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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Here's a bit from The Fall. Not because I'm not working on something else...but because it's the thing I'm thinking about (obsessing? no, not me!) this week. This was a difficult scene for me because it was one of the earliest I wrote, and because I channeled, or tried to channel, my own childhood fears into it. And then I had to take myself out and make sure it was all Madeline.

I stand and pad across my room to put my hands on the heavy wooden door. I can feel the house breathing, or whatever it does. I can feel it watching. Opening the door, I position it carefully, folding the edge of the rug with my foot and using a thick book to keep the door from moving.

I take two steps back. It still feels…wrong. Closing the door is difficult. The malaise that causes horror of closed in spaces, the one the doctors call claustrophobia, has always troubled me. The door must be slightly open, but not so much? I adjust it, nudging the book with my foot. This feels better, but still, I’m on edge so it can’t be right. I put my hand back to the door. It creaks, louder than a door should when moved only a fraction of an inch. I rest my hand against the wood, too long because the feelings that seep into me are not my own. Dissatisfaction is ever the mood of the house.

It wants me to open the door. To put the books back on the bureau, to straighten the rug.

But completely open doors are as terrifying as being closed in with…whatever might find its way into my room. There are things, living and dead, creeping through these halls, and I’d rather they creep past than linger beside me while I sleep.

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know I adore this book.

I want to hold it in my hands and fondle it inappropriately.

I love how the house is as much a character as the people that live within it.

June 29, 2010 at 6:34 AM  
Blogger grace said...

eeeee I've always been so excited about this book thanks for the TEASE

June 29, 2010 at 6:47 AM  
Blogger Hannah said...

Awesome teaser, Bethany! I'm very intrigued.

June 29, 2010 at 6:54 AM  
Blogger Nomes said...

I love this. i love how you tell us how you channelled some of your own experience to write this,

I'm liking the voice which is evident in the first line, and the creepiness that intensifies right through to the final sentence - which is my favourite line. Just spooky...

June 29, 2010 at 6:55 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

whew...seriously gave me chills! EXCELLENT tease! more please

June 29, 2010 at 8:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this has a very distinct voice and i think you create the eerie mood perfectly.

lovely tease

June 29, 2010 at 3:15 PM  
Blogger Karla Calalang said...

Wow, this was fantastic. I really like the creepiness going on. I seriously wonder what will happen next to your MC!

June 29, 2010 at 7:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent tease.

Haha, I totally relate to your MC in this snippet. I hope that doesn't mean I'm crazy. But I've totally hovered between the door being shut and the door being open, and just what might come in if the door was TOO open (like being half-open or shut would save me).

June 29, 2010 at 7:34 PM  
Blogger Raven M said...

Sooo creepy. That last paragraph sent chills down my spine.

Great tease!

June 30, 2010 at 5:05 PM  
Blogger Glen Akin said...

This is really good, and creepy. Makes me feel exactly what your character's going through. And good thing is I learned some tricks from you after reading this ;)

July 1, 2010 at 1:28 PM  
Blogger Brianne Carter said...

So creepy in such a good way! Love it! :D

July 5, 2010 at 5:21 PM  

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