Haven’t had a lot of time to write, but I’m steadily working on it.

This is a Work in Progress. It is an original work, raw first draft with all it’s errors and mistakes. But it’s mine, all mine, so don’t post this anywhere!

He’d kissed her. That was his last memory of Eclipse, before she’d run into the dark void that threatened the swallow the city.

“No! It’s loco, Eclipse. You’ll be killed,” he repeated, shouting above the roar as everything around them was being sucked towards the void like a vacuum. He held tightly to her arm, as if he could physically restrain her from going. Beneath the transparent films, her doe brow eyes were calm and unwavering.

“Target, I need to get this device in there. Signal said it’s frequency will close our little black hole.”

“She’s not positive it’ll even work, but you’ll be sucked in either way! I won’t let you!”

“It will work,” she said firmly, willing him to believe it. “My life is a small price for the whole of Capital City.”

“The cost is too high!”

“We got into this knowing what it could mean. We live in the moment, from day to day, because it might be our last. You need to let me go.” She was right, he knew she was right, and he damned her for it anyway. He reached back for the hidden fastener that attached his mask to his suit, undid it, and pulled the mask off.

They’d worked together for a long time, but he had never revealed his face, never crossed that line, and neither had she. They were teammates, partners, even friends, but their work starkly refused to consider the idea of anything more.

He kissed her, hard enough to bruise, his two-day stubble scratching her face. Her lips were warm, and she tasted of sweat and dirt and blood and…something sweet and earthy. For a long moment, the void, the vacuum, and the flying debris didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.

She broke away from him and, without even looking at him, turned and ran full-out for the dark maelstrom.
Five months later, Target could still taste that kiss if he thought about it. He tried not to, but when he was here, standing in her shadow, he couldn’t help it. He looked up at the granite statue of Eclipse, one hand outstretched as if reaching for someone. Capital City had built it as a memorial for their vigilante hero, and it stood in stark defiance of the federal law banning super-powered activity. A great law, Target mused bitterly, as it did little to curb supervillain activity, who barely noticed one more law to ignore.

“Shades of Grey” is a novella in progress. I’m writing it because I’m burned out on my novel (which is still simmering in the back of my head). It’s a superhero original fiction. I’m writing it because I need to be writing SOMETHING, and this is an easy option. BUT. It also means I can work on some of my weaker writing abilities, without having to worry about the rest of it. I don’t know if it’ll be any good or not, but if I learn from it, it’s worth it. I’ve already set up a progress bar. I’m targeting 20,000 words, but it could be more, or less.

So, here’s a snippet from my WIP.

This is a Work in Progress. It is an original work, raw first draft with all it’s errors and mistakes. But it’s mine, all mine, so don’t post this anywhere!

Capital City — Now…

“Hurry up and load this stuff, will ya? Somethin’ ain’t right, and I got a bad feelin’ in my stomach.”

“Probably just that Chinese you had for dinner, Billy. Relax, will ya?” He turned to another man and lifted another heavy box. “Ignore him. He always gets fidgety when we’re on a job.” Their laughter rattled uneasily in the still night.

“Yeah, keep laughin’, Marcus,  but I’m tellin’ ya, it’s just the old days, when Eclipse was runnin’ around. Just like before a tornado hits. The calm before the storm, ya know?”

“She’s dead. We saw it on the t.v., remember? Ding, dong, the witch is dead, and it means we can party. Hand me that–”  Marcus went abruptly silent as the moonlight was snuffed out, and a cold darkness settled around them.

“You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.” The voice was little more than a whisper, raspy and ethereal, but it scraped their minds like a coarse grater. They looked up, disbelieving the shadowy figure perched on top of the truck, spelling out their doom.

Target landed lightly on the ground, his feet barely disturbing the gravel as he walked. His suit was inky black, and indistinguishable from the darkness around him. He scanned the area, perplexed at the scene before him. Three men, battered, bruised, bloody, and mercifully unconscious, were tied to and propped up against a pile of expensive electronics.

“Hmm,” he uttered thoughtfully. “Not that I mind the help, but just who had a hand in this?” One of the men moaned, and Target approached him, and kneeled. The man coughed and looked around to orient himself. Up close, Target was stunned at the beating the man had taken–one eye had already swollen shut, and he had a large gash on his forehead. He’d lost a fair amount of blood. As his good eye cleared and met Target’s gaze, Target tapped the button on his wrist. “Hola, amigo. Care to tell me what happened here?”

“You…you’re one of them, aren’t you?” He spat blood.  From the small communicator nestled within his ear, Target heard Signal’s voice over their secure frequency.

