At first, I thought the prequel would be one cohesive novel. But instead, I’m going to release three novellas, best read in succession.
SHIFTING LIGHT
The Protectors are merely rumors and distant whispers for Sashe until a new boy moves to her hometown. Seth’s parents were killed by the Protectors, and he personally killed four of them. As pregnant women start dying, Sashe realizes just how far reaching the Protectors’ hatred is. When the Protectors come to their home to take Sashe and her sister away from the shape changers, Sashe must choose whether she’ll stay with the only family she’s ever known even with their dangerous future.
A Protectors novella, approximately 21,000 words
FIRE AND LIGHT
Sierra has always considered Evan like a brother, but suddenly she sees him as more. When he confesses his feelings for her, she shies away. In the midst of her confusing feelings for Evan, the Protectors try to convince Sierra she’d be better off with them. Sierra thinks she’s brave enough to stay with the shape changers, but is she brave enough to risk her friendship with Evan?
A Protectors novella, approximately 24,800 words
THE END OF LIGHT An elder of the shape changers tell Sashe and Sierra of a vision that claims they can break the curse set on their family by the Protectors. How? By getting pregnant. Even though a pregnancy hasn’t been carried to full-term for eight years, and many women have died. Sierra, Sashe, and their husbands must decide whether to trust the elders and whether or not to risk their lives for the chance at breaking the curse. And when a spy reveals the vision to the Protectors, the consequences could be catastrophic.
A Protectors novella, approximately 26,200 words
The first will be released mid-February. I can’t decide if I want to release them all at once or within a few weeks of each other, but I’ll keep you guys updated! An omnibus edition called Burning Light will also be available with all three novellas.
I have a new short story collection coming up! It's titled Beyond Home. It should be published by the end of this month once I get the last beta readers' feedback and the last edits and proofreads in.
Here is a tentative cover. I'm still playing around with it. Just kidding! Here's the official one.
But here's a complete list of the short stories, centered around travel and transitions in life. Magnitude — Two sisters visit The Grand Canyon after their dad dies. A short story published in Literary House Review 2010. Song for Megan Leclare — A young woman remembers a trip with an ex while deciding whether to move to another state with her current boyfriend. Number Six — A young man takes an impulsive trip to Hawaii with a runaway bride.
There are only three, but it's just about the same length of Passages, about 13,000 words or around 52 pages. It'll go on sale for 99 cents the end of December. Keep your eye out -- I'll be giving away an Advanced Reader's Copy during the Holiday Hop!
Another conversation from the Promising Light prequel. The prequel takes place over a long period of time, about eight years, so this takes place a couple years after the last one.
Sierra looked over her shoulder at him, then turned completely and faced him. “Tisha tried to talk me into leaving the Avialies again.”
Evan gritted his teeth and shook his head. “He’s such slime.”
“I know. He even hinted at me working for them.”
“What?” he snapped.
She sighed. “It’s kind of creepy. I’m sixteen, I don’t have any magic in my blood. . .why does he even care?”
“He thinks we’re corrupting you. He’d probably feel really good about himself if he was the one to save you from us monsters.” He scoffed and flopped down on his back. The next firework that burst into the sky resembled a dragon, and he wondered if Mahris had helped with them. The Protectors were fine with magic when it suited their purposes.
Sierra leaned on her elbow. “I wonder if they’ll ever see you as real people.”
“I doubt it. In their eyes, Avialies are abominations.”
“Do you think we’ll ever find a way to break the curse?”
Evan glanced at her. Her gaze was fixed on him, her face serious. He sighed. “I don’t know. It’s been three years already. You’d think if they could have broken it, they would have already.”
She touched his tunic, playing with a string. He held his breath. “I wish we could do more.”
“Me, too. I wish I could hunt that Thieran down and kill him.”
Her fingers stilled on his chest. “Kill him?”
“After making him reverse the curse.”
“How would you do that?”
“I don’t know. I’d do whatever I had to.” He fell silent, thinking of torture or threatening his family members. He gazed at the fireworks above them. What kind of a person did that make him, that he’d be willing to do things like that for his family’s future? How else were they going to reverse the curse?
