Snippet Saturday

Because of my tardiness in regards to getting the posts up, I'm posting a snippet from BEAUTY AND THE ANGEL and a snippet from ROBOT PIRATES, which I am loving right now.

ROBOT PIRATES:
Ren heard the squeal of the fireworks before they exploded over her head. The bright green lit the town of Zerth as though it were midday. Ren had never been a fan of the Bryche Festival. She didn't enjoy the large groups of people crowded together in the streets or the screaming, shouting children that ran through her town as if they owned it. She despised the joyous families who celebrated, seemingly oblivious to the Mallok's celebrating in the various dark nooks and crannies throughout the town, forgetting their civic duties.

She would never say it aloud, but the thing she hated the most about the summer festival was that she had no one to share it with. Sure, she could talk about how egregious the hoodlums' behavior was with the old men who sat outside the tavern all day, but she wasn't very fond of them either.

Ren Badlok had been one of those ruffians. Ten years ago, she would have been running right along with them, vandalizing anything and everything in sight. Today she simply avoided the entire event by climbing onto Sir Ingram's dinghy. Sir Kristof Ingram, Ren's uncle and only family, had taken his ship in search of his son. Ren had never met the boy Sir Ingram spoke so kindly of, but if her uncle liked him than she was sure she would.

BEAUTY AND THE ANGEL:
"I'm sorry."

"Sarah Elizabeth," present-day Sampsa said, drawing out every syllable.

"Where were you just now?"
"Helldone."

He sighed and gave the wine glass a quick glance. "Do you want to talk about it or...?"
"There's nothing to talk about really. Everything worked out in the end. I used to imagine kissing you and here I am," I said, smiling. "Enjoying some reindeer and wine with my husband."
"The end justifies the means," he murmured.
"Stop punishing yourself for doing what you thought was right at the time."
"I knew it wasn't right, Sarah. I knew I shouldn't leave you, but I did. I was given a choice and I chose wrong."
I sighed, grabbing his other hand. "No choice is the wrong choice as long as you make a choice. The only wrong choice is choosing not to make one."
He looked at our hands for a moment before chuckling. "Quoting me to prove a point to me. Interesting tactic."
"Did it work?" I asked, grinning.
He made a so-so gesture with his head. "I will never not feel wrong about my choices in the past decade, but I agree that it all turned out... perfect." His face lost a tiny bit of glow before he said, "Or it will be perfect as soon as he's dead."