Monday 31 October 2011

BIG SECRET PROJECT TEASER #4

Hello, Dear Readers! I wish you Happy Monday - as it's a very happy Monday for me. The Scalpel is working again, and tomorrow NaNoWriMo starts and I can get to work on Big Secret Project Book Two. Yippee! I've got so many ideas I've been a little worried my brain might pop.

And so it seems only fitting that I should post a Big Secret Project Book One teaser today. This will probably be the very last one, since I don't want to give all the plot away (it is a Secret Project still, after all). As always, when a book is not officially sold yet, this snippet is subject to change major or minor, or even deletion. So enjoy it while you can - and tell me what you think in the comments!

Click the cut to read more.

“Ideas?” I asked softly.

“Try talking to her,” Shinobu said in whisper. “She might not understand what you’re saying, but maybe she will recognise your voice.”

“Just don’t make any sudden movements,” Hikaru advised. “Because one slip, and – ”

“I get it, thank you.” I cut him off before he could terrify me more than I already was and crept slowly towards the fox Jack.

She was beautiful – slender, compact and muscular. Her pelt was dark red, with no white at all, and her paws, the tip of her tail and her ears shaded to chocolate brown. I thought she was a bit bigger than a regular fox, but I wasn’t an expert on the species. 

“Hey,” I said quietly. “You’re kind of cute as a fox, did you know? You’d get such a kick if you could see yourself.”

One of Jack’s large ears quivered a little, but she didn’t turn her head. I left the shelter of the last free and froze, unable to force myself to walk any further. It was just too scary out there in the open. I got down on my hands and knees – I was already as filthy as a human could get, so who cared? – and crawled up to the edge of the cliff.

“This is definitely an experience, right? Maybe not one to share with the grandkids, though, unless we want them to think we’ve lost our marbles and ship us off to the old folks home.”

I clamped my hands on the triangle shaped peak of stone and slowly eased myself down so that I was lying flat. Jack tilted her head slightly, as if she was paying attention to my movements. She lifted one paw, and I tensed.

Don’t, don’t, please, please don’t...

She put the paw back down.

I sighed. “Jack, you know what would be really awesome? If you’d make this easy on me and just come over here. Because, I’ve got to tell you, I think I’m developing a bit of a thing about heights, and you aren’t helping.”

I inched my leg up and over the peak, sucked in a deep, calming breath, and sat upright.

For the first time, I could see what Jack was gazing at.

London spread out in front of us, every bit of it green and shining and growing. Where home had skyscrapers, I now saw verdant green mountains cloaked in mist and topped by gargantuan trees that must have been taller than this house. Where home had roads, there were white, winding paths, glinting rivers and waterfalls. And forests - forests that stretched as far as the eye could see. A gust of that warm, scented wind made me teeter in place, but I was too spellbound to care.

18 comments:

Emma Pass said...

This is fantastic. I'm intrigued!

Zoë Marriott said...

Emma: Then my work here is done! :)

Jenni (Juniper's Jungle) said...

Wow, in just a few paragraphs I'm completely hooked!

Zoë Marriott said...

Jenni: Thank you!

whispering words said...

That really was a teaser! I want more, you have me intrigued :)

Zoë Marriott said...

Whispering: Let's hope some publishing people share those sentiments!

serendipity_viv said...

I want more Jack!

Zoë Marriott said...

Vivienne: Hurray! Don't worry - there's plenty more Jack. She's one of my favourite characters :)

Rachel Balcombe said...

Wow, this looks amazing! I'm glad the Scalpel's working again, and very much teased by the teaser!

Amanda said...

Awesome! It sounds so interesting! :D

AmieSalmon said...

Love this! So excited to read more. The line about heights had me laughing out loud. <3

Zoë Marriott said...

Rachel: Hopefully soon I'll be able to be a bit less teasing and a bit more specific about this book!

Amanda: Thank you. I had to cut some good bits out of this to remove spoilers though, so hopefully the book version will be even better.

Amie: Yay! This is my first attempt at humour, so getting an LOL is an A+ result!

Megz said...

I adore this! It's awesome. And it's also quite freshening to see you in a completely new light, writing completely different work! :-)

I'm reminded of English class reading this. We have excerpts of random chapters from random books. And, although rarely, we sometimes enjoy those chapters and end up reading the whole book! (However your writing is much better than the stuff we read in class, of course!)

This might be a stupid thing to say and a completely stupid time to say it, but I can't find any really keen bookworms at my school or anyone who I'd share interests with, and I don't want to ONLY have friends online because, you know, school will become horrible for me. I really NEED to find a friend who likes to read and that's turning out really hard! I need to do something. Any help at all? (Like, could you go back in time and come to my school and help me survive high school..?)

Zoë Marriott said...

Megha: Boy, do I know how you feel! I had exactly the same problem when I was at school. Although I know it's not really helpful, I will say that you are sososo lucky to have the internet, Megha - at least you DO have friends online that understand, which is more than I did. But as for school...maybe approach a teacher ot librarian about starting a book group or a young writer's group? You could put up flyers on school or library noticeboards and then maybe you'd find like-minded people of the same age. Best of luck :)

Isabel said...

This is fantastic! I absolutely LOVE how you're trying out this completely new writing style, Zoe, and you're doing a fantastic job! The humor is subtle but effective, so it's easy to think that it's simply second nature to you. Also, I'm intrigued by those characters! So excited about this book!!

Zoë Marriott said...

Isabel: Thank you :) Actually, being funny is one of the hardest - but most fun! - things about Big Secret Project. My default mode is slightly whacky, as you've probably noticed, but NOT when I'm writing fiction. And my whackiness isn't really the same as my main character's humour either (although it does creep into Jack's dialogue a little bit). So I'm very pleased that it seems to be working.

Raimy from Readaraptor Hatchling said...

wow, when do I get to read this one again? oh yeah, NOT FOR AGES! *sulks* Ive said it before and I'll say it again; Zoe your writing is just incredible!

Zoë Marriott said...

Raimy: An answer to that question is hopefully forthcoming! For now... *Zips lips*

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