Sample Saturday - September 27, 2014

Welcome to Sample Saturday. This week's sample introduces some of the characters of my new short story, Happy Halloween.
~~~ 

Mary Beth sneezed as she took the dusty books out of the carton. Her blond hair fell over her forehead, and she thrust it back with her wrist.

“Sam,” she called to her son in the bedroom. “See if you can find a box of tissue. I think I put some in the hall closet.”

“I can’t find any, Mom,” he shouted over her next sneeze.

She shook her head in resignation. “Then bring me some toilet paper. I know I put that in the bathroom.”

After a moment, Sam came into the room. “Here, Mom.” He handed her one sheet.

“Do you really expect me to blow my nose with just one little piece, Sam?”

“You said ‘some’. Doesn’t ‘some’ mean ‘one’?”

“Oh Sam, I’m just not ready for word games today. Give me a couple more squares, at least. This dust has my allergies going ‘boo!’ already.”

The boy returned with a decent hank of tissue and gave it to her, grinning at some private thought.

Mary Beth blew her nose and looked at Sam, marveling at how much he looked like Bill, and half wishing that he didn’t. “Well?” she asked. “Spill it.”

“Nothing. I just wondered if you’d let me go trick-or-treating after supper.”

“I don’t know, Sammy. With so many kooks out these days, and not knowing the neighbors yet, maybe we’d better pass this year.” She noted his quick look of disappointment, and hastened to add, “You can stay here and pass out candy while I do the laundry. But don’t let Linette out the door. She’ll want to go with me, and it’ll take a while to get your clothes ready for tomorrow.”
~~~

Thank you for visiting. Stay tuned for information about the Blog Book Tour that I'm having from October 6 through 12.

And don't forget to come back next Saturday for another sample of my writing.

Bestselling author Marsha Ward wrote the novella, Faith and the Foreman, in the Timeless Romance Anthology Old West Collection. She is the author of an acclaimed novel series featuring the Owen family. Her novel, Spinster's Folly, won the 2013 USA Best Book Award for Western Fiction, and recently was named Finalist in Western Fiction in the 2014 International Book Awards. A former journalist, Ward has published over 900 articles, columns, poems and short stories. She is the founder of American Night Writers Association, a.k.a. ANWA.

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