Rainbow Snippets*-- Games People Play

A break from Peppercorn this week. Instead, I thought I'd introduce everyone to Squirt, who took a while to warm up to our newest addition, but finally decided he can be fun to play with.

I like the "writing games" on Twitter where there's a theme word and we post a sentence or two from our work. It's fun to do a search, see if the word is there, (or if it's been overused!). I tend to use it as an editing tool. But it can be limiting. One, maybe two sentences out of context. This week's #FridayKiss was #beautiful. And here is my Tweet--in context! It does make for a longer snippet, however. 

From In From the Cold. Mick and Headphones are at Thirsties, the bar the group hangs out at: 

Mick hadn’t seen Headphones earlier, but he startled when he turned his head to find her standing next to him. “Holy shit, woman. You’re too quiet.”

Her smile was wide, showing the white of her teeth as she silently laughed at him. When he slid off his stool her smile relaxed but didn’t entirely disappear as she held out her hand. 

“What have you got?” he asked.

She unfolded her fingers slowly one at a time, revealing the contents as if it was a secret. Nestled in her palm was a joint--newly rolled paper, crisp and pristine. Beautiful in an ‘I-used-to-be-a-junkie’ sort of way.

“Where did you get that?” he growled.

Tilting her head sideways, she indicated a young man standing off to the side, intensely focused on them. He was too far away to hear their conversation, but he gave Mick a hopeful grin and took a step forward as if he’d been waiting for an invitation. But his momentum faltered when Mick stepped between him and Headphones, his glare turned over-protective. It only took the guy an uneasy moment to conclude that his company wasn’t wanted; he’d lost both the spliff and the girl, and he took a decided interest in the jukebox.

*Rainbow Snippets is a (Facebook) group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share snippets from a work of fiction–-a WIP or a finished work or even a book recommendation. If you're interested in following a diverse group of authors, check it out here.