Story One-shots

Well, I've started editing Free this past week. I think I'm on chapter ten, but it's just a rough editing. I'll get into deeper work soon.
At the same time, I've been playing around with several random ideas, writing different pieces down and one-shots. A one-shot is a scene that you write that doesn't have an entire story included. It's just one scene, one "shot" in that person's life. It's like a photo, showing only part of someone's life. A teaser.

I thought I'd share some of my story ideas and one-shots with you today. I may make a series of posts revolving around my one-shots. Some of them may even become entire stories. One idea has already sparked fourteen pages of random scenes and fun stuff.

Okay, here are some of my story ideas:

Regret: Young Regret "Reggie" finds herself caring for her two-year-old sister and on the run from the foster agency, determined to make a new and better life for herself and her sister. But when illness strikes, Reggie must depend on a young married couple to help her, even though she's sworn she'd never let anyone take care- and abandon her- again.

Where the Trouble Blows: Kathy McDowell is an ordinary twelve-year-old country girl who happens to think she sees crimes and bad guys everywhere she goes. Known as a "talebearer" in her town, Kathy finds herself in dire danger when a real criminal actually does show up- and kidnaps Kathy.

Of Dragons and Pegasi: A rider in an elite band of Kazaks that patrol the skies, Katyenka struggles to walk in her father's footsteps as a brave, heroic Kazak, expected to take the place of the sons her father has lost. But when she and her Pegasa, Zakhar, find themselves in the enemy territory of the Nemetskiy, Katy develops an unlikely friendship with a Nemetskiy boy and his Drakon, a bond forbidden by both their clans.

I, Spy: Megan McIntosh discovers a KGB operation is laying low in her town, resulting in her determination to expose them. This becomes hilariously hectic and impossible when it turns out that the main spy is courting her mother- and they're planning on getting married.

They Say I'm a Princess: Natalie Walker lives the normal life of a girl living on a Texas ranch- until a man shows up and proclaims she'd been adopted and is the rightful heir to the Russian throne. Thrown into a world of pomp, etiquette and appearances, Natalie struggles to find balance between her new life and the old, whom she really is and who she's expected to be.


Yeah. I have way too many ideas in my head. This is just the start. I have a million and one stories I want to write someday, including The Animun Legacy, Paloma Puma of the Ponderosa Pine, Waiting for Ethan and a slew of others. My mind never stops working.

Okay, here's a short scene I wrote from Where the Trouble Blows:

(Background: the bad guy in this story was one of my favorite villains from a TV show. This story is kind of the "untold" side of Matthew Keller. I wanted to explore his character.)

Katherine reined in Bodie and fought to keep control of the large horse. “Whoa, Bodie, whoa!” she said firmly.

Bodie tossed his head and snaked it down to snatch some grass. Kathy sighed and slapped him with the end of her reins, causing him to bob back up. “No, Bodie! Stop it!”

He shook his head and snorted.

“You’re so stubborn,” she muttered. A small smile crossed her face and she patted his neck. “And I guess that’s what I love about you.” She sat back in the saddle and glanced around the hillsides.

She loved her home. She loved the freedom of being able to ride wherever she wanted, knowing all the trails to get where she needed to be. There was no danger out here, save the occasional mountain lion and wolf. But Kathy was confident in her ability to ward off wild animals. She’d outrun a bull moose twice before, and she’d even shot a cougar on a hunt with her brothers. Yes, there wasn’t a wild beast she couldn’t handle.

Her eye caught sight of a stranded vehicle. Frowning, she peered and tried to get a better look. A lone figure was trying to change the tire on the car, but he had no carjack. Poor guy, she thought.

She glanced back towards where her home was, three miles away. As far as she could see, there were no more vehicles on the road. The guy would be stranded out there for a while unless someone came to his assistance.

Kathy urged Bodie into a lope and headed towards the unfortunate soul. Usually she avoided coming in contact with strangers, as some pretty weird people used this road to get to the U-pick farms. Her parents told her never to walk up to an unknown man by herself, but she was on Bodie. No one would mess with her as long as she was on a horse, that’s why she was even allowed to ride him out.

I’ll just offer him the use of my cellphone to contact a tow truck company, she decided.

The man looked up just as Kathy brought Bodie to a sliding stop, Bodie rising slightly on his front feet. “Easy boy!” she chided. She smiled at the dark-haired man, noting his expensive suit. Okay, this guy is high class. No way was he was some ordinary U-pick seeker.

“Hi there!” she greeted. “You havin’ some trouble with your car?”

He seemed surprised she’d come up to him, but returned the smile nonetheless. Something about it caused her senses to go off. She brushed the thoughts away and tried to retain her friendliness. Don’t be such a baby!

“Thank goodness, I thought I’d haveta hang around here forever before someone showed up!” said he, grinning.

Kathy raised an eyebrow. “You ain’t from around here, are you?”

He shook his head. “Nope, just came from New York. Out here to visit my Mom.” He pointed at his tire, which appeared to be quite flat. “That is, until my tire went flat.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. Do you have a phone to call someone?” She asked.

“My iPhone died,” he sighed irritably. “Plus it seems that my emergency back-up phone doesn’t receive signal out here.”

Kathy had to grin at this. “Sorry, we have to have special track phones to be able to get any signal out here. As you can see, we’re kinda in the middle of nowhere.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” he grunted. He winked at her.

That uneasy feeling came over her again, like there was something not quite right with this man. Get a hold of yourself, Kathy, you’ve already offered help, it would be rude not to give it now!  

“Well, I have a track-phone on me if you’d like to borrow it to call a tow-truck company,” she offered.

He smiled again. “That would be awful nice of ya, kid. I’d appreciate that.”

Bodie began to paw, impatient to get going. Kathy gave him a bump with her reins and reached into her pocket. “I think I have a company listed in the contacts,” she said, reaching down to hand him the phone. He reached up to grab it. “They’re friends of mine. I highly recommend the-”

Without warning the man grabbed her arm and jerked down, hard. Kathy shrieked and tried to pull herself back, but he grabbed the corner of her jacket and tried to pull her off Bodie. Instinctively she kicked the gelding with all her might, causing the horse to leap sideways and run into the man. Her attacker fell down, still holding onto the jacket. Rip! The coat tore off her body, but Kathy didn’t care. She kicked Bodie again and he promptly took off, Kathy hanging half out of the saddle as he galloped back home. She glanced back once to see a triumphant smirk on the man’s face, her heart thudding at her narrow escape.

Wait until the police hear this! There was no way she imagined this one!

###

Keller watched the girl gallop away and chuckled. His side hurt, but that was to be expected when a horse runs you over. What mattered was he had the jacket. Who cared if the girl reported him? No one would be able to track him down. He would disappear like a ghost, never to be seen or heard from again. He had the microchip, he could leave this hicktown and get out of here.

He stuck his hand where he would be able to feel the chip- and froze. No way. He felt again. Nothing. He shook the coat and then stared at the small hole. It wasn’t a rip. It had been purposefully cut.

Keller swore and threw the coat down, cursing and kicking it. Someone had found the microchip. He stared in the direction of where the girl had galloped off. And I’m pretty sure I know who did.

So what do you think? What's your favorite story idea? Would you be interested in reading more scenes and one-shots in the future?

Let me know your thoughts, I'm eager to hear what my readers think!