Here’s Another Chance for a Sneak Preview of Honor at Stake!
I'm not sure how many chapters I'll share on my blog, but here's chapter two. Let me know what you think of it.
Author Notes on Chapter 2
Chapter two is still part of the introductory portion of the story. It continues to build the characters and three of the four plot threads. Of course, the historical story-within-a-story will have its own plot threads as well.
In Time and Again, I was trying for the spare, literary style I studied in college. I’m still using 3rd person point of view and following only Abby, the main character. But, this time I’m getting into her head more. (This is called authorial intrusion.) Now I find I have more opportunities to grow Abby’s character and show her imperfections more (we don’t want her too perfect). I think it works better. What do you think? 
I decided Abby should have a bit more sass and not be so dang sweet this time. Hopefully, however, she doesn’t seem too different from Time and Again. (Notice her sarcastic thoughts in the girly gift shop.)
Tim, the Polish computer geek is a minor character, but even minor characters must have distinguishing characteristics. My theory is that it’s okay to make minor characters a bit stereotypical. I just hope I didn’t go overboard. What do you think of him? Just so you know, the terms he uses come from an actual online geek lexicon I found. Besides being around to solve technical problems, Tim also serves as a foil for John. See if you can find places where Tim makes John look good.
I’ve had several people tell me how much they were intrigued by Michael and that I should give him more of a role in the story. I love little Michael, but I didn’t want to develop him anymore than I had. In Time and Again, he’s a symbol of Merri’s whole weird community, but also a symbol of hope, I think. Merri’s character grows as she learns to care for someone else, someone worse off than she is. In Honor at Stake he plays a small, but important role in getting our main characters to the next mysterious house they’ll encounter.
Kate shows up in book II. In chapter 2 she's still an absent character, but look for her to show up in person later on. And look for her to play a major role in book III. (More about that later!) Once again, she is a foil for Abby. She's a peer to whom Abby can confide things she can't say to any of the other characters. She helps create suspense about the mysterious computer program. And Kate reminds readers that Abby has a whole other life outside of tiny, rural Miles Station.
