Weekend Writing Warriors 27/3/2016 - Impcatcher

This is my entry for Weekend Writing Warriors. 

Firstly, thank you to everyone who made me welcome last week. 

And secondly, anyone who hasn't come across WeWriWar needs to go here to see all the extraordinary talent on display.

My snippet this week is again from Impcatcher, and carries on from where we were last week. Tal Djandiss, the eponymous impcatcher of the title, is in a pitch black cellar, attempting to catch a rogue imp...

Lady Varra had said the imp was only a recent arrival, a weak little tyke without the experience to be troublesome.

A sudden rattle of movement warned me that said weak little tyke was endeavouring to be thoroughly troublesome. There was a swishing sound in the still air as another choice vintage spun towards where my head currently was. I ducked, tripping against one of the wooden wine frames and jamming the neck of a bottle into my ear painfully. I swore, the epithet drowned by the latest bottle smashing on the arching stonework behind me. My net was draped over a crate of wine somewhere in the gloom. I suspected my catching a Vildani red from 2744AA wouldn’t qualify me for my fee. Come to think of it, if this little bastard’s aim improved, my only reward would be an early arrival in the hereafter.

I love my job. Honest.

Impcatcher is a fantasy novel set in the town of Freebridge. When mages make mistakes, imps and elementals escape and make trouble. The Impcatcher of the title, Tal Djandiss, has the job of dealing with the little horrors. The novel opens with him facing just one such imp...

To find out how he does, and to learn the more worrying plot he becomes entangled with, get the book on Amazon here, or in other epub forms on Lulu, here.

As always, comments are welcome!

SFFS 26/3/2016 Sorrel Swordless part 8

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone else is still posting here, but I'm going to carry on doggedly simply to complete the story I'm posting. If there is anyone else on this weekend, their details are here.

This is part 8 of a complete short story (in snippets) set in Sorrel's world. For those who have already read the Sorrel novels (and if you haven't, you should - they're good books!) this is set after the end of Sorrel in Silver - but you don't need to have read the novels for it to make sense, and it doesn't contain too many spoilers for the main trilogy. Part 7 is here, in case you missed it last week. A giant horror has crept up on our hapless heroine, and she has decided to swim for it; her friend Kelhene is on the shore.

 

We were both in trouble, a point accentuated when something swished past me in the water. A lake-snake? Or a zhark? Or some other Sorrel-eating horror?

I wondered about trying to use my sorcery without the coronet. It would almost certainly mean I was wracked with agony, which in my current situation might well make me drown. No, not an option unless nothing else occurred to me.

Nothing else was occurring to me. I was well and truly stuck. I glared at the big ruzdrool. I was treading water, well outside its reach, but there was definitely something in the water with me. I was also aware that my thighs were aching – I needed to get out of the lake.

I swam towards the Swan. The starboard wings were stretching out over the lake above me - I could get to the side of the hull easily, and the footholds in the fuselage would let me scramble up to the starboard engine. Much good that would do me.

On the other hand, it was better than staying in the lake. Despite the mucky green of the water, I could see a dozen silvery shapes swimming around me now. If they weren't hungry yet, I suspected it wouldn't be long before they were.

Three more snippets to go before the end of the story. As always, comments welcomed!

Weekend Writing Warriors - 20/3/2016

This is my first appearance on Weekend Writing Warriors - so welcome all, and enjoy the snippet below!

If you've not encountered Weekend Writing Warriors, it's an opportunity for writers from a range of genres to showcase their work. Find the others here.

So with no more ado - the first nine lines from my novel Impcatcher.

    A high-pitched, manic giggle cut through the velvet blackness of the wine cellar as the echo of breaking glass faded. I took a deep breath, and the alcoholic fumes from the shattered bottle left me feeling light-headed for a moment. I had dropped the lamp when I dodged the missile. Doing this job, there's no way I'd use a modern bound-imp lamp, so I'm stuck with an oil lantern. The glass had not survived the accident, and now the old stone chamber was stygian. 
    A slight clacking sound to my left, like a big rat in tap shoes, hinted at my quarry’s location. It was trusting to the darkness and my lowly human eyes to conceal it. I glowered into the gloom. This had been supposed to be an easy job.

Impcatcher is a fantasy novel set in the town of Freebridge. When mages make mistakes, imps and elementals escape and make trouble. The Impcatcher of the title, Tal Djandiss, has the job of dealing with the little horrors. The novel opens with him facing just one such imp...

To find out how he does, and to learn the more worrying plot he becomes entangled with, get the book on Amazon here, or in other epub forms on Lulu, here.

As always, comments are welcome!

SFFS 19/3/2016 Sorrel Swordless part 7

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this group - you can find the information here.

