Fiction Friday! [Working Title] part 5

Jason led me down to the kitchen. I could tell he wasn’t taking me down any major hallways. Nowhere where we could be seen. I struggled slightly to keep up with him due to the dizzy spouts that hit every few minutes from exertion.

He pushed at a wooden door, it was heavy from the way his face contorted from the effort. It opened into a warm kitchen, obviously not often used for dining. At the center of the room stood a large wooden table for cutting and preparing, and along the walls were all sorts of kitchen equipment and cooking utilities. “What are you hungry for?” He turned and asked. I was still taking in the size of the space. “You know what? I’ll just make you my specialty.”

I nodded and he got to work. He moved around the space carefully but comfortably. I wasn’t able to tell at that point if he was comfortable because of the equipment he was working with or because he was just comfortable with himself. A few minutes later he gestured to a small round table with 4 chairs round it. He set a green…thing in front of me and one in front of himself. I sat and switched our plates. He chuckled and stared at me. I nodded at the food that sat in front of him that he had originally placed in front of me. His smile disappeared and he took a healthy bite of the meal, swallowed, and showed me his mouth was empty. “Good. What is this?” I tried not to look too disgusted, but from what I could tell, it was a slimy green gump intended to be eaten with your fingers.

“Just try it.”

“Why are you feeding me?” I countered. I wasn’t going to put unfamiliar food into my system without knowing what the possible side effects were. Last time this man put something into my system I was kidnapped and can barely stand straight.

“We want you nice and plump for when we sacrifice you then eat your innards,” he looked me straight in the eye. He sounded completely serious. My eyes widened and his composure broke. “Does it really matter?” He couldn’t get ahold of his laugh and it came out in huffs. “You’re hungry, so eat.”

“S’not funny,” I poked at the mush. It had more substance than I had expected it to have. It was slick and a little slimy, sure, but my finger didn’t just sink straight through to the plate. I picked up a smallish piece and raised it to my mouth. I looked up and he was watching me intently with a stupid smile on his face. “Can you not look at me like that?”

“Now that I know it bothers you, absolutely not,” he smirked and nodded his head to urge me on. I close my eyes and ate the piece of gunk. It was a little salty, but overall had a decently warm flavor. “Haha! What did I tell you?”

“It’s not terrible,” I dug in without seeming too eager. I was starving and the food went down easily. He smiled and turned his attentions to his own plate.

“Alright. You have questions,” he said as I cleaned off the last of my plate.

“Why am I being treated as a guest?”

“You are a guest. Next.”

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down. What do you mean I’m a guest?”

“Would you prefer to be rotting in a damp cell? We have those, I can arrange that.”

I shook my head. “That’s not it. I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t put me there in the first place.”

He shrugged. “It was the choice of the king. I just followed orders. I’m just a foot soldier.”

“Oh. I got the feeling that you were someone important who had a say in such affairs.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Nah. Just working at the grindstone like anyone else,” he shrugged. “It’s not so bad here, you know? The people are generally nice and everyone has chance to do what they really want. Maybe you’ll find a place.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I would rather not find a place and go home to my family where the place has already been made,” he looked down, as if I had upset him. “Look, you have a lovely city, but we are at war. My people need me just as much as yours need you.”

“So I should let you go to tell your armies where we are so they can come destroy my home. My family. My place? Sorry if I’m more inclined now to let you rot in a cell.”

I nodded. He was mad. “Your people took everything from me. I don’t expect you to understand, but I have no interest in getting friendly with the water tribe.” He opened his mouth and then closed it again. “I appreciate the hospitality, but it isn’t going to win my trust. Throw me in a cell if you want, wouldn’t be the first time, but I will never stop trying to get away from here and from you.”

He stood. “Come on. I’ll escort you back to your room. It’s probably best that you don’t roam alone. Not everyone is keen on having an enemy behind friendly walls,” even after everything I had said, he still offered his arm. I didn’t take it, but I thought it was a nice gesture.

Fiction Friday! [Working Title] part 4

It’s Fiction Friday!…on a Monday. But, as promised. Here’s part 4:

START OF PART 4

“Please. Sit,” the older man wasn’t as old as I had pictured him. Maybe fifty at the oldest. Obviously royal by the way he dressed and held himself. Laugh lines covered his face, but his hair was completely grey at the roots. He gestured to a chair at the side of the hall.

