D.C. Akers's Blog, page 5
November 1, 2013
Announcing Kindle Countdown Deals – A New KDP Select Book Promotion Tool
We are excited to introduce Kindle Countdown Deals. A new KDP Select book promotion tool that lets you provide readers with time-bound promotional discounts for your Kindle books, available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Here are some of the benefits of Kindle Countdown Deals:
Set time-bound promotions – You control how long your book is discounted. The time remaining for your promotion will be visible for customers to help generate excitement for the price discount.
Customers get a great deal – Your customers will see the great deal they’re getting with the regular price included on the book’s detail page, right beside the promotional price.
Retain a 70% royalty rate – You will earn royalties based on your regular royalty rate and the promotional price. As a result, if you are using the 70% royalty option, you’ll earn 70% even if the price is below $2.99.
Increase discoverability – Customers can easily browse live Kindle Countdown Deals at www.amazon.com/kindlecountdowndeals – a great way for you and your books to get discovered.
Monitor performance in real-time – A new KDP report displays sales and royalties at each price discount side-by-side with pre-promotion performance, so you can compare results.
Visit your KDP Bookshelf to enroll your titles in KDP Select, and click on “Manage Benefits” to get started.
Kind regards,
The Kindle Direct Publishing Team
Questions? Learn more at KDP Select.
Chapter 13 – Destination Known
Destination Known
Terra Vonnel and her sailing master, Coven Breckrill, looked on from the quarterdeck of the Aspen. They had risked their lives countless times and lost several good men along the way. In the end, they had what they had come for, the Orb of Time. Now they would rewrite history, change their fortunes, and conquer the world. But most of all, Terra would have her mother back.
Mount Aries was no more, and in its place, a shell of a mountain engulfed in a blaze of emerald flames.
“I think I like the view from here much better,” Coven said, looking over at Terra.
She smiled as she looked down at the crimson-colored Orb and began to turn its brass dials.
“Yes, I would have to agree.”
Coven leaned forward, placing his hands on the helm.
“So where to now?” he asked with a grin. Even though Coven knew the answer to that question, it felt good to ask.
Terra looked up and stared into the sunrise, its ginger red swirls intertwined with shards of violet, stretching across the horizon. It was beautiful, she thought, almost perfect… but not perfect enough.
“I’m thinking Florida… July… around 1715. I hear it’s quite nice that time of the year,” she replied, sliding the last digit into place.
“Now, Vixen, I’ve seen that look before. Would ye be wantin’ t’steal something?” Coven asked in his best pirate voice.
Terra grinned. “Coven, my friend, a good quest always needs funding.”
They laughed as the sky above the great charcoal ship began to thunder, and in a flash of emerald green, the Aspen vanished.
Now FREE at Amazon.
You can sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter, or like my Facebook page. For more information, see my website dc-akers.com . Your support is appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Haven Shorts – Chapter 12 – Episode 17 – A Stranger Magic
Chapter 12 – Episode 17
The night sky was filled with silver clouds and a radiant cream-colored moon that seemed to follow the boys as they walked briskly back through their development.
Sam’s ribs were throbbing now; the cuts and scrapes were starting to sting. His mind kept flashing back to the mirror. Had the stranger come through a mirror like the spiders did, he wondered.
Travis was walking very stiffly, trying not to cause any additional pain. Trickles of blood from small scrapes cascaded down his arms like road maps to nowhere. His muscles were taut and his legs ached as if he had run a small marathon.
“Sam, I’ve never seen anything like that in my life! The mirror was floating above the water! Just freaking floating!”
Sam looked over at Travis. He had no idea just how bizarre things really were.
“I mean, how in the world did it do that? Where did it come from?” he continued. “And who or what made the new tunnel?”
Sam thought for a moment before he spoke. What would be the best way to tell Travis that yes, he had seen something just as crazy before and it happened just the other night? What if he went on to tell Travis about the stranger that might be stalking him and that he can vanish into thin air? Surely he would believe him now! Surely after tonight he would know it was in the realm of possibility, surely.
