Teen Angst

Breaking up is hard to do, even when you're a teenager stuck in a national forest with no real social life. The scene was cut because it slowed down the action in Perilous. Now this particular confrontation between Jaci and Ricky happens in Altercation. But I loved the emotional tension between them in this scene. Just have to share it.

Chapter 25

Jaci worked on the fish in silence, using a flat rock as a table and another as a knife.

“Hey.”

She glanced up briefly to see Ricky approaching. Leaving the raw fish on the stone, Jaci flattened herself on the river bank to wash her hands in the running water. “Yes?” She fought to keep her tone neutral.

“Now that we’re with your friends, you’re just going to ignore me?”

“I’m not ignoring you.” She stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans, which were already caked with mud anyway. “I don’t want to cause any problems.” She needed to get away from him.

He stopped her as she started past, grabbing her forearm. “I just spent three days with you. Now it’s like I don’t know you.”

Jaci kept her eyes on the ground. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Did I imagine it? I thought we connected back there.”

Jaci’s head shot up. Anger flashed through her, anger that he dared insinuate a stronger link between them. “I don’t know how we can connect, Ricky. You always pull something like this.”

His brows knit together. “Like what?" 

Did he think she hadn't seen him with Amanda? “You know what I'm talking about.” Her face burned as the words slipped out of her mouth. Just saying it implied that she cared, and she so didn't want him to think that.

“You mean Amanda? We went on a walk, that’s all.”

Right. She knew all about his walks. “Did you kiss her?”

“Uh, what?” he said, face flushing.

Why did she have to be right? “You did.”

“No! No, I didn’t. Your question surprised me. Why would you ask that?"

What could she say? She couldn't exactly admit to spying on him.

He answered for her. "You knew we kissed before.”

That about summed it up. “Yeah.”

He let go of her arm. “Sorry.”

Her throat ached. “That’s okay, Ricky. I won’t come between you.” She started past him again.

“She’s not the one I want, Jaci.” His voice made her stop. “I was stupid. I’m a guy.”

She turned around. “I’m not the one you want either, Ricky. So let’s just keep our distance here.”

Hope for Joplin

For my Joplin book, that is.

Things are looking good. I had a publisher request the first chapter. The first chapter was the hardest for me because I had to set up these seven women and somehow establish them as different people, with different personalities, when all they are doing is waking up and eating breakfast. And nothing exciting happens.

It was good enough. The same publisher then asked for a second chapter, but not chapter 2. This time they wanted a chapter from when the tornado hit.

I sent that, and I'm excited. I'm hopeful. Another publisher has asked for the full, which I'm busily reading through and checking over and hope to have off soon. Or not. The holidays are upon us, so we'll see.

I had the opportunity to meet with one of the women I interviewed, and it was a very personal, moving experience for me. I really want this project to succeed.

I'll keep you posted!

Defining the Relationship

In this scene, Jaci and Ricky try to figure out how their feelings for each other fit into their lives. They've been alone together for several days now.

Chapter 25:  What's up with us?

Jaci was up before Ricky in the morning. She went and sat by what was left of the coals from their fire the night before. She felt blindsided, caught off-guard. Who knew she’d be spending days alone with a boy who made her heart jump?

A sound behind her made her turn. Ricky gave her a smile and sat down cross-legged next to her, his knee bumping her leg. “You look deep in thought.”

She exhaled. “Yeah.” She cocked her head to look at him. He stared up at the sky, his mind apparently drifting also. “What are you thinking?” 

He blinked and gave her a quick grin. “If I have to be stuck with someone, at least it’s you.”

The comment irked her. “Whatever, Ricky.” She stood and started down the river bank.

He caught up with her. For awhile the only sound was him tearing apart a branch. “You’re hard to read, Jaci.”

She arched an eyebrow. Did he think he was easy? “I’ll take that as a compliment.” What about him and Amanda? What did he really think about Jaci? “Amanda really likes you.”

He grunted. “Of course she does. What’s not to like?”

"And?"

"And what?" 

Did he have to make everything so difficult? “And do you like her?”

He glanced at her. “Hey, I told you already. She created the whole thing between us. It's not real."

“And you haven’t given her any reason to believe it is?”

Something flickered in his hazel eyes. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. “Um. No.”

Every word he said just made her angrier. Jaci stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want out of life, Ricky?”

He tossed the branch into the swirling water and stared at it. “I want to live it. I'm tired of other people's expectations. No one should make decisions for me.”

He had a seriousness about him that reminded her of Neal. “Is that what you think’s been happening?”

He heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Let’s keep walking.”

Jaci arched an eyebrow. More intrigue. “Okay.”

Ricky tapped her knuckles with his finger, then interlaced her fingers with his. Jaci tried to pull her hand back, but he squeezed tighter.

"Why won’t you let me hold your hand?”

Jaci's face burned. "You might get ideas." Like you did with Amanda. "I'm not that kind of girl." 

His eyes roved over her face. “You think holding hands is bad?”

She smirked. “No. There’s nothing wrong with holding hands, per se. But it leads to something more.”

“Like kissing?”

She fanned her face with her free hand. “Yes.”

“And kissing’s bad.”

