Welcome to the Showcase!
February is finally here, and we're excited to bring you samples of fiction - both published and new - from some of our wonderful members. We will be releasing these over the course of the month, and hope you'll enjoy them. Who knows what you might find? If you've really enjoyed a piece, or want to connect with the authors, why not make use of either kiwimail, or the forum, to drop them a line - I'm sure they would love to hear from you.
FYI: Sadly, due to the small number of submissions we've received, we won't be able to put together an e-book for months end.
Pink - by Jenny Argante
Todays short story is from our member, Jenny Argante. Thank you so much for sharing it with us :-)
Today I'm finally going to do it. Plonk myself beside him and say, "Hi." My one New Year's resolution and I'm terrified. But I'm going to do it anyway.
He's good-looking, but why should that scare me? I'm not so bad myself, especially in my new pink sundress, a Christmas prezzie from Mum, who firmly instructed me not to wear it to Mass. Pink has always been my favourite colour, though Mum prefers me in green. I've got green eyes and my hair is Irish red, and when I want to I can stand out in a crowd - not so good when I was at school and my nickname was Marigold. My friends still call me that, but when I introduce myself, I'll say, "Hi, my name's Christine", and hold out my hand.
Guardian of the Jewel - LaVerne Clark
Today's Showcase contribution is an excerpt from LaVerne's debut release! Thank you for sharing :-)
Stupid. So stupid.
Thomas Hamblin laughed. The mirthless sound cut off mid gasp when he choked on a loose tooth. Coughing and spluttering, a dim part of his mind questioned why he tried so hard to draw breath. He only delayed the inevitable.
The tooth dislodged and the sound of his breathing whistled through a mouth of broken teeth, filling the cavernous warehouse. The man known as Razor lifted his head and eyed him with clinical detachment before sauntering over. He squatted down, the smile at odds with his cold reptilian stare. He held a photo in his hands.
Milkshake (an excerpt) - by Matt Hammond
This is the first 500 words of Matt's latest novel. You can find more information about the book, and Matt, at his website.
Shredded paper lay on the restroom floor, still wet from recent mopping. A steady stream of scalding water misted the mirror above a hand basin. Standing at the urinal, David heard the creak of a stall door. A warm hand from behind pressed something firmly over his mouth. As he inhaled and began to drift to sleep, David Turner's mind replayed the last conversation before his life paused.
"You bloody do this every time we fly. You get sucked into the whole holiday mode thing, have to buy the largest cappuccino you can find then spend the next three hours backwards and forwards to the loo."
Vanguard Newborn (Prologue) - Kaden Brown
Exclusive Content to www.kiwiwriters.org 2012 Kaden Brown.
Running through the city streets was easy at night. It was afterall, what she had trained for. It was her life: the tracking and killing of prey.
Hardman Street needed careful passing for it was full of late night drinkers. Drunkards and beggars wandered the pavements. Hope Street was empty now that late night surgeries had closed. Along Canning and the main road of Cathering the traffic was quiet. Dead in fact. People? Nada. Even the black cabs were nowhere to be seen. Lucky her.
Downtown, the bars, jazz clubs, cafes and night clubs were still thrumming with happy, drunk, unaware people. the girl didn't even know that she was being watched, and tracked. The further she moved from the city the more deserted and dark everything had become.