Make Art

Only one day left of the first month of the year!  That went quickly.  It was helped along by several very nice weather days.  Now we have snow and pretty stuff, but also colder than it was.  Not horrible, but still unpleasant whenever the door to my office opens, and the cold from the unheated part of the house rushes in.  My cats don't quite understand 'close the door behind you!' so I'm stuck with getting up constantly and either shoving it closed or opening it again.  Hey, it's exercise.  I should probably have about six more cats so that I had to do it more often.

On the other hand ... no, not such a good idea.  I've had that many house cats (and more) before.  I'll stick with my three and our small but entirely useless dog. 

I've had one bout of illness, which I am just recovering from now.  It's been a rough day, but I think I can get back to working again.  I also need to pull back from the political world.  The daily anxiety of 'what has gone wrong now' is not helping me.  It's not helping anyone, but I fear we are stuck with it.

Hold on. I meant to talk about the novels, not the real world.  Journey of a Thousand Truths is flying along, even if we don't have a pilot or a map.  I've really enjoyed the work, with only a few days where I mumbled and grumbled and couldn't get more than 1k.  The novel is now over 55k, and I still have several big adventure points coming up.  Yay!

My secondary work for the month has been a rewrite/edit of the 4th Devlin novel, Missing Persons.  Here I hit a BIG problem.  I have rewritten the start three times now, and it is still boring!  Just dull.  Nothing seems to fit together.

Or at least that's how I felt until tonight when I realized two big things -- in my haste to get to the main storyline, I'd not set things up very well.  I did a lot of 'show, don't tell' spots and didn't even realize it.  Well, that makes a difference.  I also realized I had an excellent chance to start the trouble with one group long before Devlin's Team gets to the world where the current assignment is taking them.  The story finally seems to be picking up.  Once I get past the opening, I shouldn't have so much trouble.  I will not have the novel done this month as I had hoped (not even close since I am still back at page 15), but I finally see why I thought it was boring.  Nothing was really happening.  I recited events and did not let my characters live them. This is never the better choice when you have such great characters to work with as Devlin, Cha, and Dancer.  I needed to turn them loose.

Now the problem is that I have two really fun stories vying for my attention.  I'm not sure that's the best answer.

Oh. That reminds me of one more big change I made.

I restarted my Writing Comes First Campaign.  For too long, I was getting up, messing around on the Internet, getting distracted, and writing later.  I always write, so there was always going to be some words, but I was not doing as well as I used to.  I decided to make sure I had my writing done before I went over to FaceBook or any other site, especially with the current climate on the Internet.  (Ah, but how long will we even have the Internet?)  I thought this change was going to be difficult.

It was not.  I don't miss scrolling through FB first thing and filling myself with the kind of useless distress that doesn't help writing.  I also learned that if I simply sit down and start writing, the words will come to me.  I am having no trouble getting 3k first thing where I was having a horrible time getting 1k some days just because of the wasted time and energy.

You are not going to find me online before 6 pm or so central time.  Probably later on many days.  I am reapplying myself to my craft, and it's working.  I am going to take more time for other forms of art as well.

We all need to find things we enjoy, no matter how much we might dislike other things in the world.  If we give in to despair and cast aside all that we enjoy, isn't that a form of defeat?

In the words of Neil Gaiman -- Go Make Art.

Flash Fiction # 235 -- Saving Everywhere. Part 19: Snow City

(Previous)

Not far?  The Icelings clearly didn't understand the term in the same way that a battered, tired human did.  I kept moving and gave a grateful thank you to Lord Snow when he called a halt several hours into the walk.  From the way he looked over his shoulder, though, I could tell that we were not going to be here long.

I had to believe the Icelings knew where they were going.   The idea that there might be another gate to Elsewhere made me hopeful.  If we could get there, get allies, come back through the gate near home -- yes, that was a plan.  I had never had a plan during this madness.

For the moment, at least, I even let myself believe it would work.

We climbed and hiked, moving onward all through the day.  The air grew thinner, and the cold tripled, but I adjusted.  I'd never liked cold before, and I didn't now, but I was doing okay.

At sunset we arrived at a high alpine glacier, the edge running with a waterfall, a pile of debris dropped at the edge as the ice melted back.  I had thought it close to the ground, but we went down under it into a tall, wide area.  Dark for the first few steps, and then we passed through some sort of wall of magic, and I could clearly see the winding path ahead of us.

