Believe it or not, the book is NOT about a monster. Not that you could tell by what I wrote today. Here’s a small excerpt.
I gulped as I
remembered the rusted hinges and the hidden lock on the door. Someone had wanted
that door to remain closed, probably to keep out the monster standing in the
doorway.I had unlocked that door. Whatever happened next, it was my
fault.A quick scan of the room showed me that there was not a calm
face in sight. Everyone in the room shared Dr. Wilson’s dread of the unknown
creature.The monster took a step forward, which unnerved me, but not
as much as the whoosh of air that suddenly blew past my arm.Even before I turned and saw the flash of white disappear
around the corner, I knew what had happened.We had been abandoned, ditched, left to fend for ourselves.
Every man in the room, including Dr. Wilson, had turned tail and run.My daughters and I were alone in the room. Alone, that was, except
for the monster.I watched in horror as the creature took another step into
the room and reached out a claw to grab the doorknob.At this point, I panicked. The only way out would take us
directly in front of that door. So I did the only thing I could think of. I
shoved my children down to the floor and tossed myself on top of them. If we
were lucky, the monster wouldn’t notice us. But if it did, at least it would
have to go through me before it got to my kids.
A little rough, I know. But that’s how first drafts should be. I’ll clean it up and make it all pretty in the rewrites.