Spectacular Settings – WEP entry August 2015

On By TomIn Achievement, Competitions, General, Insight, Novel, Promotion, Review

JOIN WITH US FOR 3 CHALLENGES!

The paragraph below is taken from:

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee:

An Indian History of the American West – by Dee Brown

Image (24)
‘I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream …’

Black Elk (1863 – 1950), of the Sioux

*

The book is factual, and touched me on several levels. The statement may sound poetic, but it is the way in which great medicine men like Nicholas Black Elk spoke. It not only summarises one scene, but gives an insight to the atrocities performed by the multi-national invaders upon North America.

*

An excerpt from my Goodreads review:

‘Apart from the callousness and cruelty visited upon the original caretakers of the North American continent I feel one of the most sickening thoughts is that it happened so recently – some of it in the late 19th Century.

I cannot recommend Dee Brown’s insights too highly. It should be compulsory reading for all American citizens – they owe that much to the memory of the Indians. Those same citizens should also educate their offspring to the deeds of their ‘brave’ forefathers.

An optional title for this book might be ‘Man’s Inhumanity to Man’.’

*

And now, in total contrast:
My Work in Progress is an erotic novel – publication 1st Sept 2015.Give and Take - the final cover

Give and Take
(an excerpt from Chapter 2 – The White Room)

Nick sat up in bed, experiencing déjà vu as he lifted the glass. He sipped the water and let the fresh liquid wash around his mouth before he swallowed. As he placed the glass down again, the bedroom door opened.

“I see you’ve finally come back to life.” The visitor was an attractive woman. “My name is Heather.”

Nick leaned back on his elbows. His eyes opened wide, and his lips parted. Heather was in her mid-thirties, and at least 6ft tall. When she turned to close the door, her long brunette ponytail swished from side to side. A narrow band of black skirt showed below the hem of her short white lab coat. Thin black seams ran straight down the back of perfect legs and disappeared into shining black high heels.

Nick acted like a startled rabbit in headlights when his visitor turned to face him. High-arched eyebrows, hazel eyes, and long dark lashes gave Nick a warm feeling inside. When she spoke again, it brought Nick’s gaze to her sensuous ruby lips.

“It’s time to shed some light on the situation,” Heather said, and strode to the nearest set of drapes. She gave a gentle tug on a concealed cord, and the heavy material parted silently to let in natural light. Heather walked around the bed to the other drapes. As she walked, her unbuttoned coat opened, to show a white blouse and short black skirt.

Nick was feasting his eyes on Heather’s attributes when she reached the second window. She tugged a concealed cord, and the room became even brighter. Nick slid down under the duvet to lie flat on his back. He was aware of familiar stirrings as he devoured this stunning woman with his hungry eyes.

“Do you like what you see so far?” Heather asked as she stepped away from the window. She placed her hands on her hips which pulled the white coat back. There was a clearer view of the well-filled blouse, the top two buttons of which were undone.

“Well?” Heather asked, and inclined her head as she took a step forward.

“Yes,” Nick said and swallowed hard. “I like it a lot.” As usual with Nick, his head was ruled by a pulse further down his body – much further down than his heart.

“Good,” Heather said, as she stepped to the edge of the bed, reached down and pulled back the duvet. When Nick lay uncovered from head to toe, Heather looked down at his arousal and smiled.

Nick had been staring at the steady rise and fall, of Heather’s chest. He gasped at the sudden revelation of his condition. In the short time, he’d been in these strange circumstances it had never occurred to him that he was completely naked. He turned from admiring the statuesque woman and looked down at himself.

“Oh, Nick,” Heather said. “What have you been thinking? You’re blushing too.”

“How do you know my name?” he muttered as he reached to pull the duvet back up. “Where am I?” The thoughts that should have occurred to him earlier were surfacing. “Where is Kirsten?”

Heather leaned on the edge of the bed with both hands and looked into Nick’s wide-eyed stare. She knew what she was doing, and a smile played on her lips. Nick’s gaze fell to the improved view of Heather’s cleavage.

“Later, Nick,” she breathed. “First, you get freshened up and dressed. We’ll talk after you’ve eaten.” She rose to her full height and strode to the door, where she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “If you don’t want to miss breakfast, you’ve got 20 minutes.”

***

POST THIS BADGE UNDER YOUR ENTRY

        Word count 900 :  NCCO

Thank you to all who’ve made the effort to reach this far, and I wish the best of luck to all the participants in the WEP Competition – August 2015

***

42 thoughts on “Spectacular Settings – WEP entry August 2015”

  1. Firstly, your shared setting. Wow. Doesn’t it tell the story of a brutal dispossession, much the same as experienced by many indigenous cultures around the world as Europeans arrived and plundered at will. The language is lyrical in its telling of this brutal story. Especially loved: ‘…this high hill of my old age,’ What a fabulous way to put that!

