Hello, dear minions.
Would any of you lovely folks be interested in a free PDF or Kindle copy of Zombie Tree in exchange for providing a review on Amazon? It’s a short story of roughly 7700 words, so it shouldn’t take too much of your time. If you’re interested drop me a line using my contact form and I’ll email you a copy in the format of your choosing. Don’t feel like you have to give it a good review if you don’t like it. I’d rather have honest reviews than falsely inflated ones.
Also, I’m halfway into the final draft of Sins of a Father. It’s a bit longer than Zombie Tree, currently about 23K words, but still only a novella. It’s come a long way since the original 100 word story that was my introduction to the Friday Fictioneers. Hopefully for the good. I’m was planning on a January 1st release for a Kindle and print editions, but may bump it back to Dec 1st since it is currently demanding to be finished and won’t let me work on anything else. I will likely be doing the same thing with free copies for reviews. Let me know if you’re interested in that as well. I might even do few contests/drawings to giveaway a couple print copies. Haven’t decided on that yet.
Thanks in advance. I owe you one.
On to this week’s dose of Winger. Check out the previous segments of Winger’s journey by visiting my Winger Drabbles page.
Thanks to Rochelle for hosting the rest of the minions for reading.
Copyright Janet Webb
The Climb (The Winger Chronicles: Part 10)
Thunder rumbled overhead.
Halfway up the rain began. It started as drizzle but quickly morphed into a downpour. The drizzle had felt amazing on her face after spending an indeterminate amount of time in the cave. The heavier rain brought with it only problems.
The metal rungs became near impossible to grip as the water transformed the rust into slippery goo. The cold drops soaked her to the bone and sent chills running across her body.
Every time her father moved up, the rope around her waist tugged down.
Her aching arms struggled to hang on let alone keep going.
Click here to read the stories written by the other FF hooligans.
Adam Ickes 
October 17th, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Is she going to make it? Da da dahh! Love it.
October 17th, 2013 at 12:31 PM
Hi Adam,
So glad the Fictioneers have provided you a good jumping off point for longer writing. Loved the atmosphere you created here. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m trying to figure out why the rope tugs down when he moves up. Must be something I’m not getting. You made me want to know what happened next. Ron
October 17th, 2013 at 12:37 PM
The general idea was that he can’t use his injured arm too well to climb, so he uses the rope as his second arm to help pull him up. When he shifts to pull himself up, the rope supports some of his weight momentarily and thus pulls down. I would have liked to describe that better in the story, but the 100 word limit is sometimes a bear to work with.
October 18th, 2013 at 2:22 AM
Two ‘buts’ in the fourth sentence could have been avoided by changing the first one to ‘yet’. Or ‘though’. Coming along nicely.
October 18th, 2013 at 6:17 AM
Thanks for pointing that out, Sandra. Not sure how I missed that.
October 18th, 2013 at 6:26 AM
Dear Adam,
I’m sure the rain would feel good on her face after being in the cave. Shivering as a I read.
Shalom,
Rochelle
October 18th, 2013 at 6:34 AM
Like Ron, I tripped on the “pull down” line, but explanation straightened that out. Sometimes it’s hard to take snippets from a longer work and fit them into this format without losing key points in the transition. I love the suspense and the direction this is going.
October 18th, 2013 at 7:10 AM
The suspense builds with the climb: From a good-feeling drizzle to life-threatening downpour. I was also scratching my head about the “pull down” part — so thanks for the explanation in the comments. It’s certainly a challenge to fit a story into 100 words. And it’s awesome that you’re writing other, longer stories — the Sins of the Father sounds like it’s really taking off. I like that you said it’s demanding to be finished, as I imagine the story has you in its grips and wants to be written down. Have fun with your writing!
October 18th, 2013 at 10:37 AM
I’m already in the cold and rain (although inside, thankfully), so you’re story just added to the chills. “Nearly impossible?”
janet
October 19th, 2013 at 12:00 AM
Great suspense and tense scene here. I want to know what happens next. Nice job!
October 20th, 2013 at 1:24 AM
I love the rust turning into slippery goo in the wet. I instantly got an image in my mind of that awful brown-red slippery mess – made the story more real.