"No," she whispered and the sound floated away on the breeze as the commander closed the distance between them. She backed up a step, wishing she could turn and run into the woods, wishing too she could bring out the rifle the last men here had confiscated and shoot a hole right through his black heart.
Her hands loosened and fluttered by her sides. She inhaled a sharp breath before raising her hands to rest at her throat. She shook her head, closing her eyes and opening them as if she could erase the sight walking towards her from her memories. She felt as if she were watching a ghost walk toward her.
"Not you. Not again," she said on such a low note that only the cat swishing its tail while he sat on the railing of her porch could have heard. "I guess the rumors were wrong. You didn't die."
Her bottom lip trembled and the words she wanted so much to say clung to her throat. Go away. Please, go away.
"Hello, Elice," the voice she'd dreaded floated around her, echoed inside her chest, hiding the erratic beat of her heart.
"What do you want?" she gasped out. She moved next to the cat and clung to the railing, holding on as best she could so her knees wouldn't buckle.
"A place to stay," he said and the timbre of his voice resonated in her soul. "A meal."
She shook her head and moistened her lips, daring herself to tell him what was on her mind. You can go to hell. She didn't dare. She didn't want to end up in a Yankee prison. Did he know what she'd done? Did he know she had left messages in the hollowed out trunk of an old oak tree when he'd been through these parts two years ago? If he'd been captured, she would have not felt happiness, but she'd done it to protect herself and her daughter.
"Your…" she brought her hand to her mouth, biting her knuckles to keep from telling him what she didn't want him to know.
"My?" he prompted her.
"You're not welcome here."
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
WHY THIS STORY AND WHY NOW?
Posted by Amber Angel
When I was asked to be part of a Valentine's Day anthology from Rogue Phoenix Press, I was thrilled. Then reality set in. What should my story be about? I was used to writing longer stories with dramatic subplots and lots of secondary characters. No room for subplots in a 30,000-word anthology.
However, there was a romantic comedy I had drafted called CHASING RAINBOWS...
Allana Angel really like the "explosive" beginning. However, the longer I wrote, the more this romantic comedy tried to turn serious. Perhaps the shorter format of a novella would keep this story light-hearted.
So I started the editing process.
The original draft was longer than I remembered: almost 60,000 words. No problem, I thought. Just cut out half the words. Gulp. And cut I did. I whittled the story down to 35,000 words--more or less.
As I did so, another reality set in. I had learned a lot about the craft of writing in the years since I had drafted this story. Among other things, editing meant eliminating bouncing points of view, showing instead of telling, and tightening the motivation of the main characters.
The good news was that I still liked the characters and I still thought the dialogue and actions were funny. Hooray! I hope readers will also.
The story had barely been polished and submitted for editorial review when we started talking about another anthology. Could the characters in CHASING RAINBOWS carry off romantic comedy again? I hope so, because Rogue's Angels offered up write-in parts (similar to cameo appearances on TV) in our 2011 St. Patrick's anthology as part of a fundraiser for the Willamette Humane Society. Plans for the 2011 anthology are bubbling even as we promote the release of the Valentine's anthology in February 2010.
I'm also delighted to unveil the cover for the Valentine's Anthology 2010. The front cover will remain at the top of this blog. But I thought you might also want to see the back cover.
When I was asked to be part of a Valentine's Day anthology from Rogue Phoenix Press, I was thrilled. Then reality set in. What should my story be about? I was used to writing longer stories with dramatic subplots and lots of secondary characters. No room for subplots in a 30,000-word anthology.
However, there was a romantic comedy I had drafted called CHASING RAINBOWS...
Allana Angel really like the "explosive" beginning. However, the longer I wrote, the more this romantic comedy tried to turn serious. Perhaps the shorter format of a novella would keep this story light-hearted.
So I started the editing process.
The original draft was longer than I remembered: almost 60,000 words. No problem, I thought. Just cut out half the words. Gulp. And cut I did. I whittled the story down to 35,000 words--more or less.
