time for some sample writing

One of many books I'm considering writing a sequel to is Gal Friday Noir: Mayhem in Mexico (and yes, if you're wondering, I'm looking for a new title. I think the title is a little misleading. It's more action packed than noir suggests to me. Still, sigh.) I'm editing it while I'm on the home computer. This is the one driving me crazy making changes from first person present tense to first person past tense. I thought I was nearly finished and was doing a final run through... and the answer to that is no, not. Forgot I was interrupted :D

Anyways, here's a passage after Serena and her FBI agent partner, Joseph, has rescued her kids. She stays behind to ensure their escape and is now waiting for her own rescue once the kids are safe. We start with her talking:

"Another drug?" Oh just peachy keeno. Another drug. Another thing to worry about in the fight against these zombie monsters in human clothing.

"Yes. This one works to make the person more malleable to specific commands."

"Sounds dangerous. What if the wrong person gives them a command? Then what're you going to do? Give them counter commands until steam comes out their ears? I'm more impressed with your knock out drug," I said sarcastically.

"You're such a spitfire. Breaking the strong ones is so much more riveting for me. This drug works a lot like hypnosis works on the masses," she continued as if she hadn't just said she's going to break me. "While under the influence of this new drug, I can train the mind of whomever I want to do what I want, when I want."

"That's a lot of I wants. Hasn't anyone told you the old saying? Want in one, shit in the other and see which fills up faster? Because that's where I see this going." No way she'd developed mind control drugs for the Infected. Right?

I finally saw a frown cross her face. Good. My mother always said I could try the patience of a saint. She didn't find it funny when I told her that suffering was what made a person a saint and maybe I was put on Earth for making saints. I was a bit of a snot. Who was I kidding? I still qualified.

"You're a real smart ass. But you'll see. It takes a few doses to become effective but we'll get there. In the meantime, my friends and I are going to make sure you remember your stay here."

No doubt they would. I knew her old pals would be more than happy to stick the screws in and turn them. "The sourness in my disposition isn't due to the wonderfulness of my position. I'm quite confident you'll make my stay here memorable. Just remember, I'll be paying you back." If I lived through this ordeal.

"Bravado will get you nowhere but hurt. My men aren't as tolerant or forgiving of sarcastic humor as I am. But, the talking is over. I'm sure your cheek is feeling better compared to how it felt when you first got it. It seems to be healing at an alarming rate for a human. You're infected with the virus, I believe. How have you convinced the military otherwise?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't cheat those tests. They don't leave you alone for a minute after they've verified  your identity. Fascinating."

She slapped my injured cheek. Hard.

My head snapped to the side in the aftermath of the blow. My eyesight was swimming. Shit. That hurt. While I was blinking to bring my eyes in focus, she slapped the other cheek. Now I was dizzy and sick. Fuck. She'd barely started and I was this sick? It was going to be a long day. God help me if I was here a week.

My head wass lolling around like a drunk in his favorite bar. I tried to speak, but couldn't at first. I finally regained the use of my tongue. "Is that all you got?"

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked strait up. I swear stars were flying around her head after she cuffed my ears with her other hand. She yanked my head back so my neck was exposed. She took a knife from under her skirt which looked impressive when you were in my position. She scraped the knife down my neck.

The pain of the knife slicing burned against my skin. The blood ran down my neck to my shirt. I knew she planned on keeping me alive, but I wasn't looking forward to finding out how much torture my self-healing body could take without dying.

She let my head go and it bobbed like a buoy on water. My headache was exploding in little colored fireworks behind my eyes. Great. A stinking migraine to add to the list of pains. Thank you super virus, for making me so awesome.

 I wasn't even trying to focus my eyes on her. I didn't want to.

"You'll be left here while we make our arrangements with our traitor within the FBI. When I come back, I'll take you to your first bathroom run. You're our guest here. If there's anything you want, you just have to ask."

"Let me go?" I said sarcastically.

"You're being unreasonable," she replied mildly.

