Shea McGee's Blog, page 3

Sneak-A-Peek: “The Sorceress” Chapter 1

It appears that fall is finally upon us! Unfortunately, I can’t tell because it’s still hot as fish grease in SoCal (Southern California)! I am praying that it just gives us some breathing room soon because I can’t keep living my life this way!

That aside, I have been lovingly laboring over the third installment to my Makaela Williams series, “The Sorceress”, and it is definitely a loving labor! I am taking my sweet, sweet time creating this world, fleshing out my dear Makaela and friends, and putting work into making the story flow. The last thing I want is to write a third book and rush it. It wouldn’t be fair to myself, to the story, to the characters (because they matter, too), or to my readers.

I was mentally wrestling with myself about when to start sharing chapters from “The Sorceress” because I don’t want to give away too much. Yet now that I am quite a bit chapters into the book, I think it’s safe to give y’all a taste of what’s to come.

Essentially, “The Sorceress” will have to deal with possibly wrapping up the world of Makaela, her two closest companions, as well as her somewhat love interest, D (he has a full name, read the first and second book for it *snickers*). It’s going to be…I don’t want to say, I’ll just give you the first chapter of “The Sorceress”…

*note: a very rough draft, so please ignore any errors you may find.

Chapter 1

Cosmina sat silently in the prickly dirt of the forest, concentrating. She heard the chirping of birds, the passing of dead leaves rolling on the ground, and the cawing of ravens just in the distance. Her hands laid on her knees as she sat cross-legged, her bottom becoming numb with each minute that faded into the next. She did not complain. She kept her eyes closed, and her mouth mute. Her ears were the only thing that remained opened—hearing—her heart beating deep within her. She was so still, she wanted to believe that she’d be able to hear her womb quicken. Yet, she knew her sisters did not truly mean it when she was told this. She nearly consulted with Mother Magatha about this when Ursula smiled and assured her it was not so. “Those are only tales we tell one another to give the illusion that our meditation is so serene, that we can hear our own body’s functions as they happen, but that is not true, my sweet sister,” she told Cosmina. “Do not listen to them when they tell you such things. But, should you reach a point in your meditation that you do hear your womb, please do share that with me.”

Ursula was always so comforting to Cosmina, from the start when Cosmina stumbled upon her while shambling through the forest. Ursula was walking through, collecting flowers in a basket that floated in the air just behind her with her every step. When she caught Cosmina looking, she smiled, her blue eyes shiny and crystalline. Cosmina tried to hide behind a thick tree trunk, but Ursula had already seen her. 

“Come, child, I will not harm you,” Ursula’s sweet words floated to Cosmina. She stayed behind that trunk, her little heart almost giving out when Ursula stood in front of her out of thin air. 

Ursula’s honeyed laugh warmed Cosmina. She kneeled down in front of the young Cosmina, pulling out an apple from her brown cloak. “You must be famished.”

Cosmina, still untrusting of adults, tried to make her way away from the trunk and as far from Ursula, shaking her head. 

“What is your name, child?”

Cosmina kept moving away from Ursula until she was finally a foot away that then turned into a yard away, never taking her eyes off of Ursula as she dragged her feet deeper into the forest. She finally turned away from Ursula who stayed kneeling near that tree, her smile still as sweet as it started when she found Cosmina.

She rushed to push that thought out of her mind, to put all thoughts that didn’t serve her purpose at the moment to the side. “Think of putting it into a box,” she heard Ursula say before putting that, too, into that box she suggested to Cosmina. She focused once more on the nature that surrounded her, on honing into those sounds and the creatures that made them. She reached out to the birds that flew between the trees and bounced back and forth from branch to branch, to the beetles that rolled through the dirt and leaves on the forest floor, and took all of that inside of herself. All that was good and natural, she took into herself to hold. To fight against the darkness that kept sneaking up on her. It waited behind locked doors in their compound, in shadows of her quarters, in the cracks of the halls she walked. It called to her every day and every night. Whispered to her promises of power beyond measure, power enough to avenge her family. Power that would come to her quicker should she seek to put those to rest who wronged her and the ones she loved. It lurked everywhere since the day she found the hidden book of Lolit that Mother Magatha had tried so hard to conceal. Unfortunately for Mother, Cosmina caught onto their ways too quickly, and grew curious. Curiosity made way for Cosmina to get her hands on the book while Mother left it on her desk, unwatched. 

