Silver Mane - Part 5

Part One Here


     Her first conscious night with the wolves passed. Ana couldn’t find it in herself to full let go and fall asleep. Every little noise woke her. Perhaps she didn’t trust the wolves like she started to think. She woke before dawn even kissed the sky and went for a walk. It surprised her that not a single wolf stirred as she left the pack’s cave. She walked out of the clearing and into the woods. She let the magic of the land grip her and she followed trails that were normally only touched by deer and faries themselves.

     Ana took her time in the crisp fall air. The wind prickling her skin, making the soft hair on her arms stand at attention. She didn’t mind it though, it came with her new found freedom. That alone wasn’t something she was ready to give back. She came to a stream and passed over it on a fallen log, only to continue walking farther and deeper into the woods. The sounds of birds graced her ears and foxes darted back and forth across her path. Before she knew it, the sun was already up. She was also hopelessly lost in the array of trees.

     There was an odd noise on the winds, one that was deeper than the chirp of birds. It was a thundering and yet not like any storm she had ever encountered. She followed the noise. Her movements were swift as she reached the edge of the forest and the sounds grew louder. Now she could even hear the low murmur of people. Her heart lifted and she raced across the scrub and up a small hill. As her eyes could see over it her mouth dropped open with happy surprise.

     Below, nestled in a small bowl of land was a lively village. There were shops of clothes, of food, of trinkets from all over the lands. Ana rushed down there without thinking and started to look among the tents. In the center gathered a large group of people that were dancing around a fire with people pounding away on drums.

     “Thunder!” She thought. It all made sense to her. The beautiful woman was so enchanted with everything around her, she didn’t notice everyone who watched her. She had already forgotten that she smelled of wolf and still had bit’s of blood flecked on her from eating with the pack the night prior. Pair that with the fact that she had escaped being a slave, she must have looked pretty bad.

     A guard approached her. His shield at ready and his pike pointed towards her. “This is no place for you, Wild One.” The term was used more as a name. Ana was about to use her master’s name and claim she was on business for him, but then her heart sank as she realized she no longer had that protection. Her eyes grew wide in panic. “I said get!” The guard shouted and shoved his pike towards her.

    The tip was meant to make contact with her, but it never did. There was an angry roar that echoed off the tents and drowned out the beating of drums. A wolf that walked like a man came between the two humans. Stela had been swift and silent. She broke the shaft of the pike and pulled the guard toward her. Her drool pelted him in the face as she let loose another roar.

     The sound brought the crowd into a panic and within moments other guards were racing towards them. This was not good. Stela glanced around and without another thought she scooped up her woman.

     All Ana could remember of that moment was she was standing, and then the next moment she was being held against warm fur. She relaxed at the feeling and the wolf’s soothing heartbeat let her drift in and out of sleep.

     The wolf stayed on two legs and ran, taking large heavy strides. Stela tried her best to keep her arms from jostling the woman too much. Her paw pads split from the heavy impact but still she kept running. The pack swarmed around them. Guards raced up behind and a few where on horseback. “Aureal, stop those horses if you can.” Her words were a command.

     He grunted in acknowledgment and turned on a dime. The monster of a beast stood on his hind legs, reaching his full height of about ten feet tall without counting his ears. He bellowed into the air. It was a deep howl that seemed to echo even from off of the ground. The men skidded in their tracks. The horses were no fools and bolted. One even threw his rider as the human attempted to forward the animal towards the wolf. One brave man threw a spear. Aureal wrapped his fingers around it and grinned.

     The look was that of a mad man, mixed with the hunger of a wolf. The man who threw it, quickly realized his mistake. Aureal hurled the spear back towards the group of people. It made it’s target and ran right through the human who had originally used it. The large male wolf chuckled as he watched the humans scatter in fear. He nodded and returned to all fours and took off running to catch up to his pack.

     “We will have to find another home my friends. I am sorry. We all knew this day would come though, there were too many times already that the humans had come looking for us.” Stela announced to the pack once they were a good few miles north. “We will continue to head north and find a new home.” She nuzzled Ana and held the woman close, savoring the moment. 

Part 6

"Between Heaven and Hell" -Preview

     Hello everyone, I am very excited now that this project is nearing the 2/3 way, to announce it. First a little background on this project. It's been a six year in the making story. I started it in high school and I have redone it more times than I should have. Here I am, finally nearing the finish line of the first draft and I couldn't be more excited. So without further ado, let me introduce to you my first full length novel, "Between Heaven and Hell". *Please note everything here might not make the final cut.

