WeWriWa - last one for now

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Concluding a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls. Shayla stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children, and had no choice but to live up to the expectations of her position by inflicting some pain on the woman. But she put a halt to any further torture, declaring that the woman has been punished, and provided money to feed and clothe the children.

The quote mentioned at the start is from a snippet a while ago, though only a couple of pages back in the story. It began, "Tribute to the Emperor, vengeance to the Almighty."

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"And mercy to the children, for they are your future judges," murmured Kurt, as they walked back across the plaza, completing the quote Shayla had used a few minutes before.

"Amen to that," said Shayla, taken aback. "I'm impressed. That was from the original Mikhael Avantis edition."

Kurt nodded. "Most people misquote it as 'for they are your future.' It rather loses its meaning like that."

"Go and see if the car's ready," Shayla said. She didn't want to get into a religious discussion right now. "And make sure that heathen wretch of a porter has loaded all my baggage safely."

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Seems Shayla made the right impression on Kurt. And that’s it for now. I’ll be back, maybe later this year, with some scenes from The Long Dark. I’m plugging away at initial rounds of editing, and will be putting it through beta reading and detailed critique for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, I’ve also finished the first draft of a non-fiction booklet on handling writer’s block. This will be a companion to my earlier Critique Survival Guide. As this is only a short booklet, I plan to edit and publish Breaking the Block this year alongside editing The Long Dark.

WeWriWa - Shayla makes things right

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Continuing a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls. Shayla stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children, and had no choice but to live up to expectations of her position by inflicting some pain on the woman. But she put a halt to an further torture, declaring that the woman has been punished.

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Shayla called the Overseer, who had been hovering at the edge of the crowd. She whipped out her notepad and scrawled briefly on it, then pressed a handful of coins into his palm. "See to it that these children are properly fed and clothed."

He looked blankly at the handful of money.

"I have just lodged a pledge that this gift be used appropriately in the spirit in which it was given," Shayla continued, "witnessed by all people present here. The timestamp will tally with surveillance records. You will ensure that this pledge is honored." The man didn't look overly dishonest, but it never hurt to be sure.

He bowed. "It shall be done, Magister Summis."

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An Indie interview

I’ve just been interviewed by fellow author, Katherine Luck, over at How To Write Like. Please hop over to the site and say hello, and while you’re there read up about a variety of authors.

Katherine Luck is the author of the novels The Cure for Summer Boredom and In Retrospect. Her latest book, False Memoir, combines the high stakes of a gritty psychological thriller with the guilty pleasure of a sensational true crime tell-all. You can read more of her work, including the “Dead Writers and Candy” series, at the-delve.com.

I was also tickled to learn that Katherine is just a short hop away, across the water in Seattle. I hope they’re enjoying a touch of the welcome spring that we’re enjoying here in Victoria!

WeWriWa - Shayla recovers from her slip

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Continuing a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls. Shayla stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children, and had no choice but to live up to expectations of her position by inflicting some pain on the woman. But she slipped out of character when she stopped others from following her example.

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No! This can work, and remain in character too. Her mind raced as she saw a way forward. "How can you stand to see this? A woman resorting to stealing to feed her children? This is a holy town, a site of worship. You of all people should help your poor. The collection box at the temple is supposed to be there to help people like this, so they don't need to steal to live."

She surveyed the circle of faces, staring down anyone who dared meet her eyes. "This woman has sinned, she has been punished."

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WWW - and across the finish line

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Continuing a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls. Shayla stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children, and had no choice but to live up to expectations of her position by inflicting some pain on the woman.

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A few people cheered. One man stepped forward with a coin in his hand, but stopped short when Shayla whirled round. "Shame on you!" she spat. "All of you!"

It took Shayla a fraction of a second to realize her error. Wouldn't Brynwyn have approved of further punishment? Yes, but Shayla couldn't let this continue.

The crowd fell silent once more, faces showing anger and confusion.

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Oops! Seems like her character has slipped! It’s not over for Shayla yet.

“Across the finish line” in the post title refers to the fact that I’ve finally finished the first draft of The Long Dark. Just a fraction over seven months’ work but there’s still a long road ahead. I expect to be revising and editing for the rest of this year and I will soon be looking for beta readers to provide feedback on high level story flow, plot and character development etc.

WWW - a tough act for Shayla

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.

Continuing a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls, and Shayla realizes the crowd will expect her to inflict some pain on the prisoners there. She’s stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children.

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A hush descended on the square.

Struggling to quell a tremor running through her whole body, Shayla dropped the coin into the slot.

A dreadful scream rent the air. It tailed off into convulsive sobs, joined by a chorus of wails from the children.

Shayla felt the square spinning around her. She was almost overwhelmed by revulsion at the coin-operated torture she had just inflicted. She gritted her teeth, trying to twist her grimace into thin-lipped satisfaction. Immerse in the character! Brynwyn was a self-righteous prig.

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Yup. She did it  :(
The question is, what’s next?