Snazzy Snippets: Romance Edition

We hit a little snag in editing this week. And by snag I mean a massive plot hole the size of the Marianas Trench, which has me weeping in a dark corner at the amount of rewriting it’s going to take to fix it. Consider I just hit 55k before discerning the problem, which requires me to go back and fix over half the book, the amount of despairing tears being wept could fill said plot hole twice over. Now if only that was a viable solution.

So, instead of discussing my abysmal writing week, I’m going to cheer myself up immensely by linking up with Snazzy Snippets, hosted by Alyssa@The Devil Orders Takeout and Emily@Loony Literate, and share some excerpts. These come from my current project, Snow, and involve the two MCs, Eric and Nicola. Valentine’s Day might have come and gone, but there’s always time for some fuzzy feels.

A Heartwarming Snippet That Makes Readers Go “Aww!”

Yes, I know, another excerpt from the infamous cookie scene. I think I’ve used it in about three different posts now. But it is by far the most heartwarming of any of my scenes so far, so I’m sharing this anyway.

 Eric plucked a morsel up in his thumb and forefinger and popped it in his mouth. Instantly it exploded with flavour. There were cookies, and then there were mouthwateringly amazing delicacies. These weren’t even cooked yet, but he was already sure this was a success. His mouth watered, begging for a second taste. “These are amazing.”

“I agree. These have turned out pretty good. I think we can count this recipe as a success.” Nicola nodded her head in a considering fashion. “They’ll go down nicely I think.”

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” Eric asked. How did anyone learn to cook like this? This was practically professional quality.

“My mum taught me.” An uncharacteristically sad expression flitted over Nicola’s face. She turned away and started fussing with the trays. “If you think my cookies are good, you should taste hers.”

Instinctively, Eric knew he had touched on a sensitive subject for Nicola. An unexpected feeling of understanding touched him, and he avoided pressing her on the subject, instead trying to lighten the mood with a silly story of his own. If anyone understood sadness over a mother, it was him. “My mum gave up trying to teach me to cook after I burned water and set the oven gloves on fire.” He managed a half smile through his own sudden stab of sadness at the memory. “She wouldn’t let me in the kitchen for anything after that. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t set anything on fire in here yet.”

“You simply can’t learn to cook without making a few mistakes and quite a lot of mess.” Nicola gestured to the kitchen bench, which was now liberally coated with sugar and flour, and to the floor which was even worse. “This is what a kitchen should look like after you’ve finished working in it. Now, shall we get these cookies rolled and in the oven?” She smiled, but there was still a touch of sadness in her eyes. There was a story behind Nicola’s family. Eric couldn’t help but wonder what happened. But then, he could hardly press her for information. Not when he was so desperately trying to hide his own past.

A Kissing Snippet

Sorry folks. This isn’t a kissing book. However, I hate to leave a blank section, so instead I present to you one of my favourite snippets.

Eric caught the intense focus in Andrews’ eyes a second too late. “Watch out,” he gasped, his voice little more than a strangled croak.

It was too late. Andrews swept his hand through the air, pushing a huge gust of wind into Nicola. She flew sideways. Her head crashed into the side of the wardrobe. Then she slid to the ground and lay still. Even as she collapsed, Andrews turned and leapt out the window, a rush of air carrying him away from the building before anyone could stop him.

The other agents were there in the doorway, guns in hand, surveying the situation only seconds after everything played out. Eric looked from them to Nicola, still crumpled on the floor, gun clutched tightly in her hand. Greg’s face was tight as he put up his gun. There was no need to explain what happened here. The red haired Sara dropped to her knees beside her friend, while Greg strode to the window. He pulled a small dart out of the wall. Nicola did get a shot off then, right before Andrews hit her.

Sara shook Nicola’s shoulder. “Nicola. Are you ok? Nicola. Can you hear me?”

Blood trickled down the side of Nicola’s face and her face was pale. But, even as Eric watched, her eyes fluttered open. “Not so loud,” she mumbled. “My head kills.”

Sara let out a shaky laugh. “It should do. You just demolished a wardrobe with it.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t turn this into a habit,” Nicola said.

A Snippet Where Love Interests First Appear Together

Not quite the heartwarming first meeting, but a pretty accurate description of the ups and downs of their relationship.

As they headed down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen, they unexpectedly met Bethany stepping out of the lift with an unfamiliar boy by her side. He was about the same age as them with dark hair and a serious, closed off expression. Nicola eyed him with much curiosity. Well, that was different. She jerked her head in their direction, muttering to Sara, “Megan’s guy from last night?”

“Could be.” Sara flashed a smile at the newcomer. “Hi. You must be new here. I’m Sara.” She stuck out a hand for him to shake.

“Eric.” He didn’t take her hand, just watched her with eyes that held buckets of suspicion.

Sara’s smile faltered and she dropped her hand. Then her smile fixed back into place, though a little less bright than before. “Bethany helping you settle in?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” Sara’s voice trailed away, like she didn’t know what to make of this guy.

Well, Nicola knew what to make of them. Either he was feeling intensely awkward, or he was just a stuck up little so-and-so. Either way he was extremely rude. She folded her arms and lifted her chin, watching him with growing coolness. “Not a big talker, hey?” she said. “Or does it hurt you to say more than one word at a time?”

He turned that frigid gaze on her. Nicola pressed her lips together and held his eye. Not intimidating at all. What was it Megan said? Bethany could take him down if he got violent? Not a challenge at all. Something spiralled through the air and landed on her skin. A snowflake? In the middle of summer inside? The temperature was dropping noticeably now, and Nicola was willing it bet it wasn’t because they’d upgraded the air conditioning. Which meant this guy had to be doing it.

Bethany must have come to the same conclusion, because she touched him gently on the arm. “I’ll take you to the kitchen now. It’s this way.”

She must have been using her calming aura on him again, because he followed her without protest, though he kept his eyes firmly fixed on Nicola until he’d passed her completely. For her past, Nicola glared at his retreating back until he had completely vanished round the corner. Only then did she relax a little, though she couldn’t quite let go of her annoyance yet.

“Well.” She said finally. And that word pretty much said it all.

And that’s it folk. My slightly less than romantic Snazzy Snippets post. Phew, that ended up a bit long! Are you joining in this month? Link me to your post in the comments? Which excerpt was your favourite? Is there any kissing in your book? And tell me, do you have a scene that you share over and over again?