Books and Games and Websites, Oh My!

Hello again everyone, and thanks for stopping by!  Today I wanted to share quite a bit of fun stuff I've gotten into in the recent past when time allows.  As I said previously, life has picked up speed for me in the last few months, and I'm finally getting the hang of it to keep a schedule of sorts so I can still write and blog to you all!

First on my list is Stephen King's On Writing.  I'm slightly ashamed as a writer that I did not find and read this gem sooner!  A fantastic mix of autobiography and writing advice, King's book opens with his journey from childhood writing short stories based on his favorite movies and moves through his first novel to the when he wrote the book (2000).  After that his advice on writing is perfect for those of you who enjoy writing fiction, but he still gives solid pointers for writing in general.  And finally in the back (at least with the copy I got) he has a short manuscript and how butchered it got in the editing stage.  I could go on about this book, but please pick it up for yourself and see just how awesome it is.  You won't regret it.

Next on my list is a website I found while trying to get some Christmas shopping done.  Now I'm usually a procrastinator, but this year I decided I didn't want to be eating ramen for Christmas dinner, so I'm getting a head start on things.  Tee Magnet is a great resource for all of those "one a day" t-shirt websites.  This one gives you the Top 8 currently making shirts on a daily (with two updating every 2-3 days) basis.  Its full of fun, unique and nerdy designs you'd be hard pressed to find in any department store.  I've already bought a few myself, and its hard some days to pass up on the deals.  Most of the websites sell the shirts at $10 a piece plus shipping (around $13-$14), but a few of the links do go above that.  Either way, the designs are almost always quirky, beautiful, and worth every cent.

Another comic website I love to check out is called Penny Arcade.  A fun and satirical three- or four-pane comic, they touch every aspect of gaming, comics, television and movies.  It follows two men, the creators, and the hi jinx they get into while making fun of all the above mentioned.  The link above leads to the latest comic, but start at the beginning and I promise you'll love it.  I won't go on too long so you can see how awesome it is for yourself.

Last but not least, when I'm not reading or writing, I try and log an hour here and there on my Playstation.  Lately I've been knee-deep in the Dragon Age series by Bioware.  I picked up the first on a whim a while ago, and I was hooked.  Great storytelling and graphics with a battle system that I'm still trying to master.  The battles can actually be troublesome and require strategy, which makes that victory that much sweeter.  Dragon Age 2 feels like an upgrade from the first.  The story follows a completely new character starting in the middle of the last game.  The game allows you to discover a whole new region of the map you only heard about in the first installment.  You get to choose to be a mage, rouge or warrior, and these choices allow for different options during conversations and battles, allowing for a new experience every time you play.  And plus, if you can upload a complete game from Dragon Age, it further customizes conversations to reflect the decisions you made previously.  All in all, with great storytelling and fantastic world-building, I have a hard time turning it off.  I highly recommend these two games if you have an XBox 360, PS3 or good PC.  The link above is to the first of the game at Amazon, but I was able to find a used copy at my local game store for about half the price listed.

Well, there we have it.  Another list of stuff to spend your time on instead of cooking or cleaning.  Keep checking back as I'll be uploading another writing exercise within the next week.  Until next time!

Read the Fine Print

Hello again readers!  Welcome back.  It's been a rough month or so, my life picking up and it just seems there isn't enough time in the day!  So in that time I've been a horrible writer and not following my normal schedule.  What writing I have been doing is on my novel, and that isn't what I was doing before.  Starting to lose that "oomph" I had built up, so I'm going to work my butt off and get it back!  Also, expect more blog posts with my usual nerdy stuff, writing exercises, and a few short stories.  Speaking of...

Here's a short story I wrote this evening, trying to get back into some semblance of a schedule.  This is purely practice and just for fun, and I'm drawing on my (and I'm sure your) experiences in buy a car and dealing with the weird salesmen.  So this is a fun short about that, and don't look too deep into it.

Jason felt sweat pooling at the small of his back. Sweat stains ringed the collar and underarms of his favorite t-shirt. The midday sun beat down on his neck, the dull pain of a sunburn creeping into his consciousness.

