September Language of Worlds Linkup

Hello everyone! Happy official fall! 

It was downright chilly this morning, and I love it. Around here we’ve started chopping silage, so I’ve been spending most of my days at the outdoor kitchen making obscene amounts of casseroles for the guys, and hauling my laptop back and forth with me. 

It’s once again time for The Language of Worlds, hosted by Liv K. Fisher. Today I’m going to focus on Calgary from Blood and Dust. She’s my favorite. 

1.Your character is in crisis! Who is the first person they turn to?

Blake or Gil. Blake is a fellow saloon girl and downright sassy. I love her so much. She’s not afraid to tell anyone exactly what she thinks. Gil is the gang’s official messenger boy—except she’s actually a girl in disguise. Calgary falls back on both girls a lot when she needs help. Later in the book Cole also becomes a key support, but by at first. 

2. Who has their unconditional loyalty?

Gil. Calgary guards her secret with a passion. 

3. What cause do they believe in? Why?

She believes in Cole’s cause, to take down Dermott. It’s because she thinks it will help her find her missing friend, as well as gain her freedom to a life with more than killing. 

4. Are they easy to get along with?

Calgary is one of those people that would take the Facebook test to see how belligerent they are, thinking it was going to rate 100% and it would actually be more like 40. She’s a spitfire to be sure, and she makes life difficult for Cole, but in context of dealing with the Guns and Mr. Dermott, she’s pretty quiet and obedient. 

5. Are they a night owl or morning dove? (Or “weird daytime pigeon”?)

She’s both. Helping in the saloons she has to stay up late almost all the time. But she also gets up relatively early to start the next days meals and tend to her own work. 

6. What do they consider most vital to their health? Are they right?

Staying on Mr. Dermott’s good side, and washing her hands. She’s right on both accounts. Dermott is the “god” where she lives. Make him mad and you’re likely to disappear. And it’s a post apocalyptic setting with diseases running rampant. Cleanliness is next to godliness. 

7. What was their childhood fear?

That she would make a mistake and Dermott would notice her. That she wouldn’t be able to learn all the medical things her mom was trying to teach her and she’d be forced into being just another saloon girl. 

8. What do they have nightmares about?

Her mom. Being taken away. Her friends being taken away. 

9. What sights/sounds/smells remind them of home?

Gunpowder. Dirt. Homemade candles. 

10. What do they love most about themself?

That she overcomes. She’s always trying to be better. To learn more. To stay ahead of the game and be useful enough to keep herself safe. So far she’s been successful. 

Check out Liv’s blog for the questions, and to see what other people are answering! 

I’m off to bake a casserole.

The Girl The Sea Gave Back- book review

Hello all! 

It’s time for mass celebration, because I actually remembered that Wednesday is blogging day. 

Today I’m going to review The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young. I just finished it last night, and I’m just a little bit lost on what I’m supposed to do with myself now. 

This is the companion novel to Sky in The Deep. It takes place in the same world, with many of the same characters, but ten years later. Here is the blurb. 

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

I’m going to give this book four stars. 

The story was there. I loved the twists and turns it went on, and the characters were great. What the blurb doesn’t tell is that we actually get to be in Halvard’s (Fiske’s younger brother) point of view for half of the book. It was an interesting dynamic and I loved how distinct the two voices were. Tova’s perspective was full of eloquent words, deep analogies, and nature references, where Halvard’s voice was much more straightforward and to the point. It was very fun seeing the different details each of them picked up as important. 

I thought the plot worked really well, especially the big twist right at the end. Really there were only a couple minor things holding this book back from being a five star for me, and maybe they’re just personal preference. 

It was a little bit harder to read. Besides having alternating viewpoints, it also jumped around to different years and places, so I had to slow down and pay attention a bit more to where I was. It made sense though. There was no head-hopping or anything that heinous, just a different style that I had to think about a little more to comprehend what was going on. 

