Today, I share an interview with Sam, catching up with her on what's happened since The Shadow Watcher, before A Shadow in Doubt....
Q: When we left you at the end of The Shadow Watcher, you were in kind of a strange place, wouldn't you say?
Sam: My apartment?
Q: No, I mean, emotionally.
Sam: Strange is a nice way of putting it. (smiles) Honestly, if not for Artemis keeping me connected to reality, I might convince myself it was all a dream. She's helped me keep my sanity.
Q: Some people might consider your relationship with your cat crazy....
Sam: You mean some people think I'm a crazy cat lady?
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
So, how did your NaNoWriMo go?
This was my sixth year participating in NaNoWriMo, and my second win (barely). Each year, time is the biggest factor working against me. Last year, I realized time is always working against us, so I needed to stop making excuses. It was still a struggle, but in a desperate burst of defiant and insistent typing, I pulled out 9600 something words from mid afternoon on the 28th to five am on the 29th. I don't recommend it, but I was determined to finish, and finish I did.
When I sat down with my candy stash just after midnight November 1st this year, I didn't know what I was writing. I wrote something, scrapped it a day later, wrote something else, scrapped that too. In a panic, I started surfing the net, and came across something that make me think of an old idea, so I turned it into something new and ran with it.
Catching up and staying just ahead of the daily goal into the second week, I thought this year would be a breeze. Then, somewhere I lost it. I sat and stared at the screen. My goal of finishing before turkey day was a joke by the 20th. And then it was midnight on the 28th, and I still had over 20,000 words to go....
Once again, the love of my life came through in my hour(s) of desperation, and after my Black Friday trips to Home Depot to supply him with projects for the weekend, he and the kids hung out in the yard while I sequestered myself to do something I didn't think would be possible. And yet it was.
It still doesn't have a name, and it's a rough, ugly draft, but it's just over fifty thousand words, so it counts. And I'm excited about it! It's a stand-alone YA fantasy novel involving a young woman who is tormented through nightmares controlled by a dark elf seeking revenge against her grandfather for stealing the source of his power. Her grandfather sent the elf away when she was young, and her nightmares ended, leaving her to believe his stories were just that - nothing more than fairy tales. Now, with her grandfather gone, the elf has found a way to return. A mysterious, flirtatious boy starts working with her at the restaurant just as others at school begin having nightmares, too. As students start disappearing, she realizes there is much more to the fairy tales of her childhood than she ever imagined.
(And no, I'm not talking about Santa's little helpers here, or Elrond's kin, these elves are different....)
I think part of my mid-month writing slump was due to all of the fantastic stories I was finding in my research - I kept getting off topic. It's not one of my better habits. In the end, I wrote something closer to seventy thousand words for the month, counting my first scrapped ideas - the scraps I may or may not save for later ;)
With that said.... I'm back to the final polish on last year's novel - A Shadow in Doubt. I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari
(Photos from all-free-download.net)
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Time to Escape 2169
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| Fore Shadows: Escape 2169 by Roari Benjamin |
Fore Shadows: Escape 2169 is now available!
This free 5400 word (approx.) short story is part of the Society in the Shadow of Civilization Series - both a prequel and sequel to The Shadow Watcher - told from Samuel's point of view instead of Sam's. My initial goal was to keep it under three thousand words, and it got close to seven at one point, but I trimmed it back down.
If you haven't read The Shadow Watcher yet, you won't be lost, but you may get some spoilers ;) The events in Escape 2169 are some of the most important in the series, and it's been screaming to be written for some time, but it's also a stand-alone story. As tempted as I am to write full length novels about Samuel, it's not part of the plan, right now. More short stories are coming though, I've already started two.
At the moment, the mobi, epub and pdf formats are available - for free - at Smashwords. (Distribution to the iTunes and Nook stores will take a day or so. The Kindle version is live, but it's priced at 99¢ until the price-match goes into effect, I'll update this post once that happens.) And, don't forget to check out The Shadow Watcher - now just 99¢ in the Kindle Store.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this glimpse of Samuel's world as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a beautiful day!
Roari
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Isiterra - The Tale of the Orbs
This version is transcribed from one of three known copies of "The Origins and Histories of Isiterra" written by Terrano, found in the antiquities vault at the Iselos Learning Hall.