“I’ll stand if I may.”

“Please. Sit,” he repeated in a sterner tone. I lowered my head and sat in the chair next to the one he recommended. “Now, missy, we need a name to call you.”

“Missy works just fine for me,” the younger man cradled his face in his hand.

The man lowered his voice. “I have allowed you to be a guest in my house. I have allowed you into my city without screening, something that my own people don’t have the luxury of. And you are now spitting that back in my face. Tell me, do you really think that’s a good idea? Maybe we want to try that again, what is your name?”

“Why are you letting me stay in your house? You have no idea what I’m capable of,” I said, levelling with his gaze. I wanted him to know that no matter what he said or did to me that he would never rule over me. I was an earth elf and he could wait in line to control what I do.

“That would be my dimwit son Jason,” he gestured towards the younger man who looked up with tired eyes. I guess he could have used the sleeping powder more than I could. “Come say hello, Jason.”

Jason walked towards me and instead of standing near me he just plopped down in the chair next to me. “Hey, what you in for?” My eyes widened in shock. “Hear the food here is great, but the parole system is slow,” he slouched in the chair and gave his father a dirty look. He extended his hand to me, “Jason.”

I cautiously took his hand, “Christine.” The father threw his hands up in the air in disgust. The younger man smirked and stood.

“Christine of the earthen elves. Has a decent ring to it. Familiar,” Jason turned back towards me. “Welcome to the great city.”

“She has a point, Jason. We have no idea what she’s capable of. Be careful with information you share so quickly.”

“It’s not like she can leave,” My heart pounded at that. He was right. I had planned to escape but the entire city was underwater and I was unfamiliar with their technologies so even if I got to whatever lift they used, I would probably not be able to work it quickly enough much less unnoticed.

My stomach made an obscene sound and I felt my skin flush. The father smirked. “Get her some food, Jason. Just……take care of her,” it sounded like a threat, but I was in no position to argue with anything this man had to say. He literally held my life in his old and privileged hands.

Jason held a hand out to me, obviously intending to lead me somewhere. I stood on my own, wavering slightly as my head spun out of control. “The powder will do that,” he said. “You will be dizzy for about 36 hours after ingestion. Nasty side-affect,” he shrugged as if he wasn’t the one who did this to me. “If you need support, just grab onto me. I’m going to take you down to the kitchens.”

“I think I’ll be fine,” I said with obvious bite in my voice.

He let my harshness roll off his shoulders. “Even so, the offer stands.”

Fiction Friday [Working title] Announcement

Alright guys. I dropped the ball. When I went to go post part 4 last night I found that I had saved the wrong copy onto my flash drive so it’s still at the school. So, I’m going to be a rebel and post Fiction Friday! part 4 on Monday night so stay tuned.

How my little scribbler heart died of happiness (or I would like to share Scrivener with you)

As the title reads, I have gone to scribbler heaven. I was out last night and a friend of mine whose blog is here and he showed me this beautiful program called Scrivener. Whether you write short stories, novels, or even the forced essays for school, you understand that sometimes the hardest part is getting organized. I personally am terrible at organizing my writing and for my novel I covered an entire wall in sticky notes to attempt to make it all make sense — still not entirely sure I succeed on that point — but I’m moving out in the fall and sticky note walls take space that I don’t know I will have in a college dorm.
The site to download Scrivener is here and I plan to buy it after graduation when I get a computer for college.
A few notes that I know already — and I will update a few more times as I learn the program — 2 major pluses for me are: 1) it’s pretty cheap for a program. $40 for pc $35 if you are student (yay) and 2) this one is completely vain, but it’s pretty! There are colors and customization and all sorts of things to do with this program (including a nifty name generator for when babynames.com just isn’t enough)
It also has a cork board for those of us, like me, who need to lay everything out to look at it and from what I understand, when you move an index card it moves the scene!
I look forward to the future of this program.

