Novel Total = 19,727 words
Post total = 451 words
“Xeryl,” Zy faltered. What she should say was hard enough and his demeanor wasn’t making it any easier. Oh just say it, at worse it’lll be another fight. “About earlier, I’m tired….”
“I can see that, Agent.” Xeryl’s shoulders tightened under his crisp blue shirt. “And I brought you into this mess, and I would like to see you survive to finish it.”
“Every time I turn around, there’s another body.” Zy draped the purple bathrode over the cushioned stone column set next to the bar section of the counter. She didn’t need to twist the garment in her hands. “And you pushing my buttons when I’m tired doesn’t help.”
Xeryl turned, his violet eyes narrowing. The tempature of his voice dropped another degree. “Now that I take exception to. No matter what I say if it shows the least bit of concern for you it is suspect. My personal feelings aside, do you think I want to explain to IGA what happened to their agent?”
The whole reason I’m here is because of you! Zy quashed the thought before she shouted again. No, she had to maintain a professional relationship and even that stretched it. “You want me to do everything your way and I can’t.” She tugged on a longer lock of bright blue hair. “I must maintain independence for the investigation.”
He poured two glasses full of the sugary concotion as the tension carried in his shoulders relaxed. He guided one of the glasses across the counter to Zy and picked up the other one. After a gulp, he resumed the conversation in a warmer tone. “I think we already had this conversation today.”
“Then why are we still on the same topic?”
Xeryl ignored her mutter. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m offering my expertise and observations. Do what you will with them, but do not automatically dismiss them because they are from me.”
“Very alturistic of you.” Zy crossed her arms.
“Not really. I don’t want to end up in an IGA prison because you got yourself killed. Finish your drink while I contact D’pa.” He crossed the room to an intercom unit on the wall.
She picked up the drink, rolling her eyes. The idea of IGA prison might upset Xeryl, but she doubted it would be a useful threat against D’pa. Probably a better excuse to add her head to the outside decorations. She drained the glass before she could shudder.
Mylte stepped up to her side. “Mistress Zy, will you need my skills for the interrogation?”
“What skills?”
“Did you forget to ask for his resume when you obtain his circumstances?” Xeryl carried his glass to the sink. He had his back to her dirty look. “D’pa is coming here.”
“What skills, Mylte?”
Monday, October 24, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Zy's Novel Post 18
Novel total= 19,276 words
Post total = 147 words
She took another deep breath before leaving. Mylte stood next to the door watching Xeryl across the parlor. Xeryl was behind the counter of the kitchenette rinsing glasses. She carried the bathrobe across the plush rug on the stone floor. “Thank you for letting me borrow this.”
“You’re welcome. Just leave it on the stool.” His voice had all the warmth of an ice cube. “Have you changed you’re mind about eating?” He didn’t turn his attention from the glasses to look at her.
“No, I can’t.” Her stomach rolled at the mention. “It’ll be like after Ifeket.” Not one of her finest moments, showering to get rid of the smell and jumping out of it to throw up again.
“Fine. I will tell D’pa you’re ready to begin.”
“Xeryl,” Zy faltered. What she should say was hard enough and his demeanor wasn’t making it any easier.
Post total = 147 words
She took another deep breath before leaving. Mylte stood next to the door watching Xeryl across the parlor. Xeryl was behind the counter of the kitchenette rinsing glasses. She carried the bathrobe across the plush rug on the stone floor. “Thank you for letting me borrow this.”
“You’re welcome. Just leave it on the stool.” His voice had all the warmth of an ice cube. “Have you changed you’re mind about eating?” He didn’t turn his attention from the glasses to look at her.
“No, I can’t.” Her stomach rolled at the mention. “It’ll be like after Ifeket.” Not one of her finest moments, showering to get rid of the smell and jumping out of it to throw up again.
“Fine. I will tell D’pa you’re ready to begin.”
“Xeryl,” Zy faltered. What she should say was hard enough and his demeanor wasn’t making it any easier.
Capt. Kate Short Story Post 2
Story total = 496 words
Post total = 353 words
Notes to remember:
thou is informal.
Basic Faire Speech will have to do until I can find some better language resources.
