Sky is pushed to her breaking point and briefly does. Fortunately her friends and new family are there for her.
This was a fun fish-out-of-water tale to get to know a secondary character from “Obligations of Rank” better. Many of my short stories are like that. I’ll reread part of a book, recall something, or have someone ask “what ever happened to…?” and off I go.
Speaking of, onto my next project!
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Continue reading “Culture Shock, (pt4;end)”The changes and things poor Sky has never seen in her backwater life in central Kentucky continues to come crashing down around her.
I wonder: are they assholes because they are diplomats or because they’re Cuban nationals? Both?
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Continue reading “Culture Shock, (pt3)”Wherein we see some of the existential angst (and Skylar would not understand that at all) which she is experiencing. I moved around a lot as a kid but it never became “easy,” just a routine. For someone like her, IIRC she’s nineteen, to find out your boyfriend is not exactly human, and a prince, and lives in one of the three Great Powers on earth… that could be overwhelming.
I thought about writing the argument she and Roland might have had when she proposed getting a job like she had before. Given how defensive he is over her, I’d imagine once he satisfied himself with her physical safety, he’d probably roll with it. Still, this is supposed to be a short story, so I cut it.
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Continue reading “Culture Shock, (pt2)”I know, I know: another girl. At least this one is human.
We meet Skylar – and Roland – in Part Two of “Obligations of Rank.” They’d been dating for about a month. Roland’s cousin Robert sort of gives them a push to get on with it. They do.
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Continue reading “Culture Shock, (pt.1)”I need at least one or two short stories to fill out a second collection for publication. In “Regent,” which had the working title of “Colour” as I explored it here on my blog, there was a moment when demi-human princess Aurelia Hartmann killed twenty-seven men, pirates. She started with her rifle, then pistol, then knife, then teeth and hands. She seemed to revel in it.
Later in that story, talking with her grandparents at their place, we learn she has done this at least once before, and is somewhat uncomfortable if not embarrassed about that old memory. I wondered, when was the first (only? I don’t know) time this happened? How old was she? What were the circumstances?
And thus this short story was born.
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Continue reading “Berserker (pt1)”There are going to be A LOT of people packed into this story. I’m off DayJob tomorrow but my priority shall be getting the “Regent” MS to my copyeditor and a series of descriptions of what I think might work on a cover to my designer. Once all that is finished, I’ll turn back to what’s happening with this poor kid.
The sequences are shorter as this is supposed to be a short story, right?
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Continue reading “Still no Title”With “Regent” shortly off to my copyeditor and cover designer, I have two more projects. First, the completion of “New Russia,” what I abandoned about 13k words in back in spring. Second it to put together at least two more short stories for a second collection. To the latter end… Monday at 0630, letting the dogs out, I saw about the first half of what’s below. The second half came after six hours of nothing in my head. And, per usual, I’m about 500 words ahead as I don’t know how the politics of this will shake out.
So here we have a sick little boy. The trick for me, the writer, is that there are three people in this story, the Doctors Hartmann, and Dorina of tribe Tohsaka, who are vastly smarter than I am. It is tricky to write when you have people like that looking over your shoulder. And I don’t even have a working title yet.
And with open tabs about Batten Disease and the EAST reactor in China, my Feeb file likely was just reactivated
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Continue reading “New Short Story in the works”Got so into doing political research as to where I think this story is going that is was suddenly dark outside and I had done nothing for dinner (we finished the turkey leftovers the day before). Off today, thanks be to God, so here’s some of what I’ve got down so far.
I’m leaning away from writing all of Aurie’s first speech as Regent. It will look like a Wall of Text and sound like exposition. Thing is, I do not want to “head-hop” to Colour’s perspective for just one section. I’m still thinking of a way around this
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Continue reading “A Bathtub Full of Colour”I am very pleased to announce that the second book of the American Imperium trilogy is now available: Empress’ Crusade. I think Faustina’s scars from the Princess’ Crusade healed up well. The final of this trilogy should be out in less than a month. Cheers!
machciv 