Greetings, all!

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of Giant Killer‘s beginnings. We continue directly from last week with our serialization:

Lost in the melodies his hands created, David rocked in the cool shade, dreaming of a place away from his flock. His elder brothers fought in the army of King Saul and, when they visited home, regaled the family with stories of life beyond the dusty confines of Bethlehem. Tales of far-off lands and strange peoples, accounts of great battles against the Ammonites and the Philistines, all fired the young shepherd’s imagination, and he yearned for a life of his own, a life different from the day-to-day stink of sheep.

A piping voice broke into his thoughts, “David, where are you?”

Letting a final chord fade in the burning sunlight, he sighed and opened his eyes, calling out, “Over here, Eitan!” Standing, David stepped from the deep shade and waved to the young boy who loped gracelessly over the hill top.

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‘Til next time!

Greetings, all!

We are rejoining David and continuing directly from last week’s snippet from Giant Killer:

Retrieving his staff, he returned to the shade of the nearby olive tree, swallowed greedily from his water bladder, and took up his lyre from where it leaned against the tree; he plucked its strings, trying to recall the melody he’d been constructing when the lamb went off the edge. Humming to himself, he strummed and began to play.

Rich chords, sounding larger than the small harp from which they sprang, filled the dusty afternoon air. A melody, light and lyrical, intertwined amongst them, cavorting with first one chord and then another. Running up-scale and down-, the notes floated around him, hanging in the hazy light. The youth’s fingers flew across the strings, dancing lightly over the instrument as they wove the enchanting music—even the sheep stopped to listen.

Thanks for stopping to read! Check out more Sixers here.

‘Til next time!

Greetings, all!

Beginning this week, I’m moving on to another work in progress, this tentatively titled Giant Killer. I’m hoping to have this off to a submission call for historical shorts in a month to six weeks. So without further ado …

The afternoon sun beat harshly on David’s back, drawing sweat from his pores and sending it rolling into his eyes. The lamb lay on a rocky ledge, just out of reach, and bleated in fear of its precarious position. Ignoring the yawning drop below him and adjusting his grip on the spiny juniper branch, the young shepherd stretched over the cliff’s edge. Farther . . . almost . . . just a . . . little . . . more—Yes!

Grabbing a hold of the little sheep’s coat, David dragged the lost animal up to safety and scooted the lamb toward the rest of the herd. He wiped his brow on his tunic, as he remonstrated the young beast, “Off you go—and there’ll be no more wandering down the hill!”

Thanks for stopping to read! Be sure to check out more of the Sixers here.

‘Til next time!