New Book, New Site

I have a new book, but I also have a new website! I've copied this blog over to my new Wordpress site, so join me there!

Happy Valentine's Day! Spellkeeper, Book Three of The Bacra Chronicles has been released into the wild. The ebook and paperback aren't linked yet, but they should be soon.

Love is at the core of this book, but it's not all romantic. Old love, new love, romantic, platonic, friendship, familial, redemptive, even learning to love oneself. Spellkeeper is often dark and violent and devastating, but can also be sweet and funny. One of my beta readers described it as "a real emotional roller coaster."

I highly recommend reading Cavelost and Faelost before Spellkeeper, but the same things I said above can be said for them. Love and survival are the driving forces for my characters, but those two things mean something different to each of them. All three books of The Bacra Chronicles can be read for free if you have Kindle Unlimited!

The Bacra Chronicles is an epic fantasy series, but it's a little different from much of the genre. The books are about dragons and magic and adventure, but they're also about living with chronic pain and mental illness, families forged by both blood and choice, struggling through that awkward cusp between adolescence and adulthood, and clawing our way out of the darkness to become better than those who hurt us. The cast is diverse, the language tends toward snarky and colorful (especially once the mercs arrive in the second book), and the journey is a wild ride through a world inspired by locations that include the American Southwest, California, and the Pacific Northwest. I don't particularly recommend The Bacra Chronicles for readers offended by: queer heroes, mental health/chronic pain talk, soft men, assertive women, blood, explosions, casual profanity, blatant insolence toward authority, or weaponized forks. Everyone else, good luck and have fun!

I hope you take a look at my odd little fantasy world. It's quite a ride and I love it just as much as I love my first series, The Malora Octet. I'm writing Book 4 now, and I think the series might finish at Book 6. Who knows, though... The Malora Octet was nothing but a short story that got out of control, after all.

Rain Falls on Malora

Rain Falls on Malora is now out, in both ebook and paperback.

This short story collection spans the entirety of The Malora Octet, from Mirren Kelta's story halfway through the Mayfly Requiem timeline to Sora Thula's story sixty years after Arrow of Entropy. Rain Falls on Malora expands the narratives of established characters such as Lucienus, Solace, Rabbit, and Vutan, as well as introduces new characters, including two of Bethel's children from the millenniums between Shadows of Absolution and Sand into Glass. I don't recommend reading any stories that correspond to books you haven't read yet because there is a lot of revealing information within them, both spoilers for the books and connections or events that were always in my notes but didn't make it into the final versions of the books.

I've also included character illustrations (color in the ebook, b&w in the print), and a selection of appendices that includes a Volle-Common translation dictionary and family trees (incomplete because one particular character shows up in multiple locations and makes it difficult to draw the trees by hand).

I started working on The Malora Octet in 2003, when I had an unexpected burst of inspiration between my junior and senior years of college and wrote the first half of The Crystal Lattice. I didn't finish that first draft for several years, but when I did, I knew I had to write more. Although I don't think I'll ever truly leave the first world I created, I think I'm finally done writing in it.

A Little Bit of Magic

What feels like a long, long time ago, I wrote two little stories called "Lastborn" and "Facsimile". They were released on May 31, 2018 within the sci-fi anthologies Holding On By Our Fingertips and Infinite Dysmorphia by Kristell Ink/Grimbold Books. I won't give any specifics on the plots of the stories here since I don't want to be a spoiler, but I will say I'm proud of them and I hope you enjoy reading them.

Photograph by Aline de Nadai on Unsplash

I finally finished a project I began three years ago, and I'm in the last couple steps before publishing it. Rain Falls on Malora is a collection of eighteen short stories set within the world of The Malora Octet. Each story is told by a minor, non-narrator, or entirely new character from the series who hasn't been able to share their own version of events until now. The stories begin with the reveal of what happened to a certain missing character in Mayfly Requiem, cover the Echoes of Oblivion years and their aftermath, introduce you to a couple of Bethel's children who lived between the trilogies, and close with a narration by Sora Thula sixty years after Arrow of Entropy. I'm also including some original character illustrations, maps, family trees (this got way more complicated to draw out than I expected. Thanks, Bethel), a Volle-Common translation dictionary, and some recipes and poetry I created while working on the series.

