fbpx

Tag: Weekend Writing Warriors

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/26/20 #8Sunday

16 Comments

Wow, it’s been almost two years since I’ve participated in the Weekend Writing Warriors blog hop, and it’s good to be back – with a new release, no less! This week’s excerpt is from “The Maiden in the Tower,” my retelling of Rapunzel set in the Viking-infused world of The Heartsbane Saga.

* * * * * * *

The Maiden in the Tower cover“Race you,” Carys called to her friends as they ran from the village green to the river bordering their tiny village.

“No fair,” one boy shouted after her, “you already started!”

“Then you should run faster!” Carys said with a laugh.

Carys didn’t actually care about winning. For her, the race was all about the rush of the wind in her long hair, the feel of the cool grass beneath her bare feet. She had lots of chores waiting for her in her father’s small cottage on the edge of the village, but right now, on this beautiful spring day, it was all about the moment.

“Carys,” a voice boomed after her, “Carys Tew!”

The children stopped and looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“Oh, Carys, you’re in trouble now,” one boy whispered.

* * * * * * *

Find out just what kind of trouble Carys is in by getting “The Maiden in the Tower,” just $.99 at Amazon, then post a link to your eight-ten sentence blog entry or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

* * * * * * *

About “The Maiden in the Tower:”

Rapunzel – with Vikings!

Carys barely remembers her life before her father sold her to pay his debts. Locked away in her mistress’s chamber, she doesn’t dare to dream of anything better for herself, until a chance encounter with a traveling merchant changes her life forever.

Storm has traveled the lengths of the known world, yet when he sees a servant girl locked in a tower, he knows he’ll do anything to rescue her.

Can Storm and Carys overcome the obstacles in their path and reach the happily ever after they both want?

The Maiden in the Tower is a standalone short story that accompanies a series of fairy tales retold in a world of Vikings. If you like sassy heroines, adventures spanning the medieval world, and a touch of romance, you’ll love The Heartsbane Saga, E.D. Martin’s new historical fantasy series.

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/22/18 #8Sunday

13 Comments

After All coverThis week’s excerpt is from one of my end-of-the-world stories, “Special,” that’ll be included in an upcoming collection. It leaves off from last week’s excerpt, where a young boy told his friends he had grass growing under his bed.

* * * * * * *

I’d forgotten about it by morning, like I forgot about most of what he said, until at breakfast Yaya asked, “Where’s Niko?”

“He’s by the lake,” I answered, without hesitation.

“What lake?” Yaya’s eyes narrowed, probably suspecting this was another of Niko’s tricks he’d convinced me to go along with.

“The one at our old plantation.”

She grabbed my arm, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Tevi, has Niko gone Outside?”

“Yes.” I closed my eyes, honing in on where my brother was. “He wanted to find some grass to show Szymon.”

* * * * * * *

Read the rest of “Special” over at Medium, then post a link to your eight-ten sentence blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

About After All:

Nuclear war. Plague. Asteroids. Financial collapse.
Dystopian governments determined to exterminate anyone different.

Through it all, humanity struggles on.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/15/18 #8Sunday

14 Comments

After All coverIt’s been almost a year since I’ve participated in WWW!

This week’s excerpt is from one of my end-of-the-world stories, “Special,” that’ll be included in an upcoming collection.

* * * * * * *

Growing up, Niko didn’t do anything special. He played with the other children in the caverns into which we’d moved to shield us from the airstrikes. He matched their outlandish stories about their dead fathers’ exploits with ones about our own father, trumping them by including the adventures of his namesake, even though no one had heard of him.

One day, when we were about eight and Niko was running screaming with the others playing king of the hill, he pulled out the boldest story of all: “I have grass growing under my bed.”

Szymon paused from shoving him off our dirt pile hill. “No one has grass growing anywhere.”

We’d read about grass and about other plants, and once we’d even toured the hydroponics labs the soldiers maintained. But no one actually had plants of their own. How would they grow in the caverns, without sunlight?

* * * * * * *

Read the rest of “Special” over at Medium, then post a link to your eight-ten sentence blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

About After All:

Nuclear war. Plague. Asteroids. Financial collapse.
Dystopian governments determined to exterminate anyone different.

Through it all, humanity struggles on.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 7/2/17 #8Sunday

5 Comments

coverI live right across the river from Iowa, which passed a law this year legalizing pretty much all fireworks. Normally to get the good stuff you have to drive a couple hours to Wisconsin or Missouri, but now everyone has access to everything, and for the past couple weeks my neighborhood has been under siege, with explosions ringing out nearly constantly. It’s irritating to me – and I can only imagine how bad it is for vets with PTSD.

So, in honor of the Fourth and my idiot neighbors, this week’s excerpt is from “Crash,” another story in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, my collection of short stories about veterans and their families.

In this story, a father worries about how his daughter, who has combat-related flashbacks, will react – but this year, she has a secret weapon.

* * * * * * *

It was July third and neighbors had been shooting off fireworks all evening. Members of his support group had shared how hard it was for some veterans on the Fourth, especially if they’d had experiences like his daughter’s. He anticipated she’d spend the next couple days holed-up in her room, alternating between depression and violent rage. He anticipated she’d be like that right now, in fact, and he had no idea how he’d deal with it.