“No, no, no.” She kept her eyes straight, afraid he’d read her thoughts. “But it’s special. I don’t want to kiss just anyone.” She risked a glance at him, but his face was blank.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Jaci frowned. “Is that all you have to say?”

He shrugged. “Hey, it’s new info. I’m just thinking.” He looked down at his hand, intertwined with hers. “Is this okay?”

Yes! “Um.” She forced the words out. “No, not really.” 

Ricky dropped her hand. “All right. I get it. You’re saving your hand-holding for someone…special.”

Ouch. Jaci stared ahead, not sure how to respond. 

Just released!

Just released!!

Do you love a great suspense novel 
with a dash of romance?

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Here's the teaser-

A spy school.

A choice.

A destiny discovered.

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A few fun facts about Cindy
Any pets? I have a long-haired calico that is so fun to watch.
Most desired destination-Swiss Alps
Favorite type of food- hmm. Probably mexican. I love cheese.
Last books you read-Daughter of Smoke and Bone- Laini Taylor
                                     How to Date an Alien-Magan Vernon
                                     Become-Ali Cross


Want more information? Stalk Cindy in all these places (just click on the place and you'll go there)
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
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Confusing Emotions

Most of this scene made it into Perilous, but with some major changes. Originally I had the romance between Jaci and Ricky unfolding in the first book. We ended up pushing it back to the second book, but some of these scenes I think could still nicely fit in, giving character insight and development without making it seem like a romance instead of a thriller.

Chapter 24: Lost on the wrong side of the river

Ricky broke off a branch and tossed it into the water below. They both watched it disappear in the current, pop up again, and disappear for good.

“We don’t have any choice but to go back."

 Jaci swallowed hard, tears threatening for the umpteenth time that day. "Okay," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. 

"Come on." Ricky's fingers grazed her sleeve. "Rest here a moment. I’m gonna teach myself to fish.”

He winked at her, and she gave him a weary smile before plopping herself down beside the river. She watched him run back, dodging branches and jumping over rocks. He was different when it was just the two of them. He didn’t act all cocky and full of himself. Well, maybe a little.

And he kept touching her, brushing her arm, pulling on her shirt, yanking her ponytail. If she didn’t know about him and Amanda, she’d actually think he liked her.

She moved to a spot where she could reach the water. She’d rinsed the mud from her face and arms quickly that morning, but now she had time to clean more thoroughly. She glanced down at her muddy sweater and hesitated. Casting a quick look over her shoulder, she yanked it off and swished it in the water. She was so anxious to get it back on that she didn’t even bother rinsing it, just pulled it back over her head.

Her mind flashed back to the crush she’d had on Toby last year. He’d been so mean to her. Nearly every day Callie met her in the bathroom, helping her wash her face after a crying spell. She’d have given anything for him to treat her like Ricky was.

The thought of Callie made her heart ache. She sank into the dirt and dropped her head onto her knees, rocking back and forth.

It's Fixing to Rain

For my senior trip, my parents took me to Washington DC for a week. One thing I had a really crazy knack for was finding a dating buddy everywhere we went. It shouldn't have been a big surprise, then, that the receptionist in our hotel lobby decided to hook me up with the son of a friend of hers.

I was 18 and fresh out of high school in Arkansas, and he was 20-something, in college, and a DC native. Very chique. We met and he gave me his number (I didn't exactly know my hotel number), and we made plans for me to call that evening after my mom and I did some sight-seeing.

DC is amazing and full of lots of things to do. Time passed quickly and my mom said, "Isn't it time to call him?"

I'd almost forgotten, but I hurried to a payphone (that's how we did it back then) and dialed his number. I invited him to join us at the capitol and walk around a bit.

"Well, it looks like rain," he said. "I think it's better if I pick you up and we go somewhere."

I said sure and gave him a location and then went back to my mom.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He said it's fixing to rain and he'll pick me up," I replied.

"It's fixing to rain?" she echoed. "He did not say that."

"Yes, he did," I said, annoyed that she would question me. "He's going to pick me up because it's fixing to rain."

Laughing, she said, "There's no way he said it's fixing to rain."

"Mother," I said, frustrated now, "if you'll go outside, you'll see what he means. It's all cloudy out there."

Shaking her head, she said, "There's no way on earth he said 'fixing to.'"

And then I got what she meant. And I realized that of course he hadn't said 'fixing to.' That had been my own Arkansas translation. Once I got that, I laughed right along with her.

"Fixing to" last about a month, at the longest, in my college slang before my Californian roommate laughed me out of the dorm after I used it. I made a very very conscious effort to remove the term from my dictionary. Which is rather unfortunate. It would be nice to be able to drop a "fixing to" here or there without feeling like everyone is staring at me.

Welcome to hickville.

Authorgraph

Have you heard of this? I hadn't until recently, so perhaps you haven't either. It's simply awesome. It's a way for you to get authors to autograph your copies of their ebooks!

How neat is that? It's completely free, and it doesn't matter what device you're reading on. And it's one more way to let an author know, you read their book and you want to connect, at least enough to get an autograph.

Here's the site! Not every author is on there, so if you have an author friend, or are an author, tell them/yourself to get added! Here's a link to my authorgraph site.

Have fun finding authors and collecting autographs! It's like one giant cyber book signing!