This page is blank and I can’t seem fill it with the words that I need to.  A million words pass my eyes and I cannot make them form a relevant coherent phrase. My mind is kind of jumbled and also mostly blank. 

Never satisfied with just one project.

I have successfully finished several short stories over the last few months.  I have challenges when it comes to keeping to less than 5,000 words sometimes.  I got inspired to rework an old short story that I had written for a challenge.  I took the original material and kept a lot of it but then changed it some just to make it flow better.  My short story has turned into something more.  It is too short to be a novel but too much length to be a short story.  Obviously after some editing I may be able to get it done to an extended short story but who knows.  I am having fun writing it. It’s been awhile since I couldn’t sleep because I would rather be writing.  So I am enjoying myself a little more everyday with this story.  I’ll be finish with it in a matter of hours but the ride was still fun.

Just a thought

When I write reality slips away. I am taken to the universe that I created where everything makes sense.

Book Review

Ghilan By Robert Mitchell, Jr
Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: Oct. 03, 2012

To be honest trying to give a summary of the story without spoilers is a bit harder than I thought it would be.  The story revolves around a teenage boy, Ergie, which comes face to face with an ancient race of creatures that do not have a happily-ever-after planned for the city.  Ergie is faced with overwhelming odds that he may or may not prevail against.  His family is in danger as well as the girl he has come to realize he cannot live without.

First off the author created an entire language for this series.  A language that is introduced the same way we learned how to speak our own native tongue. As much as I love languages I do not feel my brain functions to the point of creating a brand new one.

The story is told through current events as well as history flashbacks so that you may learn where these creatures originate.  You get to learn as Ergie learns.  It puts your belief on the between that of fiction and non-fiction.  You begin to second guess what you know as fact.  Mitchell sets the pace in the initial chapters so that when things began to move along you wouldn’t feel lost.

I recommend the book because it was a terrific read it was laid out for all minds alike.  It keeps you on your seats edge. Will Ergie be able to save his family?  What about the girl he loves? There is enough action to keep you interested and you feel like you’ve learned something, but is it real or just fiction?

Cannot wait for the next book to come out.

Find more from Robert Mitchell Jr. http://808hack.wordpress.com/ 

To purchase the book: Ghilan

A moments thought

I just want to bathe in words today.  I want them to flow over me and inspire me.  I want the words to comfort me and seduce me.  These words are mine and yours and theirs.  These words shower down on me and keep me from getting to the end.  The words are forever evolving and moving.  These words taste of victory and smell of divinity.  The words will never cease.  They are ongoing and omnipotent.  Words.  They are my allies and my enemies.  They are the best thing about waking and the thing that keeps me on the edge of sleep.  Words.  Words.  Words.  I cannot live without my words.

Getting it done.

Revising and editing is a task.  A task that I have changed with this novel (working title has been canned so novel is what I’m going with until next week).  Usually I am queen of the sticky note.  This time around I decided to try a method that I had read about and had thought to be too much for me.  I took the edited manuscript and copied it then went back with each individual chapter to piece it all back together.  I took the heaviest pieces and started there.  The control freak in me was shouting the entire time.  Eventually I locked her in a closet.  I actually found that it was easier to go with that method.  I had my hesitations because I am a stickler for chronological order so beginning somewhere else took a giant leap of faith.

In the start of this process you pull apart the manuscript into the chapters.  Once they are in the chapters you go back over the notes and figure out where the most time consuming revisions and rewrites are going to be.  You make a nice little stack from the most work to the least work.  From there you take the top three most complicated chapters and set them aside.  Then you get your nifty calendar and deadline lists.  You take your three pieces and set the time frame around how long it will take to make them a completed project.  After that you go to the sections that will need the fewest working hours and set the time frame for them.  Lastly you have your middle section that is an in between project.  It was a complete overhaul to my usual process and I felt like I gutted a lot of the story but it was for the better.  It is a story I am happy to tell and the final work makes me proud to be a writer.

It somehow worked for me.  Once I got the toughest parts out of the way it seemed to take the stress with it.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had finished the majority of the novel’s revisions in the time it took me to flush out my characters originally.  I felt that I fell in love with this book all over again.  It was like a romance that had gotten dull then was brightened back to those first years dating.  With actual work time it was only a couple of months.  Due to illness it has taken almost a year to get where I was supposed to be six months ago.  I am back stronger than ever. 

