Erisian

The Light Between - Part 6

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 6 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 21 - Limits

 

The nice thing about being friends with someone who just became ridiculously wealthy is a decision such as “let’s go to Jerusalem” is easily turned into a phone call to dispatch some assistant into booking flights, hotel, and ride to the airport.

You then get to sit back, enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee), and wait for details of the itinerary to magically appear.

Okay, so Isaiah stayed on the line so he could approve the hotel and also relay the required information from my passport. Delegation was never really his strong-point.

The Light Between - Part 5

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 5 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

If you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 16 - Sins

Countless nights spent staring into a fire’s dancing flames or into skies darkened by midnight’s gloom flooded everything, twisting as a barbed arrow within the chest. Abandoned by a father whose infinite radiance had turned as cold as the snow he’d left her in, a young girl had wrestled with inner scars which seeped anew from every self-perceived failure. Even her uncle - though he had at least stayed - always bore into her soul with hooded eyes of penetrating and absolute judgment.

Only Siabh had held her tenderly. Only the fae priestess had softly offered words of love and support.

But some nights those hadn’t been enough. And as the long hours crept towards dawn the child had whispered the same questions over and over:

Does my mother also think me worthless? Is that why she never came for me?

Is she ashamed of me too?

Delays...Overcome!

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Had a couple delays in getting Part 5 of the latest offering finished for posting (as some have noticed). One scene after receiving feedback needed a rewrite which took a couple iterations to (hopefully!) get right. Then my usual proofreader had a week or so of being too busy due to family while also not feeling too great.

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The Light Between - Part 4

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 4 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

Note, if you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 12 - Challenge

 

With the clock ticking just past six we exited the 101 freeway a few miles west of where we’d visited the DPA earlier. From there we went south instead, passing into an isolated area against the hills complete with several small lakes as well as quite a few golf courses all surrounded by enclaves of houses better classified as mansions.

Unsurprisingly we went past these to a road marked “Private” to reach a higher plateau and its own sprawling complex that overlooked everyone else around as if to say, “You think you’re wealthy? Think again.”

It wasn’t until we passed the transition from paved blacktop onto grey paver stones forming a wide circle around a central fountain that I realized I had an issue.

This dress had absolutely no pockets nor did I have a matching clutch or purse.

Dangit.

The Light Between - Part 3

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 3 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

Note, if you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 8 - Scans

The Los Angeles DPA headquarters and research labs, which were actually not in the city proper but out in Agoura off the 101 freeway, hadn’t changed much since I was last there - at least from the outside. It still had the three stories worth of dark reflective windows sticking out of the hill into which the complex was embedded and also the massive open parking lot of the kind only found in the suburbs.

While Haruko had indeed arranged for a car and driver (a limo no less!), I’d borrowed a phone to ask her to have them start the slog over the hill and meet me here at the agency. Despite being in the middle of studying for finals Kurohoshi’s daughter had already heard about the attempt on Isaiah’s life and promised to pass on the instruction to the driver. She also gave me his number so I could reach him direct if anything else changed.

Before she hung up she reminded me that I was on the clock to be ready for the evening - all while still not giving any details of what was going on.

Naturally.

Updates!

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Part 2 of the latest saga installment is up! My proofreading friend emailed their last pass' worth of suggestions earlier today, so despite fighting weary eyes after work got those incorporated and did the whole cut-n-paste from Scrivener into a text editor so it all could get dressed for posting. Hopefully I didn't miss any places where italics were supposed to go!!

Thanks again to everyone who's commented and clicked the kudos button so far!! And of course I hope folks enjoy this new one!

Now to go finish dinner, hooray! :)

- Erisian <3

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The Light Between - Part 2

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 2 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

Note, if you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Chapter 5 - Exams

 

“Shit!”

First things first. Feed the starving and pathetically meowing kitty: open can, scoop into bowl, give reassuring pets.

Skip shower, curse the hair for being short again and not fitting in a scrunchie all while struggling with a hairbrush to tame strands of wild fire.

Give up. Clothes next.

Strip off pajamas (were they lavender when I went to bed?), grab the folded martial arts uniform from the top of the clean laundry pile. Hop into the leggings, pull on a hopefully-clean sports bra, wrap the top of the gi around the torso before fiddling with the strings that hold it in place, slap the equally white belt around the waist and take three attempts to get the proper knot.

Good enough. Prep complete.

