Saturday, February 6, 2021

Saturday Sample and Weekend Writing Warriors: Purple Heart


This week I'm starting a few excerpts from my Wild Rose Press release, Purple Heart. Purple Heart is available at http://amzn.to/2cuW4rw

Blurb:

Jenna West has no idea what she might have done to her new tenant Mike Hightower. He's surly and hateful every single time they meet, and he looks at her as though he despises her.
He does despise her. She's from the Middle East, and people like her killed his friend Ramirez when the army sent them to Iraq.

Will the power of love work its magic to soften Mike's bitter hatred, or will he ignore his growing attraction for his pretty landlady?

Last Week:

The dark Iraqi streets looked deserted, but they heard movement all around them. Captain Perry motioned Mike forward. “Sergeant Hightower, take a couple of guys with you and cover the side exit.”

Mike nodded. He gestured toward Ramirez and Mason, and they silently followed him around the side of the building where they took their positions behind an old burnt-out wreck. Mike had just finished adjusting his night vision goggles when an explosion erupted behind them. The reverberations from it hadn’t died away before another shell detonated in front of them.

The bright flash of light temporarily blinded Mike. “Fall back!” he heard Perry scream from somewhere on his right.

Mike staggered, tripped, and fell. 

Excerpt:

The men beside him each grabbed an arm and hauled him to his feet. “Move your feet, Hightower,” Ramirez snarled.

They had gone about ten yards when gunfire opened up behind them. Ramirez screamed, and Mike felt him go down. He tripped again but managed to hang on to his gun. “Shoot, Mike! Hostiles at ten o’clock!” Mason yelled.

Mike fired, but he must not have hit anything because seconds later a hot, boring pain almost tore off his shoulder. Blindly he fired into the dark, and moments later, his leg took fire.

Shots came from the street. 

11 comments:

  1. What a horrible time for him. I cannot imagine what that would be like.

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  2. Ouch. Literally, ouch!

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  3. Such a horrific moment. You did it so well.

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  4. Mike's backstory is so tragic and you depict it so well here. Great - if difficult - snippet.

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  5. That truly is a horrible situation to be in the middle of.

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  6. Sadly, a lot of young soldiers faced, and continue to face these situations. I think you are capturing it very well.

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  7. Even though you prepare for such gunfights, I'm sure it's terrible to be in the middle of no matter the training. This will haunt him, I'm sure. Vivid snippet!

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  8. Back in the early 1970s, I enjoyed reading a series of war comics that were created by a World War II veteran. At the end of each story, he always put a panel saying "War No More." I don't think that anyone can come away from combat with scars either visible or invisible.

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  9. What a realistic and frightening scene of combat. How scarring for your hero.

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  10. You did a great job describing a horrific scene.

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