Six Sentence Sunday - A Knight in Cowboy Boots #9 & a Giveaway

This week, in addition to sharing a six sentence snippet, I'm going to give away a copy of my ebook A Knight in Cowboy Boots to one lucky commenter, so be sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

This scene is between our hero and his sister. Rachel is the concierge at the hotel where Zach's lady love works. She's also the oldest girl of a very large family, so she can be a little on the bossy side.

Rachel spun toward him, dropping his arm to point a threatening finger at him. “No!”

Zach set his jaw. “I’m getting a little tired of being told ‘no’ by the women around here like I’m a puppy who’s just piddled on the carpet. I got no interest in working my way through your staff, but if I did, you couldn’t stop me.”

“Really?” She said, her voice dripping wicked speculation.

 
     Zach’s body instinctively tried to suck his balls inside.  
 

Don't forget to leave a comment to win a copy of A Knight in Cowboy Boots.



Other six sentence excerpts of mine can be found here.


If you want to see more Six Sentence samples, go here for the list of this week's participants.


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Economics 101 for Writers

I’ve blogged before about things that turn me off in novels, but I ran across a new one last week while reading the latest book from a very popular romance author. In this book, the heroine finds herself without funds and tries to skip out on her hotel bill. She’s forced to choose between working off her debt as a hotel maid or going to jail. Not a tough choice, really. And the hotel seems to have trouble staffing their housekeeping department. 

Except, the author makes a point of mentioning that lots of people in this town are unemployed. 

Do you see the disconnect here? The failed logic?

Now I’m a self-admitted economics junkie. I’m thrilled to find clips of Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell and Dambisa Moyo on youtube. I think it’s tragic that most people are economically illiterate because nothing—absolutely NOTHING—effects every aspect of your life like economics does. For me, it’s a no brainer that, in a town with high unemployment, there would be people lined up for any job they could get.  Instead, the hotel owner hires illegals and deadbeats (to whom she pays more than minimum wage) rather than employing her neighbors who need a pay check.
And no one in town resents this.

It’s completely illogical.

Is it enough to ruin the novel? It wouldn’t be if I liked the characters more. Or if I’d liked the author’s last book (I didn’t.) But even if I liked the characters, this would nag at me. My trust in the author is shaken.

Authors are amateur psychologists. They have to understand what motivates people. They have to take that knowledge and craft viable backgrounds and thought processes for their characters that feel real. Since economics is really about the decisions people make in given circumstances, an understanding of economics should be a logical outgrowth for an author. If you understand the basics (and youtube can give you a first-rate crash course), you won't embarrass yourself when you write your character's environment. As an added bonus, you'll be taken in less often by your government's B.S.


Any other economics junkies out there? 

Six Sentence Sunday - A Knight in Cowboy Boots #9

This doesn't follow last week's SSS sample immediately, but it's pretty close behind.

            

When someone knocked insistently on the door at her back, Maddie’s hands clenched, her finger tightening on the trigger. The explosion sounded like a cannon going off in the room and the sharp smell of gunpowder filled the air. The bullet spun Zach around. He fell against the bed, and slid down until he was sitting on the floor beside it, facing away from her.

             

“Oh my God!” The gun fell from her numb fingers and bounced across the floor.

Other six sentence excerpts of mine can be found here.


If you want to see more Six Sentence samples, go here for the list of this week's participants. (If you're a participant, I try to always comment back.)


If you want to participate in the future, here's a FAQ.

Six Sentence Sunday - A Knight in Cowboy Boots #8

 Back for another Six Sentence Sunday.


Who would guess that this would lead to a romance? Some guys are just impossible to drive off.




She jerked the gun free and, with both hands throttling the grip, pointed it as she turned.

 “Whoa!” Instinctively, Zach backed up another step, his hands rising in the air, not in surrender, but as though denying he was any kind of threat.

He looked at her cautiously. If he had any sense, he’d look a lot more scared, Maddie thought. Couldn’t he see the way her hands were shaking?




You can find a longer excerpt here. A Knight in Cowboy Boots is available at Amazon and other ebook vendors.


Other six sentence excerpts of mine can be found here.


If you want to see more Six Sentence samples, go here for the list of this week's participants.


If you want to participate in the future, here's a FAQ.