It’s the 19th week of the year and normally I’d be making a weekly update post, but I have been traveling, and visiting friends and family, and it has been difficult getting anything done.
So I am giving myself the day off! Normal posts resume Tuesday.
Until then, give yourself a day of rest, too
It’s Thursday and I’m traveling today, so I thought I would talk about how to get your work done while riding around. It’s a valid question for public transit commuters as well, managing to utilize your ride time for productivity. Continue reading
Part Fourteen of the serial novella The Wings Take Shape is coming at you!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Last time on Wings, Stalker and Jon held counsel with Sadie and Renee, learning the truth of the Skinchangers and the enslaved Totems that made them possible. The cadshee had been a product of the Totems, animal spirit gods of the forest, and he enslaved them with their own power, infusing their spirits into the humans that would create the line of Skinchangers. Sadie, being the heir of the cadshee’s powers, agreed to try and free Stalker from Jon, giving her the freedom she so deeply desired.
It was not possible to split their souls, but Sadie discovered she could link them more permanently, giving Jon and Stalker equal control and consciousness. The essences of the other Totems within Jon were stripped away, joining with Sadie, all save for one that appeared to flee and disappear. Before they could enjoy their newfound symbiotic relationship, Renee screamed from down in the tunnels of the cadshee’s home.
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Part Fourteen – A Bond Breaks
by Rick Cook Jr.
“We should be up there,” Marie protested. Renee came back from the meeting with Jon and Sadie, worried all over that something awful was going to befall him. She hated being worried about Jon when she should be plotting to take back Rothfort, to liberate Roth Arden, but she couldn’t help it.
She said to those assembled, “It’s not our business. It’s Totem. It’s Skinchanger. We don’t have the right.” Continue reading
It’s May 8th, 2016. Let’s talk about goals and things!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
Here’s the brief accomplishments toward these goals: Continue reading
One of the most common “tips” you are likely to hear for writers is that you have to read. And read a lot. Read in your genre. Read out of your genre. Read everything.
I completely agree with this and it’s going to be somewhat my focus for this post.
If you want to be a filmmaker, you should be a fan of film. If you want to make sculptures, you should know about sculpting. If you want to be a coder, you need to know coding languages.
If you want to be a writer, you have to read similar writing to what you want to write. There’s a few good reasons for why this is so: Continue reading
It’s time to slow down a little bit with The Wings Take Shape and drop some info on you all. The weekly serial novella is coming to a turning point today, and the mad dash to the end will begin next week!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Last week on Wings, Stalker and Jon fought for dominance inside Jon’s Skinchanger body. He lost and Stalker faced off against what she considered the abomination that betrayed her and the other Totems. Sadie inherited the abilities of the cadshee when she killed him, and she used those powers to defend herself against Stalker. They fought until Sadie took Stalker into the sky and threatened to drop her, and only then did Stalker’s fear of heights and death overwhelm her desire for vengeance.
Jon asserted control once more and promised Stalker that they would figure this all out, and elected to stay in the form of the cougar for a while yet.
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Part Thirteen – Reparation
by Rick Cook Jr.
Jon and Stalker shared the cougar’s body as well as they could, but Stalker was twitchy with Sadie nearby, and Jon kept letting himself be distracted by Renee’s hand on his head.
They settled into Sadie’s burrow near the entrance. Marie kept everyone back while Sadie and Stalker had their conversations. Renee refused to be parted even though she couldn’t communicate with Jon, and Jon was glad for her.
“It’s hard to explain,” Sadie began, talking to Renee. “And perhaps Stalker would not like me to share all the details.”
We are a fallen race, abomination. Who cares if every fertile woman from here to the end of the woods knows about us? Continue reading
It’s May 1st, 2016. First four months down!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
It’s the end of April and it’s time for the rundown of my favorite things from the past month!
Let’s right to it with:
I watched a grand total of two movies, and one of them was because I realized I didn’t want to call the piece of shit I watched earlier in the month my favorite. The piece of shit was 400 Days and I don’t want to talk about how boring and nonsensical the entire venture was. Continue reading
A fight is a-brewing today on the continuation of The Wings Take Shape, Part Twelve!
If you’re new to the story, head to Part One and start from the beginning!
Previously on Wings, Jonathan tried to skinchange back into his human form, but Stalker, the cougar, refused to let him change once she found out that his Aunt Sadie was the abomination that had betrayed her and the other Totems so long ago, vowing to end the abomination’s life once and for all.
Meanwhile, Renee and Marie argued with Sadie, Jon’s ant, about what she could possibly do to help the war effort. They came to no solid conclusions except that Sadie was hesitant to even try for the sake of her Smokeshifting children. When at last Marie felt she was getting through to the woman, Sadie sensed Stalker’s presence drawing close, and felt that a conflict was coming.
Read on for more…
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Part Twelve – Totem Wrath
by Rick Cook Jr.
Stalker approached and she wasn’t alone. She had gathered to her every cougar in the Red Forest she could find, and followed the trail of Jon’s mate until she found the abomination’s next.
Except it wasn’t the creature. Not… entirely.
Something was different. He smelled different. And there were children.
Jon had tried explaining it inside their shared mind, but she refused to listen until now.
What has happened to the abomination, Jonathan? Continue reading
It’s April 24th, 2016. Sixteen weeks and one left in April, let’s do that update thing again!
My goals for Second Quarter of 2016 (April-June) are as follows:
So a quick rundown of what I accomplished towards these goals: Continue reading
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