An Excerpt

You guys have probably guessed by now that I don’t do a lot of WIP sharing around here. Insecurities about and all. But I was tagged with this Lucky Seven … thing (what are these—memes?) and it seemed too fun to pass up.

The rules:

• Go to page 77 of your current MS.
• Go to line 7.
• Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences, and post the as they’re written. No cheating.
• Tag 7 other writers.

First off, I cheated. I know, I KNOW, but hear me out. Line seven contained a half sentence so I started with line eight. I’m pretty sure I didn’t spoil the fun or anything. Also, I’m posting more than seven lines since the scene ends a few sentences later, and I figured, why not end there?

Okay, so you’ll be getting these lines from my YA sci-fi. There’s a very good chance I’ll be cutting this scene in the future, so I’m glad that, of all the passages the 77-7 ended up on this one.

Unlike Katy Upperman, who posted an awesome kiss, my character is forced to sit next to a cute boy without kissing him. As you can probably guess, I’m not as nice to my characters (or readers, apparently) as Katy is. (And if you haven’t read her excerpt, please, go, now.)

When I came up for air, I paddled to the rock at the base of the cliff where Eli sat. A group of trees on either side shaded the flat rock from the bright sunlight. 

“Your attempt to get me into my underwear was a massive failure,” I said when I had pushed myself onto the rough ledge. Eli smiled, avoided my eyes. He watched his feet make circles in the water. 

“You figured me out.” He started to say something else but stopped. 

“Say it.” 

He took in the kind of deep breath people take before attempting to touch the bottom of the lake and then said, “Do you think I’m a murderer?” 

“I think you’re a healer. Just because you can kill doesn’t mean you have to.” The sun slipped behind a fat cloud. Without its warmth and with my wet clothes sticking to my body, I started to shiver. 

 “I do kill. Every time,” Eli said. 

“Fine, but you don’t let them stay that way. You’re only a killer if you want to be.” 

Eli put his hand on the wet rock beside mine so it pressed into my pinkie finger. I wondered if that was accidental or if his heart was flip-flopping, too. Only he wasn’t paying attention to our almost-interlacing fingers. Eli’s head was tilted back against the rock wall, eyes shut.

And, oh, I hate deciding who to tag. So, let’s see, how about Alison, Jessica, Liz, Sarah, Jaime, Kelly, Elodie, and Erin Bowman.

Let’s try to go a bit shorter in the comments. What’s the seventh line of chapter seven in your WIP?