Weekend Writing Warriors: March 26, 2023

Happy spring!  Happy last weekend in March. Welcome to a weekly post of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you'd like to check it out or give it a try, click here to go to wewriwa.blogspot.com

I've jumped back to Lily's story formerly referred to as Dai Klavven. That name is changing, but I haven't chosen the new name yet. For the time being, it will remain just 'DK'. 

So, moving forward. I'm working on finishing DK.  In this excerpt--the setup: Lily has been saved from the Bulragers by a "Sand" named Theusand. Sands can speak mind to mind. They are still traveling toward Theusand's home world, Tebrig, on the ship Lily was imprisoned on, but she's no longer in the lower level as a prisoner. She and Theusand are visiting a remote world where people are in hiding. Tonight, after dinner, they sit around in candlelight, telling stories and imbibing. 

Last week's snippet ended with: “Then the invaders scorched our land and destroyed our crops to force us into nonresistance. We prayed for the evil, the pain, the death... to stop.

“Instead, the Jophraths came, our worst nightmare, cruel beyond belief. They mined our beautiful world for every mineral they could haul. Sucking entire lakes dry, they annihilated the grasses and the flowers, the trees and the animals.

"The Bulragers rented our people to them for labor, and then they worked them to their final breath.

His hands clenched into fists when he directed a hard look at Elder Spense. “Love and forgiveness will not bring back our garden." Then he looked around the room as he continued.  "Besides, that ilk would simply come and destroy us all over again. That is, if the Bulragers don’t find our scattered survivors first.”

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and if you leave a comment, thank you so much! :-)

Weekend Writing Warriors: DK 3-19-23

Happy-almost-spring!  Welcome to a weekly post of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you'd like to check it out or give it a try, click here to go to wewriwa.blogspot.com

I've jumped back to Lily's story formerly referred to as Dai Klavven. That name is changing, but I haven't chosen the new name yet. For the time being, it will remain just 'DK'. 

So, moving forward. I'm working on finishing DK.  In this excerpt--the setup: Lily has been saved from the Bulragers by a "Sand" named Theusand. Sands can speak mind to mind. They are still traveling toward Theusand's home world, Tebrig, on the ship Lily was imprisoned on, but she's no longer in the lower level as a prisoner. She and Theusand are visiting a remote world where people are in hiding. Tonight, after dinner, they sit around in candlelight, telling stories and imbibing. The peaceful mood has been shattered.

Last week's snippet ended with: “Without warning, a thunderous voice boomed, shattering the tranquility. "Then evil came to our lands!” "

As Lily straightened herself after nearly falling off her cushion, she glanced around at others doing the same. At least she wasn’t the only one startled half to death. 

Theusand’s words filtered into her mind. “That is Narge. Every moment of his life is dominated by anger over the home he lost.”

When Narge continued, his voice was lower, but he gestured wildly with his hands, his facial expressions went from frightened to fierce.  “The Bulragers, a cruel and greedy race of slavers, came from the sky, from our beautiful blue sky. They captured a great number of our people and hauled them away, out into the stars. Forcibly, the diaspora of our people had begun again.

“They dragged children from their mothers’ arms, and beat and chained their fathers for trying to protect their families.

“Then the invaders scorched our land and destroyed our crops to force us into nonresistance. We prayed for the evil, the pain, the death... to stop.

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and if you leave a comment, thank you so much! :-)

Weekend Writing Warriors: February 5, 2023

 

Happy February. I'm a firm believer that Punxutawney Phil lies. :-)

Welcome to a weekly post of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you'd like to check it out or give it a try, click here to go to wewriwa.blogspot.com

I've jumped back to Lily's story formerly referred to as Dai Klavven. That name is changing, but I haven't chosen the new name yet. For the time being, it will remain just 'DK'. 

