Honor & Truth

Chapter 27 - More Than One Way

2012-01-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

Among the Midlings, the punishment for treason was death. There was no other way to deal with someone willing to sell out the entire tribe for their own personal interests. Evera allowed Meager to live, not for her sake, but for the sake of Ramses who begged for her life. Ramses, her second in command, and leader of the second team to enter Sinistral, would need to be able to concentrate on

Chapter 26 - Trail of Cold

2012-01-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Honor lay in the center of the enormous bed. McKinley had told her that the mattress was stuffed with feathers. It was softer than anything she’d ever slept on in her life, and the lilac scented silken linens felt like rose petals against her skin. Honor heaved a sigh of resignation. The wall mounted digital clock read 0523. Honor had remained awake throughout the night trying to think of

Chapter 25 - The Fire Within

2011-12-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

Ramses jumped back, overturning the chair in which he’d been sitting. “I thought…” Words deserted him. His gaze swung between Old Mother and Alif, questioning in his eyes. Ragged gasps ripped at his lungs and his vision dimmed momentarily. Ramses blinked hard to stay conscious. Unfortunately, before he could reign in the eddy of emotions, he was on his knees retching. Old Mother knelt

Chapter 24 - The Asomatous Field

2011-11-30T19:03:00.001-08:00

Honor followed McKinley down a curved enclosed staircase that emptied into a white tiled hall. The hall, fifty yards long, was lined on both sides by black unnumbered doors. The air was cool and had the musty scent of a cave. Honor judged they were about three stories below ground. McKinley glanced back to be sure that Honor was following as he led the way. "I want you to know that I do

Website

2011-11-24T17:16:00.001-08:00

I'm in the process of revamping my website and blogs. This was a sudden urge brought about by my recent "writing fire". I've started tweeting, and I've found a new host for my website. I've been considering dropping my other blog as the new website template allows for one internally. Of course Honor&Truth remains as it stands so well on its own. I'm nervous about this. What if the muse deserts me

The Future

2011-11-22T19:39:00.001-08:00

I think that I may have mentioned in my last entry how excited I am to be back to writing. It's a terrifying feeling when the well seems to run dry, even though I know, deep down, that the feeling won't last forever. Just about every book on the craft of writing that I have ever read says that we should just push through the failing muse, even if what we ultimately write is crap. I have a hard

Back In The Saddle

2011-11-18T20:30:00.001-08:00

Finally. I am working on Chapter 24... I think it was about the same time last year that I had a non-writing jag. Something happened. Don't know what. But I got all obsessed over some character or other and then found that I couldn't write...anything. I had this weird ADHDish symptom. I couldn't concentrate and I couldn't write which made me feel blue. I've started a new practice. Four mornings

Amethyst Nectar: A Matter of Interpretation

2011-11-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Written for 3WW - Drank, Hitch, Muster McKinley handed Honor a crystal flute filled with bubbling lavender liquid. Smiling, Honor accepted the glass. She leaned back into the voluminous velour cushion of the sofa and gazed up at McKinley, brown eyes sparkling as if all the stars in the sky were trapped behind the irises. Until that moment, up close and personal for the first time, McKinley

Just A Sec

2011-10-02T22:12:00.001-07:00

Chapter 24 has taken two different directions, each one in opposition to the other. I worked on each direction and half way through I realized that neither line worked well. So I've scrapped them both for now and will wait until the REAL path reveals itself. I think that part if the reason I've had such a hiccup with this chapter is the recent work I've done on my submission for NPR's 3 Minute

Chapter 23 - Those Who Must Lead

2011-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Ramses used his bare hands to dig through the splintered ruin. Blood dripped from the palms of his ravaged hands and hissed when coming into contact with the flame heated wreckage, cauterizing, reinjuring and cauterizing the wounds over and over again. He could hear nothing above the roaring blaze and the blood furiously rushing through his ears. As if his heart were a compass and his spirit

Something Greater Than Lightning

2011-09-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

Written for 3WW – erode, heart, observe Lightning was almost seventy when he walked out of Soroton and into the Northern Woods followed by a dozen men and women. There are many accounts of that day, all of them differing, and it was a momentous occasion in that it was neither preceded nor concluded by violence, a feat in those days to say the least. That year the last of the Believer

Here or There

2011-08-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

I was going to make this post about a week ago, but decided to wait until I was sure...one day before the next chapter is due in this case. I am fasting Ramadan through the month of August. In an effort to maximize my time in order to achieve extra worship, I am going to suspend H&T until September. I know, I know, (I say this to my enormous yet invisible audience ;)) I want to know what is

The Places We'll Go

2011-08-04T04:31:00.001-07:00

Recently The Artist asked me when H&T's story will be complete. In honesty, when I started this blog novel about a year ago, I didn't expect it to go this long, so I was at a loss as to how to answer...initially. After some thought, I realized that H&T isn't really that far from a reasonable end. I am now more certain than ever where this story is going and how it will conclude. This is an

Chapter 22 - Until Tomorrow. Until Victory.

