Sarah Barnard's Blog, page 24

Day 11

So, what's going on with Sage? Why the secrecy? Why the easy lies? Why does she get saluted like an officer? Who is she?

The Nano writing has slowed to a crawl and I'm finding that wall that comes so close to just giving up and it'll take some determination to get through it.

Diana opened the file and lifted out all the papers inside. Outside was a still and calm night with a sky high and clear, velvet black littered with shining stars beyond the curtained window of Diana's dining room. She glanced through the Gardiner Trust information and found, as she suspected, nothing. Then the copies of the funding application with her own signature in various places and her own handwriting crushed into boxes that were too small. Still nothing.

Then the final authorised approval confirmation pack, signed by Diana, several of the Safe Haven trustees and countersigned by Gardiner Trust representatives.

There it was.

Diana stared at the piece of paper. She put it down on top of the pile on the table beside the now empty box file and she went to the kitchen to make a fresh coffee. But as she turned the kettle on, she changed her mind, turned it off again and reached into a cupboard for something stronger than coffee. Fishing out a tall glass, she added coke, tia maria and a generous shot of vodka. A Black Russian, that she affectionately called, "An Ivan" was just what she needed.

In a drawer to one side of the kitchen, Diana kept old Christmas and birthday cards so she could recycle them into gift tags, and sometimes just because she didn't want to get rid of them just yet. She liked to look and remember when they got used again. She pulled the pile out and flicked through them, looking for a particular card, sipping at her black Russian slowly until she found the birthday card she was hunting for. She took the card and the glass into the dining room and sat back down, placing the card, now open, beside the form.

"Diana,

Merry Xmas,

Hope it's a Good one!

Sage"

Diana fished Sage's note from that morning out of the bin and smoothed it out, placing it with the other two pieces.

Somewhat illegible and hastily scrawled, but sitting right there beside the Gardiner Trust forms it could have been. The capital S was almost identical and the G in Good on the Christmas card was there too.

She went back to the kitchen drawer and rummaged through the cards until she found a birthday card to add to the pile.

"D,

Happy Birthday,

See you at the weekend, fancy the Falconers for birthday dinner?

S."

Again, the S was so close it was almost identical and the end of Falconers was scrawled the same way as the end of the signature.

Was Could Sage's surname possibly be Gardiner? The signature on the form was S G-squiggle, so Diana wasn't sure if this was an actual Gardiner who could be signing the forms, it was possible. But, more to the point that looks like Sage's scrawl and that had been a Gardiner Trust identity card in her pocket, and she was sure it had been a Gardiner branded badge on her shirt. Why hadn't she mentioned it?

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Day 9.

November 9th. The cold is going away slowly but I have a nasty cough lingering. Still, the words keep coming and Sage keeps taking me to places I hadn't anticipated, sooner than I'd planned, and with different people than I had planned.

Sage is in control of her own story and I love it when that happens.

As always, click the "Read the rest…" link here for an excerpt from this year's Nano as it progresses.

The silver Renault cruised through the edges of the sprawling city and found the motorway where Sage relaxed into driving amongst the other traffic, hidden in plain sight as she made her way to the apparently disused airfield. She stopped at the locked gates and waited impatiently, fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

"Come on, come on." She muttered, fidgeting in her seat and scowling at the gates that remained firmly closed. "Come on, you know I'm here, open up."

Beside the car, a metal post rose silently from the ground. "That's slow." Sage observed, turning to face it and lowering her window.

"Sage. Voice Ident. Alpha zero zero zero one white." She spoke clearly but with an undertone of irritation as the post remained silent beside her.

"Access. Welcome to The Hangar. Please observe local protocols." A voice replied and the gates clicked and eased open smoothly for the Renault to drive through. Sage turned the car and stopped to watch the gates close behind her and the post slide back into the ground.

"I am bloody local, stupid thing." She watched for a moment before driving off along the rough, pot holed road across the grass. "Far too slow." She muttered.

Sage pulled up to a battered and elderly looking building that was large enough to have been an aircraft hangar at some point in its past. The huge doors were dented and littered with rusty marks and the windows dim and filthy. As she slowed in front of the doors, part of one slid away to leave a space large enough to drive an articulated lorry through.

Sage drove straight into the gap, which slid closed behind her with a bang.

