Well, I’m back again! It’s Saturday, so it’s time for an SFF Saturday snippet! What’s SFF Saturday? It’s a blog ring of SF/F snippets and you can check out other SFF Saturday posts, as well.
This time, I’m sharing a snippet not from a WIP, but from my short story Missing Persons, which is included in the Trust and Treachery anthology. More info about that below the snippet. Missing Persons is a short story about an artist, his family, and the secrets they are all hiding. Without further ado, here’s a snippet:
Lemonade sloshed close to the edge of the glasses each step Alec took up to the attic. He slowed his pace and managed to make it the rest of the way without spilling either drink. He set down the glasses on the first flat surface he found—an old drawing board splattered with ink lying across a packing box near the door—then turned to address Laura.
The attic was empty.
No. Not again.
There was no way she had left unnoticed; the creaking of the old house would have announced her departure. Or he would have run into her on the stairs.
Prickly dread crept over him. A stack of paintings leaned against the far wall. He should have packed those into the van first. He knelt down before the outermost and studied the image.
Oh hell.
There she was—chestnut hair, her lush lips and beautiful face frozen in wonder, standing in a wizard’s laboratory. If she couldn’t find her way out, Brian would kill him this time. Another girlfriend, another painting.
And when Alec says that his Brian (his brother) will kill him…he actually means that. Yeah.
Anyway, if you like this story and want to read more, please check out Trust & Treachery: Tales of Power and Intrigue at Amazon. There’s also a Goodreads giveaway running until July 7th, if you’d like to enter for a chance to win.
The anthology contains 26 stories and 2 poems that explore the delicate dance between trust and treachery across a sweeping variety of genres, time periods, and universes.
Ann Laurel Kopchik 
This is a great hook – the line about another girlfriend, another painting grabbed me. So many questions that want answering. I think I’m going to get a copy of this anthology.
🙂 Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the anthology!
It IS a great hook! Congrats on the anthology.
😀 Thanks!
Sounds like the paintings are gates to alternate worlds.
Pretty much, yes, they are.
This reminds me so much of a setting I had created about twenty years ago for a D&D campaign I had run. SO much potential for an excellent story in this setup. I love it already.
BTW, welcome back to SFFSat!
🙂 Thanks! And it’s good to be back. I will try to post more often!
Your writing has such a draw to it; the way you detail a scene makes it so easy to see. Like Peter, I agree this is a wicked hook. Another girl, another painting: haunting in its familiarity & strangeness. Wonderful.
Aww! *blushes* Thank you!