I get a kiss goodbye?” 

“Of course.” I took a step forward, stood on tiptoe to reach his cheek. 

He pressed his hand to the side of my face, tilting it up towards him, and suddenly his mouth was very close.   

Alexia, slap him, scream!  

But this was happening to someone else, this body wasn’t mine, because I couldn’t move it.

Alexia's in trouble, I think.  Her boyfriend is NOT going to be happy about this.  Hope to see you back next week to find out if Alex will give in or slap him in the best Mexican tradition :)

Remember to visit the other Six Sundayers--there are some fantastic writers in there, and it's well worth the blog hop.  Have a fantastic Sunday, everyone!

Six Sentence Sunday (November 20)

One more six-sentence snippet from Chapter 7 of the WIP (Restoring Experience), a novel about loss and the search for meaning to give that loss a sense of purpose.

Last week I posted but I forgot to link to Six Sentence Sunday--yeah, where's my head these days?  If you're interested, here's that snippet, and here's the one from the week before.

Just a quick refresher: Alexia and Michael, the two MCs, are in the language school lobby waiting for the bus that will take Michael and the rest of the American students to Acapulco.  Alexia, an English teacher and not involved with this group (they're studying Spanish), isn't going, but Michael has been trying to convince her otherwise.  He's even offered--oh-so-generously--to share his hotel room with her.

Enjoy!

“Please--stop.”  

He took a step back, but didn’t let go of my hand.  “It’s so strong,” he murmured. 

“What is?” 

“This.  I’m seriously considering not going to Acapulco.”  

His tone was light, but it sounded like it was only half a joke.

Look forward to your feedback (I looooove comments), and to reading the rest of the Six Sundayers.  Thanks for the visit, and happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday (November 13)

Welcome, Six-Sundayers!  Thanks for visiting Quiet Laughter today.  Today's six are the continuation of the conversation between Michael and Alexia from last week.  If you'd like a bit more backstory on this, you can find it here. 

“Of course,” I said without thinking.  “I mean,” I backtracked, “it would change the circumstances, but….” I trailed off with a shrug that was nothing if not lame.

“It would, huh?”  Michael pushed a flighty strand of hair behind my ear.

“Stop.”  I couldn’t step away, with my back already against the heavy wooden doorway.

Would love to hear what you think of this story so far.  I know most Six-Sundayers are romantic buffs, and this is not strictly a romance.  Still, your feedback is much appreciated :)

Remember to visit the other Six-Sundayers here--last I checked there were no less than 156 entries for this week!  Lots of new talent, probably, as well as the usual favorites.  

Have a wonderful Sunday!

P.S.--Just realized I forgot to link this post to the Six Sunday site... LOL!

Six Sentence Sunday (November 6)

First Six Sentence Sunday of November!  In spite of NaNo (I'm at around 10K there--yay!) I managed to remember to enter the link on time, unlike last week.  


Thank you for visiting Quiet Laughter, and I hope you enjoy this very brief excerpt from Chapter 7 of my WIP, Restoring Experience.  


This excerpt is a continuation of the scene I posted last week (click here if you missed it).

“I know, it’s dumb,” he laughed, “but I know I will.  Alexia, can I ask you something?”
“I don’t know, Michael.  Is it going to make me uncomfortable?”
“Probably.  If you didn’t have a boyfriend, would that change anything?”

Thanks again for your visit!  If you enjoyed this or if you have any ideas on how this could be improved, please leave a comment.  All feedback is most welcome, and I love hearing from you.

Remember to visit the other Six Sunday-ers--some awesome talent there, and a great way to discover follow-worthy bloggers.

Happy Sunday reading!

Six Sentence Sunday (Oct. 23)

And...  One more week of Six Sentence Sunday.  I'm getting into the habit, although it's still a challenge to PICK the six sentences I share.  I'm trying to keep linearity (is that even a word?) and continuity so that you "get" into the story, but at the same time I want to share the most interesting bits or the ones that I'm tweaking in order to get your feedback.  *Sigh*.  Choices, choices.

Six Sentence Sunday (Oct. 16)

So...  I'm back for Six Sunday.  Sorry for the hiatus.  I had a busy September...  Quit my day job (yes, to write...  How incredibly immature, right?), got a bout of bad bronchitis that I'm still recovering from, and basically rearranged my life.  But I feel good.  The novel is in its final stages of editing, so I hope to start querying before the end of the year.  Any feedback--comments, likes, dislikes, suggestions--is heartily welcomed and eagerly sought.

This week I'm sharing six sentences from the chapter following the last six sentences I posted.  The novel explores stretching cultural boundaries through a story of love and loss.  I hope you enjoy!

“I promise I’ll behave.  Didn’t I behave last night?”

He had.  Hand-holding wasn’t a crime, regardless of how guilty I felt about it.  It wasn’t about him behaving, though.  I might not be able to put it into words, but I knew I had to limit my exposure to Michael—things would happen otherwise, things I didn’t want to think about.

Please remember to visit the other Six Sunday-ers -- some awesome writers and stories in there!  I look forward to reading your work, and thanks for the visit.  Have an outstanding Sunday!

First Six Sentence Sunday of September

Yep, I've been away for far too long.  Good news is I've had a chance to work on my novel (Restoring Experience), and I have more six-sentence tidbits to share with you.  I hope you enjoy this one, from the end of Chapter 6.

When our whispering voices faded into the dripping remnants of the storm in the potted azalea bushes bordering the terrace, Michael reached again for my hand.  Relaxed, I hesitated an instant too long, and the unfamiliar contours of his fingers closed around mine.  My breath caught, a mixture of guilt and something that felt surprisingly like pleasure.  The chemistry between our skin was electric.  I may forget our conversations, or the exact color of his eyes, the texture of his hair.  But I will never forget that first touch.

Please remember to visit the other Six-Sunday Bloggers -- there are some awesome writers in there!

Six Sentence Sunday - The First Sunday of August

I'm back this week again...  This Six Sunday thing can so easily become an addiction :)  This week I'm sharing the very first six sentences of my WIP, a novel that doesn't have a title yet (or a genre, to tell the truth), but is going by "Open Circles, Burning Bridges".  If you like it, I'll share more every week.

He wasn’t supposed to come to Mexico that summer.  Cuernavaca, the three-million-inhabitant city just southwest of Mexico City that was home to me, was not as touristy as San Miguel de Allende or Taxco, but recently it was becoming a popular destination for language students.  He told me later that a friend of his, who’d been planning and saving for this three-week experiment to learn Spanish for months, had broken a leg hiking and had begged him to go in his place to salvage the deposit.  A freak accident, like the untimely flutter of butterfly wings that wreaks havoc in a distant hemisphere, and the life I cherished would crumple like wet clay in unskilled hands.   

“Alex, we’re ready to start.”  Jorge, the principal of the school where I taught, popped his head into the faculty room where I was working on my lesson plans.

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to visit the other entries at the Six Sentence Sunday site!  Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!