Five-Line Friday: Secondary Characters Reign
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Five-line Friday: Secondary Characters Reign
Last week we featured first kiss scenes, and boy did my curiosity get piqued. There were some fabulous snippets!
This week. let’s post a secondary character scene. I think secondary characters are the substance of a great read.
Where authors and readers meet to share and read romance novel snippets!
Five-Line Friday RULES
- Five lines of your current work in progress, new release, soon-to-be-released … whatever. (Do keep it as close to five sentences as you can.)
- You are welcome to post buy links too.
- PG (I don’t have a warning on my blog about content, so it has to be appropriate for all viewers. I will delete comments that aren’t appropriate or offensive to some audiences. Sorry.)
My snippet this week is from Wager’s Gone Awry again.
You get a little preview of Blythe and Leventhorpe, and as you might guess, I’ll be telling their story next in the Conundrums of the Misses Culpepper series.
~~
The women met Leventhorpe on his way up the hill, and he circled one hand above his head. “Oh, for God’s sake, are we performing some heathen burial ritual designed to ruin my boots?”
“Yes, your lordship.” Her face serious as a parson’s, Blythe pointed to the cemetery. “March around each headstone two times, skip through the center of the graveyard, perform a somersault while reciting The Lord’s Prayer, and kick your heels together before taking a hearty swig of pickle juice.”
~~
Remember, I have a Rafflcopter giveaway going on. You could win a $25.00 gift card or a signed copy of Wagers Gone Awry.
ENTER HERE
As always, all commenters will be entered into a random drawing during the month of April to win a $5.00 gift card.
Great tease, Collette! Secondary characters are wonderful because you can really let loose with them. Meet the cook from Restless Spirits – http://www.amazon.com/Restless-Spirits-Kathy-Bryson-ebook/dp/B00L2O14EE
Then you won’t mind hiring Elvis, will you? Thumbs says you need a cook.”
I opened my mouth to reply and then my jaw dropped in astonishment as a barrel-chested, middle-aged man dressed as Elvis in a shiny white jumpsuit and shinier black pompadour climbed off the back of a motorcycle and came up the steps. Nodding at me, he took the coffee cup from my unresisting hand, sniffed at the contents, and tossed them over the railing onto the lawn. Then he went inside the house.
I looked at Robert, who shrugged, Thumbs, who refused to meet my gaze, and Blondie, who simply laughed, climbed back on his motorcycle and rode off.
Mom stuck her head out of the front door and gushed, “Marilee, you got to come see this. Elvis is in the kitchen and he’s making eggs Benedict!”
I love that excerpt! Mom’s line is priceless.
Too cute, Kathy.
What a great excerpt. Here is mine from ‘When Clouds Gather’, my recent romance suspense release:
“So tell me, “Sam began, “why are you so sure the woman—Ms. Adams—committed the crime?”
“Because she was the only one who could have. She was the only one who had a key to his room,” Gretta stated primly.
Meeting her gaze, he leaned across the table, addressing her softly. “Mrs. Wilson, isn’t it possible, however remotely, that your son simply decided to end his own life that day? He was looking to relocate. Perhaps he was unhappy with his life, current and future?”
Joey’s fists hit the table, spilling the salt and pepper shakers the same instant Gretta gasped. “Never! Not my Bobby!”
http://www.amazon.com/When-Clouds-Gather-Ryan-Summers-ebook/dp/B00Q5MVTFM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429281265&sr=8-1&keywords=when+clouds+gather
I love romantic suspense.
In Dangerous Secrets an interfering mother superior gives the hero, a man who guards his secrets, fits. It takes place in Rome, 1820.
Jamie’s problems began when Mother Margarita started coming a bit earlier than needed. . .
“Do you have children, Major?” she asked without preamble.
Jamie choked. He didn’t disguise his horror. “I should think not.”
“You are good with Isabella,” the nun said. “Nieces and nephews?”
“Friends,” he said. “They dote on the little monsters. I play with them and leave.”
“Friends are a great blessing,” Mother Margarita said. He again felt as though she could see right through him.
To buy: http://amzn.to/1DJj0Hi
Storyboard: https://www.pinterest.com/warfieldcaro/dangerous-secrets-1820/
This sounds wonderful, Caroline.
The Only One book 3 in the One and Only series
Giles swung open the door of the tackle room and halted abruptly. He found himself confronting a very fetching derriere in lad’s breeches. Propping one arm against the doorframe, he smiled seeing the little minx hiding face down.
“Lose something?”
Alex spun around. “Uh, yes. Uh . . .”
See where it all began. Book 1 and 2: http:amzn.to/1lEk2qY, http:amzn.to/1uSAlFl
I’ve always loved the name Giles. I don’t know why. Alex may be in a we bit of trouble.
Montana Man
by DeAnn Smallwood
Ben rose from the river, and like a dog, shook the water from his eyes. This was his third bath since he’d left Yuma Territorial Prison, paying for a crime he didn’t commit, and still the stench lived in his nostrils. Immersing his pain-wracked body, he reveled in the clear, cold water of the lazy moving Colorado.
http://www.amazon.com/Montana-Man-DeAnn-Smallwood-ebook/dp/B00TWMKA0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425940990&sr=1-1&keywords=Montana+Man
Excellent snippet. Now I want to know what crime he was accused of!