Some of the things with world-building confused me. I know she probably didn’t have the idea for this book while writing Sky in the Deep, but there were aspects of the magic and culture that were never mentioned in Sky, and yet everyone knew them in this book. It just felt a little disconnected, because a lot of it was never explained through the eyes of a character who was just learning these things, so I didn’t really understand it all. 

I had one issue with Tova, in that her excuse for the whole book was that she didn’t know these bad things were going to happen. Which was odd to me, because the instant the Svell wanted her to cast the stones, I knew what outcome they wanted, and I knew they were going to act on it and kill people. I don’t really see how she couldn’t have known that. If there would have been just a line or thought as she was casting the stones to clear up her confusion about it, it would have been much more believable. 

This probably seems like a negative review, but I promise, it’s not. All of these things were actually very minor in the grand scheme of the story. The plot and characters all came together nicely, and I was thrilled to get to see a bit of Fiske and Eelyn again (even though it wasn’t nearly enough. Never enough Fiske). 

It was fun to be in characters heads who weren’t battle thirsty. One thing that was so gripping about Sky was that everyone was after blood. The Girl The Sea Gave Back takes that same culture, but flips it to a different perspective, and that gives the whole book a fresh, yet familiar atmosphere that was super fun to read.

As far as content goes, there wasn’t much. Nothing sexual at all, no language, and very little detailed, gruesome violence. They fight, sure, but there weren’t many gritty details. Like with Sky, there is talk about gods and prayers and sacrifices. I personally don’t mind as long as it’s in a world that isn’t our own, but for others who disagree, know it’s in there. “The gods” actually play a much more active role in this book than they did in Sky, which was a bit odd to read, but it worked out. Other than that the book was squeaky clean. 

Hopefully this review hasn’t scared you off from reading the book. It was good. It was worth the read, and I’ll be reading it again. The main issue was I went in with preconceived notions based on what Sky in the Deep had been like. The Girl The Sea Gave Back is a totally different style and angle, and once I came to grips with that I was able to plow through the book and love every second of it. Give it a try! 

Have you read Sky in the Deep or The Girl The Sea Gave Back? What did you think? What good books have you read lately? I need a cure for a book hangover. 

The Sound of Brain Cells Dying

Would someone please tell the pregnant lady with the brain fog that she’s supposed to blog on Wednesday’s? 

Flash Fiction

Hi guys! 

Recently I’ve joined in a few flash fiction/short story prompts, and had a lot of fun. 

These were just in comments on posts and such, not actually featured on anyone else’s blog, so I can post them here. 

The first happened on the Story Embers forum, and it was supposed to be a genre mashup of western and psychological thriller. 

I’d never done anything thriller, psych or not, so I was kind of lost, but I tried to really play on the sense and things that would get in a person’s head. 

Pinterest 

Spurs:

Spurs jingle on the wooden boardwalk with every step, scraping my nerves. 

Chink. Chink. Chink. 

Lanterns swing from the awnings of businesses lining the dusty street, casting shadows that loom and shrink back like uncertain predators, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. 

I duck into the nearest open door—a saloon, with only slightly less shadows. The shadow of a man passes the doorway and the spurs go chinking on by. 

I cross the room to the back, the sawdust coating the floor biting at my nose. 

I settle down at an empty table and study the few other patrons. A tired looking saloon girl, sitting upright and rigid like her red costume is made of iron.

Two men at a card table, but neither one shows any signs of playing the cards laid out in front of them. 

The barkeep keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the glass he’s buffing. I don’t really want a drink anyway, but it’s strange he doesn’t offer.

In the back corner opposite me a lone figure with his hat pulled over his eyes plays a mournful fiddle, the bow scraping along the protesting strings, almost as frayed as my nerves. 

Jitters drive me back to my feet and I step out onto the rickety sidewalk as a clap of thunder shakes the sky and lightning illuminates the places the lamps won’t reach. The darkness that follows is dense enough to feel and I linger where the lanterns cast a reassuring glow as rain starts to pelt the dusty landscape. It rattles against the windows and overhangs, puffing dust into the air until the whole street is saturated. 