At first Cosmina thought it was a test, that Mother had left it there just to see what Cosmina would do, what direction she’d take. All of the sisters knew that to read from that book would hold grave consequences for the reader if not approved by the Mother. Cosmina had thought better of it, but a strange force pulled her closer to it, or the book closer to her. She couldn’t remember anymore how it came to be in her hands, how the book was opened to the illustration of the taking of Lolit. The elder before them all, the one whom they all derived from, had been all things a mother should be. The mother, Lilith, had a daughter, Lolit. They had lived along side humans for many moons in joyous harmony before devious and cruel hearted humans took Lolit from Lilith, stealing the light and sun from their sky. When the mother went in search of her sweet Lolit, there was nothing left but a charred husk of what used to be her child. Lolit was alive but no longer the sweet child. Lolit stretched out her hands, condemning the ones who took her from her mother, reigning terror and death over their lands, the babes dying in their sleep, the children dying where they stood, crops never reaching their full growth, and beasts that roamed over their lands in the twilight hours; the very hours that Lolit was taken from Lilith. 

From then, little Lolit healed, but her mind was never again whole. She made a new family, and a new pact that only death and misery should grow from that cursed village. Lilith tried to bring her child back to what they knew, to the side of good, but Lolit was too far gone, taking blood and flesh from humans to grow in power, dark power. She took for herself a lover from the dark side, and their union only made the madness in the land worsen. Lilith feared the worst, knowing what she had to do. She reached out to the natural beings of the world, begging them to come together to bring her daughter to heel. It took for her to give up true immortality to get these beings to agree, beings that ruled the skies, the seas, the land, and the beneath. Once the pact was made, and Lilith no longer at her full power to build trust with her new comrades, they battled against her own blood, her daughter. They fought shadow beings, demons, hell bound creatures the size of great hounds with teeth that gnashed and tore through humans without impunity. The shadow beings curled around her comrades, nearly taking them to the deep, dark place that laid even further than the great beneath. Lilith pulled to her the remainder of her light that she had within, and burst into a great shining flame that obliterated the evil, including her own child. What was left of Lolit was a great stone of red, cracks over the surface of it as Lilith held it in her hand. The comrades she called to join her all kneeled at her feet, declaring her the great mother, and restoring the power she had agreed to let go of for the sake of their help.

Although Lolit was no longer in the flesh, the stone was what was left of her. The mother tried to keep it contained by giving it to the ruler of the beneath, but he betrayed them after the calling of the stone overtook him. He took the stone, and in doing so, found it a new host for the spirit of Lolit that laid in the red and angry stone, and took her to be his bride as they shut out the rest of the world and the leaders of it. They ruled there, Lolit weaving her dark magic over the beneath so much that she no longer saw fit for the king of that land. She used her dark ways to be rid of him, spreading his ashes over the village and setting a spell that it would never be truly free of her, and what they had done to her. The red stone now replaced what was once her heart. She laid an incantation over the entrance of the beneath that no one, not even Lilith could penetrate. And there Lolit dwelled, but every so often, she’d call to an unsuspecting young maiden that was not taken by the good of the world, but one that had even a speck of darkness within. The ashes of her former lover and king seeped into the land of the village, and helped bring to her young girls who were curious and lost. Girls who were hurt, wronged by the world. Girls who were just like Cosmina. 

Cosmina read from the book every night since, but only when she was caught did she try desperately to be rid of the thoughts that invaded her since taking in the words of Lolit; the spells, the creatures she could call, the power she could receive should she only recite those last words in the book. She was indeed curious, but she was always pulled away as Mother Magatha would always have a way of coming back just before Cosmina could get to the end of the book. Cosmina had already spent so much time reading from it that she knew it from the very beginning without the need to even so much as glance at the front pages of it.

“I know what you’re doing, child, and if you are wise, you will stop. Now,” Mother Magatha had told her in passing once in the long corridor that was just outside of Mother Magatha’s chambers. Cosmina tried to deny it, but she knew Mother knew better. Her grayish white eyes bore through her, knowing her inside and out. “If you proceed, there will be great despair for you.”

