Tuesdays tale:Burdens of proof part 3

BURDENS OF PROOF PART 3

            With out so much as a sound he lunged forward, gripping his left hand non too gentle on her throat making it hard for her to breathe. “What are you doing?”   She choked. “Let go!” She desperately tried pry his hand from her neck.

            “You wanted to know how it is I believe in who you are.”  Bal’thon growled, as he reached behind him with his free hand and pulled an evil looking dagger from his belt. The blade looked like it was made from black volcanic glass, its hilt was of a dark old wood with runes carved on it. Wrapped around the hilt was a small sliver necklace with a crystal dangling from it like a tear drop. “This is how” he went on as he raised the blade.

            She was frozen with fear. This is who Tal’lia tried to warn her about today. “I don’t understand.” Natalie whispered as she struggled for air.

            “Oh I am only too happy to explain my dear.” Bal’thon said mockingly.  “You see those bones over there. That man was my father. He was not supposed to put you on ear’th.  to He was supposed to kill you, with this knife to be specific. It would have cut your infant heart from your chest and absorbed your magic in the process. This magic would have been given to my sister who took your place in your mother’s dead arms. Only my father took the cowardly way out he took this necklace from off your neck and sent you through the glass.” He was so caught up in his rant that he didn’t realize that his grip on her neck loosened. Natalie slowly drew more air and was able to push down her fear and touch the very magic he spoke of in her heart. She could hear the fire of truth in his enraged voice.

            “Why,” she stammered. Careful not to give away that she could breath and wove a bit of her own magic in her voice, that would encourage him keep talking and give her a little bit of time to think of a way for her to get away from him. “The necklace…doesn’t make sense…”  Natalie said as she pretended to gasp for breath.

            “I guess I forgot that you didn’t grow up her, Blessed Daughter.” He said sarcastically. “Listen up, Ear’th girl. When a woman births a baby here she speaks the child's name with music and her name is engraved on the child’s soul. In your case when she spoke your name with her last magical breath, it engraved your name on this crystal tear as well as on your soul.” He said with the glow of hatred in his eyes.

            “You see,” Bal’thon continued. “Your blessed name began to glow in the heart of this crystal the day you came back through the glass. The nearer it comes to you the more brightly it glows.”

            “Now this crystal will glow its brightest as I do what my cowardly father should have done in the first place.” The malice in Bal’thon’s voice slithered in her ears like the hiss of a rattle snake about to strike.

            As Bal’thon was talking Natalie carefully moved her left foot around behind his right one. When he stopped talking he took the dagger and placed the razor sharp tip of it on her chest. Natalie knew that she had to act now or he was going to cut her heart out.

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CHALLENGE: CONFESSION #1 KERRY FOWERS

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BRING YOU TONIGHT'S CONFESSION: KERRY FOWERS

Here is my confession.

My worst work was when I was a teenager. I created a Dungeon and Dragons character and decided that I wanted to write a book about him. Didn't work out very well and didn't get past a few pages. I read it again a little while ago and wow, it was pretty sad. Bad grammar, miss spelled words, etc. However the good news is that I am going to take that and rewrite it better after I get the work I am doing right now published.

My best work is the book I am currently getting edited right now. It has a lot of feeling in it. I has a lot of personal experiences in it so it basically comes from the heart. I am really excited about getting it out there. I would have never guessed I would love writing.

Kerry

 

YOU CAN FIND KERRY AT:  kfowers.blogspot.com

 

 

CHALLENGE: CONFESSION #1 KATHERINE 'KATE' TATE

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BRING YOU FRIDAY NIGHTS CONFESSION: KATHERINE 'KATE' TATE.

 

First of all, I never use the first ending I write for any story because I always hate it the second time I read it. So that may mean that my worst "work," is actually like the endings to the last six published novels. However, I personally think a work I started-and wrote a lot on before chucking it-back in about 1993 is my worst. I had no idea how to build suspense, how to effectively plant red herrings, how do drop little clues to the real thing along the way, and how to limit my plot twists. And I had chosen to write a murder mystery about a serial killer. It was one of those classic "what was I thinking?" moments. I never finished it because I was a pantser back then and ended up growing very weary with my story.