Friday, August 1, 2014
A Letter to My Muse
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Photo: Kathy VanDeventer All-free-download.com
|
I am listening, waiting,
for you to whisper in my ear.
Sing to me your song,
of wordless meaning
that creates life with paper and pen.
Speak to me, evasive spirit!
I anticipate our next encounter,
that I might find answers
for questions left on the last page
we wrote together.
I am selfish, demanding
You devote your time to me.
You are timeless though,
and so much of mine is devoted
to other mundane daily rituals.
Tell me, what can I do?
I begin these tasks at your beckon,
And you leave me at your whim,
How do I finish...
(See what I mean?)
I hope you're having a beautiful day! Roari |
Thursday, July 17, 2014
New story - sneak peek!
It's been a quiet week. Wasn't feeling too well over the weekend, and it carried over into Wednesday. I think I feel human again.
I haven't been entirely unproductive, though. No, I've been busy. Well, my delirious little mind has been. What has my delirious little mind been up to, you ask? Why, of course, I'd love to share!
Obviously, I knew sending The Shadow Watcher out there all by its little lonesome wasn't going to amount to a massive flow of sales. I knew this before I wrote it. Not because I don't believe one day it will, it's just all by itself right now, and needs some company. Takes me awhile to get a novel right though.
Oh, but wait! Remember those side notes I talked about before?
Yes, well, here's the latest. Or part of it, anyway. These short stories I plan on putting out for .99¢, or some for free, to help get more content out there faster. A Shadow in Doubt is still planned for fall, but Fore Shadowing: Shadows on the Moon will be sooner, I think. For now, please enjoy this entirely unedited excerpt :)
08/05/2169 - Moon Colony - Gamma Structure
Paranoia is a mild state, relative to the one in which I lived after we administered the vaccination to the colony. Nearly two weeks have passed since the U.C.E. requested a sample of the compound we used. I couldn't seem to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time. At two thirteen a.m., I sat up, feeling someone else was in my room, and saw the shadow pass before the clock.
My heart started pounding. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I saw a man, wearing what appeared to be a cloak and glasses, standing near the window to my right.
To my left, a woman whispered, "Samuel, we need to talk."
I wanted to cry out, my father might hear in his quarters next door. But not likely.
She spoke again, "We mean you no harm, but they're coming." This time I could see her. She was wearing glasses too, with tinted lenses.
I snapped on my bedside lamp. They were both strangers - I'd never seen either of them on the Moon before. I assumed the worst. "The U.C.E. sent you, didn't they."
He answered, "No. But like she said, they're coming."
"What do you want from me? Who are you?"
"The truth is often not expected." She smiled. Her eyes, still visible through the lenses she wore, were familiar to me, like I'd known them my whole life, but I couldn't place it. "We're here to help you. Telling you who we are doesn't help right now. You'll understand, in time."
"Samuel, you have to escape now, you and anyone who helped you with the vaccine."
The story the lab gave the U.C.E. was they accidentally administered all of the vaccine, and they had not been able to replicate a new batch. Time was running out for them to send something back to the labs on Earth - probably Sky Geneva, otherwise Sky Milan - for testing. They won't replicate a new batch, because they didn't make it. My friends at the lab, Tollack, Voorhia and Marcus took a great risk in helping me distribute a juice from a fruit-bearing tree I created. They called it a vaccine, and when everyone one the moon was cured, we destroyed the rest.
I couldn't let the U.C.E. have the real thing, because then they would know about my project, my tree. We were not surprised when they designated me to the Time Travel project, as the U.C.E. considers it my sibling, my parents its parents. But my true love was bio-chemistry, and I couldn't stay away.
The quest for eternal youth from within, long linked to the fuel we put into our bodies, lead me down this path. It was an answer to a question, a problem I wanted to solve from the time I was a boy and read of quests to find the Fountain of Youth. I had no idea what I was creating, and had not thought of the implications - or possibilities - it truly meant for the future.
The UCE had, and they labeled their quest the Sovereign project. They believed if they could defy the aging process, they could rule the universe. Once they'd spread out to conquer it. Which they would do when they could live long enough to travel far enough to do it. Crazy, right? My father would say that's why he went with science, and not politics.
