Christa Kinde's Blog, page 46
September 16, 2014
Tried and True, Chapter 221: Step it Up
Chapter 221: Step it Up
Taweel scanned collar stitching, quickly tallying eight middlings, four minders. A training Flight.
Omri launched himself at the newcomers. Or possibly Tamaes, who was already in the cherubim’s midst. Following the little angel made it easier for Taweel to step past his innate shyness, but he didn’t get far.
The yahavim pulled up and zinged sideways, betraying the hiding place of five wide-eyed newfoundlings.
Unfurling, Taweel let his wing brush over the youngsters in playful invitation. Without hesitation, they crowded around his knees, hampering steps that gained new confidence.
Every Guardian was at his best when he became someone’s shelter.
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Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
September 12, 2014
This Week’s Accumulation cii
I started this week with a To Do list that might as well have been a mile long. Completing everything on that list … impossible. But the process of creating the list helps me organize my priorities. It calms me down and gives me focus. Plus, by tackling that monumental stack day-in and day-out, I was able to accomplish plenty. Anyone else find lists helpful? In a way, these weekly posts are also lists. Of clutter! Come and see…
This week’s accumulation:
♦ In case you missed it, Angel on High updated this week. That serial updates each month in Christian Fiction Online Magazine. Story Summary: As the newest member of his order, Koji is eager to learn what it means to be an Observer. But looking and listening lead to trouble when he spots danger and overhears secrets. Heaven’s archivists weren’t made for battle, but Koji will need a warrior’s courage to be ready for the unusual plans God has for him. This serial in ten parts is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz].
This week saw the unveiling of Part 7: “High and Mighty.” Since this serial will be complete in ten parts, Angel on High will wrap up in December. I’ll be making the whole story available for purchase in time for Christmas … with an exclusive epilogue. ★
♦ Last weekend, I figured out how to set up pages on Facebook. I invite you to like & follow the author page for Christa Kinde. I also have a series page for the Byways books, which I publish under my maiden name, C. J. Milbrandt. Come find me there! ; )
♦ You all know how much I love snail mail (you’re on my mailing list, right?), so it’ll probably come as no surprise that when I learned about Postcrossing, I quickly picked up a new hobby. You can find out more about this international pastime at Postcrossing.com. This week, I had four new postcards in my box. Two from Russia, and one each from Spain and Singapore. Fun stuff!
♦ I heard from my editor over at Zonderkidz this week. My manuscript made it through the first phase of edits and is off to another reader for a theology check. After that, it’ll come back to me for changes. In the meantime, they’re going to be finalizing the title … which means it’ll probably change. I’ve been calling the devotional Realms of Glory since it was proposed, but in essence, that’s the project’s “working title.” A couple days ago, I sent in a list of a dozen or so alternatives. It’ll be fun to find out what the publisher picks! : )
♦ Most of the rest of the clutter on my desktop is Byways related. I have final covers for Books 2, 3, and 4, which are scheduled for e-release in October. It’ll be fun to introduce more characters and do cover reveals over on CJMilbrandt.com as I count down to their release.
Sketch for the cover of Byways, Book #2 – Aboard the Train
♦ The next big event on the Threshold calendar is set for Friday, September 26. That’s the book birthday for The Blue Door, and I have some special things planned. One of them is a cover reveal for the Threshold Series sequel, which is slated to release later this fall. Look forward to it!
So what’s cluttering up your desktop? Do tell!
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Tried and True, Chapter 220: Guests from the Fringes
Chapter 220: Guests from the Fringes
Tamaes’s attention was caught by a group of cherubim who spiraled to a neat landing in the middle of the encampment’s training ground. Recognizing the Enclave’s weapons master, he hurried to greet the warrior. “But … why are you here?”
“Your overseer invited us.” Cherubim scanned the surrounding tents as they unslung assorted weapons.
These visitors looked ready for war. Or a skirmish. Tamaes brightened. “Will you train with us?”
With a nod, the cherub offered a crossbow. “You have grown, Tamaes. Your mentor thinks you are ready to try your hand. Shall we see if your aim is true?”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
September 11, 2014
Tried and True, Chapter 219: Worthy
Chapter 219: Worthy
Tamaes barely made it to Taweel’s side before evensong began.
“I nearly sent Omri after you.”
“I did not stray far.”
Taweel lifted a wing, making room for Tamaes. When three newfoundlings crowded close as well, bushy brows lifted.
Tamaes whispered, “We are a Fourfold.”
Taweel scooped up Bern and Taji, and Tamaes pulled Jacinto onto his lap. Tucked under purple wings, the trio offered praise that was pure and sweet.
Taweel caught Tamaes’s eye over their heads, and with a look, he said much without saying anything. Gratitude. Approval. Trust.
