a work-in-progress snippet

Is it possible to create a novella-length melodramatic work entirely in the present tense? I'm sure it's been done... How readable would it be? That is, can it hold a reader's attention without feeling too awkward to them?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Green is beginning to stir. His breath is raspy, heavy with effort, wet thanks to a punctured lung.

Gail finds her hands gripping his gun in fingers tight and cold. Her jaw is clenched, teeth grinding. She's overwhelmed by a sense of outrage at his invasion into her space, not just her car, but her space – her tidy world.

Her fingers close on the trigger, and the gun goes off almost effortlessly. She will later convince herself it was an accident. The BANG fills the tiny space to overflowing, and her ears whine an endless E.

The red-haired thug runs up to the car just in time to see his buddy take a point-blank bullet. Red stumbles away, gathers himself up, running off at top speed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also, can you say these words in the present tense:
punctured
clenched
overwhelmed

Name That Yarn Contest!

Have you entered the FictionInteractive Name That Yarn Contest. yet?

We've got a bunch of entries for the title of the story - soon I'll choose the best one. The winner gets a credit on the web site and bragging rights for all eternity.

Here's the story - A woman is on her way to work in her luxury car when she's carjacked at a turnpike tollbooth and has to fight off the assailants, who are trying to force her to drive home so they can molest it and pilfer her. Wait, no... Well, you get the idea.

Here are all the entries so far - think you can do better? Prove it!

Sunny - Driving the OTHER Miss Daisy

Paulius - PollyAnna Jones and the Turnpike of Doom
Paulius - Carrie Trotter : The Prius of Fear

Blandwagon - The Phantom Tollbooth... of Death!

Kato - Tragedy on the Turnpike
Kato - Gasoline Dreams
Kato - Death Drives Stick
Kato - Wrong Turn
Kato - One-Way Street
Kato - No Entry
Kato - The Long Way Home
Kato - Route 187
Kato - Ride or Die
Kato - One Last Errand
Kato - Oil Change of Death
Kato - The Wheels of Fate

SQ - Can't Buy My Love with a Token
SQ - Jettas are for Everyone
SQ - Meet Slinky, Sly Szlovak
SQ - Zombie Robot Monkey Pirates on the South-bound Turnpike (of Doom)
SQ - Code Name: Hum Bird 3
SQ - Home is a Three Letter Word
SQ - Tickle Me Turnpike

2 Might Enter! 1 Will Win!

I'm working on my cheesy choose-your-own adventure project again. It's silly, but I'm having fun with it.

Here's where the competition comes in -

FictionInteractive's Name That Yarn Contest!

You guys submit candidates for the title of the story, and I'll choose the best one. The winner gets a credit on the web site and bragging rights for all eternity. Me? I get a good title - cause let's face it, you folks are a lot cleverererer than I am.

Here's the story, a simple and straightforward plot - A woman is on her way to work in her luxury car when she's carjacked at a turnpike tollbooth and has to fight off the assailants, who are trying to force her to drive home so they can molest it and pilfer her. Wait, no... Well, you get the idea.

All right! Hit me with your entries. Extra points for wit, cleverness and frolicsome pertness.