Seth turned away and picked up a knife and an apple. It was silent for a moment before he spoke. “I’m sorry about earlier today. Maybe I went a little hard on you.”
Sashe raised her eyebrows at him. He surprised her everyday. She tried to fit him into a little box, but he was different. If he was Evan, he never would have apologized. If he was Dar, it never would have happened. He was somewhere between the two of them. She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I just really want you to be safe.” His voice was soft as he brought apple slices to the table. He sat down across from her, and she picked one up. They’d eaten apples when they first met nearly six weeks ago. “I was telling Evan. . .my mother didn’t know how to defend herself. I always wonder. . .if we’d taught her, would she still be alive?”
Her eyes widened, and she slowly chewed up her apple slice, gazing at him. His gaze was fixed on the table. He truly cared about her safety, and it touched her. She reached out and touched his hand. “You told Evan that?”
His eyes met hers. “Yes. Why are you smiling like that?”
She shrugged. “It’s probably good I’m not the only one you talk to.”
His thumb ran over hers, sending chills up her arm. “I can’t believe you don’t treat me like a freak.”
She stood and moved in front of him. She put her hands on the sides of his face, running his black hair through her fingers. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. His hands touched her waist, only a few layers from her skin.
“You’ve just been through more than us,” she said softly. “That doesn’t make you a freak.”
“What about a murderer?” he whispered.
His eyes searched her face, and she was struck by how young he was. Sixteen, and yet he’d already lost his parents. Already killed three men. And she was upset at a long lesson with the dagger. She couldn’t even think past her anxiety around him and how he made her feel when the Protectors were killing people. She shook her head, brushing some hair back from his forehead. “They’re the murderers. You saved Vin and Caleb’s lives.”
“But not my mother and father’s.” His arms pulled her closer, and she lost her balance, nearly falling into his lap. “Sorry.”
She sat on his legs and pulled his face toward hers. Their lips met.
I will be publishing a series soon, titled The Protectors. The series is comprised of three books (but it could be four in the future, I'm not 100% sure).
Promising Light: Grace has followed the rules most of her life. Starting a secret courtship with the noble Dar is one of the first things she does against her father's will. Their relationship is cut short when a mysterious man warns her about him and Dar leaves her. She searches for answers to mysteries surrounding Dar but only encounters people determined to keep the truth from her—until she's kidnapped by Dar's family. Based on a vision from an elder, they claim she can break a curse set on their family ten years ago by the Protectors.
Grace is intrigued by these people, but turned off by the claim she must get pregnant to break the curse. Her father and the prince are determined to keep her from the shape changers, but will Grace choose to help the innocent instead of living a comfortable life with their oppressors? If she does, she'd have to leave behind everything she knows. If she doesn't, the shape changers could die out forever.
Promising Light Sequel (Currently untitled) continues the story that started in Promising Light. I could post the blurb, but of course there will be a few spoilers. I'll release it once Promising Light has been released for a little while.
Promising Light Prequel (Also untitled - I'm the worst with titles, okay?): The Protectors are merely rumors and distant whispers for Sashe until a new boy moves to her hometown. His parents were killed by the Protectors, and he personally killed three of them. When pregnant women start dying, Sashe realizes just how far reaching the Protectors' hatred is. She and her sister Sierra aren't shape changers, but they've considered them nothing less than family. Years pass with more battles and deaths, and the shape changers become desperate for a way to break the curse. When an elder approaches Sashe and Sierra claiming they could break the curse, will the girls risk their lives for the chance at a brighter future for the shape changers?
If all goes according to plan (must allow time for beta readers, editing, proofreading, etc.), the prequel will be released as a free read in late December, and Promising Light will follow in January. I also posted some cover art, but I haven't made the final decision yet. It was mostly me playing around in Photoshop. The stock photo is from http://bugidifino.deviantart.com. This is the official cover!
The first lines of a story means a lot. Here are mine from my fiction and nonfiction.
