I'm Not Dead, I Swear

I've been really mistreating this blog the past ten months or so, I know, I know.  I'm sorry.  A lot of things have happened that either took up all of my time or energy.  Now I'm just really out of the swing of things.  But there will continue to be posts.  They may not be regular, but there will be posts.

I start college at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown on Monday.  My major going in is Creative Writing and if everything goes well, I'd like to do a double major with Theatre Arts (acting/directing concentration) plus a minor in French.  My classes for the first semester are: Medieval French Courtly Romance (may swap for a different class because it doesn't help me much with getting my degree), Composition 2, Topics in Philosophy (Moral Psychology), Intro to Physical Oceanography, and Intro to Creative Writing.

I may work 10-12 hours a week.  In addition to that, I have my own reading to do, as well as writing.  I will soon begin some in-depth research into Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Peninsular Malaysia in order to write a fantasy story with a setting based upon those areas of South-East Asia.  I'm also teaching myself how to play the mandolin (here is me playing and singing "Let Her Go" with my sister providing backing vocals).  There are various school activities I'd like to become involved in too.  I do a good bit of volunteering with my church and have done some pulpit-filling in the past.  And maybe I'll spend some time socially!

Despite all of this, keeping myself busy may actually help me to keep this blog going.  When I'm going, I usually expend all of my energy working on the various things that make up my life.  We shall just have to see how things go.

If you're really, really lucky, you'll soon get a review of any or all of the following in the coming days: The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan, Firefight by Brandon Sanderson, and A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Some Contest Entry Stories

"Usually the Arsenic Works" (Contemporary Fantasy; Special Challenge Runner Up that week)
"Two For Hell" (Horror)
"Rivulets" (Christian)

Omniscience For a Day (Part 1/4)

It's not best for someone in this business to give up on a story, but for my purposes, it isn't exactly giving up to post a story on my blog for free rather than continuing to send it places after it's been rejected several times.  I could put it up on QuarterReads, but it's really not lucrative anyway.  What I'm getting at is that over the next several days, I shall be posting a story I wrote titled "Omniscience For a Day," broken down into four parts.  I've done serials on this blog a few times before and have serialized short stories as well.  They shouldn't be too hard to find (though I really should change the labels on them to be more distinct).  If you're interested and don't feel like searching, leave a comment and I'll be happy to point you toward all such posts.  Anyway, without further adieu, the first part of "Omniscience For a Day":

Martha tripped down her favorite spiral staircase.  Her head struck the first landing with a resounding thud, the sound almost drowning out her piercing scream.  The world flickered and died in her blood-shrouded vision.

Through a thick haze, Martha detected three orbs of colored light.  As she blinked they gained some solidarity, but a halo of dazzling light remained.

"Lady Martha of the Cornerland?" a voice boomed.  The leftmost orb, ringed in blue, seemed to vibrate with the words.

Martha tried to speak, but fluid filled her throat.  She coughed and sputtered.  "Yes.  Where?  How?"

The rightmost, orange orb began to buzz.  "You have been granted by the Council of the Second-Life a third chance at life.  Your second-life was not pleasing to the Council of the Afterlife, yet the Council of the First-Life is adamant that you be granted Paradise."

"First-life?" Martha gurgled.

"Never mind," communicated the green, middle orb. "In any case, we, the Councilmen of the Second-Life, have sentenced you to one day of omniscience, followed by the resumption of your second-life on a trial basis.  If after this period this council deems you worthy, you shall be allowed to finish your second-life as you wish."

Martha threw herself down to the cold marble floor.  The last of the muck in her head drained away as she tottered in a cross-legged position, glaring at the three talking orbs.  She retched.  A thick clump of coagulating blood pooled before her slippered feet.  The feeling of helplessness in her lungs subsided.

The orange orb shone in a way that may have synonymized smiling.  “Now that you have refreshed your Life Court form, we shall send you on your way,” it said.

“Where am I going?”  Violent force tugged at Martha’s stomach as a phantom gale ripped her from the realm.

