Today is Wyrmrot’s birthday. My young adult debut is now available on Amazon in paperback, eBook, and on Kindle Unlimited.
To celebrate, I thought I would share the very first scene I wrote for this book all the way back in November 2016. It was the scene that started it all. I was busy working on a different project and scribbled it down to maybe come back to later. Now here we are almost 9 (!!!) years later, and this scene is part of the published book.
Scroll to the end if you’d like to see the original notebook draft vs what actually made it into the book.
The woman approached slowly, her gait shuffling.
As Zelda drew near, she saw the woman had dirt smeared on her face. A large rip ran up the right leg of her dress pants, and she appeared to be missing a shoe.
The woman moved closer with that odd, jolting gait. Maybe she’s injured. “Excuse me, I—” A noise bubbled up from the woman’s throat, and Zelda faltered.
A growl.
Inhuman.
Zelda’s eyes found hers, and they were the same as the noise she’d made. She took a step back, but the woman kept coming, her arms outstretched and swiping at the air like claws.
She gurgled again.
“Run,” Cooper shouted from somewhere behind Zelda.
Zelda twisted away from the woman and sprinted toward the sound of Cooper’s voice, not a moment too soon. A second more and the woman would have gotten a hold of her throat instead of grasping at empty air.
The woman roared in frustration when she realized her meal had gotten away.
Cooper wasn’t where Zelda had left him, and she frantically scanned the area. He couldn’t have abandoned her now.
On the verge of panic, she finally spied him up ahead, waving for her to hurry. He rounded the corner of an old brick building and disappeared.
“Up here,” he called when she turned the corner.
Zelda looked up, breathless from her run, to find Cooper on a rusted fire escape that appeared to be barely hanging on to the side of the building.
“Hurry!”
The rusted end of the ladder hung a good six inches out of reach. She’d have to jump and hope for the best.
Cooper’s eyes focused on something behind her, and Zelda knew the woman must have caught up. She risked a glance back and, sure enough, there she was.
And she’d brought some friends.
Zelda estimated she would have only seconds before they reached her. She crouched and then launched herself into the air. Her fingers brushed the bottom rung but couldn’t grab hold. She fell back to the ground, the impact vibrating up her legs.
“Come on, Ze. You can do it.”
The sound of Cooper’s voice distracted them. They slowed, looking up at him and giving Zelda a second chance.
This time, she made it.
Her fingers grasped the rusted metal bar and, using the last of her strength, Zelda pulled herself up, climbing until she reached the platform where Cooper was waiting.
The people circled below them, but they didn’t follow.
Zelda’s body shuddered as she tried to catch her breath, the adrenaline flowing away and leaving her weak. She leaned against the brick wall next to Cooper, and when she had enough air to speak, she asked, “What’s wrong with those people?”
And for fun, here is a photo of the original notebook scene:
You will notice it was originally written in first person, and Zelda’s name was Tess. Both of those things changed as soon as I sat down to actually draft.
Anyway huge thank you to anyone who has read/reviewed/shouted about it on social media/preordered/bought a copy of this book. You rock, and I hope you’ll stick around for the sequel.
If you’d like to grab a copy for yourself or read it on Kindle Unlimited, you can find it here:
Congrats! 🎉🎉🎉