S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 131

Sunday Six: Dinner

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Two of Rock Killer :

Dr. McConnell was about 65 and balding.  His grizzled mustache moved in an undulating motion when he chewed.  When he didn't have food in his mouth he puffed on a cigarette, oblivious to how his guests felt about the noxious fumes.  Mrs. McConnell was a dumpy woman who needed to do something, anything, with her short, gray hair.

The meal was a vegetarian delight.  Alex had just spent almost six months in space where meat was rehydrated, tasteless, and expensive as hell. 

Cold but Clear Day for a Drive

Today where I live it is cold by clear.  The sun is shining and, best of all, the roads are bare and dry.  So I took this opportunity to get out my fun car and drive it.  I accidentally hit 90 pulling onto the interstate (hey, I haven't driven it for over a month; I forgot how powerful it is).  Feels good to be able to drive without being paranoid about how slick it might be or might become.

I remember one time a few years ago I was driving to Seattle (over Snoqualmie Pass) in the winter and the roads had snow on them but were not too bad.  Then I saw flashing lights ahead of me so I slowed way down.  And sure enough, for about a mile, the road was sheet ice.  The flashing lights were cops and emergency vehicles that were there due to the accidents that already happened.  But what if you were the first person to some across that ice?  You'd probably end up in the ditch (if you were lucky).

So driving today with no fear of ice (even though temps were about 36) was so nice.  And it was nice to drive my fast car which has sat in the garage for over a month.

The picture above was taken by my wife as I drove down the interstate today.

Guest Post: Voss Foster

Today we welcome Voss Foster to our blog.