The icelings were far happier now that they were down here under the ice.  I didn't think we would be safe from the actual trouble.  Lord Snow had told them we had enemies, but they were aware of that anyway.  The magic used to make the avalanche had been what drew them out.

We did not go far into the icy cavern before they began to gather at the rock wall.  Boulders moved aside, and we quickly headed in, the rocks moving back into place behind us.  Not really safe, I knew.  I had sensed the magic here and so would Alsia when she came this way.  We had to work quickly --

I turned around and felt my breath catch. 

A city sat in a hollow below me, the walls of translucent stone rising one floor atop another and glittering with magic light.  Paths led down the hillside at a gentle slope, and far down I could see what must be the closed gate.

"Make sure they understand that I have not one this myself," I said as we went down the long path.  "I was with Lord Cayman when he opened that last door, and I had a feel for it, but --"

"I have explained," Lord Snow said.  "They understand that you can only try.  If you do this, it will help us all, though."

He didn't say so, but I had the feeling he worried about our next encounter with Alsia.  I hurried a little faster, despite that my body ached.

I also wanted to stop and look at the buildings we passed. They were wonders of stone and ice, filled with magic color that spilled out all around us as we walked.  Edmond darted here and there, but never went far.  Lord Snow talked with our hosts and from the way his tail twitched now and then, I could tell that what he learned did not please him very well.

He finally dropped back to talk to me.

"They knew about Alsia already," he said.  "They'd sensed her in the city where she turned up just a few days ago.  When they went to her, though, she killed three of them and the others barely escaped.  They think she might be insane."

"Maybe she spent too much time here among humans," I offered.

He gave a little rumble of a laugh.  "You might be right.  I think, though, Alsia's appearance, and her dislike for the other beings points more to someone who is working with Darman.  She is not Potilia, but they have a lot in common."

"And she is still coming after us," I said with a nervous look back over my shoulder.

"She'll have some trouble getting through that shield and into the city.    They took quite a chance coming to you as they did because they knew Alsia was in the area, too.  She is an enemy, though.  I don't think she realizes how much her callousness is going to cost her."

"Best if I get the gate open," I said.  "Better if this doesn't become a fight."

"True," he agreed.

I hurried forward.  Edmond bounded down with me, though he did to the air.  I had the feeling his inability to land well would have embarrassed him before the icelings.

The closer I got to the gate, the more I felt a link to the magic there.  I put my hand to it and felt it swirled and touch me. 

"I don't think I'll have much trouble opening this," I said looking down at Edmond.  "But is it safer for us to go through.  I never felt very safe in Elsewhere before."

"Nowhere is safe," Edmond said and rubbed against his legs.  "We just have to do what we can, Mark."

I mumbled agreement, but my attention was not on the bit of magic before me and tried to ignore the sounds of trouble -- and the growing feel of magic -- behind me.  I had to block it out and recall all I knew about magic, which was not a lot.  I'd been around it enough, though -- and this gate wanted to open.  The icelings had not touched the right chords with it.  This was fae magic, and though I wasn't a full fae, it still recognized me as one of them.  That was an odd feeling, there in the midst of all this trouble.

And there was a problem.  I could hear Lord Snow growling as the trouble came closer....

To Be Continued....

990 words

Is this the one?

A few years ago I wrote a book titled Beware the Wrath of Bunny Hopper.  When I was done, and after I had edited the book, rewrote parts of it, edited it again, I was very happy with the end result.  I thought This is the One.

You know what I mean:  This is the one that is going to sell well.  People will enjoy it!  The story had adventure and humor.  It was a good solid YA contemporary fantasy with a female lead.  It had huge mutant bugs.  What was there not to like?

But the sales never took off the way I had thought they would.

So a couple years later I had another book I was getting ready to go out there: In the Shadow of Giants.  This one was a real change for me -- science fiction/fantasy/mythology tale that pitted the Norse Gods against the Chinese Gods sometime in the future.  Loki was my main character.  I had written it long before the Loki craze that came with the movie version, but the timing of the release was good.

I thought This is the One.

I was wrong again.  The sales on both of these books have been okay, but you always hope for the one book that will take off and do better.

Last year I wrote, edited and published Raventower and Merriweather 1: Secrets.  I loved the book -- my first nudge into the world of steampunk but with a lot of magic added.  The characters were wonderful to work with.

