The Band Played On

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

Through pain and dust
The band played on
Unknowing of the future
The band played on
Unable to change the past
The band played on
Tears upon their eyes
The band played on
With a sorrowful song
The band played on
No idea what else to do
The band played on
A final breath and note
The band died

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Are Samurai Allowed?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz
Samurai vs Knight

Samurai vs Knight

I’m sure I’ll anger some people with this post or within the comments.  This is a debate that has gone back to my college days and I’m still confused on it.

Traditionally, fantasy is set in a European style setting.  So, the inclusion of Samurai and Ninja are a point of contention.  It amazes me when people who are fine with dragons, fireballs, elves, and orcs go berserk because of a Samurai.  It’s like a point of disbelief that cannot be grabbed by some people.  The author has to give a reasoning behind the Far East culture being present in a fantasy world, which is something you don’t have to do for European culture being present.  Why are all castles designed with moats and turrets?  It’s tradition is what you’ll hear.  Funny how some cliches are revered tradition, but that’s a post for another time.

My personal belief on Samurai is that they’re allowed.  Yes, there is no Japan in these fantasy worlds.  There’s no England either, but the knight is still clunking around.  If your problem is with the terminology then I should point out that medieval Europe terminology is traditionally used.  So, this should allow for the Samurai and his gear to be available to the other.  It could be a different culture that this is born from, but I still think the Samurai and Ninja are viable for a fantasy setting.  The times you run into trouble is if you use Earth settings and locations by name.  For example, a recent review had issue with me calling Stiletto a ‘Noble Shepherd’.  That’s his breed because I can’t call him a ‘German Shepherd’ since there’s no Germany in Windemere.  That’s a location name, so it doesn’t work in a world without that location.

So, do you think fantasy should be strict medieval Europe or are warriors from other cultures allowed?

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Don’t You Hate It

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz
Kenshin Himura (How I feel)

Kenshin Himura

A night’s sleep
Leading to a groggy morning
A delicious meal
Turning on you as the sun sinks
A chronic cough
That is immune to every med
Don’t you hate it
When you’re destined for fatigue?

                                                                                                                                                                    

Rough night apparently.  We thought my cough was allergy-based, so I took some ‘knock you out’ Benadryl.  It helped me sleep, but I woke up feeling like I was run over by a truck.  So it some pretty cruddy sleep.  This happens more often than I’d like to admit.

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

The Phantom Feeling

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

For the Angst and Longing prompt at the Community Storyboard.

Our moistened lips touch
And I am jolted awake
To a bed of crumpled blankets
Only made by me
My companion the alarm
Which I curse at as I hit

I still feel your lips
Pressed against my own
Delicious and warm
Yet an illusion of my mind
A psychic torture
That I have come to know

The day moves along
At times me guard falls low
Opening me up
To the phantoms of my heart
Born from loving need
And the harshness of denial

Ghostly arms around my neck
Specter kisses on my cheek
An invisible form
Curled upon my lap
Giving me pause and tears
As reality grinds me down

Let me return to slumber
Where my life is joined with yours
Mundane tasks together
Or heated nights of passion
Consciousnesses is a curse
For my dreams are so much sweeter

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Introducing “Hope’s Flight”

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

Check out this new poetry book by Kirsten and Zoe.

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Goal Post: Apples and Editing

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz
Capybara

Capybara

Guess this will be short because my goals are staying the same for the most part.  Today I head out with the family to take the toddler apple picking.  It’s his first time, so this should be a lot of fun.  No wifi in the orchard, so I’ll be gone until the evening.  Plus side is that my dad is driving, so I can sleep in the car.

The goals for this week are simple:

  1. Don’t fall asleep in the apple orchard.
  2. Edit more of Legends of Windemere: Family of the Tri-Rune.  Can feasibly finish the hand edits within two weeks.
  3. Edit Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies when time permits.
  4. Eat lunch.
  5. Keep using Supernatural as background noise even though I found one of the seasons I never saw.  For some reason, I’m getting a lot done with this show on.
  6. Hope the cough goes away and I can get back to my biking.
  7. Cook dinners if need be.
  8. Plan dinners for the week parents are away.
  9. Remember to wear pants when leaving the house.
  10. Hopefully get another IM/CY production post done for Thursday.  Purchase cupcake bribery kit.

Those are the goals and I believe most of them are doable.  A lot of them seem to deal with food too.  I can’t have lofty goals every week.  Seriously, all I do around here is edit, write, clean a few things, cook dinner, and play with the toddler.  My past is a lot more interesting than my present.

Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

Brewing Idea: Lions of Trune

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz
Underwater City by Anez Erynlis (Found in Yahoo Image Search)

Underwater City by Anez Erynlis (Found in Yahoo Image Search)

I came up with an idea that has been rattling around my head.  I’m still not sure exactly where to go with this, but here is what I have.

