Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts!
Donuts in an Empty Field is a contemporary, realistic fiction, and Young Adult novel about two best friends, the local food challenge, and letting go of anger.
This excerpt is from chapter one.
Vanessa has just shared her last fond memory of her late father with best friend Nichole. When Vanessa’s mom comes back into the room Vanessa hides the slip of paper with the bucket list on it.
“Are you going to tell her about the list?” Nichole asks.
I consider it. “No. I don’t think so.” I don’t want to share this piece of Dad with anyone else. Mom would make me share it with my therapist. She would minimize it and then disappear on a date.
Is Vanessa being selfish here or does her mother really not get it? How will Vanessa get over her grief if she can’t talk to her mother or her therapist about things like this bucket list?
Purchase the book HERE.
Local young adult writer, Rachel Barnard, released the first novel in her young adult For the Love of Donuts series titled Donuts in an Empty Field with Life’s a Book Publishing, June 3rd, 2016 (AKA National Donut Day). Get your copy HERE.
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s son from a burning building. Nessa blames the boy, but her best friend Nichole thinks it’s time to let go of the past. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge will bust her out of her shell. A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter to receive important updates and promotions, if you haven’t already. Signup HERE
Add the book to your Goodreads shelf HERE
Rachel Author Barnard 
Poor thing. I think her mother’s a bit callous, really.
LikeLike
Aw, this is tough, though I don’t blame Vanessa for wanting to keep something so precious safe from another person’s reaction. I do wonder if she’s being fair to her mom.
LikeLike
Seems very selfish of her to keep the list but I don’t know enough about the family dynamics. I think you’re presenting the situation realistically though. Interesting snippet!
LikeLike
The way parent-child relationships change as the child grows up can be pretty tough. Usually, everyone is both right, and wrong–which is difficult to see at the time!
LikeLike
I imagine her wanting to keep a bit of her father all to herself.
LikeLike
I imagine in her teenager mind, she’s doing the right thing, and it makes sense. Every kid needs something personal that they don’t have to share with anyone else. Thanks for sharing your snippet!
LikeLike
I don’t blame her for wanting to keep it private and wanting to make her own decision about who to share it with. I wonder if she is right about her mom making her share with her therapist though. We don’t, at this point, have enough background to really know though.
LikeLike