S is for Seven

Today we interrupt our usual broadcast to bring you the “Lucky Seven” meme--in which I share seven lines/paragraphs from seven lines down on page seventy of my novel. But since my story, THE WITHERING VINE, is historical fiction, I hope you won’t think I’ve gone too far astray. :)

Without further ado:

I stand and give him a bow, hiding my face. “I hope I shall be at the fair, sir,” I say. “It would be a fine honor to hear you sing again.”

“And I you,” he answers.

“What?”


He looks surprised at my confusion. “You will sing in the minstrel contest, no?”

I laugh so hard I snort like a boar. “Me? In the contest? For one thing, they would never let a girl sing, you know.”

Francois shrugs. “You could dress like a lad. I've known a few maids to do so to great success.”

I gape. Colette would faint at such a suggestion. “No,” I answer gravely, seeing that he is treating the matter with seriousness. “I...I've never sung in front of anyone, really. Not since my Father died. You only caught me unawares.”

***

This story was brought to you by... Paula McLaughlin, who tagged me for this game. (You can read seven lines of her ms here.) Now I’ll explain the rules:
1. Go to page seventy-seven of your manuscript.
2. Go down seven lines.
3. Post the next seven lines, sentences, or paragraphs on your blog for all to enjoy/laugh at/whatever.
4. Tag seven new writers.

You’ll notice I already broke rule #1, by using page seventy instead of seventy-seven. That’s because seventy-seven is pretty confusing if you haven’t been reading from the beginning. Now I feel all rule-breaking and renegade...I’m even thinking of getting some temporary tattoos. (Oh, yeah.)

Here are the seven writers I am tagging, though you can think of it more as a gentle tap, begging politely to look over their shoulders into the world of their books. Seriously, I have been curious about these writers’ stories for a while, so I’d love it if they felt they’d like to share a little bit. Also, I really just think you should check out their blogs. Trust me, even if they don’t feel comfortable sharing excerpts from their stories, seven lines from their posts themselves will brighten your day. (Can we just call this “Faith giving you a list of seven blogs she loves”?)
I give you:

1. Vijaya Bodach
2. Marcia Hoehne
3. Betsy Devaney
4. Molly Hall
5. A. L. Sonnichsen (Yes, she has already been tagged, so I hereby exempt her from posting another excerpt. But you should visit her blog if you haven’t. As a writer-mother, it’s one of my favorites.)
6. Sara Hill
7. Laurel Garver