Thunder grumbles grudgingly and water starts to run in little rivers down the packed street. 

Probably be another gully washer...maybe even a flash flood. They’re common this time of year. 

Time to find some cover on high ground. 

Whoever built this ride-through town must have been a tender foot. It sprawls in the back of a long valley, coming down out of the lonely mountains on the horizon. Lightning dances across their gloomy peaks now. It won’t be long before all that water comes rushing right down to the front steps. 

I start back the way I’d come, toward the livery stable. I’d hoped to get a room tonight, but prospects are slim. I’ll bed down in the hayloft, safe from water, and close to my gelding if I needed to swim out come morning. 

The water is already ankle deep on my boots as I step off the boardwalk. It sloshes and ripples, melding with the crack of lightning overhead into a deafening chorus that drowns out all sound. But I thought I heard...

I turned to face the street behind me, and wait for the next lightning strike to illuminate it once again. But the street is empty, and no one else is on the walks. 

I could have sworn I heard those spurs again...

I slosh across the street and shove the barn door open just enough to slip in, before closing it again. Water already seeps in underneath, mingling with the straw and dust. 

Inside the barn is pitch dark, but I’m not anxious to light a lantern. I feel my way down the aisle to the third stall. It’s at the back, but there’s a smaller door that I can fit an unsaddled horse through if need be. 

My gelding nickers softly as I slip into the stall with him. I gently run a hand down his neck, then adjust my gun belt, slipping the thong off the hammer. I watch the front door a long minute then settle down in the dusty straw at the gelding’s feet. His breath snuffles over me, and then he goes back to contentedly munching the hay in his manger. 

I strain my ears for any sound, but all I hear is his chewing, the steady breathing of the other horses, and rain drumming on the roof. Along with my heartbeat. 

They can’t have followed me this far. I rode halfway across the country, up and down back trails no sane person would ever take. I’d left no trail. Spoke to no one. I’m just being paranoid, that’s all. Besides, the money isn’t here any way. No one can connect me to it. Not way out here. I tell myself that over and over again, but it does nothing to calm my heart. 

But a sound from outside stills it. 

Chink. Chink. Chink. 

I slowly shift into a crouched position, sliding my pistol out of the holster. I force my breathing to slow, placing a steadying hand on the geldings shoulder as I stand and lean against his neck, gun ready. 

I don’t know who is out there. But coincidences don’t follow you around in a storm. It’s going to end right here and I’m getting out of town tonight. The rain will cover my trail. I’ll disappear. 

The barn door creaks, but it’s too dark outside to see if anyone comes in yet or not. 

I ease the hammer back. 

Chink. Chink. Chink. 

This one is from Cassandra Hamm’s prompt contest on Instagram. You can find more on her page @cassandrahammwrites. 

The theme is water, and it had to include the line about sharks. 

Pinterest

Blood Prince:

Blood clouded the pearlescent water, calling to predators far and wide. 

But he was the predator here.

Aktan waved one of four arms at a school of fish with sharp teeth almost as long as their bodies protruded from fluorescent blue mouths. 

They hurled backwards as if caught in a current and he turned his attention to his broken and bleeding lower right arm. Those humans would pay for this. 

Bubbles rose from his lips, sending a haunting melody through the thick waves, and his pale green skin knit back together. 

The sharks approached him nervously, respectfully. The bloodlust had gone from their deep expressions and an immense curiosity welled in their somber eyes. 

Aktan grinned at them, spreading his arms to create a cloud of blood and bubbles around him. 

“Who would like a taste of revenge?”

And now on to the other fun stuff...

To Be Announced:

We are finding out baby’s gender this afternoon, so stay tuned to my social media if you want to know!

Do you write flash fiction? Do you have a vote of boy or girl?

Do tell.