With one last (okay, a few last) scritches to the kitty I ran out the door before bounding down the stairs because the elevator always took forever. Sprinting across the wet and frost-covered campus lawn I realized I hadn’t put on any shoes.

Oops. Oh well.

The Light Between - Part 1

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The Light Between

The Light Between (Part 1 of 8)

by Erisian

Book 5

 

Note, if you have yet to read the saga - the tale starts here:

Into The Light

Hope you enjoy!

 

Earth. Deep blue skies filled with clouds and sun.

Returned from the desolation and horrors of Hell, Jordan finds herself again surrounded by friends, kitty, and a peaceful campus with idle moments seemingly to spare.

Yet relaxation and inner peace remain elusive, as unanswered questions flit across thought and dream. After all that she has endured a quiet life as a simple school student feels like a mighty jest - one with a waiting and deadly punchline.

For time, even for angels resurrected in the light, does not so easily stand still.

The Light Between - Dramatis Personae

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The Light Between

 

Considering the complexity of this saga, readers earlier requested a listing of characters. So here's an update for Book 5! Thanks all!

 

Warning!

If you have not read Books 1-4 (Into The Light, Light's Promise, Call of the Light, and Light and Shadow) then the list below will contain spoilers!!

 

The tale starts here: Into The Light. Hope you enjoy!

 

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The Light Between

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The Light Between

The Light Between

Written by Erisian

Inspired by stories by Erisian & Ahron

Book 5

Earth. Deep blue skies filled with clouds and sun.

Returned from the desolation and horrors of Hell, Jordan finds herself again surrounded by friends, kitty, and a peaceful campus with idle moments seemingly to spare.

Yet relaxation and inner peace remain elusive, as unanswered questions flit across thought and dream. After all that she has endured a quiet life as a simple school student feels like a mighty jest - one with a waiting and deadly punchline.

For time, even for angels resurrected in the light, does not so easily stand still.

Drafted! Omg!

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It's drafted! Book five, The Light Between, is finally drafted!

If I had more energy, I'd go run about like a lunatic yelling, "Eeeeeee!"

Other than one lunch and errands run on Wednesday, this whole week Monday until now morning to night was dedicated to finishing it before the New Year hit. Omg! Made it! With one day to spare!! I couldn't sleep at all last night due to brain being stuck in high gear on all the details and planning out the final set of scenes completed today. So I may be somewhat loopy at the moment. :)

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Consequences of Life

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A consequence of life is the existence of its counterpart: death.

Yesterday my mom passed away.

As I've posted before, she's been in and out of the hospital more times than I can count over the years due to her long struggle with pain-inducing autoimmune issues (fibro, rheumatoid, etc.). This past year her gall bladder made that worse with many gall stones. A week ago bacterial infection got out of control and into her blood, and now she's gone.

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Halfway!

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Progress!

Over the past couple weeks I think the last remnants of the post-covid brain fog has finally lifted, and I've even been able to start exercising again. Hooray! As a result Book 5 of the saga is pushing ahead and as of a few minutes ago the draft for Part 3 was completed. This puts the word count at just under 60k and halfway to the suspected finish line.

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Progress, albeit slow

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With the whole discussion regarding unfinished works, I felt that perhaps a status update for book 5 of the Heaven's Light Saga should be put up for anyone curious. It's been a wacky year so far between more work changes and things with family (such as my mom being in and out of the hospital five times since Christmas), so the book hasn't made as much progress as I'd hoped. However Part 1 is almost drafted, needing just one fae party scene (whee!) to finish it out, and the framework for the rest of the major beats through to the ending are mostly figured out.

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BCTS "Magic of The Heart" Story Contest Entry

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Decided to sit down today to finally get the idea for the BCTS story contest out of my head and onto a page. In spite of many many breaks to go play with an insistent kitty it somehow got written, and therefore posted. Said kitty brought me a shoestring and a fishie as bribes for attention out of desperation when her ceaseless meows were being ignored (due to music played even louder on the headset). Needless to say, she was rather difficult to say no to.

Anyway, hope folks enjoy. It's called 'The Questing Beast'. :)

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The Questing Beast

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The Questing Beast

The Questing Beast

by Erisian

 

All who have ears to hear know the tales of the great King Arthur and his knights, their stories filling hearts with enchantments and glamours while leading many to again hope for the return of justice and the true faith of men.

But few know the story of Sir Leif and the Questing Beast, of how he met his end and also his beginning.