My best friend has been my giant dry erase board.  I used to use flash cards to get things organized but I realized that being able to see everything on one big board helped get it together a lot quicker. The biggest bonus was being able to erase and start over on a small section without having to trash the entire thing.  Being able to jot down the little things with the big picture was fantastic.  I may have forgotten small gestures or phrases if it wasn’t for my dry erase board.  I want to make a room with one wall a dry erase board and the other a chalkboard.  My love for old school would not allow me to make all the walls dry erase.

The best thing is now that I have accomplished finishing the novel I can move on to the first edits of the rest of the series.  Four books in the original series and four in the spin off.  Out of the eight I have finished four first drafts.  The work of a creative mind is never done.  Every word and every idea is just a story waiting to be told.  We just need you to listen.

The daily struggle.

I wake up and I am so inspired!  I'm ready to just write and create all day long. I roll over and realize it's a work day at the corporation.  Occasionally I want to just blow it off because my creativity is more important. I get up and go. Then on my days off I want to be as unproductive as possible. I give myself a kick in the butt and get the juices flowing.  Balancing is getting tougher. Two full time jobs but not enough hours in the day.

Get out there and embrace the time you have!

Eh...

Lacking motivation this last week to really do anything.  So I just pushed a little harder and got a few pages done.  I've been trying to work on finishing as quick as possible to finish the revisions but I find myself gazing at the pages blankly.  Easily distracted I have been these last few days. Trying to gain some focus.

Current Reading

I have reading ADHD.  Or maybe it’s my ADHD that messes with my reading habits. Hmmm…either way I am in the middle of reading three different books.  I spent a lot of time reading non-fiction books on different legends, history, and myths on creatures.  Mostly about vampires and dragons because they are my favorite creatures to write.  I dabbled in a little werewolf mythos too.  Having overwhelmed my brain with non-fiction over the last couple of months I thought it was time for some fiction.  Yeah, two still involves mythological creatures.  Then I have also begun reading what I used to call “lady fiction” because a close friend let me borrow some of her books.  “Lady Fiction” is defined by my mind as fiction based around romantic relationships as the sole plot point and books written specifically with the stereotypical woman in mind (I may have been a little prejudice to certain genres). To my surprise I didn’t really hate it! I know I was shocked too.  I think it’s mostly because of the humor and the writing styles I was able to get pass the initial dread of the genre.  All three are very good so far and I recommend them if you are interested.  With all that said here's what I am reading now:

Kiss the Dead by Laurell K Hamilton

My Single Friend by Jane Costello

Varney the Vampire by Thomas Preskett Prest

Cut Scene-Xavian

                Xavian felt his dad’s arm on him as he moved forward.  His mom hushed him as they raced through the darkness.  Xavian saw his sisters and brother up ahead as they rushed through the forest.  They had left their house hours ago with only what could fit in a knapsack.  It had been a couple of days since they had been warned about the government agents going house to house searching for the dragons.  Xavian was the oldest son and in charge of the complicated magics.  He had created the family’s double.  Because of his age and experience his work held longer than the others.  They had a couple of days before the doubles disappeared. 

                “Chloe you take them to the tower where we used to train.  Mom and I will follow shortly,” Masen, Xavian’s father, said as he checked behind them once more.

                Xavian looked back at his father as he moved along the hedge with his sisters.  He  watched his father grab his mother’s hand as she held her other hand to her swollen belly.  Xavian felt a hand on his shoulder and almost put claws into it then realized it was just his brother Connor.  Connor nodded for him to catch up.  He turned and followed.  They made their escape on foot and made it to their safe house, a rundown watch tower and keep. 

                “Chloe when will mom and dad get here?” Mikayla asked as she hugged her doll to her chest.

                “They’ll be here soon.  They have to make sure that we are not being followed.”

                “If we could fly then we would have been here days ago.  This took forever,” Connor said as he rubbed his feet.

                “We have to stay unseen Connor.  If we fly we die,” Xavian said.

                “I guess,” Connor grumbled.

                Xavian watched as Zara returned from look out.  She nodded and he nodded back.  Being twins paid off when the younger ones were around. They remained quiet as they set up living quarters.  Xavian set up the rooms and Chloe double checked supplies they had brought with them.  They would survive a few weeks before they would have to make a run.  Maybe more once their parents showed.

****

                Xavian woke as soon as he felt the cloak pull.  It was his alarm system that Zara had help him put up.  It was just an alert.  He got up from the bedding he had laid down.  Xavian smelled his parents before he saw them.  The others still slept unaware of the welcomed sight.  He saw Zara’s eyes and the smile that danced in them.  He moved quickly and met his parents in the doorway.  They embraced and spoke in hushed tones. 

                “We’re clear.  You all did very well.  I am grateful we made it safely together,” Keira put her bag down and reached for Xavian.

