The Tiniest Trace of Sarcasm #mfrwhooks

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Today, I have for you another hook from my WIP titled Audra Fleeing Audra Finding, book 5 in the Alien Contact for Idiots series. To help you figure out what’s going on, here’s the short-form blurb:

She’s running from an abusive lover . . . but what is she running to?

When her abusive lover threatens to take custody of her baby, Audra Verhailey flees where even he can’t follow: the aliens’ forbidden cities underneath Kwadra Island.

But can the safe isolation she wants for her daughter survive a search party, rebels determined to expel her from her newfound haven — and the love of an emotionally damaged Kwadran?

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Today’s hook is about the formation of the search party. Kwadra’s Queen Elinor is twisting the arm of a reluctant Duchess Opsie Beaverpaw to lead the search.

Nowadays, Elinor served as an informal liaison between Americans and her new people. Matthew Verhailey must have applied to her for help. She hoped his request was more interesting than plastering, because helping him might mend some badly broken fences.

“I’m looking for a woman,” he said.

Opsie waved to indicate her unfinished office. “I’m afraid my brothel isn’t quite open for business.” The joke felt forced, but Elinor liked it when Kwadrans, especially the nobility, acted with the informality of her homeland.

Instead of smiling, Verhailey frowned. “It’s my niece, Audra.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“She ran away to Kwadra and then disappeared,” Queen Elinor said. “We don’t have private investigators yet — too busy building our infrastructure from scratch — but as our recently retired head of the gendarmerie, you’re the closest we have.”

Opsie stifled a groan. Finding a runaway young woman who didn’t want to be found, on an island two-hundred-eighty miles long, sounded worse than plastering. But did she really have a choice?

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty,” she said with only the tiniest trace of sarcasm.

Be sure to check out the hooks by other great writers in the Book Hooks blog hop.