Sam knew if he told Travis the truth it would place him on the same path as Sam. But what was that path? Where was it headed? Perhaps Travis had been on the same road all along without knowing it. After all, it was Travis’s idea to come to the caves. Didn’t he owe it to Travis to tell him the truth? What if the stranger came after Travis? That was a chance Sam couldn’t take, Sam concluded. Travis had to know.
“Well, to tell you the truth Trav, there have been some very strange things happening around the Dalcome house lately.”
Travis looked over at Sam with his dark brown eyes squinted and eyebrows flexed, preparing himself for more of the bizarre.
Sam began to explain in detail the events of the last several days. He told Travis about the dreams he had and the mysterious stranger outside his house. He told him about the chocolate wrappers and how the stranger had disappeared into thin air.
Travis listened intently, never interrupting to ask questions. By the time Sam had finished Travis’s face had gone sallow. The realization of what Sam had said was slowly sinking in. The moment had come and gone, the words had escaped Sam’s mouth and seeped into the air, changing everything they knew around them. Things were different now; more real, and more alive. Magic had fused unimaginable possibilities together with imminent danger bringing forth a world they never knew existed, but that had always been there. Magic had slumbered in the shadows until now. Now it was awake and nothing would ever be the same. Sam shivered at the thought.
They rounded the corner to Giddyup Lane. Their neighborhood in the past had felt like an old friend—familiar and comfortable, but most of all safe. But tonight it felt foreign and eerie. Things they took for granted, such as next door neighbors, stray animals, and insects, for that matter, could no longer be looked at in the same way. Not anymore, not with magic out there. Not with the stranger out there.
Sam and Travis continued to walk in silence. The soft breeze grazed against treetops of maples, elms, and oaks that perfectly lined both sides of the street, rooted in small, overpriced lots. Sam’s house was the fifth from the end on the left.
As the boys approached his house, Sam could see that the light in his mother’s bedroom was still on. His heart sank just a little, remembering that he still owed her an apology. With all that had happened he had simply forgotten about it. It was just one more thing that would have to be done before the night was through.
As they stopped in front of his house Sam turned to Travis with a sardonic grin.
“Well, we made it.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” Travis said.
He quickly surveyed Sam’s appearance and shook his head as a smile crept to the corners of his mouth.
“You look like crap,” Travis said.
Sam could not help but laugh; it was the first time he’d laughed in days, as far as he could remember, and it felt good.
“We smell like it, too!” he added.
They both continued to laugh as they tried half-heartedly to straighten and dust themselves off. But it was no use. Their shirts and shorts were stained and torn, their hair matted to their faces, and Travis was even missing a shoe.
“Hey, what are you going to tell your mother?” Travis asked.
“Nothing, I mean, do you really think she, or anyone else, would believe me?”
“No, probably not. Heck, I wouldn’t believe you if I hadn’t been there.”
But Travis had been there and he had seen the magic with his own eyes. Sam was glad Travis had gone to the cave because now he was no longer alone.
“Okay then, well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, right?” Travis asked.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. You okay walking home?”
“I’m okay. The stranger’s after you, not me, right?” Travis said smiling.
“Well, for now.” Sam grinned back.
Travis’s smile faded. “Yeah, not funny Sam.”
“I’m kidding.”
Travis turned, and with only one shoe on he headed home.
Sam opened the front door to his house. It was dark inside except for the dim light coming from the kitchen. He had been out much later than he expected, so late that he had missed dinner, and both Sarah and his mother were either in bed or asleep by now.
The smell of homemade meatloaf from dinner lingered in the air, which made his stomach growl. For a brief moment his body wasn’t hurting, he wasn’t scared, he was just hungry. Really hungry. It felt good to be home.
Sam slowly closed the front door and quietly walked into the living room. His mother’s self-help book Stretching a Dollar by Reginald Blum was lying on the couch, and a mug of decaffeinated green tea sat atop a silver coaster on the wooden coffee table.
His mother had finished her nightly routine, which consisted of light reading followed by a hot cup of tea and bed. Sam looked up to the top of the stairs; her light was turned off now. He had missed her once again, and his apology would have to wait till tomorrow.
Sam sighed and walked into the kitchen. On the counter top in all its edible glory was his favorite meal in the entire world—his mother’s meatloaf.
