I missed last Sunday’s Snippet Sunday due to day-job-related craziness, plus going to see my dad for his 88th birthday. Highlights of the visit included explaining the difference between erotica and porn, and showing him the Kindle app on my smart phone. Makes me wonder what the world will be like when I’m 88 as far as cultural norms and technological achievements…

So, back to Snippet Sunday*, my revision of The General’s Wife, and the introduction of a new character. Today we meet our main secondary hero, First Lieutenant Patrick Hamilton, or Pat. Pat and Sam are both officers on the American side, as well as very close buddies (more on that in a later post). This is not the first time we encounter Pat (he’s in that brothel scene with Sam), but it is the first time our heroine Clara encounters him. After several weeks of adventures, Clara finds herself alone in the woods somewhere in New York and is picked up by the American rebels (as an English lady would perceive them) and taken to their camp.

(Full disclosure: I had to do a little cheating to get the excerpt to ten sentences.)

(More full disclosure: Although you might not be able to tell from the snippet, I think I like Pat the best of all my heroes in this novel. He’s really fun.)

*Snippet Sunday: promoted on Twitter as #SnipSun, #SnipSunday, or #SnippetSunday, and on Facebook, as well as on various blogs (just type Snippet Sunday in your favorite search engine and see what comes up!). Authors post just a snippet — six to ten sentences — of a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Lots of different genres are represented — romance, mystery, thriller, sci fi, fantasy, erotica, and more.

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Lieutenant Patrick Hamilton sat at a mean table across from her in what she was told was the captain’s tent. He made very little small talk, mostly about the food, all the while keeping a watchful eye on her movements.

“That cider is the very best in these parts, you won’t find any better. Our own Mrs. Scott brews it. The captain makes sure the officers have it when we’re at camp.”

The cider was quite good. Clara hadn’t had much of the stuff since arriving in the colonies, having been told it was common, but during the last few weeks with Paul she had learned to like it, although she still hadn’t learned to tolerate it very well and could get tipsy fairly quickly, something Paul had found quite endearing.

Clara regarded the lieutenant as she took another sip of the tasty brew. He was a fine-featured young man, with soft hazel eyes and curly brown hair, and appeared almost dashing in his regimental attire. His voice was matter-of-fact, but he was clearly trying to convey calm reassurance that Clara had not fallen into the hands of rapacious thugs.