An Unknown Abyss (Snippet Sunday 4.22.18)

April 22, 2018 / Daelyn Morgana / 11 Comments

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.

Happy Earth day! Sooo… Three weeks into Camp NaNo and I still don’t have a word count to show for it. With only nine days left I better get my butt in gear and finish this short story I switched to. I mean, I dropped my goal to something pitifully small for me, I better be able to pull it off. Here’s hoping the last week of NaNo is going better for all you readers out there than it is for me!

Even though I’ve switched what I’m working on for Camp NaNoWriMo I’m going to continue to share from Embermyst just to finish out the month. For those that have followed along over the last couple years, you know I got my debut publication in 2016 with this short story in an anthology. Since the company went out of business last year and I received my rights back I began rewriting Embermyst into a full fleshed out novel last November.

I’m picking up right where I left off from in last week’s excerpt. If you missed last week, or need a quick refresh, Morticia was feeling some peaceful coming over her fatigued state, like loving arms pulling her close. So without further ado, here are the next six lines to the never before seen prologue of Embermyst…

(Excuse any errors; this is still an unedited WiP. This passage is a bit edited from what I have in the Word document as the whispered speech is actually spoken in Latin. I just haven’t created the exact translation yet so I substituted just the English to avoid looking like an idiot. LOL. If anyone knows Latin well enough to translate or knows someone who does and would be willing to give me a shout on the translation, it’d be greatly appreciated!)

~*~*~*~

“Maiden, Mother, Crone, hear me now for I am thy daughter. Hold me safe in loving arms, guard and bless my steady path,” she whispered under her breath.

In the midst of security something pricked the essence of her being. Alarm coursed through weak limbs and a groggy mind. The safety net surrounding her snapped away harshly like a knife through her soul. Her chest rose and fell with one last erratic breath, arching upwards in a spasm of quiet agony, straining against the ropes that bound her before the unknown abyss snatched her away and reality faded out of existence.

~*~*~*~

And good energy turned bad… Well, it was nice while it lasted? Sorry for the shortness this week, that was the end of the Prologue!

Due to the fact this is still a WiP I do not have a reworked blurb to share yet and the image comes from the original short story (a part that has not changed, mostly, the second question is a little different; I just haven’t fully figured out the new question to change it yet). Nor will the story be posted to Wattpad either as I have all intentions of pitching it for publication upon its completion. That being said there will be no “if you wish to read more” option.

However! If you wish to read anything else that I have out for free, you can click the tabs above to browse through my available works and then follow the links to my Wattpad account. I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads. You can also find me on my Facebook author page to keep up to date with all that’s going on in my writing.

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

A Tickled Breath and Promise (Snippet Sunday 4.15.18)

April 15, 2018 / Daelyn Morgana / 9 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Sooo… Two weeks into Camp NaNo and with my eight day vacation from work and I still don’t have a word count to show for it. Worse yet, I ended up dropping the project I was getting nowhere on and changed to something else. That something else isn’t going too well either. The word count still isn’t coming, the motivation still isn’t there, and the want to write still hasn’t return. And we are halfway through Camp today. Just my luck.

I’m skipping ahead just a few lines from last week’s excerpt. I left out a plea from her fiancé to basically come back to her for explanation purposes. So without further ado, here are the next ten lines to the never before seen prologue of Embermyst…

(Excuse any errors; this is still an unedited WiP. Minor punctuation abuse this week to fit the limit too.)

~*~*~*~

She let her head fall to the side, catching a washed out glimpse of her fiancé in the doorway through spots of black light in her vision; his voice whispered against her senses, so far off and faint she thought for a moment she imagined it. The priest’s babbling had become just as distant as the seconds ticked by.

A strange heaviness began to creep into her limbs, dragging her down to the earth. Her wild heart had begun to still, the roaring in her ears turning to a light buzzing sound; she could almost hear a reassuring call among that buzzing. A tickled breath and promise of release from this torment. She knew the energy surrounding it, recognized it cocooning her in safety like a second skin. Welcome familiarity surrounded her soul, driving out the heightened sensations of pain, grief, and misguided belief suffocating her in the room.

Morticia closed her eyes, relaxing into those open arms. The world around her bled away, coming to a peaceful standstill. No chanting, no pain, no rough hands forcing her down, no stress, no fear.