So, moving forward. I'm working on finishing DK. My muse is being awfully quiet though. :-(   In this excerpt--the setup: Lily has been saved from the Bulragers by a "Sand" named Theusand. Sands can speak mind to mind. They are still traveling toward Theusand's home world, Tebrig, on the ship Lily was imprisoned on, but she's no longer in the lower level as a prisoner. She and Theusand are visiting a remote world where people are in hiding. Tonight, after dinner, they sit around in candlelight, telling stories and imbibing. 

Last week's snippet ended with: “Children… We were all children then, relishing the innocence of a world unchallenged by hatred or greed. Our world was a garden, and peace and love were the crops we grew."

“It is where our beliefs were nurtured, that we can work together and survive, that we can be kind to each other without fear of fault or weakness, that we can forgive the trespasses by others on our goods and our hearts, and most of all, that we can love without end.

“These beliefs all live in my heart as much as they live in my mind.” His eyes came back into focus as he looked again at the children sitting around him.  “They must live inside of you, each of you, and you must carry them with you all of your days, wherever your garden may be.”

Lily couldn’t have turned away if she’d wanted to. It was like a child’s story, for no real world could be so beautiful, so peaceful, so full of wonders, or could it?

“It was.” Soft as a whisper, Theusand’s words filtered into her mind, and drifted like a lullaby with the images of what it must have been.

Lily sat in silence, basking in the spell he’d cast.

WIthout warning, a thunderous voice boomed, shattering the tranquility. "Then evil came to our lands!” 

Someone has changed direction of this tale... That's the snippet. Thank you so much for visiting. This is a WIP so comments are especially appreciated. :-)

WeWriWa: DK January 28, 2023

 

Welcome to a weekly post of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you'd like to check it out or give it a try, click here to go to wewriwa.blogspot.com

I've jumped back to Lily's story formerly referred to as Dai Klavven. That name is changing, but I haven't chosen the new name yet. For the time being, it will remain just 'DK'. 

So, moving forward. I'm working on finishing DK. My muse is being awfully quiet though. :-(   In this excerpt--the setup: Lily has been saved from the Bulragers by a "Sand" named Theusand. Sands can speak mind to mind. They are still traveling toward Theusand's home world, Tebrig, on the ship Lily was imprisoned on, but she's no longer in the lower level as a prisoner. She and Theusand are visiting a remote world where people are in hiding. Tonight, after dinner, they sit around in candlelight, telling stories and imbibing. 

Last week's snippet ended with: "“Our people...” he looked around at the children before continuing,” Your people, came from the stars spread out as the night sky above. They answered the call to a garden where they would be safe, welcome, and living amongst neighbors they would not fear.

“And so, they came: The builders, the cooks, the people who worked the land, singers and storytellers, poets and dreamers, those who would lead--and those who would follow." He paused, probably for effect, then added, "And it was good."

“Their journeys were hard but they were accomplished with glad determination. Our people were coming home, and all of its comforts waited for them."

“Water babbled in streams, water so sweet one could barely drink his fill. Aromatic clovers grew on vast plains where wild creatures grazed without fear of man. Children made chains of the flowers that dotted the hills and valleys.”

He reached into a cloth sack and pulled out necklaces made from the thin, silvery leaves she’d seen outside. Children eagerly grabbed for them as he handed them out. Every child thanked him, save for the babies too young to talk.

A little bit more if you're interested.

 When everyone was settled again, Spense looked at something distant, something Lily couldn’t see. She suspected none of them saw it because it was somewhere in his memories. His eyes misted over. “Children… We were all children then, relishing the innocence of a world unchallenged by hatred or greed. Our world was a garden, and peace and love were the crops we grew."

That's the snippet. Thank you so much for visiting. This is a WIP so comments are especially appreciated. :-)

WeWriWa DK 01-21-23

 

Welcome to a weekly post of Weekend Writing Warriors. If you'd like to check it out or give it a try, click here to go to wewriwa.blogspot.com

Sorry I've been absent. I've been grappling with a lot. But, I'm back--and plan on trying hard to remain that way.

