Running On Fumes

It’s the last day of September? Already? Where has this month gone?! It seriously feels like it just started and already it’s over.

It may feel like it was really short, but in terms of things I had going on and exhaustion, it’s been a really, really long month. Tomorrow is my first free day in which I have nothing I have to do since September 13th… Out of my entire calendar for this month, there are only four blank days in which I had nothing going on, three of which happened in the first week of September. Really, even those blank days were spent working on the publication probably.

No wonder I’m so damn exhausted.

Speaking of exhausted, I was just awake for 29 hours straight (because 5am work starts are cruel and unusual punishment for a night owl) so I’m a walking zombie yet. The so-called nap I took after work hasn’t done me much good because I couldn’t stay asleep. So basically, this blog post could sound a lot like this:

So, yeah, if this post sounds as jumpy and sporadic as that saying…you’ve been warned. Daelyn is running on fumes.

Anywho, um… Where was I going with this again?

Not sure why I’m asking that question. If I can’t decipher my own brain you guys sure as hell aren’t going to be able to either. You’d probably run from a single glimpse in my head. I run from it sometimes. (Is that possible?)

Seriously, where was I going with this?

*Retraces steps*

Sporadic and random post, no sleep, exhausted, September ov– OH!

(I think I need a liter of Dr. Pepper instead of just a bottle to wake the hell up at this point. Or I need to go back to bed, but I couldn’t sleep, and sleep brought a really freaky dream that managed to unnerve me sooo… Yeah, I don’t want to sleep right now. Said dream would make a great plot though — and yes, being the writer I am I wrote it down.)

ANYWHO! (Focus, brain! … Nope, it’s laughing at me.)

So I was talking about September being over and normally that means I recap my goals for the month. So in that spectrum… *Ponders, blinks* Um, what were my goals for September? Honestly, I can’t think of them right now. I’ve been so non-stop busy that I haven’t had time for anything other than working my goddamn ass off and working for the publication.

What the hell were my goals for September again?

*Wanders off through the land of blog posts to go find out*

Oh right! Oh… Right… *Cringes*

Er, well, so my goals of September were to complete all my camping journal notes — 3 by the end of the month, write three of the camping entries — one a week, finish all catch up Shards I had to write — I had two left, write 15k on Fated to Darkness, and whatever work popped up for the publication.

And out of those five things I’ve done… *Cringes again* Well, I know I started the camping notes. I got through one and a half, I still had two more to do though. I did get the Shards caught up! Those are all done and I’ve managed to stay up to date with them despite everything going on. I did not get any camping entries written out, and I…did not…write a word on…Fated to Darkness…

I know! I know! My characters hate me and feel so neglected and are yelling like crazy. I had so many hopes to have this book finished soon and everything just keeps getting in the way. I’m still struggling with the chapter I’m on, and I’m just so tired. I now have three months to accomplish my goal of finishing the first draft this year, along with the notes. And the holiday season is already beginning in retail, which means… Yeah, I don’t want to think about it. I’m going to go hibernate like a bear with my writing supplies for the next three months so I’ll actually have time to write.

Which… That reminds me of something else that’s been nagging at the back of my head since a certain conversation I had, but…I don’t want to talk about that right now.

So September is over, I failed massively on my goals, and don’t even ask me what my October goals are because I haven’t the foggiest idea. Nor do I have any coherence up in this head of mine right now to figure it out. That post will have to wait till next week, probably Friday because I think I know what Tuesday’s post will be–OH!

That’s what I forgot to mention! The paperback print copy of Paranormal Pleasures is coming out in a couple days! *Happy dance* I’ll do another launch post of that on Tuesday. I can’t wait!

I’ll talk about the launch and anything else regarding it next Tuesday and then hopefully by Friday I’ll have a set of October goals figured out to ramble on about. And don’t forget, this Sunday’s post will begin featuring my short story, Embermyst, from Paranormal Pleasures for all my snippets next month!

Oh, crap, now I realized this publication means I need to create a new page on this blog for Published Works. Great… One more thing to add to the ever growing list that never ends! *Headdesk*

Now I think that was all I wanted to say. I think… If not, oh well, it’ll come to me an hour after I lay back down for sleep tonight and by that point it’ll be screw it. I’m going to go hibernate this weekend now, since, you know, it’s the first time I’ll have two days off in a row in over a month, and the first day I’ve had in two and a half weeks that I have nothing I need to do. (Sort of. Nothing out of the house at least.)