"Fine. How about Pizza Delivery? Or is that against hostage etiquette too?" My world was still spinning and my head still bobbed up and down.

She stepped forward and slapped me again with a quick snap of the wrist. My head jerked so far to the right, I was surprised when my neck didn't snap.

And hence starts the beginning of our captured heroines torture. Sigh. It was hard to write the whole bits. Especially in first person. Anywas, off to write some more. TATA for now.

Friday Excerpts--Gal Friday Noir

Well, technically it's Saturday, but I didn't have access to my stories or the internet at the same time yesterday! :D

Exerpt from Gal Friday Noir: Mayhem in Mexico (newly finished at 82k!!) ahem, excuse me while I squee. Okay, I'm back :)

Main character knows her kids have been kidnapped but hasn't seen them yet. (This is a zombie thriller, although you don't get to see them here.) As you'll see, this doesn't make momma happy!


I stare at Gene, sure that my anger is visible on my face. My teeth hurt because I'm clenching them so tight. But just in case he needs a little motivation, I let out the full force of my Immune powers. My anger flows out so strongly, that even Joseph steps away from me.

The two guards that came out of the same office as Andrea at the time I unleashed my anger both duck and stay down as if they had incoming. Andrea and Gene on the metal landing above us step away from the railing in shock, their backs hitting the other side with a twang. Gene quickly recovers and steps up to his previous position.

"Of course you'll see your kids immediately." He nods at the men who'd stepped out a minute ago and they two time it to a door hidden in the shadows under the stairs where they stand. I pay close attention to the knock, memorizing the pattern and the words spoken.

Two men come out, each dragging a screaming kid. I smile with great pride. Both my boys are putting up a fight. "Don, Kyle," I call out joyously and run towards them. The boys stop for a moment upon hearing my voice then both stomp on the feet of their captors and rush out of their grips into my arms.

"Are you guys alright," I ask searching their faces and bodies for sign of mistreatment. They look fine. Lucky Andrea.

"We're bored. And they're awful, mom. Can we go home now?" I grin at Kyle.

"Sure baby, in a minute," I point to the men who'd brought them out of the room. "Are they your kidnappers?"

Kyle looks at them and says, "No, they're alright. They think we're here being punished while you're doing your work." He changes to a loud whisper. "They're nice but a little slow."

I bark out a short laugh of surprise. "If it wasn't them, then who was it?"

"The guys who knocked to get us right now. Those guys are assholes."

"Assholes, assholes, balls, balls," starts Don in a sing song voice when I don't immediately take Kyle to task for cussing.

"Don, hush." I turn to the men who brought out my kids. "Where's their sitter?"
They look at each other blankly, but I see the smirk on one of the men who'd come down the metal staircase. "Where is she," I repeat.

"She's at the main house getting special treatment," one of them say snidely.
"You better hope special doesn't mean what I think you mean by it, Ace. You're already dead. If she's been hurt, I'll make you suffer first."

He starts to laugh but something about the way I'm looking at him makes him stop. I see him reassess me. Up to this point, he's been working on the assumption I'm a chump writer. I'm thinking he's not so sure of me anymore. He will be when I'm through with him. He'll have a whole new respect for mothers and writers. Too bad he won't live long enough to appreciate it.

Hey there!

So, as you all know, April was a crazy month. I missed my Friday excerpts. No worries because I will be starting that up again this month :) I've written plenty of late, although what I'm going to post this first time out after the month of silence, I'm not sure. I'll have to look for something truly brilliant. Any suggestions?

I have a website now. Pauses for the squeeing and drumrolls and confetti. Wait, that was me. Anyway, it's still being fixed. I canNOT figure out the dad-blasted WordPress thingamajig, not to mention the thesis and, and, the other thing. *wails* I'm very frustrated with the whole thing. Thank god the tech guy is a genius. And patient. And really nice. Or I'd have given up. Well, maybe not, but I'd sure feel bad about it.

