A Sneak Peek

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My blog entries always come to me exactly when they should, so I can publish my post every Wednesday. I’ve been searching my brain for the one thing I’ve been thinking about most, because that’s generally my blog topic. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Not having a topic is terribly uncommon for me. I’ve always got something I’m mulling over and expressing it in my blog is a great way for me to move beyond it, and also get other people’s opinions on it.

But, since the beginning of this month, I’ve been doing a writing challenge, as I’ve mentioned before. For 21 days (and yes, I will be writing again later tonight, so it will be 22 days shortly), I’ve added to my novel without fail. That is what I’ve been thinking about most.

Because I’ve been writing so regularly, I’ve come to think of my characters as real people, much like I do when I’m deeply involved in reading a book. Situations float into my head throughout the day and I begin mulling over how each character would deal with something like whatever I’m thinking about.

With no other pressing topics this week, the only thing I can do is to give you a sneak peek into my novel, tentatively titled Wrecked.

Here goes…

One hundred and eighteen years ago, there was an event unlike any other on a stretch of railroad between Clinton and Gordon, Nebraska, during the month of June. A thunderstorm, so heavy and unforgiving, swept through the area for a solid 45 minutes, with dangerous lightning, hail, and pelting rain.

A freight train traveling that same night from Deadwood, South Dakota, to Chadron, Nebraska, and on to Clinton, making its way to Gordon and beyond, never made it to its destination. Just a few miles outside of Clinton, the culvert beneath the bridge hadn’t been big enough for the impact of the storm. There was so much water that it easily caused the bridge to wash away.

The locomotive had been steadily picking up speed as it rolled downhill, outside of Clinton. Suddenly, it slammed into dirt, rock, and a hillside that had never been there before. The train tracks were twisted and gnarled. There was water everywhere. The driver, Russell Alpin, tore through the cab window upon impact, leaving a couple severed fingers behind.

Jack Murray, a hobo who had snuck onto the train just as it was pulling out of the station in Chadron, woke up as his head hit the side of the car he’d been sleeping against. Sliding open one side of the train car, he could hear screams from men who were trapped inside various parts of the train, and upon jumping down, was in ice-cold water up to his chest.

Sludging to the front of the train, he’ll find Russell Alpin bobbing up and down in the water in shock.

Jack, a man who has nothing left to lose and has given up all hope, and Russell, who isn’t sure the world will ever make sense again after losing his wife and unborn baby, must find a way to help each other, even after being Wrecked.

My novel, Wrecked, will be coming out later this year, so stay tuned for more previews and updates.