I also am hoping to be a guest on a podcast in March to read some of Wolf's Bane as well as some of my short stories. I've chosen three that follow a theme.
I'm hoping that I do well at the Fair.
I got my All About the Author written up for the Book Fair on February 14th. I'm pretty lucky, from what my Mom was told by a friend that works at the library, they got thousands of applicants. For me to be chosen is pretty exciting.
I also am hoping to be a guest on a podcast in March to read some of Wolf's Bane as well as some of my short stories. I've chosen three that follow a theme. I'm hoping that I do well at the Fair.
0 Comments
Keeping Time
I am the Keeper of the Clocks. From giant grandfather clocks to tiny watches, I have charge of them all. I wind them up and send them out into the world, ticking away. I repair them too, when their springs have worn down and their workings worn out. I am a artisan and craftsman at heart, and I take pride in each and every one of my creations. I can remember the first clock I ever made, and the last I will ever make. When that time comes, when the last clock is sent out of my shop, then the great Winding-Down will begin. One by one, the clocks will stop forever, until no time is left at all. I'm not entirely certain what will happen after that. Perhaps the world will stop spinning. Perhaps everything will come to a halt, but life will go on. Time does march on, yes, but like all things, even time has an ending. It's what comes after that is the exciting bit. But until that day comes, I will keep doing my job. Transmissions
“OK, first transmission. For anyone that might be listening, my name is Jack Adams. I'm[or rather I was--- the medical liaison attached to Alpha Company. Our job was to monitor reports of “unusual activity” in the region. We had no idea just how unusual. “ There is a slight hiccup in the tape, then the voice resumes speaking. “The official story was that a strain of Ebola had mutated, and we were to go in and see what sort of damage it had caused. So we got shot up, loaded up, and off we went to Africa.” “We weren't exactly sure what to expect, so we went to the village that was the hotspot, searching for Patient Zero. She turned out to be a young girl of about eight. What struck me as odd was the extreme measures the villagers had taken to isolate her. She was in a hastily-constructed shack five miles away, and had been tied to the floor. Her mouth was stuffed with the same rope, leaving only her nostrils free for breathing. She was...god, she was like a wild animal. Howling and snapping at the ropes. She kept trying to attack me as I examined her. It took six strong men to hold down one scrawny, half starved girl.” There is a deep, shuddering sigh, then a yawn. “I think that's enough for one night. Adams Out.” “Second transmission. It's been three days since my last one. I can hear them outside, milling around and talking in that guttural language. Where was I? Oh, right. The girl. Corporal Stephans was holding her down when he cried out that she had scratched him. It wasn't deep, but I cleaned and bandaged the cut, and thought no more of it. What a goddam fool I was. The next day, Stephans complained that he was feeling extremely weak. I examined him, but found nothing. Captain Carter was sure he was goldbricking and ordered Stephans to get back to work. Five hours later, one of the men came running up to us, babbling something about Stephans and cows. We followed him, and I will never forget what I saw. The Corporal had attacked and was in the process of devouring one of the cows from the village. Carter called his name, and he looked up.” Adams pauses, his breath hitching in slight fear. “I had never seen a man look the way he did. It was as if every trace of what made him human was gone, and all that was left was a savage animal. He was growling and snarling, and before anyone could react, he attacked Private Book. Poor kid was only twenty, and Stephans tore him into ribbons.”Adams pauses again, letting his emotions out in a long sob. “Five seconds later, Stephans was cut to pieces by a hail of automatic gunfire. That was the worst mistake Carter ever made. Stephans blood went everywhere.” A high, shrill laugh comes from the tape. “I must have been standing right out of range, because not a single drop landed on me. The others though..they were covered in it.” There is the sound of something-or several somethings-pounding against a metal door. “I don't have much time left. They're going to get in...all of them. But I've got this backed up in my files, and I'm sending it as an attachment to my contacts at the CDC and Pentagon, along with the video footage. This needs to be stopped before it gets out. If it isn't, then the world will be faced with an epidemic that makes AIDS look like the common cold. Just one drop of infected blood is enough to spread the virus.” The pounding has grown to deafening proportions by now. Adams gulps, and there is the sound of a pistol cocking. “I don't want to be an animal! I want to die a human being!” There is a single gunshot, then silence. So I got the copies of my book from Createspace for the local Book Fair. With the dozen I received, and the three I already have, that's a pretty decent amount for a first time bookseller. I'm going to be charging $8, tax included. It would be awesome if I sold all my books. I don't know for sure if I can, but it would be awesome.
I haven't been writing many stories lately, and I do wish I could get back in the swing of things. But it seems like my Idea Well is...not dry, but very low. I need to start looking for ways to bring more ideas into my mind instead of sitting at the computer and just hoping the Inspiration Fairy decides to wave her wand over me. I do have a book of writing prompts. Maybe it's about time I tried some of those. One of the things I want to eventually try to do is compile some of my short stories for publication and sale. Lord knows I've got enough floating about to make at least two decent books. The only trouble is how do I want to do it. Do I want it to go on a theme, or do I just want to pick and choose my favorite stories? On the one hand, going on a theme would be somewhat easier, since I have very few stories of mine I don't like. On the other, a lot of my tales don't really fit into one specific niche. At least to me they don't. If I do publish, it will most likely be via Createspace again, since I did like the job they did on Wolf's Bane. That's all for now. I've got new neighbors! They moved in yesterday. I watched from behind the blinds as they unloaded their van. They look like really nice people. There's a mom, a dad, and two sweet little girls. I love little girls. They're so much nicer than boys. Boys are rude and tough. Little girls are kind, gentle, and as I said before...sweet.
They look so young, too. I licked my lips, feeling my fangs start to protrude. I sighed happily, imaging the fine feasts I would soon have. I want to wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2015. There's going to be a lot of stuff from me in the months to come. There will of course be more stories, geeky gushing, and movie reviews-depending on how many films I see in theaters this year. Last year was pretty unprecedented for me-seven movies in total, when normally i only see one or two at most.
I'm thinking of doing something similar to the 31 Days, only this would be in July. The same principle will apply-one story every day for that month, with each week having a different theme to tie the stories together. My working title will be Summer Screams. Again, this is only tentative, and if I do it, odds are good I may not do the 31 Days this year. Then again, I may go nuts and do both. In the meantime, I will continue as I always have. Happy New Year. |
Megan
This will be a place for me to post stories and suchlike. Archives
January 2019
Categories
All
|