The meatloaf was piled high and surround by fresh green beans and homemade mashed potatoes. A rich yummy tomato sauce covered the succulent meat. Sam thought it was almost too beautiful to eat.
He opened the counter drawer, pulled out a fork, and began to eat. The meatloaf was still warm and moist. He shoveled his food in so fast that for a brief moment he forgot to breathe.
Before Sam knew it, he had eaten the entire meal and his belly was full. He washed his plate and placed it in the dishwasher. Normally he would just leave it in the sink because dishes were Sarah’s chore, but for some reason he didn’t. Why was he feeling especially nice? Maybe it was the fact that he had triumphantly escaped the spiders in the cave, and now he was home, and had just eaten the best meal of his entire life. Despite all this comfort, Sam still felt uneasy about the events of the past few days. Then he remembered the spiders.
“Spiders, oh no!” he said to himself.
The spiders that were in the rosebushes were the same kind spiders that had attacked him tonight. Were they still out there? Were there more of them?
He quickly rounded the kitchen counter and headed to the front door. He turned on the front porch light and made his way down the steps to the rosebushes.
His eyes scanned every leaf, stem, and thorn on the twisted clump of bush, but he found nothing. There was not a single spider or trace of a web. Part of the bush was still mangled from where he had fallen in the day before. It was a sad-looking bush; there wasn’t even a single rose on it.
After closely scanning the surrounding area he finally felt satisfied that the spiders were gone. He made his way back into the house, locked up, and went upstairs. Sarah’s light was off too. Apparently they both had gone to bed early.
Sam was tired; the only thing he had on his mind now was a hot shower and a comfortable bed. His body was sore and it was getting worse. The smell of bat crap from his clothes was really starting to get to him now.
He quietly walked into his room where the Mountain Mist air freshener scent still lingered. His room was so clean that it felt odd, almost like he was in someone else’s bedroom.
Sam carefully took off his shirt and shorts, trying not to move any muscle faster than needed. He walked into his bathroom with his hand on his lower back, feeling as if he were a hundred years old. Gradually, Sam leaned over, turned on the shower and waited a few minutes before stepping in. Hot water stung his cuts and scrapes, making his muscles twitch as if they were being electrocuted. The water at the bottom of the tub drained steadily with a constant flow of dirt, blood, and bat feces. Warm jets of water streamed down from the shower head and massaged Sam’s body into a slow, peaceful trance. He felt himself sway just a bit as he began to doze off.
The shower lasted a full thirty minutes, if not more. Still drained, Sam brushed his teeth, turned off the light, and crawled into his bed. The bed seemed to wrap around him in a gentle embrace. It was extremely soft and felt good on his aching muscles.
The ceiling fan whirled above him, casting down a gentle breeze. His thin sheets smelled of fabric softener as he pulled them tight. He rolled onto his side and slid his arm under his pillow. His eyelids were heavy as he gazed up at the moonlight that shined through his bedroom window. There was no flashing street light tonight; it was the perfect atmosphere for sleep. The adrenaline he’d felt earlier was gone, leaving Sam completely fatigued.
He lay there, knowing the stranger was still out there somewhere. He knew there was magic in the world now, and that the stranger could use it. But how the stranger, the mirror, and the spiders all fit together he didn’t know. Not yet, anyway, but he promised himself he would find out, and soon.
Sam took in a deep breath and sighed. He felt every muscle in his body relax before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Good news! We are ramping up for BOOK 2 in the Haven Series: Revenge of the Viper. So in celebration and to say thank you for all your support we are giving away Book 1 A Stranger Magic for FREE!
Amazon’s Top 100 Best Selling Fantasy Fiction Novella is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, IBooks/Itunes, and Smashwords.
If you already have a copy, get a new one! Each version (PRINT and DIGITAL) have been reformatted. You will love the new look. Also when you buy the PRINT copy of Haven: A Stranger Magic at Amazon.com you still get the DIGITAL copy in a bundle package for FREE.
Make sure to LIKE/SHARE with your friends!
Enjoy the journey!