So I wasn’t too sporadic on this post, was I?

*Glances back through*

…Okay, scratch that.

Netkas Phone Home (Wednesday Words 9.28.16)

Welcome to a piece of Wednesday Word’s flash fiction on Darkling Dreams!

A good friend of mine, P.T. Wyant, is doing a blog post every Wednesday called Wednesday Words with a new prompt for a bit of flash fiction writing, just to get in the habit of writing something, anything. (Even if said flash fiction is complete garbage at the time. Garbage is better than nothing though, right?) If you’re looking for some inspiration yourself or just something to aimlessly write, then go check out her blog for this week’s prompt!

With that being said, I am going to share what I came up with for this week’s flash fiction prompt based off a setting prompt. So here is my very rough around the edges minute of inspiration based off her prompt. I’d love to hear what you guys think of it!

(Please excuse any errors you may see, I said it was rough around the edges.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Netkas Phone Home

January 22nd, 2033

From Netkas, First Explorer
Rolling White and Grey Peaks
Planet Earth

To Outer Planetary Investigations Headquarters
Planet Kacarro

 

My friends.

There is so much I can talk of for this strange planet. It is so different from our world of darkness and freezing temperatures. So very different.

My ship quickly lost its ability to steer and fly when I entered the atmosphere of this planet. Our destination of the heart of this planet was not reached and I have crash landed among a space blanketed in white, fluffy stuff. It is wet, and melts in my warm hands. You can sink into it as you walk and I do not know what it is. I have never seen it before, but I know the whole planet is not covered by it. In the descent with my ship I remember catching glimpses far away of rolling green and golden-brown. There must be so many more climates to this strange land. It baffles me.

Rest assured, the ship is not damaged. There was nothing critically damaged in my rough landing, nothing I could not repair with the tools I have onboard. The craft is well hidden among this barren white landscape as well, I will not be discovered with it.

The structures around me are so large, so great and dotted with this same fluffy stuff. They rise from this land themselves and I do not think they are made by the creatures that inhabit this Earth. They are rock and the jut towards a sky of endless blue with clouds. So much taller than anything I have ever seen. And they go on for leagues! A winding continuous line of them.

I have not seen many creatures of this planet so far. I do not understand why though, it is so warm here. Almost too warm. I am finding I must dip within the nitrogen baths aboard my ship often or I overheat. The few creatures I have seen are so strange.

Yesterday, I saw a creature that ran on four legs. Their hands were wider, fingers stubby with claws. It was like they had four sets of feet and no hands the way they moved. The tracks they left in this fluffy stuff are so different, I have included a mold of one in this package, you only need to enlarge it with the Enorm Ray. These creatures are covered in what looks like a thick blanket, too. I think it is fur like the bergals on Kacarro. Their mouths are elongated with sharp teeth and pointy ears. Eyes of liquid amber. They have these bushy tails. I watched them for awhile, they stayed together in a family. All different colors of grey, charcoal, black, brown, and even a white one. They all looked so similar, but also so diverse, it is incredible! The sounds they make when they tilt their heads back are chilling yet beautiful. I was mesmerized. As much as I wished to, I made no approach of them to try to communicate just yet.

I have not encountered any of the two-legged creatures that populate this planet as of yet. I have not seen any structures of theirs either. Only this never-ending landscape of white with these rough, round, brown things that stick out of the ground. They have these arms that branch off in so many directions. Starting thick and getting thinner and thinner, in a beautiful chaotic mess with no pattern or rhyme to them. They are bare, the same white stuff laying upon their arms. When the wind blows they sway and creak, sending puffs of the white stuff swirling through this air. I have tried speaking to a few, but they do not answer me. I wonder if they cannot communicate at all, but they have the energy waves of something living.

The atmosphere here is quite different, and breathing is different. I have not yet needed my air pack to survive if I am just standing around or sitting. When I am moving long distances though, exploring this planet Earth, it becomes hard to breathe and I can feel my gills stick together like something is clogging them until I take a cloth to clean them. I do not understand what it is clogging them, there is nothing visible in this air I can see. I wonder if perhaps I could bottle the atmosphere and send it to you for investigation.

