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.

W is for Weather

A tropical storm is one of the many challenges faced by the survivors (Henry, Buddy, Devon, and Garrett) on their little uncharted island in the South Pacific. This scene takes place a few years into their ordeal and is told from Henry’s 1st-person POV:

Buddy held his belly as he bent over laughing. “You’re joking me, Devon.”

“I swear, it’s true! Isn’t it Garrett?”

Garrett grinned and nodded. “Yes, Buddy, it’s true.”

Buddy quit laughing and his demeanor changed to concerned. “But what if I fall in? What if Papa isn’t there to save me again and I get whooshed away?”

“You can’t fall into a toilet, Buddy. It’s not big enough for people to fall into, only big enough for poop and pee to get whooshed away.”

“Huh.”

I didn’t get the feeling that Buddy was particularly impressed with modern technology as we were able to describe it. At more than four and a half years old, he understood basic concepts like toothbrushes, soft beds, blankets, clothes—it helped that we had scraps to show him—furniture, and solid buildings. He even seemed to understand when we talked about abstract things like customs that were different from how we lived on the island. But mechanical concepts, large numbers, and vast distances tended to stump him.

Garrett drew our attention to the clouds piling up in the distance. “That’s heading our way. Looks ugly.”

It did. My brow furrowed with concern as the wind picked up.

“Dammit,” Devon said. “I thought we’d seen the last of the wet season storms.”

“Climate change,” I replied. “The wet and dry seasons aren’t as distinct as they once were.”

“Let’s head to the shelter and batten down the hatches,” said Garrett. “I don’t like the looks of this storm.”

We hurriedly gathered our supplies from the food prep rock and headed inland. The waves were already strengthening, and we could all feel the wind doing the same.

“It’s going to blow me over,” said Buddy.

“We won’t let it blow you over,” I reassured him, because that’s what parents did. Or parent figures. We reassured our kids whether we believed it or not.

This storm looked worse than anything we’d faced so far, and we’d faced some wicked thunderstorms. I shuddered, thinking about the next few hours—or night, if it lasted that long.

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