The space inside was cavernous and echoed every sound it swallowed. Parked along one side were two green vans with roof mounted emergency lights, three landrovers and a bright red Citroën C1, a squat little car that Sage grinned at. That meant Cooper was in the building somewhere and it was Cooper she would need. She parked beside the Citroen and climbed out of the Renault to find a woman standing beside her.

"Will you need anything, Sir?" She snapped a brisk salute, dressed in crisply pressed army uniform and shiny boots, but no visible weapons and no hat.

"No, I think I can find my own way. Thank you." Sage brushed her aside, began to stride towards a door set into the wall beside a set of open metal stairs that wound up the wall and lead to a mezzanine platform that ran to the back of the hangar. With a hand on the door she turned. "It's Wilcox, isn't it?"

"Yes Sir." Wilcox smiled, pleased to have been recognised. She had pale grey blue eyes set under dark brows and long brown hair was neatly contained in a bun at the nape of her neck.

"Did Cooper send you?"

Wilcox nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Walk with me." Sage pulled the door open and stepped through, waiting for the younger woman to catch up. "You're the engineer?"

A nod.

"How far have you got?"

"I'm fully Rift qualified but only theoretically until further experience can be arranged and the authorisation for that is delayed." Wilcox took up a position to Sage's left, straight backed and firmly controlled, the epitome of discipline as they took the few steps needed through the grey concrete room to the white door on the other side.

"Have you been taking lessons from Cooper?" Sage commented drily.

"In Rift engineering? He's not qualified."

"No, too far up his own arse." Sage muttered, opening the second door and leading them into a space so white it hurt and Sage blinked, her eyes watering. "I hate this part."

"Give yourself a minute and you'll get used to it." Wilcox replied automatically.

"Ah, you've been on meet and greet duty." Sage wiped her eyes as they stood and waited and nothing visibly happened. "You're all sharp creases, shiny boots and about as flexible as stone. Find your humanity again Wilcox, find your compassion, or you're useless to us." She tapped her foot on the floor. "Is it just me or is this running slow?"

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Sage Swore.

Day 5 this morning and I'm tired, full of a stinking cold and feel more like flopping on my sofa than writing even a single word. But it's November and the words demand that I sit and type, in between blowing my nose and coughing or sneezing. I think my head might explode….

Word count so far is 11071, aiming for 13k today. Excerpt from yesterday is below, click the "Read the rest.." link to see…

Waiting at a set of traffic lights, Sage pulled her phone from her pocket and set it on her knee while she pulled a hands free earpiece from the pocket in her door. She fitted it into her ear and connected the phone and tapped in a short sequence. The phone connected and was answered within a few rings.

"Who's that?" Sage asked and listened for an answer.

"Right, Fisher, I need some information. Can you locate the garage where the dark green Mini belonging to Diana Augustine is being repaired? It'll be local to her home address, probably an approved dealer. I don't know the full reg, I think it's fairly new, within five years old." She frowned, pulling away as the lights turned green. The road was getting busier and Sage pulled into a supermarket car park to wait for her information rather than driving further than she had to. Her stomach growled. Once she had the address of the most likely garage, where Diana had had repairs done more than once before, Sage drove out of the car park and back the way she'd come, diverting at a drive through to grab some breakfast which she devoured along the way.

Sage pulled into the small four space car park at the back of the garage and slid the Renault into the only free space. She opened the boot and reached inside, fetching a metal case that she took to rest on the bonnet which was closest to the back door of the garage where Diana's dark green Mini was being repaired. Sage spent a moment examining the lock on the garage door before opening the case and popping a slim tool from the padded interior with which she probed the lock and the garage was open in seconds. Smiling to herself she slipped inside, taking the case with her as she lowered herself to the ground and slid her head and shoulders under Diana's car, wincing slightly at aches she discovered. A few moments later she rolled back out, closed the garage door and relocked it, put the slim tool back in its slot, closed the case, slung it onto the passenger seat of her own car and eased out of the parking space.

Her way was blocked by a police car.

Sage swore.

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In the park.

Word count up til last night = 7018

Ahead of schedule and aiming on staying that way. Sage is developing in interesting ways and I'm intrigued to find out where it's all leading.

Click on "Read the rest…" for an exerpt.