My supplies are abundant yet and I have all the maps and documents we have retrieved and written of our limited knowledge so far. I am keeping journals of all I see and experience, creating drawings of a lot of it as well. I will make them as complete as possible and keep them safe until my return to Kacarro. My exploration will take me further away from these white lands towards the rolling segments of different climate I saw. I will document it all, I will learn to communicate with these strange creatures, all of them. I have included a few copied notes of what I have experienced and seen so far that is quite puzzling. You can expect another report from me next week in the same fashion.

Yours Sincerely,
First Explorer, Netkas

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Now you can find this flash fiction work and others on my profile on Wattpad! Click here for my profile and go dive into a sea of Shards of Imagination!

Release Day Number One — The eBook is Live!

On Friday I talked about an upcoming book release from Victory Tales Press in which a story of mine is featured. Well, here it is! The eBook version of Paranormal Pleasures is out! It went live on Smashwords and Amazon yesterday into today. The paperback version will take a little longer yet but it is on its way!

Since I said I would go into a bit more detail of the book and the other three authors in the anthology when it released, that is coming up below. But to keep up to date with my writing, any giveaways I may do, and the release date of the paperback version, be sure to follow my Facebook author page and/or my Wattpad profile where you can find FREE works of mine already out to the world! I will be sharing the info of the release here as well.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DarklingDreams/
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/DarkMistress13

As I stated before as well, starting this coming Sunday, I will be featuring Embermyst — my story within Paranormal Pleasures — in my Sunday Snippet posts for a taste of Halloween!

Don’t forget, word of mouth and your support with reviews will help this book get noticed and sell more copies. So pass the news along to friends, share the release posts, talk it up, and leave us those reviews after you’ve read the book. They are the biggest thank you you can give an author. If Amazon gets 20 reviews on a book, our book will show up in the “You May Also Like” tabs and that is a huge boost to reaching a bigger reading audience.

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Paranormal Pleasures: 2016 Halloween Romances
Publisher: Victory Tales Press
Authors: Gerald Costlow, Barbara Miller, Daelyn Morgana (ME!), and Vicki Crum
Format: eBook and Paperback*
Release Date: eBook – September 26, 2016
*Paperback – Coming soon!
Length: 59,970 words, 214 pages
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Paranormal, Short Stories
Price: $2.99 eBook, Paperback TBD

Victory Tales Press offers four sweet to sensual stories to stir your heart and satisfy your craving for romance. Our talented storytellers dare you to enter a world where romance dwells in the most unlikely places.

Ghost of a Chance
By: Gerald Costlow

Billy Sherritt, the only warlock born in 300 years, is now a teenager and facing some choices about his life that he doesn’t like. He unexpectedly gets sent back in time to 1640 in England, to meet the previous warlock and namesake Bill Sherritt and his sweetheart, Abigail. A Witchfinder is about to show up and the entire witch community is in danger. Billy wants to help, but he arrived as a disembodied ghost and he’s forced to stay with Bill wherever he goes.

If he can’t help this couple escape and make their way to America, his own future might be in danger. So far, he’s only managed to compound their love life. It’s hard to have a romantic rendezvous with a teenage ghost in the room.

Right Turn
By: Barbara Miller

Greg Sutton comes to Maple Grove looking for an inexpensive house since his estranged wife will end up with the current one in their divorce. His kids Eric and Kelly are not happy about the move, which will take them away from their friends, but he has to find work to take care of his children.

Lois Smith has a more desperate reason for hunting an out-of-the-way place. She is a romance author and is being stalked by a fan who wants to play out his fantasies about her. Her realtor sends her to a place in Maple Grove, a mansion in need of some tender loving care. Though Lois doubts she is at the right house, it looks like a perfect place to hide away from her stalker.

Without realizing it, the realtor sent both Greg and Lois to the same wrong place. The Mansion has secrets and wounds of its own. Will the mishap end up being the right turn in Lois and Greg’s lives?

Embermyst
By: Daelyn Morgana

As the God of the Afterlife, Death has grown accustomed to his dreary duty until he meets an unlikely soul: an empowered woman named Morticia. She was living with a big secret in a world full of fear before an exorcism gone wrong landed her in his realm.

Was it a twist of the Fates?

Death didn’t think so.

While she hovers between the mortal plane and the land of the dead, can he convince her of the legends of the divine, claiming she is his one perfect Mate? Or will the promise hanging around her neck cause her to return to the land of the living and the man that failed her?