This is part 7 of a complete short story (in snippets) set in Sorrel's world. For those who have already read the Sorrel novels (and if you haven't, you should - they're good books!) this is set after the end of Sorrel in Silver - but you don't need to have read the novels for it to make sense, and it doesn't contain too many spoilers for the main trilogy. Part 6 is here, in case you missed it last week. A giant horror has crept up on our hapless heroine, and she has decided to swim for it; her friend Kelhene is on the shore.


 

Kelhene was moving cautiously along the skyline, keeping down and trying not to attract the ruzdrool's attention. Not much danger of that – its eyes were firmly on me. Assuming the white globes were eyes. I swam a little further out, and wondered if I could get to the far side of the Swan and clamber aboard from the stern. I'd still be too close to the ruzdrool.

'Kelhene!' I bellowed. 'Can you lure it away for long enough for me to get my coronet?'

The ruzdrool shrieked at my words, clearly angered at my audacity in daring to shout. It tottered forward to the very edge of the water, but still did not venture in. Either it couldn't swim or it thought there was something in the lake even nastier than it was.

Not a thought I liked.

Kelhene was shaking her head, wisely not calling out or catching its attention. I could see her point. In the time it took me to get ashore, get into the Swan, don my coronet and fry the ruzdrool it would have chased her down, driven half a dozen tentacle spines into her body and enjoyed the first few morsels of rare Kelhene steak. My making the ruzdrool extra-well-done would be too late to save Kelhene from being a meaty dish.

As always, comments welcomed!

Imp of the week - Jurgroths

I've created a number of strange creatures for the Impcatcher novels. This is another page from Garkosio's Guide to Imps, which is the most widely used reference book in Tal's world. This is Tal's copy, with his annotations in blue.

 As always, comments welcomed!

 

SFFS 12/3/2016 Sorrel Swordless part 6

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this group - you can find the information here.

This is part 5 of a complete short story (in snippets) set in Sorrel's world. For those who have already read the Sorrel novels (and if you haven't, you should - they're good books!) this is set after the end of Sorrel in Silver - but you don't need to have read the novels for it to make sense, and it doesn't contain too many spoilers for the main trilogy. Part 5 is here, in case you missed it last week. A giant horror has crept up on our hapless heroine, and she has decided to swim for it, despite bleeding from a wound the brute inflicted.

 

I was more than a dozen feet from the shore. The ruzdrool stood still, tentacles writhing, both eye stalks focussed upon me, assuming I was right about their function. Kelhene was well back, a couple of bushes and a large tree between her and the monster. I couldn't see her sword, either. We both should have learned by now that if somewhere looks safe and inviting in the Chasm, it isn't.

I just hoped there were no carnivorous fish in the lake. I knew from past experience that some of the waters down here contained dangerous predators. The blood I was spilling into the lake ought to attract anything that liked fresh meat. So far, nothing had turned up looking for dinner. I wasn't sure how long my luck would hold out.

The Swan was moored to the bank only ten yards from the silent ruzdrool. The hatch was open against the bank. The hatch on the lake side was dogged closed. I knew that – I'd locked it shut before getting out. There are times when I think I deserve a gold medal for stupidity above and beyond the call of imbecility.

 As always, comments welcomed!

Imp of the Week: Jathraks

I've created a number of strange creatures for the Impcatcher novels. This is another page from Garkosio's Guide to Imps, which is the most widely used reference book in Tal's world. This is Tal's copy, with his annotations in blue.

 

As always, comments welcomed!

SFFS 5/3/2016 Sorrel Swordless part 5

This is my snippet this week for SFFSat. SFFSat is a place where a number of authors post snippets from their written works, and give the opportunity for comments, support and encouragement. Please also explore the other blogs that are part of this group - you can find the information here.

This is part 5 of a complete short story (in snippets) set in Sorrel's world. For those who have already read the Sorrel novels (and if you haven't, you should - they're good books!) this is set after the end of Sorrel in Silver - but you don't need to have read the novels for it to make sense, and it doesn't contain too many spoilers for the main trilogy. Part 4 is here, in case you missed it last week. A giant horror has crept up on our hapless heroine, and she has decided to swim for it.

I heard Kelhene shout in alarm behind me. The violet monster wasn't interested in changing targets. I concentrated on a graceful dive off the bank into the water. The lake was deep enough, here, for the Swan to have sufficient draft – I hoped my relatively flat dive wouldn't take me too far towards the muddy, weed-filled lake-bed. Something slammed into my leg before I hit the water, and I yelled in pain. It meant I got a mouthful of warm green water rather than the deep breath I had been planning to take. I went under, momentum carrying me further into the lake. The agony in my calf lessened as the spike was pulled out by my motion. I had no doubt that the water was turning a similar shade of crimson to the grass. All the vegetation in the depths of the Chasm is red. Water isn't normally that shade, but my blood is.

My head broke the surface and I spluttered desperately, trying to get half the lake out of my lungs. The giant ruzdrool was still on shore, tentacles waving wildly. It wasn't waving me a fond farewell – but it also wasn't following me into the lake.

As always, comments welcomed!