I miss the Friday snippets. I felt like putting one up.
Please don't quote, repost, or otherwise take for yourself, first draft only.
My main character and her crew are in for a nasty surprise.
"Sail ho!"
The crew rushed to the rails, peering across the water to catch a glimpse.
Katya felt a rush of premonition. Dread weighted her muscles. She turned and sprinted for her spyglass. When she turned it to leeward, rear quarter, sails sprang to life in her vision. The sails were tattered--something no shipmaster worth his salt would ever allow. She searched the deck of the vessel under those sails, looking for any signs of life. There were none that she could see. The ship ran silent and dark. More important than that, she ran against the wind that filled the Dragon's sails.
She lowered the spyglass and squinted, then raised the glass again. Yes, she hadn't been mistaken. Dark clouds massed behind that ship. She turned. Rian, never far from her side, awaited orders.
"Bring her about and take in those sails!" Katya said. "Fetch the firearms!"
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Eyes of the Stone Dragon
A snip from a S&S short story I finished:
Please don't quote or repost without permission.
Dara heard the intruder step on a loose board. She watched as the man froze at the noise he’d made. She did not move, curious to see what the man would do.
He paused for a long moment, then crept to the bed where she lay like a convincing lump. The flash of a knife, a quick plunge of the blade into her chest---
Dara sat up in bed, and instantly realized her mistake. A Moon sign flared to life on the intruder’s brow and the knife throbbed in her chest. This was no ordinary intruder and no ordinary blade.
She snatched the knife from the wound and threw it across the room, but the damage had been done. Stiffness entered her simulacrum, making movement difficult. Dara used a tiny bit of magic and flicked the room’s candles alight. The candles illuminated a short, stocky man dressed in ordinary desert garb, with deep-set eyes and a gently glowing crescent moon in the center of his brow. She could feel her own Sun sign on her forehead grow warm.
“What have you done?” she said.
“What I had to,” he responded. “My name is Morion, and I need your help, Sunmaster Dara.”
“You picked a strange way of asking, Moon Follower. Sneaking around in the middle of the night, stabbing me with a spellbreaker blade--”
Morion’s lips twisted. “Isn’t that what those who follow the Moon Path do? Sneak?”
“What do you want?”
“An exchange,” he said. “In a few moments, the spell that binds together your simulacrum will unwind. I can keep that from happening. In return, I need you to help me destroy Ranifir.”
Dara stared. “One does not easily destroy a stone dragon, Moon Follower. It’s a creature of the Ancient magic, and not subject to the lesser magics. What you want is well-nigh impossible.”
Please don't quote or repost without permission.
Dara heard the intruder step on a loose board. She watched as the man froze at the noise he’d made. She did not move, curious to see what the man would do.
He paused for a long moment, then crept to the bed where she lay like a convincing lump. The flash of a knife, a quick plunge of the blade into her chest---
Dara sat up in bed, and instantly realized her mistake. A Moon sign flared to life on the intruder’s brow and the knife throbbed in her chest. This was no ordinary intruder and no ordinary blade.
She snatched the knife from the wound and threw it across the room, but the damage had been done. Stiffness entered her simulacrum, making movement difficult. Dara used a tiny bit of magic and flicked the room’s candles alight. The candles illuminated a short, stocky man dressed in ordinary desert garb, with deep-set eyes and a gently glowing crescent moon in the center of his brow. She could feel her own Sun sign on her forehead grow warm.
“What have you done?” she said.
“What I had to,” he responded. “My name is Morion, and I need your help, Sunmaster Dara.”
“You picked a strange way of asking, Moon Follower. Sneaking around in the middle of the night, stabbing me with a spellbreaker blade--”
Morion’s lips twisted. “Isn’t that what those who follow the Moon Path do? Sneak?”
“What do you want?”
“An exchange,” he said. “In a few moments, the spell that binds together your simulacrum will unwind. I can keep that from happening. In return, I need you to help me destroy Ranifir.”
Dara stared. “One does not easily destroy a stone dragon, Moon Follower. It’s a creature of the Ancient magic, and not subject to the lesser magics. What you want is well-nigh impossible.”
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Long Dry Spell
Blogging, that is. Well. At least I've been writing. I'll post a snippet here tomorrow to prove it.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Creeping Back to Life
I'm beginning to thaw out and write again. I'm going through the Graduate Novel portion of Holly Lisle's "Think Sideways" course, and enjoying myself.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year....I Think
Here is a shining example of what I need to do. It's January 1, 2009. I hereby make a resolution to set down a goal--quite modest in nature---to finish the Wintersland story. No matter how long or short it turns out to be.
The story is intended to be a young adult, which should put it around the 80,000 range--we'll see. The story still feels thin in places, so I may need to develop a couple of characters beyond just the name stage.
The story is intended to be a young adult, which should put it around the 80,000 range--we'll see. The story still feels thin in places, so I may need to develop a couple of characters beyond just the name stage.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Christmas!!
(Picture courtesy of Charlieonline Graphics)
http://www.charlieonline.it/Tut-TagXmas_Greetings.htm
As Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us, everyone!"
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