~*~*~*~

Any guesses as to what energy she’s feeling? I love hearing guesses.

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

I Am Not His… (Snippet Sunday 4.8.18)

April 8, 2018 / Daelyn Morgana / 10 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

The first week of Camp NaNo is over and I…haven’t written a single word. *Sigh* I wasn’t at all ready for the start of NaNo this time, and exhaustion coupled with stress has kept me from catching myself up to speed to start writing. Hopefully now that I’ve got eight days of glorious freedom from work I’ll have the time and energy to refresh myself and start writing finally.

With Camp NaNoWriMo back in the swing of things I’m switching up what I’m sharing from. For those that have followed along over the last couple years, you know I got my debut publication in 2016 with one of my short stories in an anthology. Since the company went out of business last year and I received my rights back I began rewriting Embermyst into a full fleshed out novel last November. My project for the month of April is to continue (and hopefully finish) the rewritten story. That means for this whole month I will be sharing from Embermyst as part of the motivational process to write.

I don’t want to pick up halfway through the novel sharing from my current writing location, so I’m going to start from the new beginning. I’m skipping ahead a few paragraphs from last week’s excerpt. So without further ado, here are the next nine lines to the never before seen prologue of Embermyst…

(Excuse any errors; this is still an unedited WiP.)

~*~*~*~

“Oh Holy Father, come forth and save your child from eternal damnation! Come forth and consecrate this sacred place with your presence! Drive this wretched thing from her and make her soul pure again!”

His booming voice cut through the growing haze of reality. With effort she peeled her eyelids open to glance over the priest, arms up to the sky with his head tilted back. A Bible clutched in one hand and a set of rosary beads in his other as he called upon the powers that be.

“I’m not… I am not his…” Her voice didn’t even elicit a whisper amongst his determined chanting. She couldn’t take anymore of this.

~*~*~*~

This might not end well.

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

I Am Not Possessed (Snippet Sunday 4.1.18)

April 1, 2018April 1, 2018 / Daelyn Morgana / 9 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Happy Easter, folks! Or, as I’ve been saying all day, happy Easter Fools! Hopefully April Fool’s tricks didn’t ruin the holiday in any way. If you’re participating in 2018’s first NaNoWriMo session, welcome to the madness that is Camp NaNo as well! The descent into the fevered writing frenzy has begun, and probably with a rough start for most seeing as it began on a holiday. I know I haven’t had a single chance to write yet. Not that I was ready for it yet thanks to the “second Christmas” rush Easter brings to retail.

With Camp NaNoWriMo having begun I’m switching up what I’m sharing from again. For those that have followed along over the last couple years, you know I got my debut publication in 2016 with one of my short stories in an anthology. Since the company went out of business last year and I received my rights back I began rewriting Embermyst into a full fleshed out novel last November. My project for the month of April is to continue (and hopefully finish) the rewritten story. That means for this whole month I will be sharing from Embermyst as part of the motivational process to write.

I don’t want to pick up halfway through the novel sharing from my current writing location, so I’m going to start from the new beginning. So without further ado, here are the first ten lines to the never before seen prologue of Embermyst…

(Excuse any wonky punctuation to meet the ten line limit and any errors; this is still an unedited WiP.)

~*~*~*~

“IN THE NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-“

“Quit your chanting!” Morticia shouted over the din of the priest’s rising and falling voice, her own cracking with strain. Sweat dripped down the sides of her face, plastering black locks of hair to her skin. Her chest heaved with each labored breath she took. The stress began to take a toll on her body, sapping her energy, draining her fight. Her heart raced a mile in her chest, “For the thousandth time, I am not possessed by some demon!”

She jerked her head away from one of his disciples attempting to draw another cross on her forehead in holy water. The other waved a cross the size of his hand in front of her face before laying the cold metal against the heated bare skin of her chest. In vain she tried to weakly buck and twist away from them, rough hands forcing her back down on the bed by the shoulders. Coarse rope cut into fragile wrists from her continuous fighting; blood roared in her eardrums, beginning to blur the world with strain and exhaustion.

~*~*~*~

I don’t think they are going to listen to reason.