DCA
October 29, 2013
#1 AMAZON BEST SELLER – HAVEN: A STRANGER MAGIC
We did it! After weeks of battleing for the #1 spot Haven: A Stranger Magic has reached its goal. I love the fact it wasn’t an overnight thing or a marketing spike that got us there, but by word of mouth. It takes severl humdreds of downloads per hour to reach this goal, and because of that we have serveral thousand new Haven fans! As an author I could not be more proud!
So a big THANK YOU to all the GREAT Haven fans for your overwhelming support. My team and I are working as hard and as fast as we can to bring you the next installment —Haven: Revenge of the Viper, which I promise is filled with more action, mystery, and intrigue! The journey hase just begun!
DCA
Amazon’s #1 Best Selling Fantasy Fiction Novella is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, IBooks/Itunes, and Smashwords.
If you already have a copy, get a new one! Each version (PRINT and DIGITAL) have been reformatted. You will love the new look. Also when you buy the PRINT copy of Haven: A Stranger Magic at Amazon.com you still get the DIGITAL copy in a bundle package for FREE.
Make sure to LIKE/SHARE with your friends!
FIGMENT.COM IS BECOMING PART OF RANDOM HOUSE
Hot off the press from figment.com
Hey Figs,
We have some big news: Figment.com is becoming part of Random House.
When we started Figment, we had a simple idea: to create a safe space for users to read, write, and share stories. Since the day we opened our doors, in December 2010, hundreds of thousands of you have joined Figment, producing hundreds of thousands of books. Over the past three years, we’ve seen an incredible community grow before our very eyes. Figment is, and has always been, a product of you. We’ve just been lucky to be along for the ride.
We have read amazing, humbling stories. We’ve met phenomenal writers. Writers whose names we’ll see on a bookshelf someday and proudly say, “We knew her!” and then hastily add, “Not, like, in real life, but we were super close online. It was this thing, hey don’t even worry about it. Let’s get coffee.”
We know this wonderful, weird community isn’t the kind of thing you find every day. Figment is incredibly special, and the collaborative spirit and endless creativity that you bring is the reason it will continue to grow.
Random House, one of the biggest publishers in the world, is dedicated to maintaining Figment’s integrity and openness. The site will remain the same today as it was yesterday. Your stories, comments, and forum posts will all be here. You’ll still own all your stories. Random House believes in the written word, in authors and books, and in the creative spirit — all the things we founded Figment to celebrate. We couldn’t think of a better steward for this supermegaawesome place.
We’re feeling a lot of feelings right now: gratitude, happiness, optimism. But mostly we’re excited to see the Figment community become bigger and better with Random House. Figment users are . . . well, you know what you are. You’re the best good thing about the site, and we know you’ll grow and thrive and become even more talented, creative writers than you already are.
The only thing better than each of you is all of you.
Love,
The Figment Team
October 28, 2013
MORE INDIE AUTHOR OPPORTUNITIES – KINDLE BOOKS AND TIPS
Here is another great place for Indie Authors to share their FREE Ebooks! http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/
A bit about Kindle Books and TIPS:
The Kindle Books and Tips blog has a simple purpose to provide an interactive blog where you will receive tips to maximize your Kindle experience, author interviews, articles from the author’s take on the eBook world, links to special and discounted Kindle books, and the heads-up on the numerous books, short stories, and more available to read (and listen to) on your Kindle for no charge from numerous sites in addition to Amazon.
The Kindle Books and Tips blog has been ranked the #1 blog in terms of paid subscriptions in the Amazon Kindle store since 2010, and is consistently ranked in the Top 100 for all Kindle titles – books, newspapers, and blogs combined – every day of the week, week in and week out. If you would like to have the blog’s posts sent to your e-Ink Kindle, you can click here or type in http://smarturl.it/fkblog into your web browser to go to the right page on the Amazon website. Once there, just click on the “Subscribe now with 1-Click” icon on the right-hand side of the page to start a free two-week subscription.
Find out more here: http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/
October 26, 2013
BREANKING NEWS – NEW FREE ADVERTIZING OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIE AUTHORS
Once upon a time, books did something called “going out of print.” The publisher decided to stop printing new copies and readers had to scour garage sales for a used copy. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Then the ebook came along. Not only would new books live forever, but old titles could be purchased as well. In no time at all there were millions of books available to readers … who soon developed headaches sifting through it all.
