Writing compliments

What is the best compliment you've ever received as a writer?

Mine came a few nights ago when I read my current WIP, Mountain Escape, to my husband. Now, he has been there for me through ALL of my books and ideas. He's listened not only to what I've written, but what I've read, plus some of the beta reads I really liked. He's listened to me rant about banned books and other stuff. He's heard the whole publishing spiel about how it all works. And he's still married to me, lol.

This has been going on for well over a year. Of course, throughout the course of our fifteen years together he's also had the reader's digest version of health, herbalism, horses, and everything in between. I think it takes a really good man to put up my ramblings, especially when I start talking about what my character's would like as if they were real. (This confuses some of my friends, they're like, "Who?")

So I read him parts of Addie's story. At one point he said, "Should I feel really bad and depressed? This is terrible." YES!! Then at another point he started laughing and said, "Wow, how can you insert humor into that terrible scene. That's amazing." Double Yes!! He laughed where he was supposed to, was horrified at the appropriate time and actually liked it!

When I got done he stood there for a few minutes and just looked at me. Then he said, "I'm impressed. Your writing continues to get better and this one is great. You'll definitely sell it."

Now, that is high praise from my husband. He only says what he means. I learned a looong time ago not to ask a question that I didn't want an honest answer to.

What is your best writing compliment?

Teaser Tuesday - Mountain Escape

This is a teaser from my SNI (shiny new idea). Currently I have an entire chapter written :) This is at the end of the first chapter.

I stood and walked to the edge of the small cliff we were on. It was quite a ways down to the river bed. The swift-flowing river rushed over boulders the size of a small car. There was something moving halfway down the slope but I couldn’t tell what it was. I inched closer to the edge, grabbed on to a tree and leaned over to get a better view.

“Be careful,” Samantha said. “It’s been raining, so it’s really wet.” Her tone was more nice than condescending, but it still bugged me.

I turned around quickly to say that I was fine and lost my footing. I grabbed for the tree but my fingers missed it. I was suspended in the air for a fraction of a second and I felt myself falling. It was if my stomach and brain stayed behind, on the edge of the cliff. My arm struck something sharp then a pain wrenched through my leg and finally I connected with the ground and started sliding down the slope.

I heard the water and felt the spray as I came to a halt at the river’s edge. My head struck one of those ginormous boulders and pain shot through my body. As I lay there staring up at the sky, blinking the stars floating in my vision away and fighting the wave of nausea, I heard something. I pulled my head up, a hammer started pounding inside, and I saw a black bear lumbering down.

Guess I figured out what the moving shape was. I really hoped the bear was going to be friendly and my mind, fuzzy from the pain, ran through the safety tips when facing a bear. At the very least I could curl into a ball and hope the claws wouldn’t connect.

If only my parents could see me now. They’d probably regret not sending me to Juvie.

The bear rambled over and sniffed me. Then it opened it’s mouth and bared it’s teeth.