Was this the one?

Not so far as I can tell yet.

So here is both a problem and a joy of being prolific:  You can have several books that you think are going to be something more popular than they are and go through this time of hope and then realize it is not going to happen.  You can go through this many times, unlike less prolific writers who might not have more than one book every five or so years. 

I could add other books to the list: Kat among the Pigeons (Contemporary Fantasy), Paid in Gold and Blood (Fantasy), Xenation: Draw the Line (Science Fiction) -- even more that I expected to do well.  When they do not, it can be disheartening.

On the other hand, I still have other novels to publish.  I still have hope that I will find The One that will catch enough attention that people will mention my work to other people.  I am not looking to make the New York Times Bestseller list.  What I want is to know that I've reached a good number of readers who enjoyed something I wrote.

And I have more to write, too.  I will write the third Raventower and Merriweather book this year.  The second is sitting in first draft status, waiting for me to do my very first read-through on it.  I'm excited still about the second novel and the ideas for the third.

Am I ever going to find The One?  Maybe not.  And you know, despite some disheartening moments, I realize that it wouldn't change things anyway.  I will still be writing, won't I?  If I am not looking for bestseller status -- which sounds like a lot of work AFTER the book is popular -- then what do I care?

My books do sell, all of them adding up to a nice little bit of money every few months.  I get to sit here and write more.  Should I really want more?

Well, maybe just a little bit more....

Flash Fiction # 234 -- Saving Everywhere. Part 18: Visitors

(Previous)

I blinked several times and saw where human-like creatures, though taller than me, thin, and with icy blue skin with whitish hair and clothing.  They looked like moving piles of snow, and they were far too quiet.

Edmond shifted, gave a slight hiss of sound at the sight, and went silent and still.  We were surrounded; I looked and found some even kneeling on the overhang, looking down at us.  Their eyes were only a slightly darker blue than their skin, and they blinked when they met my look.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out.  I had gone as far as I could, and I wondered if Edmond could escape and get to Lord Snow.  I didn't know what I faced. They hadn't attacked yet, but they were moving in a little closer now.  I could barely hear the sound, like the faint whisper of snow-against-snow.

I thought they might seem more curious than dangerous.  They could have attacked me by now.  I watched, aware of a whisper of sound that must have been words between them.  They were quiet people, and I had the impression that they didn't like to be out in the open where they might draw attention.

I stayed seated, and they formed up in a circle around us, the first row kneeling so that they second had a clearer view of us.  Edmond was no longer hissing, and from the way his head turned from side-to-side, I had the feeling he might be rather curious himself.

They were whispering again.  I wasn't sure of the language, but if they were here, I had to hope I could talk to them.

"Are you from Elsewhere?" I asked.

Though I spoke softly, it still sounded like a shout compared to these quiet people.  I startled them, and even the kneeling ones started to scramble to their feet to get away -- but then they stopped as though they had only just heard what I said.  They all knelt this time, and the ones above on the rocks came down and sat with the others.  I felt as though I was on a stage and hadn't been told the name of the play, let alone what part I played in it.

"I feel like I should know what they are," Edmond said.

Oh, and that drew a strange reaction.  They were not surprised to find that the cat could talk.  There was even a nod of heads to him, as though he were something they understood far better than they did me.

I had no idea what to do.  We sat in silence for a few moments, but then I heard another sound and saw movement --

Lord Snow arrived.

The people did not panic.  I heard cries of surprise, but more of them stood and stretched out their arms to the snow leopard as though in delight.  Lord Snow came bounding through the snow and came to a sliding stop beside me.  I had to put a hand on the rock to keep from going down.

"My apologies," the big cat said.   He sat down and mumbled words that were not in English.  The others answered, a chorus of words that seemed to tumble over each other.  I thought Lord Snow looked pleased. 

"What are they?" I asked when they all went quiet again.

"Icelings, from Lord Ice's own realm. They know me, even though they've been here for a long time.  I'm not sure what happened.  I think they were exploring other winter lands and somehow ended up here.  I don't know --"

One of the Icelings began to talk.  Others joined in.  I could tell that whatever they said took Lord Snow by surprise.  He spoke a few times and then turned back to me.  Edmond, I noticed, had snuggled up next to the larger cat's long fur.  I wondered if I could shift a little closer myself.

