Farrier's Fate

The heavy scent of sulfur filled his nose when he walked into the barn. An icy chill slid down his spine as he raised his lantern. A figure stood in the center of the barn. The farrier moved toward it. “You sent for me, sir?”

The figure in black let out a breath from the stump of his neck. Once there was a head there surely. Now only gore and bone, the creature gave off an odor of decay mixed with rose petals. He raised his arm and extended a long finger toward a stall.

The farrier nodded with a half bow before moving to it. He never knew how to address the coachman. The thing must have some kind of supernatural sight to guide The Black Coach on its nightly collection of spirits.

The beast in the stall raised its head as the farrier stepped into its domain. Its muscles flexed under the onyx skin as a hoof stomped and scraped the wood floor.

He reached out a hand and stroked the nightmare's neck. It turned a blood red eye to meet his. The farrier looked away before it could see into his soul. Those eyes could make a man relive his deepest pain.

He set down the bag of tools and pulled on the thick heatproof gloves. They were cumbersome at times but better to deal with the discomfort and aggravation of the gloves than to have his hands burnt with the heat the beasts gave off.

Perhaps it was the heat of their bodies that caused the metal to twist and warp on their hooves.  Their manes and tails looked like hellfire dancing as they ferried the coach. Fables have said they were fallen souls such as him. Others guess they were created from hellfire in the great pit. Or perhaps it was better not to know. His soul knew too much of this place already.

He lifted the hoof between his thighs to examine the warped metal shoe. As he worked to reshoe the demon horse his mind recalled the night the coach came for him. Not to take him to the next life, that would have been a blessing.

He stood over the corpses, his hands dripped in blood and gore. The last victim had taken their final breath and he stood over the body, to watch the eyes fade as the soul left the body. It was then he heard the thunder of hoof beats.

He turned and ran down the alleyway, turned corner after corner until the sound faded. When his lungs started to burn he stopped and leaned against a trash bin to catch his breath. He was sure he’d escaped his fate. Until he felt the darkness around him move.

The farrier looked down the alley and there sitting at the end, waiting for him. The Black Coach, the nightmares stomped and shifted impatient to get on with their task.

The Coachman walked headless over the cobbled ground toward the farrier. What happened next was too much for his mind to bare remembering.

The Coachman’s cold fingers sunk into his body and tore out his coward’s spine.

 The dark creature now used it for his whip. The farrier was cursed to serve The Black Coach until his soul paid for his evil deeds.

He finished with the last tack and dropped the hoof with hands that trembled. He gathered his tools quickly to go back into his abyss until the next time he was needed. This would be his fate for a long time to come.

Goggles, Steam and Superstitions A to Z Theme and more!

I’m excited about this year’s Blogging from A to Z Challenge. It’s going to be a blast, but also challenging. I’m doing a theme this year, Goggles, Steam and Superstitions A to Z.

Each day I’m hoping to write a flash fiction about a superstition in the steampunk or dieselpunk genre. There might even be a touch of atompunk tossed in we’ll just have to see. J

It’s going to be a challenge to keep with the theme, but I have always loved superstition stories. They can be creepy, scary or just good food for thought. So I’ve got a lot of research to do on different superstitions.

To add to the daily chaos of story writing I’ve also signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo. Yes, I am crazy but Camp NaNo is a NaNoWriMo lite. You can choose your word count from 10k to 1 million words. You can choose to do short stories, novel revision, poetry or even a script!

this will work rather well.

 

An extra awesome feature this year is the ability to create a private cabin so your writing circle can be added to that one cabin instead of randomly assigned to a cabin.

Challenges like Blogging from A to Z and  NaNo can really push your limits but they also make a writer accountable and help us build or rebuild our daily writing habits. They keep us encouraged and even if we’re behind on counts or letters they make us want to keep going.

Other challenges like Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) does the same but in a different way. We’re accountable for our weekly goals. Reporting in makes us take a look and focus on what’s important to our writing lives. Sometimes real life goals added in.

The write life isn’t always an easy one, we’re struggling artists in our craft and sometimes we just need that kick in the arse to keep us motivated. Challenges and blog hops help us do that in a fun way where we get to cheer on fellow writers in the fray.