And with that, Mother Magatha walked away, her loc’ed hair trailing behind her as Cosmina watched. Once Cosmina made it back to her quarters, she squeezed her hands, trying to forget all that she had read and learned from the book that held the dark promises. She even prayed to the gods her family had prayed to when she was a little girl, before they were taken to be beaten and murdered. The images of the soldiers taking her mother from her, raping her, killing her, invaded Cosmina’s mind, enraging her. She paced her room, but the prayers did nothing to quell the rising burning hatred inside of her that she had kept deep down for the years she was with her sisters, thanks to Ursula. Ursula had found her in those woods after her family was killed. Cosmina barely survived what they had done to her, her young body desecrated, mutilated. What men will do to other men, women, and children in time of war was an abhorrence, one that stuck in Cosmina’s young mind. Ursula, when she found Cosmina, chanted loving spells over her, easing her pain as Ursula’s tears rained down on Cosmina. Each tear that dropped onto Cosmina put her at rest, softening the pain she felt. She slipped into a sleep, and when she woke, she was on the compound in what was to be her quarters. She was healed on the outside but the inside, the feelings, were never truly the same. 

Those humans are barely humans for what they did, and what they’ve always done to others, the whispering would call to her. They will do it more and again until they rape the land itself. They care nothing for life, why should we care for theirs? Look at what they did to you. To your family. Your little sister. Your mother. Your brother. Your father. Remember what they did? They must pay with their lives. They must suffer, and their suffering should lead to their dying breath. But first…

Then in the corner of her room, in the stillness of a shadow, a red glow. It was small then grew and grew until it was the size of a large orange that hung in the corner, waiting for her to take hold of it, or so it seemed. It felt like it was waiting for her, wanting her. 

Join me, my sweet, and we can set things right, make things better, and make those who meant to kill you…make them join their comrades in death where they will be with me and know true pain for all eternity. Join me, and I shall give you powers undreamt of. Join me, and you shall know what it means to have the world lay at your feet.

Cosmina saw in her mind the image of her family’s bodies, crumbled and lifeless. She cried, trying to shake the imagery loose from her, but it only grew more vivid. She fought against the seduction, praying and crying. She attempted to swat the red stone away, but it dodged her, staying out of her reach, but in the dimness of her room and making sure to stay out of whatever light there was. Her sight was caught into the ruby redness of that stone, her vision turning red, everything red. She heard her heart beating furiously in her chest, her breathing quickened as the world became one large red glow. Words from the book repeated in her mind over and over until it came to the end and a pause. A pause and then the voice finished the words for her, the incantation of Lolit. And when the spell was complete, Cosmina’s vision darkened, and she was lost.

In that forest, she tried to meditate what happened away, tried to go back to what was right and what was good, but a part of her that now knew the dark arts took over. The book of Lolit had swallowed what good was left of her bit by bit. The meditation was the only thing that kept the remainder of it at bay, but she knew she was losing, especially when she took the blood of a crow into her mouth and drank it down, binding her closer to that voice that she knew was the queen of the beneath and beyond herself, Lolit. She never revealed herself, but she was there in shadows, in whispers, in Cosmina’s mind. Meditating had kept her off but not for long.

“Something bothers me, sister,” she confided to Ursula. “Someone is compelling me to do what I know I mustn’t but it calls to me. It gives me no satisfaction to admit this, but I know it is the dark mother.”

Ursula whipped her head at Cosmina for this. “There is no dark mother, only Mother Magatha. I won’t hear of you speaking that name ever again.”

“All the same! She is clutching at my very soul, and I don’t know how much longer I can fight her.”

Ursula suggested meditation every chance Cosmina had after every lesson. Cosmina did as she was told until the day she stood in the forest, and the shadow of a woman, large and smokey, came to her with a crow, an offering. The crow, however, was not the true offering. When Cosmina took the blood of the winged creature, she took in the life of a babe, the life that was the offering was her own. And the blood was the pact that sealed her fate.

That was Chapter 1 in “The Sorceress” coming late Fall/Winter of this year! I cannot wait to share this third book in the Makaela Williams series! Please give me your thoughts, and let me know if you’re looking forward to reading this as much as I am looking forward to giving it to you guys!