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

The Word ‘Miss’ – Part 2 (Snippet Sunday 4.30.17)

April 30, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 10 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

The madness that is the first Camp NaNoWriMo of 2017 is over, and this author is proud to say she made the win! Not only that, but after three years of working on this novel I can officially say I have FINISHED the first draft of Fated to Darkness! Ahhh! I can’t believe I’m finally saying that! Now it’s time to work on the concordance so I can start editing next year. Squee! In the meantime I’m going to work on Clockwork Heart and Rivers of Black. Since I’m hitting a point in FtD that I don’t really want to share from it anymore, I’m going to jump back to sharing from Clockwork Heart this month. Part of my motivation to finish the short story/novella/whatever it ends up being. This story is a steampunk, fantasy, modern-cross kind of genre. It’s still a WiP and I only have the first chapter completed – so far – so please excuse an errors and suggestions are welcome.

This week’s excerpt picks up right where I left off in last week’s snippet. Eric had just finished up with this line: “Yes, I did already miss her. The word ‘miss’ can have more than one meaning though. It can describe an action, but it can also describe an emotion or feeling.”

And now for the seventh peek at Chapter 1…

~*~*~*~

Lavinia blinked slowly. “How?”

“Think of it like this…” His lips pursed and he held up the flower, waiting for the next breeze to catch it and carry it away. As it skittered off in the air, Eric tried to reach out and snatch it back, but missed. “That is the action of missing something. I tried to grab the flower back but my hand missed and caught nothing but air. The emotion of missing is more like loneliness, or a deep ache in your heart. When someone dies or goes away, you miss seeing them and talking to them, you miss their constant presence and everything about them that used to fill a spot of your heart, because now you are without them. It’s not a physical motion, but an internal emotion in that sense.

“I miss seeing her every day and talking to her. I miss laughing with her and helping her in all the ways she would let me when it came to her Traveler’s duties. I miss her cooking, her kindness, her determination and fierceness. Most of all, I simply miss my mom like a knife to the heart. Does that make sense?”

She thought about it for a moment. “It is like loneliness?”

“Yes. In a sense.” He waved his hand whenever she looked at him for explanation. “I would probably end up making it harder to understand if I described what I meant.”

~*~*~*~

Well she was understanding… Darn English language.

Due to the fact this is a new WiP, I do not have a cover or blurb yet, neither is it posted to Wattpad at this time. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

However! If you wish to read anything else that I have out for free, you can hop on over to my profile on Wattpad and check out what I have to offer. Or if you wish to read my debut release, Embermyst, you can find out more about that in the tabs above. I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads. You can also find me on my Facebook author page to keep up to date with all that’s going on in my writing.

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

The Word ‘Miss’ (Snippet Sunday 4.23.17)

April 23, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 7 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

The madness that is the first Camp NaNoWriMo of 2017 has begun! Who else has plunged into the madness with me? I’m spending the month FINISHING Fated to Darkness and then using the remaining words of the month to work on Clockwork Heart. The tentative plan I would like to do is finish and publish Clockwork Heart this year. Since I’m hitting a point in FtD that I don’t really want to share from it anymore, I’m going to jump back to sharing from Clockwork Heart this month. Part of my motivation to finish the short story/novella/whatever it ends up being. This story is a steampunk, fantasy, modern-cross kind of genre. It’s still a WiP and I only have the first chapter completed – so far – so please excuse an errors and suggestions are welcome.

This week’s excerpt picks up right where I left off in last week’s snippet.

And now for the sixth peek at Chapter 1…

~*~*~*~

Lavinia fell quiet, then asked, “When did your mother go missing?”

His expression fell, letting the flower lay on his chest while he gazed up at the cloudless sky. “In one week’s time it’ll be a year. I miss her…”

“But she is already missing.”

Eric paused, looking over to her with a furrowed brow. “Huh?”

“You said you miss her, but she is already missing, so did you not already miss her?” Her head tilted ever so slightly.

The confused expression he wore gave way to that sort of light bulb realization he had described to her once. Eric shook his head and sat up. “Yes, I did already miss her. The word ‘miss’ can have more than one meaning though. It can describe an action, but it can also describe an emotion or feeling.”

~*~*~*~

The English language can be such a tricky thing, can’t it?

Due to the fact this is a new WiP, I do not have a cover or blurb yet, neither is it posted to Wattpad at this time. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

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

A Good Right Hook (Snippet Sunday 4.16.17)

April 16, 2017April 16, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 11 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

This week’s excerpt picks up right where I left off in last week’s snippet. Lavinia had asked him if he was close to his mother, and this is his reply.