The man snapped me back to the present. "Their representatives will be here in less than twenty-four hours. You have to execute your plan, and get the tree out of here now."
I was dubious. The fact that I had only just discovered the healing properties of the fruit a week before patient zero booked his flight for the Moon, and brought the Antarctic flu to our virus free colony, was only too convenient. I made my father eat it the minute he showed symptoms of the Antarctic flu, but within minutes of biting into the core, his hair thickened and darkened, and the wrinkles in his face began to smooth. I shrieked out loud, startling him because it was not a manly sound, and all I could do was point to a mirror across the room.
The age-reversing effects of the fruit were not as apparent in a cat as they are in a human, but I realized what happened the instant it happened. My experiment was a success. I could save the colony. But I had to conceal it from the U.C.E., because otherwise they would take it from me, before I could even study it. I filled a sack with the fruit, and ran called my friend, who worked at the lab. He was sick too, but when he drank some of the juice from just the flesh of the fruit, he felt fully recovered. His fever was gone. We headed to the lab, and called two more of his associates. I couldn't enter, without record of my being there, so I stayed outside.
"I still don't know if it's a good idea." I went on the assumption they already knew my plan.
"Going back that far, it poses too many risks."
The man handed me an envelope, "Which is why you'll need this."
"What is it?"
"Instructions."
"For?"
The woman sighed, "How to make it all work."
"From who?"
They looked at each other, moments passing that seemed like hours. Hours I apparently no longer had to waste. I could tell they were weighing the outcome of what they told me. She shook her head, he answered. "My instructions were to deliver you the coordinates you need to set the time machine for, and other notes attached. I think you'll know who they're from when you read them."
I opened the envelope, the contents of which consisted of several aged leaves of paper, scratched and scrawled upon in a hand I knew - unmistakably - was my own.
And, the rest is coming soon to an e-reader (hopefully) in your hands!
I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari
I haven't been entirely unproductive, though. No, I've been busy. Well, my delirious little mind has been. What has my delirious little mind been up to, you ask? Why, of course, I'd love to share!
Obviously, I knew sending The Shadow Watcher out there all by its little lonesome wasn't going to amount to a massive flow of sales. I knew this before I wrote it. Not because I don't believe one day it will, it's just all by itself right now, and needs some company. Takes me awhile to get a novel right though.
Oh, but wait! Remember those side notes I talked about before?
Yes, well, here's the latest. Or part of it, anyway. These short stories I plan on putting out for .99¢, or some for free, to help get more content out there faster. A Shadow in Doubt is still planned for fall, but Fore Shadowing: Shadows on the Moon will be sooner, I think. For now, please enjoy this entirely unedited excerpt :)
08/05/2169 - Moon Colony - Gamma Structure
Paranoia is a mild state, relative to the one in which I lived after we administered the vaccination to the colony. Nearly two weeks have passed since the U.C.E. requested a sample of the compound we used. I couldn't seem to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time. At two thirteen a.m., I sat up, feeling someone else was in my room, and saw the shadow pass before the clock.
My heart started pounding. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I saw a man, wearing what appeared to be a cloak and glasses, standing near the window to my right.
To my left, a woman whispered, "Samuel, we need to talk."
I wanted to cry out, my father might hear in his quarters next door. But not likely.
She spoke again, "We mean you no harm, but they're coming." This time I could see her. She was wearing glasses too, with tinted lenses.
I snapped on my bedside lamp. They were both strangers - I'd never seen either of them on the Moon before. I assumed the worst. "The U.C.E. sent you, didn't they."
He answered, "No. But like she said, they're coming."
"What do you want from me? Who are you?"
"The truth is often not expected." She smiled. Her eyes, still visible through the lenses she wore, were familiar to me, like I'd known them my whole life, but I couldn't place it. "We're here to help you. Telling you who we are doesn't help right now. You'll understand, in time."
"Samuel, you have to escape now, you and anyone who helped you with the vaccine."
