Theresa Van Spankeren's Blog, page 8
August 10, 2017
A Close Encounter with Hunters
I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Life has been busy with dr. appointments, etc. Despite this, I have been making quite a bit of progress in book 3 of the War of Destiny series. I am happy to share another brief excerpt. I hope you enjoy it.
As I neared my destination, I heard something that made my pace slow to a wary crawl. Vampire. Find…kill them. The words were thoughts of a mortal close by. A Hunter. The clarity of the thoughts was cause for alarm. It meant they were within striking distance.
The ability to read minds is inherent to all vampires, but like many of my kind, I tended to ignore humans’ mental chatter. It wasn’t because they are any less interesting than vampires, but the sheer number of minds could overwhelm you if you didn’t filter what you sensed. Recently though, I have tried to be more aware of the mortals around me because of the Hunters. Tonight, I had been fortunate enough to have tuned in at the right time.
Samuel, there are Hunters close by. We need to –, I started, but flinched as a wooden arrow shattered against a wall next to me.
I have an idea. I’m on my way.
Hurry. Matthew, where are you?I questioned.
Too far from you. I just left Villa Medici.
I sighed as two Hunters emerged from a building in front of me. There were at least three behind me. Turning to get all of them in sight, I drew my dagger out of its sheath. As the group closed in on me, I suddenly heard other voices, loud and joyous. Most of them were male, but a few were female as well. Looking to my left, about a dozen humans came out of the tavern I had tried to reach.
The reaction from the Hunters was instantaneous. The one on my right with the crossbow lowered and holstered the weapon. They may be attempting to protect other mortals, but apparently they did not want undue attention from them either.
I quickly scanned the crowd, looking for Samuel. Although I did not see him, I could sense him close by. Was it my imagination or was the number of people growing?
One of the Hunters in front of me walked closer to me as some of the people leaving the business started passing us. He bore a striking resemblance to my head husband; especially the contours of his face and his eye color. Stefan Saladino smiled at me. “You look well, Juliana.”
Holding my dagger close to my body, I replied, “I know your name as well, Stefan.”
I had hoped to startle him the way he had done to me a few weeks ago, but the strange Hunter only seemed amused by my statement. “I’m flattered that you have saved me the need for introductions, since you surely know my sister’s name as well.”
I frowned, but before I could reply, one of the women shrieked and grabbed her left foot a couple feet from me. The young man with her looked concerned as he bent down to examine it. She had apparently stepped on the shards of the broken arrow that had been aimed at me. A second later, she spotted the Hunter with the sheathed crossbow and shouted "Perché si dovrebbe sparare quella cosa su una strada trafficata?”
“No, nessuno, non sono stato io,” he protested. Her companion pushed his way into the man’s face, apparently not happy with his answer. The sudden ruckus on the street drew more people out of other buildings, no doubt worried that there was a fire.
Soon I was surrounded, not only by the five Hunters who had attempted to attack me, but by nearly two dozen normal humans. I also sensed Samuel, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off of my would-be attackers to look for him.
Stefan frowned at the growing crowd. “Very clever, Juliana. I would be a fool to attempt to hurt you now. All of these people would naïvely come to your aid, not knowing what kind of monster you are.”
“I am not a monster,” I retorted. “Your English is nearly impeccable. Is that how you figured out my name after spying on me?”
A sneer twisted his mouth. “Why would I spy on you?” He leaned forward and whispered, “I already know you are a whore and a horrible wife and mother.”
I flinched at the words. How could this stranger know so much about me? He even sounded like Gregory.
“This can’t be. This is not possible.”
Stefan laughed. The sound was unsettling. “Your vampire friends cannot protect you now. You’re mine, Juliana,” he said.
For a second, I felt paralyzed and unable to breathe. When I finally managed to draw in a breath, I realized my hands were also shaking. Blinded by anger and fear, I swung my knife.
Almost instantaneously, I was rocked backwards as my hand was caught and pinned so the dagger in it was difficult to see. “Not now!” Samuel hissed close to my ear.
“You don’t understand. He –”
“There are too many people. I emptied the tavern to give you a chance to escape. I did not expect other people to come out. This situation is too volatile.”
