R.M. Archer's Blog, page 42

My Fall Reading List

This is a post I’ve seen a lot of bloggers writing lately, and I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon. (I like books, and I needed an easy post while I’m supposed to be keeping up with Preptober Prompts.) So, here are the books I’m reading this fall.

Fallen Leaves by Tessa Emily Hall

Fallen Leaves isn’t coming out until the 26th, but I got an ARC copy to review and that review will be going up next Saturday.

King’s Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

This is another I got free to review, and I’m about a third of the way through it currently. It’s not a top favorite, but it’s been enjoyable so far.

Dragons’ Bane by Melody Jackson

Melody is a friend of mine, and I got both Dragons’ Bane and Dragons’ Might for free to review in preparation for the release of Dragons’ Hope this winter. (Which I’m super excited for! You can see my cover reveal post here. ^-^)

Women of Kern by Maris McKay

This is the one I’ve been primarily reading lately, and I might review it this Thursday if I finish it soon enough. The world Maris has created is really deep and richly developed, and her description is excellent (if a bit too in-depth for my taste in places). Desert fantasy is something I’m trying to read more of as I develop Kersir, and this is definitely a great example of the genre.

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti

This is a re-read for me (possibly a second re-read). This Present Darkness is an excellent book that delves into the spiritual battle being waged in our lives.

Azalei’s Fall by Miranda Marie

This is the third book in the Fire Rain Chronicles. I read the first two fairly quickly, but my reading tapered off about the time I finished Azalei’s Strategy and I didn’t get to Azalei’s Fall. The plan is to read it this fall, though, and find out how things end for Azalei and her crew.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

This was a recommendation from my best friend, who loved it. (You can read her review of the duology here.) I haven’t gotten to it yet because I’ve been trying to focus on my to-review books, but I expect I’ll enjoy it. (And there were some plot twists that surprised Allegra, so I’m hoping to be surprised for once, lol.)

Tales of the Slayer Volume 1

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the shows my dad and I watch together, so my sister got this book for me for my birthday and I’ve worked through it story-by-story since then. (It’s a collection of short stories.) It’s been good so far, but I haven’t gotten very far through it since I’ve been reading it so sporadically.

Rose of the Oath by Hope Ann

I’m super blessed to be one of Hope Ann’s alpha readers and part of her street team, but I haven’t actually read any of her published books except The Stealthmaster’s Shadow and the beginning of Rose of the Oath (I’ve grown familiar with her through Kingdom Pen and Story Embers more than her writing). I’m working on remedying that, obviously. I enjoy fairytale retellings, fantasy, and Christian themes, so her stories are a good fit.

I’m not sure I’ll get all of these books read this fall, but I’m hoping to get through a fair number of them before December.

What are you reading this fall? Have you read any of the books on my list?

Preptober Prompts Week 3 Day 1

*blinks at prompt* Is there any possible way I can make this not repetitive…

The only way I can think to not emphasize Coraline’s intense love of apples is to answer this for Ismena instead, so we’re gonna do that. Ismena is the second main character in The King’s Paladin, and likely a second POV character. She’s the princess of Mandoria, and she’s fully prepared to be queen when the time comes.

Ismena doesn’t much care for fall weather, due to the cold, but she appreciates the colors and the festivities that come with it. As for traditions, there are three large festivals in the fall, one for each month: Veshalla, honoring the god and goddess of messages and travel; Dalhalla, which both honors the god and goddess of death and is spent honoring and remembering the dead (i.e. more of a Dia De Los Muertos than a Halloween); and Kalinhalla, which honors the god and goddess of the sun. As princess and Lankadian (meaning she believes in the pantheon), Ismena participates in the festivities for all three holidays. While she most enjoys Kalinhalla, Dalhalla means the most to her since her mother died.

Ismena and her father, Shordin, spend the day of Dalhalla remembering all of their fallen family and friends, but Ismena primarily remembers her mother during this time, which makes it both a hard and a joyful occasion for her. Ismena was nine when her mother died, so she has plenty of good memories of them together, but it’s always difficult for her to focus on the joy of those moments when the pain of losing her mother is so sharp in her mind and she lives every day without her. The closest thing she has to a mother figure now is her maid, Dara, but continual comparison of the two keeps Ismena painfully aware of their differences and the things she misses without her mother.

I guess Mandorians don’t really celebrate fall as a season, lol. They tend to be more excited for spring, when everything starts to grow and come alive again.

Do your characters celebrate fall? Don’t forget to read Leila’s original post on the prompt!

