7/5/11

A Peek at My World

When I first started plucking away on this blog, I didn’t care if the words I set down were ever read. It was for me, an outlet, a way to flex my artistic muscles by posting about the situations in life that move me. I used it to absorb invaluable information about the craft of writing and publishing. I had no way of knowing that I would encounter others who had struck out on my same journey.

Like an artist wielding a brush so do we take quill to hand and struggle to leave a permanent imprint in the minds and hearts of many. We are scribes eager to be published, read, and filled with the knowledge that we’ve touched, baffled, and even mesmerized our readers. And it is an honor to share the floor with so many.

I am a writer. It’s what I do to help the monotony of the world fall into place and conform to a more attractive pattern. Having said that, it didn’t seem as a surprise to me at all when I gave birth to a galaxy, conjured it out of the void.

Twelve planets occupied the unusual solar system. At the head was Pantheas. (There is symbolism behind the name. I have based it on the theory of Pantheism, the belief that God is everything, that we are all connected.) To govern this planet, I created Craven. (Also symbolic of his rise from fear.)

He is my protagonist, my hero. The story begins and ends with him. It was my intention to describe him in this post, but maybe the best way I can do that is to include a short excerpt. This material has been tweaked to keep from revealing deep dark secrets.

(I’ve given the man powers, looks, a planet, and a woman. He was happy. Then I started messing with him. The first thing I did was cause his woman to betray him by stripping her of what she loved the most.)

 

*

Craven looked away. “I’ve been called a man of deep passions, mostly because I don’t give my heart to just any woman. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her.” He stopped talking. The pain was wrenching his ribs apart.

*

*

(This scene begins in the throne room. Consumed with fury over his woman’s betrayal, Craven succumbs to a moment of weakness, an indiscretion. He snatches a palace pet, a name used to describe servant women to the king. Had I not tweaked it, the scene would have revealed his powers and the secret that makes this story unique. This is also a small attempt at smoothing out a hot sex scene.)

*

Hands touched her, and a mouth, an oral conduit of liquid fire. He was everywhere, inside her, stretching her, filling her. She leaned back onto the man, intoxicated by the movement of his pelvis and the hand weaving expert torture on the flesh between her thighs.

Dreamy eyes regarded the king of Pantheas. “My lord?”

“Nydia, are you alright? The first time can be difficult.”

She grew a fiery red before sitting up. “I’m fine.”

He tapped her cheek. “Good. Then go now.”

She hurried to her feet and ran out of the throne room.  Soon she’d be telling the other women about their encounter.  They would gossip happily as was the female tendency. A smile flirted with his lips, but he refused to give in. He stood, glanced at the ground, and inhaled a deep breath. He had betrayed his own code of ethics. Life couldn’t possibly get any worse.

*

*

(And then it did, much worse, but that takes the rest of the book.)

I've just completed editing the first 200 pages of my manuscript.  I hope that by the time I finish edits on 500+ I'll have longer dialogue and maybe a scene or two to offer.

I've managed to sketch out a cartoon character of Craven.  This is what I have so far.  It's black and white and scratchy (kinda ick).  I can do so much better.  His eyes should be an unusual shade of green, and the scar should be on the other side.  His hair is black.  If you're wondering about the spots...no, he's not a shifter, but what he is and why he looks the way he does reveals plenty of my plot.  (I also know what he looks like naked, but that would be inappropriate.)




Tomorrow I'll post something brief on my heroine.

*

Check out something cute.  This is my favorite cartoon character and the easiest drawing I've ever finished.                                        "Sentimental Reasons."


See you all tomorrow.

16 comments:

  1. You drew that Pepe le Pew? That's a FANTASTIC sketch.
    Me likes your story. Hope you had a good 4th!

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  2. Thanks Bryce. Hope you had a happy 4th too. Pepe is easy to draw. You should see me try to sketch Bugs Bunny...eek.

