Flash

I don’t have much to talk about right now. I am reading a werewolf story that will be reviewed here soon and am working on a couple of stories. So this week is just some flash fiction.

L. E. White

Flash

The clouds had been building for days and weathermen around the world were baffled. There wasn’t a single place that didn’t have cloud cover and people were starting to worry about the lack of sunlight.

Then the lightning began.

Perhaps God had finally decided that a flood wasn’t enough or maybe Mother Nature thought we should be introduced to a global bug zapper.

I didn’t care.

I stood in the center of the tallest hill of my farm. I faced the sky and held my arms out wide, inviting the sky to strike me down.

Just like she had been.

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Code Review Comic

you_down_wit_OPC-yeah_you_know_me.png (744×612).

I agree. This is so true for programmers and yet I know others are doing this while looking at my code too.

L. E. White

Review – Rabbit in the Road

So, I was actually asked to read and review a story by someone who I didn’t already know. You could color me surprised and I was happy to agree. I then received an Amazon gift of “Rabbit in the Road“. A joint venture from authors Danika Potts and Oliver Campbell.

To sum it up in a short and sweet way, not bad. While I won’t be dancing up and down the streets telling everyone that they have to run out and buy it I will recommend it for anyone who is an urban fantasy fan. The story has an interesting magical system and good plot. I would say three out of five stars.

The story revolves around Beverly and covers a decent span of her life. We start out by meeting Bevie in a subway car when she discovers her powers. As she and her counterpart move through the story time is handled by hopping from one instance to another of Bevie trying to find her place in the world while avoiding her buddy.

The magic system is based on a lock and key structure. Each person is tied to another. Only when the two are together will their magic be activated. Once activated, the person will continue to be able to use it but at a very limited capability. When the people are together, then their power will be exponentially increased.

The plot is solid. The magic system is intriguing and I think there is possibility for more stories in the same mythos that they have created. This is very well done.

However, the fact that they broke their own system rules right off the bat makes it clear that they weren’t rules. Now, for a few characters this would make sense. Special situations exist and is the world builders right. But, there is a section where a fairly large group goes into the paired nature of the system that doesn’t make sense with as many people as are breaking the rules by the end. I can see where it might have all been tied to one character, but this still jumped out at me enough to break a part of the story.

Finally, I think there needs to be more time spent in developing a relationship with the main character. This story is about Beverly. I should therefore care about her and I never did. She ended up being a vehicle for the story instead of the driver. It might have been an attempt to show how she was trying to find herself but I never got a clear image of who she was. That said, the authors have some great characters, my favorite was actually one of the bit characters. A Native American shaman who was hardly a character at all. Yet, when I think of this story, he is the image I have clearly in mind. Beverly needs more time to be herself in this.

So, while I felt there were a few glitches I did enjoy the read. Danika Potts and Oliver Campbell told a pretty good story and I will be looking to see if they continue writing together. As I said up above, a solid three out of five stars for “Rabbit in the Road“.

Just for fun, today’s flash fiction is based on the magic system from the book. Like I said, an interesting system that I believe has a lot of potential. I hope Danika and Oliver do more with it.

L. E. White

Meant To Be  

They stood toe to toe; fingers woven together as each stared into the other’s eyes. The world swirled around them as if they were on a merry-go-round. The people, tables and potted plants spun in a dizzying array as their minds showed the truth of each to the other.

Their shoulders had brushed together as they were passing and activated the magic. As his wind and her fire swirled together in a maelstrom of destruction and chaos they felt the only true love either would ever know. The crowd’s screams became their love song.

Then the ceiling came crashing down.

Holistic Browser

Holistic Browser.

XKCD is now offering this holistic web browser. They proudly list it as the least useful wed navigation tool ever.

By the way, just in case, don’t use it at work. They warned you and so did I. Use this carefully.

L. E. White

 

Steampunk Apartment With An Expressive Interior | DigsDigs

Steampunk Apartment With An Expressive Interior | DigsDigs.

This is really cool looking. They went all out and I am very impressed.

YES! WAHOO! HAHAHA!

I am doing a happy dance. Yes, it looks funny. No, for once, I don’t care

I did it. I got my first confirmed publishing credit and I am so happy I could explode. My motivational YA short, “A Song of Courage”, has been accepted for “Shield of Wisdom: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Athena”.