“Damn you!” Stefan growled. More people had started arguing with other members of his group and my attempted stabbing went unnoticed. “I was looking forward to seeing what a mob of humans could do to a vampire.”
Samuel’s hand remained firmly on mine as he stared at the Hunter. “We are leaving.”
As I neared my destination, I heard something that made my pace slow to a wary crawl. Vampire. Find…kill them. The words were thoughts of a mortal close by. A Hunter. The clarity of the thoughts was cause for alarm. It meant they were within striking distance.
The ability to read minds is inherent to all vampires, but like many of my kind, I tended to ignore humans’ mental chatter. It wasn’t because they are any less interesting than vampires, but the sheer number of minds could overwhelm you if you didn’t filter what you sensed. Recently though, I have tried to be more aware of the mortals around me because of the Hunters. Tonight, I had been fortunate enough to have tuned in at the right time.
Samuel, there are Hunters close by. We need to –, I started, but flinched as a wooden arrow shattered against a wall next to me.
I have an idea. I’m on my way.
Hurry. Matthew, where are you?I questioned.
Too far from you. I just left Villa Medici.
I sighed as two Hunters emerged from a building in front of me. There were at least three behind me. Turning to get all of them in sight, I drew my dagger out of its sheath. As the group closed in on me, I suddenly heard other voices, loud and joyous. Most of them were male, but a few were female as well. Looking to my left, about a dozen humans came out of the tavern I had tried to reach.
The reaction from the Hunters was instantaneous. The one on my right with the crossbow lowered and holstered the weapon. They may be attempting to protect other mortals, but apparently they did not want undue attention from them either.
I quickly scanned the crowd, looking for Samuel. Although I did not see him, I could sense him close by. Was it my imagination or was the number of people growing?
One of the Hunters in front of me walked closer to me as some of the people leaving the business started passing us. He bore a striking resemblance to my head husband; especially the contours of his face and his eye color. Stefan Saladino smiled at me. “You look well, Juliana.”
Holding my dagger close to my body, I replied, “I know your name as well, Stefan.”
I had hoped to startle him the way he had done to me a few weeks ago, but the strange Hunter only seemed amused by my statement. “I’m flattered that you have saved me the need for introductions, since you surely know my sister’s name as well.”
I frowned, but before I could reply, one of the women shrieked and grabbed her left foot a couple feet from me. The young man with her looked concerned as he bent down to examine it. She had apparently stepped on the shards of the broken arrow that had been aimed at me. A second later, she spotted the Hunter with the sheathed crossbow and shouted "Perché si dovrebbe sparare quella cosa su una strada trafficata?”
“No, nessuno, non sono stato io,” he protested. Her companion pushed his way into the man’s face, apparently not happy with his answer. The sudden ruckus on the street drew more people out of other buildings, no doubt worried that there was a fire.
Soon I was surrounded, not only by the five Hunters who had attempted to attack me, but by nearly two dozen normal humans. I also sensed Samuel, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off of my would-be attackers to look for him.
Stefan frowned at the growing crowd. “Very clever, Juliana. I would be a fool to attempt to hurt you now. All of these people would naïvely come to your aid, not knowing what kind of monster you are.”
“I am not a monster,” I retorted. “Your English is nearly impeccable. Is that how you figured out my name after spying on me?”
A sneer twisted his mouth. “Why would I spy on you?” He leaned forward and whispered, “I already know you are a whore and a horrible wife and mother.”
I flinched at the words. How could this stranger know so much about me? He even sounded like Gregory.
“This can’t be. This is not possible.”
Stefan laughed. The sound was unsettling. “Your vampire friends cannot protect you now. You’re mine, Juliana,” he said.
For a second, I felt paralyzed and unable to breathe. When I finally managed to draw in a breath, I realized my hands were also shaking. Blinded by anger and fear, I swung my knife.
Almost instantaneously, I was rocked backwards as my hand was caught and pinned so the dagger in it was difficult to see. “Not now!” Samuel hissed close to my ear.
“You don’t understand. He –”
“There are too many people. I emptied the tavern to give you a chance to escape. I did not expect other people to come out. This situation is too volatile.”
