Weekend Writing Warriors

I’m still posting from War’s End. Coralie has just suggested that they delay conversing with the Maung until they rig a shelter – she is sure rain is coming.

A rumble of thunder punctuated [Coralie’s] words.

“Under the branches, but stay away from the biggest trunks,” Kelty agreed. “Audi, tell it we need shelter from the rain and possible lightning. Give me a hand with the medical kit—you can pile the other stuff on it.” He managed to lift Ginger’s levitation-equipped medical kit clear of the ground, and he and Audi began pushing it toward the edge of the clearing. The others gathered their own belongings and followed him, the Maung seeming as eager as the Humans to find shelter.

They had weather sheets, Coralie saw when Kelty turned out the contents of the emergency kit, but nothing to prop them up with. “String some of that light rope between two trees and drape the sheets over it,” she suggested, but Michelle was demanding to be fed again, so she could only watch as they fumbled the job.

Ah, the frustration of knowing how something should be done and being forced to stand by and watch others make a mess of it.

Next week will be a free day for Horse Power, a short story that bridges the gap between Homecoming and Tourist Trap and the trilogy that will finish with War’s End, so I’ll be posting a snippet from that. We’ll get back to War’s End, though. If you download Horse Power, I ‘d really appreciate a review.

This post is part of a blog ring, Weekend Writing Warriors, where authors can post up to 8 sentences from a work at any stage of completion. Do visit and comment on other authors; you can find the list and links by clicking on the logo at the top of the page. There is also a facebook list for excerpts, which can be found by clicking the logo below.

Weekend Writing Warriors

I’m posting more from War’s End today. The Maung has just confirmed that it knows trade talk, and Audi continues in her explanation to the Humans in the party.

“It’s a pretty primitive language, but there’s less chance of misunderstanding than with my trying to use their color language. Let’s see if I can get its name.”

Coralie moved a little nearer the center of the clearing and tipped her head back to look at the sky. Definitely threatening now, with low scud clouds moving fast against the higher overcast, and gusts of wind shaking the high branches. However welcome the movement of air was, she could not escape the feeling that it was about to start pouring. “Audi,” she interrupted, “couldn’t that wait until we rig some kind of shelter?”

This is the first Sunday of the month, so this post is signed up not only with Weekend Writing Warriors but also with Sky Warren’s Write Club. I’ll probably also get it listed on the facebook page.

By the way, I think I’ve just done something totally insane. I looked at my character list and glossary, and realized I had every letter of the alphabet except Q. (Query letter, anyone?) So I signed up for the A to Z blog challenge. If you’d like to find out more about my universe or meet my characters, drop by other days than Sunday in April. A to Z posts will go live at 6 pm Alaska time.

Weekend Writing Warriors

I’m still posting from War’s End, a work in progress. Last week Audi attempted to communicate with the Maung, using the reader to show an approximation of its color-pattern language. They’ve managed to exchange “friend,” and she’s asked it to stay with them. Its response is a surprise.

The creature flashed white and silver, and then waved a tentacle toward the keypad on the reader. Audi hesitated, but held the reader where the Maung could reach it. The tentacle reached out, touching the keypad purposefully, but slowly, and letters grew on the screen.

Trade talk.

Audi’s eyes widened as she took back the reader and hastily typed, Maung know trade talk? and then held the reader back toward the creature.

Little, grew on the screen, and Audi grinned.

“We lucked out,” she told the other Humans. “This one knows a little trade talk.”

Trade talk? What’s that?

This post is a part of Weekend Writing Warriors, similar to the old Six Sentnece Sunday (now sadly defunct) but with an 8-sentence limit. To find the contributions of other fine authors, click on the logo at the top of the page. Others who were on Six Sentence Sunday can be found on the facebook page.

Weekend Writing Warriors: War’s End

Things seem to have settled down a bit, and I’ll go with Weekend Writing Warriors as a regular Sunday blog. That allows an 8 sentence upper limit, which is what I’ll normally post. The Unofficial Six Sentence Group will be once a month, the first Sunday of every month, with the 6 sentence limit, so each first Sunday I’ll post 6 sentences and sign up for both. I’ll probably be late getting the link on the facebook page unless I remember to do it just after midnight – I’m about as far west as you can get in the US.

We’re still in War’s End, and Ginger has just finished using the reader to find out what Maungs eat.