A few people tried to solve the problem but no one really figured it out – until now.
The Fussy Librarian is the first website to match readers not only with the genre of books they like but also their preferences about content. Do you only read mysteries without profanity, violence and sex? Then we’ll tell you only about cozy mysteries. Read just memoirs and gory horror novels? No problem.
We also only bother with the good stuff so you know you’ll see great reads every time you open our daily email. There’s a reason we’re called The Fussy Librarian, after all.
So sign up today and start enjoying great books. We’ll take care of the rest!
http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/
Author’s get in on the ground floor: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/
October 25, 2013
Smashwords Author/Publisher Alert – October 25, 2013
Smashwords Author/Publisher Alert – October 25, 2013
Inside:
1. Details of the Oyster relationship, distribution begins in 3 days
2. New Smashwords E-Publishing Workshops now on YouTube (share with friends)!
3. Coming next
Your Smashwords page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DCAKERS
Smashwords account login email: dcakers@dc-akers.com
________________________________________
1. OYSTER DISTRIBUTION BEGINS IN THREE DAYS (READ THE TERMS HERE!)
________________________________________
Oyster Shipments to Begin in Three Days
On September 5, Smashwords announced a distribution agreement with Oyster, a new and innovative ebook subscription service. Here’s a link to our original announcement: http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/09/smashwords-signs-distribution-agreement.html
Oyster offers consumers unlimited access to more than 100,000 ebooks for only $9.95 per month.
At the time we announced the deal, we also announced that we wouldn’t begin shipping to Oyster until at least 72 hours after we shared the financial terms with you. The clock starts now.
I also stated at the time that I believed the terms were author-friendly, and that Smashwords authors would be pleased when they learned the details. Today, via this email, I’m sharing the details.
If you’re not familiar with Oyster, here’s how it works. A reader downloads the beautiful Oyster app, available for the iPhone and iPad (new!). If they subscribe to the $9.95/month service, the customer gains access to a massive catalog of ebooks, of which Smashwords books will soon be included. Readers can read as much as they want or as little as they want. The books are contained within the Oyster app, and cannot be transferred or shared. If the customer ends their subscription, they lose access to the book. This is fair and reasonable. The customer is subscribing to a service, and for as long as they maintain their subscription, they read whatever they want. It’s a very similar offering to Spotify in music and Netflix for film and television entertainment.
A single Oyster user could conceivably read multiple books by the same Smashwords author in a single month, and the author will be paid for each book. As a Smashwords author or publisher, you’ll earn 60% of you book’s retail list price whenever an Oyster subscriber reads more than 10% of your book, starting from the beginning of the book forward. It’s an author-friendly model. That’s the same rate Smashwords authors earn when we sell ebooks through the major retailers such as Apple and Barnes and Noble.
Oyster’s subscription service will help you connect with a segment of the reading audience you’re not reaching anywhere else. Oyster will also give authors yet another reason to steer clear of exclusivity and embrace full distribution with Smashwords.
Smashwords authors don’t need to do anything to enjoy Oyster distribution other than ensure their books are Premium Catalog-approved. If you previously opted out of Oyster because you were awaiting the financial details, please click to your Channel Manager at https://www.smashwords.com/dashboard/channelManager to opt back in within the next 72 hours if you want to be included in our first shipments.
As a final note on Oyster, I want to encourage you to keep you sales expectations realistic. Although Oyster represents a new, innovative and exciting distribution channel, they are still a new company and it could take them many months or years to establish a sizeable readership. However, as we know from our experience opening up distribution in 2009 and 2010 to new channels such as Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Apple, authors who are in first have a fan-building advantage over authors who delay. Even smaller retailers add to your bottom line. Every sale you get at Oyster is a sale you would not have otherwise received.
Following our first delivery, I’m going to provide Oyster, per their request, a spreadsheet identifying the bestselling books that are opted in to the Smashwords/Oyster catalog. Oyster plans to use this spreadsheet to identify popular books their merchandising team can promote in their app. As we do with the Smashwords bestseller list we supply to Publishers Weekly each month, the list will be based on sales of Smashwords-distributed titles aggregated across the Smashwords distribution network (here’s the latest bestseller list – http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/59396-smashwords-self-published-bestseller-list-august-2013.html ). In the future, credited sales at Oyster will contribute to a book’s ranking in our Publishers Weekly list as well.
