Want a Sample?

I'm working on book two, YAHSHUA'S BRIDGE, in my IRON AND THE STONE series. Thought it might be fun to share an excerpt.

Alexander (the main character in this book) is special to me. He's a true hero. In fact, I think he's my favorite above all the characters in this series (yes, even above David "Wendy, stop screaming"). The song here makes me think of Alexander-it inspires me.

HOLD MY HEART by Tenth Avenue North

Here's the excerpt.

YAHSHUA'S BRIDGE

Chapter One

Rome, 88 A.D.

Alexander held his breath as the man he'd never call Daddy forced him under the water. The fist in his hair shook his head from side to side and bubbles beat against his face. His head jerked to the surface from his master's fierce grip. His mamma's screams echoed off the nearby columns, and his face plunged back into the watery depths of the impluvium. Would this fountain become his grave?

This ritual of forced drowning had become so frequent that Alexander learned to hold his breath for a long time. With his mamma witnessing this spectacle, he couldn't help but wonder if she'd rather have the master's fists pounding her body as they so often did. But Alexander couldn't stand by as his mamma suffered a beating from her drunken master. It didn't matter that he was just a child and could do nothing to overpower the man. The goal was to make him stop. And he wasn't hitting her anymore, so that was good.

He released a bit of air to ease the tension in his lungs, to ease the need to gasp. But it didn't help. It never helped.

He quit thrashing. Usually if he held still for a long time, the master would pull him out, thinking he was dead. He let his arms float to the surface and his legs relax behind him. With the edge of the fountain pressing against his midriff, it made holding his breath that much more difficult. He wanted to thrash, but he forced himself to go limp like a dead rat.

He waited.

Enough time had passed for his act to become believable. But the master didn't pull him out. Maybe this was it. Maybe this time he'd actually die.