“Give me the reader back, and I’ll try to communicate with it,” Audi said as the creature entered the clearing. The reader had a small keypad, and Audi fussed with it until the screen showed a complex pattern—mostly green and blue, with touches of gold. Then she held the screen where the creature could see it.

The Maung immediately flashed the same colors and pattern over its body.

“Friend—friend,” Audi muttered. “At least I think so. Let me try ‘stay with us’ next.” She worked again with the keypad, and showed a new pattern to the alien.

If you’ve read any of my books, I’d really appreciate reviews. My Amazon and Barnes and Noble pages look awfully bare.

Year of the Snake

In honor of the Chinese New Year, Wendy Russo has organized the Year of the Snake Blog Hop, posting something connected to snakes from our writing. I took Wendy’s prompt for “something to do with snakes” a bit more liberally than I suspect she intended, but I do have a snake-like predator native to Rakal in War’s End, the WIP I’ve been blogging excerpts from. (There’s another excerpt just below this.) To start with Coralie, stranded with her month-old baby and a few others on the planet Rakal, is wondering what the local predators are like.

Nothing looked edible, and if there wasn’t anything to eat near the ground, there wouldn’t be any animals there. Except for water — but would local animals have to come down from the trees for water? Could they lick enough off the leaves to keep going? How about the predators? “Audi,” Coralie added, “would you show me how to use the reader to access the information on Rakal once we find the cave? And what kinds of predators are there? I don’t see anything for the prey animals to eat, down here.”

Audi groaned. “The reader’s packed in the kit, and I don’t feel up to getting it right now, but I think the top predators are snakelike. Uh—you do have snakes on Horizon, don’t you?”

“Snakes?” She’d seen the word before, in texts on off-planet biology, but it meant no more than “felines” had before Zhaim had imported the pumas. “I don’t think so. They’re some kind of legless animals, aren’t they? How do they get around?”

“They get around,” Ginger broke in. “Quite well. I think we’d better check how those here attack.

But before they can find the cave, they find out a bit more about those snakelike predators. The hard way.

Coralie moved forward, and looked more closely at the overhang now clearly visible. She hadn’t been this far before, and even Bounce had turned back before reaching this point. From here it was apparent even in the limited light that the area under the overhang was darker than it should have been. “That’s Bounce’s cave,” she turned to call back. “Don’t know how deep, or if it’s occupied.” She started to turn back toward the cave when something slammed into her shoulder and upper chest.

It burned like fire, and when she looked down she saw a sort of tentacle, apparently coming from a tree clinging to the bank of the stream. She screamed. Ginger echoed her, shrugged out of the harness, and sprinted forward. The baby! Whatever it was hadn’t touched Michelle yet, but it surely would. “Ginger!” she managed to scream, “Catch!” When Ginger paused and lifted her arms, Coralie flung the infant toward those arms. She followed with her eyes just long enough to be sure that the baby was safe in Ginger’s grasp before turning her attention back to the tentacle dragging her toward the tree.

She tried to grab it and pull it away, but it seemed welded to her flesh. The burning sensation was getting worse, and her vision seemed blurred. Were the trees here predatory? She tried to claw at the section of tentacle between her and the tree, only to discover that one side was covered with needle-like projections that left her hand as agonized as her shoulder. She was getting dizzy, and staggered as she tried to brace herself against the relentless pull. The tentacle jerked, and she realized that the Maung was atop the tentacle, between her and the tree—but she felt as if she were spinning farther and farther from a body that would no longer obey her commands. As her vision faded she clung last to the knowledge that Ginger had Michelle safe.

To find the other participants on this blog hop, click on the links:

• Katie O’Sullivan
• Raven Bower
• Cindy Young-Turner
• Rebecca Trogner
• Lindsey Loucks
• Sue Ann Bowling
• SM Boyce
• Constance Phillips
• Stephan E. Train
• Stevie Carroll
• Kelly Seguin
• Wynn Channing
• Rebecca Hamilton
• Sherry Soule
• Renee Reardon
• Wendy S. Russo

Sunday Snippet (War’s End)

Bounce has brought a Maung back to the group — but if it dies, it can infect them with the organism that forms its nervous system. Such infection can lead to the parasite taking over the human mind.

[Coralie] swallowed hard.  This wasn’t at all the kind of threat she was used to.  “What does it eat?” she asked uncertainly.