So here's the website link so y'all can watch my struggle in progress. http://www.leonajbushman.com/and, I can get email there! email me at author@leonajbushman.com if you have any questions, suggestions, fan love, or fan dislike :P

Thanks again everyone who helped me get through April with my chin up. Sometimes, it was a close thing. Hope you all had a great May Day :) I love May Day. And even though I've learned what some of that fun stuff I did as a kid was supposed to represent, I don't care. I still enjoy it. One of the things I did as a kid, was make paper baskets with flowers and deliver them to people. Sounds like a wonderful tradition we're going to have to start :D

Hmmm I may have a book idea out of that. I'll have to think about it some more...

Friday Excerpts

I don't know what to do for today's excerpts. The last time I thought it was Fri, it was like tuesday or something LOL That's when I decided I needed to take some time off. I wrote when I had a post, missed writing a post because of screaming 2 yo. It's not called the terrible twos for nothing.

I've been very busy. I've edited the Damian Series. Again. Will be doing another round soon. I'm going to add about 20k to it. A lot of it world building. We'll see where that gets me. I'm currently working on a short story for Splintered Lands. I've finished it, but now await input from my critique partner and husband. Since it's fantasy, my husband does well as an editor :) When it's posted on their site, I'll post a link on here, and try to remember how to make a permanent link on the side. Carrie made the The Handbook to Writer Secret Society one, so I can't claim credit for it. And if it's not working, it is my fault. Sigh.

I've found a couple new possible homes for stories that need a bit of polishing, but I have this new shiny. Yes, boys and girls, I'm still going strong on my Gal Friday Noir. It's just rolling off the tongue-so to speak :P were at 43865 words, despite the hellacious weeks I've had since starting it. Of course, I wanted it finished by the Ides of March. That didn't happen. I got very sick a week into the whole plan and splat went my plans. I did get a short erotica written for a contest, edits done on both the Gal Friday and the Damian Series, as well as a quick run through on some other things.

So what to post for today's excerpts? Ah, I know. A short story called Ulfric's Mate. I wrote this last summer. This is the first however many paragraphs. enjoy!


The Ulfric's Mate


His black fur rippled in the wind, gleaming under the blue rays of the full moon. He lifted his nose in the air, sniffing for hunters. Getting caught in wolf form was not on his list of things to do before he died. In fact, being caged might kill him.
He put his nose down to the ground. He had her scent. At first, she'd been hard to follow, but her scent had grown stronger the deeper into the evergreens they were.

As soon as he realized it, he slowed down his hunt. His instincts told him it was a trap. He still had to track her down. She'd killed three pregnant women in his pack.

As a detective, Nolan Littlebull needed to do things by the book. As head of the pack, he had other obligations. Nights like tonight brought his dual personalities together. He possessed the evidence against her. Problem was, she'd committed the crime in wolf form. The authorities were looking for a stray pack, or someone with pet wolves. He knew they were wrong.

It wasn't a stray pack. It was a faction that had split from his pack a hundred years ago. She'd crossed their demilitarized zone and killed on his territory. The challenge had to be met. He growled in frustration. If she'd done it openly, he would've personally met the challenge the first time.

Now, the human authorities, animal control activists and half the damn world were aware of the killings. He stopped behind a large pine and crouched down in the undergrowth there. They were on the Yakama Reservation, the restricted lands.

Smart move by Roxy Takheal to lead him out here. If something happened to him, it would be attributed to the wild wolves and coyotes. He'd be found naked and ravaged by canine teeth. He shook his head. How the majority of the human race continued to deny the existence of another realm in their world constantly amazed him.

He had no choice. He had to go on. Watch his step and his back. But he couldn't let her get away with murdering those under his protection. He felt the blood lust of his beast swell. That side had no problem with the plan of chase and attack. It was his human instincts that were calling for caution. Was he thinking too much, or was it a trap set by those who didn't know his kind?

Friday Excerpts--Gal Friday Noir revamped to 1st

I know I'm a little early for west coasters, US, but my other friends in Europe are already into Friday :)

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me in my transfermation from third to first. This is early in chapter one. I think the first paragraph here is about the fifth in chapter one.

