The First Page of THE SAVAGE GRACE...as envisioned by Brodi Ashton

Ever wonder what your favorite book would be like if a totally different author had written it?

I can tell you that sometimes authors daydream about letting someone else write their books. Sometimes we might even beg someone else to take a crack at a difficult scene . . . or you know, the entire novel. That's what we call the "bargaining stage" of Oh-Crap-I-Have-To-Write-A-Book-And-I-Think-I've-Completly-Fogotten-How-To-String-Words-Together-Coherently-itis.

Well, a little over a year ago, I was sitting in a bookstore cafe with my critique partner Brodi Ashton (author of the amazing novel EVERNEATH). We were both hopped up on caffeine and cookies, had had little to no sleep, and were supposed to be working furiously toward our deadlines. Instead, we were staring, bleary-eyed, at our respective blank computer screens, only mildly freaking out about being stuck. That is until we were struck by the most brilliant idea! Brodi handed her laptop to me, and I scooted mine across the table to her--and we set to work on each others' projects.

Within a matter of minutes, the words were flowing. I'd whipped out a full page for Brodi's EVERNEATH jacket copy, and Brodi had written her version of the first page of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Sadly, Brodi's first page didn't make it into the final version of TSG (I have no idea why!) but with her permission, I am posting it here for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The first page of THE SAVAGE GRACE . . . as envisioned by Brodi Ashton:

His wet nose nuzzled the insteps of my feet, making me shiver.

“Stop it, boy,” I said, giggling. I pulled the sheets tighter around me. “It’s cold.”

He looked at me with big, brown puppy eyes, and cocked his head to the side.

“I know, I know. You hate it when I call you ‘boy’.” I ran my hands through his white wolfy mane. “I meant, ‘Stop it, Daniel’.”

He snuggled closer, panting. His hot moist breath misted my face.

“Ewwww. Down boy.”

A sharp whine escaped him, and it turned into a playful growl. Uh oh. I’d called him ‘boy’ one too many times. His ears perked up, and he hunched over his front paws as if preparing for a spring attack.

I tried to fight a smile. “Daniel, don’t you dare-” I didn’t get any more words out. Daniel had pounced on top of me, and soon we were wrestling, his large capable paws getting tangled in the soft blanket covering my bed.

A knock at my bedroom door made us both freeze.

“Gracie? You okay?” My dad’s voice sounded worried.

Daniel began to growl, and I tried to cover his canine mouth with my hand.

“Shhh. Remember, you’re not allowed in here. Baby James is allergic,” I whispered. He lowered his head onto his front paws, as if promising to be good. I raised my voice. “I’m fine, Dad. Just a little restless.”

He didn’t answer right away, and I could see the shadow of his feet pause at the door.

“Okay, Gracie. Just remember what the bible says about beastiality.”

I rolled my eyes. That’s dad for you. Always overly concerned with my eternal salvation. What he didn’t realize that here, in my bed, with my wolfy man/dog, I was already in heaven.

“I know, Dad. I know.”

So . . . yeeeaaah. Brodi's first page may be quite different than the one that I ended up writing for TSG, but I do owe her many thanks because this little writing experiment was one of the things that helped me break out of my writer's block and get back to work on my own book.

Be sure to come back on Friday because I will be launching something HUGE here on the blog that you won't want to miss. (You may even get a chance to create your own little part of the Dark Divine world.)

Oh, and be sure to let Brodi know what you think of her version of TSG in the comments!