I survived my lecture and came back to say everything went well. If the video turned out fine, it will be posted on YouTube, otherwise you’ll have to take my word for it. In that case, I’ll declare I was fabulous.
Meanwhile, in the green land of the never ending rain there was sun. Like a lot. I got freckles all over my face since I was out for long walks every day.
In other news, I decided to put Smashwords to work and made Linda of the Night free there. If somebody will report the lower price to Amazon, eventually the short will become a perma-free. I’d rather have readers taking a chance and sample my work than having the short sitting there, collecting dust.
This Friday’s snippet is brought you by my antihistaminic. At the moment, there’s more pollen than breathable air outside my room.
From Green Grass and High Tide, a science fiction novel I wrote two or three years ago and that might see an editor in the near future:
A soft orchestra of machines sounds, hissing, chirping, and the unmistakable regular thumping of a frail heartbeat, welcomed them inside Mother’s sleeping chamber.
“Come closer my dears.” A feeble voice came from the center of the room.
“Rya, my love—” Tyo’s voice broke.
Jules looked at his father and she saw etched in his face that he missed his companion more than he wanted to show.
“Mother, how do you feel?” Lucia walked past Jules and bent on the big bed that was the point of origin of every sound in the room.
Jules stood at the door petrified, barely breathing.
“I’m happy to sense you. I think I was sleeping before you entered. Tyo, how long has been since last time you talked to me? I have troubles understanding time…” Rya painfully dragged the words one after the other.
“You had an accident several years ago, and we’re keeping you in cryonic sleep until we find a way to reconnect your mind to your body,” he answered.
Jules thought that Father could have sweetened the pill, but Tyo would have never denied his beloved Rya anything, not even a harsh truth.
“Why did you wake me now?”
“Happy second century, my dear Rya. We’ve gathered to celebrate your birthday, love.” Tyo’s eyes were clouded with unwanted moisture.
Monica La Porta 
I love how you manage to bring out so much about the family, their love for each other and the world in such a short snippet. And the opening paragraph was full of such lovely audio descriptions. Great snippet 🙂
Thanks, Clare 🙂 This is one of the seven novels already written before The Priest. I’m working through them to decide if they’re worth to be edited and published. We’ll see which one makes the cut 🙂
I like the last paragraph best. It’s a nice touch and people can relate to gathering around a hospital bed to celebrate a birthday 🙂