Sage lounged against the metal frame of the swings, cradling a card cup of strong coffee in one hand as she watched the child play in the sand. The girl's mother and Diana were in the small café, huddled in the warm and deep in serious conversation. Diana's head was tipped slightly forward and her full attention was on whatever was being said, she was in full listening and supporting mode. They'd been meant to be meeting for coffee and a chat but the woman and girl had been in the park and Diana had been sidetracked with them. Sage had offered to watch the child while Diana and the woman talked. They were current residents at Safe Havens and the mother clearly needed to talk today. Sage didn't mind.

The girl was about seven or eight with mousey hair drifting in a cloud where it had come free from the French braid that tried to contain it. Large dark eyes were screwed up in concentration as long nimble fingers traced complex patterns on the mound of sand she'd made. Her shoes and socks were cast to one side, discarded without a thought to where they should be, only the desire to feel the sand between her toes which wriggled almost constantly as she worked. Her mouth moved constantly too, she was muttering to herself, a ceaseless commentary under her breath. Sage wasn't really listening and could barely hear her anyway but something caught her attention so she moved a little closer, trying to make it look casual and took a seat on the wooden bench beside the sand pit. The girl looked up, directly at Sage and with a frightened look. Sage gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and then looked away, sipping at her coffee but continuing to listen to the child's mumblings from just a step away as she played alone despite there being a few other children in the playground.

A soft musical chime from her pocket made Sage shake her head with a smile. She pulled the phone from her pocket and slid it open to read the message there. Her grey-green eyes darkened, shadowed as her forehead creased in serious concentration. She texted back a reply and started to slide the phone closed, she paused, slid it back open again and pulled up a menu on the screen, tapped it and frowned at the display it brought up for her. Turning on the bench Sage stretched out her legs and rolled her foot to ease out the developing stagnant ache in one ankle, scratching her head as she stared at the small screen in her hand. The phone was angled awkwardly, pointing at the playground and she rolled her shoulders as if stiff, making a sweep of the area and watching the display carefully.

There was a gentle, hesitant tug on her sleeve and Sage looked up from her phone. "Hello Little One, is everything all right?" She smiled at the girl who now had a firm grip on her arm. The girl didn't speak but jiggled on the spot, her face tight and eyes wide. Sage took a guess. "Toilet?" A vigorous nod. "Come on then, let's just tell your Mum where you're going. Grab your shoes and socks, you can't leave them there."

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

"Sage, what's yours?" Sage stood and waited while the girl collected her shoes and socks.

"Holly." Grubby hands gathered strewn belongings. "Mummy says it's because I am a winter baby and that's when the holly is best."

"Holly is good all year round." Sage took Holly's shoes and tucked her socks into them as they walked towards the café. Holly shot through the open doors and cannoned into Diana, who was sitting with her back to the door, spilling coffee all down Diana's legs.

The girl stood there, frozen for a moment with her lower lip quivering and the colour draining from her pale face before she slipped past Sage and fled into the park.

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Nano 2010

I'm not going to blog it all this time. I'm not convinced it really got read last year, and I don't want to give it all away…

But I will pop up an extract from each day's writing for you.

She lifted her mug and drained the last mouthful of coffee, rich and creamy and close to cold, and picked up her bag. Diana decided that more than an hour was quite long enough and if Sage wasn't there by the time she'd been to the toilet then she'd give up and try to contact her friend later. She left her coat draped over the back of her chair so it would be obvious where she was sitting if Sage did turn up.

A few minutes later, when Diana came back into the café, she slid open her phone to check for any missed calls or messages. She knew it was futile and that she'd have heard her phone, but she checked anyway.

There was nothing.

Getting more grumpy, mostly annoyed with Sage but starting to feel a little concerned, Diana went back to her table to collect her coat.

Fresh coffee steamed from two clean mugs sitting on the table. Diana's empty mug had been cleared away and the tabled wiped. A slice of lemon meringue pie with cream sat on a white plate beside one mug which was filled with soft foaming cream dusted with cocoa and that Diana knew would be rich creamy coffee beneath. Just how she liked it. The other mug held liquid that was thick and oily, rich, black and Diana knew it would be sweet with two or three large spoons of sugar.

"Sorry I'm late," Sage grinned. "I got caught up with stuff, you know how it is."

Diana tried to scowl her annoyance but she could never stay angry with Sage for long and besides, she was quite relieved that there was no more sinister reason for her being late. And that made her even more irritated.

"Almost an hour and a half is excessive, even for you."