On the flip side, I still think Lifeline Echoes is the work that makes me feel the best. It was just one of those moments of inspiration one night when I was listening to my MP3 player on random, and a song came on that set the premise for the story of love coming full circle after the characters have decided to move on. It's been called "brilliant" by some but even without those words, it's just the story I love to come back to and think about - it's filled with emotion (one of my trademarks). And it's the first thing I've ever actually plotted start to finish before I wrote. It's quite intricate and somehow very tight as far as the plot goes, vastly different from my first attempt at suspense.

And if anyone wants to read it, leave a comment. I'll give away a PDF copy to someone drawn at random. For the blurb, check the Amazon listing:
http://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-Echoes-ebook/dp/B004V9HGYE/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1322801507&sr=1-3

 

--
Katherine "Kate" Tate/Kay Springsteen
http://kayspringsteen.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Wordz.n.Pix
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kay-Springsteen-Author-of-Romance/143469035711422

CHALLENGE: CONFESSION #1 STEFAN ELLERY

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BRING YOU MY NEXT CONFESSION GUEST: STEFAN ELLERY

The worst thing that I have written was a story called Seasonal Blessings. It was intended to be a novel and I had submitted it to the textnovel contest. The more I wrote it the more I realized I was exporting what was going on with my life into the main character. It was not done intentionally, but my subconscious took over. The story was full of hate and anger which did not appeal to me, so how could a potential reader like if I did not. Then there were there dream sequences. Yuck! Dream sequences are over done and many readers hate them. So with little resistance I hid the story away from everyone.


My best work is Kalle Rabbit and Pelle Fox, though I know some will disagree. I consider it my best work because it can be shared by the family. Kalle Rabbit and Pelle Fox is a series of children stories about a fox and a rabbit that have adventures in the forests of Sweden. The characters were created by my grandfather and he made up stories with them, which he would tell my mom and my aunt. In a way I am continueing this tradition by making up my own stories about the two characters. Even my eleven year old son who I read them to gets a laugh and want’s me to reread them to him. With theses series of stories I believe I have become closer to my grandfather, even though he had passed away when I was a child. The two furry animals made there way into my heart and i hope that they will make their way into many more hearts in the future.

My website is www.sellery.weebly.com and twitter is sellery2010

www.sellery.weebly.com

sellery.weebly.com

Fire of the Rose is my First Young Adult Novel. The story is based on my sons idea. He did not want to write it but asked me to. He enjoys everything I write including the several children's stories I have written. My son is my task master the Rose of Fire. He expects me to read him something new from the novel each day. So I must keep up. It is actually a good thing, keeps me motivated and working hard. The Novel won the Editors Choice Award for May 2011 along with four others. You can track my progress at this link FIRE OF THE ROSE if you like the story please register with www.textnovel.com and vote for it. All votes are appreciated. Dont forget to check every day for updates.

CHALLENGE: CONFESSION #1 STEPHEN H. KING

IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BRING YOU THE FIRST OF MY CONFESSION GUESTS STEPHEN H. KING:

My best work and my worst work--what an interesting question, Linna!

My worst work is pretty easy. At least, it's easy to my humblest of opinions. If, of course, you only count what I can remember; I'm sure I wrote some stinkers back in high school and college, but the slabs those were chiseled into have since been misplaced. Thus, I'm left with recent writing, and in this case it's specifically a story I wrote for the first NaNoWriMo I did back in 2007. It sounded good at the time, of course, but being a newbie author I made every mistake in the book. Literally, I think. I've still got the manuscript and occasionally go back to torture myself. Worse, I didn't finish, because when I got close to the end I realized I was really only writing an adult version of Ender's Game with me as Ender, and the world certainly didn't need that same plot line twice. Thus, I have an unfinished crappy manuscript that's full of crap.

My best work is a little harder, as I'm pretty proud of several things I've written recently. My favorite, though, is a very short (598 words) story I wrote for a contest that I didn't win. In it, I took a situation that actually happened to me and changed it around a bit, adding some good stuff and taking out the boring parts. It's called The Old Miner and features--well, an old miner, of course--who died in my presence and gave me the secret to finding his special mining spot. Only I never went and looked there, and the story is meant to kind of tell why. I love the way the story shows the emotion and the circumstances without telling them, which has been one of my chief challenges to accomplish as a writer.