“Damn you!” Stefan growled. More people had started arguing with other members of his group and my attempted stabbing went unnoticed. “I was looking forward to seeing what a mob of humans could do to a vampire.”
Samuel’s hand remained firmly on mine as he stared at the Hunter. “We are leaving.”
July 6, 2017
Life's Happenings
My seasonal work with Pearson has come to an end. I've been busy helping family move and doing some work around the house last month. It was a busy June!
I also had a chance to escape down to my family's lake cottage and decompress some. I may not have gotten as much writing done as I wanted, but the time away helped spark inspiration and creativity and I've gotten some progress made on book 3 since I've been home.
What inspires you? Nature, especially water gets my creative juices flowing. Time by any water seems to act like a muse. Having mood music helps as well. Hoping to report a lot of progress in another month or two.
I also had a chance to escape down to my family's lake cottage and decompress some. I may not have gotten as much writing done as I wanted, but the time away helped spark inspiration and creativity and I've gotten some progress made on book 3 since I've been home.
What inspires you? Nature, especially water gets my creative juices flowing. Time by any water seems to act like a muse. Having mood music helps as well. Hoping to report a lot of progress in another month or two.
May 14, 2017
Technology and Research
Technology is a crazy thing. People rely on it for more and more things like securing and heating their homes with automation over a network. As seen this weekend, cyber terrorists are getting more sophisticated in their attacks and interrupting more things in our daily lives.
There's some good things to having technology do things like lock our doors or control our thermostats. I don't understand it all too well, but I know it's supposedly pretty safe. However, anything transmitted over a network can be vulnerable to interception and malicious intents. Can you imagine being locked out of your house by hackers/ cyber terrorists? Or having your lights or heat shut off by them? I hope that never comes to be. Oh, and the answer of just going to Apple won't work forever. (Or whomever might be the next Microsoft or Apple. ) If everyone goes to Apple, eventually cyber terrorists will find a way to crack their supposedly impenetrable defenses. It would only be a matter of time, because cyber terrorists will need to find victims. Now matter what system they're on.
Of course, there's good things about technology. We can keep in touch with friends and family like never before. We have learned amazing things and created detailed art. You can learn about almost anything on the Internet. For example, I've been researching the layout of 16th century Rome and some of its ruins and landmarks for part of book 3. It's quite fascinating.
Yet, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into complacency. It is good to know how to do things the "old-fashioned way" just in case our all powerful technology fails...for whatever reason.
There's some good things to having technology do things like lock our doors or control our thermostats. I don't understand it all too well, but I know it's supposedly pretty safe. However, anything transmitted over a network can be vulnerable to interception and malicious intents. Can you imagine being locked out of your house by hackers/ cyber terrorists? Or having your lights or heat shut off by them? I hope that never comes to be. Oh, and the answer of just going to Apple won't work forever. (Or whomever might be the next Microsoft or Apple. ) If everyone goes to Apple, eventually cyber terrorists will find a way to crack their supposedly impenetrable defenses. It would only be a matter of time, because cyber terrorists will need to find victims. Now matter what system they're on.
Of course, there's good things about technology. We can keep in touch with friends and family like never before. We have learned amazing things and created detailed art. You can learn about almost anything on the Internet. For example, I've been researching the layout of 16th century Rome and some of its ruins and landmarks for part of book 3. It's quite fascinating.
Yet, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into complacency. It is good to know how to do things the "old-fashioned way" just in case our all powerful technology fails...for whatever reason.
April 22, 2017
Another Snippet from book 3!
I had promised another excerpt from my w.i.p. I'm delivering on that promise. In this scene, Julia meets a rather unusual vampire.
Without knowing how active Rome was at night, I wandered down streets until I spotted a lone man at the far end of the road. I didn’t sense any other vampires in the area so I knew this area was all right to hunt in. Briefly, I wondered if all humans in Rome were stupid enough to walk around alone at night. If so, I did not think feeding will be much of a problem, even with their group of vampires.