His tale starts not with his childhood as the only surviving child of his father and mother’s lineage, training diligently every dawn until sunset in the ways of knighthood as befit the son of a duke who had bravely died in service to his king. Nor does it commence with his many victories at Arthur’s side - though his sword was indeed mighty, for countless foes fell to its sharp blade as wielded by an arm stouter than oak.

It begins instead around a campfire.

Time flies

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It's amazing how time goes fwoooosh. The older I get, the quicker that arrow zips on past.

And thus I realized today when looking at posting dates that four years ago is when I finally decided to be brave enough to quit being a (long time) lurker and toss the two books I'd written out onto BCTS. Four years! Can hardly believe it. I remember being incredibly nervous about doing so too, having debated with myself for months on end. Though admittedly with each additional installment of the story since those nerves still flare. They shouldn't but, well, yep.

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Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Hoping for all to have a safe(!) holiday. I'll admit to being rather bummed by most of my family deciding not to come out and visit due to concern for my Mom, as her health hasn't been good for over a score of years. Understandable and likely the wise course of action, but some of them I haven't seen now for two years and I'd really been looking forward to finally having everyone together. Instead we'll just have to continue holding 'em all in our hearts.

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Completed!

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Thanks to a few more proof-read corrections from a friend, the last part of Light And Shadow is up! Whew! So anyone who may have been waiting to binge read the entirety, now you can go for it!

There's still much to tell in this saga, and many questions (evilly and sneakily) left unanswered to explore in the next installments - so I'll have to get busy on it as poor Jordan has a lot to figure out. I also have a feeling there could be a couple short stories around some of the other characters that may need to be written before the fifth book gets finished too.

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Light And Shadow - Part 8 (complete)

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 8 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 37 - Citadel

 

Krux led me through hospital corridors full of a mix of demons, devils, and souls - some were patients, some staff, and all very organized. Other than the eclectic collection of body-types, skin tones, and random number of limbs, the place had that same frenetic-yet-focused feel of most busy hospitals I’d been in. Bureaucracy blended with function all mixed together as white lab coats, suits and ties, and professional skirts.

I stood out like a sore thumb or an outcast from one of those medieval historical re-enactment groups as I pushed past them all. The armored breastplate and feathered kilt felt all the more primitive as compared to the security stationed at the glass doors which exited to a landing platform. They stood there complete with modern body armor and elegant-yet-nasty rifle-sized blasters packing a punch orders of magnitude higher than the agent’s pistol. While the demons among them only had five to six souls suffering at their cores, their equipment likely made up for the lack of raw potential and then some.

One Day Early!

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As the previous installment was a day late, posting this next one an entire day early! Woot! Part 7 of 8 is up in which more things are revealed and things are set up for the ride to the finish...

Thanks to everyone who's been reading, and especially to all who comment or message! I'm looking forward to getting the last bit of book done and posted, and then comes the fun of re-reading the whole thing and laying out the rest of the story arc for the next few books.

Hope all who read enjoy!!

- Erisian

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Light And Shadow - Part 7

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 7 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 32 - Plan

 

Boston police were waiting for them at the gate when they landed. There had been an awkward stand-off while Diego called the DPA to confirm that the detectives were actually on assignment as opposed to being there due to possible unseen influence from mind-controlling angels.

Assurances were received and soon Isaiah and the wizard were delivered to a brick police precinct sitting alongside a narrow Boston street. Being Californian all Isaiah could think of as they were ushered past the windowed doors facing the rear parking lot was that a single earthquake could level the entire structure. Given the number of brick buildings they’d passed on the drive there, the entire city had better hope against such seismic events.

Or, say, powerful geo-magic.

Light And Shadow - Part 6

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 6 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 27 - Justice

 

Isaiah’s head thrummed as if someone was using it instead of a kodo drum. As much as he wanted to blame the shifting pressure from the passing storm, he knew the pain wasn’t due to an external cause.

He sat in a small conference room, bare except for a large monitor on one wall sitting in front of a simple four-legged table. Around it were six of those plastic office chairs which usually last for maybe six months before the adjustment lift and tilt mechanisms snapped. Indeed one had already been shoved aside to a corner, its mesh backing listing at an odd angle. Staring at it he decided that whomever in finance was responsible for such cheapness should be cursed to use nothing but. Certainly not whatever luxury leather chair likely adorned their own office.

That would be justice.

Slight Delay, but now up!

