Fiction Friday: Celeste doesn't like being robbed

Only recently freed from the streets and back in possession of a fortune that was stolen from her, Celeste Long has finally found a place she can call home after the brutal double murders of her parents. She's finding that life off the streets can be just as dangerous, especially if you're not entirely human and don't know it.

As she pulled up she noticed something odd. The sense of peace around the house was gone. Instead there was something else. It was almost as if the house was frightened. She grabbed her purse and got up to the front door. The lock was broken and the door was open.

Celeste heard voices inside. Ignoring her better sense, and feeling something strange growing at the back of her mind, she pushed the door open. Two men were in her living room. They were carrying her computer and her laptop.

One of the men saw her. “Looks like you came home too soon, bitch.” He pulled out a gun and shot her.

Celeste took a step back. She looked up, a silver glow coming into her eyes. “You just made a big mistake.” Her voice had a quality that almost sounded like it was echoing. The bullet wound began to close and the bullet popped out and clattered onto the ground.

Pain like fire across her back almost knocked her off her feet. Something tore and suddenly a pair of black wings spread out from her back. “What the hell?” The man with the gun fired a few more times.

The bullets passed through Celeste, leaving behind no wounds. “This is my home. I will not let it be fouled by the likes of you. Put down what you're carrying and leave, before I show you what I can really do.”

The second man dropped the laptop and started for the door. The first one grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? Shoot the freak.”

Friday Fiction: A calm night in Lacey's bar

Lacey's is a little hole in the wall place with an eclectic history, much like its owners - a strange, non-human woman named Aya and her werewolf business partner who simply calls himself Junior. With their rather unique staff, they deal with both the human and the supernatural residents of their town. Sometimes the worlds intersect in interesting - and occasionally violent - ways, though Aya does her best to keep the violence down to a minimum.

Lacey's was quiet, not an unusual occurrence for a Wednesday night. Aya surveyed her kingdom with the air of a benevolent ruler, smiling at the few regulars who hunched over drinks at the bar. There was a faint buzz of voices in her ear piece but as there weren't many people it was more the chatter of the collection of friends she had working for her than anything else. She nodded to Junior, her business partner and head bouncer. He grinned back.

Lacey's was a little, out of the way bar that had been many things since it's inaugural opening in 1921. A speakeasy, a dance hall, a billiards parlor, a restaurant, and now back to its original state of a bar. The only thing that stayed the same about the place were the stained glass windows. Rumor had it they'd been shot out by police during the Prohibition, but the owners just paid to get them replaced.

She glanced over at the two pool tables she had set up in the back. The usual crowd wasn't there yet, so they sat unused and silent. The dart players were there, laughing at each other when they missed the target. They weren't drunk yet so she didn't need one of her three bouncers chase them off.

She went back into her office and sat down behind the desk. The time sheets were already loaded into the computer. She started converting them from tiny bits of data into the hard copy paychecks she'd be handing out on Thursday.

“Hey boss, we've got two nuisances coming in,” Junior said. Though he was the co-owner of Lacey's, he preferred to act like he was just an employee.

“Who?” Aya asked.

“That reporter and a werewolf,” Junior said. “He's already pulling that attempt at alpha male shit at me.”

“Brendon told them to quit that,” Aya said.

“I don't think it's one of the pack,” Junior said. “He doesn't smell right and I don't recognize him.”

“Great, a stray,” Aya said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Which one's more important?”

“The reporter. He's got a camera.” Junior's voice held a hint of a growl. “He's pointing it at Randy, who conveniently had to run into the back. Everyone else is hightailing it too. Coop, Alex, and I are the only ones left.”

“I'm on my way,” Aya said. She got up and walked out into the main area.

“Ms. Winters,” the reporter said, holding his camera in one hand. He extended the other. “I'm so glad to see you. I really think we could do a great piece on this place, with it's history and all. If you and your staff would stand for pictures, we'd show what a great little family you've got here.”