"They have told me something I had not known," Lord Snow said at last.  "Mark, there is a second gate to Elsewhere, and it is located high in the mountains, but not too far from here.  The problem is that the gate is closed and they have never had the ability to open it, so they were trapped here.  If you can get it open, then it would be a better way back."

"I don't know much about gates, but I'm willing to try," I said.  I started to stand, but my leg gave out again.  Lord Snow reached over and put a paw against it, and I felt a wild surge of magic that made not only the leg but most of the rest of me, feel much better.  "Thank you!" 

"Dangerous," he admitted.  "I'm not used to applying magic to fae or human. But I'm glad it helped."

I picked up Edmond and draped him over my shoulders.  He purred since he didn't like to walk and I appreciated having a nice warm fur collar again.  The Icelings were excited now, some of them actually leaping as they bounded through and over the snow.  They had to slow for the rest of us, but I could sense the joy they felt.

I hoped I didn't disappoint them.  I wanted to say something to Lord Snow, to have him warn the others that I might not be able to do the work -- but then I suspected he already had done so.  It wasn't like him to give false hope to others.

I'd do my best.

We were heading farther up into the mountains and far away from the railroad tracks, which we crossed.  I looked up and down them with a bit of longing but didn't slow.  I realized that the 'not far' for the Icelings might be a long distance for me --

Lord Snow looked over his shoulder and nodded.  We were being followed. That wouldn't be good since it could be no one but Alsia.

 To Be Continued....

998 Words

Distractions

Last week I injured my left wrist.  I have no idea what I did, but it suddenly began to hurt enough to keep me awake at night.  After a couple days it cleared up, but those were difficult days for writing.  I managed to get a little over 1k a day done each day, though.  That's my minimum writing count.

The wrist mostly cleared up by the third day and things began to look better.

Then Russ took me to a wildlife refuge which knocked that day's word count back down -- oh, but it was a lovely distraction.  Eagles, geese, owl!  I have been trying to get a picture of an owl for YEARS.  You cannot imagine how much fun that was, to spot him just as we were leaving!

And then the ice storm....

Actually, we got off easy on the storm.  Just a light bit of ice and rain most of today (Monday), but it is cooling off and turning icy out there now.  I was enthralled, though, watching the storm progress up towards us and seeing the videos of various places as it hit.  I find storms and storm news fascinating. 

So all of that cut into my writing time or just drew my full attention.  From last Monday through Sunday, I wrote 10,808 words.  Not a bad total, but not even half of what I would normally get.

And you know what?  It doesn't matter.  If you start making word count numbers more important than things like storms and wildlife refuges, you are going to have very dull writing.  Seeing the wild world helps reconnect with times and places where civilization doesn't always hold sway.  Weather brings you closer to the unpredictable nature of the world.  Even inexplicable pains can bring you closer to your suffering characters.

You have to learn and experience things.  I've pursued life-long learning long before that term came into general use.  Too many see it as a pastime for retired people with nothing to do with their time.  Get over that concept, especially if you are a writer.  Learn things.  Read nonfiction books.  Take courses.  If you can spare the $20 a month, I suggest you sign up for this:

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/home

I love these courses.  So far I've taken four history courses, four science courses (and found I have a true love for geology), one art appreciation class, and right now I'm learning about the Analects of Confucius, which is a far more fascinating book than I ever realized back when I read it years and years and years ago.

For people who don't like to read nonfiction, these are a fantastic second choice.  The classes are generally right around 30 minutes, and many of them are 24 or 32 total classes per course, so you can easily do one a night and have the entire course done in about one month.   Some of them are just as good as an audio class as a video one -- you can generally tell which ones after the first class, and you might choose just to listen to them while you do something else. There are courses in math, science, cooking, yoga, religion -- and more added so often that it is daunting to try and figure out how to watch all the ones you really want to see and still have time for things like writing.

Take time to learn something new.  Even take time away from your writing sometimes.  Embrace learning rather than thinking it's only suitable for school and retirees.  You deserve a better, richer life -- and this is an easy way to find one.

Flash Fiction # 233 -- Saving Everywhere. Part 17: Snow World

(Previous)

I grabbed a tight hold of Edmond, pulling him to my chest and caught hold of Lord Snow's fur by his neck.  A quick breath and then the snow was upon us.  Ice, rocks, and trees flashed past us in the wall of white, but I was determined to keep my two companions safe.  I pulled them closer and once again my magical power surged out around us. We were in a bubble, bouncing along the hillside.