I'm waiting on my print proof copy now so I can do final edits and fix any formatting errors. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble converting this file to an ebook. I'm excited to give this little treat to my long-time readers, some of whom inspired specific stories within this book. So, here's to the characters who finally get to tell the world their own versions of the truth: Mirren, Delora, Ariana, Summer, Sharo, Rastaban, Mirazen, Rain, Aurelien, Solace, Maple, Zoli, Ulali, Laira, Terali, Eliani, and Sora.

I hope to release Rain Falls on Malora in July. I'm in the process of moving to a different state, so between that and the setback I had with my repaired ulnar nerve earlier this year, I'm a little behind where I wanted to be. I had an ulnar nerve transposition in my right arm in September and I have some permanent damage from the hourglass constriction that lead to it, so I've had to modify how I type, hold a pen, cook, etc. It has been a long and painful process, but I'm getting there.

Photographs via Unsplash: Nathan Dumlao, Christian Holzinger, Christopher Campbell, Steve Halama,
Tess Nebula, Jing Ang, Ricardo Gomez Angel, Nate Reyfield, Aline de Nadai 

Oh, look at that! The weird things I do when on migraine meds... I wanted to make the chronological order of The Malora Octet a little more obvious and tie the entire series to Rain Falls on Malora visually, so I redid all of the ebook covers. I love seeing them all together. I've left the paperback covers alone since it takes more time to change them than I have right now. You can still find all eight books on Amazon.

Last, but very much not least...

I finished Faelost!

I'm also awaiting the arrival of the Faelost print proof. I like to use a print copy to do my final edits, and this one will take a little while. Why? It's long, 145,000 words, so it's by far my biggest book (Mayfly Requiem was *only* 130k). And, I have no idea what to write for the blurb without spoiling something major that happens just a few short chapters in. I'll have to think on that.

Faelost is the sequel to Cavelost, and it continues immediately where Cavelost left off, but it should work as a stand-alone story. It's told by Rin's second son, Tessen, who finds himself on an unwanted adventure following the hatching of his brother Shan's two stolen dragon eggs.

Oh wait, there's just a little bit more. I'm working on The Bacra Chronicles Book 3 now, Spellkeeper. I'm way into it and hoping I can keep up my momentum on it over the summer. Spellkeeper is the first time in over ten years that I've written a novel in third person (the last being the Echoes of Oblivion trilogy). There are four point-of-view characters for this book -- two from the previous books and two who are new. I'm not sure yet how many books The Bacra Chronicles will end up being, but as of now I know where books 4 and 5 need to go.

Busy, busy, always busy

First of all, I have a new book release, and it is nothing like my others. Elora Goes to the Moons is a children's book I wrote for my youngest daughter, who loves the Moon. I made a weekend project of flying the cartoon version of her through the Solar System. Several of my friends wanted their own copies of the book after seeing my fragile scrapbook version, so I scanned it, uploaded it to Createspace, received a beautiful-looking proof, and made it available in paperback on Amazon. It's handmade and handwritten, and it has a lot of fun little science facts throughout.

I've hidden my epistolary blog, Cavelost. Why? Because it's finished. I've done a couple of editing rounds on it, and today I uploaded the formatted version so I can get a print copy to do final edits and copyedits on. The characters have decided to expand upon their world and make Cavelost the first of a series called The Bacra Chronicles. I'll be starting the next book, Faelost, during NaNoWriMo. Cavelost is told by a former mercenary named Rin Sylleth, who wakes up trapped in a massive cave system. Faelost will be told by Rin's second son, Tessen.