The projected release date is May of 2012. This is a charity project with proceeds being donated in Athena’s name. Thanks to Natalie for telling me about this.

This is also the first time I have had an editor reply back requesting changes. I loved working with someone to improve a story. This is something that I really look forward to doing again.

I just can’t wipe this grin off of my face.

L. E. White

Dripping

There were splatters of red everywhere. Random bits of ooey and gooey stuff that stuck or dripped or plopped of its own free will. It would be hell to clean up if anyone tried.

He didn’t know if someone would try to clean it or not. Those details didn’t matter to him anymore.

When he had seen what she was doing he had been stunned. “How could you?” had been his mantra throughout the entire ordeal. Yet he had watched; a literal calm before the storm.

Then he had snapped.

Now there was silence, broken by the drip, drip, drip.

Review of book two from the Zombie Bedtime Stories – Locked Out

Today I wanted to continue with my review of the Zombie Bedtime Stories by Thea Gregory (@TheaIsis). I already reviewed “Locked In” a few weeks ago so we can move on to book two, “Locked Out”.

In the second story, Thea takes on the story as the director for a local lab that is being commandeered to run testing on samples from the outbreak. Of course, typical zombie hi-jinks ensue as a staff member has been infected. The internal attack occurs as well as the inevitable overrun of the facility. The only thing these medical researchers manage to do is get evacuated. Anything else would be a spoiler so I will stop there.

Now, I felt the story itself stayed in the well traveled plane of modern zombie fiction. Nothing in the plot lines stood out but everything was well done so it remained enjoyable. One thing that did happen was a couple of looks at the main character. There was what appeared to be a hinting of sexual tension that wasn’t given time to mature. I personally think it could have been explored but that would have required the group to remain in-tact and in location so I can see why this didn’t happen. The rate of infection really suggested that this should have been ignored.

The other look I could have done without. There was time spent on the more mundane elements of the facility director’s job. In the beginning of a zombie apocalypse I realize that many people would continue to attempt to handle business as usual but I just don’t want to read about it. This is a small complaint since it was also a small element of the story.

So, how would I rate the book? It might surprise you but the answer is better than the first. While “Locked In” had a better overall plot and a fresher take on the genre than “Locked Out” did there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the writing between the first and second. You get a feeling of the author’s style having matured that was impressive. I still have the third book to read and review but I am hoping to see this trend continue.

A good read. You should give this four out of five star work a try. If you aren’t a fan of zombies, The Zombie Bedtime Stories just might convert you.

L. E. White

See and be Seen

When Tammy had started to study witchcraft her mother had said, “If you spend your time trying to work with magic then the things that you are looking for will begin to look back at you.” At the time she thought the idea was stupid. Predators attack the weakest members of a flock, not the strongest.

What she didn’t understand was that some things have taste. Just because something else might be easier prey that didn’t mean that the risk wasn’t worth it if the taste was better. In some dark circles of the never-never there were those creatures who had developed a taste for humans that could use magic. These monsters were like great metaphysical bloodhounds. They could smell your magic and they were only too happy to find a young witch who had done something stupid like opening a gate to allow the Fey into her life. A gate that wasn’t crafted using a single name but was instead a truly open door.

As she sat inside the tiny circle of salt with her arms wrapped around her knees Tammy wept and whimpered. She rocked slightly in an effort to stay awake until her mother came home tomorrow. If she slept she would stretch out or fall over and break the circle. She couldn’t fall asleep.

It was waiting.

 

30DrSeuss_quotes.jpg from mamiverse.com – StumbleUpon

30DrSeuss_quotes.jpg from mamiverse.com – StumbleUpon.

I think it is just like when you buy a different car. Suddenly you start seeing them everywhere when you hadn’t really noticed anyone driving them before. I posted my take on Dr. Seuss and this is one of many on-line references to the good Doctor that I have seen since Wednesday.

Very cool.

*** EDIT ***

I just found out that today is the good Doctor’s birthday.

I feel sheepish, Yes I do. I feel sheepish, how about you?

Unspeakable Vault

Unspeakable Vault.

For all of you out there who are Lovecraft fans. Enjoy a little bit of Friday funny.