Saturday, May 10, 2014

Flash Fiction for Mother's Day: Stories

 



Her daughter’s birth was the turning point in the English teacher’s life story.  Nestled with soft terrycloth-clad baby weight in the glider, she knew the life in the child’s veins was her own A- blood.  An adopted child herself, the new mother finally had a wonderful gift, one she had longed for from childhood: the ability to see pieces of herself in another person. What could this former English teacher give her now, as a new mother, to show the child how enveloped her soul was with love for her?

She read her stories.  First board books with colors and shapes, then little stories with bunnies and moons.  She told her stories, sweet ones like when she first opened her eyes in the hospital and funny ones like when she yelled her brother’s name so close to her mother’s pregnant belly that the baby kicked.  The child would giggle, “Tell me again about me.” And again.  And again.

She started school, and every night she would beg her mother to read to her in bed.  The child’s hair grew longer, straighter, as did her legs.  Her eyes turned a strange greenish-bluish-gray to match her mother’s. They read longer books.  Suddenly, the words unlocked for the child, and she could read: chapter books, paperbacks that her mother catches herself reading when the girl is at school, books about fairies and magic tree houses.  Now she is seven, and she reads herself to sleep.  She only needs her mother to put out the light. 

One night the child came downstairs waving a novel about a kid’s diary.  “Mom, this is sooooo funny! Please, please, please, come to my room so I can read it to you!”

And that was the best gift that a former English teacher mom could ever have.

(298 words)

Author’s Note: This flash was originally written for the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop section. The prompt was "Stories" and the instructions were to write "a tale of tales." 
*Images from Pinterest*

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Union of Renegades Book Blast: Indie Fantasy for People Who Don’t Do What They’re Told


Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Get Thee to the Book Blast!
 
Fantasy Author Tracy Falbe is offering a wonderful chance to pick up some adventurous reads for FREE!
 
I've read Tracy Falbe's new release, Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale. Set in 1561 Bohemia, it's a historical paranormal romance of humanity shaking off obedience. It's crafted with a vivid historical setting and great attention to detail. Read on for a taste of Tracy's other worlds...

Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I is a free fantasy ebook worldwide. This week fantasy fans can sign up to receive a coupon to get The Goddess Queen: The Rys Chronicles Book II ebook for free. See details below.
 

 
About Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I

 

The epic begins as Dreibrand Veta and the conquering Horde of the Atrophane Empire reach a mythic Wilderness that beckons with a magical call to glory. But Onja, Queen of the rys, a race far more powerful than the greatest human state, guards this land. She has the power to imprison souls and her genocidal rage is legendary. Everything is at risk for her desperate enemies, the union of renegades.

 

Meet the Players – Insights into the Main Characters in Union of Renegades by Tracy Falbe

 

Dreibrand Veta is in his early 20s when the saga begins. He’s been fighting with the conquering horde of the Atrophane Empire for two years. He is a character born of my disgust with following rules and not getting what you want. He’s an ambitious person but he’s done some things he’s not proud of. When he finds out he’s not going to earn what he expects for his efforts, he makes a decision that will change his life and ultimately influence the history of his world.

 

Miranda represents a woman at the bottom deciding she’s not going to take it anymore. When I developed the heroine for Union of Renegades I very much did not want her to be an innocent young female. She came from the place inside me that weeps for the suffering and oppression faced by so many women in the world. When the story opens she is kept as a slave by an abusive master. She’s also the mother of two young children. Although she is a compassionate person there is an edge inside her sharpened by hard use.

 

Shan is a rys with immense magical powers. All rys possess magic but the elite among them are capable of battle magic, mind reading, healing, and even enslaving the souls of the dying. Shan is a young rys who wants to overthrow Onja who rules their race and the humans of the western tribal kingdoms. He abhors her wicked tyranny but to challenge her he must use his magic to kill, something his good heart has never allowed him to do before.

 

Onja is the Queen of the rys and the Goddess of the people. She has ruled for over two thousand years. Her character represents the status quo, the all-powerful always-been. She believes she has the right to rule because she made the world as it is. During her long reign she closed off her realm from the east with a haunted wilderness, but when a curious whim prompts her to let people through everything will change.

 

You can download this novel and enter the world of The Rys Chronicles for free.

 












 

How to get The Goddess Queen: The Rys Chronicles Book II for free ($4.99 value)

 

It’s easy. Join my email list and I’ll email you a Smashwords coupon to get The Goddess Queen in your choice of ebook format. Smashwords serves readers worldwide. Fill out the form at this link http://eepurl.com/Tb_9P and I’ll email everyone the coupon code on May 10th. (Form link will expire on May 10th.)

 

Read 3 Chapters Right Now
 
 
http://www.slideshare.net/Braveluck/union-of-renegades-fantasy-book-3