VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Okay, I'm still plugging away for NaNo. Here is the opening of the book. Let me know what you think. Remember, we are supposed to type and not edit along the way as it slows you down. So this is first draft and very rough. The chill air burned with every intake, sweat beaded at her hairline and moistened the back of her neck. The thudding of each heartbeat blocked all other sounds. She paused to listen. The night was calm, no sounds. The eerie silence made the hairs on her arms stiffen. Where was he? He was close; she knew it—but where? A snapping twig caught her attention. Pushing her dark brown wavy locks from her hot, flushed face, she cranes her head to strain her ears for sound. She shivers, but not from the cold night air. Hot foul breath brushes by at the base of her neck. She turns to face him. His eyes are dark, unmoved and filled with something she has never seen before, yet cannot describe. “Why are you doing this? Please, just let me go home.” The words ba...

I decided it was time to take my outline and short scene I did for a writing workshop and finally make it into the novel I've talked about for many years. What makes this novel so special to me isn't the fact I'm doing it for NaNo, but the fact it is based on true events from my junior year of high school. The main character is a mirror of myself in that year. The emotions I felt when I lost my best friend have never wholly been shared. I have rarely (and very lightly) talked about this event to anyone. I have never faced down this time in my life and I hope during this process I finally heal completely. A few words to my dear friend: Dear Jennifer, This is the first time in 20 odd years I have opened myself up since your passing. I think of you often and I have never forgot all the times we spent together. You truly were my best friend even though you left us all at such a young age. You were just stepping onto the path of life when it was suddenly and tragically...