A short story.

Here is another short story I wrote for the Tuesday Tale Group I am involved with. Hope you enjoy. Till Next time.

Guardian Angel

Samantha was just a normal young woman, in a normal town, living what she thought was a normal and somewhat boring life. She was living on her own, having moved out of her parent’s house when she was 20 years old. She worked two jobs and she was going to school to get a degree so she could make something of herself. She told herself that she didn’t have time for a serious relationship and besides, she knew what she wanted out of life.

            She arrived at work, 10 minutes early like she always did. It never hurt to make a good impression with your boss. She was the legal assistant to the best defensive attorney in the city. She kept his schedule organized, pretty much kept his life organized.

            “Sammie…” as he liked to call her, probably because she really didn’t like that nick name very much, “Lets run over my schedule before the first appointment arrives.”

            She stopped trying to get him to stop with the nick name. He had been using it that nick name for her for the past few years. “Yes Mr. Sampson, right away. Let’s see, your first appointment is at 9:30am with a Mr. Duckworth. He is charged with Grand Theft Auto and resisting arrest, along with carrying a concealed weapon without a license.” She continues to run through his schedule, telling him when his appointments are and when he is scheduled to be in court.

            Mr. Sampson dismisses her and she returns to her desk to man the phone and to type up the forms and things that he needed for the day. The day passes by with not much excitement. When 6:00pm finally arrives she, shuts down her computer and turns on the auto answer on the phone. She pokes her head in Mr. Sampson’s office to say goodnight, then leaves the office, hoping she will be able to catch the 6:30pm bus.

            Samantha arrives at her apartment at 11:00pm having went to her other job and night school, drops her stuff on the chair, goes to the fridge to get a bottle of water and slumps into the couch, slipping out of her shoes. She turns on the local news and watches it for about five minutes, then turns it off, wondering why anyone can stand to watch such depressing stuff on the TV. She finishes her bottle of water and then heads for a long overdue bubble bath. She was going down the hall when all of a sudden she stops in mid step. She slowly turns and looks back at the way she came, shrugs, and continues to make her way to the bathroom to take that bath. She slips into the nice hot bath and closes her eyes, taking the heat in.

            As she lies there, trying not to think about work, the bathroom door slowly starts to open with an eerie squeak to it. She sits up in the tub with a start, just in time to see her boxer’s wet nose nudge open the door. “Max, you scared me.” Max goes over to her and licks her face, knowing she wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him after that. She shoos him away and finishes her bath. She put on her PJs, called Max to her, and went to bed.

            As Samantha slept soundly, a small white light appeared in her room, it steadily got brighter and brighter until her entire room is filled with this light. As the light gets brighter and brighter, a messenger stepped out of the light, and then the light just disappeared. This messenger steps over to where Samantha is sleeping and softly whispered something in her ear and then left the same way, through the bright white light.

            After the messenger left, Samantha began to dream, and in this dream she found herself at work. She started watching herself work and noticed that she was much older. She also noticed that she didn’t have a ring on so; she figured that she still hadn’t had time for marriage. The phone rang, and she reached over the desk to answer, and her hand passed right through it. Her older self reached over and answered the phone and it was her mom, and somehow she heard both sides of the conversation.

            “Hey Hunny, how are you doing?”

            “I’m doing fine mom. What can I do for you?”

            “I was wondering if you had time to talk for a minute or two.’

            “I really don’t right now Mom, I am swamped at work, but I am glad you called.”

            “Alright, could we go for lunch, I would really like to talk to you and going to your father’s grave site.”

            “Sorry Mom, I am working through lunch today, maybe tomorrow. You know I don’t like to go there, its way too depressing.”

            “Oh… okay Hun, I will call you tomorrow.”

            “Alright Mom, I need to go.”

            “Alright Sam, I love you, bye.” Her mom hangs up the phone without waiting for her to answer, knowing she won’t take the time to go to lunch with her tomorrow. The older Samantha sighs in frustration, speaking to herself, “I really wish she wouldn’t just call me up at work, doesn’t she understand that I have a lot to do.”

