A Sneak Peek

When asked to write a post for this blog, I had a few ideas.
Some very deterrent to readers and followers alike, and a lot more personal and vulnerable than I think I’m ready for right now.

So what’s an author to do, when she’s unsure what to write as her first blog but extraordinarily excited for this journey?
Release the entire first chapter of her debut novel of course!

Now have mercy on me because you are getting the roughest draft. There’s still much to be happening in the editing phase. But I couldn’t help myself because I felt this was the best way to introduce you to me and to Christian without giving too much away. It’s a little toe dip in the water if you will. 

So without further ado, enjoy Ch. 1 of my debut novel called ‘Innocence Is Unbecoming Of You’

“A child's innocence is the one gift that, once stolen, can never be replaced.”
Jaeda DeWalt

Christian Age 6

“Ms. Thompson, Ms. Thompson” 

Laughing, Ms. Thompson kneels, staring right at me. “Why yes, Christian, what was so urgent it took saying my name twice?”

“Ms. Thompson, I’m all finished with my wetters. Look at my wion, Ms. Thompson. Mommy says wions are kings. They are fewocious. She says that means they are strong and scary.” 

“Well, look at you! You did a wonderful job working on your letter L. And your lion does look pretty scary and strong. Your mom is right, lions are considered the kings of the jungle because of their power and strength. Lions have no fear,” Ms. Thompson smiles sweetly at me as she collects my paper and leaves a small pile of pink frosted-sprinkled animal crackers for me to snack on. One of my favorite snacks at school.

I mutter under my breath, “ I wish I were a wion. Daddy would be happy if I were a wion. If I was big and strong like one. Not afwaid.”

“What was that?” Ms. Thompson asks. “Nufing,” I say quickly , in between bites, shoving several animal crackers in my mouth, as my cheeks fill like our class hamsters when it eats a lot carrtos. I smile a big grin while I remember daddy has warned me many times about telling others our secrets. Mumbling where people can hear but not hear what I actually said. I don’t want another lashing from the belt or mommy to cry in bed again for eternity. Scrunching her nose, Mrs. Thompson slightly frowns but nods and returns to her desk.

Once everyone completes their letters, we go outside for morning recess, my most favorite part of the day, aside from the animal crackers. I’m excited to play with Jasper. He’s my friend and I only get to see him at recess and when we eat lunch. “Jasper!” I roar like a lion would.

Turning to face me, he tags me and runs as he says, “You’re it, Christian!”. I run as fast as I can, but Jasper is faster than me. Eventually, he gets stuck in a corner, and I can tag him, but before I can get far, I’m it again! Ms. Abby blows the whistle, and I freeze. Ms. Abby’s whistle sounds just like daddies whistle when we are practicing to be men. Shaking my head mumbling under my breath “Ms Abby is not daddy. Ms Abby is not daddy.” then look around to make sure no one was able to hear me. Quickly I run to the line for my class. 

While walking down the hall, I look down at the floor and convince Jasper, who is walking next to me in his own line, to pretend the white spaces between the red and black blocked lines, are lava. We start to hop over the white space until Mrs. Downey calls Jasper's name, 

“Jasper, remember the rules about the hallway. Stay in line, please.”

“Mrs. Downey, we can’t touch the lava” Jasper whines in a huff, stomping his foot before he continues to walk. Flinching, my eyes widen before closing, waiting to hear the pop. You don’t talk back, or you get popped, mommy included, and you most certainly don’t stop your feet or whine. So, I’m sure Jasper is about to get a pop.

“Yes, well, we have our hallway rules to keep everyone safe and ensure you get to where you need to go. We don’t want you getting lost now, do we, Jasper?”

Opening my eyes, one at a time, still wary yet surprised. I see Jasper's foot lightly kick at the floor, his shoulders slumped “No, we don’t, Mrs. Downey”.

Mrs. Downey smiles and begins walking again to her classroom. Once we reach my classroom, I wave at Jasper and then head to my spot on the rug for Ms. Thompson to read to us.

* * *

The bell for school ending rings. I wait in line, in the hall, just inside the doorway, until Ms. Thompson walks me to the car pick-up line where mommy is waiting. 

“Have a fun this weekend, Christian. I will see you Monday,” Ms. Thomspon states too happily. Have fun? And on a weekend? That is unlikely. More likely is more men lessons from daddy. But I smile at Ms. Thompson and buckle up into my booster seat. 

“Hey, sweetie! I missed you so much. Did you have a good day?” I noticed moms eyes were red again, like she had been crying, and under her left eye was black and blue. But you wouldn’t notice that last part unless you looked really good. I was good at looking real good because I was mommies big man who helped when she fell down, or ran into something, and turned black and blue. It happened a lot but mommy always said I shouldn’t worry because mommies are just clumsy sometimes and that happens.

“Yeah, mommy,” sighing as she turns out of the school parking lot. “Today, we learned about the letter L. I told Ms. Thompson how you said a wion..”

“You mean li-on,” Mom says, emphasizing the letter L.

“Yes, that’s what I said, wion.”  Laughing softly, she shakes her head. Mom has the best laugh and I feel happy that I am the reason she laughed. I wish she’d laugh more. 

“So what did you tell Mrs. Thompson I said about a li-on?” again, emphasizing the letter L.

“I told her how you said that wions are kings and that they are strong and scary and ferwocious. And Mrs. Thompson said you were right. Wions are kings of the jungle. They are strong and have no fear. I want to be a wion when I grow up. I want to be big and strong and have no fear, especially of daddy,” I say, whispering the last part and hoping mommy doesn’t hear me.

Smiling, one that reaches her eyes, which is something that doesn’t happen often, while slightly chuckling, “Christian Jamison, take a breath.” 

“Sorry, mommy,”

“No need to apologize, sweetie. You did absolutely nothing wrong. It sounds like you had a fun time at school today.”

“I did. In the hallway after recess, Jasper and I played Floor Is Lava, like the show we watch on Netfwix when daddy is working. Except we had to jump over the white part of the floor and not actual lava.” laughing at when Jasper nearly fell into Madison, a girl from my class that Jasper once said was pretty. Bleck! Girls are just gross! Except mommies and grammies obviously. Mommies and grammies are the bestest and prettiest. Definitely not gross. They smell good too! And grammies always make the best cookies!

“But Mrs. Downey caught us, and we had to stop playing.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I’m sure she had a good reason. Maybe something like ensuring you followed the rules and stayed safe.”

“Yeah, that’s what she said too”

Looking out the window, I rub my hands against my jeans. They feel hot and wet when I notice we’ve already paced Mr. Graysons house and are getting closer to home. 

Closer to daddy.

Remember this is a rough version, so I’m sure there are a host of mistakes that will be cleaned up come the final draft.
But I hope this makes you excited for my debut novel!

Or, at the very least, a little intrigued by what is in store for Christian, A man with a gooey teddy bear inside but a gruff outside. He is simply just needing someone to be a little more tender with not just his heart but his entire spirit. I cannot wait for you to finally meet him and the side character with main character energy in Broken Arrow, coming Spring/Summer of 2026!