Pirates Fact & Legend
Pirates of the Carribean--good info on ships
Character Names:
“Storm-blown” Kate Roberts – Captain (only one with an existence prior to this story)
“Jenkin” John Hopwood – Quartermaster
“Bat” Bartholomew Pickering – practicing Catholic crewman
Hugh Saunders – cabin boy
“Cut” Cuthbert Aldridge – greedy idiot crewman
Amos Thompson – will die crewman
Nathaniel Gilbert – will die crewman
Toby Locke – muttering crewman
Enrique Vento Dias - Portuguese crewman
Wolter Bleecker – Dutch crewman
Peadar Macartan – Irish carpenter
The Crimson Lady – the ship
Mogens Vromme – Kate’s Papa Captain
Scene has changed. Need to have the ship’s carpenter in as well.
The Crimson Lady’s hull creaked around them, but the wood wasn’t screaming its death keel. “I think we can repair the good lady. What say thou?”
“Aye, Captain.” Peadar Macartan pressed against the rock and inched closer to the wood. “T’is not a large hole, but we need to get her out of the water. She be needing a careening also, provided there be a harbor fit for it.” He straightened and wiped the water spray from his brown beard.
“And if the harbor is not fit, what then?” Jenkin Hopwood braced himself against the wall of the stairs.
“I can patch her in the water if you can man the pumps. There do be a beach that has not vanished. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore.”
Kate frowned, not that either of the men saw her in the shadows of the hold. How loose were the crew’s collective tongues over the ship that they had followed into this bay? “Counsel, Master Carpenter and Quartermaster, let’s not make this crew even more uneasy over a little hole in the ship. Do you wish to start repairs tonight?”
Peadar shook his head. “By lantern light with the clumsy sots that must assist me? Nay, this job be best by daylight. We must wait till morn.”
“I would prefer to meet the dawn with me boots on the beach.” Jenkin leaned further into the hold from the stairs. “And making camp would give the men something to do besides listening to Bat’s rosary.”
“Adverse to that I am not.” Kate moved the lantern to show her smile. “Mayhaps if Bat had a beauteous voice, he would win more converts. Let’s tell our restless crew.”
Jenkin’s grizzled face twisted with a grin as he backed up the steps. Kate moved the lantern in front of her and let Peadar slosh ahead of her. The salty water even under the light was inky. She waded to the stairs and shook the water off her bare feet before climbing to the deck.
Post total = 353 words
Notes to remember:
thou is informal.
Basic Faire Speech will have to do until I can find some better language resources.
Pirates Fact & Legend
Pirates of the Carribean--good info on ships
Character Names:
“Storm-blown” Kate Roberts – Captain (only one with an existence prior to this story)
“Jenkin” John Hopwood – Quartermaster
“Bat” Bartholomew Pickering – practicing Catholic crewman
Hugh Saunders – cabin boy
“Cut” Cuthbert Aldridge – greedy idiot crewman
Amos Thompson – will die crewman
Nathaniel Gilbert – will die crewman
Toby Locke – muttering crewman
Enrique Vento Dias - Portuguese crewman
Wolter Bleecker – Dutch crewman
Peadar Macartan – Irish carpenter
The Crimson Lady – the ship
Mogens Vromme – Kate’s Papa Captain
Scene has changed. Need to have the ship’s carpenter in as well.
The Crimson Lady’s hull creaked around them, but the wood wasn’t screaming its death keel. “I think we can repair the good lady. What say thou?”
“Aye, Captain.” Peadar Macartan pressed against the rock and inched closer to the wood. “T’is not a large hole, but we need to get her out of the water. She be needing a careening also, provided there be a harbor fit for it.” He straightened and wiped the water spray from his brown beard.
“And if the harbor is not fit, what then?” Jenkin Hopwood braced himself against the wall of the stairs.
“I can patch her in the water if you can man the pumps. There do be a beach that has not vanished. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore.”
Kate frowned, not that either of the men saw her in the shadows of the hold. How loose were the crew’s collective tongues over the ship that they had followed into this bay? “Counsel, Master Carpenter and Quartermaster, let’s not make this crew even more uneasy over a little hole in the ship. Do you wish to start repairs tonight?”
