Teaser Tuesday in Images

I used to do a Teaser Tuesday post, featuring a short teaser of my current WIP.

I'm doing a little twist on that today, with a heartfelt message going out from my main character, Avery, to Daniel, her crush-next-door. Note: this Avery-ism has been edited for language.

Click on an image to see it larger.
P.S. Yes, this ate up some of my editing time, but my inner artist really needed to come out and play. I'm considering including my artwork in Crow's Rest (the above images are the marvelous Arthur Rackham's) but am waiting to see what an agent or editor says about that before putting too much time into it.

Special Valentine's Day Teaser Tuesday from Crow's Rest

Haven't done a Teaser Tuesday in a long time, but in the spirit of Valentine's Day I thought I'd share a first kiss. Not mine--this is from my WIP, Crow's Rest. Avery's recollection of her first kiss with Daniel:

Memory dropped me into that afternoon last summer, when we hid from a freak thunderstorm in the barn behind his place. We'd kneeled on the hay bales, each pressing an eye to the cracks in the weathered boards to watch the roiling clouds and flashes of lightning. We "oohed" and "aahed" like little kids at a fireworks show.

Until I noticed that I was the only one saying anything, and turned to find Daniel watching me instead of the storm. I could almost see the steam rise off his damp clothes, but he looked away once I was staring back at him. Like he wasn't sure if kissing me, as he so obviously wanted to do, was such a good idea.

Not a good idea? It was about friggin' time. I'd had a crush on him since he moved next door to Uncle Tam's seven years ago. We only saw each other during the summers and holidays, but I'd always felt like we could make it as a couple. And maybe he'd finally come around to my way of thinking.

"Well?" I asked, with one eyebrow cocked. But, for once, he stayed tongue-tied.

So I crawled over to his hay bale, and he looked truly terrified as I closed the gap between us. I laughed—a low, husky sound that I'd never made before—and leaned in.

Once our lips touched, Daniel's doubts seemed to disappear. He grabbed onto me like a drowning man, and we toppled from the bale.

"Hey!" I said, as my elbow and tailbone hit hard on the floorboards.

"Sorry," he mumbled, untangling our limbs.

"I didn't say you had to stop," I said, pulling him back in. "Just trying to avoid having my ass in a sling."

"My dad will have my ass in a sling if he catches us—" he'd started to reply, but I cut him off with a deep kiss, using plenty of tongue.

After that, our lips were too busy for talking. And were pretty much inseparable over the next few days before I headed home.


Happy Valentine's Day, and maybe you'd like to share your first kiss in the comments? Mine was a boy who said he'd give me his pocketknife if I kissed him, and I really wanted a pocketknife at 7 years old so I did. I remember feeling less warmth in that kiss than I did when kissing the back of my hand. Not a stellar beginning to my romantic life.

P.S. Not sure I want to fess up to that artwork, but it took me a whole minute so I guess I should say it's mine!
P.P.S. I posted this as part of the effort to revive Teaser Tuesdays on Absolute Write, but it happened to fit YA Highway's Valentine's Day Blog Lovefest, so I hopped aboard the love train!