2011-07-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

"This isn't really a good time to talk," said Evera to Alif as she nodded her good-byes to the dispersing group of Midlings and Believers. The strategic planning meeting that she held in her cabin had gone better than she'd expected and despite the dire and dangerous task ahead of them, she felt that her people were more united than ever. More than that, Evera was content that she had realized

Clarkesworld

2011-07-22T13:46:00.001-07:00

I know that I have mentioned on several occasions how much I have lately been ristening to podcasts and audio books on my IPod. It is a lovely experience, especially for me, a nester, and a true INTJ personality type. Buds in ears, I get to commune in my own head and fall away to a different place. I think I am the only person that I know who enjoys the very long ride to and from the Medical

Captivated

2011-07-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Written for Sunday Scribblings - Captivate (To be read immediately after Chapter 20 - Debacle (Part 2)) Honor and Taha had allowed themselves to be spotted by the security drones surrounding the towering apartment building. They would have used stealth to search out a more concealed entrance into the building, but when they noticed the great lacquer black limo parked out front before

Chapter 21 - Convergence

2011-07-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

“We'll divide into three teams,” said Evera as she scanned her tightly packed one room cabin. “I'll lead team one, Ramses will lead team two, and..." Evera's gaze dropped for a moment before looking back up to meet the many serious expectant faces shadowed in flickering candlelight and said, "Alif will lead team three." A low murmur rippled through the assemblage of united Believers and

Out of the Woods

2011-07-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Written for Sunday Scribblings - Woods Evera lowered herself to the damp chill earth next to Ramses. She’d been trying to get a moment alone with him all day. “Spit it out.” Ramses’ head swiveled slowly on his trunk thick neck. He looked at her, eyes wide beneath a heavy brow. “Spit what out?” he said, his voice as heavy as the darkness. Evera pulled her knees up beneath her chin and

Ender's Game

2011-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

As of recent, I have been ristening (reading/listening) to the Ender's Saga of books by Orson Scott Card. The first book, Ender's Game is pretty fantastic, in my opinion, but the second and third books in the saga, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide are by far the best. I'll will soon be moving on to the fourth in the series. I recently read online that there may be an Ender's Game movie, which

Chapter 20 - Debacle (Part 2)

2011-07-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

“You sly bastard," hissed McKinley as he slapped the button pinned to his right lapel, igniting the ravaging pain in his shattered right arm. Less than three and a half minutes later a security drone was gingerly lifting McKinley from that quickly shrinking rectangular patch of carpet. The drone had fitted an airtight processor mask over McKinley’s face which was connected to tubing that

Chapter 20 - Debacle (Part 1)

2011-06-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

McKinley entered Truth's room alone. The room was dark but for the diffused yellow glow cast off by the city lights in the distance. Truth was sitting on the window seat, his blind gaze focused on a point in the distance, somewhere below his tower perch. McKinley cleared his throat before speaking. "I am Professor Hashimoto McKinley. I am the Supreme Scientist." McKinley paused, waited for

Computer Issues, Technology, The Artist, and a Destructive Restore

2011-06-15T11:12:00.001-07:00

You'd never believe this, I know I can't. I pulled my computer onto my lap this morning while still in bed. I was preparing to do a final edit on the first part of Chapter 20 - Debacle, when it shut off. I turned my beloved 17" Toshiba on several times and it did the same thing. Kaspersky told me (on one attempt to get my Toshiba up but not running) that some database is corrupted. Big ordeal. I

Parts

2011-06-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

Hey All. I've done it again…being late, that is. This time, it wasn't so much life that got in the way, but me. I realized as I was writing that I was attempting to reign this story in, when it simply could not be. I wanted to guide the characters when they wanted to walk their own course. Silly me. I gave in, finally. Chapter 20 is quite a bit longer than initially intended and as

A Short Leave

2011-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hello readers. Because of a personal project, I will be taking leave from Honor & Truth for the summer. I will return on September 15th. The Artist

Chapter 19 - A New Direction

2011-05-19T01:27:00.000-07:00

Days and nights in the Sinistral sewers were unlike those above ground. Without the light of day, the waxing and waning of city rhythms, the people below ground chose their own time, their own way of living. It wasn't until Honor began her passage down the single empty tunnel leading away from Siti's tent that she realized this. Since arriving in the sewers Honor's time and movements had not been