Something About Autumn
By: Vicki Crum

Autumn Graham has always been a dreamer, a free spirit who never quite fit in with her peers. As an adult, and now an independent business owner, she’s worked hard to put all that fanciful nonsense behind her—until a mysterious stranger walks into her bookstore asking for books on the occult. Tall, charming, handsome as sin, Dorian fascinates Autumn like no man ever has. He claims to be a fantasy writer, but she suspects there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. When the instant attraction they share quickly spirals out of control, Autumn finds herself falling hard for the enigmatic stranger. But can she handle the astounding truth about Dorian’s real identity?

BUY LINKS:
Smashwords
Amazon
Barnes & Noble – Coming soon
Other online retailers coming soon

The Smallest Movement (Snippet Sunday 9.25.16)

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Where writers come together to share a few sentences (8-10) of their current project — whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.

For a couple months — August and September I’m thinking — I am switching back to sharing from my adventure novel, Breaking Point. In October I might switch back to Fated to Darkness as I hope to have the first draft finished by then. (Yes, finished. I can hardly believe I’m saying that.) Should that happen, I’ll be posting to celebrate completing my first ever novel manuscript. Until then, enjoy more horses and mysterious bad guys!

Previously on Sunday Snippets: Our main character, who has yet to be named, has taken a ride through the forest on her horse Midnight, and has found herself racing a buck through the foliage. Midnight and his rider have veered off the path somewhere and have now found themselves in a uncharted part of the forest they have never seen before. They have run into a band of armed riders who seem threatening, and are surrounded now. After making a run for it, my MC was knocked out and both her and her horse were captured.

Picking up right where I left off from last week’s snippet.

(Some sentences may have been creatively edited and punctuated to try to fit the ten sentence limit. I’m over, again. Can we just agree that my snippets will always be a little longer but not too long?)

~*~*~*~

I pounded on the glass, yelling his name over and over. As much as I hated to say it, I hoped the four men on horseback would get a rope around Midnight soon. At least then I wouldn’t have to worry about my horse hurting himself. Of course, there was always the possibility of them hurting him, but my gut told me they weren’t here to hurt either of us. And I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore my gut.

Midnight bucked, reared, kicked, and screamed as I continued to watch in agony. My nose was pressed tight up against the glass and my nails bit into my palms as I pounded on the glass. Just as the men were about to get a rope around him, he would spin out of their reach. My chest was in knots as I prayed silently he wouldn’t get hurt. I couldn’t bear to see my baby hurt.

The seconds ticked by into minutes, each one more painful than the last. My anxiety and fear mounted with the minutes, I was almost too afraid to breathe. Small beads of sweat had started to roll down my hairline and I could feel my limbs shaking. I couldn’t stop the terror from gripping me, and my voice was going hoarse from yelling to my horse.

Then Midnight stumbled.

I saw it before it happened. The jerk of his left hind hoof as he reared: the smallest movement that set him off balance, threatening to fall over backwards.

An action that would surely snap his neck when he landed.

~*~*~*~

I can’t watch! *Covers face* And I think that is going to leave you guys on a cliffhanger! I know, I’m evil, we’ve established this already. LOL. Next month I’ll be switching off to something else, not sure what yet though.

This story is not yet on Wattpad either as it is another unfinished work and unedited as well. I refuse to put up anything that is unedited. One day I hope to finish this book, but my focus this year is Fated to Darkness.

However! If you wish to read anything else that I do have finished, you can hop on over to  my profile on Wattpad and check out what I have to offer. I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads.

And if you’re looking for some other great snippets of fellow authors,
hop on over to Facebook and check out Snippet Sunday!

Publishing Coming Soon!

A month and a half ago I had begun writing a short story for a chance to be published in an anthology. A month ago I had submitted the story for the chance. Days later I had heard back and so began a new journey.

Now we are reaching the end of the journey and I am proud to announce that Victory Tales Press is publishing my story, Embermyst, in their 2016 Halloween Romance Collection, Paranormal Pleasures!

It will be coming out in eBook form and paperback very, very soon. Release dates are to be determined yet, but the eBook version will be out by the end of September! Paperback will take a little bit longer to come out. As soon as I know those dates, posts will be coming with buy links and more!

Within this book there are four paranormal romance stories from four different authors, all ready for Halloween. I will go into more detail of them when the eBook version is released.

