Children of the Dragon

Twisted Tails II - Time On Our Hands - Volume One, has won the 2008 Eppie award in the category of Science Fiction! The Eppies are awarded annually by the Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC), a professional organization for published and contracted e-book and print authors.

Click here for a complete list of contributing authors.

Check out my official website: TerenceWest.com! You can also read my personal blog, download free goodies, and read my new supernatural themed short story WITHIN free!

The first draft of the third book in the Wraith Chronicles is finished. I didn’t quite hit my projected 80,000 words, but close enough. I’m pretty pleased with this story. It wraps up the Prophecy and Saint’s story arc that was started in Darkness, and continued in Until The Stars Grow Cold. One quick editorial pass, and it’s off to my editor Chere.

And just in case you’re wondering:
Fallen Angels - 89,798 words
Biogenesis - 82,254 words
Crusade - 85,906 words
Phantoms - 101,246 words
The Abydos Triad - 92,520 words
Caitlin - 103,790 words
Exodus: Europa - 57,509 words
Darkness - 58,643 words
Until The Stars Grow Cold - 82,607 words
The Brimstone Betrayal - 81,671 words.
Devlin’s Hollow - 52,329 words
At The End Of All Things - 78,076 words.

On to the next!

Check out my official website: TerenceWest.com! You can also read my personal blog, download free goodies, and read my new supernatural themed short story WITHIN free!

This month, in honor of the Winter Solstice, I’ve spent the day musing or rather reflecting over the past year and how glad I will be to see 2007 fade into the twilight memories of the past. It was a hard year for me. 2007 started with medical issues that plagued me throughout the year and climaxed with the loss of beloved family members and friends to either sickness or old age.

No, I won’t be sorry to say goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008.

Though, I will admit, out of the pain of enduring one can find unexpected strength and be moved to unexpected actions. From reflection comes renewal. Out of the ashes, rise the flames of the future. Sorrow can give way to joy and an ordinary person can suddenly become a champion of hope.

I truly believe this.

I’m keeping my musings short due to the large excerpt I have decided to share with you this issue. Happy Holidays everyone and a wish for a bright New Year. (Excerpt can be read in my Newsletter: “Musings from the Storyteller of Ra-Jee.” http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheStorytellerofra-jee )

Thank you all, Sheri

This month I’m handing the musing reins to fellow author and friend, Shannah Biondine, while I do a bit of blogging/musing/remembering
at http://rememberingronnoe.blogspot.com/

As many of you know, my brother Ron passed away October 20, 2007 from cancer. At his services, his friends and family gathered to celebrate the life he lived. I, in turn, wanted to continue this celebration, so I created a blog titled “Remembering Ron.” It’s my hope that others will share their memories of my brother as well as enjoy all the memories posted there.

“We never truly fade away as long as we are remembered.”

Until next time, may the magic always brighten your world! Sheri

Musings from Shannah Biondine:

THE BLESSINGS OF ADVERSITY

It’s that time of year again, when we get ready to gather with family and friends and celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving, literally reflecting on our lives and our various blessings. When we think of what we’re grateful for, it’s obvious to come up with aspects like health, stability, faith, family, good neighbors and friends…the list is long indeed. But how often do we stop and thank the Higher Power for the challenges we’ve had to face?

There’s a saying that every good sailor has weathered his share of storms and steered around rocks and reefs. A seafarer whose only experience has been mild breezes and glassy seas hasn’t been tested. Who knows if he’ll have the insights and skills to survive a vicious storm?

Our lives are like that. If they’re easy and flow smoothly, we can be grateful that we haven’t had to struggle…but that’s small comfort because sooner or later that gale wind or the lashing rain will find us. How will we deal with it?

Within the past year my father had a heart attack, my youngest child went off to college, my husband found himself in a miserable employment situation that sent him spiraling into a mid-life depression, and I had carpal tunnel surgery. Each of these events were stressful in and of themselves–the combination was admittedly very tough at times. Yet I wouldn’t wish any of those things banished. Looking back since last fall at this time, I can see benefits and gains that also came, sometimes growing out of the very adversity that seemed crushing at first.

I’m not saying every dark cloud has a silver lining, but many do. In some instances we would never have developed a certain talent or strength unless we were forced to. The easy chair is comfy, but we wouldn’t stand on it to change the batteries in the smoke alarm that could save our lives.

