Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet

It’s another Saturday and a fresh batch of Sci-Fi Fantasy Snippets has just been pulled from the oven.  You can almost smell the creativity.  I’ve decided to leave GreenGrass on the shelf this time around and share a snippet from a current WIP.  The story revolves around family, legends, and some lesser known folklore.  I hope you enjoy my contribution this week.  Be sure to check out all of the great authors who post on Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday and leave a comment along the way.  They’re always appreciated.  Have a good weekend.   

          “We gettin’ close, Ray, so stay on your tip tops.”

          The flat bottomed boat glided passed a bramble of broken branches massed atop patches of floating vegetation.  All three men aboard the tiny vessel focused on the glowing green eyes that stared back at them from underneath the tangled trees.

          “I think I’d like my chances wit’ dat ol’ boy than what we’re after tonight,” Jimmy quipped as he kept the reptiles eyes reflecting in his flashlight’s beam until they passed.  He nervously rubbed a carved gris gris held by a rope around his neck and called over his shoulder.

          “Hope you brought a good luck charm of your own, Cap’n.  Me and Ray ain’t never been on no witch hunt ‘fore.”

          Securing a weathered journal into his shoulder satchel, the grizzled man hunched in the rear of the boat stared up into the starless blackened sky.

          “It’s a cauchemar to be exact, my friends.  A dead witch.” 

SciFi Fantasy Saturday Snippet

Hi all!  In this latest snippet from Welcome To GreenGrass, we take a minute to get a

closer look at Talyn, one of Traveller’s closest friends in the city of GreenGrass.  Talyn,

red skinned and fanged, looking much more the part of devil than devout, wears his

religion on his sleeve and finds his current situation a recurring test of his faith.  One of

the few concessions Talyn allows himself is a new found appreciation of art, specifically

creating it, but even there his new world finds a way of filtering in. Thanks for reading

and please be sure to check out all the great writers who share their work here on SciFi

Fantasy Saturday.  You’ll be glad you did. 

          Talyn stabbed the brush into a mix of green and yellow paint, sweeping the

material in broad and careless passes.  Follow the light and the light shall show me

the way.  Foregoing cleaning the bristles, he dunked the already bulging mound of paint

into the jar of red, pushing the handle harder than he intended.  All of life’s strength has

been placed within, we need only look.  By the time he added the last globs of blue,

Talyn’s breathing was heavy and sweat formed on his brow.  Look to the stars to find your    
            way home.  Running his fingers through his course black hair, Talyn hung his head low.  

          “But what happens when someone changes your stars?”

          Using the blunt end of the brush, Talyn carved a crude stick figure into the mass

of colors smeared over the canvass and watched as the paints dripped over his creation.

          “You and I, my washed over friend are both strangers in a world we didn’t ask to

be in."

Hazard Yet Forward Charity Anthology

Recently, I had the privilege of contributing a short story, Tangled Lines, to the Hazard Yet Forward charity anthology, which is currently being spotlighted in Jason Jack Miller's Sound Check at Inveterate Media Junkies (IMJ) today.  Please check it out at http://inveteratemediajunkies.com and be sure to check out the Hazard Yet Forward anthology.  It's a great book filled with fantastic authors for an even greater cause.  Here's the amazon link to purchase the book - http://www.amazon.com/Hazard-Yet-Forward-ebook/dp/B008TXBN8I 

The folks at IMJ should get a huge pat on the back for contributing space on their site to promote this and the authors who helped to put it all together for this promotion.

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet #4

         Hi all!  This snippet picks up after Traveller returns home and we're given a first look at some of Traveller's makeshift family in the strange world of GreenGrass.  Hopefully you'll find the characters as colorful and fun as I did writing them.  Make sure you check out and comment on all of the great snippets here on Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday from a group of wonderful writers! 

 

          The ground shook under Traveller’s feet as Bonz dropped the stones in each hand to change positions, reminding Traveller that he was on a peace keeping mission. 

          “OK, big guy, just when you go back in the house, don’t hassle Sil about food.  We’ll order some pizzas from the human district.  We haven’t had any of those in a couple cycles.”

          “Pizza.  One of the few things the soft skins have actually brought to this red mud hole that account for anything.”

          “I accept that compliment on behalf of all soft skins.  Where’s Talyn?”

          “Where else?  Up in his cubicle, praying to his false prophets.”

          “I’m going to go check on him.  He hasn’t been acting like himself since our last gig when we ran into that goon in enchanter’s village.  He keeps saying that he’s losing himself.”