     When Kira sells her soul to the devil, she gains some pretty amazing powers. Little does she know that she will regret them when she falls head over heel in love with an angel. Love cannot conquer all and when her heart get's broken, she blames the world. While dealing with that broken heart she must face some of her greatest challenges, like coming to terms with her past, all while the world is suddenly in great danger. She's torn, will she shave the place she calls home, or will she watch it all burn? 

And now an exert:

     "Darkness was all around her but her new master watched anyway with glee. "Take your reward." His fingers snapped and the sound bounced off the cave walls. Kira never heard the final echo. Her own cries drowned it out as pain rushed through her body."



     I am aiming for a release date sometime this summer. I also have a wonderful artist that will be doing the cover work that I am beyond excited to see. I'm also looking at posting some character profiles and what not here and there, just so that you can all get excited for it as well. Also please don't forget to go subscribe here to get "Silver Mane" delivered to your inbox day's sooner than it's released as well as promotional items like discounts.

Non-political views

     Alright, there has been a lot going on in this country (USA) and let's face it, it hasn't all be good. But I did just want to make a quick post and let you all know this. I won't be talking about it here. It won't come up and my personal views will not be expressed here. This blog is about fantasy, and books, and good things in life. I believe that politics are to depressing and it pulls out a monster in everyone and that doesn't belong here.

Silver Mane - Part 4

Start Here

     The monster of a wolf stood there a moment, his eyes meeting his alpha’s and with no more than a curl of her lip, he bowed low and walked away. Within a moment he returned dragging the kill into the center of the pack. Stela pulled her human up with her, watching any who would oppose her and tore into the dead animal. She ripped out the heart and dropped it in Ana’s hands. A grin was on her bloody face and without a second thought she dug into the animal, the pack following her lead.

     Ana had the still bleeding heart in her hands as she backed away from the circle of wolves. It was a feeding frenzy and she wanted nothing to do with it all. She looked at the organ in her hand. She knew what it meant, she wasn’t stupid. It was a vital organ, normally given to those who are most important. Alphas, and expecting mothers. As far as she knew, she was neither. She plopped herself down on the ground and rooted around for two stones and some small twigs. She quickly built herself a fire. One final perk of being someone’s slave, you knew how to make fire in a hurry. She laughed at the memory of having her master’s cane come down across her back. She could laugh because she knew that it would never happen again. The thought gave her piece of mind.

     She took the raw organ and slowly cooked it over the small fire, her eyes never leaving the feeding wolves. It was odd, in a good way. It reminded her of a home that she never had. A family eating around the table, as one. She sighed and dug into her own dinner. This would be her life now. The wolves, her family, at least until they got tired of her. The meat was oddly sweet compared to what she was used to. It was heavy and thick and oddly the most amazing piece of meat she had ever ate.

     The feeding came to a close as the pack members had their fill of the animal. Stela walked over to Ana and sat down, her paws heavy on the grass. “Did you get enough?” She nosed at the woman, her breath hot as she spoke.

      This was the most kindness that anyone had ever shown Ana in her life. This so called monster had more grace and respect than her old master and he ruled lands. She found herself smiling at the question and as she turned her head her eyes met those of her wolf. It already didn’t scare her anymore. She was easing into their lives and for once she was happy. The eyes that watched her blinked slowly and every move the animal made was slow and deliberate, making sure not to scare her. The paw moved up and brushed a strand of hair out of the girls face. Ana found her breath caught in her chest for a moment, then she remembered the question. “Yes, I did, thank you.”

Part 5

Writers and Ice Cream Shops

     I was reading a ebook today on my train ride home and ran across something that got my brain working. Up until this moment I had been thoroughly enjoying the book. It’s called “52 Ways to Sell More Books” by Penny C. Sansevieri. Here is the exert from the book, it was in a chapter about knowing your industry.

“What would you think of a store owner who opened a yogurt shop in downtown San Diego only to find that fave other stores were opening within months of his, one of them a very successful franchise with a huge following? Wouldn’t this make you sort of wonder why on earth this store owner would do that, I mean open a store without doing the proper research?”

Now when I first ready this I had to pause a few moments and reread it just to be sure I got this right. Because that wasn’t actually the first thing I thought about. I didn’t in fact wonder why he would do that, because while in the end game it might not have been the smartest choice, we don’t know his full plans. I thought a man here has a goal and a dream, and he’s doing whatever it is that he set his mind to. That part was inspiring.

Let’s face it, Most big chain ice cream/ yogurt shops have all the same stuff, are priced a tad too high and have a high percentage of High Schooler employees. If this man does things well, and proper, and brings something new that those big name places can’t. He right there would have a hand up on the market. Maybe he will make all of his product in house and fresh, instead of from some bag mix shipped from a warehouse.

