E.N. Chaffin's Blog, page 5
December 17, 2017
An Update and Holiday Blessings!
November 14, 2017
Little Miss Annie – Short Story of Loading Life
October 31, 2017
The Hanging Tree
October 17, 2017
Bad Witch
October 3, 2017
The Gallant Tailor
September 19, 2017
Golf Ball Fairy
September 12, 2017
Update! Stories, Giveaway and More!
Hello y’all!
I would like to thank every one of you who are following this website, my twitter, youtube, and facebook. Thank you for giving me even a little bit of your precious time.
So! On to the updates!
From working full time at nights, writing my next book in six months, and wanting to put more content on here and youtube, I seem to have put too much on my plate. Just a little.
So in order to do all that I want – and everything I need – to do, I have to organize and reorder my life! (And that is SO much harder than I thought it would be.)
And here’s what’ll be coming:
I will continue writing short stories for this website, but will post them every two weeks. (But that means I’ll have one next week!) I want to give you great content on this site and think that two weeks gives me enough time to go from brainstorming and writing to completely editing a story.
I will have new writing videos on my youtube channel every week. This includes my miniseries “My 6 Month Novel” with the fourth episode coming out today!
I’ll be updating the site in a few weeks and giving it a total make over. So if it looks different in October. . . you’ll know why. (And, no, it won’t be spooky-themed. This time.)
My debut novel, Loading: Life, will be getting a special edition cover. For those of you who have not checked it out, you can check out the first three chapters here. It’ll be back on sale on October 1st!
A GIVEAWAY IS GOING TO HAPPEN! Yep. Since I’m relaunching Loading: Life, I am going to do it with a giveaway! And not just for a physical book. Oh no, no, no. Something special will be given to the grand prize winner. So watch out for that email!
And that’s it! See y’all next week!
If you want to keep updated with all my activities, you can follow my twitter or facebook (or both)!
September 5, 2017
Nightlight
[image error]
Don’t turn off the lights. Especially the nightlight.
/
It always happens when the lights go out. The little boy in the bed can’t help but be afraid of what lurks in the dark. Even at his young age, he knows there are monsters, evil spirits, and even demons that would take any chance they get to suck out his life, if not steal his very soul. But that is why I was created. My soul mission in life is to care for and protect any child that is in my charge.
“Now, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“But mommy!”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I promise there are no monsters in the dark. Don’t let your brother’s scary stories get to you. Besides you have your nightlight in here. And one in the hallway. And you’ll have Mr. Fuzzy right beside you all night.”
She leans down and lays me right next to him. She then tucks us both in, kisses him good night, and starts to leave.
“Wait! What about Mr. Fuzzy!”
She laughs, “Oh sorry! I forgot!” She leans down and kisses me. “Good night, Mr. Fuzzy. Please protect my sweet little boy.”
And with that she leaves, turning off the bedside lamp.
My boy whimpers a little. I try to stay as close to him as I possibly can.
“I have you, Fuzzy…”
In no time at all, he falls asleep. Yet, I still hold my breath. I know they are coming.
A creak comes from the hallway. It’s only the boy’s brother.
“Stupid.” I hear a click.
That ignorant boy turns off the night light. He’s the stupid one. Does he not know that night lights are the first defense against the Shadows?
As soft thumps move away from my boy’s room, I prepare myself for what will come next.
I hear snickering. The Shadows start to move, speaking unintelligibly. The light in here starts to flicker. It seems this time they are strong enough to extinguish it.
I hold my ground as some small Shadows move inside the room. Larger ones build themselves outside the door. I need to hold my position as long as possible.
Never make the first move.
Never let them get the advantage.
Never let them touch my charge.
For my boy’s sake.
As their black limbs crawl on the walls to burn out the last of the light, my boy shifts in his sleep. I fall off the bed, landing without a noise. Near them and the light. They stop. And start towards me.
Right before they can manifest and grab me around my neck, I twist around giving them a kick. I jump, landing with both feet on the ground, shifting into my favorite fighting stance.
They lunge for me. I smack their hands away. Another attack from the left. I dodge right.
The light flickers again. I run. Grab a toy hammer. And smack them away.
Now they are angry.
“You dare!”
I ready myself.
“Don’t stop us!”
The Shadows leak out of the walls and floor. Tiny, bony hands manifest from the sludge. They dive towards me.