Emmily Unbound is back with the editor for its second pass.

I've jumped back to Lily's story formerly referred to as Dai Klavven. That name is changing, but I haven't chosen the new name yet. For the time being, it will remain just 'DK'. I was researching names for the book earlier today, and discovered that no one else has a book with that title, but since Klavven is a made-up word, the dictionary suggested this: Klavern. 

Holy hell. Nope! That is a name for a local unit of the Klan.  

So, moving forward. I'm working on finishing DK. My muse is being awfully quiet though. :-(   In this excerpt--the setup: Lily has been saved from the Bulragers by a "Sand" named Theusand. Sands can speak mind to mind. They are still traveling toward Theusand's home world, Tebrig, on the ship Lily was imprisoned on, but she's no longer in the lower level as a prisoner. She and Theusand are visiting a remote world where people are in hiding. Tonight, after dinner, they sit around in candlelight, telling stories and imbibing. 

Others wandered into the large room, hauling their own cushions and small rugs. Candles flickered on shelves carved into the rock, their amber light casting dancing shadows on dark walls and expectant faces. Children snuggled into parent’s laps, their wide eyes searching the group.  From somewhere in the cave system, an animal bleated. 

Elder Spense cleared his throat and began. “Once, our people were free. We roamed our world, near and far, until the dark day when we fell under the shadows of large ships sailing our skies. That is a tale of our now. For the children, first I will tell of our past.

 “Our people...” he looked around at the children before continuing,” Your people, came from the stars spread out as the night sky above. They answered the call to a garden where they would be safe, welcome, and living amongst neighbors they would not fear.

That bit about answering a call to a garden? Sigh... This manuscript was written long before I ever saw a minute of The Expanse series... Just saying. :-) 

That's the snippet. Thank you so much for visiting. This is a WIP so comments are especially appreciated. :-)

 

Weekend Writing Warriors July 7th, 2019

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

Sorry for my absence for so long. How are you all doing? Any fun vacations going on? New books launched?

I went down the rabbit hole with a story that, for thirty-nine days, took over my life. The book is finished. It's resting  now after a first edit pass. I'll be back to it in a month or so with fresh eyes. But for today, I'm back to Dhor'en Sands.

Weekend Writing Warriors is where we share snips and bits of amazing tales by talented authors and writers. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished (we like it all) on their own blog to go live by 9:00 AM each Sunday. Then we visit each other and read and comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

Snippet Sunday group from facebook, not us, but many of our participants do both, is HERE

This week's snippet is, perhaps, exibition A of my current  writing craziness. It's the beginning of my scifi WIP, Dhor'en Sands. If it looks familiar, it's because I've posted a lot of this story already, BUT...I'm doing a big POV change-up. I'm going from third person past, to first person present.

I don't know if it will work. I just know that I feel the story when I'm writing first person, and when I switch back to third, it feels too distant.

Please feel free to be brutally honest about the snippet. I'm kind of feeling around in the dark right now.

Note* Creative punctuation used at times to stay within 8 to 10 sentences max. 

 

A mixture of smoke and dust blow my way, carrying the smell of civilization burning to the ground.  Staying as low as I can, I twist around to look between broken bricks and shattered wood.  Nothing…  But they'll come. There's no changing that. 

I swallow down sobs, studying the photo in my hands. Gracie’s freckled nose is a miniature of mine, but Annie’s crooked smile is a mirror of her dad’s. He sits between them, pulling our daughters close.  Their hero. Mine, too.

 

I'm truly grateful for any comment or critique you share. Thanks for visiting!

You Should Have Seen Earth: 8sunday

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where we share snips and bits of amazing tales by talented authors and writers. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished (we like it all) on their own blog to go live by 9:00 AM each Sunday. Then we visit each other and read and comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

 

Snippet Sunday group from facebook, not us but many of our participants do both, is HERE

This week's snippet is from my scifi WIP, Dhor'en Sands. Lily, (Abducted from Earth) the MC, is gathered with a group of rebels around a fire and they're telling tales--their respective histories, mostly. She's just been musing about how different Theusand is here among these people.