It seemed like a long time before we finally came to rest.  Snow piled up on top of us, but we had a little magical light here.

The sudden silence was almost as startling as being still.  Edmond moved first.  He'd buried his head in my chest, and he looked up now with his ears back and his tail twitching.

"I do not like snow."

Lord Snow sat up and shook a bit of snow from his head.  He didn't look nearly as bothered as Edmond.

I was working very hard at not panicking, though.  All I could sense around us was snow -- very thick, very heavy snow.  The bubble of magic wouldn't last forever, nor would the light.  I didn't know what to do.

Lord Snow did, though.  He reached out and put a paw to the side of the bubble.  It slid a bit that way.

"Yes, this will work," the snow leopard said.  "We push like so, and simply keep moving until we are out of the snow bank.  It may be some distance, but we shouldn't have a real problem."

He sounded assured.  I reached over and gave the bubble a little push.  We moved some more.  There wasn't enough room for me to stand, so I just had to keep crawling forward.  I was getting tired of people trying so hard to kill me.

"Did you say something, Mark?" Lord Snow asked.

"Just mumbling to myself," I admitted.  "I am tired of --"

The bubble popped through the snow.  Unfortunately, we were on the side of a cliff, so the bubble began to roll downward, and we toppled over and around each other for about a hundred yards.  When we stopped I, of course, was on the bottom.

"Ugh."

 "My apologies," Lord Snow said and twisted a bit and got off of me.  Edmond had been on my legs.  He was standing already and looking about as annoyed as I felt.  "We must be careful, my friends.  She was close when she sent that snow down on us."

The light he'd brought to the bubble disappeared.  I blinked and sat up.  The night was filled with snow so that I couldn't see back up to where we had been.  So much for following the train tracks.  I snarled a little but said nothing.

"The snow will be soft," Lord Snow warned, "and we risk the possibility of falling back in."

"I'll go first," Edmond said.  "If it's too soft for me, it will be for you two."

"I'll only use magic if I need to," Lord Snow added.  "We don't know where she might be.    Slide along the snow, Mark.  If it starts to give way, I'll use magic and hope she does not notice us."

We started moving across the snow.  It was a cold, dangerous path, and I had to wonder what my friends thought.  They'd barely joined me, and we were in trouble again.  As happy as I was to see them, I realized how dangerous it was just to be traveling with me.

We snaked our way across the white blanket that looked so calm now.  Lord Snow had to rescue Edmond twice. The little guy did not take off flying, which would have been far safer for him.  He stayed with us and helped keep us safe.

We rescued a dozen birds -- hawks, owls, and smaller ones -- that had gotten caught in the snow.  We also pulled out a fox who started to shake the snow off but took one look at Lord Snow and froze in fear.

The big cat chuckled.  "Go your own way, little fox.  I am not looking for dinner right now."

The fox backed up, turned and ran lightly over the snow.  I hoped he reached safety.

After the longest night I ever remembered, we finally reached solid ground.  The rock here had been scoured clear of all snow and debris, except for a small corner that was out of the wind.  We cleaned that space and settled in.  I ached, and I was cold.  Edmond crawled up into my lap.

"I am going to go hunt the woman," Lord Snow said.  "We need to know if she is still out there.  Stay here.  Stay warm.  You are in a protected area -- a little magic will not likely be noticed.  There seems to be much of it in the air, probably from what she did."

"Be careful," I told him.

Lord Snow gave a quick nod and then ran off into the pre-dawn darkness.  Edmond and I sat in the hollow, a little magic making enough warmth to keep us both content.

"We'll catch up with the others eventually," I said softly.  "Maybe we'll get lucky, and the battle will be over by then. I want to save thing, but -- but the idea of battle just seems wrong."

"You are a protector," Edmond reminded him.  "Of course battles sound wrong. They're the opposite of everything you are.  Sometimes, though, they're the only way to make things right."

"I was never trained for magic, Edmond."

"Neither was I," he reminded me.  "We've managed so far."

"Thank you for coming to find me.  I found out I am not good at the alone stuff."

Edmond gave a little laugh and moved in closer.  This wasn't so bad.  I even bowed my head and slept --

Woke up to light and an awareness of other things nearby -- and they were not anything natural, either.



To Be Continued....