I've not started any real edits yet so it's still pretty raw. But the first person is really rockin' in this story. Tell me what you think :)



Gal Friday Noir

The blue suit, as I think of the slightly shorter, more dour of the partners, holds my file. I identify it from my stint in the military hospital after some freak biological substance leaked in my neighborhood. I recognize the special symbol on it.

That was back when I was still married--I put an abrupt stop to that train. It left the station a long time ago. I stub out my cigarette in the small old-fashioned glass ashtray on the desk. They obviously don't have an updated dossier on me or they never would've left me with such a hand weapon, much less matches.

I keep my hand hovering over the ashtray, in a seemingly idle gesture. I resist the urge to blow the hair out of my eyes or any other gesture they may take as nervousness. I listen to his voice drone out the basic facts.

Name, Serena L. Rouge formally Hartson at the time of hospitalization. Age, thirty now. Occupation, writer. I smile wide when he reads that in incredulous tones. I can hear the wheels turning as to how some peon of a writer gave him a black eye and broke his partner's nose.

Black suit, the one with the broken nose and truly atrocious attitude glared at me from behind puffy eyes. He speaks as if he has a bad cold due to my resistance in the parking lot. But really, is it my fault they don't do their homework before kidnapping me?

"Hey, this is serious," blue suit says as he notes my smile.

I only smile wider at his cranky tone. Needling assholes never gets old. "Since you haven't bothered to explain why you've kidnapped a citizen with no outstanding warrants or other reason to be summarily arrested, I'm not sure why you think I should take you seriously. Is that a spot of dirt under your eye?" I ask facetiously.

My anger is barely suppressed as I think of my children at school. Or home for all I know. I don't know what time it is thanks to these fuck heads and I can barely control the urge to hurt them again. It's only my extreme need to keep my secret life a, well secret, from yahoos like these that keeps me sitting in my pseudo-relaxed position.

"If you're so innocent, then why did you fight us?"

I stare at him. Is he really completely stupid? Where did the government get these guys? No wonder the zombies are winning. "Duh. Every woman is told to fight to prevent being kidnapped. You were abducting me for fuck's sake. What did you expect!"

I lit another cigarette for something to do with my hands. Plus to have a weapon ready. I notice that black suit doesn't like it. Definite plus in my book.

I know they can't possibly want the writer person, yet they seem unaware that I possess other skills. I'm confused regarding their intentions. However, any way I look at it, it smarts to be kidnapped by such as these two bumbling idiots. But they'd stuck me with a needle of something and down I went. I need to know what the hell they were using. It's hard to bring me down--ever since the accident.

Friday

I haven't gotten much writing done this week because of the sickness plaguing me. However, I have made leaps and bounds on the first person issue. I wrote a comedy erotica in the first person (talk about squirming under first person!)and a about 10k more words in the story. I've also gone back and started changing the other stuff into first person. It's driving me crazy being unable to focus for very long.

Just a reminder, 99% of what I post is raw or early drafts so feel free to point out flaws and any grammar problems :D


End of chapter 7

"They turn into, well," I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "They turn into zombies."

The silence in the room is profound. I watch as a myriad of emotions cross his face: disbelief, confusion, thoughtfulness, then the awareness. He's put what I've told him together with whatever he knows. I can see it in his eyes. It's his turn to trust me.

"Spill it," I say.

He looks at me as if I'm a witch or something. "Spill what," he says carefully.

"Whatever it is that's making you believe me so easily. You know something. Now tell me what it is."

"It's nothing concrete really. I may be wrong."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Tell me."

"I remember hearing about a group of elite soldiers that were killed. It was covered up."

"You think it has something to do with this. Why and how did you find out about it?"

"A team of our agents were down there on assignment. The army was their back up."

This was like pulling teeth. Whatever he had to say must be bad. "And?"

"And, our office got a hold of video footage. I saw it before it was confiscated." He pauses and looks me in the eye. "What I saw were men, running so fast they were a blur on the videos. Men who viciously attacked the agents. The other soldiers shot the attackers in the head. Six people died that day, including one of our agents."

