Writing Wednesday: First Chapter

Creative Commons CC0. What's whiskey got to do with the first chapter in my new novel? Read on.

I’m a little late with this! My grandson graduated from eight grade yesterday. He’s movin’ on up to high school next year. So we all had a bit of a late night. This morning, I went to work at he church. Then I returned home and waited for a window installer/contractor to arrive to check the parsonage’s leaking front window. Since we’ve had a very soggy spring, this situation needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, after the contractor’s visit, I fear the repairs are going to be rather involved, and this will make the Trustees unhappy.
 
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening coughing up a lung. Not sure if my cold is coming back or whether my allergies were aggravated when I trimmed the heck out of a bush in the front of the house. But the coughing was annoying I dosed myself up with various remedies. Fortunately, things have been brought back under control.
 
I know. The life of an assistant pastor/Christian education director/director of communications, reluctant gardener, and struggling author is scintillating, isn’t it? Ha! Not the case today, anyway.
 
So, here’s my Writing Wednesday goodie. It's a link to a PDF of the first chapter from A Good Community. The piece probably needs a bit more polishing. I’m still getting critiques back from my first two beta readers and we’re slowly getting there.
 
A word of explanation about what happens when I start a new novel: the characters often spend the first chapter doing mundane stuff and getting reacquainted with one another other (and I with them). That’s what they’re doing at the start of this novel. Only the very first scene and Eli’s pitch to Tryphena Moore are tied in some way to the main plot.
 
Now, I invite you to sit back, step back into 1864, and be the guests of Maggie, Eli, and the entire household of Greybeal House.


Chapter 1: Eli's Big Idea


I hope you enjoy Chapter 1. If you want to start the series from the beginning, check out the original novel, Saint Maggie. You can find it in the Squeaking Pips Store with links to the book on Amazon, Kindle, and other locations. But if you buy it directly from Squeaking Pips, I’ll even sign it for you and write something nice inside the book!
 

See you on Friday – provided I can catch the time to conduct an interview with Maggie and Eli. Not sure which year to which I’m going to time-travel, but it should be a fun chat with the couple whenever I turn up.
 
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Later, gaters!