994 Words








 

Progress Report

My first new novel for 2017 is Journey of a Thousand Truths.  I am over 17k into the story, and I'm enjoying writing this one.  The alternating chapters of first person (Mai) and third person (Zaron) are working out very well, though I do sometimes get mixed up and have to go back and rewrite a section to get it in the right POV.

Experimenting with writing is fun, at least when it seems to be working well.  So far, this is moving along nicely, though there are days like today where I can't quite make the connections I want as quickly as I would like to.  Still, I'm up to 1k for the day.

I have been using Grammarly on most everything I write these days.  I swear I have a block in the brain when it comes to commas.  Grammarly is almost always telling me that I have one I don't need and don't have one that I do need.  It's kind of funny, but I am slowly learning the 'where and when' of putting them in.  I see fewer errors overall when I run something through the program. 

The cold winter days are good for writing.  I keep my office toasty warm. The cats and dog come in here with me, being creatures who love their comforts, too.  The room has one window, but it's behind me and mostly covered in stuffed animals at the moment, so I don't see much of the outside world.  That's bad for the photographer side of me but good for the writing side.  Staying off the Internet is difficult some days, but if I can fall into a nice pattern of writing, then I can get a lot done.  I love when the story flows.

Journey of a Thousand Truths is moving forward through the mists of possible paths.  I think I needed this kind of story for the first book of the year.  It's an exciting story with demons and mercenaries.  I think I'm about to take them out of the city and into the wider world.

I am looking forward to getting out there with them and seeing what we can find.

Flash Fiction # 232 -- Saving Everywhere. Part 16: Found

(Previous)

I walked on.  Just walked, trying to convince myself that I would catch up with the others and all would be well.

Another part of me told the real truth, though.  They didn't need me.  I had the least amount of magic -- at least trained magic -- of any of them.   There were many others who would help with the defeat of Darman and Portilia.  His work so far had been either tests or chance.

Lord Cayman's son.  He still didn't know what that meant, but it was probably something the others could use against his father.  He might be more a danger than a help when it came down to it.

Maybe he should sit down and think about it for a while.  Just sit down and rest.

I almost settled on a fallen limb, ready to give up. 

My friends would be upset.

I kept going.

A whisper of magic swept through me again, the warmth welcome. My own abilities must kick in when I thought positive about survival?  If that were true, could I wish myself dead as well?

I shivered at the thought.

And then I got angry.  I wasn't freezing since the magic had kicked in.  I was alone and in the woods, but I wasn't helpless.  I could follow the tracks and come out the other side.  As far as 'adventures' went lately, this one wasn't even too bad.  Maybe I was just learning that I didn't like my own company.  I found that amusing.

If I had stuck around, I would have graduated by now.  The idea that I'd dropped out of high school bothered me more than I expected.  Then I thought about why I had left.  Maybe killing Tommy Creston hadn't saved many people, but I had done the right thing.  I would keep doing the right thing and it wasn't just because I was a Sanctioned Protector.

Maybe I needed this time to find myself.  I had been too worried locked up in that cage that had taken me to the camp.  That time alone had been horrible as I worried about the others.  I knew they were safe, though.  Except for Alsia, but I had to hope that they wouldn't have any trouble. And as far as I knew, Alisa didn't like me because I was half human.

Maybe I should go back and pretend to be human again.  Go back to school.  Do better at math.  Graduate.

I could almost hear the kids at school calling to me.  I'd never had many friends.  I suppose it was one of those things where I always knew I didn't really belong, right?   I had always prided myself on not being into the angst of teen years, but I suspected I had only let it build up --

"Mark!"

I stopped and stared.  A moment later a small black shape came bounding out of the snow.

"Edmond!"  I blinked, thinking I might be crazy -- but no.  Lord Snow came right behind him.

Edmond threw himself at me and I tumbled into the snow.  I didn't care.  We both laughed.

"I knew we would find you along here somewhere!" the cat said as he got off me -- and then leapt to my shoulder as I started to stand.  "I HATE snow!

"I'm not fond of it either.  Did she throw you two off as well?  I feared --" But I stopped when I saw the look on their faces.  "You didn't know about Alsia?"

"I had my suspicions," Lord Snow admitted.  "The feel of her magic was wrong from the start, but that didn't mean she wasn't telling us the truth.  She pushed you off the train?"

"I think so.  I could be wrong."

