S.A. Check's Blog, page 13

Science Fiction Fantasy Snippet

          
          Happy Saturday All!  I’m glad to be back putting out another Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet.  I continue to be impressed with the quality of work that shows up on this site on a weekly basis by a growing band of fantastic authors.  This week I decided to use a dialogue heavy snippet as opposed to the mostly narrative piece I posted last week.  Just for a little backstory – the prior two snippets I’ve posted for my current WIP have had Sam’s grandfather in the swamps of Louisiana looking for a cauchemar (dead witch) and last week we found Sam crossing an ominous covered bridge on his bike only to wreck and encounter a stranger with, as yet, unexplained intentions.  I backed up a bit with this week’s snippet right before the covered bridge episode.  I hope you enjoy.  Please make sure you check out all the other great snippets offered up over at Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday and if you can take a moment to leave a few words – I know it’s appreciated by all the contributors.
          She called over her shoulder, “Are you coming or what?”          Sam pressed down on his pedals to catch up before answering, “It’s only another two minutes down the path, Mary, and it’s not like you’re going to invite me inside for a snack.”            “You know my parents have like a sixth sense about people in the house when they’re not around.”          Sam jumped over a small branch with his bike and looked over to make sure Mary was watching.  “You know, you wouldn’t be as freaked out about going home if your parents hadn’t bought like the scariest house in the county.”          “Yeah, conveniently the real estate agent forgot to mention that, not that my parents would have cared since they don’t believe in ghosts.”          “What about you?”          “I wish I didn’t.”          “What’s that supposed to mean, Mary?”          “Nothing.”

Science Fiction Fantasy Snippet - 01/12/13

          Welcome to another Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday!  I hope everyone had a great holiday season and got in some quality reading.  For this snippet I stayed with the same WIP I worked from for my last contribution.  It focuses on a young boy, Sam, and how his colorful and unexpected family history comes crashing into his life.  The story deals with legends and lore and the power of imagination.  I hope you enjoy.  Lastly, make sure that you check out all of the snippets contributed this round by a truly talented group of writers and leave a few comments along the way.  It’s like tipping your literary waiter.
          Sam locked the brakes on his bike, eyeing the covered bridge in front of him.  A small creek flowed below it, spreading the smell of mountain laurel native to the area.  Supported by decades old railroad planks, Sam had never questioned their ability to support his weight during the timed five seconds it took him to cross.  The sight of the shadowed expanse always drew him back to his favorite ballad of one doomed Ichabod Crane and his fateful encounter with the headless rider.  His foot hovered over the pedal as he listened for the sound of approaching hoofs, glancing behind him before he jolted out over the aged timbers.   The bike’s almost flat rear wheel slowed him down as it thumped across each board, jarring his neck and shoulders with each rotation.  Sam glanced into the dark recesses of the rafters as a swirl of dust darted in from outside, catching him by surprise.  Pain shot through both eyes as he shot out the other end of the bridge.  His front wheel struck a rut in rough cut dirt road and Sam soared over the handle bars, landing head first into a bank of dandelions.          A hoarse voice called out behind him, “It’s time, Sam.”

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet

It’s another Saturday and a fresh batch of Sci-Fi Fantasy Snippets has just been pulled from the oven.  You can almost smell the creativity.  I’ve decided to leave GreenGrass on the shelf this time around and share a snippet from a current WIP.  The story revolves around family, legends, and some lesser known folklore.  I hope you enjoy my contribution this week.  Be sure to check out all of the great authors who post on Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday and leave a comment along the way.  They’re always appreciated.  Have a good weekend.   
          “We gettin’ close, Ray, so stay on your tip tops.”
          The flat bottomed boat glided passed a bramble of broken branches massed atop patches of floating vegetation.  All three men aboard the tiny vessel focused on the glowing green eyes that stared back at them from underneath the tangled trees.
          “I think I’d like my chances wit’ dat ol’ boy than what we’re after tonight,” Jimmy quipped as he kept the reptiles eyes reflecting in his flashlight’s beam until they passed.  He nervously rubbed a carved gris gris held by a rope around his neck and called over his shoulder.
          “Hope you brought a good luck charm of your own, Cap’n.  Me and Ray ain’t never been on no witch hunt ‘fore.”
          Securing a weathered journal into his shoulder satchel, the grizzled man hunched in the rear of the boat stared up into the starless blackened sky.
          “It’s a cauchemar to be exact, my friends.  A dead witch.” 

