In The Story Who Came to Visit, I mentioned I would be doing an Open Mic event here in Bend. Yes, it does take a bit of courage to do something like that. Yesterday I read a short piece from the children’s book I wrote during NaNoWriMo. The audience was eager to hear the work of local writers.

I read a story about a bullied girl who finds her courage after talking with a magpie and a badger. They both have hidden weaknesses but found their inner strength. Nuǎn, the main character in the story, finds her strength just when she needs it most. A snow leopard that had attacked her and left her scarred is about to attack another child.

Here’s an excerpt from that scene:

Snow Leopard’s ears perked up, and he turned towards her. “You again, Nuǎn?” He hissed and bared his teeth. “Yeowrrr! I already marked you once. Stay out of my way.” Snow Leopard struck out at her, scratching her arm with his long claws.

“You marked me again!” Nuǎn held her hand over the wound. “The first time you marked me, it made me weak. No more!”

Nuǎn grabbed an ax in the yard and swung it down, chopping off the end of Snow Leopard’s long tail. The big cat yowled in pain and leapt over the fence.

“Now you are marked!” Nuǎn yelled at the leopard as it bounded away.

I have a lot more editing and revising to do, but my work in progress was well received by the audience. 🙂

Back to work…