Sunday Excerpt 1

I'm about to throw out some freebies!

Thought I would try something new for this year and beyond. I'm hoping this might foster new readership and afford current and future readers a look into the magical dark wretched world of writing and story creation.

Henceforth and hitherto I will post an excerpt (a scene or two) each Sunday from a current work in progress. I will welcome your thoughts, criticisms, critiques, or simple comments as the work progresses. Those of you who follow my pen name writing might soon recognize the first work I will post. This story was previously published under said pen name but has since been pulled from publication to incorporate rewrites, re-titling and, eventually, republication. I've been wanting desperately to work on other projects but this proposed series (for reasons beyond my comprehension) will not allow it. I currently have three or fours novels under this story line jogging around in my head and it simply will not go away until I complete the series no matter how terrible it may be.

So, I will post this first scene, which is really a kind of introduction or prologue, for your perusal. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts and feelings. Tell me where you think this is leading, what might give it more impact for you, or how you feel about the character. It is very possible this work will be finished and published before I finish posting all the excerpts, nonetheless, I will continue to post all scenes in this story. I may not include every scene in future stories but will provide enough for you to get the gist of the entire work.

Mist rises among the trees deep in the Rich Mountain Wilderness of Northern Georgia. The cool pre-dawn woods are dead quiet except for the sound of a bird scratching through the leaves for a meal. A distant sound startles the bird sending it running for the cover of the thick underbrush. The bird freezes, becoming nearly invisible as the source of the sound comes nearer, revealing itself as footfall from a four-legged creature. As a wolf runs past the small pile of underbrush, the bird, overcome with fear, chirps and flies away.
The wolf runs at top speed through the forest, slowing only occasionally to sniff the air. Its tongue hangs from its mouth and its flew curls upwards, exposing sharp canines. It continues to run until reaching the very top of Rich Mountain, meeting the sun just as it ascends over the horizon. The beast sits and does not move again until the sun is over the tall pines. Now in full light, the wolf takes off again, running down the mountain with the same speed and freedom as before.
 At the bottom of the mountain, the wolf slows to a brisk walk before stopping at the front of a truck parked on an old logging road. The wolf then stands on its hind legs as if it were perfectly natural to do so and begins a slow transformation. Skin and bone reshape, hair recedes into skin, powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth form into softer features of a human. Fully formed, a woman now stands naked in front of the old truck. The driver door creaks as she opens it to retrieve her clothes. She takes one last look around the forest, breathing in the cool morning air before getting into the truck to drive home. She sighs and says to the bird just landing in a nearby tree, “I guess I’ve avoided this long enough. It’s time to face my parents … and my fate.”