Effing Feline’s HEA
Fart-Fueled Flying Feline, Effing for short, writes the Weekend Writing Warrior posts on Mr. V’s behalf
I, Effing Feline, wish to congratulate Ed Hoornaert, aka Mr. Valentine, on his special day. Some folks think it’s unusual for a man to write romance, but he told me his secret last night as he rubbed my chin. He married his high school sweetheart, several cat-lifetimes ago … and he’s still married to her! As he switched to scratching behind my ears, Mr. V said this is what’s called an “HEA” in the writing trade, short for “Happily Ever After.”
And today’s his wedding anniversary. So no sarcasm from me today. Nor furballs (if I can help it). Just this snippet from Mr. V’s newest release, Alien Contact for Kid Sisters.
Last week we saw our conman antagonist, Quinn Lebatarde, get bested by a little girl wearing Hello Kitty pj’s. Today’s scene shows that Quinn does indeed have a hero buried somewhere deep inside. He, Marianne, and Elfy are trapped in an underground city, and murderous gendarme rebels have just caught up to them.
The air filled with bangs and hisses and flares of light stronger than the lightning and with the incongruous smell of frying bacon from Quinn’s Kwadran needler. Marianne peeked out to glimpse the rogue gendarmes retreating from the dense shower of needles.
And Quinn—her heart nearly stopped—was running across the square, open to enemy fire. At least he had the sense not to act like a B-movie hero who stood tall, knowing bad guys never hit anything. He crouched low, ducked as much as possible, and fired almost without aiming. Marianne’s heart leaped in relief and something stronger. Breath failed her, making her dizzy with apprehension.
Elfy stood frozen in wide-eyed terror. With one arm, Quinn scooped her up without stopping, and he kept firing, too.
Effing Feline here again. If it were up to me, I would’ve left the girl out in the open. Don’t blame me, though. I can’t fire a pistol–no opposable thumbs.
Check out the other great snippets from the Weekend Writing Warriors. Maybe some of them are having anniversaries, too … or even better, gun battles!
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