Saturday, August 13, 2011

My First Sweet Saturday Sample

Hey everyone!

So this is my first time taking part in the Sweet Saturday Sample blog hop and I hope I am doing it right.  I have chosen to post a sample from my upcoming release, Ghostly, which will be available on or about September 27th, 2011 through Astraea Press.  I hope you enjoy it and please post a comment to let me know if you do.  Here we go:

Unedited excerpt from "Ghostly" by Samantha Combs  - all rights reserved


I careened through a sea of kids until I spotted her.
“Sixx!”  I hollered and jumped up, waving my arms. I could see her hearing her name and looking around wildly. Finally, she spotted me and started to head my way, weaving through kids, batting them aside. When she got to me, she sounded pissed.
“Seriously, Juice. This better be good.  You’ve got me swimming upstream with the haters here.”  She glowered.
“I know, Sixx. And it is good. In fact, it’s so good you’re not gonna believe this.”  I grabbed her and steered her into the nearest girl’s bathroom. We were totally going to be late for class, but I didn’t care. This qualified as an emergency. I could tell from the look on her face, she wouldn’t be questioning it. She let me drag her by the shirt sleeve into the bathroom and all the way to the back. She waited by the sinks while I checked under all the stalls and confirmed we were alone. We heard the second bell – the late bell – ring, and when the sounds of kids outside dimmed, I dropped my backpack and slumped down the wall into a sitting position. Wordlessly, I handed the notebook to Sixx. She read it and looked down at me.
“So, who is Shane and why do I care?”
“The question may not be so much who is Shane as what is Shane.”  Sixx looked at me with an impatient look on her face. I told her what happened, starting from mine and Shane’s conversation in Homeroom and ending with the last contact I just received on my notebook. It pleased me when she stared at me open-mouthed in disbelief.
“I know, right?  You know me as a person who does not make this kind of thing up, Sixx. Horror and the supernatural, that’s Creepshow’s thing, not mine. I did not ask for this.”  I reached into my backpack for chapstick and started applying it over and over just for something to do with my trembling hands.
“Okay, he chose you, Juice. He said so in his note. Do you know why?”
“No, I don’t know why. Maybe because I’m not a screamer. Maybe because I sat where I did. Maybe because he has a sick sense of humor. How in world would I know?”
“Don’t go postal on me, Juice. I’m only asking.”
“Sorry. This is way out of hand for me.”
“I get that. But let’s get to the important part. Is he cute?”
“As a matter of fact, he is.”
“Do you think he’s some kind of demon or ghost or something?”
“I think he’s more like a ghost than anything. You should have seen the way he just, like, vaporized in front of my eyes.”
“Sounds scary.”
“But it wasn’t. That’s the funny thing. When we were talking, before he faded away, he wasn’t scary at all. He acts funny and cute, and maybe even kind of charming.”
“Perfect, Juice. I always knew you were the strangest one out of all of us. Now, you prove it by falling for a ghost.”
“Who said anything about falling for him?”  I became indignant that she would jump to such a radical conclusion. “It’s nice to talk to someone who isn’t brain-dead.”  I regretted it almost as soon as I said it.
“Nice choice of words, Juice.” 
“What-ev.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Not sure yet. I think I’ll just let the day play out.”
“Well, speaking of that, I think we better try and get to class, or else they’ll think we cut for sure.”
“You’re probably right.”
Sixx handed me back the notebook, which I tucked in my backpack. I had one more class before lunch. We agreed not to mention this to the guys. Not being sure what Jett or Creepshow would think, I didn’t want to share Shane anymore than I already had. For now, my cute new ghost belonged only to me.

So there you have it!  let me know what you think of the sample and if you liked it, you can get the whole thing at the end of September.  Thanks for stopping by.  Friend me on facebook, join here as a follower, or follow me on Twitter: samanthacombs1.  Hope to see you again!
Enjoy other samples at: http://sweetsatsample.wordpress.com/

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