Fiction Friday! [Working Title] part 3

I awoke to the smell of lilies. No sooner had I opened my eyes that I closed them again. My brain screamed at me to get up but my head was even louder insisting I stay down. I was flat on my back but aside from a killer headache I wasn’t uncomfortable. I braved the light again and took in my surroundings. The stench of lilies came from my right. A bowl of water lilies rest on a table beside the bed and I swear they must be super flowers because they shouldn’t stink like that. Now that my eyes had adjusted I realized that the room was rather dimly lit. But it was all wrong. I looked down at myself and I wore a white satiny dressing gown. My walking dress hung in the closet but my shoes were nowhere to be found.

I looked out the open windows. These people aren’t even trying to keep me here. I got off the high queen-sized bed, trying futilely to not take the pounds of blankets and sheets with me. The windows led out to a balcony towering over the city. Above me I could see the ripples in the lakes surface. “Okay. It’s weird.” I was glad they had left my ankle wrappings on the second my feet hit the tile. I headed to what appeared to be a wardrobe. On the door my walking dress came in stark contrast to the clean ivory paneling. The doors weren’t locked so I swung both wide open, blown away by the fine fabrics that hung in multitudes on double stacked rods. Organized by season and color, I grabbed a black velvet cloak. It felt strange over the dressing gown but I had no idea how long it would before a guard would be along to check on me.

I went to the wooden doors and pulled on one. It was heavy but wasn’t locked. I peered around. Not an elf in sight. What kind of city keeps its prisoners in the pent house completely unguarded and dressed in the finest things?

I realized then that someone must have dressed me, because I was out cold. I was suddenly very conscious of my attire. I snuck around the door and closed it as quietly as possible behind me. I had spent my entire childhood sneaking around for one reason or another so getting around unheard wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this place was unfamiliar to me and the material was like nothing I had ever walked on before. I cringed each time my feet made pattering sounds against the stone.

I slinked along the walls. The area appeared to be completely deserted. I ran down several flights of stairs only stopping once to catch my breath. Whatever powder that jerk had thrown into my lungs was still working its way out of my system and it seemed that the second my heart rate got above normal I was cursed with dizzy spells. I reached the end of the stairs. I prayed that the doors would open to the bottom floor and that it was another deserted area. Maybe the kitchens. I had to guess it was mid afternoon but it was hard to say with the light being so filtered by the water. I listened at the door before opening it into a hallway. There was no draft, no wind, no movement in the halls. I chose to go left and hoped for the best. I was beginning to wish I had tried climbing down the window instead of risking getting caught.

“This is precisely why you aren’t supposed to leave the city alone, Jason!” A voice boomed from my right. I pressed against the wall. My breath was shallow, I covered my own mouth to muffle the sounds. “How long will it take you to realize that not everyone can be trusted?”

“She’s not a threat to anyone.”

“She tried to kill you, son. You seem to keep forgetting that. And she was obviously searching for us. Why else would an earth elf be so far from her boarders and so heavily armed?” this voice was deeper and worn.

“Maybe she was hunting. The killing me part was a misunderstanding, I’m sure, I shot first.” I guessed this was the young man from the lake.

“Hunting on enemy lands in a time of war?” The older voice muttered. “We could always ask her.”

“I’ll inform you when she wakes.”

“No need. She’s already waiting outside.” My blood froze. “Come on in, Missy.” I squeezed my eyes shut and rounded the corner into a great hall. I opened my eyes to see the two men looking at me the elder with a certain calm inquisition that made me feel like a statue in an art museum and the familiar younger man’s eyes widened as I walked into the room. “You forgot the mirror in the hall.” The older man pointed behind me and I turned. There was a floor to ceiling mirror along the opposite side of the hall. I cursed myself. I always missed the mirrors.

Still looking for a title if anyone has any suggestions.

Fiction Friday! [Working title] part 2

I grimaced to myself for underestimating him. Such a rookie mistake and I wasn’t a child anymore. I should know better. I threw my bow to the ground but took faith from the weight of my hunting knife in the inside seam of my boot and the wood of the arrow between my fingers. I braced a hand against the tree and turned to face him.