I smack each one like whack-a-moles. One slips behind me and tries to pull away the hammer. I latch on, pulling harder. It lets go, sending me backwards. I trip over another hand. A third grips me tightly. A few dive for the night light. I struggle to get loose.
“No!”
Others go for my boy.
“Stop!”
They shriek.
The hand clutching me goes limp. It disappears into the ground.
I look up to see Bouncy rolling on top of the bed, hitting the hands away from my boy. I turn around to see Muscle Dude beat others away from the night light, throwing plastic fists and kicks. I grin as best I can with my sewn-on mouth and join the fight once more.
Together we throw them back into the hallway. Hissing can be heard as they rejoin. Another attack is on its way.
We gather at the doorway, ready for the next wave.
They start to strike, when a door down the hall opens up, a brightness pouring out. A shrieking hiss can be heard from the corners.
“Now what is this doing off?” A click and the night light in the hallway is on once again.
Another hiss. We three go limp on the floor as the mother passes by the room. She is oblivious to our fight, and to the shadows that lie in the dark of her own house. They would not attack her though. They have no use for a grown up.
She walks past again but stops short.
“What are you doing on the floor?” She picks me up and lays me by my boy.
As she leaves, I can see the shadows snarl. They know as well as I do there is little chance the boy’s brother will come out of his room again until dawn. They know they are beaten for another night. Bouncy and Muscle Dude stand watch at the door, just in case. I, worn out from my fight, rest in the arms of my boy. I need to store as much love and energy as I can for tomorrow. One wrong move could cost me my life. And my boy’s.
As I lay there, I thank the weather for being nice. It would have been worse if this had been a stormy night.
/
/
(c) E.N. Chaffin 2016. Any reproduction without author permission is against copyright laws under the United States of America.
August 29, 2017
Why I Wrote My Debut Novel
Recently I made a video covering this topic. But it only made sense to also write a blog post about it too.
Every author has his or her own reasons to write. And some of those tend to overlap. This is where we get the “ever since I was a child I dreamt of this” cliché. Whether cliché or not, though, the reasons need to be explored and kept in mind by the author throughout his or her career. And this is what I’ve done for myself. And I would like to share it with you.
Before we get too far into this though, I have made a video for anyone who is interested. It is around 30 minutes long – though it was about an hour before editing. But if you’re still interested, here’s a link to it.
So, onto the reasons! My motivations for writing my debut novel, Loading: Life!
It all began when I was young, like many writers love for the craft. Instead of being into drawing like my other friends, I always wanted to create magic with writing. Funny enough, I wasn’t an avid reader. Yes, I did read a lot, but not extremely so, like you see with other writers. I did start watching Japanese animation (anime) around this time, and that was a huge inspiration for me to write as well. I always asked the question: “How would someone write out this scene in a book and make it as vivid as it is in the show?”
From there I kept going. However, when I graduated high school and entered college, I put my writing on hold. I didn’t have time to be creative when I was going to classes, studying for tests, and writing essays that bored me to near-death. But I convinced myself I had to do this in order to do something I thought I wanted to do – become a theatre teacher. It is true that I was once in love with theatre and I have always loved teaching anyone who will listen to new and different things. But, after going through both my Bachelor’s and Master’s programs (the first in theatre and the second in secondary education), my thoughts began to change. You see, in order to be certified as a teacher, I had to go through a few internships. My first was pretty great. My mentor was an awesome guy who actually taught me something. The second was completely unnerving. But it did get me to rethink why I was going into teaching. And then I came to the realization that what teachers have to go through in this day and age would completely choke me. My life wouldn’t become a hell. It would become completely hollow. Thus, I decided not to get a job and follow a different path.
It was hard for me to do so. I had spent the last six years in college to prepare myself for a teaching job. I had racked up some school loans and debts and now had to pay them off without a fancy teacher job to do so. From then until now, I have been stuck in a (fairly decent) night job that pays me a little bit over minimum wage. I can pay my bills, but I have not been able to pay down those debts or do anything else. Not to mention, that I know now how draining a night job can be for a person like me. I knew I had to get out and get on top.
So last year, I decided to do what I’ve always wanted to do. To write and publish a book.
Thankfully, nowadays, it is easy for someone to self-publish. However, that also means I had to do more than just write in order to get my story out to the world.