Jason hated car shopping. The portly fellow to his left droned on about a used convertible they stood in front of wiped his face with a yellowed handkerchief, only for beads of sweat to appear again moments later. The man’s threadbare suit fit too loose in the shoulders and too short in the pants. Jason should have seen it and run away to the nicer car lots down the street. This place was a shit hole.

But dammit, he needed a car today. Catching the bus to work was getting old. He had laid off the bar scene for months to scrounge every penny for a meager down payment.

“So what do you think, young man?” the salesman wiped his forehead and upper lip once again, his mouth hanging open in a sloppy grin.

Jason shook his head and wiped his own forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s nice. It’ll do the trick, I suppose. A/C‘s good and cold, right?” Jason began another lap around the convertible.

Once it had been a vibrant blue, but years of use and disrepair had worn the color down to a dull cobalt with flecks of rust sprinkled over the hood. The tint was peeling in several places, and the exhaust hung a little too low. With over a hundred fifty thousand miles and a new engine, however, Jason couldn’t complain. It beat sitting next to the old Chinese woman who perpetually smelled of soy sauce and too-ripe fruit, or the talkative teenager who claimed to know infinitely more than his elders.

“Yes sir, just installed last year by the previous owner. And a new CD player to boot.” The salesman puffed up, the sloppy grin never wavering.

Jason finished his circuit and stood next to the man once again, crossing his arms. “You said three thousand and its mine?”

“Yes sir.”

Jason saw the desperation in the man’s eyes. He could relate. For the last year he had spent his time between the old room at his mother’s house and his best friend’s couch. With this car he could get a second job and have his own apartment in no time at all. Jason felt freedom within arms reach.

That didn’t mean he was going to jump at the first offer. “That’s a great price, but I don’t think I can afford that much right now.” Jason walked towards the rusty chain link fence bordering the small lot. Before he had passed a dented white hatchback, the salesman called out.

“I can sell it for twenty-five thousand!”

Jason smiled. Being poor for so long had its advantages. Never accept the first offer. He turned around and joined the salesman once again. “You have a deal.”

The two shook hands, each with their own grins of victory.

“Here, hop in and cool down. I’ll get the paperwork and you’ll be driving home in a few minutes.” The salesman handed Jason a scratched and slightly bent key. Jason handed him an envelope of all his material wealth. The salesman winked and hustled to the small trailer in the center of the lot, disappearing with the sound of rusty hinges and the slamming of a screen door.

Jason got in and smiled as the car roared to life. The cloth seat, although torn and stained in places, seemed to fit perfectly. He cranked the A/C to full power. After a few minutes of musty hot air, a frigid breeze began to cool the interior. Relaxing fully into the seat, Jason basked in the feeling of freedom restored.

Jason was unsure when he had dozed off. He opened his eyes to find the sun was close to the horizon and the sky was bathed in a swirl of purples, pinks and reds. The A/C was still blowing cold, and the gas gauge read full as it had been.

Jason turned the car off and went to the trailer. The air was silent and thick with the leftover heat from the day. Beyond the chain link fence Jason could see no traffic or lights on. Everything beyond the lot seemed hazy and indistinct.

Reaching the trailer, no lights or sounds came from the small structure. The door was closed and he could see nothing through the dirty window. The creaking of the screen door broke the eerie silence. Turning the tarnished knob, the door swung open onto a dark space that smelled faintly of mold and age.

In the gloom of dusk Jason could make out a cheap metal desk with yellowed paper scattered across its surface. A large monitor sat quietly on one side, a thick layer of dust untouched on its surface. On the other side of the trailer were two filing cabinets and a folding table with a plastic coffee maker still on. Jason caught a whiff of the burning coffee, but could not find the large salesman.

As Jason turned to leave, he caught a flicker of movement near the door. Framed in shadows of the door was the salesman.

“Hello? You said I needed to sign the papers and the car is mine?” Jason’s voice felt too loud.

The man in the door didn’t move, and Jason felt something was wrong. He dared not move as the man began a shambling motion into the trailer. Jason heard an odd clacking sound.

“Yes,” the salesman finally said. He lifted a hand and pointed to the desk. “Sign those and the car is yours.”