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Slight delay in getting Part 6 of Light And Shadow posted. After discussions with my awesome proof-reader it was realized that the division of the Parts needed adjustment to pull in one more chapter to better round out 6's complement. Hopefully they will get to that chapter tomorrow and I can post the now-extended Part 6 up by the evening.

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Light And Shadow - Part 5

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 5 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 22 - Power

We were wet.

We were tired.

We were hungry.

In other words, we were soldiers.

Insomnia and Inspiration

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While laying in bed in the middle of last night and not sleeping as one does, the muse decided to sprinkle her fairy dust upon my rest-deprived noggin. Thus came a realization that the new book currently under editing for its later chapters was missing a scene which, in the much-abused and paraphrased words of The Dude, really tied the book together. Where to wedge it in was even included in the moment of 'well-duh!'.

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Next part of Light and Shadow is up!

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The middle bit of Light And Shadow is up! Halfway to the finish, wherein various things are indeed revealed!

Please do mind the trigger warnings though. There are a few darker subjects in this one.

Thanks to all who've been reading, can't wait to get the rest of this book posted! We're getting to the good stuff! ;)

- Erisian

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Light And Shadow - Part 4

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 4 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 16 - Goddess

 

The eyes of a hundred kneeling demons were upon me. The fight had chewed up a lot of terrain and we’d moved within field-goal distance of the crowd before it was done. As much as I wanted to just fall over and lie there in the dirt that was not an option. Instead I slowly forced myself up. Thighs, calves, and even pinky toes protested, sending agony up every available nerve to decry the idiocy of such an action.

I couldn’t afford to show weakness. Not here. Not now. By the rules of the duel I couldn’t be immediately challenged by anyone else but that didn’t matter.

The soul-sucking bastards needed to fear me. Or else they would never accept my commands.

Part 3 of Light And Shadow is up!

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Part 3 of latest book posted! Thanks again to the help of a good friend who caught quite a few gooberisms with their final check-through. They had to suffer through with me sending many updates over the past week as I kept poking at it, even after I had said I was 'done'. I'll have to be better about that for the next one, lol.

Now to use the rest of this holiday weekend plowing through the text of Part 4!

Thanks to everyone who reads as always, and especially those who comment! Hope y'all enjoy!
- Erisian <3

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Light And Shadow - Part 3

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 3 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 10 - Trumpet

 

Outside the tent where Vance slept peacefully, Yaria was setting up a tall tripod-mounted bronze spyglass. Hank and Twitch were inside with Ruyia preparing lunch from the not-as-small-as-it-looks tent’s well-stocked larder. After I’d grabbed the wrong ingredients for a third time Twitch had pushed me gently aside and taken over as Ruyia’s assistant, much to Hank’s amusement.

Hey, I never claimed to be a chef and furthermore the spices and herbs available in Hell were completely different from anything on Earth. Having spent most of my time living off hard tack from the back of a wagon it’s not my fault I didn’t know the difference between a ‘kyrish root’ and a ‘draxo leaf’. My wife had done all the cooking in our house before cancer stole her away, after that there was a lot of frozen pizzas, tuna, and sloppy joes.

And tacos. Man, I missed tacos.

Light And Shadow Part 2 posted!

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After a marathon edit session today between me and a good friend who's acting as editor in exchange for future cookies, Part 2 of Book 4 Light And Shadow is posted!

Tomorrow continues mad editing on Part 3! After groceries. And housework chores. And playing with neglected kitties. (Okay, they're totally not neglected, just spent half an hour with a kitten chasing a dangled shoelace...)

Hope people enjoy! If you do, feel free to leave a comment! Thanks!! :)

- Erisian <3

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Light And Shadow - Part 2

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 2 of 8)

by Erisian

 

Chapter 5 - Ransacked

 

We found what was left of the captain lying in the corridor leading from her quarters to the main cavern. The walls gave evidence to a fierce and moving battle, deep chunks of rock had been ripped from the walls with stony fragments scattered everywhere. Her caved-in head, spine, and most of her ribcage were all that remained. They had stripped her clean: armor and boots, soul orbs and meat, all had been taken. Only bloody bones and small scraps of muscle and tendon remained.

Just like they had done to Biff outside and all the other guards.

Light And Shadow - Part 1

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow (Part 1 of 8)

by Erisian

Chapter 1 - Duty

 

The most annoying thing about hunting demons is the smell. The one in front of me naturally yielded no exception.