                “Mom,” he held her tight.

                “Xav it is okay we made it.  No one followed and we have more supplies we were able to get from an abandoned house we hid in.  Dawn hit us a lot quicker than we expected.” Masen said as he handed him the extra bag.

                “Everyone is safe and sleeping.  Connor had worried when you did not show before the morning but we calmed him.”

                “Good.  I have something for you and Zara.  Go get her.  She is not doing well pretending to be sleep,” Keira smiled at him.

                Xavian went back to his sister.  Zara grabbed her robe and followed back down the stairs. They sat on the floor by their mother.  Keira pulled two small bundles out of her knapsack.  She handed one to each of them. 

                “Happy twenty-fifth birthday.  It isn’t much but you are both deserving,” Masen said as he wrapped his arm around his wife.

                “Thank you,” they said in unison as they unwrapped the gifts.

                Zara opened hers first and gasped.  She slipped the silver bracelet over her hand and the charms dangled elegantly as she turned it around. Xavian smiled at his pipe.  It had been the pipe that had been handed down throughout the generations. 

                “Both of you are still very young.  In your youth you have proven to be ready to start the Arkasion,” both of them gasped, “I know that it usually begins in your early forties, however we both feel you are ready,” Masen smiled at them.

                “The trip into adulthood is not to be taken lightly.  Each of you now are in possession of the first piece to the ten year excursion.  This last year has been proof enough that you can handle the responsibilities that come with being true Blood Sent.  We are of the ancient Blood and possess the abilities that no other creature in this realm is capable of.  You have a century maybe two with the way it goes in life and from this point on you are considered elders to the younglings.  This bracelet has been in our family for six generations.  It was forged under the watchful eye of one of the ancients and passed down,” Keira stopped as the emotion entered her voice.

                “Each charm represents a step and path in your journey to the final day of your Arkasion,” Masen picked up, “ that pipe has been smoked at several peace circles and by all of the leaders of our clans for the last three generations.  It is a symbol of our freedom and your leadership.”

                They sat silent and allowed the moment to wash over them.  No one noticed Chloe in the door.  She was pleased.  She would not have to go it alone if anything happened to her parents.  She turned and went back to her post.  Xavian and Zara hugged.

                “Connor is going to be very upset,” Xavian smiled as they laughed.

                “This last year has been a challenge and you both have made it through.  The next ten years is not going to be easy.  Once we perform the ceremonies in the coming weeks you will develop abilities that will bring you closer to our ancestors.  We will expect more from you be warned.  Now run off to bed.”

                They hugged their parents and went to bed.

****

                Xavian and Zara led Connor and Mikayla through self defense moves behind the tower.  Connor was knocked to the ground several times by Zara.  She was faster and stronger than him and being twenty he did not approve.  Connor would not accept that his sister could beat him.  Especially since it was in the majority of everything.  He had found out that both she and Xavian had begun Arkasion younger than anyone he knew of and he had made it difficult for them. Mikayla was more focused and took the announcement as a challenge.  She wanted to go down in history as the youngest to start the Arkasion.  Mikayla was ambitious, focused and studious.  She wanted to be the best but for her not to out shine others.  At sixteen she was headed in the right direction.

                “Connor we are done for the day,” Zara said in a clipped tone, “I will not work with you like this.  Go and wash up.  Gather some wood for the fire after.”

                “No,” Connor crossed his arms over his chest.

                Xavian stopped what he was doing with Mikayla and turned to Connor.  Mikayla shook her head.  She knew that Zara had to stand on her own or Connor would continue to misbehave.

                “Connor.  Do as I say,” Zara met his eyes.

                “I believe that the word that I said was a negative response.  It means that I will not listen to you,” Connor tilted his head back so his chin lifted in defiance.

                Zara unwrapped her hand from the sparing cloths and walked over to him.  She gave him the command again with just her eyes.  He stood his ground.  She feigned a turn as she drew back.  Zara hit him with all of her strength.  The back of her hand connected with his jaw and his head jerked hard and he was airborne for a moment then he slammed into the ground.  Zara walked away.  Xavian turned back to Mikayla and they both hid their smiles.  Connor stood a few minutes later and went in to wash up.

                “I will never cross Zara,” Mikayla said as she took her stance across from Xavian.

                “I would hope not.”

                Abruptly Xavian fell to his knees.  He was not sure what caused it at first.  Then the bells went off.  Xavian looked to the house and Zara was already in the air.  He was not sure how the trespassers had gotten pass the first set of alarms but they were already in the second.  His chest was tight as he struggled to get to his feet.  Mikayla helped him up as they raced to the tower and keep.  Xavian heard his father’s bellows as he called to the earth and universe for additional power.  The third warning went off and Xavian stumbled from the power that began to seep through their cloaks and wards.

