A Handful of Souls Chapters 15 and 16

Still on a bit of a roll with completing two more chapters of 'A Handful of Souls', a tale of love, loss, and necromancy.

After the discovery of her companions' unlife, Cat is accused by the people of Toenin to be a witch of the foulest order, immediately sentenced to burn at the stake.

Enduring humiliation, condemnation, and savage beatings at the hands of a mob, the poor girl is lashed to a log with tinder set all about her. Amidst wild cheers and claims to be doing the will of the Gods, Cat's pyre is set a blaze.

But the evil within the ring has not been sitting idle. Uninterested in seeing it's grand plans halted by unruly peasants, it's vile magic has been set to purpose. And even over the mob's hoots, shouts, and hateful slurs, screams of terror erupt.

'A Handful of Souls' Chapter 13 AND 14 Finished!

In one of those rare and wonderful bursts of inspiration, I've managed to get down both Chapters 13 and 14 of my latest literary endeavor, 'A Handful of Souls'.

In these chapters, trouble is stirred up in Toenin after suspicions arise over some of the goods the party has brought in to barter with. Suspicions then grow into full accusations when Cat and her companions are confronted by villagers demanding explanations for certain discrepancies. 

Edwin does his best to spin a tale that can sooth Toenin's people, and nearly has them, before things take a turn for the worst.

A Handful of Souls Chapter 12 is done!

Chapter 12 has been written. This chapter introduces the party to the settlement of Toenin, a small farming village that has seen better days.

 

The lives of Toenin's people have never been lavish. Their days are spent toiling in dusty fields from morn to dusk, praying for rain once retired to a few old shacks, barely more than sticks and mud. Few are ever interested in traveling here and those who do are only passing through. The villagers, thin and dour from from poor harvests past, glare upon strangers with suspicion, unfriendly eyes further laced with distrust for the tales of murderous highwaymen lurking along the roads.

'A Handful of Souls' Chapter 11 - Finished

I just finished writing Chapter 11! I'm excited about it. This chapter I think really helps set the stage for the next two major events in the story by offering some background for the ring and the one sealed within.

When you read it, it may seem familiar to some as it was largely influenced by D&D lore.

In other news, I have been working closely with the very talented Connie Walker to make a cover piece for the story, which is coming along nicely and will hopefully be done in the coming weeks.

'A Handful of Souls' Chapter 10 - Finished

Hello hello! After getting my first 3D printer for Christmas I've been busy playing with Blender to learn how to make all sorts of 3D art pieces, but have also gotten back into writing 'A Handful of Souls' and just finished Part 2's first chapter!

After a harrowing battle of vengeance against the bandits that had taken so much from them, Cat and her companions try to regain some small portion of normalcy to their shredded lives as they return to their journey. But despite efforts to do so, ever present reminders plague them with the knowledge that things may never be as they once were.

 Version 1 of The Ring

'When Mice Where Giants' Update

Hello hello! Thanks to the efforts of Kayla Ware, 'When Mice Were Giants' has received some fresh edits and has been updated. This is likely the final version that will be made into a book, so if you haven't read it yet, now would be the opportune time!

Just follow the link: When Mice Were Giants

When Mice Where Giants and The Misfortune of Black Cats

Seasons Greetings, Everyone!

So, I've gone over and edited 'When Mice Were Giants' some more and have at last sent the most updated version to my awesome editor, Kayla M. Ware, host of chroniclefocuseditorial.com.

Once that is edited, I will replace the older version with the newer and be one step closer to making 'When Mice Were Giants' into a picture book!

With my part in that done for now, I'm using the down time to explore ideas for another likely short story project. This one is currently named, 'The Misfortune of Black Cats' and will be a fictional origin story for where the ludicrous idea of black cats being unlucky came from.

This story will offer a fictional early America era setting in which a young woman, the recent widow of a fairly well off man, is targeted by an especially greedy individual interested in taking all that she has received from her late husband, land, wealth, and so forth. The greedy man intends to go about this by making the young woman out to be a witch, scheming and plotting to convince the townspeople of her supposed devilry. AND it is up to her beloved pet, a black cat, to thwart these evil deeds.

Happy Holidays!