JACK - Galgotha Brighton,
indoctrinated at a young age to the seamy underbelly of espionage, trained as a Blackguard, is arrested for the brutal slaying
of his family; his life of intrigue opens a wounded psyche heralding a spate of murders that will become the subject of study
for centuries.
Brighton must be found and eliminated before
he reveals information that could destroy the Royal House of England. Hunted by the elite Blackguard, severing all hope for
a future, he escapes prison never to be heard from again.
Opening lines:
Jack
Convoluted
shadows swell, smothering everything in their path as they creep on feline feet toward White Chapel. They slither through
the streets; tenement walls undulate in a macabre dance, moving to the silent syncopation of forgotten songs. Contorted
faces stretch forth, hands in supplication reach toward me. Cold bony fingers pull at me, clawing at my flesh. Long dead eyes
bore into my heart and find the guilt that lies hidden. A voice whispers in my ear "Watch, this too you will inherit."
The
voice is familiar. I struggle for recognition. With recognition comes horror, then denial. Memories? Or just a childish nightmare?
My well trained mind buries the visions once more lest I lose all sensibility.
A Matter of Survival
He
walked down the dusty path toward home. Memories greeted him with the sight of every hill.
Reminded of both the sweet times, and the ones that were filled with pain he tried to stay on the good times. It didn’t work.
Chris,
his parents and three brothers etched out a living on a piece of hand-me-down land in Iowa.
They held on to dreams that gave them a reason to keep trying to make life work, until they could try no more. Their paths would split, their lives
would be altered, and each would take a different route to survival.
I wanted to share
the good news and Tell you how grateful I am for having had the opportunity to attend the regional conference in NPR early
this year. Bless you for all the hard work and dedication.
Sincerely,
Irene Patino, soon to be author.
Best of luck to you,
Irene, from all of us at the NPR Writers Group.