                “Why hasn’t Chloe taken to the air?” Mikayla asked as they made their way back to the tower.

                “I do not know.  I cannot sense any of them.  My mind is empty,” Xavian had one hand on his head.

                “Big brother that is not good.”

                “No it is not.”

                They entered the tower and tried to make it to the meeting point to head to the keep.  Xavian felt the bile rise in his throat as he saw Connor on the floor stuck in mid change.  Connor looked like an abomination with scales still flesh like and elongated human face a mesh of colors.  His tail was a medley of colors had been the only part that had gotten close to completion. Connor looked to Xavian as he screamed.  That was when Xavian noticed the magics that he had felt early flood in and made his skin hot and irritated.  They had a very powerful sorcerer with them or a non-human entity.  Connor cried out for help.  Xavian raced to him but was instantly thrown back by an invisible force.  Mikayla fell to the floor in tears and howling.  Xavian felt a glimmer of Zara.  The intruder’s magics could not fully delude the power between twins.  Zara had been able to grab the bag of charms.  She was protected from the intruders.  He heard his parents voices join in the chaos as he tried to regain his focus.  Xavian felt his parents’ magics defend their home.  Then everything went silent.

                Why can I not hear? He thought as he looked around.

                Mikayla had gone quiet but still shook with sobs and Connor shivered as he tried to return to human form.  Xavian saw a large shadow pass over and knew Zara was still there.  The flames spilled passed her scaled lips a few hundred feet away as she took on the intruders.  She was on top of whoever had started the assault and the magics had mixed.  It was a momentary vacuum as they clashed.  The sound returned sharp and clear.  Xavian gasped as he fell to the floor.  He crawled to the bag where the other charms were.  Xavian looked up as his fingertips touched the strap on the bag.  He immediately looked to his siblings as the ball of fire and lightening hit the outer wall.

                “I love you,” Xavian said as he shoved the bag across the floor to Mikayla.

                The impact of the fire and lightening balls smacked Xavian backward.  The burning flesh and smoke smell filled his nose as the taste of ash and fire swept over his tongue.  Xavian’s mouth fell open to scream but the sound was not there.  Xavian passed out from the pain and heat.  He momentarily heard Connor’s bones finish the shift into the dragon and Mikayla’s battle cry.

                Xavian woke and the pain caused him to cry out.  A cool hand rested on his head.  Then a cup was pressed to his lips.  He gulped down the cool liquid as his thirst returned to him.  Xavian lay his head back down and his eyes fluttered opened.  Xavian blinked several times to get used to the light.  A beautiful red headed woman smiled down at him.  Xavian swallowed and realized he was still thirsty.  She nodded and handed him another cup of the cool liquid.  He realized it was some sort of medicine as his pain began to ease.  He handed her the empty cup and sat up.  He tried to stand but she stopped him.

                “Not yet Xavian.”

                “How do you know my name?” he grew suspicious.

                “Your mother and father told me,” she smiled.

                “Mother? Father?  They are here?” Xavian looked around.

                “Yes they are in another tent.  They are also recovering,” the woman checked over the bandages as they talked.

                “What happened?” Xavian lay back down.

                “There was an attack.  Someone spotted a dragon and we were notified.  We found the four of you unconscious in the woods,” she began to take his vitals.

                “Only four?” Xavian sat up again.

                “Yes.  You sound surprised.”

                “There was seven of us.”

                “I’m sorry,” her smile dimmed.

                “Who else?”

                “Uh,” she looked at her pad of paper, “Zara.”

                Xavian sighed.  Where was his other siblings?

                *FLASH*

                Xavian ran with his family as fast as he could.  He pulled at the piece of metal on his neck but could not get the enchanted collar off.  He heard his mother behind him.  His father was a few paces in front of him and Zara was by his side.  There were other supernatural beings with them.  The people that had rescued them had given them the heads up that there were supernatural poachers headed to town.  They had escaped ahead of them by a few hours.  Xavian saw a few flashlights ahead which meant humans.  He grabbed Zara’s hand and pulled her with him toward them.  His parents headed in the same direction.  Xavian was worried about his mom because she was heavily pregnant with only a few months left.  She kept her pace and never looked strained though he knew it was tough on her.  Xavian slowed for a moment.  He recognized the scent of the red head woman.  How did she get a head of us?  Unless… Xavian released Zara’s hand and shoved her with all of his power to the other group so they would not be together.  She knew to go along with it if he felt it best.  It was too late to send his parents with her.  The people began to usher them into different safety areas.  It reminded Xavian of the makeshift homes that the natives used.  They were building like structures to give just enough protection against the elements.

