Christa Kinde's Blog, page 77
November 25, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 11: Mistaken Identity
Chapter 11: Mistaken Identity
No matter how long he traveled, Taweel found he couldn’t walk away from his sorrow. Instead, it lay in wait for him. Rounding a corner, he came up behind a young Observer with long, dark hair. The passing resemblance to Taweel’s charge jolted him into action. Whispering her name, he grabbed for the sword he no longer carried.
But it wasn’t her. Because she was gone. And by the time the rattled Guardian remembered, he’d already made a spectacle of himself, standing in the middle of the road with dimming wings flung wide.
Startled looks. Sympathetic glances.
Stricken, Taweel fled.
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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 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.
November 22, 2013
The Week’s Accumulation lxv
Did anyone else love this past week? I had SO much busy, and most of it was the fun kind. I’ve been comparing notes with illustrators, learning how to format manuscripts for publication (Why hello, Mr. Pilcrow! ¶ ), and setting up my not-so-secret identity in order to glide into publication indie-style. Desktop clutter (including a cover reveal for Galleries of Stone, Book 1: Meadowsweet) awaits!
This week’s accumulation:
♦ Elza and I took advantage of our solid head start on NaNoWriMo to coast a bit this week. Our calendar has a colorful smattering of red and yellow squares now, marking the days when we didn’t make our minimum word count. No worries. We only have to write another 6,000 words or so to “win.” I’ve actually started turning our raw material into finished chapters, which is much slower (but oh, so satisfying).
♦ I only have one more official “thing” left to do for the Threshold Series. All the details are nearly in place for a third short story, which will release this coming spring. This weekend, I’ll get to see the cover, and I’ll do a final proofread. Then it’s out of my hands for good. Looking ahead at my Zonderkidz forecast …
1) “Angels in Harmony” releases on December 3, 2013, which is coming fast. Pre-order your copy of this FREE illustrated short story now. It’s on the Zondervan website >>
2) Book 4: The Garden Gate, the final installment in the Threshold Series releases on January 28, 2014. You can pre-order the book wherever books are sold!
3) “Angels on Guard” releases in February 2014. More details about this Tamaes-centric tale will be available closer to its release.
4) I’m being contracted to write a 90-day devotional about angels. That title is slotted for publication in 2015. Again, I’ll share more news when there’s more to tell. ♥
5) And in what I like to call the “counting chickens” realm, there’s a trilogy in the works. The first book is finished, and my editor had good things to say. I can’t wait to dive into writing the second book after the holidays. Lots of action-packed goodness awaits!
♦ Some of you have been following my blog long enough to have read Galleries of Stone while I was writing it. During 2012, I used the Dictionary.com Word of the Day as my prompt and posted a new chapter every single day for a year. It was leap year, so that meant 366 chapters. Since then, it’s been sitting here on my blog, a little forlorn for lack of readership. So I made up my mind to make Freydolf and Tupper’s adventure available to a wider audience.
In October, I pulled down the story and rolled up my sleeves. Galleries of Stone has been split into three books, edited within an inch of its life, given a shiny new prologue, formatted for publication, and decorated with dozens of spot illustrations. Hannah Christenson is the artist responsible for the gorgeous cover of Galleries of Stone, Book 1: Meadowsweet.
If all goes according to schedule, I’ll publish Meadowsweet in early December under my maiden name: C. J. Milbrandt. Once it’s available, I’ll let y’all know. If you want to follow my progress in the realm of fantasy-based storytelling, I invite you to visit CJMilbrandt.com. There’s not much there yet, but it’s a start. : )
So what’s cluttering up your desktop? Do tell!
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Tried and True, Chapter 10: Endless
Chapter 10: Endless
Without a Sending, no clear path lay before Taweel. But even in unfamiliar territory some things remained the same. Wide streets. Peaceful gardens. Squat pedestals in the circles where Worshipers sang through the watches. Orderly encampments for training young cherubim and hadarim.