The man was younger than I had expected. I would guess he was only a few years older than me. The rowboat that had been in the centre of the expansive lake now was perched from the bow up onto the shore a few feet from me. The man himself stood poised in the boat holding a perfect archery pose. I almost had to stare at his immaculate attention to detail in the way he held himself completely straight; He didn’t shake at all, not a single waver. His feet were exactly shoulder-wide and his body looked like he could stand against a wall without any bends or breaks in the line. The string was pulled back with an arrow locked and loaded. I glared at him and dropped my arrow. He seemed to relax a bit at that. Even though he was obviously technically trained, I wouldn’t exactly describe him as threatening. He was scrawny for a fighter but made up for it in height. Water elf for sure with blue eyes and pale dirty-blonde hair; I had never seen someone so pale, but I guess that’s what you get when you live underwater.

“I put my weapon away. Why don’t you put yours down and make this easier?”

He shrugged. “Easy is great, but I like the feel of the bow in my hand and I don’t trust you,” I tried to get a sense of his temperament.

“What could a defenceless woman like me do against a trained warrior,” I gestured towards him.
He smiled. “Well, that’s very sweet of you, but I have known too many crazy women.”

“I’m not crazy,” I leaned against the tree at my side.

“But you are desperate, and that, missy, can make anyone crazy,” his arrow remained fixed on me. If I ran into the forest he would put it through my back, no doubt—filthy water tribe with no class. He had already proved he was a good shot and didn’t shy away from using that to his advantage.

“You’re right,” I stepped towards him—testing his reaction. His arrow followed immediately, but he didn’t release it. He didn’t want to kill me, or even fight me, or he would have done that already. I let a smile play on my lips. I ran at him and he pulled a little blue bag from his breast pocket and threw it at the ground at my feet. A thick powder flew up in my face and I gasped in shock. I looked up at the man. He was covering his face with a cloth as he jumped out of the boat. I tried to push at him and hit him but I had no strength.

“I wanted to do this easy way,” he said through the cloth as I started to fall. He caught me and the last thing I remember is him carrying me towards the lake, cradling my head.

Then I lost consciousness.

END OF PART 2

Review Wednesday: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

This week: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Warnings: this review will be a little spoilery, but nothing that will ruin the read for you.
Rating: 4/5

I saw this in the library and I did a little jump of joy because Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is one of my absolute favorites and I often see Carolyn Mackler’s novels checked out, though I haven’t gotten to them myself. Hm, let’s see, put two fantastic authors together and have them write a future-driven novel set in the 1990s with a bit of teenage angst and romance thrown in and see how it goes.

I’m going to start with the concept. I have been waiting for a novel like this because of the new technological age and at this point there are very few who touch on it so specifically. There have always been time travel and loop novels. Doomsday Book to name a classic. But usually those focus on the future looking into the past. Here, it shows two teens from the past who discover their futures on Facebook, but as they discover and change things in their daily lives their futures change before their eyes.

I loved some of the statements made in this book on love and the future, however for most of the book I found it predictable. From the first 5 chapters you pretty much know the ending as far as character relations and the concept ending is easy to guess. With that being said, I was up into the wee hours of the morning turning page after page.

After the first few chapters I didn’t have a problem following the point of view shifts (they switch each chapter between the guy and girl) and I really enjoyed the friendship that was shared, broken, and fixed over time–While be it in a twisted and slightly morally wrong ways.

it was love because it was worth it.

I love this quote, it reminds me a bit of John Green’s

Maybe there’s something you’re afraid to say, or someone you’re afraid to love, or somewhere you’re afraid to go. It’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt because it matters.

And I love both.

Towards the end this book drug out for me but I kept turning the pages. I can’t figure out why. And of course a feel-good ending to wrap it up.

Would I recommend this? To the right person who was in the right mood? Yes. Other than that, I think I’ll move on.

Fiction Friday! [Working Title]

Here is the start of a little short story. I hope you enjoy it.

[Working Title]

This felt right. The wind in my hair and the leaves under my feet. It had been forever since I had been allowed to leave the city, and the break from society was long over due. My father always said it was unnatural how comfortable I was on my own. It wasn’t “proper for a woman of my age.”
But then he always sent me on the missions; talk about mixed signals. I was the best at sneaking around and when you’re at war a spy is an invaluable resource. The war had changed my people and the world. I had travelled all over the world and nearly everything above ground had been destroyed by either fire, wind, water, or earth tribe armies.

The world used to be a more harmonious place, but then the air tribe of elves decided to go out and start blowing over everyone’s card houses and it kind of just escalated from there. Since then, so many treaties have been signed and broken between all of the tribes. I am an earth tribe elf and we are currently at war with everyone: air, water, and fire.

