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Hi, everyone, and if you’re new, welcome to my blog about writing and positivity!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which is WIP Wednesday around here. It’s a time when I share an excerpt of a work in progress and you do the same in the comments section below. It can be from a novel, a short story, other fiction, or even poetry or other types of writing. (Follow the blog if you never want to miss a WIP Wednesday…there’s a place to subscribe at the bottom of this post.)

It’s okay if the writing is rough or unpolished. We don’t make critical comments or suggestions on each other’s work — in fact, I’d delete comments like that. This is only for sharing. However, leaving supportive responses to other people’s work is great (and I believe doing that will bring you good luck as a writer.)

Make sure your excerpt doesn’t contain sexually explicit material or extreme violence, because I have some young readers. It really should be a work in progress rather than published work. About 500 words is the maximum length.

 

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Today I’m sharing an excerpt from a project I’m finally getting back to, The Equinox Stone. It’s a sequel to The Phoenix Codex, and it does contain massive spoilers for book one.

In this story, Michael came back to life after being presumed dead, but he didn’t have his memories. This excerpt takes place right after he regains them–and they’re extremely vivid.

 

Bryn Donovan WIP Wednesday bryndonovan.com #where can I post my writing #places to share my stories #work #feedback

 

Michael and Val stepped inside and found Jonathan in the kitchen.

“Hey,” he said. “You guys have a bottle opener?”

Michael froze, and Val’s eyes widened.

Jonathan looked from one of them to the other. “What’s wrong?”

Emotion welled up in Michael’s chest. His brother had wept to find him alive again, and he’d done his best to help him remember himself—even, impossibly, bringing him into his own psyche. Michael strode over to him and pulled him into a hard hug.

Jonathan returned the embrace reflexively, but he was stiff. Michael stepped back.

“What happened?” Jonathan asked, his voice as stony as his expression.

“Everyone’s okay,” Val blurted out. “Cassie’s fine.”

Christos. He’d thought somebody had died.

“I remember,” Michael said.

Jonathan stared at him. “You have some memory back? How much?”

“All of it. Everything.”

His jaw dropped. “How?—That’s great!” He gripped Michael’s shoulder. “You’re okay? How do you feel?”

A little unsteady. “I could use a beer.”

Val made herself some tea while Michael explained what had happened. He left out the kiss, though he couldn’t help but cast a quick glance in her direction. If she was offended by the omission, she didn’t show it. She sat down at the table as he described how she’d gathered up and quieted the memories.

Jonathan asked her, “How did you know how to do it?”

She shrugged. “I did what made sense to me. Like when his psyche was breaking up before.”

He closed his eyes briefly. “Your instincts are so good. You’ve kept him together.” It made Michael uncomfortable to think about how indebted he was to her.

Jonathan looked at him again and frowned. “You remember Urraca Mesa. I don’t know what to say.”

The memory swallowed Michael—the stench of the place, his terror.

Jonathan looked down at his beer, apparently taking his silence for condemnation. Shit. He had to get hold of himself.

“You should’ve shot me,” Michael said. That was the protocol when someone was possessed.

“Yeah, I know.” Jonathan’s mouth quirked upward. “Glad I didn’t.”

“Me, too.” Michael cast around for the right words. “It wasn’t your fault. We do our best. You more than anyone.”

“Do you remember—before the spell was reversed?”

“When I was dust?” Val flinched at his bluntness. “Only a little.” This one recollection, at least, was hazy, unable to overwhelm him. “I remember not being able to be a person. Scattered, with no one who could see me or hear me—not really being able to think.” He shrugged. “Hopeless.”

Val pressed her fingers to her lips.

Christos,” Jonathan muttered.

“It couldn’t have been easy for you, either. I remember the time you were shot…”

It came back to him in flashes, obliterating his surroundings. Jonathan bleeding out on the ground. Sitting in the hospital room with his unconscious brother hooked up to machines, after the doctor had talked to him about infection and organ failure. Michael’s throat closed up and his eyes burned.

“What’s wrong?” Jonathan asked, leaning forward. His question jogged Michael back into reality.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Everything feels like it just happened.”

 

Bryn Donovan WIP Wednesday bryndonovan.com #where can I post my writing #places to share my stories #work #feedback

 

Go ahead and share your work below! Or if you’d rather, just comment about how your writing is going or what you’re going to be working on in the month to come. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy writing, and have a great month!

 

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