If you want to keep up to date with my writing and this publishing, make sure to follow this blog. Or you can find me on Facebook on my author page. If you want some free stories of mine to read and keep you content until this book is released, you can find me on Wattpad yet! Be sure to follow and give me a like to stay up to date on all that is going on.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DarklingDreams/
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/DarkMistress13

For the month of October, I will be show casing snippets from Embermyst for the Snippet Sunday blog hop as well!

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Paranormal Pleasures, 2016 Halloween Romances
Publisher: Victory Tales Press
Authors: Gerald Costlow, Barbara Miller, Daelyn Morgana (ME!), and Vicki Crum
Release Date: Coming soon to eBook and paperback!

Embermyst
By: Daelyn Morgana

Blurb:
As the God of the Afterlife, Death has grown accustomed to his dreary duty until he meets an unlikely soul: an empowered woman named Morticia. She was living with a big secret in a world full of fear before an exorcism gone wrong landed her in his realm.
Was it a twist of the Fates?
Death didn’t think so.
While she hovers between the mortal plane and the land of the dead, can he convince her of the legends of the divine, claiming she is his one perfect Mate? Or will the promise hanging around her neck cause her to return to the land of the living and the man that failed her?

 

Mercy Me (Wednesday Words 9.21.16)

Welcome to a piece of Wednesday Word’s flash fiction on Darkling Dreams!

A good friend of mine, P.T. Wyant, is doing a blog post every Wednesday called Wednesday Words with a new prompt for a bit of flash fiction writing, just to get in the habit of writing something, anything. (Even if said flash fiction is complete garbage at the time. Garbage is better than nothing though, right?) If you’re looking for some inspiration yourself or just something to aimlessly write, then go check out her blog for this week’s prompt!

With that being said, I am going to share what I came up with for this week’s flash fiction prompt based off a three word combination prompt. So here is my very rough around the edges minute of inspiration based off her prompt. I’d love to hear what you guys think of it!

(Please excuse any errors you may see, I said it was rough around the edges.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mercy Me

Smoke wafted across the twilight sky behind her, distorting clouds and deepening the already blood red sky. The sound of her mount’s hooves pounding the ground echoed through the still silence that had followed the sounds of chaos.

They were burned into her mind. The images. The sounds. Each one was grating upon her nerves and her fears. Rising, suffocating, overpowering.

Much like the frantic chestnut mare she clung to, her chest was heaving as she tried to breathe and calm herself. It was to no avail though. No matter how far away she got from the wreckage, it would never quell the horror and terror inside her.

Streets caked with blood, running in small rivers. Dead bodies, young and old, male and female, littered the ground like garbage. Buildings and structures on fire. Others collapsed or being ransacked. Battle cries, sounds of terror, wails, screams, crying. Marching feet and the sound of metal clashing together. A busted down door, splintered wood. A pool of blood with a lifeless hand. The smell of thickening smoke…

She tried to shove the images and memories out of mind but it was no use, they were burned and etched into her mind’s eye.

Why?

Why had she gone back in search of her family despite the carnage and danger?

Simply because she had to. They were family, she could not leave them behind. But it was all too late. Her home had been behind the lines of advancing troops, her street ransacked and deserted. Neighbors and friends had been slain in cold blooded orders. Pets and livestock had fled. She had been lucky enough to find a horse in which to steal and run away on after.

When she had stepped into the foyer of her home though…

Bile rose in her throat, her vision swimming with dancing black spots. Blood roared in her ears and darkness threatened to consume her for at least the third time in a matter of minutes since she had fled for safety.

The glint of her mother’s ring upon her lifeless hand had tore through her soul. A promise of forever, of love and peace and friendship. It had been her mother’s symbol to live by, her mother’s totem. Her caring, gentle, and kind mother who always knew how to help and who always had the best advice for anyone in town had been cut down like a sheep for slaughter. All because of what? Because they had been living peacefully in their home? Because they were innocents in a town in the middle of a war?

It sickened her. It crushed her heart.

Air whooshed from her lungs as she lost her grip on the horse and fell off, hitting the ground hard on her side. She hardly winced, curling up and sobbing quietly. Hot, silent tears rolled down her cheeks in a fresh wave of agony and she struggled to breathe for a long time even as the sounds of her mount faded away into nothingness.

She knew not how long she laid there, a small corner of a box digging painfully into her side. Somehow the pain was comforting. Eventually she forced herself to sit and pulled it out, making sure it hadn’t broken in her fall. Her hands shook as she turned the small parcel over, finding the lock had broken in her desperate escape, but the rest of it was still intact.

