DONE

I finished editing tonight. I changed a lot less than I expected, mostly just cleaning up awkward sentences and fixing unclear parts. I think it stands as it is, perhaps a bit silly and uncomplicated at times, but hopefully an enjoyable read.

I look forward to seeing what the real-life inspiration for the main character has to say about it!

I happily say goodbye to Rob and Sera, though there is still a bit of cover work and final editing to do to get the book actually into print. I need another late night, perhaps, and then I'll be good to go.
Some final silly artwork will likely make its way into the back of the book, too.

House Seals

If you've been following Earthbound at all, you might have picked up on the Houses on the world where our main character, Serafina, comes from. I've been sketching and working on some of the seals and symbols of the main houses, especially from a rival House, House Exuro. I'm including a copy of what I have so far...

I know the writing has been sort of slow lately, but that's because I've been working on the backstory and the other world, which should help in Volume 2. I suppose it could wait until I'm done with Volume 1, but I like to do things as they come to me, to keep them fresh. I may even begin a map for that book at some point.

Ongoing

I'm still waiting on my co-writer for IR2, so I put out another chapter of Earthbound. Things are moving on dramatically, and the openings for more action and romance are rapidly approaching. Also, with a tangle with the law, things get more dangerous for Rob and Sera.

I'll post more later this week with the next chapter. For now, check it out!

Fight Club - Earthbound Style

I just wrote the first true action scene of Earthbound. Sera gets a visit from another woman from her planet, and it quickly turns into a brawl. He's a selection from the fight scene...

Oriana licked her lips and leaned forward to whisper secretively. “And your mother? Celia, wasn’t it? Did she know of me, of my time with your father?”

Sera’s fists swung at Oriana’s face almost of their own volition, first the right and then the left. The right nearly connected, but Oriana’s forearm came up to block it. The left grazed the redhead’s chin, but then Oriana’s right fist came up to meet her chin.

She wasn’t certain, but it felt as if she’d just left the ground. She crashed down on a table, but it collapsed beneath her. Bottles smashed around her, and glass rained around her as stars danced before her eyes. Slowly, she picked herself up off the floor.

Her eyes blazing, she stepped forward to meet Oriana. If she truly was who she said she was, she’d had years to get used to this world, and she’d not just been through the pylons. On a good day, it might have been an even match, but now, only the fires of her anger gave her any chance.

They met with a thunderclap of punches, both striking each other with elemental energies behind their fists. Fire lent Oriana a heat that scalded as she connected her fists to Sera’s body, but Sera’s body was surrounded by a cushion of air that deflected some of the blow. Her own knuckles were wrapped in light that cut through the dimness of the bar like a brief flash of light across the sea when the sun finally dipped below the horizon.

Excerpt from Earthbound

Here's an excerpt from a recent chapter of Earthbound

As she fumbled with the folding chair and a device called a radio that somehow share music, news, and weather, she pulled Rob’s house key out of the small bag he’d given her. She’d only just put the key into the slot when footsteps came up behind her and a loud voice exclaimed, “Holy hell, is that my bathing suit?”

Sera spun around quickly and found herself staring at a girl about her age that bore a strong familial resemblance to Robert. The chin was similar, and the nose was a bit too large to be called pretty, but she had long, flaxen hair that was nearly as long as Sera’s own. A bag was slung over the girl’s shoulder, and her hands were on her hips in a pose that was definitely disapproving.

“What the hell?”

“Pardon?” Sera replied, once again feeling insecure about her ability to interact with this world’s people. At home, she’d not have thought twice about talking back to a younger girl who dared reproach her, but here, everything was different.

“Well, it certainly didn’t look that good on me.” Rob’s sister said wistfully, looking her up and down.

“I apologize for not seeking your permission to use your garment.”

“Eh, it was last year’s anyway. So who the heck are you and where did Rob find you? You’re certainly not his girlfriend. You’re too pretty,” Rob’s sister frowned at the fading bruises on her side, “although you do look as if you’ve been in a fight.”

“I am Sera, Rob’s friend.” She answered. She supposed it was only right that she identify herself, but it struck her as strange that people continually demanded to know her name without offering their own. “What do you mean by girlfriend?”

“The girl he’s sleeping with.”

“Oh. We are not sleeping together. He stays in the other room.”

“Psh. I knew he couldn’t get a girl like you. No way, no how.” The girl said smugly, shaking her head.

Sera laughed. Rob’s sister certainly didn’t have a favorable opinion of her older brother. She’d never had a brother, so she didn’t know how it was, but she’d had an older cousin, and she’d always treated him with deference. “He is a nice man, but we just met.”

