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Saturday, March 23, 2019

#WeWriWa RESCUING MARA'S FATHER: Run, You Galactic Garbage!

Each weekend, the Weekend Writing Warriors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here.

Apologies for not getting around to the blogs last week. I worked nonstop (almost) to prepare Rescuing Mara's Father for publication--final proofing, formatting, and finally uploading it to the major vendors. (More below.) I'll do better about visiting this week. Promise!
I'm sharing my newest story, a Middle Grade/YA science fiction adventure, titled Rescuing Mara's Father. The narrator is Mara, an almost 15-year-old girl who lives in a mining outpost on the Outer Rim. This snippet takes place after last week's. When Mara's friend Jako is being beaten up by the Dunpus brothers, she joins the fight. Since they've never heard the brothers' first names, she and Jako call them by numbers. 

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited from the original.
 
I straddle Dunpus #2, my knees grinding into his upper arms, then I grab his hair and slam his head into the dusty ground. While he’s dazed, I say, “Leave Jako alone. Hurt him again, and you’re planetary poop, understand?” I slam his head into the hard-packed dirt again.
“He understands, Mara,” Stars and asteroids, it’s Father. He lifts me off the stunned boy, while Lukus does the same to Jako who really cleaned Dunpus #1’s clock.
The Dunpus brothers stagger to their feet, take a look at the four of us, and stumble backward in their haste to get away.
Jako yells, “Yeah, run, you galactic garbage. Go back to your farm,” He looks over at me and grins, “We done good, didn’t we?” He holds his hand up in the air, and I slap it.

Rescuing Mara's Father is now available for pre-order at the following vendors:




Blurb:

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.
Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he's gone.
Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately. 
Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships.
Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with him because he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.
Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. An old spaceport mechanic and her mentor seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off our planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave her, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, she has to rescue her father.



27 comments:

  1. You paint an amusing picture, Diane. Very funny. I'm taken with your story!

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    1. Thanks, Charmaine. I'm looking forward to reading your snippet.

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  2. They may have got the upper hand on that fight, but will Mara's father be happy about it? An amusing snippet!! :)

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    1. Thanks, Jess. Nope, her father will not be happy.

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  3. Fathers never like their kids to get into fights, especially their daughters!

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  4. LOL! Serves 'em right! But I do wonder what her father is going to say about this.

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  5. I doubt if their fathers will agree that they "done good". Fun snippet. They make a great team.

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    1. Thanks. Those two are in so much trouble and don't even know it.

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  6. I'm with Alexis. My first thought was, "Her dad will NOT agree with Jako's assessment of the fight."

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  7. Somehow I have the feeling the Dad won't be as on board with their methods. But a great snippet!

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  8. Such a good book! Congrats on getting it all organized and ready for release on March 30th! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Teresa. it's a great feeling of accomplishment.

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  9. Lol. I can see Father won't like this! But #1 and #2 made me chuckle!

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    1. Thanks, Alyssa. Glad you liked the designations for the Dunpus Brothers.

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  10. Galactic garbage. Lovely, but I bet dad won't like it.

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    1. LOL Thanks, Elaine. Next week, you'll find out Father's opinion, but you all are on target.

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  11. Why do I feel their 'high five' happiness won't last once her father hears about what they did. :)

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  12. I get the sneaky suspicion that Mara's dad isn't as happy with them.

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  13. I LOVE this scene! Bullies always deserve a good trouncing! So excited to see this fab book is coming out in paper!

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    1. Actually, it's available in print now. I agree about bullies. Last week, you mentioned the Bumpuses in Christmas Story. Never thought about it when I wrote this. Had to laugh, though.

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  14. I feel like their little celebration is not going to last once Dad gets in a word. LOL

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