So I’ve been beating my head against this book for so long, I’ve decided to break down and share a peek. It’s a blogging necessity really. When you spend so much time consumed by something, how can you not blog about it?
So below you’ll find two snippets from THE EX BFF (as the book is currently titled, it’s had many). For those who follow my blog, this is the novel I call my White Whale—mostly because it’s the first novel I ever wrote and it’s gone through so many revisions it’s barely recognizable to the first draft.
Now, some background. This is a “tween” novel, the girls are 13 and in the eighth grade. The book is told from four different girls points of view. Yup, count ‘em, FOUR. So below you’ll find a look inside Deirdre’s mind (who for all intents and purposes, is the “main” character). And you’ll find a look inside Allie’s mind (who’s one of Deirdre’s friends).
Both snippets are from the first 30 pages, and they are talking about the same “incident” though they have very different perspectives on it. I hope you like it. Enjoy!
DEIRDRE
You’d be surprised how much time a person can spend in bed. Deirdre was growing a newfound understanding for those enormously fat people who shut themselves into their homes, eating nonstop until they’re unable to move. If it weren’t for the constant visits from her father over the weekend, she could’ve easily boarded up the doors and windows. There were worst ways to go than eating oneself to death— think of all the cake she’d enjoy first.
Her bedroom door creaked open.
“Dad sent me to check on you,” her sister said, sounding bored. “You still crying?”
Deirdre wiped her eyes. “No,” she croaked.
Truthfully, she’d cried so much since that phone call on Friday that she was probably suffering from dehydration. The way Amber sounded, what she said, it twisted Deirdre’s heart in a way that kept the tears on a constant flow. It was as if her body ached from the rejection.
Nikki swished her glossy hair over her shoulder as she dropped onto the rickety desk chair. “Why are you fighting with Amber? I thought it was Becca who hated you.”
Deirdre ground her teeth. Everyone loved her sister— boys, girls, mailmen, dentists, stray dogs. Nikki had no idea what it was like to panic that any wrong step, any misspoken word, would give someone not just reason to hate you, but to make everyone else in the universe hate you too. That’s what that phone call really meant. They might as well have mailed a dead fish to her doorstep, because the call was a warning that the drama had just begun.
ALLIE
It wasn’t even eight a.m. and already Allie felt bored with the school’s latest gossip. Of course, given that the rumors had to do with Becca that was to be expected.
“Oh. My. God! I cannot believe Deirdre!” squealed Joanna Goldstein, spit misting from her lips onto the school’s bathroom mirror.
Allie cringed. She hated the sound of her friend’s voice— all lispy and high pitched, like a drunken French poodle.
“She tried to steal Lyle away from Becca! Can you believe it? Like, sheriously, that would ever happen,” Joanna continued, her speech impediment sputtering through. “Amber was so right for dropping her. I heard she wantsh nothing to do with her, and Becca’s obviously pished. What do you think we should do?”
Gee, here’s a thought, Joanna. Maybe you could think for yourself for once. Allie sighed. She had elevated Joanna from the slobbery kid classmates called “rain shower,” to one of the coolest girls in school. At first it was fun, making over the nerd like they do in the movies. And it was nice having someone hang on her every word for a change. But eventually, being expected to tell someone what to do every second of every day gets exhausting.
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There you go, the first look inside my latest WIP. I’ll keep you posted if anything interesting happens with it.
POP CULTURE RANT: General Hospital
I am now officially going to say that I think James Franco sort of sucked in this soap opera experiment of his. I don’t know what he was hoping to get out of it. But he really over-acted his part. Every line he said came with a cheesy look. And wow, were some of his lines cheesy–to the point I think they may have been going for comedy at some points. “Assume the position, Jason.” Really, GH. Really? They should have just had them make out–with “Mad World” playing in the background.
