There are different ways that people describe their role as a writer. Some say they are the parent to their “book baby” (which I’ve never been a fan of because it’s weird), that they’re a channel for the muse, or a benevolent God-type figure making all the characters move like chess pieces on a board. […]
Reminders About What You Can Control In Writing Vs. What You Can’t
Terrific advice for new and old hand writers!
PHOTO PROMPT © Peter Abbey
We were in line for the ferry, stamping feet against the cold and blowing on frozen digits. A glance at my watch showed we were late to depart. I turned to Chuck to complain. A roar rose up from the waves. At first, I thought it was the engine of the ferry kicking to life at last. But no, the roar grew in volume and the gentle waves began to froth. I leaned closer as a spike of something leathery broke the surface. “Ah, darling…?”
“Run!”
We took off down the pier, knowing we had to outrun our fellow passengers.
This is a Friday Fictioneers Prompt
You can read more FF prompt responses here
Word count: 100
© Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
PHOTO PROMPT © Susan Rouchard
It’s the first step. A little office just for me in the basement where I will write of my adventures in the underworld. And it will sound epic and heroic and full of danger, excitement and romance.
It wasn’t like that at all.
Incredibly boring in fact.
But my readers, oh my readers will never know. They will share in my sorrow and pain and heartbreak and the discovery of a new dream.
Not sitting on cold ground waiting for my guide to return, drinking stale underworld soda and resting my blistered feet.
No one would want the true story.
This is a Friday Fictioneers Prompt
You can read more FF prompt responses here
Word count: 100
© Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
About the Book:
If he is the devil, she is the light that makes him betray the darkness.
Inquisitive, focused, and gorgeous, Forrest Navarro is a hotshot doctor who can cure just about anything—except his attraction to an irresistible woman. Though she tempts him like an unforgiving addiction, she is the remedy he has been waiting for and the reason he will destroy the world to keep her safe.
Imaginative, down-to-earth, and striking, Kiera Ford is a fashion photographer grappling with adversity. Things go from bleak to terrifying when she is abducted and auctioned to the highest bidder. But hope sparks when she sees a familiar face in the crowd . . .
Her shooting star.
Her unforgettable one night stand.
Her savior.
As chaos erupts around them, Kiera clings to the fragile threads of life while Forrest is trapped between a personal vendetta and saving the woman he loves.
My Thoughts:
Another terrific instalment. This time it is Forrest and Kiera’s romance under the spotlight. Starting as a one night stand, these two run into each other again and it is all burn burn burn. Another sexy romance from Nadia Han and the fourth book in this series. There is serious danger in this one when Kiera is kidnapped by traffickers. Fortunately Forrest is there to rescue her. But is he the reason she is in danger? His past is dark and his personality even darker as he hunts down the men who have hurt his family. Kiera is distracted and worried by her mom’s illness. But love finds a way and in this case the heat between Kiera and Forrest takes them both by surprise. They have fight for each other against the odds. A fabulous new romance in this series. Read it now.
PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
I’ve haunted this spot since I died. When I last took breath, it was a well trodden path. I can’t tell you how long it has been, nor can I tell you how I died… One moment I was walking, the next I pushed up off the ground and my body stayed where it was. I don’t know why I haven’t moved on. I’ve spoken to others… There are so many of us, all trapped within a mile of where we died. There’s overlap obviously. So many. I wish for what comes next. For it must be better than this.
This is a Friday Fictioneers Prompt
You can read more FF prompt response here
Word count: 100
© Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast
The concoction – the “soup” – had been consumed.
Nerves jittered her limbs in waves of gooseflesh and shivers. Her knee bounced as if detached from the rest of her. Her gaze darted to the timepiece. Large wooden hands ticked slow heartbeats.
And then…
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
She leapt to her feet. She had minutes… maybe less. They were big men.
With her bag of tools in hand she ran through the eating room to the back wall. Panel shifted, she broke the lock and lifted the Mind Jewel.
A groan sent her scampering for the window, her bounty at last secured.
This is a Friday Fictioneers Prompt
You can read more FF prompt responses here
Word count: 100
© Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
About the Book:
Arthur Crazy is drunk and seeing ghosts.
This is not a metaphor. The dead are walking and talking, and it doesn’t matter that Arthur doesn’t believe in them. They believe in him.
Too drunk to recall how he stumbled upon his nascent power, Arthur is burdened with newfound responsibility: he’s the only one who can hear the unfinished business of every dead guy in York, and he’s the only one who can help.
As forgotten legends and lost demons stir all over the cobbled streets and snickelways, Arthur finds himself at the centre of an unfolding mystery—a light in the desert, a fart at a funeral—and he is about to discover that an unfortunate surname isn’t the only thing that makes him stand out.
Arthur just wants to sober up, have a kebab, and go home, but his conscience is knocking loud and clear, demanding he open the damn door. He may not be the hero the dead need, but he’s the one they’re stuck with. Besides, one of those ghosts seems kind of cute.
My thoughts:
This was such fun. A riot! A hoot! Everything I wanted from a ghost story set in York. This book has reinvigorated my love of a good (humour-filled, yet also scary) ghost story.