Nearly every day right before I went to sleep and almost every night before I went to work, I wrote my story and researched how to edit, publish and market it. During the times I became stuck or didn’t know if my efforts would work out, I looked at what I was fighting for.
You see, it wasn’t just because of the debt I was in that I wanted to write. It was because I want to support my parents, my two nephews and my niece. The three children have lived with my parents and me ever since I was in junior high school. And though I am not a mother myself, I have learned from watching and mimicking my parents what it takes to be a parent. It is unfortunate that their mother and father are not here to raise them – due to reasons that don’t include death. But I am glad that they are in a safe house and learning what it takes to be respectable, responsible people.
And with all my parents have done for my sibling and me, and for what they’re doing right now for my nephews and niece, I want to pay them back. They have worked so hard to keep our family afloat in times of financial troubles. They have worked so much in order to provide whatever the family needed. And I want them to know that their parenting and their hard work did not go wrong with me. I want to show them that they did right when it came to raising me. (Not to say my siblings went awry. Just that they have to show the same thing for themselves, by themselves.) And above all, I want to provide my parents a chance to not have to work so hard unless they want to. I want to relieve them of their financial obligations as much as I can. And the only way I see that being a possibility in my life is if I can pay off my debts and take the rest of what I make off any of my literary works and gift it to them. Of course, I’ll keep what I need to pay my monthly bills. But I would love to be in a stable financial situation that allows me to pay their bills as well.
It may seem far-fetched to think a writer with just one novel out could make so much money to cover too much. But it has been done before. And who says I’m stopping at just one book? Like I said earlier, I love writing. I’m going to continue publishing my stories for years to come, for the purpose of sharing and teaching them to those who are willing to take a chance on my work.
In the end, I cannot force someone to buy my book, Loading: Life. And in reality, I wouldn’t want to force anyone to do that. I wouldn’t even want to have someone pity me buy it.
I didn’t share my story with you, the reader, in order to trick you into throwing me a pity party. I wanted to share it because I think it is necessary for potential readers to understand just what I am fighting for, and to start thinking of what their favorite author’s motivations for writing are.
So I ask you if you’re willing to take a chance on me as a new author, please check out the first four chapters of my debut novel, Loading: Life. They’re here on my blog for free.
And if you love the story, please think of buying a copy over at Amazon.
And thank you for your support on this blog.
August 15, 2017
Mr. Wolf and Little Red
Wolf needs to feed his pups and Little Red is walking in the forest alone.
Originally entered in the Fairytalez Contest 2017.
/
/
My pups lay whimpering in the cave, their poor mother already dead from the famine. The urge for food is the only thing keeping them and me alive, but not for very much longer.
One of my boys comes up. “Father?”
“Stay inside. I’ll be back”
“But father.”
“No buts. Our home cannot protect you if you leave. And I cannot when I am hunting. I’ll be home soon. Now go rest with your siblings.”
Tail between his legs, he whimpers back to bed.
Without a glance behind me, I leave them. I pray the seclusion of our home will hide them from any lurking enemies.
But as I forge a path through the dense woods, only the eerie quiet welcomes me. It would make any creature, big or small, feel frightened. For my pups, though, it is a sign of no food.
The troubling thoughts of moving further away from the cave creep into my mind as I wander. I sniff the ground, begging for the earth to give me some hint of prey. Nothing but dead leaves scattered among the browning grass.
I look towards the mountains, wondering if I should try my luck there, when the sweetest smell invades my senses. Salivating, I slowly follow it, getting closer and closer towards a barren trail once used by horsemen of the Royal Courts and bands of travelers. This time, though, only a light humming filled the air.
Peeking through a rotten berry bush, I see a younger villager coming ‘round the bend. Its red cape drapes around its entire body. The sweet scent wafts through the air, taking hold of me. The villager passes without noticing me. I take the chance to get behind it, following it ever so closely.
I could kill it and bring it back to my pups.
I sneak up, baring my teeth and focusing my eyes on the red cape.
Just a few more steps –
A twig breaks under my feet. I freeze.
The cape flutters up as the villager spins around. Large blue eyes lock onto mine.
I tense, waiting for a scream.
It gasps. “Why hello, Mr. Wolf! How are you doing, today?”
I edge backwards at the sound of her voice, looking one way then another. Her father or brother– where are they?! Will they jump out and kill me?! Will the capture me?! My pups!