"I know, and I am sorry. Can you stay a bit longer?" Sage lounged comfortably sideways across the dark leather upholstered bench seat with one arm draped across the back and in that hand was her phone. She swiped her thumb across the screen and slipped it into her pocket.

Sage was about the same height as Diana but stocky where Diana was wiry. Broad shoulders leant her an almost masculine build that almost went with her soft short hair that looked a little longer than usual, just starting to fall onto her ears in waves of chestnut, deep and richly red-brown. A nose that had been broken at least once dominated a face that was normally relaxed and smiling but Diana knew could turn as hard as stone when needed. Sage's eyes matched her name, nestling as pools of grey-green beneath the shadows of dark brows that made people think her eyes were darker than they really were. Her full lipped mouth smiled into lightly freckled, weather tanned cheeks.

Sage slid forward and rested muscular arms on the table and wrapped strong hands round her coffee mug. She seemed to hit that balance between being very fit and body builder just right and managed to stay looking feminine while carrying the muscle well.

"Do you have to shoot off?" she asked again, looking up at Diana with a warm smile as she raised the mug and blew away the rising steam.

"Nope, day off." Diana sat back down and scooped the thick foam from the top of her mug with a spoon, loving the slight crust the cocoa dusting formed on the foamed milk there. "No cake for you?"

"Not hungry, but I thought a peace offering might stop you being too annoyed at me."

"How did you know I hadn't already had some?" Diana couldn't resist.

"I checked with Matthew, you're well known in here you know." Sage sipped at hot coffee, leaned back in her seat and winced as she moved. A flash of white peeped from under the shoulder of her dark blue shirt.

"Is that a bandage? Are you hurt?" Diana leaned forward to see better, suddenly concerned for her friend and feeling a pang of guilt that she'd been annoyed.

Sage reached up and pulled the shirt so it covered the white that Diana was sure was neat bandaging. "It's nothing."

"What have you been up to?" Diana asked, reaching for the pie.

"Oh you know me, saving the world, this and that an iron in every fire." A familiar look passed across Sage's face, a hard determination that stated very clearly that no details would be forthcoming.

"Yeah right." Diana laughed even as the evasion stung. "You're Wonderwoman or something."

Sage raised one eyebrow and peered over the top of her coffee mug. "Can you really see me in a bikini?"

Diana couldn't reply as she was almost choking on the mouthful of pie she'd just taken. "Oh hell, that's an image that'll haunt my nightmares for days now."

"If that's all that haunts your nightmares then you're doing fine." Sage was suddenly very serious and just as suddenly it was gone.

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To blog or not to blog?

It's November in five hours.

Shall I blog it?

It's NaNo time again and I'm gearing up to write like a maniac, again, for the sixth year in a row. Last year I blogged it, raw and as it flowed from the keyboard and there was a post most days throughout November.

Shall I do that again?

Would you read it? Will you leave comments and feedback?

Let me know and I might put up tomorrow's words at the end of the day.

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Trick or Treat.

[image error]Only at the Sarah Barnard Lulu store, Only from Lulu and Only this week you can get ALL three Portal series paperbacks with 30% off.

The Portal Between, The Portal Sundered and The Map and The Stone are all discounted by a huge 30% until midnight on Hallowe'en.

But only if you buy direct from Lulu. Unless other retailers decide to match prices this is the cheapest you'll find these titles anywhere. Even the Amazon marketplace doesn't have brand new copies at these prices.

As soon as the door had swung shut Kate was racing down the garden with a hastily grabbed blanket. She skidded to a halt on her knees in the mud, as Sam managed to get to her hands and knees and raise her head. Her face was filthy and one eye almost swollen shut, old crusted blood stained the corner of her mouth. Arms and shoulders too thin and covered in bruises, she struggled to sit up. She was shivering and cold, wearing a thin tunic style top with short sleeves, belted at the waist. It hung over woollen leggings and her feet were bare.

Kate flung the blanket round Sam's shoulders and hugged her tight. Tears flowed freely down both sets of cheeks. Sam took Kate carefully by the shoulders and gently pushed her away.

"I don't have long." She said, nervously glancing round, "It's following me, it'll be here in a moment. Can you help me?" Kate nodded, speechless but her mind racing, "Meet me by the old oak, at midnight…" She drew a startled breath, eyes widening, "It's here!" Stared over Kate's shoulder. Kate turned to see a blinding white light whirl into being and a monstrous grey green scaled arm reach out to take firm hold of Sam. She shoved Kate roughly away, yelled "Midnight, light my way! Don't forget! Please!" her voice pleading as she was dragged away, leaving Kate kneeling on the grass, clutching only a muddy blanket.