There--my writing soul is bared for you!

-TOSK (The Other Stephen King)

http://TheOtherStephenKingOnWriting.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

STEPHEN H. KING IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK: CATACLYSM RETURN OF THE GODS. PUBLISHED BY TRESTLE PRESS. YOU CAN FIND THIS BOOK ON

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cataclysm--Return-Gods-ebook/dp/B006BI5LJU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1322717559&sr=1-1

Tuesdays tales: Burdens of proof part 2

BURDENS OF PROOF PART TWO

Although the tree felt good and solid at her back, she felt a peculiar tingle of magic through its bark. She really didn’t ponder too much on this odd sensation as Bal’thon stood right in front of her planting his hands on the tree each just above her shoulders.

“Take deep breaths Natalinthia,” he said. “It’s alright; I promise that everything will make sense.”  Bal’thon’s voice was low and husky. Natalie looked up into his face and saw his eyes. She had never seen eyes that blue before, they smoldered with passion for her. She went from feeling cold and sick to feeling warm and flushed.

Bal’thon moved his right hand so he could stroke her face. “The color in your cheeks is very becoming.” He said, as he moved his face closer to hers. Natalie could feel his breath on her face, making her skin tingle.

            “Do you know that the music in your voice haunts me at night?” he said like more of a statement than a question.

            “It does?” Natalie asked, breathlessly.

            “Lady,” Bal’thon began. “Your voice, your eyes, everything about you haunts me. It’s as if I have known you all my life. I fell like I have waited all my life for this moment” He said as he bent his head down to kiss her.

            His lips felt soft and gentle on hers at first then began to move with more fevered passion.

            Natalie couldn’t think strait. She had never been kissed like this before. She pulled away from him and opened her eyes and inhaled fresh air to clear her head, but with that breath of air came the sweet smell of his breath. She felt like the tree to her back began to spin and she with it.

            “I didn’t know that you felt this way.” She stammered, hardly able to speak.

            “Come now Natalinthia.” He said. “You are the most enchanting creature I have ever seen.” He said, but the music in his voice was enchanting her. It was as if a magical web was being woven into her brain. There was a nagging thought in the back of Natalie’s mind. There was a sound in his voice that she could not pin point, due to the magically enhanced passion.

            Bal’thon moved his hand that was on her face so that he could trace the lines of her swollen lips with his thumb.

            “Shhhh!” He said to her. “Don’t speak don’t think just feel.”  The magic in his voice pulsated though her body, like the throbbing sounds of  an electronic band she had heard back on Earth, driving out rational thought.

            His lips crushed hers again as he slid his left hand down the tree to her shoulder. She kissed him back, matching his intensity. Natalie wound her arms around his waist pulling him the rest of the way to her.

            Bal’thon moved his right hand to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her silky brown tresses. She moaned deep in her throat as his left hand first pushed the shall off her shoulder then pushed past the fabric of her dress and caressed her shoulder, then slid down to the hallow of her throat. His touch left a blazing trail of tingling heat on her skin.

            His lips left hers as he kissed the side of her face, his fingers left the hallow of her throat only to be replace by his searing lips. He untangled his fingers from her hair, so he could hurriedly remove his outer cloak. The heat from his lips moving on her throat made her feel as if she could not breathe. She inhaled deeply. To her surprise Natalie inhaled crisp fresh air, which began to clear just enough of the webs of passion from her brain so that she remembered the values that she grew up with, and all this making out with Bal’thon was going too far. She had to stop it now.

             Natalie slid her hands from Bal’thons back to his muscular chest and pushed him away as she opened her eyes. She looked up in to his eyes and opened her mouth to explain why she pushed him away, but the words froze in her throat. The emotion she saw in his eyes both surprised and frightened her. Instead of the heat of love and passion in his eyes she saw ice cold hatred. 

To be continued....