ROW 80 Goals

Last week’s goals:

Write 1k daily  Check, on various things, was able to write 1k daily

Get 3 teacup hats completed I was able to complete half of one. lol It just wasn’t a week to be crafty I guess J

Get blog back on track with at least 3 posts per week   Check! Had 3 posts last week yay!

Start working on Blogging from A to Z Challenge posts  Nope but there’s a legit reason for that one. NaNo rules state that you can’t start on projects until 12am April 1^st. So I will be slinging out that first post for A to Z as soon as the clock strikes 12.

This week’s goals:

1. Write 2k daily to keep up the short story pace *gulp I think I can I think I can I think I can!

2. Three posts on blog this week.

3. Get those 3 dang hats done!

Teacup Hat! 

Are you taking one of the above challenges? What do you do to make yourself accountable to your goals? 

Want to visit more blogs revealing their A to Z theme (Most will be up on the 23rd I'm a day early :) click HERE or check out the awesome goal making wizards of ROW80? Click HERE Have fun reading and maybe finding an awesome challenge for yourself! 

WeWriWa & Camp NaNo

This is the first week of Camp NaNoWrimo! For those who don't know what that is, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, participants race to write a 50,000 word first draft in 30 days.  The main NaNo event takes place in the month of November but Camp NaNo takes place in April and July. It's kind of a NaNo Light, you can choose your word count starting at 10,000 words.

Yes, it's probably a little nuts to try and write 50k words in just 30 days. Yet it is also exhilarating, inspiring, and just plain fun! It forces your brain to shut off that inner editor and inner voice that says that might not be good enough, that sentence doesn't sound right, and lets you just fill the page with your story.

This week for Weekend Writing Warriors I'm going to share 8 sentences from my Camp NaNo WIP, Worth. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this new thriller.

Blurb:

Dean Cross waited impatiently for his estranged wife to step off her flight. He has hope that after three years of separation they can put their marriage back together again. The last passenger disembarked, no Lucinda. Had she missed the flight, changed her mind?

Kidnapping isn’t just a crime; it’s a multimillion dollar business. Most believe only rich kids or missionaries in a foreign country are held for ransom. The Cross’ find out anyone can be taken, it only matters what you're worth.

8 Sentence Excerpt

The stranger stepped over to the sink next to Lucinda. She glanced over with a friendly grin. “Anxious about flying?”

Lucinda gave her back a slight grin back in an attempt to be polite. “No, anxious about the destination.” She pulled a couple of towels from the machine, the crinkle of the rough paper echoed in the empty bathroom she rubbed her hands dry.

Lucinda turned from the woman to drop the towels in the trash, when a cloth covered her nose and mouth. She tried to move away, but was trapped by the woman's body and the sinks. Lucinda struggled to pull the hand from her face, but that only made her feel more woozy.

Lucinda tried to scream, but the deep breath she took to belt one out made the room spin. The next second the room turned grayish and hazy as she felt her body go limp in the stranger’s arms.

To read other great Weekend Writing Warrior excerpts go HERE

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WeWriWa 8 sentences from Outlaw Born

Welcome to my second post as a Weekend Writing Warrior. *swings nunchucks. Goes well until, smack... rubs nose as she tosses nunchucks over her shoulder* Maybe I should stick to the pen as my weapon of choice. 

Anywhoo... My focus was totally blown this week and didn't get much writing done on WIPs, but it was still a good week. Finished bullet points for my Camp NaNo project and while rereading the first part of this WIP I fell in love with Ben Mason all over again. I remembered how strong, fearless and sometimes utterly ruthless he could be and how much fun he is to write. I hope you enjoy the next snippet of Outlaw Born.

Blurb:

Orphaned young and raised by a preacher's family Benjamin Mason became a good man. He wanted to forget and erase his real father's legacy of blood and violence from their name for his own son.

Then tragedy struck. The law wouldn’t give him justice, so he would take it. After all, wasn’t he born to be this kind of man, an outlaw filled with hell and vengeance in his blood? Ben Mason is outlaw born.

8 Sentence Excerpt: 

The twelve-pound Napoleon cannons would settle the odds in favor of the blue. The Federals were out of range for the Rebs artillery, one fact of the day Ben was more than thankful.