"But how did they keep that out of the news? That's the part that's been bugging me all this time. If soldiers are losing it, someone would know."

"Yes, someone would know. I think they're killing anyone not willing to run the party line."

"But that means--" I can't say it.

He's nodding anyway. "That means you."
 

Friday Excerpts--Gal Friday Noir

Okay, I did something. My critique partner suggested I try my story in first person. I'm not a big fan of the first person. In fact, my initial blase attitude regarding Twilight had to do with the first person POV. (BTW, in case you missed my earlier post regarding this, no author bashing here on my blog. I will erase the post. Constructive criticism only, please.) I told my critique partner this, and being the brave soul that she is, she said, "It would be good exercise anyway." So I did it. Instead of a "new" chapter, I rewrote the last chapter, and did it in first person. Here is an excerpt.

PLEASE comment, give your opinion constructively. (The no author bashing rule applies to me too!) This is a little long because I need some feed back on the first person and this chapter is full of dialogue. Enjoy :D

"I don't think they meant to. Only one other person knew I was taking those days before I left the office. I was kidnapped on my way home. Since I live alone, there's no one to report me missing unless I don't check in today."

"Nice," I said. "I bet you pissed off someone. They can't say a word and all their careful planning is backfiring because you had a whim for a few days to yourself."
He grinned at me and I could see some color returning to his face. "Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?"

My kind of man. "Pissing people off always makes my heart glow." I glanced quickly his way and smiled. "So, their mole isn't likely to be your boss, or he could have called off the kidnapping. That is, if the intended result was to have you pulled from the case."

"You're scary when you smile like that," he said, approval lacing his voice. "What training have you had?"

Surprised, I glanced over at him again, then shrugged. "Here, there. Mostly local people." Some dumb luck and experience is how I learned most of my survival lessons, but that would lead to lots of questions I have no intention of answering. Besides, those experiences are what made me seek out self-defense lessons.

"I can't imagine how you'd be if you had any formal training." He shook his head then dropped the subject. Smart man. "But back to the problem. I agree with you. The more I think about it, the more I'm sure they intended to have me taken off the case. I need to find out why. And who."

"What's the next step? This is way past my skills." Even my private investigator training wasn't enough to deal with a mole in the FBI.

"I doubt it. You handled yourself like a pro back there."

"Damn it." That's not what I meant at all. But if he leaked that she was cool under fire and had bested an infected, there's no telling the damage it would do. "Is there any way I can keep that information out of your official report?

"There's not going to be an official report," he said grimly. "Normally, I'd report, they'd pull me as lead, but keep me as consultant. But I don't think that's what'll happen this time. There's something underhanded about all of this that I mean to get to the bottom of. What if they wanted more than to get me off the case?'

His question surprised me, but I immediately knew what he meant. "Like fired?"

"Yes, fired. I've been secretly searching for the mole. The director isn't convinced there is one. I'm sure there is. What if I'm getting too close and they've decided to get rid of me in a non-sensational way?"

"This group seems to enjoy the bloodshed. Why stop now?" I had an inkling of where he was going, but wanted to hear him talk out the process for me.

"Because the death of an FBI agent would cause too many questions. Better for them to try a different route first."

I pondered this while driving, letting the car fill with silence again. After a while, I heard him mumble "What the hell?" and reach in his pocket. It was his cell phone. That worried me. They kidnap him, bloody him up, then leave him with everything, including his phone? Nothing added up.

Granted, I'd interrupted them, perhaps foiling some of their plans when they left, but they'd been there for two days. Simple enough to slip his gun, badge and phone into a pocket or purse. Spinning the scenarios was giving me a bitch of a headache. Normally, I didn't get them anymore, but apparently my body was telling me it'd had enough for the day.

I reached behind the front seat and started rummaging in my pack. Joseph gave me a look and pointed to the road. I sighed in frustration and mouthed "headache" at him.
He nodded and pulled my pack to his lap. While plastering his phone to his ear with his shoulder he poked around in the pocket I'd just been digging in. He came up with my bottle of Motrin.