On a sadder note, I lost my cat muse on Friday. Reno passed away suddenly during the night, and we have no explanation for it. Since he was young, only between 4-6 years old, the vet said it was most likely caused by a heart issue. We adopted Reno on Valentine's Day almost two years ago. He helped me out of the doldrums so I could finish writing Sand into Glass and editing The Crystal Lattice, and he sat with me through nearly every word of the three books I've written since. I'm in shock and I'm going to miss him tremendously. I keep expecting to see him lounging on his favorite chair and when I get up in the middle of the night, I run my hand across the end of the bed, expecting him to be there. It's difficult to write without him by my side.

Huron Update

The print and Kindle editions of Huron are now linked together and visible on my author page, so it should be easier to find my newest book on Amazon. You can even read Huron and my previous books for free if you have Kindle Unlimited, and you don't need a Kindle since Amazon has free e-reader apps for many different devices.

Huron

I've done it, I've finally hit the "publish" button on my 2015 NaNoWriMo project, Huron. The paperback is up on Createspace and Amazon, ebook version is live on Amazon. The versions should be linked together within a couple days. I fought with enough of my own monsters to fill a forest in order to bring this little horror story to life. Huron is a significant departure from my previous novels, and I hope you enjoy it.

On August 1, 1998, a trio of seventeen-year-olds venture into Huron National Forest near East Tawas, Michigan for a live-action role playing adventure. Before long, all three realize something is watching them from the forest, something that no mythology or cryptozoology they know of can explain. Thus begins a twisting, turning, terrifying chase into an old-growth forest inhabited by nightmares.

Time-Lost Again

I haven't been able to write much recently. It's not due to writer's block or lack of ideas. I'm just exhausted. I have ideas eating away at my mind, but no energy with which to resolve them. I had kidney stone surgery at the end of July and that flared up my narcolepsy to the point that I have trouble staying awake for more than a couple hours at a time. I had bilateral stones, so I had a second procedure, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy - ESWL, on my other kidney last week. I don't think it worked (will find out next week), so I may be in for a second surgery. I needed a stent for the first one and that was a little traumatic, so the prospect of going through that again is keeping my focus wobbly. I'm time-lost for the moment and hoping this narcolepsy flare doesn't last too much longer.

I do feel a little productive though, due to something I wrote in May. My short story, "They", was published in a little anthology Possibilities Publishing Company put out yesterday. The book is available in both e-book and paperback, so get your copy in whichever format you prefer.

I feel the need to stay productive despite the surgeries and narcolepsy, so I've returned to an old hobby... drawing. I'm planning on including some of my artwork in Rain Falls on Malora. I'm also drawing a geeky coloring book unrelated to my books, but since it's fan art, I don't think I'll be able to publish that unless I figure out copyright for each of the books, TV shows, and movies I've drawn artwork for. You can see some of them on my Instagram, though.

I want to share with you coloring book-style pictures I've drawn of characters from the Malora Octet. I bought a set of art pens recently so this has been a fun new experiment.

Bethel Masiona and Saruza Starsinger. Bethel is always a pain to color
against complex backgrounds for reasons that are obvious if you've
 read the series.

Rain and Dawn. I may alter this into a cover for Rain Falls on Malora
if I end up including Rain's short story in the book.

Silvan and Mairen from Arrow of Entropy. I don't want to be a
spoiler so all I'll say is they're learning how to spar.

Ravaki and Safora from The Crystal Lattice. I'm not happy with their arm
positioning, but I love how the rest of the picture turned out.

This was inspired by Nira's letter to Azfadel in The Crystal Lattice.
It's amazing how just a couple lines reveal her postpartum depression.

Arrow of Entropy

It's over. It's finally over. The Malora Octet is complete.

12 years of work, 8 books, approximately 2570 printed 6"x9" pages, 10,500 years of history, 14 meddling and fallible gods, 4 reluctant demigods, 11 point of view characters, few survivors.

