Wednesday, July 15, 2009

WIP Wednesday...It's still Wednesday, Right?

Okay, I'm up to my eyeballs in paint (trimming the house...thank God for bricks), so this will be a quick update.

I'm just shy of 17K in Loathsome Dark and Deep and just penned the end of the first act. I have some details to add, and I suspect act one will land around 20K, act two closer to 30, and the final, "run-like-hell" act (that would be number three) to clock in at 10-15K. Yes, this only makes a 60-65K novel.

Sue me.

In today's snippet, as they motor up the Lewis River, our heroes find what they think is a corpse nailed to the remains of a totem pole. Enjoy!

All hands fell silent, and the only noise came from the constant slap of water against wood, the low puff of our engines at idle, and the clucking of a pair of ravens on the body—clearly that of a large man. The black carrion birds pulled at strips of flesh from the man’s face and exposed neck.

His arm flinched.

“Jesus God, he’s alive,” Silas whispered. Metal and wood clicked to his shoulder; I didn’t have to look—he aimed for the poor soul writhing in pain atop the pole. The Winchester barked, the ravens flapped to the sky, and we all stared in silence as our boats slowly held the curve in the Lewis, slipping away from the grizzly totem.

13 comments:

Fox Lee said...

Well done!

Cate Gardner said...

Fantastic. Keep it up. :)

Alan W. Davidson said...

Great work, Aaron. That goes back to the last post on atmosphere. You set it up well with that scene.

Jamie Eyberg said...

That is grizzly.

Aaron Polson said...

...grizzly...yeah, I should include some bears. How about zombie bears? Would that be too much schlock?

Katey said...

I'm with Alan-- that's soggy with atmosphere! That first sentence just grabbed me by the throat and pulled me right into it. Really appeals to sensation and then... er, well, blasts me with a Winchester. :D

Steven J. Dines said...

Keep it up, Aaron. I reckon I will join the WIP Wednesday clan, if no one objects.

Corinne said...

Restrained, atmospheric, gorgeous! I love it :)

K.C. Shaw said...

Awesome snippet! It really makes me want to read more.

Benjamin Solah said...

I like it!

Aaron Polson said...

Katey - love the word "soggy".

Steven - please do, it is a bit of a motivator.

Thanks, Cory.

Oh, K.C., are you sure? It gets much darker.

Thanks, Benjamin.

Danielle Birch said...

I like it too.

Anonymous said...

Riveting!! :)