The Lost Journal Volume 31

As always, find interviews, writing samples, videos, contests, more from the lost journals visit my website.

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In bookstores now

Author interview with Debbie Brown

For as long as she can remember, Debbie Brown has been creating stories in her head. She hated to go anywhere without a pen and paper, just in case. As a graduate of the Institute of Children's literature, while pursuing yet another writing course, she finds herself doing what she loves . . . learning and writing. The course gives her an excuse to just sit down and write. Over the years she has worked as a nurse, a teacher, a martial arts instructor and a CIC officer in the Canadian Forces. Her hobbies have varied from woodworking, to auto-mechanics, with music, painting, karate, holistic medicine, gardening and camping thrown into the mix. Let's not forget reading. Debbie's perfect cure for a long winter's night is curling up in front of a fire with a good book while snowflakes drift slowly past the window. Never having been much of a city girl, she lives with two of her four children, her husband Jean-Pierre and their pets in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. She couldn't imagine life without the beauty found in the trees, mountains and lakes that surround her.


Could you tell us a little bit about Amethyst Eyes?

Amethyst Eyes is about 15-year-old Tommy, who after losing his mother in a car accident ends up living with his estranged father. The catch here is that Tommy, in the blink of an eye, finds himself on a space ship orbiting Earth. He had no idea his father was an alien and the ships commander. As soon as Tommy meets his father he realizes where his amethyst eyes come from. He learns the hard way about the legend of Amethyst Eyes and the danger that comes from being born with them. There’s never a dull moment as he struggles to fit in to a world where nothing is the same, and not just the technology, but the whole structure of the society and even family. The characters are quite varied, fun and very much alive.

How did Amethyst Eyes come to be?

Years ago I had submitted a short story as an assignment for the writing course I had been taking. This bit of homework eventually became the starting point for Amethyst Eyes. I couldn’t get the story out of my head and ended up carrying it around for ten years before finally sitting down to write the book. Two years ago a personal tragedy, the loss of my daughter, had me take refuge from the world, and I turned to writing to keep sane. In some ways, I believe I created a world where people really do care, and it was something I needed for my own personal healing.

Tell us about the world you’ve created. Where did some of your ideas come from?

The strange thing about Amethyst Eyes was that I didn’t feel as though I was creating a world or even a story. I was an observer, documenting what was playing out in my mind. I remember thinking “Wow, that’s cool,” at one point or “I can’t write that” at another. It was quite an experience. After one scene I felt as though I had run through the experience with my character, leaving me exhausted. I have always been a sci-fi fan and growing up with Star Trek books I discovered an amazing place that taught so much about human interaction, but in the end, life has been my inspiration.

When I write, I try to be as accurate as possible. (Inaccuracy in the books I read is a big turn-off for me, and with internet there’s no excuse for it.) Granted, when I’m inventing a piece of technology that does not exist, my resources are limited to my imagination, but I do try to find something to base it on or some way to explain it. I have of pages and pages of notes from hours of research for Amethyst Eyes.

Are you working on any writing at the minute?

I have submitted another Sci-Fi, YA novel to Strange Chemistry, so now the wait begins. I also have two more books on the way. The first one is the story of Tommy’s parents, so a Women’s Lit, Sci-fi Adventure book and I have started the sequel to Amethyst Eyes. I am also completing an advanced writing course offered to graduates of the Institute of Children’s Literature.

Any special routines you have to do before you can sit down and write?
The first thing would be to find something to keep my 4 year old busy, then I usually reread the last few pages of what I had written to get into my mindset. Once that is done, I become an observer. I let myself be carried away by the story as it unfolds and document what’s going on. I only wish I could write fast enough to keep up.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what do you do to keep busy when you're not writing?

Aside from my 4-year-old I also have 3 grown children who can take up a lot of time (and worry). I am a CIC Officer (Captain) with the Canadian Forces and work with cadets. I have taught martial arts, namely Kyokushin Karate and Tai Chi for over 20 years, in fact most of my jobs have been teaching related from baseball to gymnastics, elementary and high school as well as training new officers on various bases. I used to be a nurse, and have since turned to holistic healing, so I spend a lot of time reading and researching this topic.