SciFi Fantasy Saturday Snippet

Hi all!  In this latest snippet from Welcome To GreenGrass, we take a minute to get a closer look at Talyn, one of Traveller’s closest friends in the city of GreenGrass.  Talyn,red skinned and fanged, looking much more the part of devil than devout, wears hisreligion on his sleeve and finds his current situation a recurring test of his faith.  One of the few concessions Talyn allows himself is a new found appreciation of art, specifically creating it, but even there his new world finds a way of filtering in. Thanks for readingand please be sure to check out all the great writers who share their work here on SciFiFantasy Saturday.  You’ll be glad you did. 


          Talyn stabbed the brush into a mix of green and yellow paint, sweeping the material in broad and careless passes.  Follow the light and the light shall show methe way.  Foregoing cleaning the bristles, he dunked the already bulging mound of paintinto the jar of red, pushing the handle harder than he intended.  All of life’s strength hasbeen placed within, we need only look.  By the time he added the last globs of blue,Talyn’s breathing was heavy and sweat formed on his brow.  Be true to one self and always find peace.  Running his fingers through his course black hair, Talyn hung his head
            low.  Look to the stars to find your way home.           “But what happens when someone changes your stars?”          Using the blunt end of the brush, Talyn carved a crude stick figure into the massof colors smeared over the canvass and watched as the paints dripped over his creation.          “You and I, my washed over friend.  Both strangers in a world we didn’t ask tobe in."

Hazard Yet Forward Charity Anthology

Recently, I had the privilege of contributing a short story, Tangled Lines, to the Hazard Yet Forward charity anthology, which is currently being spotlighted in Jason Jack Miller's Sound Check at Inveterate Media Junkies (IMJ) today.  Please check it out at http://inveteratemediajunkies.com and be sure to check out the Hazard Yet Forward anthology.  It's a great book filled with fantastic authors for an even greater cause.  Here's the amazon link to purchase the book - http://www.amazon.com/Hazard-Yet-Forward-ebook/dp/B008TXBN8I 

The folks at IMJ should get a huge pat on the back for contributing space on their site to promote this and the authors who helped to put it all together for this promotion.

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet #4

         Hi all!  This snippet picks up after Traveller returns home and we're given a first look at some of Traveller's makeshift family in the strange world of GreenGrass.  Hopefully you'll find the characters as colorful and fun as I did writing them.  Make sure you check out and comment on all of the great snippets here on Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday from a group of wonderful writers!            The ground shook under Traveller’s feet as Bonz dropped the stones in each hand to change positions, reminding Traveller that he was on a peace keeping mission. 
          “OK, big guy, just when you go back in the house, don’t hassle Sil about food.  We’ll order some pizzas from the human district.  We haven’t had any of those in a couple cycles.”
          “Pizza.  One of the few things the soft skins have actually brought to this red mud hole that account for anything.”
          “I accept that compliment on behalf of all soft skins.  Where’s Talyn?”
          “Where else?  Up in his cubicle, praying to his false prophets.”
          “I’m going to go check on him.  He hasn’t been acting like himself since our last gig when we ran into that goon in enchanter’s village.  He keeps saying that he’s losing himself.”
          “A pacifist has no place in battle, friend Traveller.”
          “Yeah, well, Talyn just needs a little space.  Don’t we all?”

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #18

Used his royalty checks to sculpt a paper mache bust of himself and sold it for twice the value.