The story the lab gave the U.C.E. was they accidentally administered all of the vaccine, and they had not been able to replicate a new batch. Time was running out for them to send something back to the labs on Earth - probably Sky Geneva, otherwise Sky Milan - for testing. They won't replicate a new batch, because they didn't make it. My friends at the lab, Tollack, Voorhia and Marcus took a great risk in helping me distribute a juice from a fruit-bearing tree I created. They called it a vaccine, and when everyone one the moon was cured, we destroyed the rest.
I couldn't let the U.C.E. have the real thing, because then they would know about my project, my tree. We were not surprised when they designated me to the Time Travel project, as the U.C.E. considers it my sibling, my parents its parents. But my true love was bio-chemistry, and I couldn't stay away.
The quest for eternal youth from within, long linked to the fuel we put into our bodies, lead me down this path. It was an answer to a question, a problem I wanted to solve from the time I was a boy and read of quests to find the Fountain of Youth. I had no idea what I was creating, and had not thought of the implications - or possibilities - it truly meant for the future.
The UCE had, and they labeled their quest the Sovereign project. They believed if they could defy the aging process, they could rule the universe. Once they'd spread out to conquer it. Which they would do when they could live long enough to travel far enough to do it. Crazy, right? My father would say that's why he went with science, and not politics.
The man snapped me back to the present. "Their representatives will be here in less than twenty-four hours. You have to execute your plan, and get the tree out of here now."
I was dubious. The fact that I had only just discovered the healing properties of the fruit a week before patient zero booked his flight for the Moon, and brought the Antarctic flu to our virus free colony, was only too convenient. I made my father eat it the minute he showed symptoms of the Antarctic flu, but within minutes of biting into the core, his hair thickened and darkened, and the wrinkles in his face began to smooth. I shrieked out loud, startling him because it was not a manly sound, and all I could do was point to a mirror across the room.
The age-reversing effects of the fruit were not as apparent in a cat as they are in a human, but I realized what happened the instant it happened. My experiment was a success. I could save the colony. But I had to conceal it from the U.C.E., because otherwise they would take it from me, before I could even study it. I filled a sack with the fruit, and ran called my friend, who worked at the lab. He was sick too, but when he drank some of the juice from just the flesh of the fruit, he felt fully recovered. His fever was gone. We headed to the lab, and called two more of his associates. I couldn't enter, without record of my being there, so I stayed outside.
"I still don't know if it's a good idea." I went on the assumption they already knew my plan.
"Going back that far, it poses too many risks."
The man handed me an envelope, "Which is why you'll need this."
"What is it?"
"Instructions."
"For?"
The woman sighed, "How to make it all work."
"From who?"
They looked at each other, moments passing that seemed like hours. Hours I apparently no longer had to waste. I could tell they were weighing the outcome of what they told me. She shook her head, he answered. "My instructions were to deliver you the coordinates you need to set the time machine for, and other notes attached. I think you'll know who they're from when you read them."
I opened the envelope, the contents of which consisted of several aged leaves of paper, scratched and scrawled upon in a hand I knew - unmistakably - was my own.
And, the rest is coming soon to an e-reader (hopefully) in your hands!
I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Sometimes you just have to listen.
This one is for the woman I met in the bookstore yesterday. A book triggered her grief, and she needed someone to listen. I'm glad I was there.
To K-
The sadness was plain in your eyes.
I wondered, "What causes the tears she cries?"
Weary wells, windows of your soul,
They poured it all out.
A stranger, I might walk away,
The choice to stay was just as simple.
Could I not lend my ear?
You didn't expect me to listen,
Much less respond, sharing in kind.
But, I had to. Someone did.
You needed a tether to the world,
And I let my own fall away,
That afternoon, I needed to hear what you needed to say.
I didn't have the answers you sought to find,
But, I hope it gave you some small comfort,
Knowing I am just as unknowing.
One thing I've learned about grieving, everyone does it their own way, in their own time. She thanked me as we parted, for taking the time to listen, but I should be thanking her. It was a reminder of what is important - how we treat those around us. We share this world together, for the little time we have on it. Small acts of kindness cost nothing, and are more rewarding than you think. When others have shown me kindness, I appreciated it more than they probably know. I do believe things happen for a reason, even if we never understand why in this life.
K-, this rose is for your mother. I hope you and I meet again one day. Even more, I hope your heart finds peace.
I hope you all have a beautiful day!
Roari
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