Wealth & Privilege and Brains & Beauty by @JeanetteAWatts
Title: Wealth & Privilege and Brains & Beauty
Author: Jeanette Watts
Genre: Historical Fiction
~ Synopsis ~
Book One (Wealth & Privilege)
Boy meets girl, falls in love at first sight. Oops, she’s already married. Bad planning. She becomes a friend and a muse, helps him find his voice. He knows that no one gets to capture their own muse, but he can dream, can’t he…?
Book Two (Brains & Beauty)
Girl meets boy, falls in love at first sight. Kind of unfortunate for a married woman. He becomes her best friend, the only man in her life that she can really count on. She wishes there could be more to it. There can’t be, but she can dream, can’t she…?
~ Excerpt ~
A soft rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, and they both groaned.
“Just what we need,” Thomas observed. “More water.”
“Well, I suppose thunder doesn’t necessarily mean more rain,” Regina answered
hopefully.It was an odd sort of thunder. It took Thomas a moment to realize why. Then it
occurred to him that it was continuous, and getting louder, instead of fading away.A strange black fog began to drift through the air. They froze, staring at each
other, listening. The rumble increased like – what? It was a cross between an oncoming train, and – and – Thomas imagined this must be what an avalanche must sound like.Then he knew what was going on. The South Fork dam had broken!
Before he could share his insight, Regina’s face changed. She stared up Clinton
Street, mouth open, eyes wide with horror. She pointed, incoherent noises issuing from her throat. Thomas turned, and nearly fell off their precarious little raft.The source of the crashing rumble was a towering wall of debris moving toward
them. A misty black cloud hung in the air, occasionally obscuring the horrific sight. A writhing mass of tree roots, rooftops, planks, railroad pieces and other metal parts
tumbled over and over upon itself.The rumble had clarified into a roar of screaming and crashing as the rapidly
approaching behemoth rolled toward them. They couldn’t outrun it, either on or off their little craft. Regina pointed to the nearest building. The brick corners were coined, laid unevenly enough to make a decent ladder. Thomas understood without a word. They poled their way across the watery distance, desperation giving them strength and speed.Regina looked at him as they grabbed the corner of the building. “You go first,”
she shouted over the noise.Thomas didn’t understand why, but this was no time to stand around arguing
etiquette. He stood up on the raft, found a foothold and handhold, and clambered up the side of the building. He slowed his ascent to look down at Regina.Gritting her teeth in determination, she was making slow progress. Looking up,
she caught his eye as he waited, uncertainly, for her. “Don’t wait for me! Go!” He
could barely hear her over the roar.Frustrated and helpless, he climbed up onto the roof, then lay on his stomach so
that he could reach back down towards Regina. She was making better time, but he
feared the wall of debris would reach the roof before she would. He scooted forward,
upside down on the pitched roof, caught hold of her wrist, and managed to bodily yank her onto the roof beside him.“Why did you have me go first?” he demanded angrily.
“No reason we should both die,” she answered.
The words were no sooner out of her mouth then Thomas was absolutely certain they were both going to die. With a grinding, crunching, screaming moan, the wave hit the building.
~ About the Author ~
Jeanette Watts is a dance instructor and performer of many different kinds of dance, a costumer, a former television producer, and a big softie who can’t learn to say no when people need help with their festivals. It makes it really difficult for her to get time to write.