As soon as I reached the young man, I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him. He spun, knocking my hand aside with a snarl. I glimpsed fangs, suddenly sensed him through the telepathy. A vampire. He was no more human than I was. He had obviously been shielding himself. Yet, I had never seen a vampire outside of my ka-tet shield themselves so well at such a close range. “Bloody hell,” I cursed as I stepped back, instantly dropping my hand to my side. “Pray pardon.”
The vampire was dressed all in black, in an odd combination of clothing. The trousers were of a peasant type but the dress shirt was one of the upper class. And then there was the suitcoat. It was also all black and went down to about ankle length. I had never seen a coat like that before.
I glanced up into the vampire’s face. He had light brown hair, all short, except for his bangs which fell over his left eye, covering that side of his face. A glint of amusement appeared in the eye I could see. I wasn’t sure what he thought was amusing –the fact that I had mistaken him for a mortal or my reaction at finding out he was one of us.
“Why the hell couldn’t I sense you?” I blurted out in bewilderment.
The vampire only stared at me. I wondered if he even understood what I was saying. Maybe he didn’t understand English. Or maybe he was just refusing to answer the question. This situation made me nervous, especially when I was an intruder in another’s territory. I wasn’t very welcome by Resistance and non-Resistance alike.
I sighed. “Are you a part of Rome’s group?” I asked this question in English as well. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember any of the Italian I had learned.
“No. I am not,” he answered, startling me as I realized he understood my native tongue.
“Thank the Lord for small favors,” I muttered. “What are you doing here?”
“Tryin’ to feed.” His accent was unique too. It reminded me more of my own accent than an Italian one, but it was also distinctively different.
I closed my eyes for a second. Stupid question, I scolded myself. “Uh, for the sake of clarity, you have no connection at all with the group that lives here?”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “No, why?”
For the first time all night, I smiled. “Good. Please do not tell them you saw me. I am trying to avoid a confrontation while I am here. Good hunting,” I answered and turned back the way I had come. I definitely needed a different place to hunt tonight.
Without knowing how active Rome was at night, I wandered down streets until I spotted a lone man at the far end of the road. I didn’t sense any other vampires in the area so I knew this area was all right to hunt in. Briefly, I wondered if all humans in Rome were stupid enough to walk around alone at night. If so, I did not think feeding will be much of a problem, even with their group of vampires.
As soon as I reached the young man, I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him. He spun, knocking my hand aside with a snarl. I glimpsed fangs, suddenly sensed him through the telepathy. A vampire. He was no more human than I was. He had obviously been shielding himself. Yet, I had never seen a vampire outside of my ka-tet shield themselves so well at such a close range. “Bloody hell,” I cursed as I stepped back, instantly dropping my hand to my side. “Pray pardon.”
The vampire was dressed all in black, in an odd combination of clothing. The trousers were of a peasant type but the dress shirt was one of the upper class. And then there was the suitcoat. It was also all black and went down to about ankle length. I had never seen a coat like that before.
I glanced up into the vampire’s face. He had light brown hair, all short, except for his bangs which fell over his left eye, covering that side of his face. A glint of amusement appeared in the eye I could see. I wasn’t sure what he thought was amusing –the fact that I had mistaken him for a mortal or my reaction at finding out he was one of us.
“Why the hell couldn’t I sense you?” I blurted out in bewilderment.
The vampire only stared at me. I wondered if he even understood what I was saying. Maybe he didn’t understand English. Or maybe he was just refusing to answer the question. This situation made me nervous, especially when I was an intruder in another’s territory. I wasn’t very welcome by Resistance and non-Resistance alike.
I sighed. “Are you a part of Rome’s group?” I asked this question in English as well. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember any of the Italian I had learned.
“No. I am not,” he answered, startling me as I realized he understood my native tongue.
“Thank the Lord for small favors,” I muttered. “What are you doing here?”
“Tryin’ to feed.” His accent was unique too. It reminded me more of my own accent than an Italian one, but it was also distinctively different.
I closed my eyes for a second. Stupid question, I scolded myself. “Uh, for the sake of clarity, you have no connection at all with the group that lives here?”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “No, why?”
