WIP Tag! - Dark Dancer

I was tagged by Maria Savva for this. She writes some very interesting stories, part warm fuzzy and part shiveringly creepy. Check out her stories. You won't be sorry, though you might have nightmares. If you want to know what she's up to, check out her WIP blog post.

So now on to the rules for this - Post the first three sentences of the first three chapters of your current WIP, or work-in-progress in author-speak. Since I'm sure my latest academic drivel would put everyone to sleep, I'll post the teasers for my latest fiction work. And the good news is that this book should be up for sale by the end of August.

So enjoy Dark Dancer, a steampunk fairyland adventure tale full of magic, metal men, betrayal, and monsters who are more than they seem.

I'm going to cheat and give you more than just one sentence, because my sentences need each other like tomatoes need bacon and lettuce.

Chapter 1 - The girl spread her arms wide, drinking in the summer sun. Her bare feet flashed as she danced across the meadow, twining through the ring of mushrooms sprouting from the soil. She sang a wordless song to the trees and flowers, her only audience. She twirled her thread-bare skirt, setting the fabric swinging around sun-browned legs.

Mist gathered in the center of the mushroom circle, lavender gray, thin as smoke. The girl paused in her dancing to stare. A window formed in the mist, circular and wavering. She stepped closer, curious and unafraid. She peered through the strange portal into a room cluttered with plants, books, scrolls, and all kinds of odd things.

Chapter 2 - Winter wind howled around the cabin. Sabrina glanced up from her homework. She'd grown into a lanky ten year old. Her honey-colored hair strayed from its pony tail. She twisted her finger through a loose strand.

"Finish your spelling," her mother said. Her needle flashed as she worked mending a neighbor's shirt.

Sabrina bent her head dutifully over the paper. Another gust of wind rattled the windows. She jumped. The lantern on the table guttered.

"Sabrina, it's just the wind."

Chapter 3 - "Come on, Katie, slow poke." Sabrina raced ahead, hands and feet moving surely over the rough rocks.

"You're half spider," Katie answered. "Nobody can keep up with you." She picked her way up the rock wall on an easier path.

Sabrina lounged at the top, blue eyes laughing down at her cousin. "But you're better at music. I've got no sense of rhythm."

Katie pulled herself over the top, rolling onto her back and breathing hard. "You've got rhythm, just not the same as anyone else."

"What are we going to do this summer?" Sabrina nibbled on a handful of trail mix. "I don't want to spend my summer watching your brothers play video games again. Think Dianna will let us take a road trip, just the two of us?"

Available soon on Kindle, Smashwords, and in paperback.

I'm supposed to tag three other authors, but most of my author friends are busy with other projects. So, if you are an author and want tagged, leave me a note in the comments and I'll tag you.