I’m so very grateful for you letting me share your blog space today.
I’m a music freak. I sing, I play trombone, and I belly dance. And then there’s the writing—every time I sit down to plan out a book, I put together a playlist. While the Tartaros playlist went the way of the floppy disk when my computer died, I did want to share some Tartaros sort of music with y’all. So, ten songs that I think speak on the themes, feelings, characters, or some other element of the book.
Better Dig Two by The Band Perry: There’s so much timeless love in this song, it has to go with this book.Otherworld by The Black Mages: specifically, the version with vocals by Kumi Koda. It deals with time travel and kidnapping and general darkness.Circa Mea Pectora from Carmina Burana: It’s sort of a love song. Well, love and sex. And it’s very grandiose, which helps.Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars: It’s a love song, but there’s so much deception, and this sort of uncertainty in the lyrics. Plus the stunning vocals don’t hurt.Down with the Sickness by Disturbed: I know, it’s sort of cliché, but, when someone decides to make Tartaros into a movie, I want this to be Lilith’s song. Or the song of the Horsemen.Hurt by Johnny Cash: Just for the raw, emotional content. I don’t think anyone comes out of Tartaros unscarred.Lichtgestalt by Lacrimosa: It’s a song all about insanity, and the duality of a person. A darker side and the ‘normal’ side.Love the Way You Lie by Rihanna: Another dark, twisted romance song.Unseelie Self by Alexander James Adams: Another very dark piece. And it’s spoken word, which I have a very big soft spot for.River Lies by Seanan McGuire: More deception in the love. That’s sort of the aesthetic here, I’m seeing. Blurb:A demon hunter, Daniel Tartaros is sworn to slay the denizens of Hell and, for over a decade, he has. He’s kept the world, and his girlfriend, safe. But, one night, the demons cross the threshold to his home. His girlfriend is taken, possessed by a powerful demon. Too powerful for him. But the horror increases when he finds out the truth: it’s not just a demon. Lilith, the Queen of Hell, bound herself into a human body to be with him. But, broken free and without the restraint of a human life, she still needs him, and plans to use all of her power to keep him. She’ll do what it takes to keep him, even if it means the end of life.They should pull apart, should, by all means, abandon their relationship. But something powerful pushes them together, something so subtle neither notices until it’s too late to turn back. With Earth hanging by spider’s silk, the tiniest ripple from either Daniel or Lilith could send it swinging into the fires of destruction.
 ~~~~~~~ Voss Foster lives in the middle of the Eastern Washington desert, where he writes speculative fiction from inside a single-wide trailer. When he can be torn away from his keyboard, he can be found cooking, practicing photography, singing, playing trombone, and belly dancing, though rarely all at once. His first full length work, Tartaros, is out now through Prizm Books. Blog: http://vossfoster.blogspot.comTwitter: @VossFosterFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/VossFosterGoogle +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103419943... Available Here: http://www.prizmbooks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=48 Thank you, Voss! 

Sunday Six: Death on the Moon

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter One of Rock Killer :

Pump, FIRE, Pump, FIRE, Pump was DeWite's whole existence.  Another figure crumpled, spouting blood.  Then the bullets ripped into DeWite.  Blood flowed like a fire hose.  FIRE—DeWite could no longer stand, even in one-sixth gravity.   He sank to the floor and died in a puddle of his blood that was boiling and freezing simultaneously.

Hammer of Thor Free!

This weekend (January 5 - 6) Hammer of Thor will be free on the Kindle or your Kindle app on your favorite device.  The first novel in the Adepts Series trilogy, tells what happens when Hitler steals the Hammer of Thor and Thor comes back for it (hint: bad news, either way).

This is a limited time offer so get your copy today.  Hammer of Thor is an epic adventure spanning continents, cultures, languages, and decades.

Happy New Year 2013

It's January 1, 2013.  And I'm not living on the Moon.  What's up with that?

I wonder in 1013 they considered 13 to be an unlucky number.  Will this be an unlucky year?  I don't really adhere to triskaidekaphobia so I'm not worried.  In fact, in my Adept Series novels (see here, here, and here), 13 is a lucky number (for adepts).

There are, according to this website, two Friday the 13ths in 2013: 9/13/13 and 12/13/13.  How unlucky is that?

Are you worried about it being 2013 and being an unlucky year?

Flash Fiction

Was reading a Facebook post about unicorns and had this scene pop into my head (this is first-draft material so errors are likely):

Lyra thought she heard a sound off in the woods.  The beautiful girl loved to explore the dark and foreboding forest despite her mother's warning.

"You never know what you'll find in the forest, Lyra," her mother would admonish, drying her hands on her ever-present apron.

But Lyra wouldn't listen.  She'd made many friends in the forest: deer, rabbits, birds.  She knew to watch for the signs of a wolf or bear and avoid those areas.  She would put her tracking skills up against any hunter in the village.

But this was a new sound, something she'd never heard before.  She turned, her blue eyes trying to pierce the foliage to ascertain the sound's source.  Walking carefully on leather turnshoes, she stepped closer and closer, the sounds guiding her flawlessly.  Coming to a clearing in the dense wood, she gasped.  Before her was a creature that only lived in legend, myth, and fairytale: a unicorn.