I love woodworking, painting, music, reading, cooking, gardening…you name it.  Through it all there were highs and lows, adding color to the pages of my life. All of these things have come together in my writing, in the sights and sounds, people and situations. I deeply believe that knowledge is never lost or a waste of time, and that somehow, somewhere it will be useful.

What do you enjoy reading?

I enjoy anything and everything with the exception of gore and sex. I love to learn and enjoy reading to increase my knowledge, so I have anything from flight manuals to medical reference books on the go at any given time. However, I also enjoy reading for the sheer pleasure of discovering new characters and worlds. There are books I have read dozen’s of times and although I own 2 e-readers with over 1000 books so far, my library holds even more books, covering 3 of the 4 walls within.

Do you have a favourite place to read?

Curled up by the fire during the winter or in the veranda during the summer, where all you see are trees. I read everywhere though, day and night, even in the car while my husband drives (when I’m driving I have my Kindle read to me through the car radio). I posted a picture on fb from an FTX (field training exercise) where you see my combat uniform and my kindle on my lap…I had brought it with me. This worked out well since I was hiding in a swamp, waiting to be found by cadets learning to use a compasses and coordinates, giving me LOTS of time to read LOL.

Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers?

There is much more going on in the book than just a teenager trying to fit in. It touches on family and the ties that bind. Jayden adds spice and there is an element of danger.
You can read some 50 pages on Google books, much more than what the “look inside” options offer. http://books.google.ca/books?id=nQ5nCvwbQLEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Where can people find you and your book?

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amethyst-Eyes/169207996492385
Goodreads author page under my name,
Blog: http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @amethysteyes01

Feel free to message me, you can be sure I will answer.

As for my book, it can be found in over 100 online bookstores worldwide, from Amazon to Barnes&Noble, Powell’s, Chapters Indigo, Fishpond, and the list goes on…
It is available in both paperback and ebook format.

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As always, find interviews, writing samples, videos, contests and more on my re-vamped website.

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In bookstores 6-5-2012

The Lost Journal volume 30

You can find the entire collection, along with another excellent serial story, The Searcher and The Sentinel at my website, www.TheNeverChronicles.com

To navigate right to the journals, click HERE

Releasing 6-5-2012

The Lost Journal Volume 29

After a long hiatus...

You can find the entire collection, along with another excellent serial story, The Searcher and The Sentinel at my website, www.TheNeverChronicles.com

To navigate right to the journals, click HERE

Releasing 6-5-2012

The Lost Journal Volume 28

Enjoy Volume 28 of The Lost Journal!

You can find the entire collection, along with another excellent serial story, The Searcher and The Sentinel at my website, www.TheNeverChronicles.com

To navigate right to the journals, click HERE

The Lost Journal -Volume 27

Enjoy Volume 27 of The Lost Journal!

You can find the entire collection at my website, www.TheNeverChronicles.com

To navigate right to the journals, click HERE

The Lost Journal Volume 26

Enjoy Volume 26 of The Lost Journal!


You can find the entire collection at my website, www.TheNeverChronicles.com


To navigate right to the journals, click HERE

The Lost Journal Volume 25

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Lost Journal Entry # 24

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December short story contest 3rd place entry

This is the third place entry for the December short story contest. An excellent concept with novel potential!