“I’ve alerted the police dispatch to your current position, Target. Their ETA is eight minutes.”

“Copy, Target out,” he responded audibly, which he considered the only flaw to Signal’s expertly designed system. Forgetting that, he focused on the man in front of him. “My name is Target. I take it you were trying to lift these items here. Who caught you at the job?” The man’s face flushed with fear, his one good eye widening, his lips trembling.

“G-ghost,” he stammered. “She’s the wrath of God, and she’s come back to haunt us.”

“Eh? Who are you talking about?”

“Eclipse.”

I am the new, ongoing director for Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton for Pendant Productions. For two episodes, I’ll be co-directing with the assistant director, Jennifer, and then taking over completely for episode 31. No, it’s not a paid job–entirely volunteer. I’m enjoying the work, and I’m glad to be giving back to Pendant, from from whom I’ve received HOURS of audio drama enjoyment.

Speaking of jobs, no new on the teaching front.

My novel is undergoing MAJOR changes. So much so, I may not even be able to keep the same title. I’m liking what I’ve come up with, but it still needs some working out.

I’ve been very busy lately, and that’s not likely to change until at least August. So updates here will be sparse.

However, I frequently update my twitter, so you can track me there, too.

Just very, very busy. I’ll update soon!

My first name is a Latin word that means, roughly, “rounded, polished, smooth, fine, elegant.“

It’s a close approximation.

Yeah, I know, I know. Been a while. I’ve been busy, see.

In the past approximate 2 months:

• I’ve turned a year older (30 is inching closer…)
• I took Thomas, my cat, to the ER and Vet for a serious condition that required a lot of money and a prescription diet.
• I found out my sister is having my NEPHEW
• My laptop computer crashed violently, and I’ve installed Linux on it (using it right now, in fact)
• My brother left for boot camp.
• I received my Wisconsin teaching license

Right now, I’m sick. Sinuses, I think, and definitely a pain in the butt. I’m heavily playing a Nintendo DS game called Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It’s an interactive mystery, and I’m enjoying it a lot.

My reading list includes…The Stone Mask (JLA/Batman novel), I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, Night Echoes by Holly Lisle, The Silver Door by Holly Lisle, The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Peterson, and a non-fiction My Life Among Serial Killers (research purposes, don’t freak out on me).

I’ve been doing development work on my novel, find the holes and fillin’ them in, and fleshing out the rest. The story is better for this, and I hope to be writing again this week.

I signed up for a tw0-week online writing course, Writing Dialogue Cues and Body Language Like a Psychologist, by author Margie Lawson. It starts…Sunday. I’m looking forward to this one, since it’s an area I need to work on in my writing. In September, I plan to take another author’s course on sexual tension–also an area I need to work on.

Those who know me, know that I fully support and encourage Holocaust education, as appropriate for all grade levels. I received an email the other day, that I want to share here.

Please remember that, although the Holocaust ended 63 years ago, prejudice has not been eliminated. Around the world, ethnic and religious groups are persecuted for who they are, and what they believe. Darfur. China. And more. Genocide is not a thing of the past, and we need to stand together, united, against ALL of it.

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other way!

Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.

Thank you, Greg. I agree.

…Just sayin’.

Anyone who knows me, know what a huge fan of Peter S. Beagle I am. His stories are magical–stories that defined that particular cliche. The Last Unicorn will always be my favorite. So much so, that when I ordered my new iPod this morning, I requested engraving on the back that will read “…and then the Unicorns came out of the sea.” Which is my favorite scene from that wonderful book. Tamsin, is also amazing, as well as The Innkeeper’s Song. A Fine and Private Place is my next tackling. I’ve also read some of his short stories, but none of these particular stories…

Conlan Press is putting out an effort to try to sell out of the publisher’s limited printing of 5,500 copies, to encourage another larger printing. If you are a fan of Peter Beagle, go get yourself a copy before March 31st (Conlan Press’s deadline date). If you’re not a fan, you should be. You will be hard pressed to find an author better than he.

By the way, this would make a great birthday present for me. (HINT HINT!) So if you love me, pick me up a copy (unsigned is perfectly fine, though signed would be fabulous, and personalization doesn’t really matter, but if you want to, go ahead). If you decide to do this, I ask only two things. First, buy from this link, and this link only. Buying through Conlan Press ensures that Peter gets a larger percentage of the profits. (“More than half the purchase price on this product goes to directly support Peter S. Beagle and his works”–works which include the next Last Unicorn novel!!!) Also, please let any of my other friends know you’re getting it, because I cannot read more than one book at a time.

If you do this, know that I will love you forever.