As I did so, another reality set in. I had learned a lot about the craft of writing in the years since I had drafted this story. Among other things, editing meant eliminating bouncing points of view, showing instead of telling, and tightening the motivation of the main characters.
The good news was that I still liked the characters and I still thought the dialogue and actions were funny. Hooray! I hope readers will also.
The story had barely been polished and submitted for editorial review when we started talking about another anthology. Could the characters in CHASING RAINBOWS carry off romantic comedy again? I hope so, because Rogue's Angels offered up write-in parts (similar to cameo appearances on TV) in our 2011 St. Patrick's anthology as part of a fundraiser for the Willamette Humane Society. Plans for the 2011 anthology are bubbling even as we promote the release of the Valentine's anthology in February 2010.
I'm also delighted to unveil the cover for the Valentine's Anthology 2010. The front cover will remain at the top of this blog. But I thought you might also want to see the back cover.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Fae Folk
Sable Angel here...
Now that I've stumbled and entered a blank post--Sunday mornings are NOT my thing--, what say I give you the real stuff? As I thought, you'd prefer to actually read something.
At our last Angel get-together, we threw out the question, "Why did each of us pick the story we wrote for the Valentine's Anthology?" Simple enough question, right?
Well, not really. If you've ever had a passion, you understand the confusion having to make a decision can be. Writers' stories are children who constantly nag to be heard; just when you think you've satisfied one child, the others start complaining.
My faerie story was actually an idea about half a page long. At a conference I attended nearly seven years ago, the presenter gave us the task to put down an idea for a story without "thinking" about what the idea should be. For someone based in the accounting world at the time [yes, Sable Angel counted clouds], free association thinking was a bit foreign. This little Fae folk named Ailidh snuck her way into my head and planted a seed that was to become The Lending Library. But the story languished in my to-do files for a long time while I worked on honing my craft of writing by penning five other books. I attempted writing romance under a pseudonym, Celia Cooper, and didn't fare too badly. I also tried on writing mystery and suspense under my own name of C. L. Kraemer and seemed to have some success.
It was the very first attempt at writing a story, my dragon story Cyre Drake, and my little Fae that rang loud and clear with my writing muse. [Muses can be so pesky when allowed to reign free.] Once I found a villain and heroine supplied by a wonderful friend at the Antelope Valley Press, the story and my muse, went wild. They wanted to be heard in a longer format than the anthology but deadlines were looming and my dragon was throwing a dragon tantrum--something about being there first: children!
When Ailidh and Kayne [main characters] materialized fully for me, the writing seemed to flow freely. A contest Amber Angel had sponsored provided the name, and a more rounded version of a minor character, to complete the story.
I started researching the Fae folk for this story and got lost in the volumes of information of "wee" folk throughout the world. As with dragons, every culture has some version or other of Faeries. I choose to keep them small with magical abilities.
I wasn't sure I had captured a story worth reading until Allana and Amber Angel sent back enthusiastic personal reviews. We critique each other's work.
As we sat talking about our writing excursion, we realized we wanted to revisit the land of the Fae. So began the story for the 2011 St. Patrick's Anthology. The three Angels will be collaborating on a story involving the beginning of the wee ones mischief starting in the British Isles. By the end of the story, we'll see the Fae make their move to America just outside Eugene.
Oh, yeah. We have leprechauns, night elves, brawny men with bulging muscles and time travel with a slightly befuddled inventor professor in that story.
Stay tuned!
Sable Angel
Now that I've stumbled and entered a blank post--Sunday mornings are NOT my thing--, what say I give you the real stuff? As I thought, you'd prefer to actually read something.
At our last Angel get-together, we threw out the question, "Why did each of us pick the story we wrote for the Valentine's Anthology?" Simple enough question, right?
Well, not really. If you've ever had a passion, you understand the confusion having to make a decision can be. Writers' stories are children who constantly nag to be heard; just when you think you've satisfied one child, the others start complaining.