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‘The Written Life’ Chapter 5: Romance – How is it so successful?

Good day!

How do you do?

Well enough, I’d say!

I know my blogging has not been as CONSISTENT as it should be, but I decided to break you off a piece of that podcast plug! That’s right, a new chapter for “The Written Life” podcast is live and roaring through your speakers. Sort of. Unless you’re not listening to it, then what are you doing with your life?

In chapter 5 for “The Written Life” I took a look at the world of Romance.

Ah, yes. The roses, the sensuality, the sex that’s rarely called just that! And guess what? It’s a BILLION DOLLAR genre. It is the literal golden goose of all written genres in the world of books, and we have all of the lovely ladies who lunch and their friends to thank for that! But then again, what’s wrong with a little romance???

I know for a fact that women are the leading consumer when it comes to the success of the romance genre. I know this because I’ve seen it firsthand, thanks to my mother who then passed it on down to my little sister. Who hasn’t heard of Harlequin? If you haven’t, you’ve been hiding out under a rock or something because they are a juggernaut!

Yet Harlequin can’t take all of the credit.

There are plenty of other romance publishing conglomerates out there that do really well also, I just used them as an example because they are mainstream. However, as amazing as their revenues are, they still seem to lack a certain thing: diversity!

Like most things in the world today, diversity is lacking when it comes to writers for the romance genres. There’s barely any PoC romance writers, and that’s a crying shame because non-PoC aren’t the only ones who want to read about people falling madly in love with a ruffian. Or a pirate. Or a sailor. Or a cowboy. You name it, they’re falling right into them.

I digress. I may seem to be making light of the fact that the romance world could use a lot-a bit more color, but they know that as well. They’ve addressed it, but it’s time for them to put up or shut up!

I could spend a little more time making a big blog post about them, but then what would that leave for the podcast chapter that’s dedicated to this very subject?

To hear more about the romance genre, its huge following and success, and also it’s seemingly troublesome lack of color, check out Chapter 5: Romance for The Written Life podcast, available everywhere podcasts can be streamed.

Also, “The Written Life” podcast is now live on Apple Podcasts so catch me there as well for all of my Apple product users.

The Written Life Podcast, Chapter 4: Why Is Marketing Your Book Such A Problem???

My new baby, The Written Life podcast, is a bit of a passion piece BUT I have been nurturing it, loving on it, and putting some real love into it! So far, I really do enjoy creating new chapters of this podcast.

I created it with my fellow writers and readers in mind, so I really hope to continue on with it, and to reach many more folks using this podcast.

That being said, The Written Life has a new chapter added!

In chapter 4, I explore the tedious side of writing a book (aside from the actual act of writing it out): marketing your book! The joys of putting your work (and yourself) out there in hopes to gain some monetary value. It can be intimidating. I know for myself it is! I don’t know everything there is to know about book marketing, promoting my books the right way, or anything that has to do with creating awareness for my work because…well…I’m silly and should know better!

I know I say that, but I am definitely beginning to have a better understanding of marketing, and what it could mean for me and my future in writing. Being that I want writing to be my main thing, I have to learn all aspects of what that could mean for me, and marketing just so happens to fall in there.

I just said a mouthful and a half! Done with that!

This chapter explores marketing, why it’s so hard for you (and myself), and sharing my own trials when it comes to the big bad mean M!

I give to you the new chapter. Simply give it a listen, feel free to share my podcast with friends and possibly your enemies as well! Let’s go through this journey of writing together, and come out the other side battle-tested but ready!

The Written Life is available every where podcasts can be streamed but it’s definitely popping on Anchor, the home of my podcast, and Spotify!

The Written Life podcast, Ch. 3 – Film Adaptations: Hit and Misses

Good morning!

It feels like Monday, but it’s definitely Tuesday! I hope we all had a great weekend for Labor Day, and got some much-needed relaxation and heavy foods. Not too heavy, though.

As we all head back into the hustle and bustle of this short work week, I wanted to give y’all something to listen to on the way back, something I had on my mind and wanted to share!

Book-to-film adaptations!!! Yippee!

We’ve all experienced a book or two in our lives that was butchered, and it was TERRIBLE! But there are those few instances where it’s not so bad…not bad at all! However, more often than not, Hollywood gets it wrong and f*cks it up!