          “A pacifist has no place in battle, friend Traveller.”

          “Yeah, well, Talyn just needs a little space.  Don’t we all?”

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #18

Used his royalty checks to sculpt a paper mache bust of himself and sold it for twice the value.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #17

He has his own font named after him and he doesn't use it.

Giant multi-author anthology on sale Tuesday, August 7 to benefit cancer fighter.

My story "Tangled Lines" is part of the charity anthology, Hazard Yet Forward. I'm glad to be asked to be part of such an elite group for a great cause. And I am in excellent company.

Matt Duvall, Natalie Duvall, and Deanna Lepsch compiled the nearly 700 page, multi-genre eBook with stories from seventy-six writers who are connected to the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction program. 

All proceeds from this project will benefit Donna Munro, a 2004 graduate of the program.  Munro, a teacher living in St. Louis, Missouri, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  An active member of the SHU WPF alumni committee, Munro helps organize the school’s annual writing conference, the In Your Write Mind Workshop.

To aid Munro and her family, faculty members, alumni, students and friends of the Writing Popular Fiction program quickly responded to compile this massive anthology.  The book features flash fiction, short stories and even a full-length novella.  In total, there are 75 works from various genres, which makes this anthology one that features something for everyone. Genres represented in the book range from horror to romance to mystery – and everything in between. 

Some of the notable writers in the anthology are:

World Fantasy Award winner Nalo Hopkinson

Bram Stoker winner Michael A. Arnzen

Bram Stoker winner Michael Knost

Bram Stoker nominee Lawrence C. Connolly

ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults winner Jessica Warman

Rhysling nominees John Edward Lawson and K. Ceres Wright

Rita finalist Dana Marton

Spur winner Meg Mims

Asimov’s Readers’ Award winner Timons Esaias

WV Arts and Humanities literary fellowships winner Geoffrey Cameron Fuller.

Hazard Yet Forward co-compiler Matt Duvall says, "It’s an unprecedented collection of stories from every genre imaginable." 

This large volume is available for purchase on Kindle through Amazon starting August 7 for just $9.99.

More information about the anthology can be found at http://hazardyetforward.wordpress.com. 

To learn about the unique and exciting Writing Popular Fiction program, please visit http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/fiction.

Contact:  Natalie Duvall - hazardyetforwardanthology@gmail.com

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet #3

         Hi again, all.  The bustle of summer keeps everyone extra busy but I wanted to get back into the mix and submit another snippet from the GreenGrass universe.  I appreciate all the comments from the previous entries and look forward to participating in this week’s fun.  Just for the sake of catching up, the past entries from my novel Welcome to GreenGrass had John Traveller, misplaced police officer from Earth, trapped in the alien city of GreenGrass and saving a newbie from a couple of street predators before explaining the new rules the city lives by.  Thanks for reading and make sure you check out all the other great Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday contributors!  

          As he walked back towards the market district, Traveller wondered how many times had he done this?  How many inserts had he escorted from their impromptu births into GreenGrass to whatever new section of this town they’d eventually call home?

          He crossed through the Technologist quarter with their shiny skyscrapers scaling up to the top of the dome, interlaced with corridors and walkways between the glass and steel behemoths, like one huge computer component entwined with wire and cable.  Hover crafts and humanoids harnessing personal propulsion systems floated down the street as if putting their feet to the ground would be an affront to them.  Traveller preferred moving around the city on his own power.  While everyone else opted for cyber enhancements and magical trinkets to help them get by, he was determined to stay the same as when he first portalled through.  If he allowed himself to become too immersed in the culture, he feared getting lost in this new life.

          He passed the twin offices of Kolan and Strakus.  The lights were dim in the upper floors of one of the towers but the other bustled with activity and burned bright, which seemed odd at this time of the setting.  Traveller felt the rhythic hum of generators and processors that kept this section of GreenGrass running.  Exiting the tech sector, he made his way back into the market, passed where he rescured Jerry earlier, and finally stopped in front of a brick and wooden two story structure.  Home.

Hanging with Raw Dog Screaming Press

     I attended the In Your Write Mind Writing Conference recently at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA and got to hang out with Jennifer Barnes and John Lawson from Raw Dog Screaming Press.  A nicer couple you'll never meet.  It was a great weekend and I enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones in the process.  The only down side was that John called me "shorty" the whole time.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #16

He writes his own book forwards.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #15

His dialogue gives advice on dialogue.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #13

Even his snail mail is delivered instantly.