Finding Fiona: Smoke choked her lungs and made her eyes water. The heat burned against her skin. She ran down the steps, tears streaming down her cheeks. Someone grabbed her from behind, strong arms wrapping around her torso.
Novella for sale for $2.99 on Amazon and various other retailers
Passages: The back
door slams shut, the hinges rattling. My sister stomps out, pouting.
“That stupid air conditioner smells like moldy socks,” she says.
“The entire house smells.” (from Together)
Short story collection for sale for 99¢ on Amazon and various other retailers
The Jensens: Mrs. Gellar is now yelling. I watch from my position by the table of books. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her without her hair curled. She waves her arms, and her face grows read. The others in the yard are trying to politely ignore the scene, but we are all listening.
Flash fiction free on Smashwords or B&N
Agape: I sometimes wonder what it would be like to see Jesus in the flesh. I read the gospels with envy. Those people saw the Son of God incarnate. They saw him put mud on the blind man’s eyes, saw him hold children, saw him walk on water. They could see the lines on his face. Some of them felt his rough hands. They heard his voice as he taught the words of his Father, when he rebuked the hypocritical religious leaders, when he told the lame man to walk. His disciples ate of the same bread and fish and smelled the perfume with which Mary anointed him. The Almighty had come to earth to dwell among men.
Nonfiction free on Smashwords or B&N
What are some of your favorite first lines/paragraphs? What does a first line need to get your attention?
I'm starting a new weekly post on my blog - Fiction Fridays! From now on, I will post something relating to my fiction on Fridays. This month, posts will be about Finding Fiona. The novella will hopefully be released the third week of September, and these posts will get you ready for it!
This week: Amnesia in Pop Culture.
Fiona has retrograde amnesia, meaning she can't remember her past. She remembers bits and pieces of memories. Certain things stand out to her, like the name Fiona or Indian food. She can recognize places, like New York City, or faces, like the guy she meets in chapter one. The story follows Fiona as she tries to remember what happened to her the day she was found on the harbor with stab wounds in her stomach.
Amnesia, unfortunately, is a trick that's been done quite often in books, movies, and comic books. Many times, the writers will just throw in amnesia when they want to hide something from the viewers and have a plausible reason to do so.
Here are some instances of amnesia in pop culture, whether fake, trauma-induced, magical, or brought on by a small gadget.
Jason Bourne The Basics: Robert Ludlum's Bourne Trilogy was adapted for screen in 2002. In The Bourne Identity, the first in the trilogy, Jason Bourne searches for his true identity while running from various groups that are trying to kill him. While in the books Bourne regains most of his memory, in the movies, Bourne struggles the entire series with the amnesia. He has still kept his training as an assassin and his sharp wits, but he has difficulty remembering where he grew up and what kinds of things he did for the CIA. Usually in the movies, he remembers things just when the plot couldn't go any longer without the information the memory holds.
Rating on the Realism Scale: 1 being "this would never happen" and 10 being "best representation of amnesia ever", Jason Bourne rates at a 4. (To be honest, this is kind of where Fiona is, but just how the Bourne movies are so well-written, you don't care. . .it's the same thing with Finding Fiona. I hope.)
Lost The Basics: Claire is a pregnant woman who crashed on the island with the rest of the survivors. In the first season, she vanishes for almost two weeks. When she returns, she doesn't remember anything that happened on the island, especially not who kidnapped her or why. Like Fiona, she reads an old diary of hers to try to remember the past couple weeks of her life. She slowly regains her memories in season three through hypnosis and revisiting places where her kidnapper left her.
Rating on the Realism Scale: Perhaps the most realistic plot device used by Lost. Though blocking traumatic memories isn't common by any means, it's more common than losing every memory you've ever had, like Bourne. Lost and Claire get a 6.
Push The Basics: Push was a science fiction thriller movie, and I feel like I'm the only person who liked it. I thought it was fascinating, and one of the many special classes of people are "Wipers." As you may assume, they can wipe memories. The main character does this to himself so the enemies can't figure out their secret plan.
Rating on the Realism Scale: -5.
