#WIPpet Wednesday - To Be Sure (Oh, Brother) #amwriting #lgbtqia
WIPpet numbers for 7th June, 2017:
(6+7) x 20 + (1+7) = 268 words from To Be Sure
WIPpet Context:
Another snippet from To Be Sure, which continues directly from last week’s snippet. This is from the first chapter of my story for SAGA: an anthology of stories featuring older LGBT+ characters (out later this year, from Beaten Track Publishing).
The main character is Saorla (seer-la) Tierney, a seventy-year-old woman from Derry in the North of Ireland. For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, she’s Sean’s mum. Finn is Sean’s older brother. In last week’s snippet, Sean asked—and then double-checked—to see if his mum wanted to share a twin or a double hotel room with her friend Aileen on their upcoming trip.
* * * * *
“Yes, Sean, I’m quite sure.”
“Or you can have my place for the weekend and I’ll stay in the hotel. How about that?”
“Don’t be daft. I’ll be needing to keep an eye on your brother, anyway. So, I’ll let you get on. When—”
Sean cut her off. “Hold on. Finn’s coming?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“Did he f—”
“Now then…”
Sean’s angry huff made the line crackle. “No, he didn’t tell me. When would he?”
“You know, if you spoke to each other from time to time…” Saorla said, pointless as ever it was, which was why she’d left mentioning Finn’s intentions until the end of their call.
“I invited him to the baptism, didn’t I?” Sean argued.
“Yes, darlin’, you did.”
“Then the ball’s in his court.”
“And he’s coming.”
“So?”
There was no ‘so’, but Sean’s voice had taken on that deep, gruff defensiveness she remembered not so fondly from his—and Finn’s—teens. “The two of you can spend some quality time together on neutral ground.”
“Neutral? Here? He won’t see it that way, will he? I’m not sure I do, to be quite honest.”
“So to speak. It’s not here, that’s what I mean.”
“Aye, true enough,” Sean relented and was quiet a moment further while he absorbed the news. “Do I need to book a room for him as well?”
“I’d say so. He’s bringing Erin along…”
“More like she’s bringing him.”
She ignored his nit-picking. “They’re making a holiday of it. Finn’s never been to England, as you know.”
“If only he’d had somewhere to stay…” Sean muttered sarcastically.
* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Witt - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404
Thanks for reading
Deb x
Ooh, I sense trouble brewing. As a parent myself, I can imagine what else Saorla's not saying.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to ask...I already knew how to say her name, but how are you pronouncing Aileen here? With an a-sound or an i-sound? In the US, it's usually an a-sound, but our minister says it the other way.
Yes, I'm not sure how amicable these Tierney chaps can be...although maybe there's something to being united by a common cause...
DeleteAileen is pronounced with an a-sound, whereas the i-sound version would usually be Eileen. I suppose I should say 'in this case'.
Ah, okay. That's how it usually is here too, but every now and again someone decides to be clever and reverse the two.
DeleteGuess I'll just have to wait and see whether or not the brothers can peacefully coexist. :)
Ah, family drama. I do so love reading it. Great snippet
ReplyDelete