Like the characters Sheri and I write about and readers empathize with, we all need crises. Human beings need strife and conflict, obstacles to surmount. Without conflict, there is no story, fictionally speaking. This is also true in real life. Without adversity and challenges, I think we’d all be lesser mortals, lacking in depth and sympathy and wisdom.

We don’t necessarily like having to rise to the occasion when times are tough, but we do it. Epic disasters like Katrina or the California wildfires touch us, not so much for the widespread devastation as for the very real human struggle of individuals and groups who battle back, who perform heroic deeds or just small gestures of kindness.

This year, particularly if your turkey is neither dried out nor underdone, if the gravy isn’t lumpy, the rolls aren’t burnt, and you don’t find yourself sitting down to dinner with some obnoxious relative who sets your teeth on edge, say a prayer of thanks for all you have, and all you lack. For your flaws, ignorance, insecurities, and weakness. Be grateful for every imperfect part of yourself and your life, as grateful as you are for the good things in it.

If you’re truly fortunate, 2008 will bring you opportunities to grow and amend some of that. You’ll be tested, be forced to stretch. You’ll have fresh chances to find out who you are and who you can be. None of it may be the stuff of legends or make grist for the holiday form letter mill, but these will be new blessings.

I wish you the insight and strength to find them and incorporate them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shannah

P.S. In case you’re wondering what’s new, Sheri and I are currently working on an upcoming joint fantasy project for Double Dragon Publishing. Watch for more details on our duet later….

And if you’re stuck for holiday gift ideas, we’d like to suggest the gift of reading at Amazon.com. Not only does the site carry our trade paperbacks, but all of Double Dragon’s extensive library of titles will soon be offered at Amazon as downloads. So give the gift of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, romance, and adventure to those hard-to-shop for folks on your list and watch them have a delightful New Year!

This month I’ve been musing about all the things that happen in a writer’s life that actually contribute to a writer not writing. You know all those day-to-day things that can mount up: the kids, the job, hectic schedules, and daily worries–the list can go on and on.

Writing about other peoples lives can be a very emotional journey even if they are fictional. Especially if a writer is like me and immerses themselves so completely into the hopes and dreams, ups and downs of the characters lives while experiencing all the trials they face. It can be a very exhilarating and exhausting journey.

When the real world adds in its own “surprises,” facing these fictional situations can become far more exhausting, both physically and mentally, than exhilarating. And it can cause a writer to dread sitting down to write–dread adding more emotional stress to the real stress they are facing.

For me, as a writer, these emotional pauses enrich my writing and give me a personal well of experiences to draw from, which in turn adds depth to my work. Or so I’d like to think.

Sometimes the water is murky, and sometimes the “surprises” are overwhelming, but eventually we overcome and our lives are touched in unexpected ways. Life is full of “surprises.” Joy and sorrow walk hand in hand and touch us all and adversity can gift us with insight.

Until next time, may the magic always brighten your world!

Sheri McGathy

http://www.sherilmcgathy.com

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This month I’ve been musing about spirits or ghosts. Now, for those of you who are thinking, “Hey, she’s done that before,” I’d have to answer, “Yes, you’re right,” while I add the caveat that I will probably do so again.

The idea of ghosts fascinates me, yet the possibility of encountering one actually scares me. What brought on my musings about ghosts this time was a recent weekend visit to The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO.
http://www.stanleyhotel.com/

This is the hotel Stephen King stayed at and modeled his Overlook Hotel on from the book THE SHINING.

Among the ghosts reported to haunt The Stanley are F.O. and Flora Stanley. His ghost is reported to appear in the lobby and the Billiard Room, her ghost seeks to entertain guests in the ballroom by playing the piano.

Some of the more famous rooms reported to be haunted are 217, 407, 401, and 418.

Room 407 comes with the ghost of Lord Dunraven, the landowner before F.O. Stanley. He apparently likes to stand in the corner of the room near the bathroom door when the room is occupied and has supposedly been seen looking out the room’s window when the room isn’t booked.

Room 418 has the repetition of being haunted by the spirits of children. There are many reports from strange noises to seeing impressions on the bed when the room is unoccupied. Guests often comment that they hear children playing in the hallway at night.

