Saturday 30 July 2011

SFFS Week 9

Good morning! Thanks for coming to read this week's snippet from The Thalladium, one of my WIPs. Will Petay let Kate help him?

“Petay,” I started gently, “I want to take you into the sea with me. We aren’t going to go for a swim. I want to use the salt that is in the water to clean your leg. You can see that it’s very dirty, and we can wash it and make it clean. It will hurt, but I think that if we clean it, it will heal, and then you can get better. Shall we do that?”

You can find other snippets from some of my fellow writers here.

Saturday 23 July 2011

SFFS Week 8

Welcome to another SFFS posting. There are several other authors who take part in SFFS, and you can read the six sentences that they have posted here. We do this primarily to share some of our writing, and occassionally to receive critical (constructive) feedback. If you are new to this, are a writer, and would like to take part, it is open to all and any comers, provided that the rules of the "game" are adhered to.
My six sentences this week follow on from last week's, so we again meet Kate and Petay in The Thalladium, one of my current WIPs.


“Petay, can I look at the bite? I’ll try not to hurt you more.”


Again I got a whispered yes in reply, so I began to take a careful look at the leg. It was clear that nothing had been done to clean the wounds, and the little leg was very mucky, with blood, pus and dirt, and pale. It would seem that my first idea – of getting it washed in the sea in the absence of any other treatment – was going to be the solution. At least it would give little Petay a fighting chance.

Saturday 16 July 2011

SFFS #7

Welcome to my snippet this week. I'm going to be continuing from my previous sentences from The Thalladium. I am skipping a few sentences to a paragraph that makes a bit more sense. At this point of the story Kate, who is holding Petay, has found that he has a fever. She has asked him if she can help him to get better so that he can play with his friends again - he agreed (who wouldn't?). However, she then hit a snag in asking James to get some water for Petay to drink, as her explanation was that he had a fever. She has had to explain to James what a fever is, and how to help someone who has a fever (give them liquids to drink, perferably cool, to help bring the temperature down). I hope that you enjoy it :-)

James nodded, although I could see that he still didn’t quite understand. Kneeling down in front of Petay and I, he took Petay’s little hand. “I’ll be back just now, ok? I’ll have some water for you to drink, and we’ll work together to help you get better. Ok?” Petay nodded his acceptance and James left, taking a couple of the youngest children with him.

Tuesday 12 July 2011

The Bridge of Friendship

Received in a daily posting from Max Lucado, this gels totally with my thinking of late. Words such as "liars" and "selfish" definitely fit the package ... :-(

“Unfriendly people are selfish.” Proverbs 18:1

We’re in a fast-moving, fast-paced society. We need to build bridges between our hearts and those of people who need a friend—and allow Jesus to cross that bridge of friendship and walk into their lives . . .

Whether or not you are friendly could determine whether or not someone hears about Jesus.

Monday 11 July 2011

I am a Princess

Ok, now that I have your attention ...

Actually, I'm being serious, although I cannot be sure where this is really going. I've just had a wonderful weekend with friends at th church I used to attend when I lived in Northampton. It was a respite in the storm, a safe harbour. But now the storm is setting back in, trying to steal that peace and joy away.

Funny thing is, I'm not sure it's quite succeeding. You see, I've been asking a few ... ok, quite a lot of ... questions of God, and these are questions that need answers. I'm getting tired of battling, tired of being depressed, tired of ... well, I can go on. And it's strange: I seem to be getting answers. Answers that will take some convincing me of in some instances, but they are still answers. But how did I get to the title of this blog post, I can hear you asking? Well, here you go.

As many will know, Will and Kate - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have just completed their tour of North America. It ran through my mind that they don't live in Cambridge - they live in Anglesy - but if they wanted to move there, there likely wouldn't be any barriers because, as members of the Royal Family, they more likely than not have sufficient funds at their disposal to do what they please, go where they would like to go, and so on.

It was roughly at this point in my musing that the thought popped into my mind, "I am a princess!" And it is true. Yesterday I heard of a man who calls himself an Ambassador, a diplomat for Heaven. And this is true of every confessing Christian, as we are God's representatives here on Earth - when people see us, they see the Father (we trust). I believe and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, and for this reason the Bible calls me God's adopted child, having all the rights of the Son. Therefore, seeing that God is the King of Heaven, I am a princess.

If you trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then you, too, are a Prince or Princess of Heaven. Just how amazing is that?

Saturday 9 July 2011

SFFS #6

This week's extract continues the story of Petay from The Thalladium, one of my WIPs. Enjoy.

I brushed the hair away from his forehead, which burned to the touch. Dismayed, I tried to keep the threads of my composure woven together. Fraying wouldn’t help anyone.

“Petay?” The beautiful brown eyes focussed on my face. “Can I look at the bite? ..."

Saturday 2 July 2011

SFFS #5

To my usual blog readers, I apologise that all you get these days is snippets of my creative writing. I'm just so busy at the moment with things, and life caught up with us this last month such that there was simply no energy left for stuff like blogging.

In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy reading these six sentences from a work-in-progress, The Thalladium, and do go here to read some similar snippets of writing from some of my fellow writers. If you look through my blog list, you can catch up the story to where this week's snippet starts.

Then, getting one of the children to help me, we took the bandages into the ocean – which was as salty as that back on Earth – and washed them in the salt water. Then we took them to one of the shrubs that grew along the border of the beach, and laid them out to dry in the warmth of the sun.

As we finished, James arrived at the beach, carrying little Petay. The orphan looked pale, but otherwise, he seemed to be fine. James brought him to me, and I took him in my arms, sitting down on an accommodating rock.

Looking down at Petay’s face, I could see that he was in some pain.