Well, that starts here. Today and for the coming Sundays I'm going to post the beginnings of my books - in the order they were written (as close as I can remember it - it's been 9 years, people). I hope it'll be a kind of journey through my career thus far.
Anyway, without further lip-flapping, here's the beginning of my first book: Fear Itself (aka Spectacle). It was written from January to August 2004. Eight months for a first draft? :shudder: I edited it for a month and then sent it off into the world. :double-shudder: I've edited it a bit since then, but this is it... unless I decide to edit again.
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance—it is the illusion
of knowledge.”
– Daniel Boorstin
“We’re on in two.”
Scanning the copy for tonight’s
broadcast, Alex McKenzie couldn’t bring herself to believe what she was
reading, not that any of it was new. The
world she once thought was so constant—so stable—was falling apart.
She reported on the same
types of things for the past two months, but she still couldn’t shake the
feeling something wasn’t right about it all.
As if the action would erase her unease, she ran a trembling hand
through her hair.
Out of the corner of her
eye, she caught a flash of movement; a monitor just off the set showed a woman’s
profile. Her long black hair was perfectly
coiffed, but hung limp around her pale face.
Her slender fingers quivered over the papers in front of her. The corner of her mouth twitched as though
she held back a tide of tears.
At the edge of her
consciousness, Alex heard the lead-in, but she couldn’t seem to focus her
thoughts. The camera in front of her indicated
she was now on-air. The woman on the
monitor straightening to speak.
“Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen,” said a familiar voice, “and welcome to GBC
News. It’s Friday, May 1st, and
I’m Alexandra McKenzie standing in for Craig Jamison.”
The woman sat rigidly
behind the news desk and looked, for that brief moment, as if she would rather
be doing anything else than reporting the news.
It took a moment for Alex to realize the woman was herself. Shaking away the detachment she now realized
was visible on her face, she replaced her harried expression with the steely
gaze of the hardened reporter she used to be.
She looked directly into the hearts of her audience and began. “What would normally be a day of celebration
for the coming of spring is instead a day of trepidation. This time of year we should all be thinking
of beaches and bikinis, cookouts and ball games, but instead our thoughts are of Fenrir and its
rapid descent toward Earth.”
Her face twisted as she
fought against the pain coursing through her chest. She had no hope to offer about its course and
no new reports of anyone who could divert the catastrophe headed their way.
She looked at the text in
front of her. It couldn’t be true. If she didn’t read the words, it wouldn’t be
true. But it was her job. “Tonight, Paris is in flames.”
The whole world was a
gigantic jigsaw puzzle being dismantled bit by bit; one more piece taken out
and tossed into the jumbled pile that once made a picture and now only made a
mess. “Over the past few days, a mob has
moved across the city leaving death and destruction in its wake. This morning, we showed footage of their attempt
to destroy the Eiffel
Tower. As of late this afternoon, that same mob
focused their anger on the Louvre.
Beginning with the glass pyramid that has become as familiar a part of Paris as the gallery
itself, a full frontal assault on the historic structures ensued. We have reports several of the mob’s members
were trampled in the crush to escape the pyramid’s falling shards. At least two have been pronounced dead from
their injuries.” She stopped, swallowing
hard while the director looked on, horrified.
Motioning nervously, he tried to get her to resume, but she sat battling
against a twisted urge to burst into hysterical laughter.
Yeah, yeah. I took a lot of heat from a writing community I joined over that MC seeing herself on camera and describing herself there, but I seriously wasn't using the whole mirror image thing for that reason. My thought was to show some level of the detachment she's feeling at this point. :shrug:
As I said, this is my first book. So no shredding apart of my maiden voyage.
By the way you built it up, I was worried it was going to be terrible, but it wasn't! You can clearly see your voice, which I find so interesting (because even 9+ years ago, you were still YOU as I know you now). You've obviously matured since then, but this beginning is nothing to be ashamed of! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nat. I'm not really ashamed of this. I may even go back and fix it someday. But first, I have to fix these other books - and write new books. ;o)
ReplyDelete