No matter how many streams Taweel crossed, he found no end. Eternity vastness didn’t trouble him, but he found himself looking over his shoulder … peering into stranger’s faces … and even searching the sky. No pursuit. No questions. No recognition. With a grunt, he lowered his gaze and plodded on.
Some who were lost stayed that way.
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Orders of Angels: Need a refresher to help keep your yahavim, hadarim, and cherubim straight? No worries! I have a handy-dandy GLOSSARY!
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 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.
November 21, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 9: Released
Chapter 9: Released
The training camp’s overseer approached Dorum. “Where is Taweel?”
“I do not know.”
“Your own apprentice?” Valerian asked in surprise.
Dorum slowly drew his sword and displayed the barren blade. “His name is no longer under my hand. But his grief is mine as well.”
Valerian frowned. “Is he in danger?”
“Taweel’s heart was deeply pierced.” Gazing into the arching branches of a candle-tree, Dorum said, “But the heart that was tender toward the child is just as tender toward the Creator. I cannot imagine his Fall.”
“I have said the same,” Valerian cautioned. “Sorrow can lead to greater sorrows.”
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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 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.
November 20, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 8: Feeling Alone
Chapter 8: Feeling Alone
Guardians were quiet, focused individuals famed for their courage in the face of impossible odds. But their order’s defining characteristic was bashfulness. Shy of strangers. Slow to speak. Skittish in crowds. Taweel drew curious glances, but no one stepped into his path or called him back. They left him alone.
Alone.
So much was missing, and Taweel felt his lack. No charge. No mentor. No purpose. His bare feet felt strange on stone. His hands felt empty without his sword. And for the first time in his life, he couldn’t form his thoughts into a song.
And that felt wrong.
<< 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 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.
November 19, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 7: Gap in the Hedge
Chapter 7: Gap in the Hedge
Taweel followed Dorum into a tent with loose sides billowing in soft breezes. Unbuckling the sword that hung between his shoulder blades, he sat on one of two low cots. Dorum tossed his own weapon onto the other cot. “I need to speak to the overseer. Coming?”
“No.”
Once his mentor stepped out, Taweel inched his sword from it sheath, stopping partway. As he feared, his charge’s name was gone. Wiped from the gleaming blade as if it had never been there. With quiet deliberation, he removed his breastplate and unwound crisscrossing bootstraps. Abandoning all his gear, Taweel walked out.
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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 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.
November 18, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 6: Shelter the Innocent
Chapter 6: Shelter the Innocent
Taweel recalled seeing newly pierced Guardians when he was a boy. He’d hung back while other hadarim comforted returnees with haggard faces and hollow eyes. Should he have paid more attention to the possibility of sorrow?
Within the training grounds, they passed youngsters flocked around a weapons master. Several boys glanced his way, and Taweel’s innards turned.
They were so young.
These boys needed to be strong … to hold onto fragile hopes … to succeed where he’d failed. By the time Dorum reached the tent assigned to them, Taweel had made up his mind. He needed to get away.
<< 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 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.
November 15, 2013
The Week’s Accumulation lxiv
Have you ever had one of those quirky weeks where you’re quite sure you’ve been running around like crazy, but you’re not sure you accomplished anything? Times like this, I’m glad I’m logging my daily word counts. Otherwise, I might be discouraged by what feels like a lack of progress. In the publishing journey, there are a whole lot of weeks that seem to echo with emptiness. No news. Nobody noticing. It’s just you and your sticktoitiveness, quietly sticking to your writing plans. Maybe that’s why these Friday posts are good for me. In reviewing my week, I have proof that stuff happened. Or I happened to stuff. : )
This week’s accumulation:
♦ Gotta love tangibles. I’ve mentioned before that I usually do a NaNoWriMo-style month of word sprinting three times a year. (Usually in March, July, and November.) During these writing marathons, the goal is to pour out raw material, using daily writing goals as incentive. In between those mad dashes, I switch into chapter-a-day mode, which yields a book’s first draft. Even if you don’t participate in NaNoWriMo, you might fight word counters useful. Most of the ones I’ve used let you choose from several colors … and adjust the amount of your writing goal to suit your project. For instance, here’s the NaNoWriMo Word Meter from Language is a Virus:
37072 / 50000 words. 74% done!