    Now to your erotic story. It drew me in and kept me intrigued right through. Great description of your setting. There are questions in the reader’s mind–who is Kirsten? How does Heather know his name? Is this Heather an evil witchy type? What’s going to happen to Nick, lying in this bed naked and exposed?

    Thanks for sharing your story with WEP. Erotica isn’t everyone’s genre of choice, but it’s pretty much the best-selling genre at the moment so you’re onto something here. I wish you every good wish with the on-going writing Tom!

    Denise 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Denise and thank you for dropping by. Yes, I was blown away by that book, which I read a few years ago, but it will always be with me. Even before I read it I had written a series of poems ‘Native Americans – Part 1 to Part 4’, about the trials of the race and how they lived and were treated.
      Thank you for the kind words on my debut erotic novel – due out so soon it’s getting scary now. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Deborah and thank you for the visit. All will be revealed … as they say. I’m only two weeks away from publication now and working hard.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Patrick. Thank you for the visit and kind comments mate. Yes, that is an incredible book and I found it quite disturbing, especially when thinking about how recently it all happened.
      Glad you like the little taster … and there is plenty of tasting and teasing going on. When I say Coming soon … I mean it. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Robyn and thank you for the visit and kind comments. I’m glad it worked, and the whole thing will be out there soon …

      Like

  5. ramonawray

    The first fragment is so powerful – I haven’t read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and I reckon I should. Your story looks good as well. Nicely done, Tom 🙂 Fingers crossed for your upcoming release (which I haven’t missed, after all – phew!)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you’d enjoy ‘Bury My Heart …’ it is a powerful, factual account. It may be better to class it as educational rather than entertaining.
      I’m looking forward to my upcoming release too … and that’s not a euphamism. 🙂 Two weeks I think should be about right.

      Like

  6. Hi,

    Your setting choice is excellent and I have decided based on your setting to read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. I have a heart for the Indian Culture.
    As for your own excerpt , Very tasteful, sensuous, with mystery. it caught me up because I wanted to know where he was too and who was Kirsten.

    Shalom,
    Patricia

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Pat and thank you for the visit and kind comments. Bury My Heart … is a truly excellent account of a troubling period of modern history.
      My erotic debut is set for two weeks time. 🙂

      Like

  7. Tom
    Thank you for joining the fun at the WEP. You entry for the first part of the challenge, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, speaks volumes for the atrocities’ visited on the Indians during the movement west.

    Horrific, and repeated throughout the world and all written off by those intent on conquering the innocents to perpetuate their own agendas. I often wonder if the view we have of invaders from other worlds doesn’t stem from our own guilt for the past. I think the TV drama Falling Skies captures that sentiment beautifully, but back to the writing.

    Dee Brown’s writing is eloquent, mesmerizing, and yes, touching. I agree this book and Nila’s choice Cry, the Beloved Country as well as many others introduced here during the challenge should be required reading.
    Excellent choice for setting!

    Your second piece, an excerpt from your WIP is stunning. You provided so much in such a short excerpt. Your characters draw us in, your setting intrigues, and the ending leaves us wanting more. Exceptional!

    Who is Kirsten? Her introduction is skillfully done in three words.
    Who is Heather? A striking woman and clearly in charge of the moment. Enticing!

    And what has Nick gotten into? Again, his situation cleverly defined with the words, “Where am I?”

    I look forward to reading the book. Thank you for sharing an excerpt for the WEP Spectacular Settings Challenge. Please join us again in October for the Childhood Frights vs. Adult Fears Challenge – a Halloween Spectacular!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Yolanda. Thank you for the visit and the kind words on both my choice of setting, plus of course my own excerpt.
      I knew when I entered the challenge that my scene would come from that wonderful book. I wasn’t sure about using a passage from my latest, but it’s due for publication shortly (two weeks), so I thought I might as well give some of it an airing. Glad you liked it. 🙂

      Like

    2. Hi Yolanda. In the hope that this message reaches you, I tried for 15 minutes to sign in to your site, but having just spent the same time with another Blogspot site I had to abandon the idea.
      I apologise. I enjoyed your Alaskan story and having written a couple of paragraphs of comment I was dismayed to see it all go …
      I’ve never found an easy way to sign into Blogspot sites, so if there are any others in the challenge I may find myself reading, but unable to spend the rest of the month trying to log in – and I tried various methods.
      Until later.

      Like

      1. Got the message, sorry you can’t comment, but appreciate the effort. I don’t know a solution, sorry. Thanks for letting me know! Glad you enjoyed the story!

        Like

    1. Hi Michael, and thank you for the visit. Many thanks also for the kind words on both my historical excerpt, and my own WIP excerpt. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi and thank you for the visit. When I look at US history I don’t think of redcoats and bluecoats, I think of the original peoples and the Europeans (my ancestors).
      The excerpt from my novel has a hint of fun about it which I’ve tried to maintain throughout. Nearly there now.