For this podcast chapter, I wanted to explore that side for a bit. Talk about why the book is almost always better than the film, and even give examples (because there’s plenty!).

To support this budding Indie author and podcast lady (and to possibly make an appearance in a chapter or two), listen to the new chapter now (and it’s available on majority of the popular podcasting platforms available, Spotify is the major one though).

Have a great week y’all! Let’s do this!

“The Written Life” podcast – Chapter 002: Art Imitating Life

Good morning, Monday people!!New content is something I’m trying to continue to make…on a consistent level! Hopefully on a professional level *giggle*!!That being said, I have a NEW chapter added to my lovely podcast, “The Written Life”. It’s available literally everywhere…working on iTunes though. But everywhere else, I promise!With this episode, I explore the world of writing from a personal perspective; through your own life experiences. And how much your own life influences your writing.From my own experience, my writing is influenced by the world around me and other writers’ as well. I try not to use my own life too much, I don’t think it’s that eventful, however, I do have certain aspects of myself in my writing. It’s sprinkled in there!To hear more about this chapter, and the word of the week, get into the link below!Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Art Imitating Life: Reality Influencing Fiction https://anchor.fm/shea-mcgee/episodes/Art-Imitating-Life-Reality-Influencing-Fiction-e52n38

“Dear God, Are We There Yet?” with Alicia Sanchez is LIVE!!!

Good morning!

The day has come! New “Dear God, Are We There Yet?” episode is LIVE!!! I got to chat with the vivacious Alicia Sanchez from @deargodarewethereyet about how to battle through mental roadblocks and negative thoughts! As a writer, I know I’ve experienced my fair share of this, and we discussed how do you work through it all!

I have my own podcast, but I thought it would be great to spread my wings and FLY! Fly right on over to someone else’s podcast to have a really meaningful conversation about how bogged down by negativity we can get mentally, how that affects us, and how do WE (myself and her) work through those moments.

We all go through those periods of time where we’re convinced we’re not going anywhere or doing anything worth mentioning or honoring. And that’s just not true! I’m a big believer in not letting yourself become your own worst enemy, because I’ve been down that dark and dreary road before. It’s not fun, and it’s extremely counterproductive to what I’m trying to do in this life.

As a writer, I still have my bouts of imposter syndrome, or feeling like a failure. Even when I’ve accomplished a goal, it creeps up on me. Though it happens occasionally, I still make sure I affirm the positive thoughts more, and put those into action!

It was such a fun and honest conversation!

How do you all trudge through your Negative Nancy moments? Let’s discuss!

To listen to the episode of this lively podcast, click the link below! It’s also available on every platform where podcasts live.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/46UgR3UUfrUnwLe1vp6bhj?si=DbdgZnbWR02jiGmOubUSiw

I’m Podcast Penny now!!!

https://slmcgeeauthor.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/vid_37831009_155419_099.mp4Yes, I am BACK podcasting, and this time around, it is so much better, so much easier!The name is still the same (“The Written Life”), but the platform has changed. My podcast is developed on Anchor.fm, and it has been so seamless for me in creating my podcast episodes so far. They send my podcast to Spotify, Google Podcast, and many other viable podcasting platforms!This time around, I want to do something different, starting with letting my audience know a little bit more about ME!That’s what this episode is about, aptly titled “Who The Hell ARE You?” We’ll get to explore me in a relevant way, such as why I write, how, and who inspires me as a writer.It’s going to be an amazing ride! So join me, and listen to the latest chapter in The Written Life podcast today!*it IS sponsored, so the more clicks and listens, the better lol.Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Who The Hell ARE You? https://anchor.fm/shea-mcgee/episodes/Who-The-Hell-ARE-You-e4voai

Busy Bee Makes The Most Honey

I have been a rather productive lady since I’ve last made a post, and I do apologize for having been away so long. It was with very good reason! I have been submitting to publications (stories and an article as well), trying to put myself out there more as a writer. So far, it’s been working. When I say it’s been working, I mean I’ve really been putting myself out there! I have been doing the most!

I am not complaining at all either! I really needed to do the work, and I’m going to continue to do so.

I still have so much I want to do, but for now, I will share with you all an article I submitted to Harness Magazine. It was accepted, and it’s available on their site!