Lord Snow gave a bow of his large furred head, but I could tell that he really didn't trust the woman.  "We need to get back to the others.  It's not going to be easy," I said.  "I thought following the train track would be the best way to get somewhere, though."

"Easier than trying to climb over the mountains," Lord Snow agreed.  We started walking.  It wasn't so bad now.

"I realized you were gone," Edmond said.  He had draped himself over my shoulders.  I didn't mind the warmth.  "Alsia was acting oddly, too.  She kept getting between me and the front of the train and I didn't trust what she would do if I tried to get past her. So I went and roused Lord Snow.  He agreed you were gone.  We couldn't reach the others -- far too much magic interfering -- so we decided to go look for you ourselves."

"You left the train?"

"Yes," Lord Snow answered.

"Thank you."

Edmond purred.

"The others will figure out all three of us are gone fairly soon," Lord Snow said.  "I don't know if you'll try to come back to look for us. This is tricky enough, getting the pretend train through here.  I think our best bet is to find a way to catch up with them on the other side."

"I agree," I said, though I wasn't very happy about the idea of walking all that way.

Not alone, though.

"Do you think she's working with Darman?" I asked.

"That would be my first guess," Lord Snow said.  "If he had any idea we were on our way, he could have sent her there.  We had no idea how long she'd been at the train yards.  But she might just be one of those rare fae who got lost here and went a bit crazy."

"Then why would she attack Mark?" Edmond asked.

"Because I'm half-human," I said.

"Exactly," Lord Snow replied.  "If that's true --"

He stopped suddenly and turned, looking up the side of the mountain.  I thought I saw movement there.  And then faint laughter that was soon lost in the loud roar of an avalanche.

To Be Continued....
984 Words

2YN and the Insanity for 2017

    
Welcome to the insanity of 2017!

In the time between this post and the last one, I have decided to do something drastic, strange, and maybe fun and wondrous.  For years I've offered the Two Year Novel Course (2YN) at Forward Motion for Writers.  Most of the people there who are at all interested have taken it more than once already.  This year (okay and next year), I'm going to post the classes each week on my Author Page on Facebook.

The course is set up in 104 classes so that there will be one a week for two years.  I've done this for over ten years and refined and reworked most of the material, especially the parts meant to help with the changing nature of publication and the indie explosion.  The course covers things like the basics of creating an idea, outlining, world building, character creation, etc.  While some of it (especially in the world building section) is mostly relevant to science fiction and fantasy, other parts can help with all genres.

This course is not something that will help everyone.  Sometimes only bits and pieces will fit into another writer's style.  No one is required or expected to find everything in the course helpful.

In order to take part, people need to 'like' the page:
https://www.facebook.com/Lazette-Gifford-Author-352371884942342/

This version of the course will work a bit differently from the private group at FM.  First, people will not be required to post if they don't want to.  They can read along and do the work privately.  However, if they want help with something or to share a piece, they can post to the appropriate lesson.

I've already posted on the FB NaNoWriMo board, and there has been considerable interest.  I  mentioned there some necessary rules, including that any trolls will be removed.  If people can't be polite, they need not join in.  I will post all the rules on my Author Page in the next day or two and get started with the classes on Friday.  Things are bound to be hectic and crazy for the first few weeks, but I hope that it will work out well.

Oh yes, I have also started my first new novel of the year.  Journey of a Thousand Truths is about 4k at this moment and moving along well enough.  This is novel number 103, and so far I think it's going well.  Here's a little snippet:

"Can you stand?" she asked.  He couldn't see much of her face, just the jut of her nose and the slant of her eyes.  He thought she frowned.  Strands of her dark hair had come loose from the mass she had tied up on her head.  "Prince Zaron?" she said again.

"Not the name to use," he said.  "Za.  Just Za.  No use to take any -- any chances."

He got to his feet.  It was, he realized, a show of pride rather than wisdom.  The movement had pulled at his side, and he nearly went down again.

"Knife?" Mai asked as she gracefully rose to her feet again, despite the pack -- ah, and the swords, too. Good.

"Claw," he corrected.  Her eyes went wide.  "I did mention demons, you know."

"Yes, but I thought --"

"Metaphorical demons?" he asked and gave a grateful nod when she took his arm, helping him along.

"Well, at least not demons actually here.  I want to know -- but no, not yet.  We must be careful."

My other first writing work for the year is to work on the 4th Devlin novel to get it ready for publication.

I think it might be an interesting year!