Sample Pages Updated

Finally I've got the subdomains on my website working correctly so you won't be taken to my business website when you just want to read samples. I'll keep working on it, and developing it, but for now you can see the sample pages without being innundated by stuff you don't want.

Have fun!

Short Story: Fate

I make sure I write at least 2000 words per day. Goal accomplished. :)

I finished a short story this morning, just over 2000 words. I thought I'd call it Changeling, but Changeling has another connotation in this world so I settled for calling it Fate.

When the ocean is still, smooth like glass, the islanders call it a bad omen. Those who live under the water around the island call it the doors of fate, and say that the one who breaks that stillness will find themselves in a different life than they had intended.

I've never been able to write about the Mer who live in the Demons Bay because I don't know enough about them. I don't know their culture, their traditions, their superstitions.

So this is a start. I never thought I'd be able to write about the Ameso either, and look where that ended up! :)

An odd dream

Had the weirdest dream last night. It was a complete storyline (most of mine are) but instead of being science fiction or fantasy it was an 18th century murder mystery. I woke up before the end, but I've never dreamed a mystery or 18th century before.

So I wrote this, which was the piece just before I woke up. There were five women in this scene, each of whom had been given an oddly embroidered handkerchief just before our friend died. It is of course fictionalized...

* * * * *

I spread out the handkerchiefs side by side. The garish colors, swirling patterns that would be meaningless to any of us. Only the sane, I reminded myself, and nearly drew back from my purpose.

"Maritha's eyes weren't normal." I pointed out the obvious as I laid the fourth kerchief beside the others. "She could look in both directions at once, or cross her eyes..."

I picked up one, the colors in one corner and the patterns in the other. This was more coherent, a simple geometric. "Look at it with your eyes crossed. So that the colors and patterns overlap. I think this one was an experiment, to see if she could do it."

The black dot in the upper corner of each piece seemed to be the key. When my eyes crossed sufficiently to put those two dots together, the pattern leaped out at me. The greens and browns over lapped the geometric, creating a pattern familiar to us all--a view of the house, from the front gardens.

Yes. Over exclamations of surprise as they handed the kerchief around, I picked up the next.

This one had no colors, and it had been the one she gave to me. The two dots were slightly off-center and I had to turn my head to get them to match. My dear Sherise, I sincerely hope that you will understand... While the others muttered and whispered over the first, I tucked that one into my sleeve to look at later. Tears touched my eyes--it was almost as if she spoke to me again.

Courier Progress

I reached 50,000 words on Courier yesterday, and all week I've been high as a kite. Flying. Just high on life, so nothing to worry about (unless you're an innocent bystander).

Courier is starting to come together, I can see the shape of it. I figure the first draft will be done by the end of January.

Courier is about Koathe (who is not the courier), a prince who was kidnapped when he was just a few years old. Through an interesting set of circumstances (maybe someday I'll write about that) he ended up being raised by an abusive Clan family.

Then he was found. So now he's a prince, dealing with the results of abuse and terrifying memories in a culture that doesn't allow the outward expression of emotion.

Changes, Maybe

I've been thinking (for about the last forty seconds) about making this page into a real blog, focused on readers rather than writers.

Hm, hm hm hm (Dragnet theme)

So in essence this one would be me-as-a-writer rather than me-talking-about-writing.

But I'll post on Fridays rather than Mondays. Or maybe Wednesdays.

I'll post whenever I feel like it, so why bother with a schedule?

Losing One

I was working on the triage edit for Daughter of Stone the other day, and I realized that it needs more work than I can put into it right now.

It's going to be shelved, at least for the near term. Sad, but I have so many other projects I can work on. I'll get back to it eventually, because I really like the story, but the original is probably twenty years old (the newer version is closer to ten) and I still don't even have the basic storyline the way I want it. Every time I go back to it I'm making major changes, which take time and effort that I could be putting into other things. Worse, every time I go back to it I realize just how bad the writing is. It will have to be completely re-written.

Time to put it aside for a while.

I feel like I'm losing something, even though I'll keep the story. I don't like giving up.

The Monster at the Heart of the Castle

I know the title is long, it's just the name of the original fairy-tale. I'll need to find a better one, but that will come to me eventually. If you have suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.

The first draft is finished and the triage edit has begun.

Oh, and I'm taking down UnderWorld. There's no point in having it up here when I'm not even comfortable enough with it to post the first three pages.

Lauren