I popped them with some of the left over soda from McDonald's and surreptitiously watched his features. His face was still somewhat swollen, especially around the eyes. However, fully dressed, the only clue to the recent ordeal were the black eyes.
I wanted to offer him some of her Motrin but figured he knew about them now and could ask or get some if he needed it. I noticed him tensing his jaw which made it difficult for me not to ask "What?" while he talked on the phone. Driving aimlessly for a few more minutes wouldn't kill me. But my curiosity might. I was so busy mocking myself, I didn't notice he'd quit talking on the phone and shut it off.

"I'm not saying anything about my kidnapping and we have to go in to the Bureau. The person I talked to said all calls from me, to me, or regarding me were ordered rerouted to another number--two days ago," he said darkly.

Two days ago. I was incredulous. No way. I'm not buying. "That's a little much for my bullshit meter," I said mildly, not wanting any of his anger directed at me.

"Mine too," he replied.

"I know the director didn't set it up, so it had to come from one of two people. My regular partner is stuck on desk duty from injuries arising out of a hit and run. In light of recent events, I'm beginning to think his accident is related to this case. These people are ruthless and have no morals if I'm right," he said with hot anger in his voice.

Despite knowing he wasn't directing it at me, I flinched at his tone. Even while being tied up and tortured, he hadn't lost his cool. Now he looked ready to take someone out for what happened to his partner. I planned on staying out of his way.

"What happened," I ask him quietly. "And give me directions to the local office so we can take care of that before I check in to a hotel somewhere."

He gave me the directions while he talked. "A month ago, my partner, David, was t-boned on his way to work. He left the Shell Station by the freeway after getting gas and witnesses say a large black truck appeared out of nowhere and smashed the driver's side of his sedate sedan. The doctors said if his car hadn't come equipped with side airbags as well as front air bags, he would have died."

The malice and forethought involved with planning a murder for an Agent only peripherally involved stunned me. Killing someone in that manner was risky at best. You were more likely to permanently handicap them. I had to agree with Joseph's assessment. Chances are that they did it to get David off a current case in the field and stuck behind a desk or worse.

I'm not sure what he thought of my continued silence, but he didn't stay quiet for long. This time I could hear the raw emotions in his voice. "It took two weeks before he was well enough to come to work and sit behind a desk. His color was so bad, I almost made him go home. I don't know how he convinced his own doctors, much less the FBI ones to let him back so soon, but he did."

He started to say more than stopped. I let him contemplate his thoughts on his own for now. I have my own worries to ponder. As I thought things out, I didn't much like the conclusions I came to. Fear is not a comfortable bed fellow. Tended to make people make mistakes and I was no exception. If these people were willing to do that to an FBI agent, how much more would they do to me, a lowly writer?

Friday Exerpts - fantasy

This excerpt is again from my fantasy. I'm getting it ready for smashwords and kindle to be released soon.

This is from end of first chapter. The king and queen from the Land of Drache are the parents of Lucian, our heroine's best friend.



The queen paced in her dragon form. She was a green dragon—rare among her kind—with a deep red under belly. Her scales glowed luminescent under the floating magical lights they used for scrying on other worlds and kingdoms, especially those linked to the Land of Drache by magic.

“We can’t help what Fate is asking of Cerisa. We can only offer our support. Lucian is strong, my love. With his help and the teachings of her parents, Cerisa has learned to respect other races and has grown strong in her magic.” He was anxious as well, but knew that Serena needed his comforting. He refrained from pacing—just—as even the greatness of their throne room would feel restricted if both were pacing in dragon forms.

“And Lucian can call on his older brother, Daniel, if he needs to, or any of the other Draches we have in the dimension they are currently in. We must not lose faith,” King Pythes continued, following her with his head. He was black with a red tint to his scales and underbelly. He was sleek like his wife; merely being in his presence made you cognizant of his power. The two of them often used their scrying orb, the Illessence, to watch their son and his charge, as well as her parents, whom she lived with near the small village of Glasuisce.