It was said that only virgin girls could approach the elusive horned beast.  At aged seventeen and a bit of a tom boy, that was not an issue for Lyra.  She softly, slowly, stepped into the clearing, the sun rays lighting up the alabaster hide of the unicorn, it's long horn on its forehead opalescent in the warm light as if it were made not of horn but some magical material like the jewels the ladies of the village sometimes wore.

Lyra accidentally stepped on a small twig but the breaking sound seemed to boom in the clearing.  The unicorn turned with unimaginable speed and looked at her, its eyes registering its displeasure.  It galloped toward the girl, the sound reverberating through the soil as it lowered its head, pointing the sharp horn right at Lyra's breast.

The girl took in a sharp breath but could not move.  She knew she was to die here, now, painfully.  She knew deep sadness and grief in the few seconds the unicorn took to cross the clearing.  If she had to die, this was they way she wanted it to be.

The beast bore down on her, not hesitating, not flinching, the horn aimed for her heart.  At the last moment, too fast almost for Lyra to react, the animal turned, and rammed the horn into the bear that had been stalking Lyra.  The brown beast howled with anger and pain as it was impaled on that horn.  Blood ran down the horn, staining the unicorn's hide red.  Lyra could only watch, amazed that this unicorn had saved her life.

The unicorn tossed its head and flung the bear away into the woods.  Lyra heard it crashing against branches and found herself hoping it was already dead.

The unicorn backed up a few feet, whinnied, and looked at Lyra.  That's when she noticed it, too, had blue eyes.

A thought came into her head: "Go, and tell no one."

Lyra nodded, turned so fast her blonde hair got caught in some branches.  She ignored the pain as she ran from the clearing.

And she never told anyone.

Sunday Six: Battle Preperations

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter Thirteen of Book of Death :

The helicopter landed at the Romanian Land Forces' temporary headquarters ten kilometers east of Hunedoara, just outside a small village called Orasul Nou.  The tents and vehicles were lined up in a farmer's field next to a river.  We had no idea how far the necromancers would be watching for threats and we hoped ten kilometers, or just over six miles, was far enough away.  The Militia was stopping any civilians from leaving or entering the city.  That in and of itself might arouse suspicions, but I thought the necromancers might not be paying much attention to the civilian population…at least I hoped.

The RLF had split its tank brigade in two: fifteen tanks north of the city, fifteen south with the "command tank." 

Snoqualmie Pass

Not only am I a bit of a weather buff but I'm also a bit of a geography nerd.

The other day (okay, Thursday) I was driving to Seattle.  Between where I live and Seattle is the Cascade Mountain Range.  So you have to go over a "pass."  The lowest pass in Washington State (other than the Columbia River Gorge) is Snoqualmie Pass (where Interstate 90 crosses the mountains).

Now Snoqualmie Pass is only 3,022 feet above sea level.  Growing up in the high mountain valleys of Idaho, this doesn't seem very high.  It's lower than the Snake River Valley at Idaho Falls (4,700 feet).  Last summer I went over a pass in Idaho at 7,161 feet (that's higher than the highest point east of the Mississippi).  So Snoqualmie Pass isn't that high.  But what it is is very close to the ocean.  As Wikipeadia says:

Snoqualmie Pass as it climbs into the Cascades passes through a micro-climate characterized by considerable precipitation, and at times hazardous conditions for travelers. The annual rainfall is over 100 inches per year, snowfall is over 400 inches per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 170 or more per year.
 

Over 400 inches of snow!  That's 33 1/3 feet or a three story building.  And all of that has to be removed from the road.  Sometimes the plows can't keep up and then this happens:
(if you can't read the orange sign it says "All Vehicles: Chains Required").  That means you have to put chains on your drive tires for traction.

The State Patrol bases their requirements (it seems) on the lowest common denominator: the Seattle driver who can't drive in snow.  On the day pictured above, there was no need for chains; the road was not that bad.  But the State Patrol decided they were needed.  And it's a $500 fine if you get caught with out them.

So while Snoqualmie Pass isn't that high, it is snowy.

And it's higher than the highest point in these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

Oh, and Thursday when I drove over the pass: bare and wet, no restrictions.

White Christmas

It's snowing!  It started snowing yesterday morning and except for a couple of hours last night, has been snowing since.  We have a couple of inches so far.  It's not a heavy snow by any means, but it is white.  The picture at left is out my back window about three hours ago.  And it's been snowing since.

I was kind of disappointed up until now.  We'd had a little snow but it would melt right away and just make the world soggy.  But this is genuine, stay on the ground, snow.  And stay on the roads, but that can't be helped.

The usual pattern here in Central Washington is for it so snow, melt, snow, melt snow, last a little while, melt, so on and so forth until spring.  It's rare we have snow all winter.  This year looks no different.  But at least we had a white Christmas.

(Did you know the song, "White Christmas," was written by a Jewish Russian immigrant to the U.S.?  How's that for diversity and tolerance?)