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  3. I thought this was a good a place as any to write this. To my followers. I've added you all so I can follow you in return. Mohammad, I can't tell just by looking at blogger to see if you have a blog I can follow, so if you ever comment I will do so. :)

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  4. Kaila, vivid writing, and I appreciate the limited amount you showed. =D

    If I was critiquing this, I would ask how the smile that flirts with his lips balances with throwing away his entire code of ethics. That seems like it would be a huge emotional upheaval for him. Shouldn't the narrative touch on that?

    It doesn't sound like he took this girl for the pleasure (though the nerve endings would be them same as if they were--if that makes sense). He took her because he was angry and was striking out at having been betrayed.

    I'm glad he was concerned about the girl. It's not like she really had any choice in the matter. He's the king, after all. If she hadn't wanted to do it but felt she had to, would that count as a form of rape? Obviously that depends upon the culture you're building here. In some places, it would be considered an honor to be taken by the king, including any get that might result. But if this goes against his ethics, then that's not the case. Hmmm ...

    Girl, what kind of mess have you created for him? ;)

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  5. @Carrie. Thanks Carrie, I'm glad you liked it.

    @Donna. I didn't go deeper into Craven's power and perhaps I should have at least skimmed the surface. See, everyone in my story has one, a gift, a power. Craven has the ability to travel the psyche. I removed the section in which he actually attacks the girl, erases the memories of that bad experience, and plants new ones.

    He smiles because she seems happy, oblivious that it wasn't her choice to have him touch her. He saved her from the psychological effects of his assault.

    In Craven's personal code of ethics, he doesn't take a woman without asking.

    Thank you for commenting...^-^...Next time I'll pick an excerpt about Craven that I won't have to tweak.

    As for the mess he's in, it gets worse.

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  6. Whaaaaat?

    Whoa, I thought, let's see what Laila wrote today, and, uh, didn't expect that. LOL.

    I'm kind of intrigued, though. There's a strong market for these kinds of stories, so you should do well when you're done. Be careful about word count, though, it sounds like it's climbing pretty high for the genre -- if I can throw my two cents in. :)

    Good job, thanks for sharing.

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  7. Please, though, Laila. Let's tame it down a little tomorrow. It's supposed to be about 100 degrees here, and I don't need the help in the heat department. :)

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  8. "an oral conduit of liquid fire". I freaking love that. You're an awesome artist by the way. Now I totally want to read your book.

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  9. Craven is a wonder. That's all I'm admitting to at this point. LOL

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  10. @L.G. Thanks. Come on now, I cut out one whole page to be nice on the blog. That's not as hot as I can get. That was tame, really. Thanks for the heads up on word count. I'm keeping my eyes open on that...99000 ish.

    @Bryce. Will try not to get too steamy for you, but it'll take effort. It's the least I can do after the whole quick on the draw thing. Just take a deep breath and turn on the fan. :)

    @Lisa. Thanks Lisa. I'll have to admit when I wrote that and went back to edit I thought it was pretty cool too. Now I wish I had posted the whole page. I'm an okay artist. :)

    @Joylene. Thanks for the compliment to Craven. He really is, and there's so much more to the book. (Struggles, different life forms, angels, powers, his whole relationship with my heroine. I can't wait to have the world read it.

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  11. LOL, I've always liked that Pepe. ;o) Woo, good progress on the edits! Keep up the good work!

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  12. Your drawing of Craven is quite haunting and the picture of Pepe adorable--but the real art and mastery is obviously in your ability to conjure up an entire world--when I am having trouble with the one we have!

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  13. @Carol. Thanks. Bustin my butt on edits.

    @Desert Rocks. Thanks Eve. I happen to believe that fantasy worlds are much easier to play with than the real world. Reality gets complicated.

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  14. Wow, your story sounds interesting, as well as...steamy!! :) I love that you have all these dark secrets that you can't reveal, it makes it that much more intriguing.
    I like your drawings also. Craven looks like a hunky kind of guy. And Pepe Le Pew, well, he is in a class all his own. Great job.

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  15. @Heather. My story has its steamy parts, but there is so much more. Everyone should have a peek at Craven. I'm glad you like my drawings. See you around. :)

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