Preptober Prompts Week 2

I intended to do these on the days they were posted, but I forgot so I’m doing all six at once. This past week’s category was description and was hosted by RaeMarie at Ozark Mountain Cailins. (Click on the prompt graphics to go to the original posts.)

I take a walk down an empty street, admiring the colored leaves as they fall. They skitter across the pavement, whisked away with a crisp autumn breeze. Loose hair that has slipped from my braid tickles against my cheek. I climb brick stairs onto my porch. As I open the door, the scent of hot apple cider cuts through the cold and I follow it into the kitchen. There’s a red mug ready and waiting on the table with a note addressed to me, and I smile as the warm liquid meets my lips and tangy apple flavor fills my mouth.

Coraline peruses the contents of her closet and her gaze locks on a cranberry-red dress. It’s sleeveless, but that can be remedied. The material is soft and thick under her fingers as she pulls it out and drapes it over the edge of the bed, turning to her dresser for a shirt to wear under it. She grabs a cream-colored linen shirt and pulls it on, catching the scent of clean laundry as she does so, then adds the dress and looks in the mirror. The bronze embroidery on the dress’s neckline and hem adds a bit of elegance to the otherwise plain outfit and she smiles. But it’s still missing something. She grabs a brown leather belt and ties it loosely around her waist, then pulls on matching boots before heading down to the stables for her ride to the apple orchard.

A bell rings over the door as I step into Starbucks, and the heavenly scent of coffee meets my nose. If only it weren’t accompanied by its bitter taste in the air. Laughter, chatter, and the clicking of laptop keys fill the air as I make my way to the counter I set my fingers on the cold marble and order a venti cinnamon hot chocolate. I wrap my fingers around the warm cup when it arrives and thank the barista with a smile before heading to a corner table to work.

The rich, warm smell of apples and cinnamon fills the air before I even open the oven to pull out my latest creation. Pumpkin bread is ready to take the pie’s place as soon as it’s set out to cool, and after the bread goes in the oven I’ll start whipping up a batch of peanut butter cookies. Cookies for writing fuel, the bigger desserts for word count rewards.

Coraline stepped into the apothecary and was assailed by a myriad of smells, all of which blended into an aroma that was somehow both earthy and medicinal. Sunlight filtered through a curtain of herbs and turned the room green, the patch of sunlight shining in the front door providing the sole exception.

Coraline closed the door, shutting out the clamor of footsteps and voices and horse’s hooves clicking against cobblestone. Here it was quiet. Here there was only the rustling of leaves as a breeze brushed through the open window. Here there was peace and quiet even from the voices in her head.

She lifted her cotton apron from a hook beside the door, the material soft beneath her fingers as she pulled it over her head and tied it around her waist. Booted footsteps ricocheted through the space as Era emerged from the back room and marred the serenity.

Looking out the tall windows, I see the trees around the library, their leaves fluttering in the breeze and shimmering like silver. The room is still, filled only with the quiet murmur of conversation, a few chairs being pulled out, and the continuous rush of the air conditioning. There’s a natural pressure to be quiet here, as if you’ve walked into a vast cathedral and you’re both in awe of the stained glass and aware of how easily your voice will echo. Quiet breeds quiet, somehow. The scent of old books also contributes to the need for quiet, like speaking too loudly would cause the yellowed pages to crumble.

Allegra’s responses:

Preptober Prompts: Wk. 2 days 1-2

Preptober Prompts: Wk. 2 Remainder and a Quick Notice

Leila’s responses:

Preptober Week 1

Be sure to subscribe to Leila’s blog, Wildflowers and Cosmic Tea, for this week’s NaNoWriMo prep prompts!

Preptober Prompts Days 6-7

Sorry this is a day late. :P

Coraline’s favorite fall memory is of her first “solo” horseback ride when she was eight. She was actually accompanied by Gabel and Dorian (nine and ten, at the time), but it was the first ride she took without Eliot’s supervision. She got to ride all over the fields outside the castle, and took a detour to the apple grove on her way back to the castle to grab an apple for each of her fellow students, herself, and Eliot to celebrate. (I think she has a slightly above-normal love of apples.)

This prompt concludes week one of Preptober Prompts! You can find all the prompts so far here:

Prompt 1: List 10 things your main character is thankful for.

Prompt 2: What is your main character’s favorite fall activity?

Prompt 3: Does your main character have any fall traditions?

Prompt 4: Pick one of your side characters. How do they feel about fall?

Prompt 5: What is your antagonist’s favorite thing about fall?

Next week’s category is description. Make sure to follow RaeMarie at Ozark Mountain Cailins so you don’t miss any of this week’s prompts, and have fun sharpening your descriptive writing skills. :)

Have you been participating in Preptober Prompts? Are you enjoying it? Looking forward to the next set of prompts? Even if you’re not participating, I hope you’ve enjoyed the glimpse into The King’s Paladin.