My faerie story was actually an idea about half a page long. At a conference I attended nearly seven years ago, the presenter gave us the task to put down an idea for a story without "thinking" about what the idea should be. For someone based in the accounting world at the time [yes, Sable Angel counted clouds], free association thinking was a bit foreign. This little Fae folk named Ailidh snuck her way into my head and planted a seed that was to become The Lending Library. But the story languished in my to-do files for a long time while I worked on honing my craft of writing by penning five other books. I attempted writing romance under a pseudonym, Celia Cooper, and didn't fare too badly. I also tried on writing mystery and suspense under my own name of C. L. Kraemer and seemed to have some success.
It was the very first attempt at writing a story, my dragon story Cyre Drake, and my little Fae that rang loud and clear with my writing muse. [Muses can be so pesky when allowed to reign free.] Once I found a villain and heroine supplied by a wonderful friend at the Antelope Valley Press, the story and my muse, went wild. They wanted to be heard in a longer format than the anthology but deadlines were looming and my dragon was throwing a dragon tantrum--something about being there first: children!
When Ailidh and Kayne [main characters] materialized fully for me, the writing seemed to flow freely. A contest Amber Angel had sponsored provided the name, and a more rounded version of a minor character, to complete the story.
I started researching the Fae folk for this story and got lost in the volumes of information of "wee" folk throughout the world. As with dragons, every culture has some version or other of Faeries. I choose to keep them small with magical abilities.
I wasn't sure I had captured a story worth reading until Allana and Amber Angel sent back enthusiastic personal reviews. We critique each other's work.
As we sat talking about our writing excursion, we realized we wanted to revisit the land of the Fae. So began the story for the 2011 St. Patrick's Anthology. The three Angels will be collaborating on a story involving the beginning of the wee ones mischief starting in the British Isles. By the end of the story, we'll see the Fae make their move to America just outside Eugene.
Oh, yeah. We have leprechauns, night elves, brawny men with bulging muscles and time travel with a slightly befuddled inventor professor in that story.
Stay tuned!
Sable Angel
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Choosing a time period.
How do we go about choosing a time period to write in? For me there are certain periods of history I connect with. I love the Scottish Highlands and because I grew up hearing stories of the highlands, I love this time. My roots lie in Scotland and England. I always wanted to write in the regency period, but I wanted to get the time period right. After a trip to London, reading many historical books about the period, I felt as if I had done enough research to feel at ease writing at this time. And the old west, what American historical writer couldn't fall in love with this time? Endless possibilities exists for romance.
My fellow Rogues Angels wanted to pose the question, why did each of us choose the time period or the setting for our first anthology? I've always wanted to write about the War Between the States. Even as a child in school when studying this period, I was fascinated. When I began writing, the big houses in New York had already made this period a taboo. They weren't going to publish any more Civil War novels. So I put away my research and started on my westerns.
The Gift, my portion of the anthology, is set during the war. I was thrilled to be able to write something that had been simmering in my head for over ten years. (a shortened version however)
Look for the Rogues Angels Valentine anthology this February. Enter to win a copy of Highland Song. All you have to do is leave a comment. Tell us your favorite time period or the historical time you like to write about. The drawing will be held October 31 (Halloween).
Allana Angel
My fellow Rogues Angels wanted to pose the question, why did each of us choose the time period or the setting for our first anthology? I've always wanted to write about the War Between the States. Even as a child in school when studying this period, I was fascinated. When I began writing, the big houses in New York had already made this period a taboo. They weren't going to publish any more Civil War novels. So I put away my research and started on my westerns.
The Gift, my portion of the anthology, is set during the war. I was thrilled to be able to write something that had been simmering in my head for over ten years. (a shortened version however)
Look for the Rogues Angels Valentine anthology this February. Enter to win a copy of Highland Song. All you have to do is leave a comment. Tell us your favorite time period or the historical time you like to write about. The drawing will be held October 31 (Halloween).
Allana Angel
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