“The seers in times past have said that there would be untold bloodshed in Riverhand before the rightful heir to the throne reclaimed it,” King Pythes said into the silence as his wife glared at him.

“They also said Cerisa will be pivotal in these events. Events that will decide if all of the Land of Drache will continue to exist on this plane or not, or if the Old Magik will return,” she replied tightly.

“Not the current magic that is so weak it can’t carry the proper name, but real Magik.” Strong disdain laced her words. She was old enough to remember the ways and power of the Old Magik.

“Yes, but that is all they agree on. Cerisa Andersen of Glasuisce is important to us. We have known that for a long time. That is why we sent our son to protect her; she is our best hope. Already, she shows signs of having the Old Magik.”

She nodded her great maw. “Yes, that is true. However, I believe that the time foreseen is upon us, now. Lord Kyle Namred has been torturing and killing to keep his rule strong for many years. Although he has claimed the throne in the name of the missing heiress, there are still those who oppose him despite the harsh punishment they receive for their troubles.” Her voice cracked, as her agitation increased.

“I agree. There has been much bloodletting in the human realm of Riverhand as was foretold. Our people have witnessed horrifying incidents and have even been hurt on occasion. Whatever Cerisa’s role is to be, I believe it will happen soon," he agreed.
“Pythes, we must do something,” Queen Serena implored. She swished over the blue marble flooring, away from the Illessence. She changed into human form, swaying her hips. Her long, dark hair retained a green strip from her temple. A reflection of her true color.

“My love, there is nothing we can do from here.” He changed to human form to match hers. Strong strides took him quickly across the room to her. He grabbed her hand. “It is part of the checks and balances of the worlds that we are dependent upon the humans' balance. That they must have the proper authority on the throne of Riverhand in their dimension in order to exist beyond the gates of our lands is part of fate's decree for us.”

“I hate it,” she said, a rumble sounding under the words, despite her human form, emphasizing her frustration. “It is not right that in order for us to exist beyond their imagination, the humans have to do things right. They are the biggest despoilers of all intelligent races. Even the damned Orcs seem able to keep their species balanced.”

“It is not the Orcs, but those who oppose them that keeps those foul creatures in check. All races have a check and balance—someone more powerful than they are in order to keep any one race from annihilating the rest of us. Humans are fate’s choice for equalizing the scales, so to speak, whether we like it or not.”

“Decidedly not,” she said emphatically. “We are more powerful than they and we are not cruel. We are wise. We have found balance and peace in our disputes here on the Land of Drache. Why do we need them to balance us? I’m powerful enough to control any of us who aren’t willing to follow our lead. You are as well. Together, you and I have had a peaceful reign for almost a hundred years, despite the turmoil in their lands these past years.” Queen Serena said fervently.

“It was not always so. There is good and bad in every species. At least it is the humans balance us," he said. "Despite that they figured out long ago how to kill our kind despite our obvious advantages in a fight." Queen Serena waved her hands in frustration at him, as if to wipe out what he was saying. He was undaunted. "We are fortunate that they are our balance because, although it is rare, we are able to breed with the humans. The ruling family has dragon’s blood in it, as it was meant to be from the beginning as our destinies are so entwined. Fates weren’t completely cruel in setting up our balance. They made sure that our needs would be felt by the ones in charge of keeping magic alive in the lands we depend on.”

“Of course, you're right. It could have been a much less compassionate race that held our lives in the palm of their hands. I’m afraid though, Pythes. I am afraid that Cerisa may be too late in saving Riverhand. If that is the case, then it is too late for us as well.”

The king and queen looked at each other sadly. He took her other hand in his. “Do not give up hope. She is strong in the Old Magik, as well as the new; I feel it in her. She is also a warrior. We may not know why she is so important to the fate of us all, but we know that she will do her best when the time comes.”

“And if that is not enough? What then?”