Jason moved to the desk, passing over receipts and invoices until he could make out his name and the details of the car in the failing light. Grabbing the nearest pen, Jason exclaimed. His fingertips were bleeding, drops marring the papers below.

“That will do, sir,” the salesman said. He was on the other side of the desk, his features still in shadow.

Jason beelined for the door, but the salesman intercepted his course.

“There is one final part,” the salesman said, stepping back a step.

His body began to shudder as if in a seizure. Fabric ripped and bones cracked as his shape began to ripple and elongate. His arms became long and looked like scythes. Quills protruded from his back with scraps of fabric hanging from the ends. His head split down the middle to reveal the antennae and mandibles of some insect.

Jason froze. Rays of dying sunlight highlighted bits and pieces of the man changing. Jason couldn’t hold on turned, vomiting into a small trash bin at the foot of the desk. When he looked up again, a giant insect filled his vision.

A low buzzing suffused the air, building into a crescendo that vibrated everything. With lightning quick movement, the insect head snapped forward and decapitated Jason.

“It’s all in the fine print, sir.”

-----

As always, I love feedback and (constructive) criticism.  Let me know what you think, and I'll see you all in a few days with some links to fun things I've found on the internet during my absence.  Godspeed!

Witch Ever Way The Wind Blows

Hey everyone!  I know it's been a few weeks since my last post.  Life has a tendency to speed up time on me every now and then.  So, in apology, here's a piece of flash fiction I wrote for fun about hurricanes and witches.  I wrote this inspired by the last hurricane to threaten our little town and it mysteriously turned away...

“This is a Channel Three Severe Weather Alert. Hurricane Joseph is on a north-northwest track with Bienville, Florida directly in its path. By the time it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, it is predicted it will be a Category Four hurricane. It is estimated to land in two days. You are advised to evacuate as soon as possible. If you are staying to weather the hurricane, prepare now and get to a designated storm shelter.”

“Well this just won’t do,” Amy says.

Amy sets her empty wine glass on her mahogany coffee table and unfurls herself from her plush couch. Her silk pajamas whisper as she crosses the wooden floor.

“I just put in that pool last month and the Sisterhood Cotillion is this Saturday. No time for a hurricane.”

Amy’s auburn curls bounce as she walks into her bedroom and picks up her phone. Quickly dialing a number, Amy taps her foot.

“Hello, Jessica? It’s Amy. Have you heard about this storm? Ridiculous, I know. Well don’t worry, I’m taking care of this one. Let the sisters know that we’re still on for this Saturday. Okay, thanks, bye.”

Hanging up her phone, Amy gingerly steps to her walk-in closet. Opening the door and stepping in, she almost closes the door on her tabby cat.

“Sorry, Agatha. Come on in. I’m going to need you for this anyhow. This is so inconvenient…” Huffing her way to the back of the closet, Amy pushes aside her fur coats and designer dresses. Behind them is a small door blending seamlessly into the wall. With a muttered word, the door pops open.

Ducking low as Agatha zooms past, Amy mutters a second word. With a flick of her wrist, candles throughout the room burst to life. Along the walls are tables with odd implements. Curved knifes rest next to dried herbs and flowers. Books line small shelves with jars of shadowed objects acting as bookends. Stubs of chalk lay on the floor around a bare space of unfinished wood floor.

Amy picks herbs with ease. Grabbing flint and stone as well, she places the herbs in bowls of silver. Using the flint and stone, she kindles the herbs until a heady smoke fills the space with perfumed air.

Kneeling down onto the floor, Amy picks up a stub of chalk and begins drawing a circle around herself. As she closes the circle, Agatha zips inside the circle and crouches low next to Amy. A sphere of energy creates a dome around Amy, her hair frizzing as on a muggy day. Still fuming at the inconvenience, Amy begins drawing esoteric symbols inside of the circle. As each symbol is finished, it flares crimson. As the last symbol is complete, the whole dome of energy flares crimson and the air inside is heavy.

“Ba’al, Father of Storms and Giver of Life, I beseech thee.” Amy’s voice echoes in the tiny room. Agatha’s hair stands on end and she begins to hiss. Amy continues her chant as the air grows thicker and the dome around her becomes opaque. Amy stops as she feels an unseen presence in the dome with her.