Peadar shook his head. “By lantern light with the clumsy sots that must assist me? Nay, this job be best by daylight. We must wait till morn.”
“I would prefer to meet the dawn with me boots on the beach.” Jenkin leaned further into the hold from the stairs. “And making camp would give the men something to do besides listening to Bat’s rosary.”
“Adverse to that I am not.” Kate moved the lantern to show her smile. “Mayhaps if Bat had a beauteous voice, he would win more converts. Let’s tell our restless crew.”
Jenkin’s grizzled face twisted with a grin as he backed up the steps. Kate moved the lantern in front of her and let Peadar slosh ahead of her. The salty water even under the light was inky. She waded to the stairs and shook the water off her bare feet before climbing to the deck.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Strix Post 5
Story total = 1137 words
Post total = 567 words
I have no idea if the second section is going to end up in the final version of the story. I'm debating on just how to tell this superhero story.
“I’m not here for them. I know how you feel about criminals.” Roger’s hand swiped across his mouth quickly. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch this guy.”
“I wish I had gotten a better look.”
“We’re looking through the security system.”
Of course they were. Peggy felt stupid. It’s not like the murderer had tried to hide. “Do you know what he used to kill Ardenwood?”
“Not yet. Want a ride home?”
She shook her head as she stood. “No, I don’t want to take you from your job. I can take the bus. I can go now, right?”
“Yeah.” Roger escorted her through the maze of desks and halls. Why was it so hard to accept his friendship? Probably for the same reason she couldn’t go back to her father’s house. They reached the station lobby and Roger cleared his throat. “Be careful. If you think you see that guy in the coveralls again, call me.”
“I will.” The night air was heavy with humidity. Peggy’s skirt went limp and clung to her legs. At least the bus would be air conditioned. She sat down at the bench at the end of the block.
Robert ran. Fear licked his heart. A woman ran ahead of him, her dark blonde ponytail swinging, speeding like the denizens of the abyss were after her. Maybe they were after them both. What else would he be afraid of?
The woman glanced over her shoulder and reached back for his hand. She didn’t see the arms reaching out of the darkness ahead.
Fear squeezed his heart. “No!” But he couldn’t run any faster. The unknown woman was out of reach.
One hand grabbed her shoulder. The other hand sprayed something into her face. (Need effects of cyanide poisoning again to describe Peggy’s death. Lost my copies of this info.)
Now he had speed to reach her before he finished screaming his rage. Robert cradled the woman and caressed her face. The light in her eyes was gone. He screamed again through his fangs and into his bedroom. Robert panted from the false exertion. A nightmare of the death of a woman he had never met, what was wrong out there?
He went to the ballroom first. He slipped past the dust cloth draped furniture to reach the wall of windows. The city in the valley below glowed orange predominately with sprinkles of white on the skyscrapers. The town his father had founded was now a metropolis and with all the ills that came with that social progress.
Robert turned away from the glass. What could he do? He already had his secretary, no, assistant was researching and revising the social programs that he had started in the ‘60s.
But the woman in the dream had depended on him personally.
Damn! It was only a dream. No one could depend on him. He had limitations that would get him killed by the superstitcious. He stopped on the staircase. They couldn’t use him limitations if they didn’t know what he was.
Notes
Peggy Wynn – thrown out of the house by her father for having sex in it with a deadbeat. She married the deadbeat, who was a criminal deadbeat at that. Peggy went to college, taking some writing courses. Matt Roger arrested her husband, and Peggy found out about his criminal activities. She left him, he almost killed her, and Matt Roger saved her from that too. She got the divorce and changed her name.
Post total = 567 words
I have no idea if the second section is going to end up in the final version of the story. I'm debating on just how to tell this superhero story.
“I’m not here for them. I know how you feel about criminals.” Roger’s hand swiped across his mouth quickly. “Don’t worry, we’ll catch this guy.”
“I wish I had gotten a better look.”
“We’re looking through the security system.”
Of course they were. Peggy felt stupid. It’s not like the murderer had tried to hide. “Do you know what he used to kill Ardenwood?”
“Not yet. Want a ride home?”
She shook her head as she stood. “No, I don’t want to take you from your job. I can take the bus. I can go now, right?”
