Igor Ljubuncic's Blog, page 20
May 3, 2014
I am writing three new books
I guess writing a single one is not a challenge anymore. So I have started writing three new ones, more or less simultaneously. Three! Now that I’ve finished The Lost Words series, I am trying new things. The first book is a gunpowder-era fast-action no-magic adventure, with a special kind of protagonist. If you can […]
April 30, 2014
More free books
Yes, I am being benevolent again, sooner than expected. Next week, a lot of cool things are going to happen. On Tuesday, March 6, The Broken is going to be free for 24 hours. The morning after, Wednesday, March 7, the first book in my epic series, The Betrayed will be free for a whole […]
April 21, 2014
A demon dreaming
This is a short story, written as a part of the 'Fun Writing Exercise I do Everyday' on the SFFworld.com forums, completed in only twelve minutes of time and no editing.
A demon dreaming
Igor Ljubuncic
"What is your name?" the man behind the desk asked.
"Dave," the contestant replied.
The man leaned forward, his glasses dropping halfway down his nose. "And what are you?"
Dave squirmed, the bony plates on his chest grating. "I... I'm a demon. From the Third Circle."
The man grunted and leaned back, then tipped the glasses all the way up his nose. "All right, Dave, show us."
Dave looked at the panel of judges seated in the corner of the room, watching, waiting. He was feeling nervous, so very nervous, but he had come here of his volition. Dave opened his lipless mouth and took a deep breath. Then, he approached the stage in the center of the hall. A large piece of white canvas rested on an easel, and there was a scattering of buckets placed beneath.
Dave bent down and reached with a clawed hand into the near one. The red paint turned out to be blood. "Cow?"
The man with the glasses smiled dryly. "Of course."
The demon straightened up, his plates clicking, and smeared the blood on the canvas, trying to paint. This was what he had always wanted to do. He wanted to be an artist. And this was his one chance, the audition for the state university.
Smoke began to curl from his long, scaly fingers as the hellish heat from his body began to boil the blood. He reached down and dipped the hand again, cooling it. Frowning, he looked at the contents of the second bucket. He reached there with the other hand. It came black and shiny. Tar.
"What's over there?" he asked, pointing at the farthest pail, shiny globs dripping on the worn parquet. The liquid in there was colorless.
"Holy water," one of the judges said, giggling.
"We thought it would be funny," another added.
Dave sighed. "So be it," he said. After all, this was art. He smeared the tar and blood in intricate patterns, and then, when he was done, he reached for the holy water. He braced for the pain...
... and woke up. He was lying on the hard, scorched ground amidst a horde of his brothers. His senses returned. The air was thick with the smell of eggs and dead bodies. The sun was setting, and it would be soon nighttime. His brothers would all rise from their sleep, and they would go into battle again, killing humans.
"Bless this thing," he cursed. He hated violence. But he was a demon. This was his role in life.
With a crushing pressure of sorrow in his chest, Dave stood up, stretched his legs and tail, and walked away from the crowd of slumbering monsters, dreaming of being an artist.
A demon dreaming
Igor Ljubuncic
"What is your name?" the man behind the desk asked.
"Dave," the contestant replied.
The man leaned forward, his glasses dropping halfway down his nose. "And what are you?"
Dave squirmed, the bony plates on his chest grating. "I... I'm a demon. From the Third Circle."
The man grunted and leaned back, then tipped the glasses all the way up his nose. "All right, Dave, show us."
Dave looked at the panel of judges seated in the corner of the room, watching, waiting. He was feeling nervous, so very nervous, but he had come here of his volition. Dave opened his lipless mouth and took a deep breath. Then, he approached the stage in the center of the hall. A large piece of white canvas rested on an easel, and there was a scattering of buckets placed beneath.
Dave bent down and reached with a clawed hand into the near one. The red paint turned out to be blood. "Cow?"
The man with the glasses smiled dryly. "Of course."
The demon straightened up, his plates clicking, and smeared the blood on the canvas, trying to paint. This was what he had always wanted to do. He wanted to be an artist. And this was his one chance, the audition for the state university.
Smoke began to curl from his long, scaly fingers as the hellish heat from his body began to boil the blood. He reached down and dipped the hand again, cooling it. Frowning, he looked at the contents of the second bucket. He reached there with the other hand. It came black and shiny. Tar.
"What's over there?" he asked, pointing at the farthest pail, shiny globs dripping on the worn parquet. The liquid in there was colorless.
"Holy water," one of the judges said, giggling.
"We thought it would be funny," another added.
Dave sighed. "So be it," he said. After all, this was art. He smeared the tar and blood in intricate patterns, and then, when he was done, he reached for the holy water. He braced for the pain...
... and woke up. He was lying on the hard, scorched ground amidst a horde of his brothers. His senses returned. The air was thick with the smell of eggs and dead bodies. The sun was setting, and it would be soon nighttime. His brothers would all rise from their sleep, and they would go into battle again, killing humans.
"Bless this thing," he cursed. He hated violence. But he was a demon. This was his role in life.
With a crushing pressure of sorrow in his chest, Dave stood up, stretched his legs and tail, and walked away from the crowd of slumbering monsters, dreaming of being an artist.
April 20, 2014
Are you being influenced?
It’s like that legendary British TV series, Are You Being Served?, only completely different. In fact, I want to talk to you about how reading other people’s work may influence your own writing. Emphasis on may, which is why we are here. So, if you are a writer of some sort, maybe an author, has […]
April 11, 2014
The Betrayed review by Readers’ Favorite
Dear ladies and gents, I am pleased to announce that my first book in The Lost Words epic fantasy series, The Betrayed, has been reviewed by Readers’ Favorite. The review is highly positive, five stars yup, so this is a great opportunity to share some. The Betrayed was written by Karen Pirnot, and here’s a […]
April 5, 2014
Taste in fantasy books over the years
My very first fantasy read was The Hobbit. And I immediately fell in love with the book. I was probably twelve at the time. Next came The Lord of The Rings, which really opened the world of fantasy books before me. I was still a youngster back then, and I struggled slightly with the multitude […]
March 25, 2014
The books are free right now!
This is like the shortest post EVAR in the history of Internet posts. Books, Amazon, free, now, enjoy, you’re welcome. The Betrayed, as we speak till tomorrow night, The Broken, starting Thursday till Friday.
March 17, 2014
Free books!
My benevolence knows no bounds. Next week, both the first and the second book in my epic fantasy series, The Lost Words, will be free for download from Amazon, for two days each. Respectively, the Kindle edition of The Betrayed will be available on Mar 25-26, from midnight, Pacific Time, and The Broken will be […]
March 7, 2014
And we’re off!
There we go, book three is underway! I have contacted my publisher, and now we’re going to start the editing process, with all its subtle and time-consuming little details, including going through all of the manuscript and fixing errors and whatnot, designing the cover and the rest. I believe that approximately five months from now, […]
February 11, 2014
My favorite character
And when I say mine, I mean yours. Now, so far you have only had two books, which means we cannot discuss those who survive into the third and fourth installment of this series, but we sure can dabble a little into the protagonists, antagonists and other gonists featured in The Betrayed and The Broken. […]