In the article I detail the loss of my grandmother and then my father, and how both deaths affected me.

It’s a very honest and raw look into a small part of myself, but it’s something I felt I needed to share because I didn’t want it eating me alive. I also didn’t want it being something I internalized, turning to self-soothing in an unhealthy way. I thought it better to just release it, let it go.

I’m so happy I made that decision. I look forward to creating more content to submit to Harness Magazine as a part of their roster of writers/authors.

I’ve linked the article on this post. Please feel free to read “Flicker, then Fade”. Leave a comment and/or share the article to any and everyone you know. Especially if they’re dealing with loss themselves.

Link to “Flicker, then Fade” in Harness Magazine: https://www.harnessmagazine.com/flicker-then-fade/

Keep Applying The Pressure

I’ve been in a very weird space mentally.

My creative juices depleted in such a short amount of time, and now I’m having to replenish it as much as I can. “How?” you may ask. The answer is actually quite simple. It’s called “writing even when I don’t want to”.

I cannot assume the role of “Writer” or “Author” (yes, both with capitals) if I’m not constantly doing it. It is like a muscle–you have to give it the exercise it needs and craves in order for you to see any major changes. And not even just changes, but growth overtime. It’s so important, I can’t stress that enough.

Although I have been going through many different emotional and mental stages all over the course of a couple of weeks, I still have to hold myself to the fire. I have to keep applying the pressure because I’m a writer. It’s who I am. It’s what I do. If I can’t write, I do begin to feel like “who am I?”, and I will lose my way very quickly. Sharing these thoughts has helped me tremendously. I do this because it keeps me moving and keeps me on top of what it is I should be doing. Also, because I have to make sure I’m creating content no matter what.

I am still working on book three titled “The Sorceress” due out at the end of this year (editing included so I really am holding my a** to the flames). It has been slow going, but it’s going. That’s what really matters here. I’ve also been submitting short stories and articles to other publications as well. So although I know my funk is/was holding me hostage, I won’t let it have the last word.

To my fellow writers out there: keep at it. Even on days when you don’t feel “it”, try to write at least 100 words. At the very least. If that’s all you can do for that day, don’t beat yourself up about it. If you exceed that, even better! But WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT!

Overwhelming Task of Writing

I have been dragging myself all over the floor, all over this space I share with my son, and in doing so I have come to the grand conclusion that I need to hold myself to a higher esteem!

I say this as I have not meditated when I woke up, have allowed myself to fall back to sleep after my alarm went off (an alarm I’ve set on purpose last night with the intention of being an early bird), and I am laying here playing clickity-clackity on my laptop. It’s not an arduous thing to do, I just had a goal to do it earlier is all. I failed that mission already. I instead wake up at 9:35 AM and check emails for…the same things I’ve been checking it for.

I stall. I procrastinate. I put it off. However you want to say it, that is me, that is what I am doing. I am that writer. Shame on me!

Although I have started work on my latest novel, and even wrote a few short pieces for production sake, I still tap out at a certain word count. It didn’t help that my father passed away, but that cannot be a valid excuse for me past this weekend that has come and gone.

Writing is something I enjoy. I love it, I really do. It brings me peace, it excites me, and allows me to use my brain to create imaginary situations and beings of my choosing! However, that juice only extends so far in a day for me. My brain isn’t used to me writing for longer than an hour or two a day, yet now that I have a lot more free-time, I should be writing a lot more, correct? Not exactly.

So what’s holding me back from fulfilling my duty as a writer (so-called)?

Myself.

As always.

I have to relearn how to plan. I am usually not a planner when it comes to my writing time, but it appears that I must try a new method if I’m to take myself seriously. And yes, I only care about what I think about myself at this stage. And maybe other authors and writers. And readers. I have to really set a time for myself to get this done. Even then I have to learn this thing called accountability when it is all said and done, as far as writing is concerned.

And writing for me isn’t a challenge. That’s not the issue here.

I just have to really get myself back into a healthy head space for it is all. Be inspired. Get out of my house maybe? Whatever it takes (that’s legal). So, that’s why I’m writing this entry here, to get myself back into the groove of consistent writing. This is the first step for me. A welcoming stone, if you will.

Alarm: set.