I’m participating in the A to Z blogger challenge this year. Since April also is the anniversary month for the release of my novel, ’Til Death Do Us Part, I thought I’d use that for the theme of my posts. For each letter I will come up with a word that is pertinent to the story, and post a short excerpt featuring it.

In general these excerpts will bounce around the timeline (after all, the story isn’t told in alphabetical order). No worries, I’ll give a little context leading into each scene so it won’t be necessary to read the others to enjoy the snippet-of-the-day.

T is for TransOceanic Flight 3012

TransOceanic Flight 3012 is the (fictional) ill-fated flight that crashed and began Henry and Sam’s saga. Unbeknownst to Sam (and the rest of the world), Henry and three others have survived and are stranded on a small uncharted island in the South Pacific. Meanwhile, Sam has been grieving and had joined a grief therapy group to help him deal with his loss. This scene is told from Sam’s 3rd-person POV:

Sam took a deep breath and looked at the other forlorn faces in the circle. He was the last to make his introduction speech and he’d been dazed by the variety of stories told by the others.

He continued his story. “At my family’s insistence I saw a personal grief counselor a couple months after it happened. I guess it helped. I was able to function again, but I think it was just too early, too fresh. I wasn’t ready to let go of things, so I still have a lot of issues dealing with this. I have trouble moving on. I think about Henry all the time.” Sam wiped at a tear, sniffed and took a deep breath before continuing.

“Losing him was terrible. No matter the circumstances it was going to crush me. But it’s those circumstances that are making it extra difficult for me to progress. There’s no closure, you see. Officially, he was declared dead about nine months later, but there’s just no direct proof, no body, and there never will be. Logically I know he’s dead. I do know it. I accept that as a fact. But still, a small piece of me can’t let go of that glimmer of hope, that tiny possibility that maybe, just maybe, he’s alive out there somewhere.

“Henry was on TransOceanic Airlines Flight 3012 that went down in the Pacific more than a year and a half ago. Even accepting that he died, I’ll never stop wondering how. What happened up there? Was it immediate with no forewarning, no fear, no pain? Did they know they were crashing and have a terrifying stretch of time falling to their doom? Was death painful and drawn out? Was he drowned, trapped, helpless, and terrified?

“I slept through it, oblivious to what he was going through.” Sam’s voice broke with a sob. “Did he think of me?”

Blurb

Henry and Sam Miller-Greene are living the dream. They love their careers — which afford each of them opportunities to travel to exotic locations — they love their home, Sam’s caring family, and each other. They disagree on the subject of adoption, but are fully committed to each other in marriage … ’Til Death Do Us Part.

The dream is shattered when Henry’s plane crashes, and he’s presumed dead. But four people — Henry, two other men, and a child — survive undetected on a remote, small, and insignificant island. Will Sam and Henry’s love be able to survive as well?

Henry fights to endure in harsh conditions, never knowing when disaster will strike. Sam struggles with his loss, but with help moves on with his life. Will Sam be able to put aside his new love when he reunites with Henry?

Info & Links: ’Til Death Do Us Part