To his surprise, she was smiling – laughing, even. She played a game of fetch with the dog, running and twirling and showing an exuberance he couldn’t remember her having since her mom had died six years earlier.

A string of firecrackers went off in the distance. Bill tensed, and so did Lindy. Not the dog though; it pressed its nose against her hand. She looked down at it, smiled, and threw a drool-soaked tennis ball for it to chase.

* * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight-ten sentence blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Head over to Amazon and get a copy of The Futility of Loving a Soldier, just $2.99 or free with KU.

Eleven stories of what it means to love a soldier:

  • A girlfriend explains why she knew her boyfriend wouldn’t come back from the front.
  • A stranger reminds a veteran what matters in life.
  • A wife struggles to trust her husband with their baby after he returns from deployment.
  • Old friends search for a way to reclaim the dreams and plans of their childhood.
  • A woman haunted by her experiences finds an unlikely ally.
  • One man’s enlistment creates ripple effects for generations as four sons seek to make sense of what they and their fathers are fighting for.

The stories in this collection explore the physical and psychological effects of combat, both on those who serve and those back home. Told from the points of view of spouses and children as well as the soldiers themselves, the stories tackle eleven different scenarios spanning five American wars. Guilt and acceptance, despair and hope, selfishness and sacrifice, and above all, love, blend together as characters come to realize maybe their feelings aren’t futile after all.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 6/25/17 #8Sunday

19 Comments

promoI meant to get a new story published this week, but I started a new job whose training left me exhausted. So, this week’s snippet is one of my favorite things I’ve written, from the short story “A Wedding” in The Futility of Loving a Soldier, my collection of short stories about veterans and their families.

In this excerpt, Abby is visiting her childhood friend, Eli, who was injured in Iraq.

* * * * * * *

I’d stepped into the room where he lay unconscious, passed out from pain and medication. He looked so pathetic lying there, with bigger muscles than the last time I’d seen him, but paler—deathly pale with huge black circles under his eyes, cuts all over his exposed face and neck, and a bandage where his left arm should’ve been.

I edged over to his bed and picked up his right hand—his only hand now—careful not to disturb any of the wires and tubes sticking out of him. I stared at his fingers and palm, tracing the calluses on his fingertips before gently setting it back down and leaving the room.

I didn’t go back.

***

Jamie Linn had been there to help him rebound and rebuild once he returned home. She’d had a crush on him for as long as anyone could remember. She was a nurse now, or home care aide or traveling physical therapist—something that got her into his house each day and got him back to healthy.

Once he was better, up and around and selling used cars with his dad, she’d stuck around. It was the perfect romance story come to life, except my mom said Eli had bad spells where he’d just lock himself in his room and stare at the walls, and Jamie Linn got all weepy whenever a show like The Bachelor or 19 Kids and Counting came on and reminded her that she was twenty-seven, childless, and engaged to a moody one-handed used car salesman.

* * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight-ten sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

Head over to Amazon and get a copy of The Futility of Loving a Soldier, just $2.99 or free with KU.

Eleven stories of what it means to love a soldier:

  • A girlfriend explains why she knew her boyfriend wouldn’t come back from the front.
  • A stranger reminds a veteran what matters in life.
  • A wife struggles to trust her husband with their baby after he returns from deployment.
  • Old friends search for a way to reclaim the dreams and plans of their childhood.
  • A woman haunted by her experiences finds an unlikely ally.
  • One man’s enlistment creates ripple effects for generations as four sons seek to make sense of what they and their fathers are fighting for.

The stories in this collection explore the physical and psychological effects of combat, both on those who serve and those back home. Told from the points of view of spouses and children as well as the soldiers themselves, the stories tackle eleven different scenarios spanning five American wars. Guilt and acceptance, despair and hope, selfishness and sacrifice, and above all, love, blend together as characters come to realize maybe their feelings aren’t futile after all.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

 

Weekend Writing Warrior 6/18/17 #8Sunday

15 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in WeWriWa! This week, I’m posting a micro story I wrote for a contest on a writing critique site I use.

The prompt was, “Shootout at the the Alrighty Corral.” My story is titled, “Return of the Revenge of the Resurrected.”

* * * * * * *

“Yeah, I’m hideous,” I told the sympathetic barkeep, “but I didn’t ask to be like this.”

He nodded.

I knew he didn’t care, was just being professional, but alcohol made me loquacious so I continued, “All I wanted was acceptance and love; is that so wrong?”

“Nope.”

“So maybe I kinda murdered his girlfriend, but I still maintain he deserved it.”

The clock outside chimed noon.

“He didn’t die on that boat, you know. He faked his death so I’d leave him alone, but it didn’t work. I tracked him here, and now….” I slammed down my glass and went out to meet my maker.

* * * * * * *

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/23/16 #8Sunday

7 Comments

After All coverIt’s almost Halloween, so I’m continuing on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

  • “Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
  • “The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
  • “E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
  • “After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones. This excerpt picks up from last week’s.