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Tuesdays tale:Burdens of proof

MIRRORS OTHER SIDE: BURDENS OF PROOF PART 1

Bal’thon gripped Natalie’s hand tight as he led her through the dense forest. She had a hard time keeping up with him as he was moving so fast. Natalie heard the crunch of dry leaves on the ground and wondered when they would stop. It seemed like they have been on this secret hike for hours.

            “Bal’thon,” Natalie gasped out of breath. “Come on where are we going? Tal’lia will be worried. You heard what she said; someone is going to try to kill me.”

            “No need to worry Natalinthia, Tal’lia is at peace right now. I need to show you a very important place. This place could prove that you are in fact the blessed daughter.” He said as though hiking through the woods at his pace was no big deal for him.

            “Well you keep saying that and again I ask you, what it is about this place that is so special.” Natalie asked. “We will have a hole court room of skeptical people to convince that I am the blessed daughter and not…uuummm…what’s her name?” 

            “Natalinann’a.” Bal’thon said with a strange note in his voice. It sounded almost like he was being defensive.

            “Natalinann’a, right,” Natalie went on. “There is also the Blessed Father who from what I have heard can hear a lie in a person’s voice.”

            Natalie paused for a second to think about all the people in this strange world of magic why did he believe in who she was. She understood why Tal’lia did. But why did he? Bal’thon had been more than a good friend to her. He in some strange way had been flirting with her. He was so passionate about everything. With out explanation he had always maintained that she was the Blessed Daughter, even before Tal’lia was for sure her self.

            “Bal’thon,” She began. “I know that I have asked this before, but why do you believe that I am the Blessed Daughter?”

            “I just do,” He replied. “Now stop asking me, all will be explained. And you will understand.” Bal’thon said with almost an irritating clang to his voice. “We are here.” He said as he stopped short.

            Natalie took a look at where they were. There was a curved rocky out cropping a few yards a head of them, that looked as though it had some kind of runes carved into it. The runes almost had the look of Egyptian hieratic. There were trees lined on either side of the curved rock forming a complete circle.

            These trees were unlike anything that she had ever seen. The bark was black and the large oval leaves were a blood red. She involuntarily shivered. This pace made her want to run away. She felt the stench of death and evil magic. In some odd way she could hear it, it resonated in her head like a hive of angry bees.  She had been taught about feelings like this when she was a child; Natalie had always acted on these feelings.

            “I don’t want to be here Bal’thon,” Natalie said in a shaky voice as she tried to pull her hand out of his tight grip.

            “Fear not the magic of this place, my lovely friend.” He said in a different voice than before, his voice now sounded low and smooth.

            “Come now and see, I will explain everything.” He said and tugged on her hand pulling her in to this strange feeling place.

“So what is it about this place that can prove my identity?” Natalie asked “Is it those odd looking runes, do they say who I am?”

“No, but nice guess.” Bal’thon said with a teasing note to his voice.

“Ok then tell me, what is it?” Natalie said. Her fear of this place was overcome by curiosity. She began to walk toward the center. She stopped as her shoe hit what she thought was a fallen branch under the leaves on the ground. Natalie looked over her shoulder at Bal’thon, and saw that he had strange look in his eyes. She knelt down not knowing why, and brushed the leaves off and felt sick as she realized that this was not a branch from one of the trees, but the femur bone of a man.

Natalie wrapped her arms around her stomach trying not to be sick  as she spoke“ Bal’thon, do you know who this man was?

To her surprise Bal’thon answered “Yes I do. This was the man that sent you to Ear’th.” 

Natalie began to shiver uncontrollably. She always wondered who had sent her to Earth. Not that her life on Earth had been all together bad but, when she realized that this new place was where she belonged, she felt cheated of all the magic that she could have had all her life. Natalie often wondered how she would feel if she ever met the man who placed her on Earth. Now confronted with his bones, she began to feel dizzy.

            “It’s alright my dear.” Bal’thon said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and drew her up with him. “Come lean against this tree over by the rock. It looks sturdy enough to hold you.” He said jokingly.

Natalie lifted her head and gave him a thankful smile, as he led her to one of the largest trees in the circle.

To be continued...

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