            The scene shifts to a graveyard where there is a group of people standing around a grave watching as the casket is lowered into the ground. Samantha moved closer to see whose funeral this was. She looks at the program that one of the people attending is holding. She notices that it’s her mother’s funeral. She scans the area looking for her future self, but she is nowhere around. She turns away from the funeral, with tears in her eyes. She knew deep inside why she wasn’t at her own mother’s funeral. All of a sudden, she found herself in her bed. She lets out a deep breath and tries to collect her thoughts.

***

            The blinding white light flares to it brightest, and then winks out. Standing in place of the light is a large being. He walks over to the other being standing on the other side of the room. The second being spoke first, “How did your mission go Gabriel?”

            “It went well father. The seed has been planted, now we just have to wait and see what she does with it.”

            “She will remember and things will turn out for the best son.” Gabriel sighed, and turned toward his father. “Phase two will happen in a week.”

            “Are you sure she is the one my son, this isn’t a game. You have to be sure.”

            “Yes Father, I am sure.

***

After a relaxing bath, Samantha grabbed her smart phone and called her parents, just to make sure they were okay. She hung up the phone, feeling better knowing her parents are doing fine. The dream she had keeps entering her mind and she wondered about the meaning to it. As the days pass, she thinks about the dream less and less.

A week passes and Samantha gets home after a particular hard day at work, drops everything, and collapses into her bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. As she sleeps, the same being appears from a blinding white light and whispers into her hear again.

“Forgiveness is the road to redemption. Love is the heart and hope of the world. Hope is the soul of the dreamer. Heaven is the home of my God. It only takes one true believer to believe you can still beat the odds. It’s never too late to apologize.”

http://tuesdaytales1.blogspot.com

Cover Art

Here is what we have so far as the cover for my upcoming book. It was done by my wonderful wife, Liz. Let me know what you think and how it can be improved. Thanks. Till next time.

Editing Process

Greetings and Salutations Everyone,
If there is one thing I have learned about writing a book, it's that the editing process takes almost as long as writing the book does. When I started writing the current book I am in the editing process i never dreamed it would take this long. I have also learned that social networking is key to selling books and promoting. Even though this is a lot of work, it's also a lot of fun and I enjoy every minute of it. One of the things I have learned that helps is having wonderful people who have gone through it before with you to help. You know who you are. Thanks for everything. Till next time!

New Year

Greetings everyone. Its a brand new year, and it's not only a new year, but a time to start new. Time for resolutions and hopefully we keep all of our new years resolutions. I have set goals for myself, I have started a boxing class so I can get into shape and I have set a goal to get my first book published this year. If I have learned anything, its that in goal setting, you have to be specific. In losing weight, you can't just say I am going to lose weight, you need to set a specific goal such as I am going to lose 25 pounds. Lets everyone set specific goals and do everything we can to reach them. Good luck to everyone.  More to come.

What to write? (Guest posted by Shaun Allan)

Do you have one project on the go, or a handful?  If the latter, do you have big hands?

And, whatever the size of said hands, do you find yourself juggling, the ideas thrown up in the air, with you ready to grasp at any that might fall within reach?  Sometimes, do you find they're in a pile at your feet and you're simply staring at them, knowing you should clear them up but not knowing which one to start with?

Or D: All of the above?

I think I fall into all of these categories, to be honest.  At least at some point.

Of course, there was that year they all hid under the sofa and I couldn't find a single one.  Sneaky buggers, they were.  I could hear them giggling and whispering, but I couldn't lay eyes on them.

At the moment, it's fairly calm.  They're not jumping on my head, they're not in a pile at my feet and they're not spinning in the air hoping they'll be the one that I'll grab.  The ideas, of which there are plenty, are all lined up nicely, taking it in turns to have a chat with my mind.  My problem, now, is that the one I might want to work on isn't the one that steps up to the plate.