And now for the fifth peek at Chapter 1…

~*~*~*~

“Very,” he answered softly. “After my father died she was all I had left, save for my grandmother. She cared for me and raised me best she could despite her job. Did you know I had no idea what a Traveler was, let alone that she was one, until only a couple years ago?”

His gaze flickered to her and Lavinia shook her head slowly. “I did not.”

“I didn’t know. Then one night, while my grandmother was watching me because my mother was away on one of her business trips, she came home in the middle of night unexpectedly. The commotion downstairs woke me up and I wandered down to see what was going on. My mother had gotten into a tight spot on her trip, a run in with some pirates, and she had come back hurt.” His eyes became distant, staring at the flower with a mistiness clouding them. “I panicked to see the blood staining her side, ran out demanding to know what had happened to her. My grandmother and her had shared one loaded look before they finally sat me down and told me everything while my grandmother patched her up.”

“Did she tell you what the run in was over?”

Eric shook his head. “She refused to tell me that.” A chuckle spilt from his lips. “Probably because I was swearing up and down I would give the scallywag a good right hook to the jaw to teach him a lesson for hurting my mother. I was fifteen at the time. That was… Geez, that was almost four years ago now.”

~*~*~*~

Every time I picture that scene of Eric fuming over a pirate in my head I can’t help but chuckle.

Due to the fact this is a new WiP, I do not have a cover or blurb yet, neither is it posted to Wattpad at this time. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

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

Not A Mechinel’s Way (Snippet Sunday 4.9.17)

April 9, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 17 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

This week’s excerpt picks up right where I left off in last week’s snippet. For the purpose of reminding what they were talking about, this was Lavinia’s last line: “Then maybe you are not lost enough to find the charm.”

And now for the fourth peek at Chapter 1…

~*~*~*~

His gaze turned up to search her face. This time she could not determine what classified emotion was flitting across his expression. Whatever it be, it was intense.

“Perhaps you’re right…”

Lavinia’s eyes whirred silently within their sockets as she studied him, wishing she could determine what he was thinking, or feeling. Such foreign concepts were beyond her capacity to understand though. That was not the way of a mechinel. Silence hung between them in which she could detect the faint rhythmic clicking of her heart tinkering away in her chest.

“Eric?” She finally broke the silence, computers spinning with questions.

“Hmm?” he mumbled as he fell back to lay in the grass once more.

“Were you…close to your mother?”

The question must have caught him off guard for his body stilled. A brief moment passed in which he remained silent and plucked another flower from the grass, inspecting it carefully. What he was looking for within its petals was beyond her. It was just a flower.

~*~*~*~

Anyone care to guess what his answer is going to be to that question?

Due to the fact this is a new WiP, I do not have a cover or blurb yet, neither is it posted to Wattpad at this time. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

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

Not Lost Enough (Snippet Sunday 4.2.17)

April 2, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 8 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

Happy April, folks! The madness that is the first Camp NaNoWriMo of 2017 has begun! Who else has plunged into the madness with me? I’m spending the month FINISHING Fated to Darkness and then using the remaining words of the month to work on Clockwork Heart. The tentative plan I would like to do is finish and publish Clockwork Heart this year. Since I’m hitting a point in FtD that I don’t really want to share from it anymore, I’m going to jump back to sharing from Clockwork Heart this month. Part of my motivation to finish the short story/novella/whatever it ends up being. This story is a steampunk, fantasy, modern-cross kind of genre. It’s still a WiP and I only have the first chapter completed – so far – so please excuse an errors and suggestions are welcome.

If anyone remembers the first two snippets I shared back in February for this story, I’m going to pick up right where I left off on the last snippet of it. For the purpose of refreshing minds Lavinia is a clockwork being and she was talking to Eric, who is human, about traveling his world. They’re about to change subjects though.

And now for the third peek at Chapter 1…

~*~*~*~

Lavinia wasn’t quite sure how to respond, simply watching him. He had begun to play with the tiny watch locket he wore on a gold chain under his shirt.

“Why do you wear that?” she found herself asking.