The Most Interesting Writer In The World #17

He has his own font named after him and he doesn't use it.

Giant multi-author anthology on sale Tuesday, August 7 to...

Giant multi-author anthology on sale Tuesday, August 7 to benefit cancer fighter.




My story "Tangled Lines" is part of the charity anthology, Hazard Yet Forward . I'm glad to be asked to be part of such an elite group for a great cause. And I am in excellent company.


Matt Duvall , Natalie Duvall , and Deanna Lepsch compiled the nearly 700 page, multi-genre eBook with stories from seventy-six writers who are connected to the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction program . 


All proceeds from this project will benefit Donna Munro , a 2004 graduate of the program.  Munro, a teacher living in St. Louis, Missouri, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  An active member of the SHU WPF alumni committee , Munro helps organize the school’s annual writing conference, the In Your Write Mind Workshop .


To aid Munro and her family, faculty members, alumni, students and friends of the Writing Popular Fiction program quickly responded to compile this massive anthology.  The book features flash fiction, short stories and even a full-length novella.  In total, there are 75 works from various genres, which makes this anthology one that features something for everyone. Genres represented in the book range from horror to romance to mystery – and everything in between. 


Some of the notable writers in the anthology are:
World Fantasy Award winner Nalo Hopkinson
Bram Stoker winner Michael A. Arnzen
Bram Stoker winner Michael Knost
Bram Stoker nominee Lawrence C. Connolly
ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults winner Jessica Warman
Rhysling nominees John Edward Lawson and K. Ceres Wright
Rita finalist Dana Marton
Spur winner Meg Mims
Asimov’s Readers’ Award winner Timons Esaias
WV Arts and Humanities literary fellowships winner Geoffrey Cameron Fuller.


Hazard Yet Forward co-compiler Matt Duvall says, "It’s an unprecedented collection of stories from every genre imaginable." 


This large volume is available for purchase on Kindle through Amazon starting August 7 for just $9.99.


More information about the anthology can be found at http://hazardyetforward.wordpress.com . 


To learn about the unique and exciting Writing Popular Fiction program , please visit http://www.setonhill.edu/academics/fiction .


Contact:  Natalie Duvall - hazardyetforwardanthology@gmail.com

Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippet #3

         Hi again, all.  The bustle of summer keeps everyone extra busy but I wanted to get back into the mix and submit another snippet from the GreenGrass universe.  I appreciate all the comments from the previous entries and look forward to participating in this week’s fun.  Just for the sake of catching up, the past entries from my novel Welcome to GreenGrass had John Traveller, misplaced police officer from Earth, trapped in the alien city of GreenGrass and saving a newbie from a couple of street predators before explaining the new rules the city lives by.  Thanks for reading and make sure you check out all the other great Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday contributors!  


          As he walked back towards the market district, Traveller wondered how many times had he done this?  How many inserts had he escorted from their impromptu births into GreenGrass to whatever new section of this town they’d eventually call home?
          He crossed through the Technologist quarter with their shiny skyscrapers scaling up to the top of the dome, interlaced with corridors and walkways between the glass and steel behemoths, like one huge computer component entwined with wire and cable.  Hover crafts and humanoids harnessing personal propulsion systems floated down the street as if putting their feet to the ground would be an affront to them.  Traveller preferred moving around the city on his own power.  While everyone else opted for cyber enhancements and magical trinkets to help them get by, he was determined to stay the same as when he first portalled through.  If he allowed himself to become too immersed in the culture, he feared getting lost in this new life.          He passed the twin offices of Kolan and Strakus.  The lights were dim in the upper floors of one of the towers but the other bustled with activity and burned bright, which seemed odd at this time of the setting.  Traveller felt the rhythic hum of generators and processors that kept this section of GreenGrass running.  Exiting the tech sector, he made his way back into the market, passed where he rescured Jerry earlier, and finally stopped in front of a brick and wooden two story structure.  Home.