                “Come on we have a special place for you.  We can keep your secret.  We do not want you getting mixed up with the others,” a young man corralled them to the other side of the small structures.

                Xavian glanced over as they moved quickly and saw Zara huddled with another woman and her child.  They headed to the area that had been deemed safe.  He knew at that instant he may never see her again.  Xavian turned back to his parents to keep them from noticing.  He saw his mother look for Zara but she never said a word.

                “Thank you,” Keira said as she put a hand on her stomach.

                “Father,” Xavian whispered.  He knew he had to warn them.

                “Shh.  Until we get inside,” the man said as he pushed a branch aside.

                Xavian saw the flash of his badge.  His blood ran cold.  It was the silver badge of the enforcement team for the government.  The magics snapped down around them before Xavian could say a word.  His parents felt it.  Masen moved fast and pushed Xavian a few feet back and turned to cover his wife before the blade even caught the light.  It happened so fast and so slow at the same time.  Masen took down the first two guys and Keira snapped the neck of the young man that had lead them.  Xavian tried to shift but was unable to.  The collar sent a shock through him and his knees nearly buckled.  They had told them that they had found them with the collars.  Xavian knew that had not been the truth only too late.  The charm hidden under his shirt burned against his chest as he tried to pull more power from it.  But it was a few weeks old and had not been recharged.  It was not enough magic left in it to force the metamorphosis. 

Xavian struggled to regain his focus.  He screamed as he saw his father’s head hit the ground and his body fell the opposite way.  Keira belched a fire ball as best as she could with the collar on and knocked the others down.  The red hair glimmered in the light of the fire.  Xavian heard the woman chuckle as she pulled the blade across his mother’s throat from behind her.  Xavian had lost control and was caught from behind.  He knocked the man back as he tried to go to his mother.  Xavian heard his mother’s gurgles as she tried to breath.  Their eyes locked.  Her eyes filled with love and apologies as they went light.  It was not a wound that either could heal even without the collars.  His next thoughts after she fell to the ground was he would never know if he would have had another little brother or sister.  They had taken three lives in just a few minutes.  The rage bubbled over the grief quickly hot in the pit of his stomach.  Then it turned to a cold ball of fear.  Zara.  There was not enough time.  There was never enough time.  As the tears spilled down his cheeks he called the fire.  The clash of the magics made the air vibrate and sparks twisted at the edge of the power.  The enchanted metal began to groan and the charm slowly turned to ash.  He threw the fire ball as he whispered to the shadows and dimmed the spectrum around him.  Everyone looked to where the ball of fire had gone.  When they looked back they stared at him but saw nothing.

                “Where the dickens did he go?”

                “It is a trick.  He is still here.  Find him.  The magic collar is not working.  And find me that girl!” the red head shouted.

                Xavian felt the collar fall from him as he moved slowly back.  He turned and he ran.  The image of his mother’s eyes played over in his mind as he ran.  A spark of Zara flashed and he knew that she had escaped as the guards were distracted.    Neither of them were safe but they had escaped.  The tears flowed as he ran.  They turned cold from the wind in his face.  He knew he would never forget the sounds, the smells or the taste in his mouth from that night.  The acid spilled over and he stopped only briefly to let it flow from him.  The sun rose and he felt nothing familiar.  Nothing existed but his need to escape.  The void grew as his steps stayed steady.  Xavian knew he could not take to the skies without being spotted so he ran.  He ran on and on.  The night replayed with every step.  Dawn had come and gone and his parents deaths continued to haunt him.  He ran.  He would run until it stopped.

                “Ahh!” Xavian sat up in bed as his wings spill out from his back.

                “Xavi it’s okay,” David touched his face as he moved closer to him in the bed.

                “We’re here for you.  It was just a nightmare,” Rene kissed his hand as he got out of bed.

                Xavian heard the shouting and saw his parents fall before reality focused.  He blinked several times.  Then he noticed a siren.  Xavian looked around.  It was the fire alarm.  He had set another dresser on fire.  Xavian shifted his wings away and curled into David’s arms as Rene grabbed the fire extinguisher.  Xavian sobbed while David comforted him.  It had been a nightmare.  Jimmy had told him to expect it until things settled down.  He had learned to call fire again and it had woken up his past.  No matter how many decades passed the memories were like yesterday’s events. 

                David and Rene walked Xavian to the calm room and settled on the couch where they returned back to sleep.