Good luck!
________________________________________
2. SMASHWORDS WORKSHOPS NOW ON YOUTUBE
________________________________________
I enjoy doing workshops at writers conferences (greetings today from the NINC conference in Myrtle Beach, where I’m doing a workshop tomorrow on Apple merchandising). If you’ve ever attended one of my workshops over the last five years, you know I try to impart best practices knowledge that will help you become a more successful, more professional publisher.
A couple weeks ago, I took five of my most recent workshop presentations and narrated them as web videos.
Although I’ve been posting many of my prior presentations over at Slideshare, this is the first time I narrated them. Also, unlike my live workshops where I’m usually rushed to cover the material in 60 minutes or less, for these Youtube presentations I took my time. I explored each topic in greater detail that I normally would. The five workshops comprise eight hours. View or listen to them at your leisure!
You’ll find each of them listed here, at the Smashwords blog:
http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/10/smashwords-ebook-publishing-workshops.html
Here are the direct links to each video:
#1 – An Introduction to Ebook Publishing (a primer and e-publishing checklist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khM4czIJUVM
#2 – The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (best practices secrets for reaching more readers)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnd7jYcjqm8
#3 – Smashwords Survey Helps Authors Sell More Books (pricing strategy and fun metrics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rrl4NExo3Y
#4 – 10 Trends Driving the Future of Authorship (indie authors are the future of publishing!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbT7r-DUa6M
#5 – How to Reach More Readers at Apple iBooks (merchandising secrets to grow sales!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKwwcL_FS_c
The complete collection is at http://www.youtube.com/user/smashwords
Please share the videos with your writer friends!
________________________________________
3. COMING NEXT TO SMASHWORDS
________________________________________
As you know, most of the new developments at Smashwords over the last few years have been author-centric, as part of our mission to provide you more and better tools to help you publish, distribute and market your books.
Recent exciting author-centric developments over the last few months include preorder distribution, Series Manager and Smashwords Interviews.
Next week we’ll launch a new feature for Smashwords customers – the people who buy your books. And in the weeks ahead, you’ll see the first signs of our long-awaited user interface refresh.
________________________________________
4. HELPFUL AUTHOR/PUBLISHER RESOURCES
________________________________________
Frequently asked questions: https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq
Smashwords Site Updates: https://www.smashwords.com/about/beta
Smashwords blog (subscribe today via the email option!): http://blog.smashwords.com
Smashwords Video Workshops: http://www.youtube.com/user/smashwords
Create a Smashwords Interview (self-interviews): https://www.smashwords.com/manageinterview/info
Smashwords Series Manager (Manage series metadata): https://www.smashwords.com/dashboard/seriesManager
Smashwords Coupon Manager (Create custom coupon codes): https://www.smashwords.com/dashboard/coupons
How to publish and distribute ebooks with Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords
Connect with fellow Smashwords readers and authors at Facebook: http://facebook.com/Smashwords
Mark’s List – Low cost cover designers and ebook formatters. Now online at http://smashwords.com/list
________________________________________
Thank you for your continued support, trust and partnership.
Thank you also for distributing with Smashwords. When you distribute with Smashwords, you’re directly supporting our ability to create new opportunities for you.
Do you know authors not yet at Smashwords? Please invite them to join our 70,000+ strong worldwide community.
Together, we’re changing the world of publishing one indie ebook at a time.
Best wishes,
Mark
Mark Coker
Founder
Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com
twitter: http://twitter.com/markcoker
Terra Vonnel and the Skulls of Aries – Chapter 12
The Orb of Time
Terra looked over at Coven, who wore a bewildered look.
“All right, well… that looked painful,” Coven said. I didn’t see that coming!”
“I did,” Terra replied. “Coven, quickly… in my rucksack there is a rope!”