Aya snorted. Family was a good term for the ragtag bundle of misfits that worked for her. She stared at the reporter's hand until he dropped it. “Mr. Kelley, I've told you politely several times what my opinion on doing a piece on Lacey's is. Let me be more blunt this time. No, you're not going to get our pictures. No, I refuse to give you access to our records. No, I do not want an article published anywhere on our establishment. If you even so much as try, I'll have a lawyer up your ass so fast you'll need an enema to get him out.”

Not a good day

Sometimes things just go wrong no matter what you hope for.

As soon as she appeared in the entry way, her five cats descended on her, yowling. Aya laughed and filled their food dishes. They ate a little but soon Rocky, the only male of the bunch began trying to bury the bowl he preferred. She'd picked Rocky up from the shelter four years earlier, when he was only seven months old. He'd been neutered, but they told her they'd found him as a stray beside the road. When she asked a vet about his tendency to bury his food, she'd been told that for a cat rescued like Rocky had been that was perfectly normal. Strays had to bury their food in order to protect it from other animals.

She started towards her computer when her phone went off. She grabbed it and saw it was from Jesimae. She answered. Before she could even say anything, Jesimae cut in. “Aya, Will's in hysterics. I'm pretty sure Damon got to her apartment. It's trashed, anything of real value is either gone or smashed into pieces, and there are marks in blood all over it.”

Aya heard the other woman's sobs. “Get her as far away from there as possible,” Aya said. “Has she gone inside?”

“No,” Jesimae said. “We noticed this from the door. I wouldn't let Will in when I saw the bloody marks. They looked too much like runes.”

“Good,” Aya said. “Get her over here as soon as you can. If it was Damon who orchestrated this he's going to have some of his goons looking for her. Not to mention if those marks are what I think they are, it's too dangerous for her to go in.”

“All right. We'll be there quick as we can,” Jesimae said. She ended the call.

Aya sat down at her computer and turned it on. She smiled as it booted up instantly. Let others sing the praises of other operating systems. She loved her linux machine. It was up and ready long before any of the other operating systems she'd seen.

As soon as it was completely up she opened a browser window. She went to her bookmarks and selected one particular site. It asked for a password. Aya typed hers in. There was a momentary pause as it verified that she was who she said she was, and then the page began to load.

This was a page that only Otherworlders could access. The site would never stay in a browser history, the password would never save, and those that ran it had procured their own server and kept it under password lock as well. Those who needed it could access it. All others would never know of its existence.

When it was finished loading, she clicked on the link that would take her to the area where Otherworlders could check to see if someone they knew was incarcerated in a human prison. She glanced at the corner. It had been updated five minutes before she got it. She put in Damon's name and clicked the search button.

To her relief, Damon was still in the human prison. Not only was what he'd been arrested for according to the human authorities listed, but all of the crimes he'd committed against Otherworlders were there as well. Damon's list against the Otherworlders was long, with several serious offenses. He was usually too quick to get caught, and the enforcers in the Otherworld society had been looking for him for quite a number of years.

She read the note on the entry. Incarcerated in human jail. Enforcer sent. So they weren't taking any chances. They were going to take care of Damon for good. Aya sat back and regarded the page. She'd keep refreshing until she knew for sure what Damon's fate was. He had some powerful allies, and she didn't want to see him slip through the noose again.

Tuesday Teaser - A Murder of Crows

Here's a little snippet from the other short story I'm considering for publication.

As Bailey passed by the mouth of an alley, a bright flash of color and light caught her attention. The most beautiful music she’d ever heard filled her mind and lured her out of the sunlight. She was so focused on the light that she didn’t see the raggedy woman lounging in an old refrigerator box.

“Hey, watch where you’re going,” the woman protested as the mesmerized teen bumped into the box.

“I’m sorry,” Bailey said, jolted back to reality by the woman’s harsh voice. “I was just…”

“You were chasing something special, weren’t you, girl?” the woman said with a wheezy chuckle. The wrinkles in her pale face twisted like a road map on her skin as she smiled. “Old Aya, she always knows when someone comes chasing one of them.”

“Them?” Bailey asked.

Aya held up her hand. The light Bailey was following fluttered down and settled just above the old woman’s palm. It darted here and there above the old homeless woman’s hand. It looked like she wanted to fly off but was held by something.“Interesting little thing, isn’t she?”

“What is she?” Bailey asked.