It hurt me a bit when I read this and I took some time to reflect on how it was said, because yes I can understand her point, and the need to know what your industry is doing, but with how she words it, none of us should be writing. Taking the same example that she gave us. “Why do something when someone bigger than you is already doing it?” If that was the case, we should all give up now because I’m fairly sure most of the basic ideas have been used.

I personally believe that no two minds work the same or think alike. How you write something, let’s say a dragon setting a city on fire, and how I write it, can come across very different to a number of readers. Some will like yours others will like mine. So back to the ice cream shop. If you write, and you specialize in something. You write it. Take those big ideas and open your mind and heart up and let it loose next to those “big chains” (or authors in this case.) and show the world how you do it differently. We need stories, books, ideas. We need them to be new and fresh because what works for you, doesn’t always work for me.

What are your feelings on this topic?  

Silver Mane - Web series part 3

Part one here.

     “Pack?” Ana’s eyes got big and she sat at full attention.

     Stela nodded. “Yes. I am the alpha so as long as you are mine, you are safe. They should be back from the hunt soon.” She smiled. It was odd to see a smile on the canine muzzle. Her lips pulled back while she tried to mimic the look humans normally have but with her teeth it looked like something from a nightmare. “I bet you are hungry.” There was still a hint of satisfaction in her deep grumbling voice.

     As long as I was hers? The thought alone sent Ana back into fight or flight mode. She seemed to escape one cage only to land into another one. She curled herself back up and only nodded. She was hungry but the voice inside her was still worried about everything. She was so unsure how her life was about to change. In one sudden swoop she felt like the world was turned upside down. Or perhaps it was just her hanging. The howl in the distance pulled her away from the what if’s.

     “Come, meet them.” The wolf finally stood up to her full height and out stretched a paw to the girl who sat still on the bed of straw. “They will be excited to meet you, Ana.”

     The girl reached up, her hand hovering just over the paw pads of the beast who was now in charge of her life. She still felt safe but also still scared. The two stayed like that for a moment. The wolf never pushing her. That gave her a settling feeling. Ana threw caution into the wind and let her fingers fall against the soft pads. With one swift movement she was pulled ever so gently to her feet. Her head spun for a moment for not moving for so long. She thought for a brief moment that she would fall, but before her body could even give out, Stela was right there pressed against her. Keeping her stable for a few moments before she stepped back and led the human out of the cave.

     The sun was still setting and it seemed as if time itself had stopped. Ana blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright light, compared to the darkness of the cave. She looked around here. There was a collection of massive wolves just like the one who had been talking to her all afternoon. Each was slightly different. Stela took her time and introduced each one in turn. First she pointed to a pure white wolf. “That’s Kavos.” He nodded and stepped back. A light tan one took his place. “Tucker.” He was smaller than the others and thin but he was still much larger than Ana was. A black and silver wolf stepped up next. “Alice.” She nodded and hopped back, perching herself on a rock. Another stepped up and took her place. A total of about seven wolves were introduced in this manner. Ana smiled and nodded as each one bowed to her, even though she knew she wouldn’t remember them all. It was such an odd feeling, even, happy.

     The last one that lumbered up had a stag slung over his shoulder. This wolf however was more than twice the size as the others. He was a true beast. “Aurel.” Stela nodded in his direction as he tossed the animal onto the ground. He grunted and stepped closer to the human instead of away. His nostrils sucked in air. It smelled on her and he snorted as he stood back up to his full height. “Problem?” Stela’s lip curled as she spoke.

     He crossed his arms over his chest and kept himself squared with his alpha. “She’s human.” Every other wolf tucked their ears and just watched.

     Stela pulled the girl closer against her body. “And she is mine.” All of emphases was placed on the last word.


Part 4

Current Reading Exert - A Game of Thrones

            "The Other said something in a language that Will did not know; his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, and the words were mocking."

     I just want to talk a bit about this line. It is from A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. To sum up the book for those of you who haven't seen the T.V. series or read the book; it's a massive collection of seven books total that follows a few different characters through the worst winter many of the lands residents have ever seen. There are supernatural forces waiting outside the kingdom's protective walls. So the main conflict lies with the Stark family of Winterfell. They seem to have a lot on their hands. 

     So far I really am still early in the book, only a few chapters in out of a 800+ page novel. However this little piece stood out to me. There was so much in that single line. There was feeling. Emotional and physical. It drew in all of my senses and really made my heart race a bit at the thought. That my friends, is good story telling. Those are some goals that I hope to reach in my lifetime.

     What have you been reading recently? What's a line or two that really stand out to you?