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet #2

          Hi, all!  This is my second snippet from the same series stemming from my novel  Welcome To GreenGrass.  Last week, I intro’d the main character, John Traveller, who was in the process of saving a newbie who had just been portalled into the strange new city of GreenGrass via a back alley.  In this week’s snippet, Traveller is giving Jerry, the man from the alley, an impromptu break down of the dynamics of his new home as he escorts him to the human quarter of the city.  Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!  This is a great site and I’m having as much fun reading all the other great snippets as I am submitting my own.  Be sure to check them all out.   

          “There’s a power struggle here between the enchanters and the technologists but Diandelia’s still the main man.  He’s an enchanter that’s said to have been here since the beginning but recently the technologists are making a power play to take control and they keep staking claim to more and more of what used to be run by the magic folk.  See, a lot of the people that wind up here from their home worlds come with some special abilities from whatever race they are, be it magic or some type of extra gift.  Humans, well, most see us as bottom rung because we don’t have anything special to contribute and we’re just taking up space.  Don’t step on the squid kids, Jerry.”  Traveller pointed in front of them.

          Jerry froze in mid step and peered down at four small amoebas slithering out from a shop door.  He cautiously stepped back as a high pitched wail emitted from inside the store.  A much larger squid wearing a red flower on its head stood at the counter and motioned a frantic tentacle toward her small ones, who obediently wriggled back inside, leaving a trail of yellow slime behind them.

          “Oh, I’m sorry… ma’am?” Jerry sheepishly waved an apology.

          Traveller shook his head and moved on. 

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #12

He refuses to call it third person because nothing about him isn't first.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #11

His internet goes places yours doesn't.

SFFS SNIPPET #1 - 05/19/12

Thanks for allowing me to join in on the Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippets.  And thanks to the always influential Heidi Ruby Miller for turning me on to the site.  This snippet is from my manuscript Welcome to GreenGrass - set in a patchwork city of magic and technology that is home to a multitude of amazing creatures.  It’s also a place where racial tensions have pushed the population to the brink of civil war.  Feuding factions between the Technologists and Enchanters are destabilizing an already unbalanced civilization and a recent high profile murder threatens to bring down the mysterious dome that both protects and enslaves the city’s denizens.  The story centers on John Traveller, former terran police officer, who leads an unorthodox band of allies to include a pacifist demon, cast out demi-god, and telepathic female into the heart of the city to investigate the mysterious death.

          “Thunderin’ newbies.”  Traveller whispered as he racked a round into his shotgun.  The sound of the weapon chambering echoed down the alley as the figures below him froze in place.  Leveling his head into the weapon’s sights, Traveller spoke, “Load.  Stun.”

          A blast of energy exploded from the barrel, hurtling across the alley and hammering into Gatto’s chest.  The creature hissed as it tumbled away from its intended prey, dropping to the ground as swirls of red light danced across its chest.

          Finding cover behind a couple trash cans, Slythe peered into the corridor’s dark recesses.  Watching his partner writhe in pain, his eyes widened with realization.  “Aw no, not you.”

          Slythe sprinted in the direction opposite the blast.  Jumping over his fallen partner, he bounded over a fence at the alley's end, his lupine silhouette outlined by the twin red moons overhead.

                      

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 10

Once had a postcard published in six languages.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 9

He doesn't have a platform - it's a three tiered deck with hot tub, mini bar, and mood lighting.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 8

Has only ever used Spell Check once - and that was by accident.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 7

Once had a character issued a social security number.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 6

Completed a novel a day for NaNoWriMo

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 5

His stream of consciousness is protected by the E.P.A.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World - 4

Once sneezed while writing and it formed a perfect haiku

The Most Interesting Writer In The World

Never will be caught with his modifiers dangling - The Most Interesting Writer In The World

The Most Interesting Writer In The World

"Has never used the same word twice."

The Most Interesting Writer In The World

"Once paid himself six figures to write his own autobiography...and made millions"

The Most Interesting Writer In The World

So here I am, trying to figure out some content for my shiny new, fresh from the wrapper, still with that new blog smell, blog.  At first, I figured to try my take on the One Writer's Journey to wow the internet community at large but then I thought, "What about a page filled with inspirational pictures of kittens hanging onto tree branches?"  Then it hit me, with a tip of the hat to the Dos Equis Beer Ad's, I decided on The Most Interesting Writer In The World.  Hopefully an ongoing series of tongue in cheek quotes making fun of the quests of writers of all genres in our pursuit of the printed page.

Hopefully, if you find any of the quotes amusing, you'll join in on the fun and drop a few lines of your own.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Stay creative, my friends.