Arrow of Entropy published this morning for both eBook and paperback. 

I unleashed this final volume with a mixture of relief, elation, and sadness. I feel like I'm moving away from a familiar place, away from my friends and comfortable surroundings, and traveling into the unknown. I can always go back to visit, but I no longer live there. Home is somewhere else now. I think you'll see why when you read this story. There was a broad arc to this series, and Arrow reaches the end point of that arc. I'm playing short stories told by minor characters from the series, but those are just little treats for my loyal readers to give them some additional historical depth and some interesting twists in the canon that didn't fit into the main narrative.

Onward, and I'm waiting for the moving truck to arrive so I can unpack the elements of my new storytelling home. I already have a new imaginary best friend, and this one is straight out of my adolescence. I'm switching genres for a while and working on a concept for a horror novel set in Northeastern Michigan in the mid-to-late 1990s. I've already experiemented with this and had great results... my short story "They" is being published in a Halloween anthology soon.

I'll keep you updated on the anthology as I know more about the release date and title. I'm excited about it, since it's the first time I've submitted my work for consideration and the publisher snapped it up.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Arrow of Entropy. A lot of love went into this book, and although it ended up being a totally different animal from the previous books, I believe it is a fitting conclusion to the Malora Octet.

Sand into Glass

Sand into Glass is now available on Amazon!

I am going to die here. The rage in my soul has finally defeated my mind and now I'm on trial for a crime I'm not certain I committed. Atalor is a festering pit of a city and it has declared me its most reprehensible victim. 

My name is Arden Masiona. Yes, those Masionas, the perpetually magical family headed by the immortal Time Child, Bethel Masiona. I am mundane, however. I'm the only non-mage in a family of extraordinary people and they've never let me forget it. No... I can't acknowledge my heritage anymore. I am no longer part of my own family. Rage has rendered me an exile. 

Time wants to claim me, but I am not hers to claim. I am an apprentice of the Desert, a child of eternity, a prisoner of my own soul. I am the Glassmaker, and Atalor is where my story ends. 

Sand into Glass is a stand-alone prequel to The Crystal Lattice and falls 6th chronologically in the Malora Octet.

My seventh baby has flown from the nest. Arden Masiona's story unexpectedly became personal for me partway through the first draft, so I'm a little nervous about introducing both him and my psyche to the world. I've always created art as a means of coping with pain, and this book exemplifies that. It took me three years to complete the first draft, but now it's not just a draft, but a completed book. I had a little trouble leaving Arden's headspace when I switched over to writing Zella's story, Arrow of Entropy, and you may see why as you get to know him.

This book isn't a typical epic fantasy. It does take place in a fantasy world, but it ends up being an intimate glimpse into the mind of a very troubled person, who is on trial for a crime he's not sure he committed. If you've read The Crystal Lattice, then you've already met Arden, but in that story he only hinted at the darkness lurking in his own soul. I won't say more, because this is Arden's story to tell, not mine.

Depression and Sand into Glass,

I'm releasing Sand into Glass on May 6th. I'm a little amazed that I finally completed it, given what I've been through in the last two years, but finishing this book became therapeutic for me. I had to experience my own PTSD and depression in order to understand Arden's. The triggers for our illnesses were much different, but the thoughts and physical symptoms he and I experienced were similar. I realized when I finished the first draft that there was no way I could have written the last quarter of the book if I hadn't walked through the darkness myself.

Mental illness turns you into a liar and forces you to fake being a functional person. Some days it's impossible to fake your way through life, especially the days when depression renders it laborious to breathe and it becomes overwhelming to think through the steps it takes to make a peanut butter sandwich or pour a glass of orange juice. It's a horrible thing to go through, waking up to the feeling that whatever you used to be is dead and your soul has been replaced by a wraith. Basic tasks become overwhelming and exhausting.

