Beyond the Sample -- An In-Depth Look at What You're Going to See For Wherever It Goes
Hey! Happy Tuesday! Good to see you survived Thanksgiving. I hope you remembered to wear your stretchy pants this year, just like you swear you're going to do after every holiday dinner every year.
Last night I was writing (I know, what else is new), working on editing Book 6 for the Portrait series when I recalled that it was Tuesday again. What am I going to do for Beyond the Sample? I've already done Along the Way, The Allegheny Chronicles: Eden and the Alchemist, and Portrait of an Unlikely Affair. If I do a book 2 in a series, will readers be upset over spoilers it may or may not contain?
I thought about this as the water for a hot cup of evening tea boiled. Why don't I put a disclaimer here, and leave it up to the reader:
DISCLAIMER: IF you haven't yet read Along the Way (which I always recommend you doing) then today's Beyond the Sample MAY contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
If you have read Along the Way, how'd you like it? Was it good? Who's your favorite character? Let me know what you think in either a comment below OR in a review on Amazon!! (You know you want to.)
Alright, so, Wherever It Goes. I don't know about you, but I like the title. It's like meandering along a path. Let's just see what happens, right? Wherever It Goes was thought up by me, playing with the title of Along the Way, hearing a movie preview narrator in my mind, "Somewhere along the way life happens, but we'll just have to wait and see wherever it goes!"
I know. Authors are so strange sometimes.
Alright, so let's look at our sample:
So our Sample starts off where Along the Way left off. Remember, I had said that Along the Way and Wherever It Goes was once one book, so it's natural to begin here. You get a review of what happened at the end of book one, just from a different perspective. Ryan Carson has gone home and he's arriving at Seatac. I've been there a couple times in another life (meaning it was decades ago) spending many hours people watching while waiting for my flight out of there. I'm sure in modern days, it's different. But, here we are, Ryan is going home and he's cheerful, happy, and giddy. Gosh, wouldn't you be? To finally have a relationship with the person you've been crushing on and they're just as wonderful as you've thought they were? His ride is Lola, or Lo. I'm not sure I ever give her a last name, but she is a good friend of Ryan's and the girlfriend of his best friend, Town. "Whhhhaattt? But I thought Greg and Chris were his best friends!!" This may be true, but just wait and see. Lo brings Ryan treats and also we meet Gwen, a big ol Neo Mastiff. Now, if you don't know what a Neapolitan Mastiff is, think about the Harry Potter movies and that big ol dog that the large bearded Games Keeper has. They are cool looking dogs, bred for fighting in the arena back in the Roman days. They are big, cool looking dogs, but I can't imagine cleaning up all the slobber and drool. I chose this particular dog after seeing one in a different movie...or was it a TV show? I can't recall all these years later.
In Along the Way we get to see Ryan's life in Cedar Grove and the dynamics between him and his friends. Here, we see his actual home life, the life he has been living for ten years, and how he interacts with those people who have no idea of the life he grew up in. They treat him for who he is and he enjoys that. Their conversation gives you a good look and then at the end of this 'prologue' you get to meet his best friend, Town.
Moving on to Chapter 1. So it's a month later and we get to see the progress of Chris Enright and we see him obsessing over his realization from last month. He calls in his best friend, Greg Powell, to question him because we see that he has some trust issues going on. Are his worries valid in the grand scheme of things? Probably not but when people are confronted with something, sometimes blinders are put on or they become hyper-focused on it. This is what is happening to Chris. Also, we are beginning to see that either we haven't known him as well as we thought we did, or maybe Chris's personality is getting amped up. Now you find out Greg and Chris's perspective on Ryan. They have legends and stories in their own mind about his life. Is he really the person they are reminiscing about? You also begin to see Greg start to wonder what is up with Chris and see that his loyalty between his friends is split, based on Greg's own code of morals. At the end of the conversation, Ashlie Wentworth sticks her head in to get Chris for a work-related task. A conversation between her and Greg show a more easy going familiarity, that perhaps the instructors and Chris's friends are becoming friends, which is an absolute No-No in Chris's mind. He doesn't seem to notice as his mind is only chewing on one thing. Greg leaves and finds Angelina Sutton and we learn what has happened in the month and just what Angelina and Ryan's relationship has become.
Chapter 2 brings us back to the airport. Ryan is anxiously awaiting Angelina's arrival. We also start to get a clearer picture of the "real" Ryan, including the other "Object" of his "Affection" which is a Jeep Wrangler. It had to be a Jeep because I love Jeeps. The Wranglers are the ultimate go anywhere, do anything vehicle and with mine we were out in the mountains, on some logging road, nearly every summer. They are amazing vehicles and there is a reason why people love them. Anyhow, I should remind you at this point that I don't go into great detail in this book about the area that Ryan lives in. The State of Washington is a beautiful place, but I didn't think that the area was really part of the story. It's just where he lives and works at this point but the story wasn't focused on Tacoma or Fort Lewis (as it was called when I wrote it). It was focused on Cedar Grove and Cedar Grove is where the story really takes place. So, if you are ultra-familiar with the area and say, "hey, wait a second! Why didn't you name places and describe it more!" That's why. So, back to the 'glimpse' at Ryan's life, we see the small place he is living, right next door to his best friend. We see what his home looks like and it's decorated like a man would decorate it. Just as they are getting settled in, a knock comes to the door and Angelina and Town finally get to meet each other and it just ends right about there.
As I have mentioned before, when I write I write from "why?" and I often choose jobs for my characters that sometimes are the absolute opposite of one another. While Chris is a driven, business minded dance instructor who is good with people in social settings, Ryan is a modest soldier who chose his path to 'earn' something not everyone can earn or even wants to earn. It takes focus, dedication, and internal fortitude. Greg is the combination of the two. Ryan's best friend Town and Town's girlfriend Lola are just your everyday people and Town shares a bond with Ryan that his friends from his hometown life couldn't ever share. What is going on with Chris just happened to come out. I'm not an English Lit teacher, I don't put that much thought into sending deep underlying messages to ponder in my writing. I just write.
At this point I'll leave you to it! If you haven't read the sample yet, what are you waiting for?
Liked this teaser? There’s more. Head over to Amazon to buy the book!
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