Not sure of what she had in mind, Coven quickly retrieved the rope and threw it to Terra, who stood waiting in the stream. She fashioned the rope together using a series of knots into what looked like a lasso. Swinging the large circle once, then twice, she tossed the rope onto the small podium and pulled it forward. The crimson Orb fell into the water with a splash, and the force of the current sent the Orb rushing toward Terra. With a sweep of her hand, she retrieved the Orb and stepped out of the stream.
“Finally!” she said, holding it up to take a better look.
The Orb itself seemed rather simplistic in its functionality. There were three brass dials that ran across the surface, one for the day, one for the month, and one for the year. As the story goes, one would simply set the time period they wished to travel to, and the orb would activate, sending you there. Simple enough, she thought.
Terra grabbed her rucksack and placed the Orb inside. “It’s time go!”
Coven smiled just as the ground began to shake. Quickly his smile faded into a look of fright.
“Now what?” he asked, sounding defeated.
Above them large onyx rocks that looked more like boulders began to fall from the ceiling as the cave began to crumble from within.
“Now we run!” Terra yelled.
Terra turned to leave the way she had come in, but the rock face had deteriorated to the point that it was impassable. Large cracks began to spread like lightning beneath their feet, emitting small green flames.
“Coven, we’ll need to jump!” she yelled.
“What… jump where?”
“Follow me!”
Terra ran back into the stream with Coven close behind. Large boulders fell all around them as they reached the edge of the waterfall.
Terra turned to the Sea Ghouls, who stood at attention as the debris rained down.
“Retreat!” she cried out. Their heads shifted as one to regard Terra, then they vanished into the chaos.
Terra turned and fixed her eyes on Coven.
“Ready?”
“For the record, Vixen, this is not a good plan!” Coven complained.
“It’s our only chance!” she replied, and with that said she grabbed Coven’s arm and leaped over the edge.
**I will post one Chapter each week, so this may take a while. If you just can’t wait, you can the complete book at Amazon for FREE.
You can sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter, or like my Facebook page. For more information, see my website dc-akers.com . Your support is appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Haven Shorts – Chapter 11 – Episode 16 – A Stranger Magic
Chapter 11 – Episode 16
Sam slipped again, falling back into the water with one arm raised, suspending the candle lantern only inches away from being snuffed out.
Travis stopped and circled back, grabbing Sam by the arm. His foot slipped and he fell back into the freezing water again.
The enormous wave of splashing spiders moved closer, like a school of piranhas advancing on its prey. Bats screamed and shrieked around their heads, colliding with the two boys. Sam and Travis frantically waved them off and scrambled to their feet. Hurriedly, they sloshed through the water, moving as fast as they could. Their feet felt ten pounds heavier wading through the pond. As they drew close to the water’s edge, they grabbed the nearby stalagmites to better balance themselves.
Travis had taken the lantern, and was doing his best to keep the last candle from going out completely.
They moved as quickly as they could back over the rocks and around the stalagmites, but the trekking was slower and more cumbersome this time around. There were bats to deal with now and wet shoes that continued to slip on the rocky terrain. Sam was the first to reach the tunnel they had come through. He looked back at Travis and saw a large black and green mass on the ground behind him, gaining on him. The spiders were only a few feet away from them now.
Their speed was impressive, jumping into the air and squealing as they swarmed over the rocky landscape. They moved as a unit, a combined arachnid force chasing their prey.
Sam ran as fast as his legs could go. Travis was not far behind. Their gangly shadows stretched across the tunnel walls, disappearing and reappearing as the candle lantern bounced in Travis’s hand.
“Come on, Travis, we’re almost there!” Sam yelled.
The first ledge was right in front of them. Sam leaped up onto it as darkness engulfed the tunnel. A loud crash of breaking glass rang out, followed by an ominous thud. Travis had run straight into the wall of the first ledge and had broken the lantern.
“Travis, are you okay?” Sam yelled.
He stood on the ledge and looked back down into the sea of darkness, frantically searching. All Sam could hear were crunching sounds as Travis’s shoes moved back and forth over the glass and gravel.
“Ugh … I’m okay!” Travis yelled as he stood up, reaching for the first ledge.
Sam felt Travis’s hand brush his own, and he quickly moved to the right, giving Travis room to get up. The bats had fallen back now, and were only flying past them every now and again, but the eerie insect sound of the spiders was growing closer.
