HERE'S A PEEK...

I thought in this posting I would give you a little peek inside my 1st fiction novel that I have just completed. Bear in mind that the book is currently undergoing major editing work. My goal is to have it ready to pitch to agents/publishers by early summer. Please feel free to offer any comments and feedback that you may have. In the meantime, enjoy!

The deafening boom of the plane explosion jolted Carrie Thomas awake and rattled every window. She sat straight up in bed unsure of what was happening; breathing heavily as if she had been running. Her eyes darted around. Rain beat against the window above her. A flash of light swept over the room momentarily before vanishing into the darkness.

It took a moment for Carrie to get her bearings. Still groggy, she reached over and switched on the lamp on her bedside table. She rubbed her eyes and forehead. And then, jarring her as much as the thunder had;, came the realization that she had been dreaming about Brad again. “It was only a dream,” she said to herself, repeating it slowly in an effort to calm her racing heart.

After a few minutes, Carrie settled back down in her bed, leaving the bedside lamp on for comfort and rested her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep. Ever since the dreams started, even though she hated them, she equally despised waking up in the middle of one. No matter how hard she tried to induce sleep in the hopes of finishing her dream, it never worked.

The dreams had started some time back. She couldn’t exactly recall exactly when. At first, they occurred every so often. Then they became more frequent until they were part of her nightly slumber. The dreams weren’t fleeting in nature or ones she couldn’t remember. Each was vivid and stayed locked within her memory. Carrie had always heard the adage about such dreams being messages or signs of things to come. But she had never allowed herself to buy into that ridiculous notion. Until now.

As Carrie pondered that concept, panic again flooded her heart. After the most recent series of dreams about Brad, she reluctantly began to wonder what they were trying to tell her. Could it be? No, she thought. Don’t be silly. They were only dreams.

After lying in bed tossing and turning, Carrie decided sleep was not her friend. She looked at the clock. It was 2 a.m. She kicked off the covers, got up and headed to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

This had become her pattern on many nights. There was nothing worse than being awakened so abruptly and being cheated out of precious sleep. Of late, she wasn’t quite sure what it meant to get a good night’s rest. Sleeplessness did not bode well for someone who had to be up at 3 a.m.

Most nights, she could stumble around in the kitchen for a drink of water until she felt relaxed enough to sleep. Carrie uttered a soft curse as she realized that wouldn’t work this time. This particular dream about Brad had rattled her to the bone.