“Ba’al, it is your loyal servant Amy Pendergast. I beseech thee for thy aid.”

“Alright, alright, enough of the fancy talk.” A dark-skinned man with a bushy beard is suddenly in the circle sitting cross legged across from Amy. Atop his head sit’s the head of a bull, the eyes glassy from death but the horns as sharp and gleaming as if alive. In one hand he holds a club and in the other a lightning bolt. The lightning crackles with intense energy and glows white.

“Ba’al, thank you for answering so quickly! I was worried I’d be here all night.” Amy flashed Ba’al a genuine smile with a bow of her head.

“Now Amy, you’ve been my loyal servant for too many years! Come now, I think we both have an understanding of each other. Besides, you always have the best sacrifices.” The man smiled back and straightened his back. Before his head could touch the dome of energy, it bends at his presence. “What can I help you with?”
“Well, I need you to redirect the hurricane coming this way. I have much to do in the next few days, and this hurricane will ruin everything.”

Ba’al laughs and shakes the room. “Of course. This one is a doozy, too. You know how bored I get on the mountain? So few worshippers these days…” His eyes mist over in memory.

Amy clears her throat gently, shaking Ba’al from his reverie. “I’m sure. If you ever get too bored, I have a spare bedroom upstairs, thanks to you,” Amy says as she winks.

“Ah yes! The wealthy husband. You really got me on that one. I take it you’re enjoying the fruits of your sacrifice?”

“Oh yes, my lord. Everything is as I envisioned it. Thank you again.”

Ba’al waves his hand at her dismissively. “Think nothing of it. Now back to business. This is a pretty big favor you’re asking. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, if I veer it off course, it could lead to drought and disease. I’m sure Garra will love the opportunity to start a few fires, but Ashnan will be pretty miffed you messed with harvest this year.”

“I’m willing to deal with them in turn. I have enough to sacrifice.”

“Don’t stretch yourself too thin now. Tell you what, I’ll talk to Garra and Ashnan, and the whole thing will be washed clean. But in return, I get your cat.”

Amy looked appalled. “Agatha? My familiar? I don’t know…”

“You can always get a new one! It’s not like the old witches where your life is tied to theirs. We’ve gotten a whole less pickier now the worshippers are few and far between. I can promise you will not die.”

Amy thought about it, a crease forming in her forehead. She nods and hands him her cat. “Treat her well.”

Ba’al unhinges his jaw and swallows the cat in one bite. “Delicious.”

Amy forces herself to remain calm and not slap the god for his actions. “Very well, what else do you desire?”

“Let’s see. Before the end of the month, place ten lightning rods throughout town. Preferably buildings, but I won’t get too picky. Your human laws are weird, and I don’t want to incarcerate my servants.”

Amy knew of a rival witch who could use a good lightning strike. She smiled and nodded.

“Oh! And when the next storm rolls around, leave some of those delicious cookies you left out last time. Chocolate peanut butter? Truly divine!”

Amy nodded and smiled. “So we have a deal?”

Ba’al nods and extends his hand. Amy shakes his. A bright flash envelopes both. When Amy’s vision clears, the dome of power is broken and the candles are all blown out. Muttering and snapping her fingers once more, she finds her way out and snaps the candles out once again.

“Honey, is everything alright? I heard a rumble just a minute ago.” A man stands in a suit and tie in the doorway, loosening his tie and kicking off his shoes.

“Everything’s fine, Steve. Just can’t find Agatha anywhere. I think she’s run off.”

“I’m sorry honey, I know you loved that cat.” Steve hugs Amy. “We’ll get you a new one this week, yeah?”

“That’d be lovely.”

“I heard on the radio on the way home that Hurricane Joseph is heading towards Texas now. Something to do with air currents and all that,” Steve says as he gets dressed in his pajamas.

Amy combs her hair in an effort to hide her smile. “Oh really? That’s wonderful news!”

“Now we don’t have to worry about evacuating. And I know you were heart broken about the Cotillion getting cancelled. Now you and your sisters can have it as scheduled.”

Steve and Amy get into the bed and turn out the lights as thunder rolls over their house.