Carefully, she opened the lid and looked inside at the contents of her mother’s memory box. A lock of her hair and her sister’s. Her father’s wedding band. A chip of a broken tea cup. Scraps of notes with sentimental value. A piece of ribbon and a scrap of dress.

Her fingers stopped sorting through the objects when she came upon a crumbled bit of paper, tea stained with age. She knew what it was instantly as she unfolded it, gazing upon her deceased grandmother’s elegant handwriting. It was the note she had given her mother before she died of a bandit attack on her cottage home.

If you cannot forgive the faults of others from holding you back, then how can you ever grant others the mercy you were not given? Mercy will stop ignorance from circling like vultures.

She read over it once, twice, three times before she could no longer see the lines through blurry eyes. A lump caught in her throat, remembering her mother telling her the story of how her grandmother had passed before she was even born, of how it inspired her to live thereafter.

Mercy…

She could almost hear her mother whispering her name along the breeze in the darkness. Mercy will stop ignorance from circling like vultures. She was Mercy, and she would stop the growing vultures.

She had to go back.

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Now you can find this flash fiction work and others on my profile on Wattpad! Click here for my profile and go dive into a sea of Shards of Imagination!

I know, I know, I missed last week because of circumstances. You can find Crimson Spoiled on Wattpad now to see what I came up with for last week’s prompt!

Roller Coasters

Roller coasters are fun!

Well, let me rephrase that. The ones in amusement parks are tons of fun, the ones life likes to send you on emotionally and physically are not so much fun.

For the past week life has had me on a very wild and twisty one that’s had me going down a very steep hill pretty damn fast and has made me sick. Literally.

So yes, I know I missed Wednesday’s and Friday’s post last week. (Shame on me.) But no, I did not forget about my blog. I did not have another computer crash — thank the Gods. I did not give up on this blog or anything. I just… I had a really, really rough week.

My Wednesday post never came because I was caught up dealing with contracts, work, and horseback riding, and then I ended up psyching myself out rather greatly by the end of the night on multiple fronts so I was severely down in a deep, dark place. I never even wrote my Shard for that Wednesday yet. By Friday I wasn’t any better and I was away the weekend so I didn’t have a lot of time to write a post anyways, and I still had no heart or will to force out a post.

Therefore, I skipped both posts. I apologize. I hate skipping or missing a post, but I am back and rolling again, and in a bit better spirits finally.

Okay, “bit better spirits” may be an understatement right about now. I think I’m living a dream and someone needs to pinch me. Or maybe I’m walking on air again.

See what I mean? These life coasters are a royal bitch!

I did say literally to being sick, too, right? Because I am. Well, I’m getting over it now, finally. Wednesday night I could feel it starting to hit me and it just got worse day after day until I finally woke up starting to feel better today. I’m not coughing anymore really, and I’m able to sing and have enough energy to squeal and jump around in excitement, as well as dancing, so I think that’s a good sign finally.

ANYWHO!

That bit of the roller coaster aside — and no I’m not going into that dark and lonely path that I’ve been walking on for awhile — I’m a bit bummed to say the 2016 camping season is over for me. No more trips this year.

Though that also means I won’t be falling any further behind on those journal entries for it. So, yay?

I am excited to say that the publishing opportunity is for real now. Editing completed and contract signed for real. It’s happening, people. I’m living in a goddamn dream right now. There are way too many emotions going through me over this anthology book right now, but I’m not going to get into all those details until I know more of release dates and how I’m allowed or not allowed to promote and talk up the book.

But do stay tuned for that! It’s coming! *Squee!*

Actually, it’s coming on Friday’s post. (One of those speak of the devil and he shall come moments when you glance at email. LOL.) So, SQUEEEEEE!

Okay! Before I start rambling off into incoherent squeals, laughter, and sounds of excitement — I’m a writer and I have no words for this feeling right now — I think I better stop and go write some flash fiction.

Yes, go write, and ride this high a little longer.

Thick Black Lines (Snippet Sunday 9.18.16)

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Where writers come together to share a few sentences (8-10) of their current project — whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.

For a couple months — August and September I’m thinking — I am switching back to sharing from my adventure novel, Breaking Point. In October I might switch back to Fated to Darkness as I hope to have the first draft finished by then. (Yes, finished. I can hardly believe I’m saying that.) Should that happen, I’ll be posting to celebrate completing my first ever novel manuscript. Until then, enjoy more horses and mysterious bad guys!