Eric looked back to her, catching her gaze and fishing the locket out from under his shirt. He looked at it a moment, holding it tenderly. “My mother gave it to me, before she disappeared. It used to be hers. She said it would be my compass when I am most lost, but…” He trailed off and opened it, revealing an empty interior. “I don’t think it can be my compass when the charm that used to reside inside was missing when she gave it to me.”

“Perhaps you are meant to find the charm then for your compass.”

“I’ve tried.” He sighed, letting it fall back against his shirt as he closed the locket with a faint click. “I’ve looked everywhere in my mother’s things, my home, and anywhere she might have hidden her special belongings as a Traveler. It’s nowhere.”

“Then maybe you are not lost enough to find the charm.”

~*~*~*~

For a clockwork being, she has some wisdom to her. I wonder if he isn’t lost enough yet.

Due to the fact this is a new WiP, I do not have a cover or blurb yet, neither is it posted to Wattpad at this time. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

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

I’ll Do Anything But… (Snippet Sunday 3.26.17)

March 26, 2017 / Daelyn Morgana / 8 Comments

Welcome to Snippet Sunday on Darkling Dreams!

For those that were following and looking forward to another snippet from Clockwork Heart… Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m holding off on sharing from that WiP this month, even though I missed the final shares for it in February. The (tentative) plan right now is to come back to it in April during Camp NaNo, because I believe that is the story I will be working on for Camp. Providing I do in fact manage to finish Fated to Darkness this month, and providing another WiP doesn’t scream at me to work on it instead. There’s quite a few trying to grab my next immediate attention…

So while I madly write away at the FINAL four chapters of Fated to Darkness, I’m once more going to share snippets from that novel for motivation. Hopefully ya’ll aren’t getting tired of seeing this novel.

This week’s excerpt picks up right where we left off in last week’s snippet.

And now for the fourth – and possibly final – peek at Chapter 9: The Gift…
(I may be jumping around a lot in this chapter, or skipping further ahead, to avoid spoilers.)

~*~*~*~

Almost like she was on numb autopilot, she saw herself reach forward and pick up the weapon rather than consciously knowing she did so. Her hand shook when she touched the cool hilt, afraid of the sharp object that could inflict such severe damage. Although, at the current moment, she was more afraid of Ciara’s punishment than of the deadly weapon.

“Torture her.”

The sternness to Ciara’s tone rushed chills down her spine. There was no room for argument in that voice and she whimpered. She didn’t want to hurt the girl. “P-Please, I’ll do anything but…” she whispered timidly.

“You will torture her or you will suffer the consequences.”

She shook her head weakly.

“Do it,” Ciara demanded coldly. There was her final warning.

~*~*~*~

And there is the edge of the point of no return. Will she do it? Or will she surprise us all? I guess you may never know, because this might be my last snippet of Fated to Darkness for awhile. I’m not too sure yet. We’ll see what the last week of March brings in my writing and how NaNo starts in April.

Blurb:
Three year old Heather Fraeis is like every other normal toddler. With a loving family, a family dog, and a little bit spoiled.

But fate can be a twisted and cruel friend.

Kidnapped on the night of her fourth birthday by a woman clad in black, Heather is whisked away to a realm that has never been known to exist. Forced into a life she doesn’t want as her kidnapper’s Heir, she comes to find that monsters do in fact exist, nightmares are more than bad dreams, and magic is more than just the thing of fairy tales.

Lies, fear, secrets, and pain await her around every corner. Swallowed whole by the dark path laid out before her, she is forced to fall with no light at the end of the tunnel to give her hope. Until she meets a young boy that may change everything once more for her…

Can Heather defy all the odds and overcome who is she forced to become? Or will it be too late for her to rise above the fate laid before her?

This story is not yet on Wattpad because it is my baby that I hope to publish one day, and if no one will publish me, I am self publishing. But it’s also not on Wattpad because it’s in first draft phases yet. So there will be no “if you wish to read more…”

However! If you wish to read anything else that I have out for free, you can hop on over to my profile on Wattpad and check out what I have to offer. Or if you wish to read my debut release, Embermyst, you can find out more about that in the tabs above. (I’m working on the tabs, bare with me.) I love to hear any and all feedback on my work as well. Comments are greatly appreciated, as are the reads. You can also find me on my Facebook author page to keep up to date with all that’s going on in my writing.

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