In or near Room 217, there’s the story of the ghost of a small child. Room 217 is the room Stephen King stayed in while working on THE SHINING. Reportedly, he also saw the ghost child, who was calling out to his nanny on the second floor.

Now, I can honestly say, I experienced no paranormal activity while visiting the hotel, which was sort of good, yet sort of bad since I really wanted to experience something besides the altitude! My husband, on the other hand, grew ill the moment he entered the theater hall area (I’m sorry, I just don’t know its proper title) and was fine as soon as he left, which he left rather quickly. So, who knows!

For more information on The Stanley, check out these links:
http://hotels.about.com/od/hauntedhotelsatoz/p/hau_stanley.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Hotel

And if you do a search at YouTube for The Stanley, you’ll come up with all manner of clips. Here’s one from the Ghost Hunters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orIi9RNnVQQ

Until next time, may the magic always brighten your world! Sheri

After a few months of writing nothing but critiques and reviews (and one half-hearted novella that I’ve decided to ditch), DDP re-opened submissions, and I got back to working on half a dozen WIPs.  I’m sure I won’t get anything finished during these next few months, but that’s beside the point–I’m doing something again.

 I’ve started interviewing authors and posting one interview on my blog each week; if anyone’s interested, they can check that out at www.xanga.com/rachaelbyrd . 

I finally took the incentive to clean up The City and submit that a few months back; I think that’s supposed to be out sometime next spring.  It’s the followup to Red Sky, and a little easier to follow–I was twelve when I wrote Red Sky, and fourteen when I did The City.  Two years makes a lot of difference, as it turns out.  The City acknowledges Red Sky’s theme of cyclical existence, going so far as to bring back most of the original cast.  I tried a new twist on the vampire story–for more details, check out the ‘Coming Soon: The City’ link on my webpage, www.geocities.com/rachaelbyrd_books

I’ve got a few other follow-ups to Red Sky started, but none of them are finished, and I can’t seem to get close enough to my twelve-to-fourteen-year-old state of mind to finish them up without changing the tone of the writing.  I’ve got some tricky plots outlined, including how Angel came into the position of Angel of Anger and how his father, Aricin, ended up with his amazing library.  That book was titled ‘The Scribe’, and I’m not sure I’ve got the overactive imagination needed to finish it.  We’ll see, I guess.

I’m still working on compiling a few anthologies–that’s going over pretty well.  I’ve got some better-known names to complement the unknowns, and a wide array of writing styles and topics that are really pulling together for some interesting reading.  I’ve currently set my deadline for completing this at December of this year.  More notes as that develops. 

I’ve been spending most of my time on the New Rapids Trilogy, which is looking like it’ll be a novel sandwiched between two novellas, none of which could really be manipulated into sharing a cover.  I’ve been getting about 2K a day done, which puts me at above Nanowrimo’s necessary rates, but I doubt I’ll be able to hold that pace–I’ve got a few more books I’ve promised to review, critiquing obligations, and that all-encompassing apathy that seems to take over every time I start to make some real progress.  I’d like to have the first draft of all three books finished before I head off to college this fall, but experience (and the multiple years it took to force myself to finish Book 2) suggests it’ll take a lot longer.  The first book is unfinished and stands at around 15,000 words; the second is finished at around 70,000, and the third is unfinished and has just passed the 20,000 word mark.  Sooner or later, I’ll quit waitressing and get serious about finishing some writing.

 That’s another note–I’ve finally turned 18, so my writing has hopefully gotten clearer, cleaner, and all-around better.  Just one more reason to push myself to get more done.

 -Rachael

At The End Of All Things

Passed the 20,000 word mark and almost completed the first part of the story. My heroes are up a big tree… time to throw rocks at them! Here’s an excerpt:

Night settled like a blanket over the ancient city, enveloping and holding it captive. The citizens had mostly retreated into their homes betrayed by the light, some vestige of their primordial ancestry compelling them, leaving only those who didn’t want to be seen. Darkness hid a multitude of sins, and those who remained out counted on that. It’s when the monsters came out, both human and inhuman.

And it was where he belonged.

Stumbling forward, Specter fell to his knees. Shaking hard, almost uncontrollably, he wrapped his arms around his stomach and rested his forehead on the still warm concrete. Every drink he had taken wanted back out, and it was clawing at his stomach and throat. Rolling back onto his knees, he placed his arm against the wall of the building for support. He stared at the passing traffic on the street. The cars seemed like blurs in his inebriated state, and were only causing his world to spin faster.

