Writing
Over the years, I have developed a number of stories. Many of them have been discarded, but others still persevere. Here are some of the snippets and projects I am the most proud of.
Legends
Legends is a medieval fantasy series set in another world - Aigoya. In Aigoya, gods, magic, giants, and every monster that lives under the bed is real. Only some of them want to kill you. The story follows the story of Ren, captain of the Dauntless, and his crew as he travels from his northern homeland to the southern city of Wir Asimreya. He starts a riot, rescues the lone survivor of a ransacked village, and nearly starts a war - and that's before he reaches the city.
Snippets:
The arrow embedded itself in the trunk next to Ren's head with a very final-sounding thud.
"Stay back!" the voice shrieked.
Ren raised his hands in surrender, letting his sword clatter to the ground. "We're not here to hurt you," he said gently. "My name is Ren. Were you from the village back there?"
"No!"
Next to Ren, Sveita growled.
"Easy, girl," Ren murmured, nudging the massive dog with his foot. He raised his voice. "Are you all right? Were you hurt when the village was raided? We have a healer with us." Sorry Ketill, he added, apologizing for throwing one of his crew to the metaphorical wolves.
There was silence from the forest ahead. There was also a distinct lack of arrows. "Healer?"
"Yes." Ren took a careful step forward. "Are you hurt?"
Instead of an answer, the bushes rustled. A woman stepped out - slim, almost catlike, with wide-set eyes and dark hair, braided back. One leg of her trousers was soaked in blood.
"A little."
Snippets:
The arrow embedded itself in the trunk next to Ren's head with a very final-sounding thud.
"Stay back!" the voice shrieked.
Ren raised his hands in surrender, letting his sword clatter to the ground. "We're not here to hurt you," he said gently. "My name is Ren. Were you from the village back there?"
"No!"
Next to Ren, Sveita growled.
"Easy, girl," Ren murmured, nudging the massive dog with his foot. He raised his voice. "Are you all right? Were you hurt when the village was raided? We have a healer with us." Sorry Ketill, he added, apologizing for throwing one of his crew to the metaphorical wolves.
There was silence from the forest ahead. There was also a distinct lack of arrows. "Healer?"
"Yes." Ren took a careful step forward. "Are you hurt?"
Instead of an answer, the bushes rustled. A woman stepped out - slim, almost catlike, with wide-set eyes and dark hair, braided back. One leg of her trousers was soaked in blood.
"A little."
Tick-Tock Terrors
Tick-Tock Terrors is a series of steampunk novels. Sidney Dunwell is a fiercely intelligent steamship captain and one of the best mechanics in the city, but there's a catch - her life is tied to the existence of a pocket watch, and her time is running out. In search of a way to keep the pocket watch going, she begins tracking down the legendary Bloodeye gem, the missing crown jewel of Aderra. While on the gem's trail, she is captured by a group who is convinced the Bloodeye has mystical properties. Before they can execute Sidney for her interference, she is rescued by the beautiful and mysteries Theresa Summers, champion ringfighter, who offers to help Sidney track down the Bloodeye for her own. However, it soon becomes clear that Theresa has an agenda of her own, and Sidney must unravel it before it becomes their undoing.
Snippets:
Sidney ran a thumb over the smooth, unadorned surface of the watch. It really was an unremarkable thing - dented brass hanging from a black cord, ticking as inexorably forward as any other pocket watch.
This one, however, was a great deal more ominous. If she let it run out...if she let it break...
Well, they always said that death was the greatest adventure.
Snippets:
Sidney ran a thumb over the smooth, unadorned surface of the watch. It really was an unremarkable thing - dented brass hanging from a black cord, ticking as inexorably forward as any other pocket watch.
This one, however, was a great deal more ominous. If she let it run out...if she let it break...
Well, they always said that death was the greatest adventure.
Wardens of Soliel
Wardens of Soliel is a science fantasy novel set in and around the city of Soliel. Sixteen-year-old Zinnia Blumenthal, a nobody-much child of two nobody-much parents, finds herself becoming very much somebody after her face is plastered across Soliel's solar billboards as a missing person following a strange accident. The only problem - she's standing right there and not even her best friend can see her. In fact, the only person whose eyes don't skip straight over her are shimmering, ghostlike figures with electric guns and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as Avoir.
