Moment of Realization

Sometime, as an author, you have a particular moment when you suddenly realize something important. Like when I realized that this is what I was going to post about today. Well... maybe not. But definitely like the moment I had yesterday evening.

See, I've been muddling along in Feather and Fang, getting bogged down constantly, but not wanting to stop. There's so much in mind for it, and I don't want to let it drop by the wayside. But something's been hindering me from writing as freely as I'd like. And yesterday evening I realized why.

I was telling two different tales. And pretty obviously so. Crestlen and Redpaw struggled through the Brightgorge, turning from mortal enemies to brothers-in-arms, and Daegless and Korra trekked across Thunderfell, changing Daegless from the Tiger-scourge into... something else. The two stories joined at the end, which is why I was telling them together in the same book, but now I think both stories would benefit if they were told separately, and then joined in a third tale.

Woah... trilogy...

So! Trilogy, eh? *thinks hard about names*.... Feather and Fang... Fellborne and Fearless... Faith and Fallen... those'll do nicely, I think. And as a whole? The Faction Trilogy. Because, of course, everything revolves around the featherwen and fanglen factions and their chaotic war.

As of right now, however, work will proceed strictly on Feather and Fang, until that tale has been told in full. I do try to keep the number of projects I'm working on to a minimum... if that is even possible. So expect talk to be mostly about Feather and Fang, and Daegless and Korra to not show up for a while.


Buuut....


Remember that plot bunny? Well, work was so slow yesterday I pulled out some printer paper, sat down in a corner, and started writing. And I liked what I found. So I may or may not be following him further in the next few days, depending on what it looks like when I transfer my illegible scribbling to the computer.  We shall see...

Snippets of a Story- March

Because we all know I need an excuse to post...

It's Snippets of a Story! Thanks again to Katie, at Whisperings of the Pen, for the marvelous idea of giving us all an excuse to tease our readers!

But enough of my blithering. You want ze snippets. These are from Feather and Fang, which I was writing last night, and coincidentally, thinking about posting a snippet(s) from!

* * *

Daegless snarled as he watched flames leap ever higher from the burning barn. His sweep of terror and fire had now reached from the Shardberg Cliffs to Havenport on the eastern Thunderfell coast. Homestead after homestead, village after village had felt his black fist. A swathe of darkness had followed in his wake, a trail of burnt homes and wasted farms. The name of the tiger-scourge had reached the furthest corners of the north provinces, and fear followed close behind it.

* * *

The freeborn’s eyes flitted open slowly. He felt pain all over. Especially in his head. He groaned, and heard movement nearby. He looked up into a dappled light, frowning.

“Where am I?” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“Under the Loneoak,” spoke a clear voice to his left.

The speaker moved into his field of vision, a young woman holding a wooden bowl. She looked quizzically down at him. “How are you doing?”

The freeborn frowned. Something was wrong. How did he get here? His mind seemed empty for some reason. He was… who was he?

A low growl sounded in his throat as he found he could not even remember his own name. He tried harder, gritting his teeth, but there was nothing. His gaze focused on the girl kneeling over him.

“Who am I?” he asked, suddenly suspicious of this strange female.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “I beg pardon?”

The freeborn sat up with a snarl as his arm shot out to grasp her by the throat. The bowl clattered to the ground, spilling its contents on the grass.

“I said… who am I?”

The girl choked on his grip, pulling at his hands. “What… kind of… a question… is that?”

“My name!” growled the freeborn, squeezing a little harder.

“Dae… Daegless!” the girl gasped.

The freeborn let her drop, breathing heavily. Pain shot through his body and he slumped back. A tear formed in one eye. The name meant nothing. He could remember nothing. The girl had scrambled back, holding her throat and grimacing.

“Daegless… what’s going on?”

The freeborn… Daegless… turned on his side, curling up into a tight ball. It was awful. There were no memories in his mind, nothing. He had no recollection of anything! And the pain, it sparked and flared all along his body, but especially in his head. Pain had come to fill the gap left by whatever memories he had had.

Snippets Of A Story

As if Beautiful People wasn't enough, here's another monthly mission... quest... thing... to do!

Basically, I post a snippet, (or two, or three, or...) and give no explanation. How awesome and evil is that?! All credit goes to Miss Katie S., at Snippets of A Story. Drop by her blog to read all the other snippets fellow bloggers be postin'!

Anyways.... the snippets.

From Railway:

Greetings, Rattlehead. Mind if we drop in?

A few miles away, Hatch’s garbled voice sounded out of an old black radio. Its antenna rose at a crooked angle into the air, and both speakers buzzed as they spat out the sound. Footsteps passing by stopped, and a shadow bent over the dented pile of knobs and switches.
“Did you hear that, brother?” came a voice from a little ways away.
“Aye, I heard it,” came the reply from the man crouched over the radio. “Came from channel 93.1.”
“No one around here ever used that frequency.”
“No, this one’s not from around here. Small group I’d say, he said ‘we’. Portable radio, if they’re paying us a visit. Fellow’s got spunk, to just announce himself out like that.”

From Feather and Fang:

Daegless's thumb twitched a little, plucking a string on the violin that sat, unused, in his lap. He sighed.

A soft footstep behind made him turn. "Oh, Korra, it's you."

The cougar-rogue smiled, her teeth flashing in the darkness. "Tis too beautiful a night to spend worrying, Tiger-brave."

Daegless smiled wryly. "I cannot help myself. There are too many thoughts flitting through my mind right now."

Korra nodded. "I understand." She motioned to the ledge below Daegless. "Mind if I sit below you? The stars are shining beautifully tonight, and I cannot see them from below the trees in the camp."

Daegless nodded. "Go ahead. Just don't expect me to talk."

Korra shook her head as she seated herself. "No, talking will not help you, I do not think."

Well, that's what I'm working on right now!