Previously on Sunday Snippets: Our main character, who has yet to be named, has taken a ride through the forest on her horse Midnight, and has found herself racing a buck through the foliage. Midnight and his rider have veered off the path somewhere and have now found themselves in a uncharted part of the forest they have never seen before. They have run into a band of armed riders who seem threatening, and are surrounded now. After making a run for it, my MC was knocked out and both her and her horse were captured.

Picking up right where I left off from last week’s snippet.

(Some sentences may have been creatively edited and punctuated to try to fit the ten sentence limit. I’m over, again. Can we just agree that my snippets will always be a little longer but not too long?)

~*~*~*~

I bolted out of bed and made a beeline for the window. “Midnight!” I screamed, hoping like all hell my horse would hear my voice and come towards me. I just needed to see that he was alright.

Upon reaching the window, I banged my head against the glass in my haste, causing the ache to turn to another severe pounding, but I hardly paid it any mind. The panic of seeing my horse was all that I could think of at the moment. When I looked out the window, everything was broken up into parts set by thick black lines. My focus zoned in on the black lines only to be dismayed by the sight of iron bars surrounding the glass window on the outside.

I frowned. Well, if I had any doubts of what happened, they were certainly all up in smoke now. I had definitely been kidnapped and these guys meant business.

Another yell and scream from my horse brought my attention back to spotting him. In the center of a yard were four guys on horseback with lassos racing after and trying to corner poor Midnight as he bucked and reared in fright. Even with the distance between us I could see the whites of Midnight’s eyes as they rolled back into his head. I was suddenly very afraid my horse was going to get himself hurt. Or worse.

~*~*~*~

Poor, Midnight. Must be so scared…

This story is not yet on Wattpad either as it is another unfinished work and unedited as well. I refuse to put up anything that is unedited. One day I hope to finish this book, but my focus this year is Fated to Darkness.

However! If you wish to read anything else that I do have finished, you can hop on over to  my profile on Wattpad and check out what I have to offer. I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads.

And if you’re looking for some other great snippets of fellow authors,
hop on over to Facebook and check out Snippet Sunday!

Camp Journaling: Part Two — Writing The Entry

So on Friday I talked about how I take the notes for the camping journal I keep. Since that post was all about the notes, today I’m going to give you a look at how I actually write the entry based off those notes.

For this, I have a black composition notebook that is solely used for writing these entries and nothing else. Labeled and all. It even has an index page and a direction/layout page of how I write the entries so I don’t vary at all from year to year. (I’m actually on notebook number 2 for these entries. Half of the first one makes me cringe though since I was young and aspiring and still trying to figure out a groove on doing this.)

Anyways, for each season/year I designate a title page that even gets one of the flag sticky notes for easy access to each year. Underneath the title of “Year 2016” I’ll make my own little index of each trip for that year and what page that entry starts on. The overall index at the beginning of the notebook only lists the page numbers for the Year title page and then what trips were that year. My index on the Year title page has the page numbers for each individual entry.

(Did that make sense? It sounded better in my head then it did writing it out.)

Once I have those title pages done, the next page starts the first entry. I start by using a black pen and writing the name of the campground. On the three lines underneath the title space, I divide it into two columns, aligning to the margin lines for two separate things.

On the left hand side, I refer to my notes and the three ratings I talked about — Facilities, Activities, and Attractions — and list those going down. On the right hand side margin, I first list the dates in which we went, then the town and state the campground resides in, and then the time in which it took us to travel to the campground. On the fourth line down from the title, aligned center, I write Average for my rating and then using little star stickers for the average rating I gave the campground.

Once I have that header information, I set my black pen aside and go for a pencil so I can start writing the entry.

When I write these entries, I break them up into four paragraph topics: the facilities, other notes that do not include the facilities, places to eat and attractions, and if we are likely to return to the campground or not with final thoughts.

See how this runs parallel to how I wrote my notes?

Starting with the facilities, I’ll write out what the campground has to offer and whatever detail I have about them. What kind of stuff the game room had, how deep the pool was even if I remember to look, how well kept things were. Then there’s things like the camp store and what they have to offer. All that general information you might expect to find in a brochure or About Us section of a website. That all goes into the first paragraph.

