- Introducing The Blood and Brotherhood Saga by Jeremy Laszlo
The Blood & Brotherhood Saga is, in my opinion, unlike any other fantasy you have read before. Sure it has familiar elements of a traditional fantasy read, but I really wanted to take the story somewhere else. I wanted to go deeper with the story, and darker with the plot at every turn. I can honestly say, that having read thousands of fantasy novels myself, I have never read anything else like The Blood and Brotherhood saga. Perhaps other writers were afraid of trying something different for fear of how it would be received by readers. Perhaps they try to keep their work lite in order to widen the spectrum of readers. This is just my speculation, but I chose not to constrain my creativity just to sell a few more books. Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction- Part 4 of Safia’s Story
“And how old are you Safia?” Bryony asked.
“Fourteen rings.” I replied, squaring my shoulders a bit.
The old woman let out a harsh sounding cackle that quickly turned into a cough.
“Fourteen eh,” She said once she’d recovered. “And decided to become an old one already?”
My brow knitted in confusion. How did she know where I was going? And then she answered my silent question.
“No one comes out of that forest unless they’re journeying to the place of the souls child.”
Continue reading →
- Tales of a Fourth Grade…Camping Trip by Bethany Meyer
“I heard your husband was the belle of the ball!”
I look quizzically at the parent who’s just spoken.
Me: “Whose husband?”
“Your husband! On the camping trip!” she exclaims.
“I heard that too!” chimes in a second parent.
“Oh, yeah, he had everybody laughing!” confirms a third.
Me: “Really?” Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction Part 3
If you’ve been following along, we’re on week three of my original speculative fiction story. Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2. Below is part three.
Long blades of grass tickled my legs. The sun beat down relentlessly on the crown of my head causing sweat to trickle through my long hair. As my feet carried me tentatively forward I began to feel nervous, exposed. There was nowhere to hide on this treeless plain, no shade, no fruit; would there be water? How would I find it?
My breathing began to come in short gasps as as these questions raced through my mind. I considered going back, but one last glance at my forest is all that I allowed myself before continuing resolutely onward. Continue reading →
- The Writer’s Voice Contest
The following is my entry for The Writer’s Voice Contest hosted by Cupid’s Literary Connection.
Title: Empyrean
Genre: Adult Science Fiction
Plot Summary of Empyrean:
Jahira, a NASA pilot who hasn’t stepped outside without a lifesuit in over 25 years, is learning to live off the land. The hardest part of her training is that the land is not on Earth. Continue reading →
- Today’s Artistic Outlet- A Short Story by Rachel Horwitz
I’m excited to introduce you to friend and YA Fantasy writer Rachel Horwitz! Rachel manages a craft-focused blog and You Are What You Write, and is also active on twitter @rachelhwrites. She’s a wonderful person, a great supporter, and has an impressive never-give-up attitude. She’s also a pretty great writer, as you shall soon discover! Enjoy Rachel’s original science fiction short, and let her know what you think in the comments!
With just one word, it was all over. Any beliefs I once held crumbled in my fingers as I passed the lock of hair over to the doctor. “It doesn’t make sense to keep it,” people told me. Of course, I knew that. It wouldn’t bring him back. But it was the smallest, most cherished connection to him that remained. And I wasn’t giving it up for just anything. Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction Continued
Here’s part two of last week’s story. I hope you enjoy it, and if you stick around to the end I have some questions for you to help me figure out more about our main character.
Thousands of brightly colored birds chirped, sang, and squawked about the arrival of morning, creating such a racket that I couldn’t even pretend to sleep. I didn’t know where to go or what to do, so I sat in the little hollow high up in the tree where I’d spent the night until hunger, thirst, and other primordial needs finally drove me out. Continue reading →
- Today’s Creative Contributors- Some Great New Finds
I’m meeting so many fantastic people that it’s hard to keep up! Today I’m going to introduce you to just a few of my favorite new finds.
D.D. Falvo- A fantasy writer extraordinaire who is finishing up her first fantasy series StarDust. D.D. has a beautiful blog titled Drakaenwood, you can find her on Facebook at D.D. Falvo, and she’s on Pinterest (but I’m not there yet so I can’t link to it). I can also tell you that she is smart, kind, and willing to help out a friend in need. Take a moment to pay her a visit! Continue reading →
- Friday Fiction
I had a short story all polished and ready to go, then yesterday the following piece of a story came to me and I decided to share it instead. I’d love to hear what you think!
A single drop of rain raced along the broad surface of the spade-shaped leaf that stretched out in front of my hiding place. It followed the intricate pattern made by the indentations from many snaking veins until it finally found the downward sloping valley at the center of the leaf. It picked up speed, as well as nearby beads of water, until it finally reached the pointed tip. It clung desperately to its final point of contact and I willed it to hold on. Continue reading →
- Today’s Artistic Outlet- Drawings by Sonja
I’m very excited to introduce you to Sonja, the artist behind Shadedfaces. It is her work that you see in this post today. She draws portraits and sketches with mechanical pencils, and they are amazing.
Sonja was hesitant to guest blog, because she is a self-professed perfectionist and was concerned that she would not be able to write a story that met her exacting standards. (Hmmm, hope this one does :))
Continue reading →
- The Lucky 7 Meme- A Sneak Peak at Empyrean
I have officially been tagged in the Lucky 7 Meme. Margaret of The Story Addict tagged me, and another friend Rachel of You Are What You Write both shared seven lines from page 7 or 77 of one of their stories. Here’s mine. From page 77 of Empyrean, because page 7 is still part of the character index and glossary…
He returned to the rocky ledge where he had begun this day. Continue reading →
- It’s Friday! But Will it Remain Foodie Friday? You Decide…
For quite a while now I’ve been doing a weekly post called Foodie Friday where I have shared some of my favorite foods and lots of my favorite recipes. I’ve enjoyed it, mostly because I love good food, but as I mentioned recently I also love novelty. That’s why I’m thinking of trying something new.
If you love Foodie Friday and want to continue scribbling down my recipes or laugh at my cooking mistakes, let me know.
If you want to try something new then please help me out! I want to know what you want to read.
Continue reading →
- From Gamekeeper to Photographer by Karen Appleyard
From a very young age, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my Father and become a Gamekeeper. When I wasn’t at school, I could be found helping dad with the Pheasants. During the shooting season, I would be amongst the line of beaters (think my first day bush beating was when I was seven). Many a time, I would try to miss the school bus so that I could go bush beating instead.
At that time, it was unheard of for a female to become a Gamekeeper. The careers advisor at school thought I was silly. Father did relent and offered to help me, but being an independent soul like him, I wanted to achieve it my own way!
Whilst at primary school, my parents bought me a Kodak Instamatic Camera one Christmas. Then in my teens, they got me a Praktica. We had a friend of the family who was a professional Photographer and I began to spend some time with him…
Don’t forget to tell us which photo is your favorite!
Continue reading →
- Seven Things
Here are seven things that you might not already know about me:
1.When I don’t run I’m kind of a pain to be around. That’s one of the reasons that I run A LOT.
2. I don’t have a television. Continue reading →
- Foodie Friday- Recipe for Garlic Alfredo Sauce
Have you been practicing those homemade noodles? I hope so, because now it’s time to top them with the best Alfredo sauce I have ever eaten.
You will need: 1/2 c. sweet butter, 2 garlic cloves- minced, 2 c heavy cream, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese, 3/4 c grated mozzarella cheese. Continue reading →