“Faster, Travis, they’re almost on us!”
Travis’s body was still hanging halfway off the ledge. He swung his knee as high as he could, trying desperately to reach the edge. Sam grabbed the back of Travis’s shirt and pulled him up next to him.
Sam could hear the loud hissing and squealing of the spiders below, and it sent cold chills up his spine. Every hair on his neck was standing at attention; his body quivered in disgust at the thought of a hundred hairy spider legs climbing over his body.
Sam looked up through the round hole of the entrance to the caves, just as the moonlight broke through the silver clouds. It cast a faint silhouette of oak trees on the preceding level. Hundreds of bats burst from the tunnel behind them and flew out of the cave. They scattered into the night, causing the moonlight to flicker.
Both Sam and Travis reached for the top of the entrance, but Travis looked back down. The spiders were quickly scaling over the edge behind them.
Illuminated by the moonlight, Travis could now see the group of spiders making their way forward and gathering around Sam’s feet. In seconds they had swarmed his ankles, and were moving up his legs.
“Sam they’re on you!” Travis cried out.
Sam felt them moving up his calves. The light pads of the spiders’ feet tapped sporadically as they made their way toward his knees. He jumped as high as he could, hurling himself upward toward the entrance of the cave, but he fell short, hitting the edge of the rock with his ribs. He dangled there for a brief moment with his body halfway out of the entrance. The impact had left him breathless, as if all the air in his lungs had been sucked out by a giant vacuum cleaner. A sharp pain was shooting across his rib cage. With nothing to hold on to he slowly began to slide back into the hole. He reached for the tall tufts of weeds in front of him, and grabbed two large fistfuls, and pulled with all his might, slowing his descent. Gasping, he hoisted his right leg over the edge and heaved his body onto the soft ground. He rolled through the grass as fast as he could, sending spiders flying in every direction.
Travis followed close behind him, but he also got stuck halfway out and could not get his leg over the edge of the opening. His hands began to slip; he reached for the surrounding weeds, but they tore from the ground as he grasped them. Spiders were crawling up his legs and up the back of his shirt now. Stuck in the same spot as Sam had been, Travis slipped back into cave entrance.
“Sam! Help me!” he cried out.
Sam shot his hand over the edge and grabbed the back of Travis’s shirt, pulling him upward and sending spiders flying into the air. The two boys both fell back on the ground. Travis’s legs were covered with spiders. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and began to shake himself frantically.
Sam and Travis rolled on the ground for what seemed like forever, until every spider was either gone or smashed to death by the violent thrashing.
Sam and Travis lay on their backs, breathing hard and staring up into the dense canopy of tree branches.
They could smell the familiar mixture of bark and weeds in the moist air around them. The blackbirds nesting above them crowed erratically, and the moonlight that had once seeped through the treetops had vanished behind the clouds. The screeching sound from the spiders and bats had stopped, and nothing seemed to be following them out of the cave entrance.
“You alright?” Sam asked, trying to straighten himself out.
“Yeah, I’m okay. You?” Travis replied between deep gulps of air.
“I’m okay, but let’s get out of here before the rest of them make it up here,” Sam said.
“I’m right with you!”
Sam stood quickly, holding his ribs. His arms and elbows were scraped and cut. Travis didn’t look much better. Both boys were still soaking wet and covered in grass, dirt, spider guts, and bat droppings. Sam helped Travis to his feet and they both turned and ran as fast as they could past the oak trees, tall weeds, and into the open area of the quarry, all the while constantly checking behind them for spiders and bats.
Good news! We are ramping up for BOOK 2 in the Haven Series: Revenge of the Viper. So in celebration and to say thank you for all your support we are giving away Book 1 A Stranger Magic for FREE!
Amazon’s Top 100 Best Selling Fantasy Fiction Novella is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, IBooks/Itunes, and Smashwords.
If you already have a copy, get a new one! Each version (PRINT and DIGITAL) have been reformatted. You will love the new look. Also when you buy the PRINT copy of Haven: A Stranger Magic at Amazon.com you still get the DIGITAL copy in a bundle package for FREE.
Make sure to LIKE/SHARE with your friends!
Enjoy the journey!
DCA
