On March 8th, 2020, I will be releasing my first novel, Pieces of Pink, and I am absolutely ecstatic. I’ve been living with this project for a while now, and with the end in sight, I think it’s finally time to let you know exactly what kind of book you’re in for.
Pieces of Pink is the story of Grey Alcott, a young woman who marries outside of her caste and is caught trying to flee the country with her husband, Jesse. Unfortunately, after the pair are arrested near the border, Jesse is executed, and Grey is relegated to the role of Pinkcap — or prostitute — in her country’s legal system. (To read the book blurb, click here.)
For some of my family and friends, I’m sure this novel will come as a bit of a shock. (Well, maybe not for the friends who were in that CRW seminar where I handed in the equestrian sex poem for workshop.) But I assure you: I led a perfectly normal childhood, and I truly have no idea where this idea came from.
Either way, before we jump into this sneak peak, I should probably say: trigger warning. (Literally.)
And now, without further ado, I give you a snippet from the opening chapter of Pieces of Pink.
Sneak Peak: Pieces of Pink, Chapter 1 (partial)
Grey screamed as Jesse’s blood sprayed across her face in a pale, pink mist. One moment, Jesse had been kneeling beside her, his eyes saying everything his gagged mouth could not. The next, his left cheek had exploded outward, spattering shards of bone, blood, and brain onto the ground—onto Grey.
With a soft thump, his body slumped forward and crumpled into the gravel before her.
Jesse was dead.
Grey couldn’t form his name through the dirty rag tied in her mouth, but she tried. She screamed and screamed, sobbing in rage and agony as the Blackcap behind her reloaded his weapon. In a moment, she would be with Jesse, wherever he was, or she would be nowhere at all.
There was a soft snap as the Blackcap cocked his gun. He pressed the barrel to the back of Grey’s skull, and with one last shuddering breath, she looked at Jesse, looked past the pool of blood spreading out beneath him, and searched for the face she had known so well, but it was gone.
“Stop!” A frantic voice broke into the courtyard, and the cold pressure at the back of Grey’s head vanished. “Stop the executions!”
Twisting her neck, she saw a boy in a glossy black helmet charging through the courtyard gate with a bright, white envelope clutched in his outstretched hand.
“Stop the executions,” the boy panted as he jogged to a halt beside Grey.
“On whose orders?” the Blackcap demanded, though Grey heard him click the weapon’s safety back into place.
“The Captain,” the boy responded.
The Blackcap snarled and snatched up the envelope.
As the man tore the seal and began to read, Grey’s eyes sank back to Jesse’s limp form.
The pool of blood, spreading out from his skull, had reached her knees, and she could feel it, wet and sticky, as it soaked through the fabric of her pants. In silence, a tear leaked from her eye and dripped off the tip of her nose. With a tiny splash, it fell into the red puddle and dissolved into Jesse’s blood, as if it could join them back together again.
“All right, then.” The Blackcap’s voice raked through her, and he pushed the letter back into the boy’s hand. “Take her.”
. . .
Can’t wait to share the rest of the adventure with you on March 8th! Until then, happy reading and writing!
Annelise Driscoll 