I always thought that was a dinner plate, resplendent with a good old fashioned Sunday lunch - all roast beef, potatoes and veg - when I was younger (and, being from the UK, not entirely understanding Baseball lingo).

A short while ago I discovered 30,000 + words of a children's book I'd written a while back and forgotten about.  Sin and my children's collection Zits'n'Bits had not only stepped up but, Sin especially, had eclipsed my view of my other ideas.  So this story, starring the good with Puddlebrain, was quietly waiting for its chance to shine.  When I opened the document and re-discovered this, I was shocked, to say the least.  That's a lot of words to misplace, but that is what had happened.

So now I REALLY want to finish it.  My daughter will love it, and I hope others will too.  I've re-read it to get back into the flow and the style (particularly of the character Thistle) and have started to add.  I can see where it's going to go, and am looking forward to finishing it.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, Sin doesn't like to be ignored.  He has his blog, his Diary of a Madman (http://singularityspoint.blogspot.com), where he talks about his experiences and the people he meets within his asylum.  Sometimes, he just needs to be voiced and I can't help it.  He's not content with taking ten years of my life to complete, so he has his blog and he has the beginning of his sequel.

Sin is, sort of, my 'Dark Half', so, being so much a part of me, he tends to shout louder than his brethren.  It's not so much of a problem, really, as he always has plenty to say, but sometimes I just really WANT to concentrate on one project - dear, neglected Puddlebrain for example.

So.  It's not so much a jostle of ideas poking around at the inside of my head with sharp sticks, it's more of a line at the bank, waiting to pay money in, or, in some cases, make a withdrawal.  Listening to the muzak that's playing in the background whilst staring at the floor or the ceiling or anything other than the back of the head of the person in front to count how many grey hairs are still managing to sprout in the bald patch.

Except Sin keeps pushing in line.

He's like that.  But that's ok.  Along with many of his other problems (the deaths, the screams, the asylum and his dead suster), it's not really his fault.

Do you have one project or a handful?  If the latter, do they take you by the hand and lead you, or do they drag you to only they know where.

Sometimes, I wonder who's in control.  Me or my characters!

-

Regards

Shaun Allan

Senior Inspection Assistant

Website: http://www.shaunallan.co.uk

Twitter: @singularityspnt

Blog – diary of a madman: http://singularityspoint.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/shaunallan

Interview with G.R. Holton

I would like to thank G.R. Holton for taking time to guest post on my blog. This is a Q and A we had.

1. What kind of books do you write and how many have you written so far? 

I have written four books so far with three being science fiction and the last is a children’s picture book. My first book which started out as Journey to the Edge was reworked and released as Soleri which won the Books and Authors.net Science Fiction – reworked for 2010. I then wrote Guardian’s Alliance. Both Soleri and Guardian’s are YA. The other science fiction is my award winner, Deep Screams. It has won Books and Authors.net’s Best Science Fiction for 2011. The fourth book is called SQUAZLES!. It is a children’s picture book about not judging others by how they appear.

2.  When is your next book being published?

Hopefully by the summer of 2012. It is a science fiction/fantasy called, “Dragon’s Bow”.
    3.  When did you start writing, and what inspires you the most?

I have actually only been a writer for just over two years. Before that I didn’t even like books. But I made a friend on Facebook playing a game called Farmtown. She was a great person and introduced me to her husband who is a screenwriter and movie director. He allowed me to read a couple of his screenplays and I was instantly hooked. I knew that I had to write. Usually it is my dreams that give me my inspiration. All three of my sci/fi novels have come after having a dream of a situation or place.
    4.  Why did you pick the genre that you currently write in, and are you currently considering writing in a different genre?  Why or why not?

I have always been a science fiction fan ever since I could watch television. I was weaned on the original Star Trek (yeah I am dating myself a little). I loved anything to do with sci/fi or superheroes. Writing has become an escape for me. I don’t think that any genre is off limits (although I don’t see myself writing a romance novel). My current WIP is more fantasy than sci/fi, so crossing genres for me seems to be the ticket . Deep Screams is the one that brought me to the knowledge that you can cross any genre as long as you have a great story. After winning the award for best sci/fi really cemented that for me.