Poor Poor Arthur. What a night he has had. Let alone a week. Arthur is not the first person I would think of when I think of a “main character”. He is more what you would call an NPC or a side scene character. A walk on and walk off the stage character. The drunk at the end of the bar mumbling sadly about his life while all the action takes place for another. And I LOVE that A.B. Finlayson has made him the main character of this story.
Arthur Crazy. The side character made hero. And hero he becomes. This is a fabulous tale. A scary tale. A unique ghost story and I want so much more. And the cats… oh so many cats.
Arthur, a drunk, discovers he can see ghosts. The problem? They can talk back. Arthur thinks he is going crazy. Then ghosts start hunting him. He has to help the friendly ghosts while avoiding the ghosts that want to kill him. Simple right? Poor Arthur just wants to go home and go to bed. (And maybe have a few more drinks).
Set in York – there is a fabulous sense of real history to the ghosts, the buildings and the players. The setting feels so real and gritty and shadow-filled and grey. You could hear it, seen it and unfortunately, smell it. (There so much vomit.) Poor Arthur… I would feel the same way about all the running!
The Voice A.B. Finlayson has here in this story is brilliant. Bring on the next story by this author. A real joy to read.
PHOTO PROMPT © Susan Rouchard
She waved frantically from the window. No one noticed. Not a single eye found her wild stare. Her wings fluttered in short abrupt movements exposing her agitation. The locked door behind her rattled loudly. Her gaze sprang to the wood. It held firm. Her breath jerked out of her. She flew to the ceiling and watched the door carefully.
The lock clicked. The creak as it opened caused her hearts to race.
“Jenia?”
She zoomed down and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You found me.”
“Let’s go.” He paused at the door, listening intently, before tugging her to freedom.
This is a Friday Fictioneers Prompt
You can read more FF prompt responses here
Word Count: 100
© Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. All Rights to the works and publications on this blog are owned and copyrighted by Solothefirst & Laurie Bell. The Owner of this site reserves all permissions for access and use of all documents on this site. NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
Oh gosh, I woke up this morning with notification of a fabulous review for Blood Fever. Read the full review via the link below. This really made my day today!
https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/blood-fever
About the Book:
Atop a seaside bluff, an ancient lighthouse named the Amethyst Lantern sweeps its violet light across the sea and around the bayside town of Glimmerbight. The citizens do not remember a time in which the Lantern was built. But tales abound of the Inn in its shadow. Long ago, the Inn played host to a wonderous twilight era of a time long passed before the sun’s harsh rays forced humanity to adapt to Night Living. Legend tells that the shuttered Inn still houses a mystic hermit who powers the Lantern, and who may have founded the town itself.
Gentian “Gen” Lightworth and her brother Jas are two teens who live at the edge of the woods beyond which the Inn and the Amethyst Lantern still stand. After their cousin, Mira Celestus, breaks the societal age code by attending the annual Glowworm Ball via magic, something awakens in the Inn. Two giant Luna moths carry an invitation from the Inn addressed to Gen alone, portending that something stirs at the base of the Amethyst Lantern after all. Gen and her friends seek to uncover the truth of the Inn and find that something strange is happening in all the land, that could threaten the pleasant town of Glimmerbight and force Night Living into a more sinister era of darkness, or even worse, to bake in the brilliance of a savage sun.
My thoughts:
I’ve heard it described as lunar punk and I love this description as this novel is set in a world where night-living is the only kind of life now that it is far too deadly and dangerous to walk in sunlight. The characters all sleep during the day and emerge once the sun’s deadly rays no longer touch their home. The setting of this glorious story means the creatures, people, flora and fauna, homes and town of Glimmerbight are explored in joyous detail with descriptions that are unique, utterly creative and completely different to any life we might be familiar with. This allows author J. Dianne Dotson to really explore the unusual, magical and mysterious lifeforms that flourish at night. The worldbuilding is fantastic. I was sucked into the world so quickly. From the colors to the creatures, to the inhabitants of Glimmerbight… everything is just so different and that is fascinating.
Tools, homes, food … everything used by the characters is either alive or based in renewable technologies and the futuristic sci-fi nature of the technologies is a joy to be immersed in.
Gentian “Gen” Lightworth is offered a new role in her world and with it comes danger and mystery. Along with her friends, Gen must find out what is causing people to go missing and what is causing the planet around her to fall apart. There is a focus on how to work within a team, and how to lead when you don’t think you are capable or qualified to do so (Imposter Syndrome). It is also a story about natural disasters and in what the life that survives the classic dystopian world destruction makes of its future. (If you survive the world ending disaster, how do you rebuild and more importantly, what do you choose to rebuild and how does that focus shift depending on who survived? And then, generations later, how different are we from what we once were?)
This is a Middle Grade story that is perfect for reading to younger children or listening to older children read on their own. It is a clever story that rips along at a rapid pace with several twists I didn’t see coming. I would recommend this one to everyone. It’s a clever, gripping, entertaining story that leaves the reader with questions long after they turn the last page. A unique magical story.
Rambles, writing and amusing musings 