A group of friends (4 boys and 1 girl) live in a city that is hidden under a cliffside named Trune.  Their people struggle to survive in the catacombs, so these friends decide to head into the world for training.  They agree to return in 10 years and become a mercenary team to bring some income into their hidden city.  Their headquarters is a building on the cliff with a secret entrance to the city.  This is all setting and motivation for their beginning adventure.

The issue comes when they regather.  The boys train as a paladin, an assassin, a potion master, and a forest tracker.  The girl was training as a warrior until she was taken into an organization that promised her unique skills.  Instead, they magically altered her in their experiments to create the perfect warrior race.  The forest tracker broke her out before they were done, so now she is a skilled warrior who wanders from child-like nature to raging psychotic.  She’ll spout random stuff at times, but she’s still a functional and not over the top level of crazy.

The main plot revolves around the organization trying to recapture her once they find out where she is.  This is where I get lost.  Part of me wants to do a trilogy that has them do a mission in the first book, battle the organization and lose in the second, and go in for revenge in the third.  Yet, I think I can do this in a single book too.  It could very well be the sequence of mission, organization problems, attack on Trune, and then an assault on the organization.  I had some villains in the form of two completed female perfect warriors, one male perfect warrior, and the head of the organization.  A lot of the story would revolve around the bonds between the heroes and how far they’ll go to protect their those they care about.

I’d be happy to hear any insight somebody has to this.  The more I think about it, the more I worry that it might be an overdone idea.

Posted in Character Origins | Tagged , , , , , | 35 Comments

Anniversary & 9,000 Likes Giveaway

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

Join in on the Anniversary Giveaway! Tons of prizes to win!

Shannon A Thompson's avatarShannon A. Thompson

Today marks the one-year anniversary of ShannonAThompson.com!

Screen Shot 2013-09-24 at 4.07.17 PM

Screen Shot 2013-09-24 at 4.14.12 PM

I wanted to thank everyone for encouraging me as I continue on this journey of writing and publishing. You might recall that I announced a GIANT giveaway to celebrate 9,000 followers, and it is now up and running:

a Rafflecopter giveaway (for U.S. residents only)

You can enter the raffle until October 9, so have fun and enter to win all of these fantastic novels:

View original post 128 more words

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The ROME CONSTRUCTION CREW IS BACK!

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

Look what’s back! The Rome Construction Crew rides again!

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Test Scene: Clyde’s Monster

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Charles Yallowitz

(Wrote this off what came into my head yesterday.  Glad to get feedback even though context might be a problem.)

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Alucard and Father Andersen from Hellsing

Bathed in the red energy of his Lord’s Rage, Clyde’s punch hits Alan Stryker in the jaw with enough force to puncture a mountain. The sound of impact echoes throughout the valley.  Yet, the towering man does not budge an inch with Clyde’s fist pushed against his chin. A victorious grin is on Alan’s face, which enrages the vampire, who kicks him in the side to no effect. The roiling, blood-like energy around Clyde dissipates as he takes a calming breath.

“Is that all you have?” Alan asks, stepping away from Clyde and wiping dirt off his chin. “I expected more from the great dawnfang progenitor. You’re feared all over Windemere for your power and ferocity. It must kill you to know I barely felt your blows.”

Clyde flexes his shoulders and circles the muscular man, patiently looking for an opening. The problem is that he sees nothing, but openings. Alan shows no sign of wanting to block any attack that is thrown at him.  As the vampire moves behind Alan, the powerful man vanishes and reappears next to him. The fist is within inches of hitting Clyde in the back when he fades from sight like a mirage.

“You’re faster than I expected,” Clyde admits, materializing out of Alan’s reach. “Where did you come from?”

“A toy you left behind and nothing more,” Alan replies, closing the distance in a heartbeat. He grins at the way Clyde’s muscles tense. “Do you realize that you can’t win?”

“I’ll choke you to death with my own intestine if I have to,” Clyde growls. He leaps back when Alan raises his hand, but the large man only scratches his brown-haired head. “I don’t lose.”

“I see,” Alan curiously whispers. Spinning on his heel, he turns his back on Clyde and tucks his hands into his pockets. “Then, I won’t damage your record just yet. I retreat from the battle, so you win by default. Until our next encounter, Clyde. I hope you’re as powerful as your reputation by then.”

Alan grins as Clyde’s friends move out of his way, the nervous vampires eying him until he is out of sight. Lost bounces on her heels, hugging her stuffed bunny tight to her chest. She calms down when Titus puts a comforting hand on her head, gently guiding her back to the castle. He is about to say something to Mab, but stops when he sees that her claws are out. He follows her gaze to Clyde, who is still standing where Alan left him.

“What’s wrong?” Titus asks his sister, keeping out of reach of her claws.

“I’ve never seen that on his face,” she softly answers.

Titus squints and strains his eyes in the midday sunlight. “Your eyes are better than mine, so you’ll have to explain.”

“Clyde’s scared,” Mab says, turning to leave.

 

Posted in Sneak Peeks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments