Final WeWriWa from The Vet Student

It's WeWriWa time!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.
This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

For the month of May, we will be reading snippets from The Vet Student, Katie's story in the Loving Her series.

One night changed everything for Katie. From that moment on, her life was propelled forward like a rocket. Determined to escape the small town and her religious, stifling parents, Katie works hard to get into veterinary school... in Philadelphia. 

Katie refused to let anything – or anyone – destroy her dream. Not even her own parents. Even in the face of danger, Katie held true to herself and her beliefs. She suffered many losses along the way, but she gained so much more. Tumultuous and tender, Katie's story closes the Loving Her series... for now.

Background on the snippet: Katie is almost done with vet school. She moved in with Linda, and they couldn't be happier. Katie's relationship with Sam was almost nil, sadly. Things have become increasingly tense between Katie and her parents, but with the light at the end of the tunnel being so bright, she wasn't worried about it. She is in one of her rotations when her cell phone rings. This snippet has been (significantly) edited to fit 8 sentences.

“Hey, babe; what’s up?”  
There was still silence from Linda.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” Katie asked.
Linda was clearly crying and sniffling; “Please, just come home - It’s an emergency, I need you here as soon as possible.”
“Okay, I’ll get there as soon as I can; I love you.”
“Me too,” Linda swallowed hard, then she hung up.

That was weird: Linda always said she loved her too - why didn’t she say it? What on earth could possibly be going on?

I hope you liked it! Happy reading! 

Character of the Week: Maria from The Writer/the Loving Her series

Despite the age gap, Maria Lopez blends right in with the rest of the crew from the Loving Her series.

Maria hails from Puerto Rico. She was raised on the tropical island, and her original home was always something that held a deep meaning to her. As an older child (at the age of 12), her family came to the States, and they settled in California.

She adjusted well to her new life in America. It was a whole new world, and it was all very exciting and intriguing to the young girl. Maria's life was full of both cultures and both languages. She embraced all that was American, while still following her Puerto Rican traditions.

She was a good student. She saw and understood the unlimited potential she had if she applied herself in school. She worked diligently in all of her classes, but she especially excelled in linguistics.


She went off to Pepperdine University for her degree in journalism. She was the first college graduate in her family; she did her best to help support her other family members.

As a young professional, She attended a writing conference where she met a wonderful woman named Adelaide. The two hit it off immediately. They spent a fair amount of time together during the conference, and a friendship had been forged.

The two remained in contact with each other for quite a while.

One day, Adelaide informed Maria of a wonderful job opportunity with her. The only problem was that the position was in Philadelphia. It was a difficult decision. It was the job opportunity of a lifetime, but it would mean a separation from her family. Maria brought her dilemma to the family, to see what they thought. Her parents - and everyone around her - were all very supportive of the job.

So with some excitement, along with trepidation, Maria moved to the East Coast.

Out of kindness, Adelaide offered her home to Maria. The two lived and worked together. Maria loved her new job. She and Adelaide were great roommates, and everything seemed to be perfect.

After months of living together, Adelaide confessed  her love to Maria. Maria being the unflappable woman that she is, admitted that she had deep feelings for Adelaide as well. They were slightly backwards from most couples as they started living together before they started "dating."

The relationship went well. Considering it was the early 1980s, though, there was fear of being found out. Maria seamlessly transitioned to working for the Hispanic sister publication of Adelaide's.

Their life played out beautifully, until Adelaide got leukemia. She died thirteen years prior to when Maria's story begins.

Her story begins as she drives in the city, with the sky turning an ominous shade of black, hinting at the storm to come.

Where we meet Maria is indeed a storm. It is a time of change - and even some upheaval. She leaves the job she's had for the last twenty five years. Not only is it a career change, in a way, she severs a tie to Addie.

She creates new friendships, and reconnects with old friends. Through all of which, she meets Stephania.

Stephania is unlike anyone Maria has ever met. She is young, pushy, outspoken, unique, and full of life. At first, she grates on the quiet, reserved Maria. Once Maria opens herself up to Steph, even in the smallest way, she wiggles her way right into Maria's heart.

The idea of dating someone - especially someone so much younger - is frightening to Maria. She never opened her heart up to anyone since Adelaide died. She was content in her solitude, and she felt obligated to Addie.


As things progress, Maria is excited, fearful, and terribly confused. She enjoys Stephania's company, and all that she has to offer. But she is afraid of the depth of the relationship. She hasn't felt anything like that in a very long time. And she is puzzled. She doesn't know if it's alright to fall in love with someone else. Was she being unfaithful to Adelaide? Would Adelaide approve? What was she supposed to do?


The beauty in all this is that Stephania gives Maria all the time and space she needs. When they take their first trip together to New York, Maria is a bag of nerves. Steph does her best to try to calm and distract Maria. When she comes out of the bathroom in a sensuous night gown, though, it proves to be too much. In a beautiful, tender moment, Stephania calls Maria over to her. Rather than seducing her, she simply embraces her, and lets Maria weep. That moment was the solidifying and defining moment in their relationship.

