Friday, May 27, 2011

Change Is Good?

Blogger has been frustrating me for several days. It seems to have developed an issue that's causing it to think that I'm always logged out, so it won't let me leave comments on some blogs. I decided I'd had just about enough when I realized that I couldn't respond to comments on MY OWN BLOG! What the heck? So I made some changes to the way comments are left on my blog. See, I'm hoping that it's the issue with blogger that is the reason I've had so few comments this week. Because, well, the other option is that it's just me. heh
So, yeah... if you've been having issues leaving comments, that should be fixed, now. I hope.

Change number two:
You may notice a new tabby thing up top. The new tab is the first chapter of the sequel to The House on the Corner. As you may also notice, it's called Brother's Keeper. I'm not certain that that is the title that will stick, but it's what I'm going with at the moment. I'd love comments on it. Of course, it's possible that it could be slightly disorienting if you haven't read House, yet. Then, again, maybe after reading it, you'll want to read House just so you'll know what's going on. Right? Right!

Change number three:
Well, okay, I'm not sure if this is exactly a change or not, but it's definitely a progression. I decided to hop in on a blogfest. My first. Yes, thank you. Thank you. I'm still not sure what I think about these things, but, for this one, I figured what the heck? Right. So it's the Power of Tension blogfest:
Here are the links to the hosts: Cally Jackson and Rachel Morgan. As you can see, today is the last day to enter. The scene I'm presenting is from The House on the Corner. It's fairly early on in the book, so you don't really need to worry about spoilers. I hope you enjoy it.


I guessed that must be the light, but I had never seen anything like it before. It made me want to try the lights or wake someone up to ask questions, but I knew if I did that, I wouldn’t get to explore on my own.

I decided, instead of opening any new doors, I would just use the one that was open. The one that led to the stairs. I stepped into the hallway and around the open door, pushing it almost closed. I didn’t want it to make any noise, so I didn’t close it all the way.

As I turned toward the staircase, a chill washed over me, and goosebumps broke out all over my arms. To the right of the staircase going up was another going down. The stairs started out wooden, just like the stairs going up, but, then, they turned to stone. The stairs just kept going and going down into the earth. Why was there a tunnel going underground in our house? I could feel the cold, damp coming up out of the tunnel and what felt like a long sigh. Without wanting to, I stepped down the first step. And, then, the next.

There was a low moan from the dark, and my heart started beating faster. My skin chilled as I broke out in a sweat. I didn't want to go down there, but I took another step anyway. I could almost feel the darkness on my skin as I took another step down. And another. And...


12 comments:

  1. I like the scene, good work.

    I see this comment type of box on other sites too. I'm not too keen on it, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to comment. I like that you tinker around with things. I've made a few changes to my blog a time or two, and probably will again pretty soon.

    Blogger is frustrating to work with though, at least it is for me. So you'll get lots of sympathy from me.

    And finally, I like the new title, if it's going to be a Kindle offering, I'm told shorter titles mean more size for each letter on the cover. Apparently, those beautiful, oil painting like book covers with nice, long titles and blurbs all over them don't look so well as a thumbnail.

    But Brother's Keeper is short, and suggests just enough to make me want to read more. So, well done. I think titles are really hard.

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  2. I can leave comments now....it was driving me crazy that I couldn't comment and apparently the same thing was happening on my blog a little bit ago because I got a couple of emails from people so I had to change it to this format....anyway I love the chapter and I like the title....I really enjoy your writing style. Good luck on your first blog hop.

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  3. I'm an avid Ghost Adventures watcher...immediately reminded me of some of the tension that builds up in a paranormal scene.

    Good job!

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  4. That was great writing! It definitely makes me want to read more! :)

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  5. LOL! Welcome to your first blogfest. I'm usually a spur-of-the-moment joiner-inner. They're fun but they do take up a lot of time.

    As to the excerpt, good stuff. There must be something scary down there, and the tension is in knowing that the MC shouldn't go there, but watching them do it anyway.

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  6. Rusty: Yeah, I'm not big on this type of comment box, either, but it was the one I knew would allow people to leave comments, so I went with it. Blogger is frustrating for me, too. Fiddling with any techy stuff is, actually. Part of me thinks I should take the time to learn all how to use all this stuff, but, then, that would take time out of writing, so I never feel like it's worth it.

    Yes, it will, eventually, be a Kindle offering. I just have to finish it. I do like the title. And names are hard. In fact, I will probably be doing a post along that theme sometime soon(ish).

    Jennifer: I'm glad you can comment again! It is very frustrating to want to say something and not be able to do it. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter :)

    And thank you, everyone, for the praise. That always feels good. I'll actually post a bit more around that scene a bit later in the week.

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  7. Nice writing. I like the mystery of it, with the light and the staircase. Lovely.

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  8. Ooh, this is creepy. I knew people who found secret parts of their really old house - so awesome!

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  9. Ooh, how creepily mysterious!

    Thanks for entering :-)

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  10. I love a good, creepy mystery - nicely done!

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  11. Definitely tense... and provocative! I'd sure like to know what's going on under that house!

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  12. Rachel: Thanks for hosting the contest!

    General comment: I'll post the full scene so y'all can see what's just before it and just after it. Probably on Friday. Be on the look out.

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