Countdown to Escape Day: -149 years!

Hello, Dear Reader! I hope this post finds you well, or as well as can be expected in these ever-changing, strangest of times. For me, the last week and a half of watching the Cubs play ball (and fly the W!) has brought back a small, incredibly tenuous, sense of comfort. 

You might have noticed, I took a week off from posting chapters from Quest. It's been a little hectic around here plus I had to get the kids ready for Online School this week. Chapter 12 will be up Friday....

But, today, I'm wishing you a Happy Escape Day!

Fantasy Friday: Quest - Chapter Eleven

Happy Friday, Dear Reader! I do hope this week finds you well. I'm back with another chapter of Quest of No Return help distract you (I hope)  from this crazy time in our world. 

Just a forewarning, this draft is rough. I will update it at a later time, but to keep the story moving, I need to move on to the next chapter for now. Does that make sense? I think it does, but, then again, it's 3 am  as I put this post together. Yeah..

So without anymore nonsensical babble, I give you Chapter 11.... 

*****

A horn blared, and the first group of hunters were released into the forest. The second group took their places on the lawn to wait for the second horn. Aria waited at the table with the others.

Did you manage to learn anything else today? Aria asked Taura and Ziliena.

Yes, Taura replied. They believed her family was killed by our father's brother.

Fantasy Friday - Quest: Chapter Ten

Happy Friday, friends and fellow fantasy lovers! Hoping you're still coping with these strange times....

I almost didn't make it here with Chapter Ten this week. Sleep is essential for my brain to piece words together coherently, and I've been having a terrible time falling and staying asleep the last few weeks. So, I hope you can ignore the typos, I will fix them later!

If you're new to Isiterra, you can catch up with all of the chapters here.

******

Aria lay awake with Hunter stretched out along her side. Her mind was too busy making plans for the hunt to let sleep creep in.

Though she wasn't keeping track of the time, she did notice the light outside changing colors as twilight drew near. Hunter, you awake? She gave him a gentle nudge.

His tail thumped twice on the bed. Is it time to eat?

Yeah. If we hurry, we can save the girls the trip up here.

I'm waiting on you. He jumped from the bed and sat facing the door while Aria dressed.

She pulled on her boots, but didn't lace them up. Do you think I'll need my coat?

I'm planning to wear mine.

You won't like how it ends....

(This post is part of the A Shadow in Doubt, ten years later, read along...)

As we near the end of reliving (via reading) Sam's 2006, there's something I have to tell you. See, when Mom was halfway through her initial read of ASID, I told her she wouldn't like the end. Magic Yoda 8-ball was right. Like it, she did not. 

Despite agreeing with my assessment, to my surprise she said she enjoyed ASID more than TSW. My warning allowed her time to prepare herself, so, she said it was okay I left it that way.  Still, I wondered what other readers - those without the benefit of my warnings - might think....

Midnight Rambling: Hopping Too Far

(This post is part of The Shadow Watcher, ten years later, read along...)

I can't believe we're already at the final chapter. I'd planned a few more posts along the way, but I used the wrong hopper, and got too far ahead ... which brings me to the subject of the post!

Midnight Rambling: What Was She Thinking???

(This post is part of The Shadow Watcher, ten years later, read along...)

On this night, ten years ago, Sam was safely tucked away at home with Artemis for the evening, after meeting her Shadow Watcher face to face for the very first time. But, what on Earth was she thinking, stopping like that, in the first place?

Before Sam Met The Shadow Watcher....

(This post is part of The Shadow Watcher, ten years later, read along...)

Monday marks ten years since the day Sam and her Shadow Watcher first met. For those who wish to join me, I'll be re-reading chapters from The Shadow Watcher and A Shadow in Doubt on their corresponding tenth anniversaries, and posting along the way. 

To set the mood, I'm sharing the original Prologue from The Shadow Watcher, since it's since been taken out. It's some of Sam's backstory, and I wound up working most of it in to the first chapters instead. Still, it gives a hint of what her mindset was, before everything changes....