“And already you’re wearing my old clothes and sleeping at his place? This, I’ve gotta hear.”

Earthbound - Something Different

When writing Earthbound, I constantly have to put myself in the mind of someone not of our world. If an intelligent young woman from a place with technology probably around the Roman Empire level arrived in modern America, how would she cope? I think most intelligent people would pick up on some things very quick, even if they didn't understand the technology behind them.

Refrigerators, for example, shouldn't be that hard. They're cold. They hold food. Why does it work or how? Who cares. They keep food fresh.

Similarly, sinks and bathrooms shouldn't be too hard.

Technology devices like cell phones - good luck. Other than a few rote commands like pressing #2 and quickdialing, it would take a lot of practice to learn.

Of course, this is all supposing they could speak our language (which in Earthbound Sera can).

Anyway, I'm having fun exploring the mundane stuff about a college kid's everyday life from the viewpoint of an alien girl. Albeit, she's a hot blonde, but still an alien.

Earthbound Opening Chapter Sample

Thought I'd post this sample of Earthbound up here. This is from the middle of the 1st chapter. Take a peek at our introduction to Serafina.

“Stop!” One of her pursuers called. She didn’t have to look back to know he was the one with the beautiful eyes, the features so statuesque that they could have been carved from marble. She’d seen him before in the Court of Furled Wings. Only a few years older than her, he was still a boy, really. Aleron, she thought his name was, the Captain of the Guard. That they had sent him spoke of the Emperor’s desire to have her captured.

“Surrender yourself now. Your father has already been captured. It’s over!” His voice was imploring, but she wouldn’t listen. She folded both pairs of her wings and dove, dropping like a stone. Calls of alarm met her ears, but she knew that Aleron and his fellows wouldn’t follow her so deep into the storm. It was suicide to do so.

There was no telling how close she was to the ground in this thick of cloud cover. She could hardly see more than a few feet ahead of her, so, as she fell, she drew her sword from her chest, a spirit-blade forged in the fires of her soul. The firelight of her blade lit the way as she went deeper into the smoke, fighting the noxious fumes that choked breath from her mouth and nostrils.

With sweat beading thickly on her brow and her lungs feeling like they would burst from want of air, she continued her nauseating plummet. Spots danced before her eyes and she let in a choking half-breath that nearly caused her to go into a coughing fit, but even with her eyes watering, she could still see it ahead: the pylon.

Serafina & Robert

Inspired by all the teen drama/romance/fantasy out there, I'm writing earthbound, a story about a girl that seems to be an angel that has come from another world to escape her life there. Robert, a young guy who just wants to finish school so he can start his real life, happens to rescue her from a burning crater in the woods when she falls to earth near where he was driving. So starts a strange chapter in Rob's life.

The character of Robert is actually named and based off of one of my real life friends, Rob Dunn. He found the whole premise hilarious and exciting, and said I could do whatever I wanted, so long as I didn't make his fictional counterpart 'have a small weiner.' So far, that hasn't happened, so he seems pretty supportive.

This actually isn't my first time writing drama. I wrote a novella several years ago called 'The Keys to Soul' - a drama about a teenage girl that falls for an older piano player. I also wrote a more lighthearted comedy novella called 'Imagine That' - a story about a teenage boy who has no control over his mouth and finds his secrets and thoughts are actually involuntarily spoken aloud for everyone to hear until he loses his virginity (that's the real storyline, honestly). There are a couple others, too, but not necessarily so long.

This is my first real attempt at modern fantasy/sci-fi set in our world. It might not rival twilight or other popular series, but give it a read and see. I'll post some samples next time around. If you're curious about those other stories, they're available on my website. Check the links beside the post.

Earthbound

I'm still waiting on my evaluation copies of Science Now to arrive from lulu's printing presses, so I've continued work on Earthbound. It's pretty fun so far, because it doesn't really matter where it goes. A lot of times, it's when you force a story to have drama and work toward an end that it gets dull to write. Right now, I'm just having a good time imagining the interactions between the two main characters, Robert & Serafina. It should be pretty exciting for quite awhile (at least until editing).

In-Roam 2 is still continuing through development, too. I'm reading the 1st volume and surprising myself with how good it is. It's entertaining, exciting, and vulgar in just the right places. It's great. I'm getting all kinds of new ideas for the 2nd book just by reading the 1st again. More on that later.

Finally, Science Now should be launched on the new website by the end of the month. Keep an eye out for it...