More than ever, Tamaes was glad he hadn’t strayed.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
Tried and True, Chapter 218: Little Brothers
Chapter 218: Little Brothers
“What else?” asked Bern, who hung from Tamaes’s arm.
Jacinto skipped ahead, then turned. “Where is your favorite place?”
“The forges.”
“Because of the stars?” asked Jacinto.
“Because of the swords?” asked Taji.
“Because of my friend. Nock and his three brothers are one of the Fourfold.”
“Can we?” asked Bern.
“You will see for yourself when you are fitted for boots.”
“No!” exclaimed the boy with knobbed hair. “There are four of us!”
“We can be our own Fourfold!” agreed Jacinto.
Tamaes gave in with a smile. Hadn’t he played at Flights and Hedges when he was their age?
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
September 9, 2014
Tried and True, Chapter 217: Prospectives
Chapter 217: Prospectives
Valerian introduced Taweel to the prospective mentors who’d begun arriving. “Our newfoundlings have found their wings. Selection is not far off.”
Taweel grunted, but when Dorum stepped forward, he grunted again. “You returned?”
“I am still here.” Dorum smiled blandly. “Valerian asked me to stay on even though I was not given a new apprentice.”
“Naturally.” Valerian leaned against his spear. “I needed a swordsmanship teacher.”
“I am also a prospective.” Dorum touched his armored chest, quietly adding, “If God allows, I feel ready to write another name here.”
Mirroring his old mentor’s gesture, Taweel said, “May it be so.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
September 8, 2014
Tried and True, Chapter 216: Counterbalance
Chapter 216: Counterbalance
“This isn’t like you!”
Tamaes kept his eyes forward, his feet moving. “In what way?”
Adin talked faster. “You trust me. We’re friends!”
“We are friends. But I cannot leave.”
“But I just proved you could!” argued Adin.
“And I just pledged Taweel my support. Would you make my promise a lie?”
Adin jumped in front of Tamaes. “Then promise me something.”
“If I can.”
“I saved up this secret to share with you. Keep it for me?”
Tamaes slowly countered, “Stay with me. From now on.”
Adin pulled his twin into a fierce embrace. “Of course,” he promised. “Always.”
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
Angel on High, Part 7: High and Mighty
The September issue of Christian Fiction Online Magazine has released, which means the next installment of my serial is available to readers! Are you ready for Part Seven? ★
Koji was always reaching for stars.
Story Summary: As the newest member of his order, Koji is eager to learn what it means to be an Observer. But looking and listening lead to trouble when he spots danger and overhears secrets. Heaven’s archivists weren’t made for battle, but Koji will need a warrior’s courage to be ready for the unusual plans God has for him. This serial in ten parts is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz].
Angel on High, © Copyright 2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved.
Part Seven: “High and Mighty”
Christian Fiction Online Magazine, September 2014 | Read it now >>
After you’ve read there, I hope you’ll come back here with any comments and questions. : )
HERALD ANGELS: Gabriel of the Golden Sash
One year from today. Let’s start the week with a treat! In anticipation of the release of my angel-themed devotional on Monday, September 7, 2015, I’ll be sharing occasional pieces of a story I’m calling Herald Angels. New installments will crop up every now and again. I’ll index them on the new Realms of Glory page here on this site. I hope you’ll enjoy these periodic peeks into Harken’s early years. Quick summary: In the Realms of Glory devotional, you’ll meet a young angel named Harken. Before this little boy could become the wise soul you know from the Threshold Series, he needed a mentor and a Teacher. But in the beginning, all Harken really needed was to be found.
Part One: Gabriel of the Golden Sash
Gabriel’s bare feet touched moss and stone, and he paused to listen to the stillness of a woodland not yet awake. With a casual lift and flick, he furled his wings and made himself comfortable on a ledge tucked away in a place of perpetual dawning. Pink light and peace, mist and morning. Bending one knee, he draped his wrist over it, turned his attention inward, and smiled.
Thoughts flew swifter than arrows, touching those of his pursuers with cheerful encouragement. This way, young ones. I am here. If the clamor of young voices in the forefront of his mind was any indication, the newfoundlings would catch up soon.
“They’re a bright lot.” But then … weren’t they all?
Whenever God added newfoundlings to the malakim, Gabriel knew it; the entire order was under his wings. He cherished each and every one of these little chatterboxes, and they looked up to him. Gabriel was their prince, chosen to lead the Messengers since before the Beginning. But from that moment to this, he’d never been paired with a newfoundling. It wasn’t that God refused to give him an apprentice; ultimately, they were all given into Gabriel’s care.
Staring into empty hands, the archangel reasoned away a fleeting pang. Such a thing would be impossible, now more than ever. One more decade like the last three would surely change his golden hair to silver, for the Redeemer walked upon the earth. Gabriel was often Sent into Time, where the enemies of God waged a bitter war. Who would carry a child into such peril?