“Yeah.” Roger escorted her through the maze of desks and halls. Why was it so hard to accept his friendship? Probably for the same reason she couldn’t go back to her father’s house. They reached the station lobby and Roger cleared his throat. “Be careful. If you think you see that guy in the coveralls again, call me.”
“I will.” The night air was heavy with humidity. Peggy’s skirt went limp and clung to her legs. At least the bus would be air conditioned. She sat down at the bench at the end of the block.
Robert ran. Fear licked his heart. A woman ran ahead of him, her dark blonde ponytail swinging, speeding like the denizens of the abyss were after her. Maybe they were after them both. What else would he be afraid of?
The woman glanced over her shoulder and reached back for his hand. She didn’t see the arms reaching out of the darkness ahead.
Fear squeezed his heart. “No!” But he couldn’t run any faster. The unknown woman was out of reach.
One hand grabbed her shoulder. The other hand sprayed something into her face. (Need effects of cyanide poisoning again to describe Peggy’s death. Lost my copies of this info.)
Now he had speed to reach her before he finished screaming his rage. Robert cradled the woman and caressed her face. The light in her eyes was gone. He screamed again through his fangs and into his bedroom. Robert panted from the false exertion. A nightmare of the death of a woman he had never met, what was wrong out there?
He went to the ballroom first. He slipped past the dust cloth draped furniture to reach the wall of windows. The city in the valley below glowed orange predominately with sprinkles of white on the skyscrapers. The town his father had founded was now a metropolis and with all the ills that came with that social progress.
Robert turned away from the glass. What could he do? He already had his secretary, no, assistant was researching and revising the social programs that he had started in the ‘60s.
But the woman in the dream had depended on him personally.
Damn! It was only a dream. No one could depend on him. He had limitations that would get him killed by the superstitcious. He stopped on the staircase. They couldn’t use him limitations if they didn’t know what he was.
Notes
Peggy Wynn – thrown out of the house by her father for having sex in it with a deadbeat. She married the deadbeat, who was a criminal deadbeat at that. Peggy went to college, taking some writing courses. Matt Roger arrested her husband, and Peggy found out about his criminal activities. She left him, he almost killed her, and Matt Roger saved her from that too. She got the divorce and changed her name.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Zy's Novel Post 17
Novel total = 19,129 words
Post total = 248 words
The Personal Journal of IGA Agent Zy
15.8.1010/7 July 1997
Murdock says I need something to relieve stress, something removed from the self-defense training. I think he's just tired of listening to me practice 'cause he recommended painting.
I haven't played with colors since grade school, but he bought me a complete art set at the last station. Chalk, pastels, oils, charcoals, watercolors, brushes, easel, and a dozen different sized canvases. I don't think anyone has ever spent that much money on me.
I suppose that means I'm going to have to use them so not to hurt his feelings. But I'm not taking lessons.
Chapter Six
Zy took a deep breath and faced herself in the mirror. Grey smudges circled under her brown eyes from her too long nose. She was tired and hadn’t been taking good care of herself. “That’s why I’m so short tempered right now,” she muttered and turned her attention to her clothes. Dressing gave her more time to reflect. D’pa would be a hostile witness, and she had to go through him to get to anyone else in the organization that might know something.
And she needed to get a list of employees. That meant playing nice with Xeryl. She laced up her ankle boots with a grimace. She would have to suck it up and apologize even though he started it.
Post total = 248 words
The Personal Journal of IGA Agent Zy
15.8.1010/7 July 1997
Murdock says I need something to relieve stress, something removed from the self-defense training. I think he's just tired of listening to me practice 'cause he recommended painting.
I haven't played with colors since grade school, but he bought me a complete art set at the last station. Chalk, pastels, oils, charcoals, watercolors, brushes, easel, and a dozen different sized canvases. I don't think anyone has ever spent that much money on me.
I suppose that means I'm going to have to use them so not to hurt his feelings. But I'm not taking lessons.
Chapter Six
Zy took a deep breath and faced herself in the mirror. Grey smudges circled under her brown eyes from her too long nose. She was tired and hadn’t been taking good care of herself. “That’s why I’m so short tempered right now,” she muttered and turned her attention to her clothes. Dressing gave her more time to reflect. D’pa would be a hostile witness, and she had to go through him to get to anyone else in the organization that might know something.