5.  Tell us about your creative writing process.

Hmmm…a process huh. I really don’t have a true process for my writing. I usually come up with a storyline after a vivid dream and then let the characters run the show. They control the plot and the outcome. Which I never really know until I have a few chapters written down. The names of places and beings always seem to just be there like they have lived in my head all along. I do write some stuff down to keep things straight, but not like a outline. I am a definite pantser letting my fingers do the talking as the story progresses.
            6.  Who is your favorite author, past and present, and why?

Favorite authors…that’s a tricky question for me since I don’t do much reading. I have read some Stephen King and Isaac Asimov. Two different styles completely, but they each held my easily wandering attention.

7.  What motivates you to continue writing?

Writing for me is therapeutic. I continue to write because I have so many pent up ideas in my head (most from my Bipolar issues) that writing seems to be able to calm my soul. If I were to sit and think about it I could probably start twenty different stories at a time and they all would be completely different. In fact, I always have at least two going at a time in case I get bored with writing one, I can go to the other.
8.  How do you get ideas for your stories?

My dreams are my biggest contributor. The rest is an imagination for the obscure. Part of the reason that my work has won awards is that I don’t read to many other people’s works. I have done some reviews for friends, but most of them are not in my genre. This keeps everything fresh.
9.  If you didn’t become an author, what do you think you would be doing now?

Playing silly facebook games and maybe go fishing a little. I like fishing, though I stink at it. Just being somewhere else unlocks my mind and allows for free thought.
10.  Give us an insider look into your latest novel.

By the year 2145, the nations of Earth had finally gotten past their differences, and the Earth Coalition was formed. The people of all countries were now united as human beings, not segregated by nationality or race since multiple wars had left parts of the planet uninhabitable, the Coalition decided that a space station would be launched into deep space on a twenty year mission to find  planets in other solar systems that could  sustain human life. Six years into the mission, all signals from the Omega Space Station had suddenly stopped.  The Coalition called for an emergency mission to intercept the space station, to ascertain what had happened to the ship and crew,  and to do whatever was necessary to bring the station back online.

As they embarked on their mission, the new team had no way of knowing what they were going to encounter when they reached the Omega Space Station. It was not the station that was dead, and they are not going to be alone.
    11.  If your novel made it to the big screen, what actors do you see playing the key characters?

Okay…The main characters are Commander Milton who would have to be played by George Clooney, Captain Craddock would be cool if it was Gerard Butler, and the Computer Engineer would have to be Xavier Samuel from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
    12.  What’s the worst experience and best experience you ever had as a writer?

The worst thing was my second publisher. I got taken there. I learned a valuable lesson with them. RESEARCH…RESEARCH…RESEARCH!!! It cost me a lot of money and in the end had nothing to really. The best thing was winning Books and Authors.net best science fiction for 2011 for my novel, “Deep Screams”. I literally did the happy dance in my office!. 

13.  Where do you see yourself in five years with your writing and your life?

I plan on at least one of my books to be optioned as a movie. I am doing screenwriting for Deep Screams and already have one from Soleri. My dream is to be on the big screen and I just know it will happen.

14.  Where can people find you and your books on the Internet?

They can find them at all the online book sellers or directly from me at www.grholton.com.

http://www.amazon.com/G.-R.-Holton/e/B004NORNHM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1324514305&sr=8-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/g-r--holton?keyword=g.r.+holton&store=nookstore

Christmas Time

I have always loved the Christmas season. It's a time of year when everyone seems just a little nicer and things seem to go a little better. People are willing to help those in need just a little more willingly. I like a lot of people love to get presents, but that isn't what makes this season great. It's the act of giving that does. Some of my most fond memories are when I gave during the Christmas season, no when I received. So lets promise to give this season, not just receive. Till next time.