From The Portal Between. Does that whet your appetite? The Portal Between is only £6.99 for this week only. Grab it in proper paper book edition while it's got the 30% discount!

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Six weeks

That proof wasn't quite right, the cover crop was off by just enough that it offended me and I couldn't leave it as it was. So I tweaked it by a couple of millimetres and tried again.

The Map and The Stone

Luckily Lulu are really good when it comes to print and dispatch and I had the new proof copy within a few days.

So now I wait, and wait and wait for 6-8 weeks until it filters through to Amazon and other book sales sites.

I hate waiting.

But if you want the paperback with new full colour cover NOW, if you're as impatient as I am, then you can still buy copies through the official Sarah Barnard website or on the Sarah Barnard facebook fan page.

Or you could buy direct from my Lulu store. Or maybe you are one of the lucky people who owns a Kindle or another e-book device?

Otherwise you'll have to wait until you can add it to your Amazon Christmas shopping!

In the meantime I am working on the third, and probably final, main Portal book and also planning out some ideas for my November Madness.

Wish me luck!

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October.

Welcome October, it's good to see you again.

During October a couple of things are happening on the writing and book front.

Firstly I'm awaiting delivery of a print proof copy of The Map and The Stone and assuming that checks out ok then I can approve it and set it on it's way to full print release. The paperback has a different cover to the e-book edition, in full colour and again designed by the talented Mairi Frost, who produced most of the drawings for the interior too.

I've redesigned the other Portal covers too so the e-book edition looks different but similar. It's important I think, to differentiate the two editions and I enjoyed the process. I actually prefer the e-book covers, they have something extra, a bit of colour and sparkle that the print covers don't have. But I can't change those without releasing a new edition, so they'll stay as they are for now.

So, in a few days I should be sending The Map and The Stone on its way and it should be available through Amazon and on other bookshop sites, as well as through your local library, in time for Christmas.

Also during October I'll be working more on Portal 3, still using the working title "Child of the Portal" and I'll be leaving everything else alone in preparation for November.

Here's a sneak peek at a piece from Portal 3 for you…

Lily drizzled icing over the top of the cake sitting on the kitchen table and stood back to look at the results, smiling her approval.

"What's that Mum?" Andrew asked as he wandered in with a trainer in one hand and a sock in the other.

Lily looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "One trainer? And one sock?" He hopped and lifted a foot that was already wearing the matching trainer but a mismatched sock. Lily shrugged. "It's Kate's birthday cake and we will be taking it over for her in about half an hour so don't get filthy." He sat at the table to pull on sock and trainer and reached out a hand to poke the still wet icing and Lily batted his hand away. "No finger marks on it please!" She scolded and he laughed.

"Don't forget the candles!" He called as he ran out of the kitchen door and into the garden.

"As if I would." Lily muttered to herself. "For someone with no affinity for the magic she has such a connection with the turning of the year. A Beltane birthday and a son born at Winter Solstice, destined to be part of this I think, destined to ground and nurture us all. This cake needs candles, flames for the Beltane birth."  Lily rummaged in a drawer and produced a handful of assorted small candles with a random assortment of plastic holders to stick them in. She threw then onto the edges of the plate and left it all there while the icing set and decided she had just enough time for a cuppa before they were due to leave but was distracted by the washing up on the way to the kettle so she did that instead, while watching Andrew digging in his patch of the garden where he was growing potatoes, peas, onions and carrots. He was making the patch bigger and earthing up the potatoes while he worked with chickens around his feet and Jasper the old black dog with the white spot on his nose sprawled on the grass nearby.

Lily smiled as she dried her hands. "What part of don't get filthy meant digging in the veg garden."

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How to react.

I'd like you first to take a look at the reviews I have on Amazon UK for The Portal Between.  Looked? OK, all 5 stars and positive.  That sort of feedback is easy to handle isn't it? You get top marks, someone tells you that something you did was good, it makes you happy, all warm and fuzzy inside. Or maybe it makes you blush and feel uncomfortable. But it's still a good feeling, right?

So, as a writer I am putting my work, my creation out there and asking people to read it, react to it. Some ...