And she needed to get a list of employees. That meant playing nice with Xeryl. She laced up her ankle boots with a grimace. She would have to suck it up and apologize even though he started it.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Strix Post 4
Total word count = 570
This post's progress = 181 words
“It’s been legally changed.”
“And you say the same thing every time, Wynn. Not very creative.” Roger rested his elbow on the table. “Why were you there?”
“I thought they already took my statement.” Peggy wadded up the wipe and left it on the table. “Right before they said they had to take my fingerprints.”
“This is Matt asking, not the detective. But if Ardenwood was your sugar daddy, I’m going to say eww a lot.”
Peggy sighed. “I had a job appointment for ghost writing Ardenwood’s memoires.”
“What about your job at the newspaper?”
“Dad got me fired after I covered the Ver Hagan benefit. I degraced him by not crawling back to the house he threw me out of, or something stupid like that.”
Roger tapped his finger against his cheek. “And now you’ve seen a murderer and he’s seen you.”
“I don’t know why he didn’t kill me too. I’m sure your cop buddies are wondering too.” Why did that last part come out so bitter?
“I’m not here for them. I know how you feel about criminals.”
This post's progress = 181 words
“It’s been legally changed.”
“And you say the same thing every time, Wynn. Not very creative.” Roger rested his elbow on the table. “Why were you there?”
“I thought they already took my statement.” Peggy wadded up the wipe and left it on the table. “Right before they said they had to take my fingerprints.”
“This is Matt asking, not the detective. But if Ardenwood was your sugar daddy, I’m going to say eww a lot.”
Peggy sighed. “I had a job appointment for ghost writing Ardenwood’s memoires.”
“What about your job at the newspaper?”
“Dad got me fired after I covered the Ver Hagan benefit. I degraced him by not crawling back to the house he threw me out of, or something stupid like that.”
Roger tapped his finger against his cheek. “And now you’ve seen a murderer and he’s seen you.”
“I don’t know why he didn’t kill me too. I’m sure your cop buddies are wondering too.” Why did that last part come out so bitter?
“I’m not here for them. I know how you feel about criminals.”
Strix Post 3
Nope, won't make the mistake of not getting at least the 5 minutes in. I was irritated all day yesterday.
Today's count = 133 words
The binder slipped from her grasp. She stepped back and looked at the assistant’s desk. And her fingers pressed the numbers while she concentrated on finding her voice.
The gruff voice answered and it was really him, not an answering machine. “Roger, I found a dead body. Please come get it.”
It felt like hours later. Peggy had forgotten her watch at home before her appointment and the room that had put her in at the police station had no clock either. She focused on wiping the black ink off her fingers with the cleaning wipes provided. A just in case measure, they had told her. She kept a wary eye on the corner waiting for a rodent or insect to come darting out.
The door to the spartan room opened. Roger ran his hand through his brown hair before sitting down at the table. “Hey, Winnward.”
Today's count = 133 words
The binder slipped from her grasp. She stepped back and looked at the assistant’s desk. And her fingers pressed the numbers while she concentrated on finding her voice.
The gruff voice answered and it was really him, not an answering machine. “Roger, I found a dead body. Please come get it.”
It felt like hours later. Peggy had forgotten her watch at home before her appointment and the room that had put her in at the police station had no clock either. She focused on wiping the black ink off her fingers with the cleaning wipes provided. A just in case measure, they had told her. She kept a wary eye on the corner waiting for a rodent or insect to come darting out.
The door to the spartan room opened. Roger ran his hand through his brown hair before sitting down at the table. “Hey, Winnward.”
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Strix (the Night Storm revision) Post 2
No clear title yet, but Strix is going to be the new superhero alias.
Daily word count = 129
“I’m all done. Mr. Ardenwood wants to see you now.”
Peggy jerked her head up. The man in the blue coveralls was shutting the outer office doors. She caught a glimpse of black curly hair and thick lips before the door closed. Maybe he was installing something, she thought as she brushed off her skirt.
She marched to the open inner office door with binder in a damp grip. “Mr. Ardenwood, I want to thank you for seeing me.” Her mouth fell open.