My second paragraph is all the left over notes I have that don’t really fit in the category of talking about the facilities. Things like how level the sites are, if they’re expensive or reasonable priced. Perhaps it’s about how swampy the campground gets if it rains, or little interesting tidbits like some campgrounds may do street names for each lane of sites for fun. Like one campground that has a Skunk Hollow because they used to get a lot of skunks around that area of permanent sites. Anything that doesn’t fit into the first paragraph goes into this one.

The third paragraph will map out the places we can eat and any attractions around the campground. I start with the eateries, and make sure to note which one we went to and how good the food was. Then I start on the attractions. When I write the attractions, I go in order of closest to furthest away in travel time. I also try to keep similar attractions grouped together within those travel times as much as possible. When I talk about them I make sure to mention what they have to offer and what the place is if the attraction’s title is not enough.

All three of these paragraphs tend to vary in length depending on how much I have to write about. I’ve had attraction paragraphs last over a page long, and I do not write very big. Granted, I probably could and should break these up a little more, but this is just nice and easy organization to write the notes into three paragraphs of similar categories and topics.

The final paragraph is always the shortest, and easiest. I tend to start it off with the question of “would we go back?” Normally, the answer is yes. Sometimes it’s a sort of yes or a maybe, but rarely is it ever a no. Then again, I’m not always too picky when it comes to campgrounds. It’s a weekend away from work and stress after all. I’ll leave any closing comments about the campground and then that’s finally it for the trip.

I’m all done at that point and ready for the next adventure.

Normally, these entries range from about five pages long to maybe around seven or eight. Again it depends on how good my notes are, and how much I have to write about. Some are a lot easier than others. At the end of writing one, I will take the brochure of that campground and tuck it into the notebook at the start of that entry as well.

And that is how I journal for camping. I’ve been doing this for a couple years now, and plan to keep doing it. Speaking of which, I need to go write one of these entries now.

Get That Horse! (Snippet Sunday 9.11.16)

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Where writers come together to share a few sentences (8-10) of their current project — whether it’s a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Intended to hook readers, gather feedback and build an author’s fan base, Snippet Sunday is the FB group that does all three.

For a couple months — August and September I’m thinking — I am switching back to sharing from my adventure novel, Breaking Point. In October I might switch back to Fated to Darkness as I hope to have the first draft finished by then. (Yes, finished. I can hardly believe I’m saying that.) Should that happen, I’ll be posting to celebrate completing my first ever novel manuscript. Until then, enjoy more horses and mysterious bad guys!

Previously on Sunday Snippets: Our main character, who has yet to be named, has taken a ride through the forest on her horse Midnight, and has found herself racing a buck through the foliage. Midnight and his rider have veered off the path somewhere and have now found themselves in a uncharted part of the forest they have never seen before. They have run into a band of armed riders who seem threatening, and are surrounded now. After making a run for it, my MC was knocked out and both her and her horse were captured.

Picking up right where I left off from last week’s snippet.

(Some sentences may have been creatively edited and punctuated to try to fit the ten sentence limit. I’m over, again. Can we just agree that my snippets will always be a little longer but not too long?)

~*~*~*~

It took minutes for the room to stand still and I was able to open my eyes again. I glanced around me in a panic, wondering where I was. I was sitting on an uncomfortable cot in a small cottage with nothing more than the cot, a table with two chairs, and a bench with some changes of clothes on it. There was one window to the left of me and a door directly in front of me. My eyes grazed over the window, the bring sunlight hurting the constant ache in my head.

Then my eyes latched onto the door. My ticket out of here.

My body screamed to make a run for that door and out of here, but something was holding me back. A nagging, reminding thought plagued me but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

“Get that horse!”

My head shot back to the window as I picked up the demanding voice followed by a shrill cry from a horse in serious fright. A dead chill settled in my gut as I recognized the cry.

It belonged to my dear Midnight.

~*~*~*~

Guess it wasn’t part of the dream after all.

This story is not yet on Wattpad either as it is another unfinished work and unedited as well. I refuse to put up anything that is unedited. One day I hope to finish this book, but my focus this year is Fated to Darkness.

However! If you wish to read anything else that I do have finished, you can hop on over to  my profile on Wattpad and check out what I have to offer. I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads.

And if you’re looking for some other great snippets of fellow authors,
hop on over to Facebook and check out Snippet Sunday!