For all of her sensitivities, Maria has a spicy side to herself as well. Whether it's chewing out telemarketers, or making sexual innuendos, Maria is always very sharp witted.

Maria brings Stephania out to California to meet her family. This was the most frightening and exhilarating thing she had done in years. Thankfully, her family loves Steph, and Steph loves them. It was perfect.


Then the clouds darkened. Just when Maria thought the storm was over, it was only just beginning. These clouds bring more turmoil. Marisol, Maria's sister, calls her with some devastating news. According to Marisol, no one in the family approves of Stephania. To make matters worse, despite years of seemingly accepting Maria as a lesbian, they actually don't. In fact, their mother does not want to see Maria until she breaks up with Steph and turns away from homosexuality, Marisol says. This is the storm's center, the EF5 tornado in the middle of it all.

Her entire world comes crashing down while she and Steph are in California again, for Stephania to shoot with Curve Magazine. Maria receives a message from Marisol. Their mother had died. Maria tries desperately to hide her tears from Steph before she goes off to shoot. When she comes back, though, Maria is weeping, and tells her the bad news.

At a time when emotions are at an all time high, and tension is strong, Maria discovers something amazing. Her family did love and accept her all along. Marisol had lied to Maria. She also lied to everyone else in the family. Marisol was the one who could not accept Maria as a lesbian, not their mother. Though Maria's heart was broken that her mother had died, she now had the most beautiful family reunion as well.

Their uncle Guillermo asked Maria to call Marisol to come see him. When Maria does, it becomes a confrontation.

Seeing Marisol get right in Maria's face, Stephania ran outside. She immediately defended Maria, and called Marisol out on her lies. She grabs Marisol by the hair, and says all the things that needed to be said. She defends Maria, their family, and even God. Once again, despite Marisol's distance, Maria's family is connected.

Family had always been important to Maria. She always loved her friends and family deeply. Personal connections were her top priority. Through the highs and lows of life, the trials and triumphs of every day, Maria remained strong and faithful to everyone in her life. She is a strong soul, an incredible woman who gave so much to everyone who knew her. She had love, she had fire, she had compassion, she had fear, she had humor, she had severity inside her. She was a woman of the greatest kind.

Favorite quote from Maria: “There was never anything wrong with you. You are perfect just the way God made you.”

Happy reading!
http://www.amazon.com/Writer-Loving-Her-Book-ebook/dp/B00K6ZEAAU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1428031920&sr=8-6&keywords=lauren+shiro

WeWriWa!

It's WeWriWa time!

Click www.wewriwa.com for more information and to see other 8 Sentence Sunday posts.
This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight sentences from a published work or even a WIP (work in progress). Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! It's a great way to meet readers, writers, and your next favorite book!  :)

For the month of May, we will be reading snippets from The Vet Student, Katie's story in the Loving Her series.

One night changed everything for Katie. From that moment on, her life was propelled forward like a rocket. Determined to escape the small town and her religious, stifling parents, Katie works hard to get into veterinary school... in Philadelphia. 

Katie refused to let anything – or anyone – destroy her dream. Not even her own parents. Even in the face of danger, Katie held true to herself and her beliefs. She suffered many losses along the way, but she gained so much more. Tumultuous and tender, Katie's story closes the Loving Her series... for now.

Background on the snippet: It's a busy Friday night, and Katie is working at the Pizza Parlor, when someone really catches her eye. This is when Linda and Katie meet.


As Katie bobbed and weaved her way through the crowd, she saw her standing in line. Tall and lean, she was everything Katie was not. Her shaggy brown hair was alluring in its own way. She wore a white button down shirt that rested loosely over her thin frame. Her light colored jeans hugged her endless legs. She stood out from the blur of people that surrounded them both.


I hope you liked it! Happy reading!

Character of the Week: Carol from Imperfect and Impeccable

Her own IT company, a beautiful wife, classic muscle car owner, a nice house in the suburbs...Carol Mathers seems to have it all. But does she really?

Carol was an only child. Her mother had complications with her pregnancy, and Carol was born prematurely. As a result, her mother could no longer have children, and Carol had serious medical needs. Both of which were resentments that her mother held against her for her entire life. Their relationship was strained at best.

LouAnne, Carol's Mother, was a rather cold and distant person to begin with. She was a very independent person. Her parents never showed much affection, when she began dating Walter, Carol's father, he opened her up to love and affection. The pain and disappointment from the issues with her pregnancy caused her to close herself right back up again.

Carol's relationship with her father was a completely different story. The two were very close. Her father loved history, so Carol would watch old movies and documentaries with him, they'd read together. They spent as much time together as they could. As Carol said, "He loved me like a daughter, but treated me like a son."