The bald man sprawled in his leather executive chair. His jaw dropped open and his arms hung slack off the arm rests. His eyes stared into the corner of the ceiling.
The binder slipped from her grasp. She stepped back and looked at the assistant’s desk.
Daily word count = 129
“I’m all done. Mr. Ardenwood wants to see you now.”
Peggy jerked her head up. The man in the blue coveralls was shutting the outer office doors. She caught a glimpse of black curly hair and thick lips before the door closed. Maybe he was installing something, she thought as she brushed off her skirt.
She marched to the open inner office door with binder in a damp grip. “Mr. Ardenwood, I want to thank you for seeing me.” Her mouth fell open.
The bald man sprawled in his leather executive chair. His jaw dropped open and his arms hung slack off the arm rests. His eyes stared into the corner of the ceiling.
The binder slipped from her grasp. She stepped back and looked at the assistant’s desk.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Capt. Kate Short Story Post 1
Capt. Kate was my Faire persona. I've been doing so much history research for the resource guide, I thought that a fiction peice through her eyes might be another good use for the research. Plus I read Murder by Magic this summer and thought an Elizabethan sea dog ghost story sounded like fun.
Daily writing = 143 word
Kate Roberts stared at the stone thurst into the splintered wood. The salt water had already filled the hold ankle-deep. Empty casks eased free from their ropes and nets to bob. The latern light was too feeble from the stairwell. Had the Crimson Lady been struck a fatal blow?
There comes a regularity with being cursed. Course, Kate didn’t feel she was cursed. It mattered not that others added Storm-blown to her given name simply because every ship she had floundered and was lost in the storm. She never lost any crew by God’s teeth save for the fools who could not follow orders in a crisis. Those were hardly sailors one desired come what may. Due to that fortunuous circumstance of her life, she had never expected her ship to run aground, no matter how foggy the night.
Daily writing = 143 word
Kate Roberts stared at the stone thurst into the splintered wood. The salt water had already filled the hold ankle-deep. Empty casks eased free from their ropes and nets to bob. The latern light was too feeble from the stairwell. Had the Crimson Lady been struck a fatal blow?
There comes a regularity with being cursed. Course, Kate didn’t feel she was cursed. It mattered not that others added Storm-blown to her given name simply because every ship she had floundered and was lost in the storm. She never lost any crew by God’s teeth save for the fools who could not follow orders in a crisis. Those were hardly sailors one desired come what may. Due to that fortunuous circumstance of her life, she had never expected her ship to run aground, no matter how foggy the night.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Strix (Night Storm Revision) Post 1
This started a long time ago, back in 1992. This is the third take on it, and I think it'll probably be the last one. The title will change, but I don't know to what yet.
Today's writing = 127 words
Peggy Wynn flipped through her portfolio one more time. All the pieces showed off her writing, but also conveyed how interesting she could make interviews and childhood rememberances. Just what Mr. Nate Ardenwood would need in the ghostwriter of his memoires. She shut the binder and leaned back in the chair. Ardenwood’s executive assistant had apologized profusely for the wait before leaving for the day. What could possibly be taking so long? How tempting it was to just leave, but she needed this job. She closed her green eyes.
The waiting room chair jabbed the body in the right spots to keep one awake. That was fine; she didn’t need to fall asleep on a job interview. Be respectful, be courteous, be the opposite of her father.
Today's writing = 127 words
Peggy Wynn flipped through her portfolio one more time. All the pieces showed off her writing, but also conveyed how interesting she could make interviews and childhood rememberances. Just what Mr. Nate Ardenwood would need in the ghostwriter of his memoires. She shut the binder and leaned back in the chair. Ardenwood’s executive assistant had apologized profusely for the wait before leaving for the day. What could possibly be taking so long? How tempting it was to just leave, but she needed this job. She closed her green eyes.
The waiting room chair jabbed the body in the right spots to keep one awake. That was fine; she didn’t need to fall asleep on a job interview. Be respectful, be courteous, be the opposite of her father.
Blog Maintenance: changes
Scroll down to the bottom. I've added Progress Bars for just about everything original on my working list. I left off fanfics because this is the stuff I need to be concentrating on. The fanfic muse has no problems with encouragement, where as my originals muse and discipline need some bolstering.
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