For the first time all night, I smiled. “Good. Please do not tell them you saw me. I am trying to avoid a confrontation while I am here. Good hunting,” I answered and turned back the way I had come. I definitely needed a different place to hunt tonight.
April 10, 2017
Quick Update!
The last few weeks have been busy, but I wanted to keep you posted on current events.
This year's Author Fair went pretty well. I have pictures posted on the Facebook page. You can view them here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WarofDest...
A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us!
Secondly, I am back at Pearson for the 2017 scoring season. I will update my progress on book 3 and other interesting things as I have the time.
Happy Spring everyone!
This year's Author Fair went pretty well. I have pictures posted on the Facebook page. You can view them here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WarofDest...
A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us!
Secondly, I am back at Pearson for the 2017 scoring season. I will update my progress on book 3 and other interesting things as I have the time.
Happy Spring everyone!
March 5, 2017
Author Fair!
I am quite excited! I have once again been accepted to our Local Authors Fair at Indian Prairie Library in Darien, Illinois! Another local author and dear friend, Arthur Daigle will also be attending again this year.
It will be held on March 19th from 1p.m. to 4p.m. There will be several authors hosting talks throughout the afternoon and authors will have books available for purchase. Various genres will be represented.
We hope you are able to stop by! A schedule of talks and list of authors attending can be found here:
http://ippl.info/calendar-events/clas...
I will have updates posted on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/41838...
It will be held on March 19th from 1p.m. to 4p.m. There will be several authors hosting talks throughout the afternoon and authors will have books available for purchase. Various genres will be represented.
We hope you are able to stop by! A schedule of talks and list of authors attending can be found here:
http://ippl.info/calendar-events/clas...
I will have updates posted on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/41838...
February 6, 2017
Changes
I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have lost another person very dear to me and because of that, my life, as well as the lives of other loved ones, are about to start a huge transformation.
Due to this, I am forced to put my WIP, book 3 of the War of Destiny series on the back burner. I will work on it when I can, but my focus needs to be on my partner, and what needs to be done.
It seems
Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) which I read back in July was truly prophetic. That month was the start of what's going on now. I feel a lot like Harry Dresden in those later books nowadays. :(
Never have I read a book so aptly named.
Due to this, I am forced to put my WIP, book 3 of the War of Destiny series on the back burner. I will work on it when I can, but my focus needs to be on my partner, and what needs to be done.
It seems
Changes (The Dresden Files, #12) which I read back in July was truly prophetic. That month was the start of what's going on now. I feel a lot like Harry Dresden in those later books nowadays. :(Never have I read a book so aptly named.
January 13, 2017
Dart Game Scene
A scene from my wip, book 3 of the War of Destiny series. I hope you enjoy it. (And if anyone has darts origins insights, I'm all ears. :)
Matthew jumped up and said, “Let’s play a game of darts.”
“Pray tell, how is a game of darts supposed to help? Besides, we have no target board or darts to play with,” I questioned.
Undeterred, he crouched down next to the fireplace and scooped up soot onto his finger. Standing, he drew a large circle on the wall next to the fireplace, followed by two slightly smaller circles. He turned back to the fireplace with a metal poker and sifted through both uncharred and charred wood. I watched in growing curiosity as he poked and prodded the pieces until he got into the ash. I tilted my head and was about to ask him what he was looking for when I saw a tiny red coal buried in the debris.
Moments later, I watched it burst into yellow and orange flame, showering the room with a warm glow. The two candles on the table extinguished themselves simultaneously. Matthew never missed a beat as he moved past me and knelt beside his supplies. “Appearances, Julia. Humans don’t let their home fires go out unless absolutely necessary. We also do not want to set the place on fire by accidently knocking over one of the candles.”
“And what would we knock them over with?”
“These,” Matthew replied, standing with two small knives in his hand. “In lieu of darts, my lady. You may go first.”
I was smiling before I had realized my lips had formed it. As I joined him, I marveled that it was the first smile that I did not have to force or think about in a long time. I took my knife, aimed, and threw it at the circle he had drawn on the wall. It planted itself just barely inside the largest circle.