I wish I hadn't needed to trudge through my own personal abyss in order to understand Arden's, but my experience gave me a perspective on his situation that I never could have experienced otherwise. We both experienced the desperation of the sunlight being just out of reach no matter what we tried to climb on. We both found that even though we thought we were at the bottom, there was still a little deeper we could dig and with every level the sunlight got farther away.

I was gradually able to pull myself out of the hole my mind had dug, and once I reached the surface I found myself in a creative burst that I'm still experiencing. I finished editing and published my oldest baby, The Crystal Lattice, finished writing Sand into Glass and am about to publish it, and I'm 44,000 words into Arrow of Entropy, the final book in both the Emergence trilogy and the Malora octet.

Right now I'm giving Arden a hug because I put him through a lot. He's resilient, but even resilience has its limit. His story can be bleak, but juxtaposed against that bleakness are both love and hope. My beta readers fell in love with his story, and I hope you do, too.

Holding Sand in my Palm

Closer, closer, drawing ever closer.

I have in my hands a proof copy of Sand into Glass. It's a mess because my PDF conversion decided to take a block of about 50 pages and change the formatting so the first character of each paragraph was a different font. I've fixed that error and now I'm reading through to make sure all other errors are corrected. Once that is done, I'll try again with the PDF upload and hopefully I can do that one little thing I've been waiting three years to do -- hit the "publish" button.

I am going to die here. The rage in my soul has finally defeated my mind and now I'm on trial for a crime I'm not certain I committed. Atalor is a festering pit of a city and it has declared me its most reprehensible victim.

My name is Arden Masiona. Yes, those Masionas, the perpetually magical family headed by the immortal Time Child, Bethel Masiona. I am mundane, however. I'm the only non-mage in a family of extraordinary people and they've never let me forget it. No... I can't acknowledge my heritage anymore. I am no longer part of my own family. Rage has rendered me an exile.

Time wants to claim me, but I am not hers to claim. I am an apprentice of the Desert, a child of eternity, a prisoner of my own soul. I am the Glassmaker, and Atalor is where my story ends.

The Crystal Lattice

After twelve years, countless editing rounds, two complete rewrites, and a file corruption that ate half of one of my rewrites, The Crystal Lattice has finally flown the nest!

You can find the ebook on Amazon and the paperback on Amazon or Createspace. The paperback will be available through other vendors soon, but I'm going to leave the ebook exclusively on Amazon for a couple months while I swear at the ugly formatting.

This book scares me a little. I was a lot younger when I wrote it so the tone is quite different from my later books. It has its dark moments, but over all it's lighter. The Crystal Lattice is a fantasy adventure and a coming-of-age story about a young man with an elemental soul and the heart of a bard.

So, now I can return to something heavier. I'm casually editing the dark and somewhat-claustrophobic Sand into Glass while writing the first draft of Arrow of Entropy. These two encompass the events on either side of the history of The Crystal Lattice. Sand takes place before Lattice and it's Arden Masiona's rather troublesome backstory. Arrow of Entropy takes place after Lattice, and so far in my head it's a both story of the redemption of at least one previous antagonist and also a love story for the end of the universe. If you ever were curious about Oblivion, you're finally going to meet the Element the rest of the Web fears. All I need to do is write it.

Limbo

I'm in love. I fixed some formatting issues and uploaded the final version, so now it's sitting in publishing limbo.

Drifting and Drafting

I'm drifting on the wave of post-book bliss. I finished the first draft of Sand into Glass this afternoon. It took me two years longer to complete it than I expected, but it turned out I needed to trudge through my own personal abyss to figure out how to drag Arden through his.

This book is unusual and I'm not sure how to categorize it. It's a courtroom drama from the defendant's point of view, but it's also an epic fantasy and a dive into the underground caves of mental illness. I went into this book prepared to dig into my own psyche and toss it out naked for the world to see, and I think that is exactly what I am doing.

