Now, I need to get my business cap on and write query letters to agents to see if anyone is interested in it.
In the meantime, I will share bits and pieces with my blog friends just because I would love to start getting feedback now, not years from now when the book is finally in bookstores.
Here's the opening paragraphs...
A large grey squirrel stared at a pile of sparkling rings and earrings, unsure of which one to choose. The squirrel was sitting on the surface of a honey-gold desk, piled with books, papers, a couple of pens and a treasure trove of jewelry. While it’s tail jerked back and forth every few seconds, it edged closer to the jewels, until it was close enough to stretch out its front paw to move one of the rings. Finally, it grabbed a magnificent emerald cut diamond ring encrusted with deep blue sapphires and stuffed it in its pouch. In a flash, it jumped off the desk and ran out of the room.
Theodore Lancaster III grinned as he clicked the button on his stop-watch. SQ-22, or Barney, as Reginald had named him, had beaten his previous training time of three minutes and twenty-nine seconds by almost a whole minute. It wouldn’t be long before Barney was ready for the big time. Theo followed the squirrel, which was trained to return to the special shed that had been built adjacent to the garage.
Reginald, his long-time butler, personal assistant, and chief squirrel technician, met him as he entered the darkened shed. “He won’t give me the jewels, sir.” Reginald rolled his eyes and cocked his head toward the squirrel sitting on top the opened cage.
“For goodness sake, Reggie, just open his mouth, reach in and take it.” Theo grinned. He knew how much Reginald loathed the squirrels. Reginald was a very proper British butler, from a long line of butlers, and he would have left Theodore long ago, but he was almost eighty years old, and Theo paid him very well. And, he admitted when asked, he enjoyed life with his boss.
Without waiting for a reply, Theodore put on a pair of heavy work gloves and picked up the squirrel. Pinching the squirrel’s nostrils shut forced the animal to open his mouth just wide enough for Theo to stick a finger in. Once that was done, it was easy to retrieve the ring. He gave his butler a look that seemed to say, “See how easy that was?”
Reginald muttered a few choice words as he grabbed the now empty squirrel. The little varmit wasn’t going to get any extra treats for this job. Not if he had anything to say about it. That’ll teach him, Reginald thought with a grunt of satisfaction. He shoved SQ-22 back into the cage, secured the opening, and wiped his hands on his white lab apron.
(By the way...this is copyrighted, no reprinting or copying without my permission, okay?)
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