Great descriptive prose, DeAnn
Love your lines! Here are a few between my main character Jessie and her BFF Maude from my 1920s romance, Romancing the Rum Runner:
Maude crowed and clapped her hands. “Why didn’t you say so sooner? He kissed you? Oh how delicious, tell me everything!”
“It was nothing.”
Maude snorted. “It was more than nothing, or your cheeks wouldn’t be hot enough to light my ciggy. Just what exactly happened?”
Jessie just flipped over and buried her face in her pillows again.
“That good, huh?” Maude laughed with a low, husky purr that made men drool at her feet. “I bet it was.”
http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Rumrunner-Entangled-Scandalous-Michelle-ebook/dp/B00K9OOEH2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Love Maude!
What a great idea to share secondary characters. Juliette Sauveterre has stirred a few comments from readers. Here’s a snippet of her with Claire (heroine) from The Lady Meets Her Match:
“That was a courtesan’s gown that you altered for
me,” she said, biting back laughter. “My breasts almost
fell out.”
“Of course they would.” Juliette slapped the table,
laughing. “That is the idea. All the better to lure a
man.A certain man, in fact, who dresses well for
a rustic.”
Find more here: http://ginaconkle.com/
Thanks, Collette, for your generosity.
You’re welcome, Gina. Juliette sounds like my kind of gal!
I agree. Snippets with secondary characters give us a feel for the book. Now, about that man who dresses like a rustic. More please.
I loved your snippet!! Thank you for the opportunity to post! Here is mine from Lady Beresford’s Lover which releases on July 21st.
Her open palm connected with his face, and he jerked back. Only one other person had ever landed two blows on him; he could barely believe he’d let his guard down with her. For Christ’s sake, he should have expected it. “What was that for?”
“For being a dunderheaded, addlebrained, care-for-nobody . . .” Nick tugged her against him, covering her mouth with his, and for several searing moments she leaned against him, trembling.
Buy links: Amazon http://amzn.to/1HcQ1NV ~ B&N http://bit.ly/1aRNi0f ~ Kensington http://bit.ly/1Ea6UJU
He effectively shut her up!
Only for a while, Collette.
Great excerpt! Here’s one from my first book Once Upon a Masquerade. Spencer was one of my favorite characters to write.
“Rebecca, how do you like my clothes? I’ve had them fashioned out of the most amazing fabric.”
Christopher grinned as she surveyed the union suit Spencer wore, complete with the button flap in back. Only
Spencer would walk amidst the upperdom in his underwear.
Erupting into a fit of giggles, she gasped out, “You would be the emperor I assume?”
http://tamarahughes.com/books/
What fun! Thanks for stopping by, Tamara.
That’s a funny bit. Thanks for sharing.
Collette, thanks for your generosity in letting us post these every Friday. I’ve begun to look forward to them.
I do too, Caroline! Especially when I get to read tid bits from the same book.
I am so excited about putting the finishing touches on Breakwater Beach, the prequel to The Widow’s Walk (now out with Soulmate). Mae, Liz’s housekeeper is one of the most fun secondary characters in the series.
Mae looked at Liz standing in the doorway wearing Mike’s sweatshirt. Her eyes traveled from Liz’s hair, still damp and caked with mud and sand, all the way down to her bare feet.
“Ehh…a change in plans, girls. We’ll start downstairs today. First, polish the woodwork and then clean all the fixtures. Then upstairs, after the missus has time to get dressed.”
Mae herded them out of the foyer then followed Liz upstairs, smiling like she was about to solve the crime of the century. “From the looks of ya, that was one wild night on the beach.
For a preview of the novel, check out Breakwater Beach in Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts.
http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Ghosts-Fantasy-Horror-Stories-ebook/dp/B006PW4TNG
The Widow’s Walk is available now, and coming soon in print!
http://www.amazon.com/Widows-Walk-Carole-Ann-Moleti-ebook/dp/B00PHYC
And that’s why I adore reading about secondary characters!!
Coming late to the party because I’ve been on the road all day. Here’s a sample of the Marquis of Overwood, the father of our hero, Lord Fen:
“Anyone who seeks to upset the natural order of things is a danger to England,” the marquis said. “In peacetime one may perhaps ignore such people”―he flicked a manicured hand as if disposing of a gnat— “as they can do little harm. But in wartime, discontent undermines the power of our government.”
Fen uncrossed his legs preparatory to leaving. “I repeat—Harry Wellcome is no seditionist.”
The marquis went on as if Fen hadn’t spoken. “Unfortunately, discontent often leads to something far worse.”
Hmm, sounds like the marquis is a pompous arse.
LOL. He can be pretty obnoxious, that’s for sure.
You packed a lot into those few lines. I’m intrigued by the characters.
Thanks Collette! Here we go!
He stood and paused in front of her, a muscle ticking in his jaw. At this rate he’d grind his teeth to nubs in no time. He slid an arm under her thighs and one behind her back, scooping her against his chest. He beat back that little voice in his head shouting “Mine!” as she tucked her face under his chin. Felt like the most natural thing in the world.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QPCN4B4
That’s a real teaser, Fiola!