Have a fabulous day!

 

Preptober Prompts Day 5

I don’t want to give away the main antagonist of the series, so I’m going to pick a lesser antagonist for this prompt. Orlan is one of the four kids who grew up with Coraline and Gabel, and he’s a bully with superhuman strength. He hates Coraline because he thinks he would have been a better choice as Paladin, and he’s determined to make her life miserable.

Orlan’s favorite thing about fall is that it’s recruit season. Fall is when all the young soldiers come to the castle from the academy and challenge each other for places on the royal guard. Orlan is the captain of the guard, so he gets to choose which soldiers stay and which get city guard jobs, challenge them to sparring matches to test them, and watch them beat each other up. The majority of them have heard rumors of his super-strength, at this point, and he loves experiencing their awe and terror at meeting him and training with him.

Preptober Prompts Day 4

I think my favorite side character is Wisterin. She’s spunky, teasing, halfway obnoxious depending on what character you ask, and a LOT of fun to write. She’s the girl who wears lavender even though purple is a color reserved for nobility. (At least it’s not plum.)

Wisterin likes the brisk weather of fall, but doesn’t like that it means winter is on its way. Plus she doesn’t like most apples, which is the main thing at the castle that time of year, and she couldn’t care less about the gods that are celebrated in the fall. Basically, as long as she avoids the celebrations and activities in the fall she’s fine, but she enjoys activities for their social value and thus attends anyway. So she tolerates fall.

Preptober Prompts Day 3

I tried to think of something other than apple-picking, but I’m 99% sure Coraline’s fall tradition is apple-picking with the other kids she grew up with. It started when they were little and their mentor Eliot was still around. Usually Gabel and Coraline were the only two actually picking apples because the other four were getting into some sort of trouble and Eliot had to keep them from hurting themselves. Or each other. After several years the four just stopped coming altogether.

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Preptober Prompts Day 2

In case you missed the Preptober Prompts intro and yesterday’s prompt.

What is your main character’s favorite fall activity?

Coraline loves apple-picking. She loves apples, as mentioned in the previous prompt, and she enjoys being outdoors and hanging out with people she cares about (or hanging out by herself). She finds the crisp air refreshing, and the company more so.

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Preptober Prompts Day 1

Preptober Prompts is finally here! Before we start there are a few things I want to go over to make sure things go smoothly, but I’ll only go over these once so you’re not reading them every day, lol.

It’s totally okay to use Preptober Prompts all on your own. I know I’ll be emphasizing the social aspect of things, but if you don’t want to share, that’s fine. One of my goals with this is for writers to connect with and support one another, but the main goal is to get your creative juices flowing and get you prepped for NaNo, so if sharing isn’t your thing that’s totally fine.
If you share Preptober Prompts on your own blog or social media, please link back to the original post and add the link to your post at the bottom of this post.
If you’re using Twitter, you can tag me (@R_M_Archer) instead of linking back, and don’t forget to use #PreptoberPrompts.
Subscribe to the other hosting blogs (Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins, Ozark Mountain Cailins, and Wildflowers and Cosmic Tea) so you’ll be immediately notified when the prompts go up for weeks 2-4!
You can find all of the prompt images here.

Character Introduction

This week’s category is characters, so take a minute today to briefly introduce your character before diving into the prompt. Coraline Seralen is the king’s Paladin, which means she’s extremely powerful and carries an enormous responsibility to protect her king and country. It’s a burden she doesn’t really want. She’d rather be a healer, helping and protecting people through medicine, since it’s more physical and manageable.

Ten things Coraline is thankful for:

Her best friend, Gabel. They’ve been friends since they were tiny and grew up together, raised by the same mentor, along with four other kids. Gabel is always there for her and does his best to protect her, and she couldn’t ask for a better friend.
Her mentor, Eliot. He was always encouraging and uplifting, and sometimes she even felt like she might be able to handle the Legacy when she inherited it.
Her maid, Porsha. Porsha is incredibly sweet and loves having the opportunity to dress Coraline up when she’s going to a dance or a ceremony or something. She’s also a total flirt with a few of the council members.
Her evening horseback rides with Gabel. Every evening, she and Gabel go for a ride through the fields outside the castle to talk, reflect on the day, sort through things, etc. She enjoys the feeling of freedom she gets from being outside on a galloping horse, and the comfort of the outdoors and Gabel’s presence. She feels trapped in the castle with her Legacy, so it’s a much-needed reprieve.
Apples. In pastries, straight off of trees, covered in caramel, plain… Coraline loves apples.
Dresses. Though she wouldn’t tell people (mostly because she doesn’t think it matters), Coraline enjoys dressing up almost as much as Porsha enjoys dressing her up. She feels beautiful in dresses, and she’s glad she has a job that allows for wearing them most of the time.
The opportunity to shadow the castle physician. Coraline was allowed to choose a side job when she was chosen to be the next Paladin, and she chose to work with Enryn Dayeth and learn more about medicine. She doesn’t much enjoy Enryn’s company, but she enjoys the learning.
Music. Coraline isn’t a musician, but she loves listening to music when she gets the opportunity. Dorian, one of the kids she grew up with, plays piano, and she enjoys listening to him practice.
Books. Coraline and Gabel both love to read, and Coraline adores the gigantic castle library. It’s gotten books directly from the Mandorian author Walnian Tralis, and his books are some of Gabel’s favorites. Coraline prefers older romances to the newer fantasies that Tralis writes, but she enjoys his books as well.
History books. Coraline also loves reading about Mandoria’s history, and she and Gabel have often speculated over whether or not faeries ever actually existed.

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Short Story Sunday: Salvation

I have another short story instead of a snippet this week, because I still haven’t made a lot of progress on my stories. (I have made more progress on writing-related stuff, just not actual drafts.) This is something of a mish-mash of genres, but it’s primarily sci-fi/post-apocalyptic and it was a lot of fun to write. Enjoy. :)

I step back from the worktable and clap a hand on my assistant’s shoulder. It’s finally done. My life’s work is completed.

“This is it, my friend. This will be humanity’s salvation.”

Salvation, as I’ve named her, is a genetically engineered quadrupedal reptile with wings and the ability to travel trans-dimensionally. A dragon.

“How?” Metal scrapes as Fate tilts his head at me. I’ll have to oil that joint.

“Once she grows big enough, she can take us all to a different dimension, where we can rebuild.”

Salvation blinks her big golden eyes at me and purrs.

I smile as I pick her up. Her scales are still soft under my fingers, but they’ll grow hard in just a few months. Maybe weeks, in this environment. Soon she’ll feel just like all my other creations. But she’ll be the only one that lives and breathes. She’s my crowning achievement in so many ways.

I set her on my shoulder and her claws dig into the acrylic of my shirt. Fate follows me as I head through the hangar, combat boots clanging against the metal floor.

“Good morning, Destiny. How’s the packing coming, Truth? Radar update, Faith?” Yeah, I give all of my inventions abstract names. It’s something of a signature, though around here it’s not really necessary.

“Still blank, Master.”

I still haven’t programmed her to call me Simon? “Thank you, Faith.”

“Simon!” A small droid jumps in front of me, the most life-like I’ve been able to build.

I grin and pick her up, twirling her around once before settling her on my hip. “Good morning, Gracie! How was your evening?”

“Destiny taught me to play cards.”

“Oh really? That sounds fun. Did you do any charging?”

“No.”

“You’re going to fall asleep if you don’t charge.”

“I know. But Destiny didn’t tell me to charge.”

That’s not good. That means her programming faulted. It could be nothing, but it could be…

I set Grace back down and take her hand. “How about you come watch the sunrise with me and then go charge. Sound good?”

Grace nods and we head for the hangar gate. I press the code into the keypad when we arrive and the heavy doors slide open, their grating accompanied by the beeping alarm, allowing in the first bit of sunlight for the day. The sun is barely peeking over the grey horizon, dim through the perpetual haze of dust and ash. I look up at Salvation. She’s sitting still as a statue on my shoulder, watching intently as the sun creeps further into the sky. As it rises above the horizon, Salvation’s eyes seem to glow in its light.

I smile. She looks the part of humanity’s savior.

I only glory in the moment half a minute before I remember Destiny’s programming fault and tap Grace’s hand with my thumb.

“All right, to the charging port with you. I’ll see you when you’re done.”

Grace lets go of my hand and runs back into the hangar, into her bedroom. When I follow I close the gate behind me and set Salvation on the floor. “Fate, oversee Salvation.”

Fate nods and again there’s a scraping of metal on metal. I step into the kitchen, where Destiny is whipping eggs for breakfast. I come behind her and set my hand under the bowl before clicking the switch on the back of her neck. I catch the bowl as it falls and set it on the counter. Taking a screwdriver from my toolbelt, I pray to the gods that have abandoned this planet that it’s just a glitch. A broken wire, a disconnected circuit…

When I open up her control panel for inspection, however, there’s nothing visibly wrong. I curse.