♦ Elza and I are humming right along with our NaNoWriMo story. Over the course of this week, we made some new discoveries about our story’s world. The plot is solid, and a subplot has emerged. And as per usual with me, I’ve figured out what I’d write for both a sequel and a prequel (complete with working titles). Today’s halfway-day, so writers want to be at 25,000 words by now. As you can see, Elza and I are still ahead of the curve!
♦ The release date has been set for Angels in Harmony. That free illustrated short story will be available on December 3, 2013! I see it’s already listed on the Zondervan webpage. You can pre-order this fun Christmas treat … which will include the first chapter of Book 3: The Broken Window, compliments of Zonderkidz.
Angels in Harmony: An illustrated companion to the Threshold Series by Christa Kinde. Angels have always served in pairs, but Baird is sure there must be some mistake when Kester shows up on his doorstep. The vividly energetic redhead couldn’t have been more different from his genteel new apprentice. Yet their rocky beginnings give way to a unique balance, proving that friendship can flourish in the unlikeliest of places, given time, trust, and the Twelve Days of Christmas. AVAILABLE DECEMBER 3!
♦ Readers of the Threshold Series know that Handel’s Messiah figures prominently into the holiday celebrations for Prissie’s hometown. Last week, a local friend who’s read my books tipped me off to a local performance. The date’s blocked off on our calendar, and we’re counting down the days. My lot is excited to attend!
♦ Monday saw the start of Tried and True, my new weekdaily serial. I hope you’re reading along. There’s so much ahead for Taweel. Poor guy just can’t see it yet. Story Summary: In Tried and True, we go back into the past, to a time when Taweel was an apprentice himself, Sent to watch over a young girl. When her life ends, his heart shatters. Bitterness, anger, and despair leave him vulnerable. But though Taweel’s need is great, the One who provides is far greater. The grieving Guardian’s life undergoes a slow and steady transformation after he meets a yahavim named Omri, a pair of heavenly Weavers, a Worshiper whose songs are laced with sorrow, and two little boys with auburn hair and wide brown eyes.
Tried and True → Index Page | Story Art Gallery
♦ And let’s wrap up with some new art. I think it’s rather wonderful that the turn of seasons is beginning to match up with the timeline of the Threshold Series. Book 3 carries us through the Christmas season, and Book 4 will open in winter. A very good time for books, blankets, cocoa, and friends. ♥
Snow Day by rougemie
So what’s cluttering up your desktop? Do tell!
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Tried and True, Chapter 5: Square One
Chapter 5: Square One
Following Dorum, Taweel shot up through a ring of stones in the floor of a pavilion. Details filtered through his funk. Warm stone. God’s light. The clatter and clack of Weavers’ looms. The spicy scent of candle-trees. The flicker and dart of yahavim. This was the threshold of heaven. The very place Taweel had trained as a boy. Home.
“The Weavers must be delighted,” Dorum remarked. “So much change. So much news.”
Trudging along beside his mentor, Taweel tuned out the pleasant mingling of voices—greetings, laughter, conversation, song. He was back at the beginning, except he couldn’t start over.
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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 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.
November 14, 2013
Tried and True, Chapter 4: Pierced
Chapter 4: Pierced
While their Flight tightened ranks, Dorum set the point of a thorn-like blade against his apprentice’s left earlobe. “Their Fall followed our Fall, yet we cannot lead them into faithfulness,” he recited. “We can only be Faithful, trusting Him who is Faithful.”
Amidst a mournful chorus, Taweel felt a tug … a prick … a push … pain. Blood welled up as Dorum widened the hole enough to accept a ring. Light dimmed. Colors faded. Notes soured. The newly-pierced Guardian was shutting down so fast, he missed his mentor’s news.
“We are recalled to heaven, Taweel. We can go home.”
<< 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 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.