Last week ended with: She pictured her girls, and Ben, then managed to whisper, “Ben was my husband, my soulmate.”

We pick up from there. Note* Creative punctuation used at times to stay within 8 to 10 sentences max. 

 

She looked up at the roof of the cave, but she didn’t see limestone. Instead, she saw blue, Pennsylvania skies, and beneath them, the gently rolling Allegheny mountains.  Random memories lit up her mind’s eye; the rivers, the forests, frost-edged scarlet leaves on an October morning, and wild geraniums dancing in a spring breeze.  

“You should see Earth. It is a beautiful world.” 
At least it had been beautiful, and never so much as now, though, living in her memories. She held her breath, her lips quivering while she struggled to keep her composure.

I'm truly grateful for any comment or critique you share. Thanks for visiting!

Lily's Tale: Weekend Writing Warriors

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where we share snips and bits of amazing tales by talented authors and writers. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished (we like it all) on their own blog to go live by 9:00 AM each Sunday. Then we visit each other and read and comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

 

Snippet Sunday group from facebook, not us but many of our participants do both, is HERE

This week's snippet is from my scifi WIP, Dhor'en Sands. Lily, (Abducted from Earth) the MC, is gathered with a group of rebels around a fire and they're telling tales--their respective histories, mostly. She's just been musing about how different Theusand is here among these people.

Last week ended with: That coincided with Leese asking, “Lily, won’t you tell us a story?” .

We pick up from there. Note* Creative punctuation used at times to stay within 8 to 10 sentences max. 

 

A storm of emotions brewed inside of her. What good would it do to speak of Ben and the girls? The barrage of tears would come, and when it did, it would be unstoppable. But not speaking of them felt like a denial of the best part of her entire existence.

 “My family was the reason I got up in the morning. My babies... they were mine to love, oh God, mine to protect.” Leaning forward, she brought her hands up to her face and swiped at unleashed tears. Sobs came, choking wails of grief only a bereft parent knows. Closing her eyes, she held her breath, willing herself to calm. She pictured her girls, and Ben, then managed to whisper, “Ben was my husband, my soulmate.”

. 

Well that's probably not Theusand's favorite tale this evening...
I'm truly grateful for any comment or critique you share. Thanks for visiting!

Lily, Tell Us a Story: wewriwa

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where we share snips and bits of amazing tales by talented authors and writers. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished (we like it all) on their own blog to go live by 9:00 AM each Sunday. Then we visit each other and read and comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

 

Snippet Sunday group from facebook, not us but many of our participants do both, is HERE

This week's snippet is from my scifi WIP, Dhor'en Sands. Lily, (Abducted from Earth) the MC, is gathered with a group of rebels around a fire and they're telling tales--their respective histories, mostly. She's just been musing about how different Theusand is here among these people.

Last week ended with: Elder Spense jerked her out of her thoughts when he carried a flask her way..

We pick up from there. Note* Creative punctuation used at times to stay within 8 to 10 sentences max. 

 

Theusand reached for it and handed it to her. “They have accepted you.”

She drank the heavily flavored liquid, unable to identify it. It burned on the way down, not a spice burn, more like the way whiskey takes a person’s breath away, leaving no doubt what kind of drink it was.

Theusand drank after her and then the flask went around. As their tales wove their history, the flask softened the hard edges of the worst tales, and coaxed laughter at the happy ones. Each time it emptied, Elder Spense replaced it.

She’d lost track of how many times she’d tipped it up to her lips, but she'd reached a feeling of boldness.That coincided with Leese asking, “Lily, won’t you tell us a story?”

. 

That's it for this week. I'm truly grateful for any comment or critique you share. Thanks for visiting!