Matthew threw his. It landed well within the second circle. Turning, he raised an eyebrow at me. “A little out of practice, dare I say? That throw was terrible, Julia.”
I walked forward and pulled out both knives. “I haven’t trained in five years, so I would agree.”
Matthew took his makeshift dart and gestured for me to go again. “Even a talented swordsman will lose his skill if he doesn’t practice,” he commented.
I concentrated on the target in front of me before launching the projectile again. “I wasn’t allowed to. I guess the others didn’t trust me enough to spar or leave weapons in my possession.”
“Mmm,” Matthew grunted as he completed his turn. “Shall we do best out of five rounds?”
“That sounds fun,” I replied, surprised he didn’t question me more.
“Excellent!” He smiled as we lined up for another turn. As we played, the conversation revolved around rather frivolous subjects such as the weather and a few parties in which Matthew had attended over the years. A few jokes and tips were speckled in, and although there were times when the conversation turned awkward, it was quite enjoyable.
Matthew winced slightly as I hurled my knife at the drawn target. As with my last three tries, it remained within the large circle, although closer to the center each time. A moment later, his graceful movement landed his in the center of the smallest circle.
“You make it seem so easy,” I grumbled as I pulled my knife back out. He retrieved his as well, and turned to me as I got ready to make my last throw.
A second later he stopped me before I could release it. “Why are you clenching the muscles so? There is no need to force it. The knife should be an extension of your hand just as much as any other weapon.” His hand touched my arm in several places, lightly massaging my tight muscles. “Relax. Close your eyes and trust me.” I glared at him a second before doing so. I felt him raise my arm as he continued, “Light and loose. Extra tension only tires you and doesn’t allow aim to be true.” He coached my arm through a few practice throws. “Now try.”
I opened my eyes, sighted the target, and followed the motions from a moment ago. The knife landed center in the second ring. I turned to Matthew with a smile. “The best all night,” I said.
“So much is easier when you simply do not force it,” he answered and also took his turn. Before I could congratulate him, I heard footsteps in the hall.
“If you wreck my walls, I’m going to wreck you.”
Both Matthew and I turned towards the sound. “Samuel,” I said, surprised.
Matthew jumped up and said, “Let’s play a game of darts.”
“Pray tell, how is a game of darts supposed to help? Besides, we have no target board or darts to play with,” I questioned.
Undeterred, he crouched down next to the fireplace and scooped up soot onto his finger. Standing, he drew a large circle on the wall next to the fireplace, followed by two slightly smaller circles. He turned back to the fireplace with a metal poker and sifted through both uncharred and charred wood. I watched in growing curiosity as he poked and prodded the pieces until he got into the ash. I tilted my head and was about to ask him what he was looking for when I saw a tiny red coal buried in the debris.
Moments later, I watched it burst into yellow and orange flame, showering the room with a warm glow. The two candles on the table extinguished themselves simultaneously. Matthew never missed a beat as he moved past me and knelt beside his supplies. “Appearances, Julia. Humans don’t let their home fires go out unless absolutely necessary. We also do not want to set the place on fire by accidently knocking over one of the candles.”
“And what would we knock them over with?”
“These,” Matthew replied, standing with two small knives in his hand. “In lieu of darts, my lady. You may go first.”
I was smiling before I had realized my lips had formed it. As I joined him, I marveled that it was the first smile that I did not have to force or think about in a long time. I took my knife, aimed, and threw it at the circle he had drawn on the wall. It planted itself just barely inside the largest circle.
Matthew threw his. It landed well within the second circle. Turning, he raised an eyebrow at me. “A little out of practice, dare I say? That throw was terrible, Julia.”
I walked forward and pulled out both knives. “I haven’t trained in five years, so I would agree.”
Matthew took his makeshift dart and gestured for me to go again. “Even a talented swordsman will lose his skill if he doesn’t practice,” he commented.
I concentrated on the target in front of me before launching the projectile again. “I wasn’t allowed to. I guess the others didn’t trust me enough to spar or leave weapons in my possession.”
“Mmm,” Matthew grunted as he completed his turn. “Shall we do best out of five rounds?”
“That sounds fun,” I replied, surprised he didn’t question me more.