Right before she went off to college, Carol felt it was important to come out to her parents. That was a defining moment in her life.  As to be expected, her mother did not take the news well. Carol's father attempted to mediate between them, but it escalated severely. He finally needed a break because he could no longer see the two women he loved be in such a place of hurt and anger. He went off for a ride on his motorcycle. It was his last ride.

After hearing the news of her husband's death, Carol's mother kicked her out of the house and cut her out of her life completely.

With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Carol decided to immerse herself in her school work. She lived on campus year 'round. She took classes every term, even during the breaks. It was the only way she could survive physically or emotionally.



Coming from a background of such pain, Carol often kept to herself. She was very quiet and studious. She never went out, partied, or did much outside of school. She already felt like such a failure as a human being. It was easier to be alone and not connect with people than to hurt them or get her heart broken again.

Her twenty first birthday brought a lot of change. Her roommate insisted that they go out and celebrate. Marlene, Carol's roommate, was able to wrangle up a good sized group of people, and they all celebrated at one of the local lesbian bars.



While there, Carol literally stumbled upon Alex, a twenty four year old lesbian who was simply there that night to people-watch. Both she and Carol got more than an eye-full. Call it love at first sight, Alex drove Carol home and gave her a celebratory kiss good night.

The couple began dating. Carol was absolutely infatuated with Alex. The relationship blossomed into a wonderful, committed romance.


After Carol graduated, she moved in with Alex. When they pulled in the driveway, Carol was struck by an even greater present: Alex's brother Byron bought Carol's father's 1967 GTO for her. It was such an amazing gesture. For Alex and her family to go out of their way to get something for Carol was a generosity she had never known before. To have the freedom and independence of owning her own car was something new. Most importantly, she had a connection to her father. She had a gift that would remind her of him every time she saw it, every time she drove it. It was a gift of an enormous magnitude.

Carol and Alex were able to create a wonderful life for themselves. They had a strong relationship, they had good friends surrounding them, Alex's family eventually embraced Carol. They even bought a house together. Carol, ever so fearful and doubting of herself, was always waiting for things to disintegrate.

When Carol couldn't seem to fight a cold, she went to her doctor. That was when things fell apart.


Carol learned she had acquired AIDS as a result of a blood transfusion she received as a child. Things were only compounded further when it was discovered that Alex had acquired AIDS from Carol.


Alex and Carol were able to maintain their strong relationship. Alex's brother and sister, her brother especially, struggled tremendously. Bryon, Alex's brother, was livid. His anger towards Carol for getting Alex sick was incredible. Candace, Alex's younger sister, was simply heart broken. Through a lot of time, and a lot of talk, they all remained a close family.

Their lives changed dramatically. Doctor visits, medical needs, even joining a support group all became the new center of their lives. On a positive note, Carol became the owner of her IT company, which was a tremendous blessing for them both.


Ups and downs, life and death, people coming and going were all par for the course for Alex and Carol. One fateful day changed the quiet nature of their lives.


At the bank, Carol and Alex suddenly find themselves in the middle of a bank robbery/hostage situation. Alex gets shot in the crossfire.

Unfortunately, Alex succumbs to her injuries.

Now alone, Carol is unable to go on. Her life is filled with pain and death. She whole-heartedly believes that she is fully responsible for the deaths of her father and Alex. In a severe state of depression and self-loathing, Carol attempts to kill herself.


Impeccable begins where Imperfect leaves off. Carol survives her suicide attempt. Now she is forced to reconcile all the pain of her past.

Through conversations with herself, with her friends and family, the doctors and nurses, and even some letters to Alex, we really get to see Carol in a new light.

Her mother's distance caused her to always feel unwanted, and sub-par. She feels inadequate. In order to keep the people around her happy, she feels she must be a people pleaser. She bought the house for Alex mostly because she felt she she had to compensate for herself.


Carol was also angry. She was furious at God for causing so much pain and heartache. She was livid because the two people she loved the most had died - and quite possibly because of her. She was indignant because she didn't die. She was just angry.


Carol was also still just a very hurt, scared child. She still held onto the old fears and memories of growing up in and out of the hospital. She was afraid of life, afraid of the doctors, afraid of it all. She remembered being alone in the hospital as a child, and that same pain and fear resonated with her in this hospital stay.



Carol was so unsure of herself. She didn't really know who she was. She had no idea how other people viewed her. She didn't know any of her talents because she didn't believe that she had any. More than anything, she needed to discover who and what she was.

Carol Mathers is the vulnerable person inside all of us. Even though our stories may not mimic hers, those same fears and insecurities are universal. By reading her story, and discovering who she is, we are able to discover ourselves.

Favorite quote from Carol: “How do you move on when you’ve killed the love of your life?”

Happy reading!
http://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00KXHUN84/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1427938154&sr=8-8&keywords=lauren+shiro
http://www.amazon.com/Impeccable-Lauren-Shiro-ebook/dp/B00KXNR1LA/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1427938154&sr=8-10&keywords=lauren+shiro