Novel Excerpt - Chapter 1

I wrote this chapter about a month ago, and have rewritten it too many times to count. Decided to post a bit of it on here:

Chapter 1 -

“Jason! What in God’s name do you think you’re doing?”


Jason looked over his shoulder. His mother stood in the doorway of the family sitting room, annoyance apparent on her face. His sister, Lily, stood beside her, raven pigtails sticking out of her head at different angles. She stared at her brother curiously while chewing on her fingers.

“Jason!” his mother shouted again.

The six-year old boy hummed quietly to himself, ignoring her. He had pulled a chair over to the family fish tank and opened the lid, exposing the various tropical fish that his mother liked to collect. A thick book was carefully balanced on the edge of the aquarium. Jason observed the fish silently, watching their brightly coloured scales flit around from above. He picked the book up and, with an air of solemnity, tore a page out of it. His fingers made quick work of the page, ripping it up into little pieces. When he had finished the task, he tossed the paper bits into the water. He watched them get soggy and start to sink. Jason smiled to himself as a few of the fish rose to the surface and nibbled on the corners of the smaller pieces. Mission accomplished.

Suddenly Jason’s mother was right beside him. She snatched the book away. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she turned it over and recognized the cover. She let out a hideous shriek.

“Jason Stewart Thompson!” Mrs. Thompson only used her son’s full name when she was really mad, and it frightened Jason. She grabbed his arm and yanked him off of the chair. His feet hit the ground hard.


“Ow,” Jason complained. But his mother didn’t care. Within seconds he was bent over her knees, pants down, and receiving the spanking of his lifetime.