“Excellent!” He smiled as we lined up for another turn. As we played, the conversation revolved around rather frivolous subjects such as the weather and a few parties in which Matthew had attended over the years. A few jokes and tips were speckled in, and although there were times when the conversation turned awkward, it was quite enjoyable.
Matthew winced slightly as I hurled my knife at the drawn target. As with my last three tries, it remained within the large circle, although closer to the center each time. A moment later, his graceful movement landed his in the center of the smallest circle.
“You make it seem so easy,” I grumbled as I pulled my knife back out. He retrieved his as well, and turned to me as I got ready to make my last throw.
A second later he stopped me before I could release it. “Why are you clenching the muscles so? There is no need to force it. The knife should be an extension of your hand just as much as any other weapon.” His hand touched my arm in several places, lightly massaging my tight muscles. “Relax. Close your eyes and trust me.” I glared at him a second before doing so. I felt him raise my arm as he continued, “Light and loose. Extra tension only tires you and doesn’t allow aim to be true.” He coached my arm through a few practice throws. “Now try.”
I opened my eyes, sighted the target, and followed the motions from a moment ago. The knife landed center in the second ring. I turned to Matthew with a smile. “The best all night,” I said.
“So much is easier when you simply do not force it,” he answered and also took his turn. Before I could congratulate him, I heard footsteps in the hall.
“If you wreck my walls, I’m going to wreck you.”
Both Matthew and I turned towards the sound. “Samuel,” I said, surprised.
New Year, More Progress
Hello everyone! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I know its been a while since I posted, but I've been busy with some matters carried over from the previous year that has taken up much of my energy and time. Unfortunately, the New Year doesn't magically erase problems already in progress.
I have been making progress in book 3, even if it is late at night when my brain has unstressed enough to finally find some notes from the muse. It is still a long way from being ready, but I celebrate the little successes I have. I wish I could give a more definitive date on when it would be out, but I simply cannot say at this point.
I have done some research into the game of darts and was amused and frustrated by the fact that no one really knows much about how and when it came about. So I used what scant knowledge I discovered (that it was invented in England around Henry the VIII's time) and did my best in the creation of the scene in book 3.
(Yes, I shall post that scene within the next day.)
Thank you for your support.
I have been making progress in book 3, even if it is late at night when my brain has unstressed enough to finally find some notes from the muse. It is still a long way from being ready, but I celebrate the little successes I have. I wish I could give a more definitive date on when it would be out, but I simply cannot say at this point.
I have done some research into the game of darts and was amused and frustrated by the fact that no one really knows much about how and when it came about. So I used what scant knowledge I discovered (that it was invented in England around Henry the VIII's time) and did my best in the creation of the scene in book 3.
(Yes, I shall post that scene within the next day.)
Thank you for your support.
December 21, 2016
Holiday Hope and Blessings
We are so very close now. Both Christmas and Hanukkah is a mere few days away and the rush to get everything ready and gather last minute gifts is upon us.
In the chaos, it is easy to forget the meaning of the season. It is the darkest time of the year, where it is especially easy to fall into sadness and despair.
I am reminded of those who are struggling. Some are a little trodden down, while others have needs that far outweigh our own. While it is impossible to help everyone, every little thing can help.
Give a plate of goodies to a friend or neighbor. Donate some food or warm clothes to your local charity. Give to Toys for Tots, Ronald Mcdonald House, or other such groups. If you know of a fundraiser to help a person or family in need, "Care & Share."
If you bless one person with an act of kindness, hopefully they will do the same for someone else.
In the chaos, it is easy to forget the meaning of the season. It is the darkest time of the year, where it is especially easy to fall into sadness and despair.
I am reminded of those who are struggling. Some are a little trodden down, while others have needs that far outweigh our own. While it is impossible to help everyone, every little thing can help.
Give a plate of goodies to a friend or neighbor. Donate some food or warm clothes to your local charity. Give to Toys for Tots, Ronald Mcdonald House, or other such groups. If you know of a fundraiser to help a person or family in need, "Care & Share."
If you bless one person with an act of kindness, hopefully they will do the same for someone else.