Aya smiled, showing a distinct lack of proper dental hygiene. “She’s a Glitter Wisp.” She extended her dirt covered hand. “Watch.” Aya closed her fingers around the light. It went out, and the music stopped. A moment later, Aya opened her hand again.

A piece of faceted yellow topaz glittered on her palm. Bailey’s eyes narrowed. “This is one of those stupid sleight of hand things, isn’t it?” she asked suspiciously. “My mom told me that there were a lot of street people who would try and beg money off of me with these kinds of tricks.”


“Your mom sounds like a sensible woman,” Aya said with a snort. “This is what happens when you catch a Glitter Wisp. It’s how they protect themselves. Otherwise the poor dears would be pecked to death by magpies and crows.” Bailey heard a rustling sound. She looked up, and saw a bunch of crows staring down at her. Aya set the crystal down on the edge of her box. “Watch.”

Saturday Story Building - Genre and sub-genre/Fantasy

This week I want to talk a little bit about genres and sub-genres. Specifically, I want to talk about the fantasy genre and its myriad of sub-genres. If you want the complete list, you can go here. I'm just going to focus on a few of the many sub-genres here today.

Let's talk one that's gotten a lot of attention over the past few years: urban fantasy. Urban fantasy and its cousin paranormal romance are sub-genres of fantasy that focus fantasy elements on an urban setting. Usually it's a hero or heroine trying to deal with magical or supernatural forests in a city. Now the definition on that site shows that it can be past, present, or future. I contend that what we know as UF/PR is set in modern day. That fantasy set in the past is something different while UF/PR set in the future is better placed under the sci fi genre. The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton, Greywalker by Kat Richardson, and the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward are prime examples of UF/PR.

Then there's epic/high fantasy. This is more what I write. In epic fantasy, you have sweeping story arcs and grand adventures. Your characters are very well developed and you see them grow and change over the course of the story. Setting plays as much a key role in these stories as the actual characters do. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin are fine examples of epic/high fantasy.

The list goes on and on and I could talk forever about the different variations on fantasy. But I'm going to stop there and let you investigate the list yourself. What is your favorite sub-genre of fantasy? Do you like all of them? What are some of your favorite books and where do they fall in the fantasy genre?

I feel all SQUEEEEE!!! about this new project

I know, I know.  It's totally not like me to post this frequently.

But I have to share how excited I am about this project I've been working on.  I literally wrote more words last week (over 32k) than I have over the last two months COMBINED.  This makes me very happy on so many levels.  Part of it is the fact that the dreaded Writer's Block is gone (it was more the story I was trying to force out wasn't the right story for the characters, which has obviously been resolved).  Part of it is I feel more like myself again and feel that this story is the right story for me to be working on right now.

You saw a brief snippet of it two posts ago - the interchange between Rachel and Nathan (okay, his name then was NICK but it's since been updated to NATHAN because I like that name better for the character), where she's his psychoanalyst even though she rejects that title and tries to come across as someone casual.  I actually dreamed up that exchange within the last ten minutes or so before actually waking up fully and getting up the same day I posted it here.

I've since gone back and actually sketched out who the characters are, what motivates them, and touched briefly on their world so I know what makes them tick.  Rachel wants to be loved.  She's an outcast from her own people (no, she's not human...maybe I'll explain what she is one of these days).  She's made a sort of family of her own out of fellow outcasts who have been there for her during some of the roughest times in her life, but she wants something more.  Nathan wants justice for his twin, who was murdered when they were children (though everyone claims it was an accidental death).  He also wants to clear his name as the accused serial killer who's been murdering adolescent girls (yes, he's innocent).

I've added side characters, fleshed out the antagonist - the REAL serial killer - and her motivations, and built up the world that Rachel and her entourage inhabit.  I've put limits on the magic, taken away some of the things that made everyone overpowered, and put a touch of insanity into one of the characters who has - up until now - been a perfectly normal if moderately obsessive woman.  I've also combined the worlds of two of my different UF stories because this just works so much better as a part of that world.  This story also gives more depth to the other story*, which will eventually get an overhaul and get written too.