Men In Black The Basics: The agency of alien hunters maintains their secrecy chiefly through the neuralyzer, which conveniently wipes the memories of those who come into contact with the men in black or aliens. It's even used on old agents once they retire. The men in black used it about a dozen times in the movie, at one point wiping the memories of the entire city of New York. Like I said, how convenient.
Rating on the Realism Scale: -100.
While You Were Sleeping The Basics: This isn't actually a real case of amnesia. Sandra Bullock plays in this romantic comedy and she saves a man from an oncoming train. Through a strange series of events, his family starts to think she's his fiance, and when he wakes up from a coma, he obviously doesn't remember her. They blame it on amnesia. (I used to have this movie on VHS and I watched it all the time. This and Forces of Nature were why Sandra Bullock was my favorite actress.)
Rating on the Realism Scale: 7. If you're one who can carry out a lie as long as a protagonist in a romantic comedy.
Harry Potter The Basics:Obliviate. The spell that can erase memories in the Harry Potter world. Gilderoy Lockhart is quite an expert with them, having used them for years to take other people's achievements and pass them off as his own. When he tries to memory charm Ron with Ron's broken wand, the spell backfires. Lockhart loses his memory - all of it. He spends the rest of his life in St. Mungo's.
Rating on the Realism Scale: -10. Don't ask why this is more realistic than the neuralizer. It just is.
Community The Basics: In the Halloween episode of season two, Dean Pelton gets food for the Halloween party at Greendale Community College from the Army surplus store. They soon find out this food had some kind of disease or, well, I don't really remember because I can't find the episode online. POINT IS, everyone starts to turn into zombies, and the disease spreads through biting. Someone has the theory that lowering the thermostat would save everyone, and Troy is the first black man to make it to the end and save everyone. But not before the government shows up looking a lot like Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in suits and sunglasses and-you guessed it-their very own neuralizer. But Troy doesn't escape the knowledge that Shirley and Change hooked up, as seen in the video above.
Rating on the Realism Scale: 10. You know the government is covering up zombie breakouts ALL THE TIME. (And don't ask why they got a positive rating when MIB didn't. This is MY blog!)
There is also anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to create new memories. It's used much less often.
50 First Dates The Basics: In this comedy, Adam Sandler meets a girl, has a wonderful day with her, falls in love. . .and the next day, she doesn't remember him. Lucy got in a car crash and relives the same day over and over again since her mind is unable to form new memories, but Adam Sandler's character is determined to be with her. He plans different ways to speak to her each day and maybe, just maybe, she has some memory of him after a while. . .
Rating on the Realism Scale: 3. Cute movie, but this is a far cry from true anterograde amnesia (trust me, I'm an expert).
Memento The Basics: A Christopher Nolan film, our protagonist Guy Pierce can't remember anything for more than a few moments. He takes polaroid pictures and takes notes to keep himself in the present. The film takes on a nonlinear structure, following the main character as he tries to keep a struggle on what's happening to him and who the people around him are. You really have no idea what's going on until the end. When Christopher Nolan wins everything.
Rating on the Realism Scale: Apparently scientists loved the portrayal of anterograde amnesia in this movie. 10.
I know I missed many. What are your favorite amnesia-stricken characters in movies, books, and TV shows?
NOTE: I wanted to add Wolverine, but I couldn't decipher the movie plot from the comic books. I didn't want to sort through the thousands of plot lines in comic books (wikipedia wasn't enough) or offend someone by using the movie plot (which I know) when the comic book one was a lot cooler or something. Long story short: Wolverine required too much research for a blog post such as this. If someone wants to explain THE BASICS to me, go right ahead.
Also see: This article at BMJ, written by a guy who does way more research than I.
An elder of the shape changers tell Sashe and Sierra of a vision that claims they can break the curse set on their family by the Protectors. How? By getting pregnant. Even though a pregnancy hasn’t been carried to full-term for eight years, and many women have died. Sierra, Sashe, and their husbands must decide whether to trust the elders and whether or not to risk their lives for the chance at breaking the curse. And when a spy reveals the vision to the Protectors, the consequences could be catastrophic.