* * * * * * *

Jet slowed and held his immobilizer ready.

A small boy sat on the forest floor, tear tracks streaking his dirty face. Jet’s specs tried to scan him but blinked out, and he pushed them off his face.

<<Specs are down,>> he sent to Luce.

<<Mine too. I don’t like this.>>

Specs were Spark-proof; they might go down, but both sets at once?

Jet aimed his immobilizer. Just as his finger began to squeeze down on the trigger, the kid winked at him. Static burst across his comlink as the kid mutated into his energy form, and then all went black.

* * * * * * *

I’m planning to release the whole collection next weekend, so you’ll be able to find out just what Sparks are and who Jet is.

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/16/16 #8Sunday

7 Comments

After All coverIt’s almost Halloween, so for the rest of the month I’ll continue on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

  • “Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
  • “The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
  • “E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
  • “After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones. This excerpt picks up from last week’s.

* * * * * * *

Movement off to Jet’s left caught his attention, and his specs identified an energy cloud matching their target’s signature.

<<Ready to roll?>> he shot across the comlink as he sent Luce the coordinates.

<<That can’t be right; I’m picking up his cloud behind us.>>

<<Check it out. I’m moving towards this cloud.>>

<<Be careful – this doesn’t make sense.>>

Jet pushed through the underbrush, looking for their target; energy clouds dissipated quickly so the kid had to be close.

A tree branch cracked ahead, and he sprinted towards the noise as soundlessly as he could, reaching for his immobilizer as he ran. He’d zap the kid, load him up, and be home for dinner. After a week of tracking, it couldn’t come too soon.

* * * * * * *

I’m aiming to have all these stories polished and out together by Halloween. Wish me luck! :)

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 10/9/16 #8Sunday

10 Comments

After All coverIt’s almost Halloween, so for the rest of the month I’ll continue on with excerpts from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all interconnected and dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

  • “Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
  • “The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
  • “E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike
  • “After the Flood” – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system

This week I’m pulling from “Passing,” the story that ties together all the other ones.

* * * * * * *

Jet cringed as static crackled over his comlink. It wasn’t loud, and their target was just a kid, but one could never be too sure what Sparks would pick up on. He smacked at his helmet and the line cleared.

<<See him?>> his partner Luce sent over the link.

He scanned the forest around him. <<Negative.>>

<<Roger that – I’m moving towards 325; keep on towards 35.>>

He rolled his eyes – with their link and his specs, he knew exactly where Luce was, and he knew the plan, too; he’d head out in one direction and she’d go the opposite, then after 100 meters they’d move back towards each other. He considered telling her to knock it off with the drama, but she was one of the best in the Department of Threat Assessment and Mitigation. Maybe she was less than professional sometimes, but she always got her Sparks.

* * * * * * *

My goal is to have all these stories polished, compiled, and out by Halloween, but I have several big school projects coming up, so who knows if I’ll meet this self-imposed deadline (although on the other hand, with so many projects I tend to procrastinate on them and focus on other less-pressing stuff, so maybe I’ll get this done soon after all?).

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

Weekend Writing Warrior 9/25/16 #8Sunday

5 Comments

After All coverFor September I’ll be pulling from several related short stories I wrote this summer, all dealing with the apocalypse.

Here’s what we have so far:

  • “Special” – a pair of twins with special abilities living in caves due to airstrikes
  • “The Graveyard” – a plague kills off most of a western mining town
  • “E.L.E.” – two polar opposite campers must work together to survive a meteor strike

This week the story is “After the Flood.” It’s a bit more political than the other stories – a naive, pampered girl tries to survive when the economy crashes and anarchy becomes the ruling system.

* * * * * * *

Looking back, what happened was a lot like when a dam bursts. There are little warning signs at first, like maybe there’s more water flowing out than normal, or tiny little cracks that the engineers only notice if they’re watching closely, but of course they’re not watching closely; they’re in the control room with their feet up, looking at porn on the internet. And then there’s a boom, water is everywhere, and in the aftermath half the towns downstream are littered with trees, chunks of houses, and dead bodies.

Our situation was similar. If you read the papers, you’d see little signs: “Multinational Bank lays off 5000 workers;” “Factory closing devastates BFE town;” “Police arrest hundreds of protesters after pipeline spills into waterway.” Or, more likely, you’d read the papers and not see any signs because they weren’t getting reported.

I certainly didn’t notice any impending doom, at least when I was in the moment. I didn’t think to hire myself a mercenary to guard my house, or cash out all my stock options and buy a thousand batteries and cans of chicken noodle soup, or build a bunker in the backyard or buy a remote cabin in Montana.

But my grandpa did.

* * * * * * *

Based on a comment from last week’s post, I think I’m going to compile all these stories, plus a couple more, into an ebook. Look for more details in the next few weeks.

Post a link to your eight sentences blog entry, or join the fun at the Weekend Writing Warriors website.

And if you’re a writer, sign up to be a Friday Five author, which gets you and your latest work featured on my blog.

The Musings of E.D. Martin © 2011-2020 Privacy Policy Frontier Theme