Shower Epiphany

My good friend Christa once wrote that she gets some of her best ideas when she's in the shower. Well, I had a shower epiphany this a.m. for the book I'm working on.

It's so weird how you'll be washing your hair (finally, after like two days of no showering--it's no wonder I'm itching--I'm DIRTY!), and then suddenly, you're like WOW! THAT is how I need to start the story! Another friend, Karen, was talking about how you need to start a novel with an inciting incident rather than a 'situation' so I need to ramp it up, freak out the reader, get my clutches into the heart of the story and BAM! Hit you with my best shot!

So, now, how am I gonna find like three straight hours to write what's in my head? I don't know, but I'll do it. Because, while I still love my muse
that Swishy and I picked out together, I found another inspiration piece last night, at Hallmark of all places, and when I saw it, I knew I had to have it:



Because I believe I can, so I will. No matter how long it takes!

THere's more up over at 40 Weeks, A Novel if you've been reading, and also, below, is an excerpt on the book I had an epiphany on...

Beware. It's graphic, and NO MOM, IT'S NOT A MEMOIR!!!...

They were in her room, and she felt insecure, like a little girl, like she shouldn’t be in her bedroom with him. It wasn’t grown-up enough. There were stuffed animals, band posters tacked to the walls, books, empty wine cooler bottles, tops and shorts thrown about, magazines tossed on the floor, jewelry and hair clips and makeup piled up on the dresser. She should have cleaned her room, made things more romantic. Hell, she bought new underwear for the occasion; she should have cleaned her room. She knew this would be happening. And she hadn’t prepared.

He didn’t care. He was focused on her, not any other details. He was lying on top of her, and he was still clothed, although he had slipped off her shorts and tank. He stared so hard into her eyes that she could see her own reflection in his deep pupils.

“What?” Her shaky voice took her by surprise.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

It was just what she wanted to hear. It was the perfect thing to say, at the perfect time, and she lifted her head to his, and his mouth found hers, and he kissed her, soft, and then a bit harder, a little demanding. But it was good. It was all good. And even though she was practically naked, she felt so warm beneath him. And safe. Closer than she had ever felt with another person.

He was experienced, more than any of the others. He didn’t rush. Her parents were still at the lake, calling daily to make sure the house hadn’t burned down, and that she was behaving herself. If they only knew.

He moved down to her feet, and caressed her toes, while she tried not to giggle. He looked up at her. “This little piggy…” She was glad she and Collette had gone for pedicures earlier in the week.

Joe moved up slowly, trailing his finger over her calf, circling her knee with his thumb, then rubbing the back of her thigh up toward her butt. Marnie spontaneously arched her back. Be cool, she thought. Be cool.

As he crawled his body up hers, his lips stopped where his fingers had mapped out her skin. He slid his fingers through the hip string of her underwear – satin and purple – then he found the spot he was looking for and smiled at her reaction to his touch. He teased for a while, played with her. She closed her eyes and thought of only what he was doing to her. With her head back and her eyes closed, she felt the warmth of his determined and skilled fingers, of finding his way into her depths, reaching for her. She imagined him wanting to know all of her secrets. She would tell him everything.

There was a moan, and Marnie knew it had come from her, yet she felt like she was in another world, watching someone else do this to another person. Not to her. She focused, and felt Joe reaching deeper, and deeper, until she couldn’t help herself. She grabbed his shoulders and lifted her hips.

“You want to?” he whispered, his face near hers.

“Yes, God yes.”

“I don’t have anything.”

“I don’t care. It’s okay. I just had my period.”

He slid her underwear off and she was already so wet from his fingers. He pulled off his shorts, and Marnie saw cute plaid navy boxers. Her mind clicked over and she wondered if he had chosen special underwear too. Then she shrugged the thought away, sure that guys didn’t think like that. Like girls did.

He pulled off his boxers, and this was the first time she really got to look at him. He was completely naked, and very ready. She ran her hands along the sides of his abdomen up to his strong shoulders, his tanned chest. She looked at his belly button even, the skin smooth, and the spot where he was disconnected from his mother soft and round. A perfect belly button. She grinned, and took him in her own hand, letting him know she was okay with it. With everything – with what he was doing to her, and what he was going to do to her.

He lifted himself onto her, grabbed her wrists, and held onto them over her head with his hands. His hair fell over his eyes. She wanted to see his face, and the blue of his eyes. Wanted to watch him while he did this to her.

Her breasts rose up and her nipples were hard. He leaned down to suck on her neck, then to tease at each nipple. She could feel how hard he was, beside her, naked, and how close he was to her, and her mind was reeling, and she wanted to yell at him to do it. Do it now! Do it now!

She wanted him inside of her.

He pushed her legs further apart with his own knees, and let one of her wrists free, while he clasped her other hand into his own. She reached up to push his hair away from his eyes. He smiled at her and she felt like she might cry.

With his free hand, he led himself into her, and it was easy, and it fit so completely, because she had been wanting this, had been waiting, and the teasing had been going on for so long, and the sharpness took her breath away when he found himself inside her and heat enclosed all of her, like the oxygen had all but been depleted, and she wanted to breathe, but couldn’t, and she wanted to suck in all the air inside of him so she could breathe, so she lifted her head and her lips met his and they found one another and while he was moving in and out of her, purposeful, she was eating at his mouth, tasting all of him, trying to devour him up so she would not forget any of this.