Through Avoir, Zinnia realizes that she is just the latest person to have vanished from plain sight - over the last year, half a dozen people just like Zinnia have also gone missing. She's just the first one they found.
Snippets:
Zinnia felt a sharp sting and realized quite suddenly that it was her arm the nurse was holding. She tried to yank it back, but all she managed was a feeble twitch. She tried to cry for help, but all that emerged was a pained moan.
"Shh," the figure in white soothed, brushing a curly lock of hair away from her forehead. "It's going to be all right."
Zinnia tried to cling to sight of their face – most of it was covered by a white nurse's mask, but the eyes were kind and blue – as blackness closed over her vision once again.
She thought she saw something bright and silver in the nurse's throat.
When she woke up, she was alone.
Through Avoir, Zinnia realizes that she is just the latest person to have vanished from plain sight - over the last year, half a dozen people just like Zinnia have also gone missing. She's just the first one they found.
Snippets:
Zinnia felt a sharp sting and realized quite suddenly that it was her arm the nurse was holding. She tried to yank it back, but all she managed was a feeble twitch. She tried to cry for help, but all that emerged was a pained moan.
"Shh," the figure in white soothed, brushing a curly lock of hair away from her forehead. "It's going to be all right."
Zinnia tried to cling to sight of their face – most of it was covered by a white nurse's mask, but the eyes were kind and blue – as blackness closed over her vision once again.
She thought she saw something bright and silver in the nurse's throat.
When she woke up, she was alone.
White Hart City
White Hart City
White Hart City is a YA urban fantasy novel following a group of teens from the isolated White Hart City. Fritz Ashworth is a nerdy loner with a knife-wielding freak for a sister who happens to have caught the attention of the mayor's daughter, Ronnie del Bosque - at least, as a target for petty theft. However, when Ronnie invites herself along on a school field trip, they're so busy arguing that they - along with Fritz's sister and three of their classmates - miss the flight back home.
Panicked, the group - none of them friends but all of them familiar - gets themselves into trouble with the police. This sets off warning signs in the shadowy 13th Division - the government agency designed to protect the country against domestic threats. When the Division's agents come for the teens, they find themselves locked in a world of secrets, lies, and intrigue beyond anything they could have imagined - and discover a threat to their very way of life.
Snippets:
As soon as the bell rang, Fritz Ashworth – a six-foot mathlete with a lot of books and no friends – dashed to his locker in record time. His fingers fumbled with the combination lock, but it fell open before he’d even entered the second digit.
“Looking for this?”
Fritz closed his eyes, sighed, and turned around to see Ronnie del Bosque – a curly-haired redhead with an attitude twice her height – holding a five-dollar bill in one hand and an expensive-looking milkshake in the other. As Fritz watched, she winked at him and took a long sip of milkshake.
His stomach rumbled.
Ronnie beamed and stuck the bill into the pocket of her shorts before vanishing into the gaggle of sophomores streaming from the math classroom.
White Hart City is a YA urban fantasy novel following a group of teens from the isolated White Hart City. Fritz Ashworth is a nerdy loner with a knife-wielding freak for a sister who happens to have caught the attention of the mayor's daughter, Ronnie del Bosque - at least, as a target for petty theft. However, when Ronnie invites herself along on a school field trip, they're so busy arguing that they - along with Fritz's sister and three of their classmates - miss the flight back home.
Panicked, the group - none of them friends but all of them familiar - gets themselves into trouble with the police. This sets off warning signs in the shadowy 13th Division - the government agency designed to protect the country against domestic threats. When the Division's agents come for the teens, they find themselves locked in a world of secrets, lies, and intrigue beyond anything they could have imagined - and discover a threat to their very way of life.
Snippets:
As soon as the bell rang, Fritz Ashworth – a six-foot mathlete with a lot of books and no friends – dashed to his locker in record time. His fingers fumbled with the combination lock, but it fell open before he’d even entered the second digit.
“Looking for this?”
Fritz closed his eyes, sighed, and turned around to see Ronnie del Bosque – a curly-haired redhead with an attitude twice her height – holding a five-dollar bill in one hand and an expensive-looking milkshake in the other. As Fritz watched, she winked at him and took a long sip of milkshake.
His stomach rumbled.
Ronnie beamed and stuck the bill into the pocket of her shorts before vanishing into the gaggle of sophomores streaming from the math classroom.