TITLE: Adult
GENRE: Secret
The only moment Harrison felt he didn’t know his grandfather was as the man lay dying, turned on one side to ease his last breaths. It was past midnight in the small farmhouse just outside Wilmington, Illinois, and Harrison had taken what everyone expected was the last shift of watching John Ulysses Miller as he died from old age and failing lungs.
“Harrison,” his grandfather told him, “I need you to hold onto this.” He pressed into his grandson’s palm the ring he’d worn for as long as anyone could remember: a broad silver ring with a bright blue stone. The stone’s facets shimmered in the light from the oil lamp that stood vigil at the bedside, burning now for six days straight.
“What’s so special about it?” Harrison asked, but his grandfather shook his head, as always.
“You don’t need to know. Just keep it safe. A young woman, Katie, will come for it."
Miss Snark's First Victim
Fantasy?
ReplyDeleteI would have said Romance if it weren't for the ever-burning oil lamp next to Harrison's grandfather. I hope romance is involved, though!
I'm going to say Fantasy but that is only because anything with a "special ring" makes me think of LOTR.
ReplyDeleteOne note: it seems odd for him to be on his last breaths and yet to speak in such long and clear sentences. You should try to show us that he is struggling for breath through his speech.
Good luck!
Holly
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteIf the grandfather had been wearing the ring forever, why would someone want to come for it unless it were magical? How would they know to come for it?
Historic. The farmhouse, dying at home watched by family members, oil lamp. I don't understand why everyone is saying fantasy. The ring isn't described to be out of the ordinary.
ReplyDeleteContemporary fantasy
ReplyDeleteA special ring that someone's coming for now that the grandfather's dying? Screams fantasy.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteNice detail with the facets shimemering in the light from the oil lamp. In other words, that visual detail naturally led to the oil lamp, which helps set the scene.
Historical - but maybe early 1900's or war time.
ReplyDeleteLiterature.
ReplyDeleteSeems like some sort of family secret will be uncovered.
Fantastic realism (based on the ring) or Literature (based on the named town and the names of the characters), I could go either way. I actually didn't notice it was Adult at first, just because of the voice. I'm thinking the opening might be a flashback to Harrison's youth, to inform the story with an important moment in the character's history.
ReplyDeleteKind of an information glut in the first paragraph: "It was past midnight in the small farmhouse just outside Wilmington, Illinois," reads kind of like a news article.
Historical fiction. The setting seems to be mid 1800s. I'd read more. Good luck, Sarah
ReplyDeleteHmmm... The oil lamp gave a historical bent to the tale, but a mysterious woman who will come for grandpa's ring -- I'm going with Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteIt feels Historical or fantasy, I'm leaning fantasy
ReplyDeleteI may be leaning fantasy because I read a lot of fantasy. The way the ring is described is common in fantasy. The question of what makes the ring special and the grandfather's answer leads me to believe there is something special about the ring, potentially magical. And how would Katie know to come for the ring?
This scene is a very intimate scene, a grandson sitting death watch over his grandfather. the phrase "for as long as anyone could remember" is very impersonal. I would rephrase it to make it personal to Harrison. Take out anyone and put in Harrison.
Historical.
ReplyDeleteThe vigil seems historical. The ring gives it a fantasy or magical realism element. Katie could be a magical being or a stepsister from grandpa's secret family.
I am going to be very radical and say historical science-fiction. It could be historical fantasy, but I felt like I got a whiff of time travel from the fact that the grandfather knows who's coming to get it and the way the ring shimmered in the light. I say historical because he's dying in a barn, they're using oil lamps, and the grandfather's name makes me think he was named after Ulysses S. Grant.
ReplyDeleteYour writing caught me until the ring took center stage and then I was all 'mysterious object of great power sparks a hero's journey.' If this turns out to be, like, historical magical realism or just plain historical fiction, you could have something here.
CAN'T TELL
ReplyDeleteThe first paragraph feels historical, the second paragraph reads like a fantasy setup, or even science fiction. The last paragraphs feel like a mosern sett up for a romance.
historical fantasy
ReplyDeleteA ring someone will come for...sounds fantastical. :)
Historical
ReplyDeleteThe oil lamp, farmhouse
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteI really thought it was historical, but between the ring, the ever-burning lamp, and how certain the grandfather was that a mysterious woman would come for the ring, I have to go with fantasy.
Fantasy. I'm basing it on the ring and the lamp.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good read and a categorization puzzle. Maybe historical, maybe fantasy??
ReplyDeleteI'm going with fantasy.
ReplyDeleteFANTASY (or possibly URBAN FANTASY)
ReplyDeleteThere's no way that ring is anything normal :-)
The opening paragraph, and especially the opening sentence, feel long and awkward to me. It's hard to make out what they're saying.
Historical fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThis snippet totally gives me an Orson Scott Card/Tales of Alvin Maker vibe.
The reference to a specific place that's in the US places it in this world, but the reference to an oil lamp suggests it's a historical setting.
Rings are always magic, though, and oil lamps don't burn for six days straight without some magical assistance.
Based on the ring I'm going with fantasy.
ReplyDeleteEverything in this writing sample is screaming YA.
Historical
ReplyDeleteHistorical because of the names and the oil lamp. Possibly fantasy because mysterious ring, and something about the connection between a young woman and an old man's ring feels paranormal.
paranormal
ReplyDeletethere's got to be something special about that ring, beyond nostalgia
I don't know.
ReplyDeleteCould be historical based on the names and lamp. The ring gives it a fantasy or paranormal feel. Or it could be contemporary because Katie feels like a more modern name.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteMysterious ring passed down from forbears, secrets surrounding it, a stranger who will someday come for it has the opening earmarks of adventure fantasy.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteHe's not leaving his ring to his family. He's giving it to a total stranger (to the family).He wasn't the owner of the ring. He was it's keeper.
HISTORICAL
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning toward historical fantasy because of the ring and the mysterious girl who will come for it. But historical at the very least because of the oil lamp.
Historical Fantasy
ReplyDeleteIt's a farmhouse. The oil lamp points to an historical setting. The ring, however, makes me wonder whether something magical will happen. It seems like the kind of ring you'd have in a fantasy story, all silver and blue stones...
Historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteGood start. I would read on.
Author here: It's a historical fantasy. Not sure how Authoress plans to tally all the answers, but thanks for the feedback everyone, it really helps!
ReplyDelete