The enemy still approached, but no volley had begun. Ben looked back toward the large artillery. The two cannons were unmanned. His heart fell. He knew this battle would be over quickly if they couldn’t thin out that line.

Ben turned to the trenches as Confederate fire began to rain down. “Charlie, Dawson with me.”

To read other great Weekend Writing Warrior excerpts go HERE

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3 Tips for Goal Success

July 1^st has arrived with promises of adventure and achievement over the next 80 days. Round 3 of Round

of Words has begun and the goals for the quarter have been set.

Round 3 Goals

 1. July 1^st is also the first day of Camp NaNoWrimo! 30 days of novling around the campfire. A new perk for campers this year is the ability to set your own word count. So my first goal is to meet my set camp goal of 25k.

2. Complete camp novel and start Edits

3. Finish out my Hospitality Management degree.

The plan for successfully meeting these goals for now is to simply take it one day at a time.  Far too often goals and stresses can overwhelm. We have a tendency to expect more and pressure ourselves more than anyone else.

Here are 3 tips for keeping the forward momentum through it all.

1. Break down your goal into daily bites. Daily goals allow for a realistic approach and the flexibility to make adjustments for the large scale. Plus those daily successes can build confidence and make you feel good about yourself.

2.  Don’t sweat the big stuff. Stress and pressure are the two biggest goal killers. Stress can make you physically sick if it’s prolonged. LIFE will always show up and it will be unexpected. The key to keeping the momentum moving forward instead of stress slamming the breaks is to not sweat it.

Have a moment or two of holy cow that suck monkey nuts. Then get over it. Let it go and look at the big picture a head. Honestly what does stressing over something do? Many times it can keep you from finding a solution and make things even more stressful. 

As the saying goes this too shall pass. Look at your goals and make some adjustments then put the gloves back on and get in the ring for the next match.

3. Celebrate. Celebrate even the smallest successes. Those happy dances can get you over those moments that LIFE throws at you. Celebrating helps you remember that you can make it on those days when achievement seems impossible. Making a big deal out of the small stuff can even take the sting out of the failures. Giving you the momentum to keep going and not give up.

Now ring the bell my gloves are on and I’m ready to step into the ring of Round 3 for the knock out.

How about you? 

Want to know more about Round of Words in 80 Days just click on the button to the left :) 

April Altitudes

Flying High

I’m still on a high after participating in such an awesome author event, Authors in the Park: Spring into Art. There were eleven other authors in the event held in the Renaissance Building in Mt. Dora, Florida. I was able to get acquainted with some wonderful authors as well as introduce new readers to my books.

A big highlight was a local book reviewer offered to review my books. Just check out the video below for all the wordtastic fun we had. If you’re a Central Florida author you should definitely look into Authors in the Park sponsored by JLB Creatives and MillerWords.com you can find them on Facebook at Authors in the Park.

Reaching High

April 1^st is the begging of Round 2 for A Roundof Words in 80 Days. This round has some lofty goals considering I signed up for both Camp NaNo and The Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Both these events start today as well and If you’re interested sign ups are still open on all three! I’ve also been diving back into my studies for a degree in Hospitality Management.

I’m going to reach high with all of these goals and other projects dropped in along the way, but I’m not going to be ridged when things get shaky. With that many clouds in the sky turbulence is to be expected and course adjustments made along the way. With that in mind here are my goal lists.

Round 2 Goals

1. Finish the Blogging from A to Z challenge (Made it so close last year!)

2. Make my 25k word count set for Camp NaNo (awesome feature setting your own word count goals this year.) That should give this novel a good kick-start.

3. Complete the above mentioned novel rough draft by the end of Round 

4. Complete 2 classes in school

5. Clean out my bedroom closet. (Goodwill is gonna love me :)

Goals for Round 2 Week 1

1. Post daily for A to Z

2. Make daily word count of 834 words for Camp NaNo

3. Take next exam this week for studies.

4. Work 20 minutes at least 3 days this week on the dark pit closet.

I hope I don’t pull an Icarus and fly too close to the sun with everything I’ve packed into April. Regardless, I’m heading for high altitudes thinking about how satisfying it will be crossing bits of this list off. I did pack my parachute just in case though. :)

What have you packed into your April? How do you handle lofty goals?