Just Your Average Berserking Family Man

And here it is, my new blog background, courtesy of my cousin Zachary Shenal (you can find his info at the bottom of the blog page), along with the story I have written to accompany it.  If you like the photo, please visit Zach's current Indiegogo campaign page.

            Edward stooped down to the cool, wet grass and examined the patch of fungi his elder son had run home to tell him about.  They appeared to be the correct shape: thin stalk, tall head with a moderate brim.  The regal purple of the heads looked poised against the glowing white of the stalks.  Not the most potent, Edward decided, but they would work.

            He placed the mushrooms in a sack and jogged back toward his home.  When he returned, his sons were already putting on their armor.  He smiled.

            “The water is boiling,” said Edward’s wife from inside the house.

            Edward dumped the mushrooms into the pot straight from his sack.  “How long?” he asked his daughter, who was sharpening his sword.

            “A quarter hour,” she replied.  She handed him his padded leather gloves.

            “Thank you, Mara.”  He slipped them on and flexed his fingers.

            Jonathan, the elder son, stepped through the threshold.  “Father, Michael is a little nervous.  He can’t hold his axe steady.”

            “I will talk to him, thank you.  I know you just honed it, but give your sword a few extra swipes with the whetstone.”  Edward strode out the door and put a hand on the shoulder of his shaking younger son.

            “What if they kill you, Father?”

            Edward chuckled.  “Oh, is that your worry, boy?”

            “There are ten of them and only three of us.  And you aren’t even wearing armor.”

            “You’re old enough now, I suppose.”

            “For what?”

            Edward opened his shirt to show his chest.  A dozen long, thick scars covered the surface.

            “Father…”  Michael went pale.  “Are you an Unbreakable?”

            “A more ancient Order, son.  My father wanted me to be an Unbreakable when I was a lad, but Unbreakables cannot have children.  I am an Ironheart, the last in this hill country.  That is why they have come to kill me.  The foreigners fear the Orders more than anything else.”

            “Will they fight me, father?”

            “Don’t you worry, son.  Hold your axe firm, but do not be afraid.  This battle is mine.  And if I am slain, it is your brother’s.”

            “I love you, Father.”  Michael wrapped his powerful young arms around his father’s blessed chest.

            “I love you too, son.”

            Edward’s wife handed him a wooden bowl.  “Fight hard.”

            Edward gave his wife a kiss.  Then he turned away and drank.  A party of men crested a hill near the old tree stump where he had gathered his shrooms.

            The world became blood and Edward’s heart became iron.  He growled and his sons joined him in battle.

Coming Soon

I was quite busy the past seven months or so.  Now I should be able to make a return.  I have some plans I'd like to make public about the direction of this blog, mostly to coax myself into actually making them happen.

May 15th was my 3rd blogiversary.  I know that my 3rd year of blogging was a lot less productive than my first two, but I plan to make the 4th at least better than the 3rd.

I graduated from high school on May 29th.  My first day at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown will be August 31st.  I will be studying creative writing.

The first thing I need to do is get a fresh background on the blog.  My cousin edited a photo he had taken to my specifications so that I could use it here.  He took the background photo currently displayed and I'm pretty sure at least one of the ones immediately before the current one.  This time around I'm going to write a story or vignette in support and celebration of the photo.  That should be the next post I do, up within the next few days.

As I mentioned before, I would like to continue to post some stories in the Drake Lunar Base setting.  There is a lot more for me to explore and learn from the exercise.  If anyone wants to have their name and/or nationality used, feel free to tell me in the comments section.

I'd really like to start getting back to writing story reviews, especially short fiction reviews.  I think I'll do some more movie reviews as well.

I'm not sure if writing posts will return with any sort of frequency.  I doubt that I'll never post another, but I don't know that they're really good enough to warrant the hour of writing time, energy, and concentration.  We shall see.

There is a great possibility of new features on the blog as well, including the return of an occasional flash fic vlog.

For anyone actually reading this, hello!  I'm sorry for my absence.  Welcome back to the ravenous maw!  Watch out for that massive saliva droplet above you!