I move to leave until a large bun is pushed into my line of sight. I sniff it. Fruits, fresh and baked, fill my nostrils. Drool drips through my fangs.
“You look awfully small. Are you hungry?” Her voice, as sweet as the bun, rings, captivating me once more.
She is so close to me. I could just take her down. It would be the right thing to make her a meal for my pups. If her family does not care enough to send her out here without protection. . .
“Oh!” She bends down, closer. “Here you go! Much easier to eat now!”
This one is stupid. How can she get so close to me? I am a beast of the forest, and she, a mere girl. I should kill her. One slight snip of the neck–
Her eyes meet mine. Those blue pools hold me.
“Do not worry. This pastry is fresh.”
Eyes still locked, I take a lick of the pastry. Berries swirl in my mouth.
I break away from her gaze and snap it up the treat.
She giggles. “I take it that you like it?”
I chew the best I can, forcing myself to not swallow it whole. I lick every bit of the filling off my mouth.
“What’s your name, Mr. Wolf?”
I clear my throat, wondering if this villager even knows my tongue. “Us woodland animals don’t give our names to strangers. Much less villagers.”
Another light giggle. “Of course not! How silly of me! Especially when I have not given you my name!”
She understands me!
“I have a proper name, but people just call me Little Red.”
Little Red? Such an odd name for a villager.
“I can keep calling you Mr. Wolf if you are alright with that?”
I nod.
“Well, then, let us be on our way. Grandmother needs these pastries and wine. She is awfully ill.”
I follow her down the trail. She starts humming, and all I can do is listen, some of my worry washing away.
“So, Mr. Wolf,” she chirps, “what brings you here today? Were you trying to find some food?”
“Well, yes, I was,” I say. The guilt of almost eating her creeps in.
“Why is that? I thought all of the animals would be away at this time. With the famine and all.”
“I cannot leave this place.”
“You have loved ones to take care of?”
“Y-yes, I do,” I do not know why I keep answering her. In reality, we are enemies. “My little pups.”
“Awe! Pups!” The chiming in her voice quiets my arguing mind. “So sweet!”
“It would be. They have no mother, though. Because of this–” I gesture towards the dead trees “–she withered away as she bore our pups. I am the only one left to care for them.”
I do not look at her, but it seems she can feel how painful the subject is for me. She skips to another. “So many predators have left these woods. That is the only reason my mother has allowed me to go to my grandmother’s house alone.”
“It is still dangerous, though. Woodland fairies could be lurking about.”
“True. But as long as I stay on the trail, they never seem to bother me.” She pauses, her brow creasing slightly. “Mr. Wolf. Have you been able to find anything to eat? Anything at all?”
“Not much. The other predators have gone, but only because the prey has gone as well.”
“Hmm. . .” Her blue eyes shimmer with thought. “After I get done visiting my grandmother, I will make you and your pups some food.”
“You don’t-“
“Do not worry. It is just my mother and me at home – and of course my grandmother here in the woods. You will not be taking any of our food. We have enough berries at home to sustain us and I bet I can make some really good berry pies for your pups.”
Her kindness stings me. For someone to do something for a wolf was beyond imagination.
“I-I would be honored,” I say.
“No worries!”
We keep moving down the path, talking, her blue eyes catching my interest more and more. We do not notice her grandmother’s house growing on the horizon until we are nearly on the doorstep.
“Wait out here, Mr. Wolf.”
I nod and find refuge under a nearby treat.
The door moans open to her touch. “Grandmother! I have brought treats for you!”
I settle in, nuzzling the ground with my snout. Maybe this will be fine. My pups will be fine–
Blood-curdling screams shoot out from the cottage.
Little Red!
Instinct takes over.
I fly to my paws and run towards the door.
I knock it in.
A giant, shadowy cloud hangs over a small bed, sprouting from the stomach of a sickly withered old woman. Little Red is backed into a corner, shaking, staring at it like a fearful deer.
It lunges for her.
She screams.
I jump and bite through the blackness.
Screeches fill the room.
Claws form from the cloud and knock me out of its way.
It grabs me, squeezing the air from my lungs.
I claw at its eyes.
It hisses, throwing me aside.
I jump back up, between it and Little Red.
“Mr. Wolf!”
I growl, baring my fangs.
It hisses.
“Leave this place, creature!”
It screeches, shooting its arm towards me.