Green ichor of a most aromatic sort spurted generously from the stumps of the several tentacles I’d just managed to shorten, the foul mess splattering the walls of ice and rock around us as well as my best (and only) cloak. The vapors assaulting my sanity were, shall we say, worse than a raw sewage overflow from a center for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. FEMA would have posted signs declaring the bespoiled canyon a superfund site before themselves evacuating in a bureaucratic rush.

Yeah, it was that bad.

Light And Shadow

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Light And Shadow

Light And Shadow

Written by Erisian

Inspired by stories by Erisian & Ahron

Book 4

Hell. Gehenna. Sheol. By many names have the shadow realms lurking below been known. Having lost her niece and been blown past those horned gates of eternal damnation, the newest-born angel Jordan Emrys finds herself trying to carve out a quiet existence amidst demons and the damned spirits upon which they feed. Because it’s over, it’s done, and she must now accept the sorrows of this cruelly fated end.

But back on Earth the fanatical sorcerer who instigated her transformation endeavors to recruit those whom he believes can achieve the impossible: the saving of her soul. For despite Jordan’s beliefs, he knows that her destiny in the light is far from complete.

Indeed from his perspective it has only just begun.

Draft completed!

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Welp, after taking far too long due to dealing with the pandemic, and also with two job changes (promotions of sorts!) at work, the draft for Book 4 'Light and Shadow' was finally completed right on time for dinner today! Sitting at over 135k words and split into seven parts, it now shall enter the 'Editing Zone' and hopefully the first part can get posted sometime soon, for which I'm rather excited.

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That moment when

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That moment when you wrap up another chapter in the current book under development and realize that oh hey, this book isn't going to be finished in six parts but rather seven. Otherwise that 'sixth' part will be over 40k words all on its own which is getting a bit silly in length. Trying to get this book's draft done so it can be edited and posted, but the muse is sitting there laughing with unexpected (but cool!) twists which are gonna make getting to the ending take just that much more.

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So many words

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Was working on the current book today (only a few more chapters to go to finish the draft! Whoohoo!) and on a whim highlighted all the text of this one and the previous three within Scrivener to do a total word count. Went 'whoaaa' at the result of 507k. I know many authors here have a lot more than that, but still - only a few years ago the thought of even finishing one book was horribly daunting and felt ever out of reach. Passing 500k really feels like a milestone.

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Hard to say goodbye

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Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my little tuxedo princess kitty, ripping a hole from my heart. She had been with us for over twenty years, a kitten acquired from a shelter to give to my daughter when her illness unfortunately re-occurred. The poor little thing eventually became 'my' kitty, latching herself to me and needing me in her sight at all times possible, even crying out if she woke up to find I'd moved to a different room. But her advanced age finally caught up to her beyond what could be treated and we had to let her go.

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Just want to say thanks

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Just want to say thanks to whomever it was that marathon read through my stories this past week and clicked to give 'kudos' on every posted part, even though the books have been posted for awhile. It may not seem that big a deal, but for me anyway (not to speak for other authors out of hand here) seeing someone do that really helps maintain motivation to write that next chapter bouncing around in the ol' noggin - especially after a tough mental year (for everyone!) where the temptation to just go 'blah' and binge watch more Netflix or Youtube has been a lot harder to fight off.

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In Limbo

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Spending today in limbo. My mom, who was in the hospital a couple weeks ago due to severe stomach pains (ulcers as if turned out) went back in last Friday as she'd become non responsive. Dad called my sister yesterday to let her now and for her to call me. They think Mom has pneumonia, and her lung function was already horrid due to her many other health issues. She's been on oxygen and bedridden now for too many years.

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Another short

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Just put up another short story, one rather lighter and not as 'noir' or heavy as the one from last week (Raquiel). This short can also fit in the Light saga - which I am totally now tempted to start calling 'Dawn of Light' as coined by Nyssa! It may even have a hint of future issues for poor Jordan to deal with... ;)

Hopefully folks enjoy this one! As always, thanks for reading - and especially for any comments!!

- Erisian

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Truth in Tears

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FeatherTears

Truth in Tears

by Erisian

 

My dad was never one to go to church, nor one to talk about what he believed. As a teenager I asked him once if he believed in God and even now I remember his reply. He looked at me carefully from behind those antiquated black-rimmed glasses of his and said simply, “Doesn’t matter if I believe or not, son. God is either there or he isn’t. But this life, well, this life is mine to live as I choose.” At the time I was frustrated that he didn't answer the question; it wasn’t until much later that I realized he had in fact answered something perhaps far deeper.

He was like that, my dad.

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