Saturday, April 20, 2013

Baby boomer and Zen 4-21-2013


The Set Up
        This week's snippet is from my first novel, The Tourist Killer. As the story begins, readers meet Claudia Barry, a sixty-two year old woman contemplating retirement.
A baby boomer.
She's a knockout.
She's an elite professional assassin who has mastered the art of disguise.
A cousin, a photographer, introduced her to Zen.
Her grandfather was a motorcycle repairman.
Now, she practices Zen -- with every squeeze of the trigger.

The Eight Sentences

         The butt of the rifle was comfortable against the shooter's shoulder. 
        A deep breath. 
        The shooter, the rifle, the bullet, the target all meshed together into one single entity. 
        The moment arrived.
        Nothing moved except the shooter's right index finger.
        Gail Oppenheimer had been helpless in the arms of a much stronger woman who was slowly bringing a razor to her throat. The blade flashed.
        With no warning, it disappeared.

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28 comments:

  1. An woman assassin... I'm intrigued. Great 8.

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  2. Sounds like an intense read. Thanks for sharing. Great snippet!

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  3. Posted it to my Google plus page and Tweeted it. :) Good luck on upping the views!

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    1. Thanks, Karen.
      In just five hours, we're up to 1/3 of the hits received on last Sunday's blog -- and it's not even Sunday yet!
      Chip

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  4. That was intense. The woman assassin didn't last long. I loved reading your 8.

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  5. Nice introduction to this book, and the character!

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  6. "The shooter, the rifle, the bullet, the target all meshed together into one single entity." Great line and that's exactly how it feels. (Hubby hunts, we target shoot.)

    I remember reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

    (No snippet for me this week.)

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  7. I like the rhythm and pace of this snippet:)

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  8. Thanks for all the comments.
    I appreciate every one!

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  9. I love the set up here. I'm a sucker for strong women heroes and love that this one is an assassin. I was right there with her while she was getting her target in sight. Nice job!

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    1. Thanks, AJ!
      The Tourist Killer received a favorable review from the UK in which the reviewer echoed your comment expressing her boredom with the Jack Reachers of the world.
      Hopefully more women readers will connect as well.

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  10. Excellent description. Drew me right in.

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  11. Wow. Love what you did and didn't say here. You hooked me, Frank.

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  12. Love that she's an older woman who practices Zen meditation!

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  13. A baby boomer assassin who's a knock out and practices Zen. Very cool and fascinating!

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  14. Intriguing. I like the staccato rhythm.

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  15. Intense! Loved the description of the Zen assassin and that she's a woman...great excerpt!

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  16. You left off with a terrific cliff hanger. Nicely done.
    ~Summer
    My Blog Post

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  17. Great tension! A female assassin, interesting. Although it seems she may have just been dispatched.

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  18. I'm just confused. How many people are in this scene (I can count as little as two to up to four)? Who's wielding the knife? Who's Gail? Why did the blade disappear, because it was buried in flesh or put away?

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    1. Understandable, Danielle.
      One of the problems with taking 8 sentences out of context.
      The main character is Claudia Barry, a 62 year old professional assassin.
      Gail is the intended victim of a female serial killer. The serial killer dies as a result of Claudia's shooting skills.
      The knife disappears when Claudia kills the serial killer.
      Thanks for asking!

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  19. Great selection! I love how you describe becoming one with the rifle. What a chilling eight.

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  20. Fantastic excerpt! I felt like I became one with her and the rifle in that one sentence. And this is out now?

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  21. Yes, Jenna. Came out last Oct. on Amazon.
    Should be on Nook in another week or so.

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Tourist-Killer-ebook/dp/B009W6AZVC

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  22. Great 8. Really captured me.

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  23. Intriguing intro. I like that the assassin is female.

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