I jump towards its base and tear it away from the old woman.
Shrieks fill my ears as it pounds at my back.
I keep tearing at it.
Claws clutch me tightly and rip me from the bed and throw me towards a window. My body smacks into the shutters before it breaks into a tree.
I slump to the forest floor.
My vision darkens.
Heavy footsteps approach.
Little Red is yelling.
I look up one last time to see an axe falling towards me.
With a thud, everything goes black.
I am dead.
At least I think I am.
The thought of time seems to slip from my grasp.
Everything is dark, bleak.
Nothing around me.
No air.
No sky.
No forest.
No Red.
Nothing.
“My, my. What do we have here?”
A woman’s voice breaks the silence.
I try to reply, but nothing comes out.
“A little wolf, I see. How quaint.”
My voice is lost. I struggle to move.
“Now, now. I know you’re trying, but that won’t work. You see that big, bad Huntsman chopped off your head. And when you’re dead you can’t speak and you can’t feel. Least not physically.” A low laugh. “But you can feel the pain of knowing your pups will die without you.”
I try to bark, to move, to do anything.
Nothing.
“But that’s alright. I’m here to help.”
Fright grips me.
“I can bring you back to life. And I won’t even take any of your pups for payment. You can have your whole life back, and you won’t go hungry and they won’t either. I just need one little thing from you.”
Chills run through me.
It is now that my voice finally finds me again. “Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered back. “All that matters is your answer. Please do this for me. Please say yes. Tell me I can bring you back to life. And I will guarantee the safety of your pups. They will grow up strong and healthy. And you won’t have to worry about them or your own life ever again.”
“What will you have me do in return?”
“Simple. You will do little odd jobs for me for a time. And after that, you’ll be free. Your pups’ lives and your own still intact.”
A vision of my pups springs to life in my mind. I yearn to be with them.
“What will it be? Life or oblivion?”
A moment seems to pass.
“Yes,” I say. “Save my pups.”
A horrifying screech, one from the lowest depths of Hell, rings through my ears.
Two voices speak up. “Good choice, Mr. Wolf.”
My body convulses.
“I promise to not ask anything from you for now. A father should spend time with his children. But be ready for when I do call.”
The two voices fade, leaving me in silence once more.
I open my eyes. My cave stands in front of me. The sun is still high in the sky, just as it was when I left.
I hear barking ahead of me. My pups. They were waiting for me.
I get back up easily as if I was never injured. I walk into my home, spotting a strong buck is laying on the ground. It is already dead and seems to have already been fed upon. A present from the woman?
In front of me, my pups spring around. They are the happiest little hounds I have ever seen. Instead of whimpering for food, they run around our home, playing with each other. Shining coats and bright eyes assure me that their health is fully restored.
“Father! Father! You’re back!” they cheer.
“Yes, I am, little ones.”
Joy fills me. I can finally relax. I know they all will live long lives, ruling their own packs with strength and wisdom one day. Something their mother and I have always wanted so badly for them. Something that I could never give them on my own.
As they play, I bend down and take some of the deer, though I do not feel hunger like before. I take a piece into my mouth, but something charred strokes my tongue. I cough the meat up, throwing it to the side. I try once more, with a smaller piece. Again, I cough up.
I peer down at the piece. The muscle starts breaking apart, turning to ash.
My eyes widen.
I look at the rest of the deer. The meat is black, not red. I lean in to sniff it, only to jerk away as something cuts my nose. A long, black worm with pincers and thousands of tiny claws pokes out of it. It hisses at me, before diving back down, making its way through the deer.
A laughter fills my ears.
That woman!
I run out of the cave but sense no one near.
“I’ll call on you soon, my little hound.” Her sickly sweet voice fades from my mind.
One of my pups rushes towards me. “Father! Father! Come play with us!”
I make my way inside the cave again, my son following me.
“Father!”
“No, pup. I am too tired now.”
He whimpers off, only to get excited again as his brothers and sisters start tackling him.
I slide down, laying my body on the cool cave floor. My eyelids become heavy. I try to keep them open. But sleep bids me welcome. Before I can nod off completely, my eyes fall on a shadow plastered above the deer on the cave wall. Its bright blue eyes shine down at me as it silently laughs.
/
/
© E.N. Chaffin 2017. Any reproduction without author permission is against copyright laws under the United States of America.