He had no answer for her. He moved back to the pulpit and looked into the Illessence, hoping for a clue as to help his kind not become extinct. However, what he saw did not bring hope. At times like this, he would gladly give his right eye to be able to hear as well as see into his scrying orb. For when he looked into the clearing where his son and his son’s young charge lived, he saw something that brought terror and fear that Riverhand, and therefore the Land of Drache, was lost before the greatest war ever foretold in any of their lands in either dimension had seen in a millennia had even begun.



Please comment and tell me what you think :) Including typos!! I've edited this story so many times, (this is one I initially edited my voice and too much description out of) that my eyes start to bleed when I read it lol. Because I was putting stuff back in when editing, it's easy for me to miss the typos.

Word time :)

It's Friday and I remembered that I wanted to do excerpts on Fridays!! Let's here it for a memory success!! This is from my fantasy novel, Quest For Riverhand. I love this story and how my mage warrior (Is there a femal word for warrior??? Besides Amazon princess I mean! LOL), Cerisa, has to battle her own inner demons as well as do the right thing for her mother and the lands.

Here is an excerpt from the battle where her heart and mind align to bring her powers to their together.



The man in the bushes came out and started to circle behind her. The first one that had spoken to her and the other one on the road tried to crowd her to their partner. She pretended to ignore the one behind her, but she was aware of every foul breath he took.

“What have we here? A lost waif. Poor innocent thing is waiting the direction of a man like me. Let me take care of you, sweetie pie. I know lots of ways to keep a woman happy.” The man’s voice was as oily as his hair. She felt the adrenaline and lust coming off all of them in waves. It angered her further, but she kept in mind that if they managed to live through the fight, they still would never be capable to fulfill that threat again.

She looked up at them, her eyes dark in the confines of the hood. She looked into the eyes of the man closest to her and some of her magic and rage must have spilled out. He took an involuntary step back. She pulled back the hood that had been hiding her face and hair and the three of them gasped.

“She can’t be. He never said a word.” The fear was running higher than the lust. She found it to be a singularly curious turn in the conversation. One she hadn’t expected.

“I can’t be what?” this time when she spoke, she put the Truth Command into her voice. She had neither time nor inclination for lies. Whether it was the Truth Command or the natural authority she spoke with, they tripped over their words trying to answer her.

“You look exactly like our leader. Are you related to Lord Kyle Namred, known throughout the villages as Lord Kyle the Horrible?” Well, that told her a few things. One, she had the right men. Two, Lord Kyle was proud of the nickname the commoners had given him in pubs as a slur. And in fact, may even be fostering it. Three, they were cowards and idiots. And four, he hadn’t told them of her. Did he know? Curiously, it didn’t matter to her. Whether he knew or not, he would eventually die by her hand. It made no difference in the current fight.

“Lucian.” She put magic into her voice. She spoke in normal tones, yet the sound vibrated in the air. It resonated and moved in waves around them. The men looked at her in fright. They stared at her as if they believed she was summoning the great legendary demon himself. She smiled grimly at them and pulled out her sword.

“You are lower than filth as is the man you follow. I am his daughter by blood. My father of by love and choice was Jaren Andersen, murdered these last days by Lord Kyle Namred. He, as well as everyone riding with him, shall be held accountable. I am claiming my Right to Vengeance under the old laws. I also claim the Right to Vengeance in the name of the villagers you terrorized and tortured. For these crimes against my people and many more, you are sentenced to death.” She hadn’t known she was going to claim the old laws.

It had left her mouth in the storm of her power and she knew it to be right. She felt the binding of the claim on her soul. The land around her glowed as if recording her vow. She was bound to her word by the Old Magik of the land. There was no going back.


You like??? I can't wait until I have the cover ready and get everything working the way it's supposed to. Also, I'm working on the sequel to Rebellion on Piza 7 again as I found a copy of it. :) As most of you know, I work on more than one WIP at the same time. Never the same type of story. That helps me keep them straight LOL

So right now, my main two are the Gal Friday Noir series: Paranormal/detective type and a science fiction as my two works in progress.

I welcome any thoughts/comments on my writing :) HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!