Mostly this slightly inane** babble (it's 1 AM...I don't usually stay up this late***) is just to say "Yay! I have a project I love again and I'm, well, LOVING IT!!!!!"





*If you're curious, the story I've combined this one with is Meg/Magni's story.
**I'm pretty sure I used this word right.  I'm too tired/lazy to go look it up at the moment.
***My insomnia has returned, so be prepared.  You may see more random babbling like this.

Saturday Stuff

I know, I know.  Bad title.  But in my defense, I just had to remember the last 10 years of my work history and honestly...my brain is a little fried.

As most of you may (or may not) know, I work for one of the largest banks in the world in one of their many credit card divisions doing collections.  I hate it.  I hate it with a passion.  Especially since they made us go mixed inbound/outbound in April.  I was perfectly content to do the collections inbound only.  So now I'm job hunting so I can get out of that increasingly hostile work environment.  It's not going well - the job hunting, I mean - because our job market sucks unless I want to take a $3-$5 pay cut (i.e. go back to minimum wage).  I can barely afford my bills on what I make now.  That would be disastrous for us, so I'm stuck where I am until something better comes along.

Himself has discovered a love of all things digital, especially when it comes to 3D rendering and game design.  He's become quite adept at creating 3D figures through the various programs he uses.  So he's teaching himself all sorts of new programming languages, mathematics, and computer programs.  I'm ashamed to say when he starts getting really excited and in depth about his work, I glaze over because what he's saying goes right over my head.  A lot of what I have to say about being an author and the publishing market as it stands now does the same thing to him, so I guess we're equal on that.

The cat is...the cat.  He's annoying, furry, and demanding.  He's taken to climbing into my lap while I'm working and laying his head against my left arm.  He sits there purring until my typing gets on his nerves - which actually takes a while.  But once that happens, he starts sticking his claws in my arm to get me to quit typing.  He bats at my face and meows loudly.  He even nips at my nose or ear to get my attention.  About that point he gets dumped out of my lap.  But he's back again within a short time, doing the same thing.  Either that or he's sprawled on Himself's back or legs while Himself is lying on the bed.

I'm a little bummed right now, though.  Most of my family (my oldest sister and her husband, all three of their kids, their oldest daughter's three boys - she just had a baby last month - and most of the rest of my nieces and nephews) is in town to celebrate my niece giving birth to her youngest son.  But they're meeting for lunch tomorrow at 1 pm and I work from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.  I've put in to get out of there as early as possible, but it all depends on the business need tomorrow.  If we're busy (which, with outbound is almost a given), I won't get out of there until 4.  So I'll miss seeing them since my niece and her family are leaving right after the lunch.  I've seen pictures of the baby on Facebook (he is so cute), but I'd like a chance to hold and cuddle him the way I got to his older brothers.  I tried to take Sunday off (4 day weekend FTW...only not), but with a waiting list upwards of 15 people ahead of me I knew the chances of me getting off were slim to none.  I'll just have to wait and see how tomorrow goes.

Worked on a couple different projects this week in regards to writing.  The first one is about my winged race of demi-humans and the war that surrounds a prophecy of theirs.  Established the prophecy and the alliance between one of the human factions and the winged people to eradicate the other human faction.  The geography of this particular continent is very strange, so it makes for some interesting logistical problems when declaring war on your neighbors.

The other is about a smart aleck (did I spell that right?) fae calling herself Meg and the trouble she gets into rescuing a fallen god/demi-god/divine being of some sort.  I have NO clue what this guy is yet, other than he's something powerful that got sent to Earth as a punishment and now he doesn't remember who he is/where he comes from/his true power, and she's geas-bound to help him because of an ancient oath she swore centuries ago.  Absolutely no idea where this one is going, but I'm having fun getting it there.  Meg's very refreshing after the months of work on my Aleran stuff.  She's definitely UF, maybe Para Rom.

I still have a lot of world building tweaks to do with Aleran, especially now that I've added the new continent for the winged people story (stories, maybe...depends on how far I go with them).  I figure I'll probably do something in regards to the world building this week.  Maybe.  If I don't get sucked further into Meg's world.  Because honestly?  I want to know which hunky deity she's hosting in her house.