Now I wait and let the bats settle for a short time while my mind clears. I need to do some rewrites and flesh out the bonier parts, but the story is there and it is finally out of my head. In the meantime, I have some other projects to attend to.

I'm currently waiting to receive my proof copy of The Crystal Lattice. I decided to switch things up and make Lattice first in the Emergence trilogy even though it is chronologically second. I wanted to start out the trilogy with the lighter book and then dig into the dark. I have some additional copyedits to fix on the proof and I need to make sure the formatting is correct, then hopefully I can hit those little "Publish" buttons and release my oldest and most reclusive baby into the world sometime this month.

I'm also starting to take notes for the final book of the trilogy, which is also the final book in the Malora series. This story has been in my head for a couple years but I needed to write everything else first. I'm going to have fun with this one, and I hope you eventually will, too. You'll finally get to meet the elusive Oblivion. Also, several characters who have been fixtures throughout the series finally get what they deserve, especially Rassa. At least, they get what I think they deserve. Arrow of Entropy is going to be a wild ride and it will mark a very definitive ending for my stories of this world.

Emergence is a loose trilogy and not a continuous storyline. Each of the books is told by a different narrator in three different generations of an interconnected family. Tesji is a fiery bard with a knack for embellishment, a love of alliteration, and a hunger for adventure. Arden is the troubled son of an immortal who finally finds himself in a situation he can't escape from. Zella is a light mage with such severe social anxiety that she prefers to remain in the shadows and observe the world from a distance... which directly leads her to a kindred spirit in the form of an ancient Emergent with a lot to atone for.

I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I've enjoyed writing it. It won't be long now. The Emergents are nearly ready to come out and play.

Smashing!

It took me four days, but I finally have reformatted all five books and uploaded them onto Smashwords. I've been meaning to do this ever since my KDP Select expired, but ran into a string of illnesses and a lack of energy. The books are currently pending review for the premium catalog, so hopefully they'll pass all the formatting requirements and be available at other retailers soon. For now, you can buy the ebooks at either Amazon or Smashwords and the print copies at either Amazon or CreateSpace.

Ebooks on Amazon:

Mayfly Requiem

The Abyssal Night

Shards of Chaos

The Shattered Veil
Shadows of Absolution

Ebooks on Smashwords:
Mayfly Requiem

The Abyssal Night
Shards of Chaos
The Shattered Veil
Shadows of Absolution

So, what's next? Well, a couple of things. I ordered a couple paperback copies of one of the books to run another Goodreads giveaway. It starts on the 19th, so  watch out for that. I also made up some nice little business cards to hand to all the random people I speak to in random places about my books. Those should be in my hands soon. Mostly, though, I just need to get over this infernal cold so I can finish writing Sand into Glass. I hope it doesn't break my laptop again. I also have been working on my vegan cooking blog a bit.

Shadows of Absolution

My adventurous baby has left home to see what she can accomplish on her own. I'm going to miss her, but now I get to focus my attention on her younger brother. I'm a little frightened of this young woman, but I have a feeling greatness is lurking under her unassuming surface. She's only in e-book right now, but she'll be buying a new outfit in the next week or two so she can go out as a paperback, as well. She's not much for parties, but she does make a great bodyguard and she can tell you which mushrooms are the good ones to eat.

Setting Isen Free

The wolves were always hungry.

Nearly four years ago, I wrote the first words of Shadows of Absolution, a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure love story set sixty years after the fall of Malora. I had the vague idea of an adventure and a nameless narrator who was destined to be guided across the world the Aulor Bethel. I knew who she was, the great-granddaughter of Ganebra's former Chancellor and member of a quickly evolving race, but it took me a couple of days to find a name for her. She was strong, wary, and hid her inner turmoil behind a polite chill. She became Isen Layel, a twenty-four-year-old ranger who had experienced more loss than she could bring herself to tell anyone. She left me alone for a while so I could indulge Lani with Mayfly Requiem, but came whispering this year and begged me to finish her story.

