So, after much searching, I finally found the "final" copy of The Redemption of Joshua Bates. This excerpt is one of my favorite scenes, right smack in the beginning... (See, Vicki! I knew I had more material!)

"My name," he intoned, "is August Dowling. Sit."

"Joshua Bates." Josh took the proffered chair and hoped it wouldn't break under his weight. "Unemployment Services..."

"Yes, yes, I know," the old man said. "Have you ever made stakes?"

"Stakes?" Josh asked blankly.

"I make stakes," the old man said.

"As in tomato stakes?" His mom had a nice garden every year, but as far as Josh knew, she had always used bamboo.

"No." The old man fixed him with an icy glare. "Stakes as in vampires."

"Vampires." Whoa, Josh thought. Vampires? What was this old guy drinking? He glanced around for the nearest exit. The kitchen door didn't look to be locked... "Vampires, like drinking blood, undead vampires?"

"Yes, those kind of vampires. I'm going to need a lot of stakes in a week or two."
The old man grinned, exposing yellowed teeth. "I can tell you don't believe me," he said. "Let me ask you this: Why don't you come with me to a staking tonight, then you can decide if you want the job."

"Job?" Josh asked. He eyed the door. Could he open it quickly enough to escape? The Professor was an old man, after all. How fast could one old man move?

"Yes, a job," the old man snapped. "Why do you think Unemployment sent you to me? I need an apprentice!"

"An apprentice?" Josh asked. Now this he couldn't believe. "They told me you wanted a carpenter!"

"I do." The old man stared at Josh. "Did they send me an idiot? Come with me, boy. We have four hours until sunset. I should be able to teach you something by then."

Teach me? Josh thought. I don't want you to teach me; I want to go home! But almost before he realized it, he had risen to follow the old man back into the stinking depths of the rest of the house. At least the job would be interesting to put on a resume.


Hmm. Decisions, decisions. I'm almost tempted to make this my #1 active story once Fire and Water and The Ninth Guest are finished. The current idea is to have three active WIPs at a time, after all, and if I finish those two, that will leave me with The Dead Who Do Not Sleep and little else. I really, really want to finish Redemption, though. It should be fun.

Well, one of my goals for next week is to decide on the order of my WIP list, after all, so I have a week to make that decision. But I thought you might like an excerpt nonetheless. :)

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