Empties


by Colby Cox

     It was my first time outside the white-painted dome, and I was immediately struck by the colors. I had heard the stories of the colors before, but I wasn’t sure whether I believed them. All I had known—all I had ever known—was black, white, and grey.
     I blink my eyes, and I notice that some of the other Hunters are doing the same. The Head,
Anton Meier, and the rest of the seasoned Hunters laugh at us for doing so—they know that they looked the exact same way when they came out here for the first time.
     The world is immensely different. Where under the dome we had skyscrapers, in the Outer
World, there are thin, dark towers that stretch to the sky and end in dome-like canopies the color of the ground. These towers stand in a large group together, stopping only for the dome that covers the White City and continuing as far as I can see. The spaces in between these towers are dark, the light from the whitish orb in the sky blocked by the vast canopies at the top of the towers.
     Anton Meier stops laughing at us and points towards the dark areas. “Well,” he says. “Let’s
roll out! Come on!”
     The lot of us walks behind Anton into the darkness. We have to step over things that have
fallen from the canopies now and then. At one point, a river, much like the artificial one that men
have built in the middle of the White City, comes up in front of us and we have to jog over to a
simple footbridge that can only handle one of us at a time.
     Anton holds up a hand, stopping us. “Michelson, come here,” he says. At the mention of my
name, I step forward, stopping slightly behind and to the right of Anton. “You can be the first
newbie to see this. Look—between those trees.”
     I look, but I see nothing at all in between the towers—trees. “What…What is it?” I ask.
“It’s an Empty. Do you see him?” he asks.
“I don’t,” I respond honestly. “What am I looking for?”
“Look for something that looks like a man, only it doesn’t move quite like one. Don’t expect
to see smooth movements—they will be slower and more rigid than what you would expect to
see from a man.”
     The other new Hunters stand far enough back that they don’t hear what we’re saying, but curiosity is obvious on each and every one of their faces.
     Suddenly, I notice movement, and I jolt. The Empty, as Meier called it, looks exactly as he
had explained it—like a man. However, you can easily understand how it got its name—the
creature seems like it has a missing piece of the puzzle—the one thing that keeps it from being
human.
“Is that what we hunt for?” I ask, confused.
“Yep,” says Anton.
“So…we’ve been eating Empties in the Mess Hall all of this time?”
     Anton laughs out loud. “No, Michelson, we don’t. It always gets me that the newbies believe
that we actually hunt for food out here.”
“Well, what are we eating, then?” I ask, annoyed and embarrassed that he is laughing at me.
     The other new Hunters look very confused; they can’t quite hear what is being said.
“It’s all manufactured in that factory by the river. Hell, I couldn’t respect myself I caught
what was made into that slop that they call food.”
     He sets his sight on the Empty and lets his arrow fly, releasing the bowstring. The arrow
sinks itself into the creature’s head, and it falls over.
     Anton Meier motions for the Hunters to follow, and we walk through the space between the
trees deeper into the woods. He explains to us that the Hunters used to hunt for food, before they had to cover the city with the dome because the Empties were multiplying too quickly. Then, the city officials ordered engineers to come up with a way to make food out of synthetic materials so that the Hunters could focus all of their efforts on the eradication of the Empties. He explains that people used to live past forty in the Outer World; that they would eat animals and plants; that they would run and lift heavy things to stay healthy and keep themselves alive longer; and that all of that changed when the dome was added.
     Soon, we come to a clearing and Anton stops us. “This is where the White City was
originally. If you will notice, the ground changed from where we have been walking. You can
see the roads and building foundations from the old city.”
     I look to the White City that we live in now. It is odd to see it like this—convex instead of
concave. It is an absolute behemoth.
“This is where we take our breaks. We always sit on this foundation for about thirty minutes
before getting another start. It’s outside of the trees, so it is much safer because we can see
everything.”
     We sit down on the hard ground, and only now that I’m sitting do I realize how badly my
calves hurt from all of this walking.
     But almost before I get a chance to rest, something on the horizon changes. It is moving,
throbbing, unnoticeable at first, like ants on an ant hill. But there is something coming up from
below the ground.
“Um, Anton,” I say, but when I look at him, I see that he is looking at the same thing as I am.
     Empties. There are at least fifty of them, outmatching the fifteen of us greatly.
“Lukas, do you know if the buildings that were over there had basements?”
“I’ve never been over there.”
“I think they did.” Anton draws his bow and, and we all do so, but the Empties are moving
much too fast. Within seconds, they overpower us.

Check out Colby's blog HERE
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Check out this story and the other top entries at my website.  HERE.

New entry from the lost Journal!

Open publication - Free publishing - More exiled

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Excerpts from a memoir part 2: Fuzzy Side Up

I can't help but share more excerpts from this memoir, Fuzzy Side Up.  Each one of them make me laugh.  Enjoy.

Darlene Chandler

1958

     My friend, Michael Myers, and I used to fish at night for carp.  We always anchored behind Darlene Chandler's house (she was a beautiful redhead) with the hope she would undress with the curtains up.  She never did.