Let me explain before you start thinking about your little stereotypes for elves. I’m not short and I defiantly don’t work for a jolly old man. 95% of the time my ears are perfectly rounded, they point up and out to focus sound when I want them to. I don’t have blonde hair, it’s brown, long, and straight. The eyes of elves show their heritage. For example, I have hazel eyes because I am from the earth tribe, but the water tribe has blue, grey for air, and a dark red for fire.

My father enlisted me to find the water tribe capital, capturing it would be the ultimate advantage in the war. The only problem is that at the beginning of the war, the water tribe moved all of their major cities beneath the lakes. We don’t know how, but they are gone. The sun was about to set and I had one more lake for the day before I could set up camp.

As I neared edge of the tree line I heard a great splashing sound. I crouched behind a tree and slammed my back against the bark. I winced. I would regret that one later. After I had balanced myself I peered around the edge of the tree. The lake was flat and in the very center was a blonde haired person in a row boat. Jackpot. I had specific instructions not to confront the enemy. I stood slowly, keeping myself concealed behind the tree. He wasn’t facing towards me but I wasn’t going to take that chance. As I moved back into the forest, a twig broke under my foot. Before I could look up again an arrow flew by my face, cutting a few strands of my hair.

“I know you’re out there. Come out or I won’t miss again,” the man called. My heart pounded in my chest. I took my bow from my back and drew an arrow. “Drop your weapons and come out. Final warning.”

I cursed and threw my bow to the ground, I was a good shot but he already knew where I was. He had the advantage of the draw. I kept the arrow though, if he got close enough I could use it like a blade.

I took a deep breath and stepped out into the open.

Feedback is always welcome and I would love to hear your suggestions for a title.

Review Wednesday: Writing Fiction for Dummies

I know this breaks the pattern of fiction novels, but I feel like it deserves a week. I want to tell you about Writing Fiction For Dummies.

A friend of mine gifted me his copy of this book for my birthday two years ago when I started to get really serious about publishing my manuscript, but I really didn’t know where to start and if what I had was any good. The copy I received had been through several owners and had its fair share of dog ears and funky looking pages. I love this book.

I know it seems degrading to think about. “I’m a fancy writer who knows English. Why would I read something that calls me a dummy?” And I thought that at first. Now I’m a believer (Smashmouth moment) this book transformed me and I have read it at least 10 times. It is the perfect introduction to the writing world and has helpful hints on every step of the process, even up to print publication. It is lacking in online publishing help, but it starts you out from the bones of how you write and slowly shows you how to be a really attractive model, literarily speaking.

Many people have asked me to mentor them on writing projects, or asked to co-write with me. To both I always say yes because I think collaboration is important and I am blessed with some really excellent mentors and one of my goals as an author is to always try to pass that on in any way I can. Most of these mentorships don’t last long and none of the co-writes have panned out (usually because they don’t realize we actually have to communicate to write a story together.) Some of the mentorships, however, have lasted for a while and I find them very rewarding. This book is the first thing I tell them about no matter how long they have been writing because it does a good job of filling in some holes and getting them thinking while they read others and their own work.

Probably the most rewarding part of mentoring came last week. While meeting with a young man who wants to publish I saw something: the passion for the work. He had a story and an idea but needed help getting the characters hashed out so he could get it down on paper. It became a type of game, I would ask questions and if he didn’t have an answer he would make something up and then make a mental note to revisit and revise. I loved watching this unravel before my eyes because right there in the coffee shop he was writing a book and creating characters…and that’s exciting. I excused myself for a moment and went to the reference section. I bought myself another copy of this book and passed on the one I got so many years ago. My only hope is that he uses as much as I did, and when he gets published and people ask him for help he carefully chooses one to pass it on to.

This book to me isn’t just a book that insults me by the cover and amazes me by the content, it is a legacy. I am glad that this book does that and I highly recommend anyone who has ever thought about writing a fiction novel to check it out at their local library or buy it. It remains helpful no matter how far down the road you go.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Anyone who would appreciate it or wanted to understand the process.

Last day

Today is the last day to get my book A Common Language for $0.99 on Kindle and free on Smashwords and Nook. Don’t miss out before the prices go back up.