1.28.2011

The 99th Page blogfest

You know us, we always like to be fashionably late to a party. . .okay, maybe not, but better late than never, right (since we didn't hear about this until today and then had to get home from work to post).

BUT here it is. . .the 99th page blogfest hosted by Holly Dodson and friends. Click on her name to find out more and to follow the other bloghop participants. Basically, it's super easy-peasy and you know how we like that (click here to see our own easy blogfest from yesterday!)!!

Here's page 99 of erica's ABNA entry, A New Day.

After I got my clean bill of health, a police officer came in and joined the doctor to recreate the accident for me. I sat on the side of the bed and listened quietly. The news was bad, but not as bad as I had feared and I tried not to cry.

"She should be out of surgery by midnight," the doctor said. He must have decided I could handle more details since he continued on. "The plastic surgeon put fifty-seven stitches in her forehead and around the left cheekbone, so she's going to look bruised and swollen until they come out. Medically speaking, though, her arm is the biggest challenge for the surgical team. It's broken here and here," he said, pointing to his own wrist and arm, "so they have to be careful while they stabilize and set it. Two ribs are broken, but they look like clean breaks and her lungs weren't punctured. Her left hip was dislocated, but we've already reset it without further damage. I won't go as far to say that she's lucky, but I think we all know it could have been a lot worse."

"Can I stay with her?" I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"That's up to your grandparents, at least as long as your mom is unconscious. We won't be allowing her to wake up while we monitor her for swelling, so my suggestion is for all of you to get some sleep tonight. We'll keep this room open for you if you want to stay here."

"What do you want to do?" Grandma asked me.

"I'll stay here. Can someone get me before she wakes up so I can be there?" I asked, leaning against the pillow, exhausted again.

"Yes, absolutely," the doctor said to me before turning to talk to my grandparents. "We'll call you to come back ahead of time if you plan on going home. She won't get to the recovery room for another hour or so."

What do you think? Would you read on?

20 comments:

  1. I would keep reading ;)

    ecwrites.blogspot.com

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  2. Yes. Thanks for posting! I would have...if I had a page 99. Maybe by Monday.... Don't blog hop too much, erica. Writing Weekend!!!!! christy (We love you all, but we'll never have another completed manuscript if we don't actually write! And I'm dying to read erica's current WIP once it's done, so it's for completely selfish reasons I want her to hit the keypad.)

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  3. Yes, I totally want to read more! And I want to read the first 98 pages!

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  4. Oh, yes I would totally read more! (That is, after I got a Kleenex! That was a very emotional scene!) Well done and good luck with it! Thanks so much for stopping by to read mine!

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  5. Of course I'd read more! I want to know what happened in this accident...is the mom going to be okay? Way to set up tension! :)

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  6. Very well done - not only would I read on, I'd even read before, as now I want to know what happened. i know this is page 99, but would also make a great page one

    only critique is last paragraph is confusing. "Call you to come back ahead of time..." - no idea what that means/how that would work

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  7. Thanks everyone. From your fingers to a publisher's ears and all that!!

    Christy - Kaleb is finally coming back out of his proverbial-cupboard-beneath-the-stairs. I hope...

    Oh, great, Mike, I swore I wasn't going to edit and re-upload my full, but here I go...(thanks)

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  8. WOW what a perfect page 99. the center of conflict, lots of tension and in a few lines I cared about the characters.

    YES I would turn to page 100 and read till the end.

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  9. Erica,

    I certainly would read more. I want to know how the mother got that way. This is the first full page I've read from an ms. I like your style.


    Michael

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  10. This is a great page 99! I'd definitely keep reading!

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  11. nice work, erica!

    when i was a young kid, my mom was in a horrible accident. i remember the feeling of standing there worried in that hospital room and you call it up so vividly and well here. i want to know how she got there, and if she'll be okay.

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  12. I admit I'm a bit confused, but the writing is good. I just wish I knew what the pages before this one said. I definitely feel the exhaustion of the protagonist.

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  13. Thank you for posting. It is not my favorite sort of scene, often over medical or just silly in terms of real hospital proceedure. You found a perfect balance. Great job and keep going!

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  14. This was a good page. I would like to know a little more about how she feels after the Doctor gives her the prognosis.
    But I want to know about the accident. I want to know what happens next.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Wow. What happened? This is good, and I'd keep reading. Well, actually I'd start from the beginning. :)

    Thanks!

    Marie, http://marierearden.blogspot.com

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  16. Very good page 99, I'd like to read back a bit and find out what happened before reading on!

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  17. I'd read on! The writing is clear and the topic, interesting. I want to know what sort of accident this was and how it fits with the larger plot.

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  18. Great page 99. I would definitely go on. Thanks for participating!

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  19. I justs found your blog on a link from LIndsey...let's hear it for teachers who write (I am one, too!)

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  20. Hey- I had to finish the blogfest today-- was out of town from Friday on.

    This is a really interesting page 99-- I had the feeling it was a parent hearing about a child, so it added a whole new dimension to imagine it was a child hearing about a parent. Clearly a lot has gone on in this story! I'd definitely read on!

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