Lewes

1958

     Every summer, for a while, Goy would rent Taylor's cottage for a month in Lewes, Delaware.  The entire cottage was probably as large as a family room.  Mr. Taylor was a fisherman, netting off the beach. This particular summer, Nanny, Pappap, Judy and I were there, along with my cousins, Glennie and Barbara.  Goy and Mom would come down on Saturday night and leave Sunday night.  The store was closed on Sundays.  Judy and Barbara were about 16 and Glennie and I were 12.  Well, one day we were all swimming and the girls decided to take off with Glennie and my bathing suits and run back to the cottage.  There we were, in the water with no suits and people all over the beach.  We waited but they never came back.  It was getting cold. Glennie, who was much less modest than I, he walked out of the water and ran home stark naked.  It was at least two-hundred yards across the beach, over the dunes and down Main Street to the cottage. I waited, and finally, Nanny brought my suit down to me.
     One day Glennie decided to put lighter fluid on the ends of Pappap's cigarettes.  Pappap wore a Panama hat and he smoked Chesterfields -no filters.  Pappap lit one and nothing happened.  It all of the sudden occured to Glennie that Pappap put the wrong end into his mouth.
"Oh my God, he'll burn his face when it finally reaches the fluid!"
     Glennie ran over to Pappap and slapped the cigarette out of his mouth.  Pappap was furious.  He chased both of us down the alley behind the cottages (and he could run) but we got away. Pappap went back to the cottage.  We suddenly remembered the other cigarettes were still there.  We ran back to throw them away. As we entered, there was Pappap, lighting another. Well, he put it in the right way this time.  Now, his hat was on fire. Nanny yanked it off his head and tore the cigarette out of his mouth. No harm except the hat.
     This seems crueler than it was.  We took Pappap everywhere.  Pappap loved to fish, so did we.  We would throw his  line out and he would sit there all day.  One day, we took Pappap to the beach an only put a sinker on his line -no hooks.  We played and swam and Pappap fished.  Occasionally, we gave the sinker a tug to keep Pappap happy.
     One day Pappap had diarrhea on the beach.  I guess he forgot his underwear. I saw him running over the beach with a brown stream coming out the bottom of his pants.

Harvey

     My Uncle Glen went to Florida and brought me back a baby alligator.  It was about a foot long.  I made a box with sand and a pan with water and fed him every day.  He thrived.  One day, I decided to take Harvey to the creek for a swim.  I tied a string around his neck and put him in the water.  That was the last I saw of Harvey.  But fifteen years later, I read in the paper that someone found a 250 pound alligator about ten miles downstream at Lenape.  It was dead.  I often wondered if that was Harvey.

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New journal entry! This one was particularly enjoyable to write!

Open publication - Free publishing - More akil karanis

Please enjoy entry #22 of the Lost Journal entries.  For all the entries, visit my website.



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My First Book review EVER -Legend by Marie Lu

I dread writing book reviews...but here goes anyway

So, for everyone who can't stand those multi-page reviews, here is my review of Legend by Marie Lu.

 One sentence synopsis: In a post apocalyptic United States still caught in the throws of civil war,  LA's most wanted criminal (boy) is pursued by the government's most gifted agent (girl) after boy kills girl's brother.


At 336 pages (even less on my nook) the book is a super-fast read.  Legend currently sits at #393 on the Amazon best sellers ranks, which is awesome for her first novel!  The character descriptions and thought processes are excellent -you feel like you're inside her characters as she alternates between the two, chapter-by-chapter.  When I got to within 40 pages of the end, I thought to myself, there is no way she will be able to wrap everything up before the end.  I was wrong.

There is no fat in Legend, her editors did an excellent job of seeing to that.  My only gripe is Lu tipped her hand earlier than necessary (in my humble, worthless opinion) on a mystery that could have been left unexplained and made the reader more anxious for the next book in the series. There is only one course of action driving the main character forward at the end- justifying a sequel when she could have left at least one more major plot point unanswered.  I don't believe it would have taken away from the story had she done so.

Considering it took me less than ten days to read (with my schedule that's an accomplishment) I'd say it was captivating, well worth the money and quite enjoyable overall. I would recommend this to anyone seeking escape from reality and immersion into a creative mind.

P.S. She has a cool website well worth checking out if you enjoy her writing.