Would you like to meet her? I've decided to set her free on Monday, July 9, 2012. I would love for you to get to know her like I have. The e-book will be available on Amazon on Monday, and the paperback will chase it in a week or so once technology catches up with itself and everything comes back into balance.

Shadows of Absolution is about more than Isen's struggle to find hope in a dark world. It is a coming-of-age story for all four of the major characters. Bethel Masiona is an immortal struggling to find meaning in an unending life while he watches his friends and family age and die as he stays the same. Holly Thula is a young man cursed to never knowing touch aside from a few seconds by the only person who is still strong enough to withstand his energy vortex of a soul. Dacibrega was raised to be a willing sacrifice, and must learn to adapt and survive after a rescue by Bethel days before his scheduled death.

Journey back to Malora with me this Monday and meet the people who have walked through my dreams for the last four years. I will take you across Ara for the first time with Isen and her companions as they try to find the last lost city of the Tenjeri. A few finishing touches, and my fifth baby is ready to fly.

Shadows of Absolution

I received my first proof of Shadows of Absolution a few minutes ago. The cover was mostly a placeholder so I could get it before I left for vacation and I need to rework it because it printed way too dark (it's darker in person than it is on the pictures below). I'll be working on it over the next week while the remainder of my beta readers finish up.

And, while you're waiting, here's an excerpt from Shadows of Absolution.

He abruptly stopped walking and Dacibrega ran into his elbow. Bethel smiled as he stared in the direction of a collection of flat, concrete walls gracing the village center. “Oh, a labyrinth.”

Some of the slabs had toppled over, but most still stood upright. Their jagged tops mirrored the rise of the Gana range to the north and west. I wondered if my grandfather used this very labyrinth as inspiration for his mountains. I made a note to ask him about it when I returned home. If I returned home. Maybe nature would finally claim me and I would never see any of them again. Maybe that would not be so bad.

I sat on a mossy stone bench near the labyrinth entrance while Bethel stepped into the maze. I closed my eyes and listened to the dry leaves rustle in the slightly salty wind. The sun stroked my face with a surprisingly intense heat, which parried the early evening chill for a short time. I ran my fingertips along the chips and grooves of the bench.

A great and richly thunderous boom rang out between the young trees. The sound did not rattle the branches as I expected. Instead it stroked them, caressed them. They shuddered under its growling vibration.

I slowly opened my eyes and watched Dacibrega swing a dried-out branch at the huge, empty water drum a second time. The drum was taller in diameter than he was and the sound it produced was gloriously deep and beautiful. I smiled at him and kicked at the pebbles around the bench.

“This place is dead?” Dacibrega asked. Or, maybe he stated. I could rarely distinguish questions from statements with him. He dropped the branch onto the cracked pavement.

“No, very much alive,” Bethel whispered. Leaves barely crunched under his feet as he reversed his path to escape the center of the little labyrinth.

“Haunted,” I said. I planted a strong kick on a jagged rock. It struck the water drum with a metallic ping.

“Nature is alive here, and so are we. It is never silent here. Listen to the wind, the little animals, the river. If you listen hard enough, you can hear the roar of Ara. This is not dead. Death is silent,” Bethel responded. He skipped over the last few low rows of the labyrinth and sat next to me.

“How would you know?” Dacibrega asked. “I don’t believe you will ever know death, not for a very long time. Not until she and I are dust under the ground and the stars shift to some unrecognizable sky.”

“I've seen enough death to have a good idea.”

“I do not think you have seen anything,” Dacibrega retorted.

Paperbacks Available

All four books are now available in paperback! The trilogy is currently live on Createspace and should be live on Amazon in the next day or so. Mayfly Requiem is also available in paperback on Amazon and Createspace and as an e-book on Amazon. I'm not sure why the thumbnails are so fuzzy.
zy

Paper Mayfly

Mayfly Requiem is now in print!  It can be found at CreateSpace and Amazon.