Gabriel sighed his way to a smile and tuned his ears to happier voices. Is that giggling I hear? You must be getting closer!
“I am!”
“We are!”
Colors flashed. Mist swirled. Gabriel offered a casual wave.
“There he is!”
“Found you!”
Jubilant youngsters swarmed around Gabriel’s perch. Lively and laughing. Bursting with energy. “So you have,” he said. “Well done!”
These children’s games had their practical side. In due course, young Messengers would join the ranks of heaven, lending their support to Flights and Legions. Before then, Gabriel needed to know their voices, just as they needed to know his.
Unfurling his wings, the archangel leapt into the morning sky to welcome in the stragglers. He indulged in a lazy, looping flight, so different than the speeds required to cut through enemy thickets. But these fringes of heaven were safe havens, perfect for training. And for play.
“Did you see that?”
“Watch me!”
They showed him their latest maneuvers, and he taught them a few tricks and a song before escorting them back to their middling minders. Already, Gabriel could feel the insistent tug of his responsibilities. The watches are turning. I will be missed.
Humming a grateful melody, he soared low over the crystal sea, then climbed through the complex network of arches and alleyways, finally touching down in a small courtyard ringed by candle trees. His allotment was along the next passage. A few moments were all he needed to jot down notes and names. Then he’d return to his customary place.
Wrapped up in composing lines, Gabriel strolled into a room that might have belonged to one of heaven’s archivists … except it was vastly less organized. Maps and charts spilled from shelves onto tables. There were stacks of bound books on the rug. Older scrolls poked out from behind tapestry-draped niches. Lists, lyrics, lexicons—the accumulation of milennia.
Gabriel was rummaging for ink when a sneeze took him by surprise.
He stopped and turned, ears alert, mind automatically reaching. Who is here? Are you lost?
Another muffled sneeze lured the archangel over to one of the oldest and heaviest tapestries in the room, a Weavers’ masterpiece on which various animals waited two-by-two to board Noah’s ark. Pulling back the lower corner, Gabriel peered into a half-forgotten nook and was met by a third sneeze.
“What are you doing here, young one?”
A boy in unadorned raiment rubbed at lashes that were thick with stardust.
Clearly, the child was newly formed, but … was that even possible? Youngsters of every order were found among the stars, not in nooks and crannies. What’s more, the One whose hands who’d formed them was presently occupied on earth. Surely this boy hasn’t been sleeping here since his Maker left heaven.
Gabriel bent closer and touched the dark fuzz of wiry curls standing out around the child’s head. Big brown eyes blinked up at him, hazy and innocent. Gabriel tried again. “Hello, sleepyhead. How long have you been here?”
“A while.” His nose twitched. His toes wriggled. And then his eyes locked onto Gabriel’s double sash and widened. Small fingers tangled in the golden cloth that marked Gabriel as one of heaven’s princes, and the boy said, “I have a message.”
“For me?”
“Only you.”
And Gabriel knew. Shouldn’t he know better than anyone that all things are possible with God? Heart racing, hand shaking, head spinning, he whispered, “How can this be?”
The boy—his boy—blinked up at him in a puzzled way.
Simplifying matters, Gabriel changed the shape of his question. “Do you have good news for me, young one?”
“Yes.” He scooted up onto his knees in the hidey-hole. “Can I say it now?”
“Please do.”
Flinging his arms wide, Gabriel’s newfound apprentice giggled, then delivered his first message. “Surprise!”
Illustration ♦ “Harken the Herald” by Anna Earley
Realms of Glory, a 90-day Devotional by Christa Kinde
releases Monday, September 7, 2015
Looking forward to more?
September 6, 2014
Tried and True, Chapter 215: Flying Solo
Chapter 215: Flying Solo
Tamaes wasn’t sure how Adin could have so wildly misinterpreted his meaning. Picking his way back through their exchange, he acknowledged, “Heaven is no prison.”
“Then let’s go!”
Holding his ground, Tamaes asked, “Does Valerian know?”
“If he has an opinion about my private training, he’s kept it to himself.”
When had Adin become so skilled at evasion? Tamaes’s frown deepened. “He does not know.”
Adin sighed gustily. “He suspects. But I’m careful!”
To Tamaes’s increasing dismay, he couldn’t tell if Adin meant he was careful while he was alone … or if he was careful not to be caught.
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >>
Author’s Note: This story in small chapters is a prequel to Christa Kinde’s Threshold Series [Zonderkidz] and updates every weekday (Monday through Friday). More information can be found on the Tried and True index page. And don’t forget, story art is on display in my gallery.
Tried and True, © Copyright 2013-2014 Christa Kinde, all rights reserved. If you want to receive an email whenever my stories update, consider subscribing to this blog. You can also watch for notifications on Twitter.