He just wanted to go home.

But he didn’t know where that was anymore. With a moan of pain, he fell back against the alley wall and closed his eyes. His hand slid up to his inside coat pocket and felt the familiar bulge that had been there for as long as he could remember. Reaching in, he pulled a stack of letters free and held them in his hands as he had done so many times. Dog-eared, creased, and worn, the letters were hundreds of years old. They were from his wife, sent while he was on assignment for the Gwyliad Wriaeth. They were all he had left of her, and his home. Holding them close to his heart Specter felt his ancient wound, still open, still hurting.

I’d like to have this one ready to go later this year, so keep your fingers crossed!

Check out my official website: TerenceWest.com! You can also read my personal blog, download free goodies, and read my new supernatural themed short story WITHIN free!

This month I’ve been musing about all the things I discover while doing research on my WIPs. Sometimes, what I stumble across proves to be so interesting that I stray far a field of my original intent or purpose, and well, hours later, I’m no closer to answering my concerns on my WIP and my head is spinning with ideas and notions and wonder at all the things I have learned.

Research is a necessary part of writing, and many authors have the strength to not allow interesting tidbits to lure them away . . . I’m not one of them. Although, I will admit I’m not, in defense of my wayward ways, I have to say I have also discovered far better “notions” for my stories by giving in to my curiosity and roaming far and wide with undisciplined abandonment.

As an example: On my current WIP, I needed to check whether certain foods existed in the timeframe I was writing within. I discovered they did, and was just about to return to my WIP when a very small, almost missed reference note caught my eye. I investigated further only to discover that this particular food had originally been promoted as “Fairy Floss!” Now, that fit so perfectly with what I was writing, I was overjoyed for hours. {It doesn’t take much to please me, apparently.}

The above example is a more disciplined one and I stayed on course, but there are days I really go hiking. Once, I started out looking up certain types of cemeteries in the Puritan era and before I knew it I was off reading about a new monument marker feature called a Vidstone, basically a solar-powered, video playing contraption placed on a loved ones headstone so anyone can celebrate the life of the person now buried beneath that headstone. Okay, so it had nothing to do with what I really needed to know, but it was interesting.

Many, many times, my forays into undisciplined research have given birth to new story ideas, which I write down on a 3×5 card and file in my idea box. And speaking of where ideas come from, in my newsletter this month I am happy to have Jeanne Allen as my guest. I hope you enjoy her article on where her ideas come from and her excerpt she has generously offered to share with us.

Until next time, may the magic always brighten your world! Sheri

I meant to add a post to the “Children” when it looked so forlorn all last month, but I couldn’t remember how to get onto the site. I found the link this evening as I was hunting through my email files for revue sites – so here goes.

My first DDP release will be Deadly Enterprise, a soft SF adventure, slated for June and so I’m starting to look for sites where I can promote and get revues. If it was hardcover, I know I’d be already too late, but E-books don’t vanish down the drain in ninety days. Perhaps I’m too early, but I have one reviewer and one blog interview booked already.

I’m not writing much new fiction, but I am putting out some better synopses that I used to when I was trolling for agents. I opened up three I had used for this novel before and quickly looked away. No wonder I never got any takers. Why does everything look so gauche two years later?

My website is half ready. It can be accessed, but my computer guy still has it on his own server because it refuses to show up on my ISP’s site. I also sent him some updated info for it, and he hasn’t had time to add that. But my mug shot greets everyone with a smile and I have sample first chapters of the two novels accepted here. Still waiting for the link to Twisted Tales II volume 2 where my short story appears. Perhaps everything will come together at once.

I decided to use my second blog www.serial-adventure-fiction.blogspot.com as the venue to post updated information about my writing. I started it last year as just that – a site to post a series of stories revolving around my novel scenario at a rate of about two episodes a month. The response was underwhelming. Then I decided the material I’d put together would be more useful as a prequel to the two novels, so I shifted gears and started revising everything into a single opus. Anyone ever try that? It’s like trying to force a working spine into a jellyfish, but I think I’m winning.

That’s it for this evening. Drop by my blog and see the progress. The link to my website is there, so I don’t need to post that here. I’ll have my promotion schedule up on the blog, so look to see where you can find me come summer.

Chris.