As I close her access port, I think through the problem. She should have sent Grace to bed at ten p.m. Neither she nor Grace would have noticed the blackout, just rebooted and moved on. Fate was with me while I worked on Salvation all night, but I was paying more attention to Salvation than I was to the bot. He could have blacked out while I wasn’t paying attention. Truth was probably still packing. That leaves Faith and the radar.

I put away my screwdriver and click Destiny back on. She immediately gets back to work on the eggs, and I head for the radar room. Both Faith and the radar would have gone down, so I should just have to check the logs.

“Master, there’s something approaching.”

Well that’s not what I was expecting. I look at the radar. Sure enough, there’s a blip moving toward the center. A large blip, moving fast. I curse again. Forget the logs. This is happening now.

My first thought is for Grace, but my concern quickly shifts toward Salvation. In the case of things going south, Salvation needs to remain safe. She’s all this world has.

“Faith, man the security controls. Make sure no one enters without my permission.”

“Yes, Master.”

I open the gun cabinet behind the radar desk and grab my automatic. It’s fully loaded. Good. I slam the cabinet closed and slam the padlock shut before heading back into the hangar hallway.

“Fate!” There he is, following Salvation as she toddles down the walk.

Fate’s head screeches around. “Yes?”

“Take Salvation to the bunker. Don’t come out until I say so.”

Fate grips Salvation around the middle and the dragon squeals. I imagine his metal fingers aren’t a comfortable carrier, but there’s not another option right now. Grace is the only other bot I want to save. She’s charging. Is she safe there?

Something screams over the hangar, something big enough to shake it to its foundation. It’s here. Whatever it is, it’s here. There’s no time to worry about Grace.

I cock my gun and take up position with it pointed at the hangar gate.

A moment later I hear the scream coming from the back and then a massive crash as the entire back of the hanger is crunched. I jump and roll away from the thing’s path, through Grace’s doorway. I risk a glance back at her, resting in a charging port I designed like a crib. She’s peaceful and quiet. At least she won’t know if she’s destroyed.

Whatever it is stops at the hangar door and I scurry out of the immediate bedroom doorway, so I’m hopefully out of the thing’s sight. I can hear it crunching through the rooms on the other side of the hall, and breath nearer to me, so it must be turning this way. My heart pounds. I’d close my eyes and whisper a prayer if I weren’t afraid to miss seeing the thing. I can only hope that Fate and Salvation are locked securely in the bunker.

A sudden thought makes my heart sink into my stomach. What if the thing caused another blackout? Fate could have failed to get Salvation all the way to the bunker. He could be fallen in the hallway, leaving Salvation to wander out in the danger zone. No, no, no, no, no…

Another thought and I feel like my heart is going to stop. Why hasn’t the thing attacked yet?

Everything is quiet. I can’t hear the thing breathing. There’s no metal crunching. There’s no whirring of engines. I’m about to peer into the hallway and see where the thing went when it erupts through the doorway and I scream. A scaly body fills the room and it smashes itself into Grace’s crib. My heart is pounding as I raise my gun and start shooting the thing, but the bullets only ricochet off and I stop a moment later, afraid I’ll end up shooting myself.

The thing turns a golden eye on me, the iris easily the size of my entire body. Recognition spills through me and the blood drains from my face. My vision goes spotty. It’s a dragon. A real dragon, not an engineered dragon. I collapse and the last thing I feel is my head slamming against metal.

*****

Buzzing fills my ears as I open my eyes. The dragon is gone. The room is demolished. Grace is smashed. Salvation… SALVATION! I get up and run halfway down the hangar before dizziness catches up to me and I have to lean on the wall and close my eyes. I wait for the throbbing to subside before continuing toward the bunker. I pass Fate, collapsed in the engine room, and my hopes sink. I keep going and find the bunker hatch wide open, completely untouched.

She’s got to be around here somewhere.

I search every room in the hangar, calling her name. Searching for her teal scales. Listening for her screeching or purring. I think I hear her, a couple of times, but my hopes are promptly dashed when I rush into an empty room. No Salvation. She’s gone. The dragon took her.

I collapse next to Grace’s crib, leaning against the mangled piece of metal and allowing myself to sob. My droids are dead. Grace is beyond repair. Salvation is gone. This wasteland hangar is all I have, and I am alone.

When the despair has left me numb, I take a deep, ragged breath and look at the demolition across the hall. I grit my teeth, eyes still wet, and clench my fists. The dragon will pay, and I will get Salvation back.

I snatch up my gun on the way out of the hangar, step into the blinding sunlight, and stride east. I will not abandon humanity’s salvation.