      Like

  10. I’m intrigued – you hint at a little mystery and humor, and you have enough detail without going overboard.( I’m easily turned off from romance/erotica because I find much of it either relatively plotless, or so detailed that my mind wanders off. 3 full sentences devoted to the description of her blouse – I’m already thinking about dropping the book and going shopping at the mall.) I enjoyed your excerpt.

    Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee was on the required reading list at my school. It wasn’t on my son’s, but I coaxed him to read it anyway. (OK, I bribed him.) Afterward he was glad that he had.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Li. Thank you for your visit, and I’m nearly there with my erotic novel. There are sections of detail, but in my view – it’s required for the story, so we’ll see how people take to it – or not.
      I have serious issues commenting on Blogspot, and it’s just happened on your site, so forgive me if I paste my comment here:
      Tom Benson writes on Li@Flash Fiction:
      An excellent choice and a superb piece of flash fiction to accompany. I’ve always had a fear of large expanses of water (small swimming pools and anything larger), so I can’t look at that sort of picture for long, but you made it work for you.

      Like

    1. Hi Michelle and thank you for the visit. Yes, dispossession is a touchy area. I can relate in a small way because I’m a Scotsman who lives over the border in England.
      A few hundred years ago when our individual countries were still at loggerheads there was a lot of bloodshed. We may be the UK now, but once again there is a cry for independence – what is wrong with people? Don’t we all learn something from history?
      Now only a few days from publication with ‘Give and Take’.

      Like

  12. First of all I love anything Indian and that book sounds like something I will look up. Second your novel took me by the hand and led me along. I’m into romance but not erotica but your novel has what it takes even for me. Great write.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Rasma and thank you for dropping by. As you might have realised, I’ve been leaving my blog aside to concentrate on my latest release. Give & Take is now in the process of publishing with Amazon, so I finally have time to catch up. I’ll be getting over to your site in the next 24 hours. 🙂

      Like

  13. What a contrast between your selection and your sample. Way to keep people on their toes. Two emotions crash here, but no one gets hurt. There’s the anguish for the frist story and the arousal from your piece. Interesting. Thanks for sharing this.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello and thank you for dropping by Toi, and you’re the first one to mention the contrast, which was intentional.
      I’ve now completed and submitted Give & Take to the Amazon e-system, so over the next 24 hours I’ll be catching up on my blog visits. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for introducing me to the awesome excerpt, Tom. Had never read Dee Brown before.

    Your excerpt sets up suspense, and does what all good erotica should, tease, but not satisfy. The setting and the characters are clear, and the excerpt ends on an intriguing note– your readers would have to buy your book to find answers to a lot of questions, and that’s win-win!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello, welcome and thank you for the kind comments Damyanti. I’ve been working hard over these last couple of weeks to get my debut erotica story out there, so I’ll be checking out blogs today and tomorrow. 🙂

      Like

  15. I love the Wounded Knee quote and have great respect for our forefathers. My husband is half Canadian First Nations and his relatives and people are so unlike the image history has painted of the native peoples of the North American continent. As for the personal writing, I think your writing will appeal to those who read erotica, but it’s out of my arena of reading and writing so I can’t assess it. Good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello and thank you for the visit. I’ve completed the book now, so I’ll be out and about on blog visits over the next couple of days. 🙂

      Like

    1. Hello Michael and thank you for the kind words. I’ll be visiting blogs again in the next 24 hours – having finished the erotica novel.

      Like

    2. Hi Michael. I apologise for the delay in getting to your entry, and I also apologise for being unable to comment ‘on site’ but I have serious issues trying to comment on Blogspot sites.
      I love the photo and it is strange to see a flamingo in such a picture – which in itself is a great shot, so well done on that one.
      I like the idea of your new accommodation too – inspiring.
      A couple of years ago I spent a week living in the cottage in the Scottish Highlands where some of ‘Treasure Island’ was written. It is called appropriately, ‘Treasure Island Cottage’.
      Good luck with your ongoing projects. 🙂

      Like

  17. Nilanjana Bose

    I haven’t read Bury My Heart…, and the excerpt certainly makes me want to. Loved ‘this high hill of my old age’!

    Your excerpt is intriguing and mysterious, keeps the reader wondering, Best of luck with the forthcoming publication.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Nilanjana, and thank you for dropping by. I’ve finished my book now, so I’ll be out and about visiting blogs over the next couple of days. 🙂

      Like

    2. Hello again Nilanjana. I like both of your pieces and they both work well for the challenge.
      Your ‘Roadblock’ is a great piece of descriptive prose, so well done on that one – I was there with the characters. I apologise for not being able to comment on your site but I have issues commenting on Blogspot sites.

      Like

  18. The excerpt from Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee is both horrifying and heart breaking.

    As for your little erotic tale, there’s a slightly sinister undertone to it that’s intriguing. I’m curious about what Heather’s really upto.

    Thanks for sharing and good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Artman and thank you for the kind words on my excerpt. I finished this morning, so the files are somewhere in Amazon’s machinery becoming my next eBook release.
      I’ll be checking out blogs over the next couple of days now that I’m free again. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.