“It’ll survive on our emergency bars, at least for a few days,” Audi replied. “Longer than that — Ginger, don’t they need a little different trace elements and vitamins than we do? And we don’t have all that many of the bars; we’re going to have to find something we can eat.”

I’m still a little unsure about what’s following Six Sentence Sunday, but I’ve signed up for two lists. One was Skye Warren’s if it goes, which will presumably still be six sentences — but I haven’t heard back on that one. Last night I couldn’t even get the website. The other is Weekend Writing Warriors, which allows up to 8 sentences. I went with six this time, but I may start posting eight. Next week will be a double, as I’m also doing Year of the Snake with a bit from later in the same book.

Update: Skye’s site is apparently going, but only the first Sunday of the month. I’ll be here every Sunday, with 8 a week except the first Sunday, when I’ll drop back to 6.

Six Sentence Sunday (War’s End)

This is the last Six Sentence Sunday, but I’ll keep on posting, and link from the new group if it gets going. (Just found another new group with 8 sentence snippets at http://www.wewriwa.com/) Otherwise, follow this blog. We’re in Coralie’s head, and she’s not at all sure about the alien that was on the ship with them.

A Maung?  Maungs on Horizon were bogeymen to scare children.  The creature she’d barely noticed on the ship looked more like an oversized animated footstool with eyes–at least she thought they were eyes–on several sides and on some of the tentacles that rose from the center.  She moved a little way into the jungle, and saw it following Bounce.  It looked terribly vulnerable, with its naked skin shifting colors constantly.  But more dangerous dead than alive?

Not exactly your usual alien.

This is the last week for Six Sentence Sunday. To find the dozens of other authors posting six sentence snippets of their work, click on the logo below.

Six Sentence Sunday

Bounce is bringing back the alien that was on the ship, something Coralie had never seen before but Audi was able to identify as a Maung, a creature that is a symbiosis of an insect-like intelligence that can parasitize humans and a mammal-like body. Audi is speaking.

“If it dies out here, that will release the infective symbiont, and we’re probably the nearest potential hosts.  We’re much safer keeping it alive.  The problem’s communication.  Ginger, does that reader of yours have a color panel display?  If it does, I can at least say ‘friend’ and ‘stay with us.’  That’s about it, I’m afraid.”

A color panel display? But why would Audi need that?

I’m going to post from my new short story next week, as I’m making it free that day. It’s actually connected to War’s End, as Timi and Amber (characters in Horse Power) are Coralie’s remote ancestors. I’ll be back to Coralie’s group, though. You want to find out what a Maung looks like, don’t you?

For this week, at least, there are well over a hundred authors posting snippets of their work for Six Sentence Sunday. To find them, just click on the logo below.

Six Sentence Sunday

With the little time left, I’m posting a couple more snippets from War’s End, though it will probably be quite a while before it’s ready for publication. I will continue posting snippets on Sundays, but unless the new list goes up you’ll have to follow the blog to see them.

“Bounce,” [Coralie] called, and heard a bark in response.  She reached her mind out to the little dog, and caught her breath sharply as she realized what Bounce was doing.  “Audi, she’s bringing that creature here!”

Audi looked startled, but then grinned.  “Good for her!  That’s a Maung, if you didn’t know.”

A Maung? There was a captive Maung on the ship, but it was takeover by the Maung-possessed that led to Rakal’s removal from the Confederation!

At some point I’ll devote a week to a short I’m putting up on Amazon, “Horse Power.” It won’t be completely different; characters Timi and Amber are Coralie’s remote ancestors.

Do stop by and visit the other authors posting on Six Sentence Sunday. Just click on the logo below.

Six Sentence Sunday

The four original passengers and the pilot are all accounted for and free, and Coralie has gone from suggesting to being a little more firm that they get out of the clearing and find shelter from the approaching rain. But she suddenly realizes that a fifth passenger is missing.

They were all together, which had been her first priority.  [Coralie] glanced around, and suddenly realized her dog was missing.  “Bounce?” she inquired.  “Didn’t you come in with her, Audi?”

“Yes, but then she ducked back–over that way, I think.  Audi pointed, and Coralie wove her way over to that side of the clearing.

So where’s Bounce?

Six Sentence Sunday is a blog hop of authors sharing six sentences of things they’ve written, published or not. If you’ve enjoyed this snippet, go to the main list by clicking the logo below.