"Santa Claus Is Leaving Our Planet" Allusion Key

Last week I posted my Christmas story for this year, "Santa Claus Is Leaving Our Planet." Introducing that story, I challenged the reader to first find the correct TV show referred to, and then to find all seven of the allusions to that TV show in the story. If you haven't read that story and attempted to find those references, I recommend doing so before reading further here. If you've read the story and are here to see if you found them all or you don't care, you just want the answers, then read on. If you'd like, post in the comments how many out of eight you got right.

Follow the dots a little ways down to start!

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1) “. . . Santa's sleigh is like a time machine. Santa could be the Doctor for all we know.”

~This is the overt reference to the TV show, Doctor Who, to which I added seven other allusions. The other TV references mentioned or alluded to are Star Trek: the Original Series (in the discussion about how their dad read/sang the song like William Shatner and Andy calls him Captain Kirk) and Mission Impossible (Samantha says, “I have a mission for you, should you decide to accept it.”) Any other references were purely unintentional.

2) He paused, waiting for a reply that didn't come. He was not amused.

~In the 2006 Dr. Who episode, “Tooth and Claw,” Rose tries to get Queen Victoria to say “I am not amused,” a saying attributed to her but without much historical evidence. Rose finally get her to say the phrase at the end of the episode.

3) The corners of his mouth turned up. “Does that mean I get to tape you into a box?”
“Something like that, about the size of a phone booth, I’d suspect. Plus you'll get to ride in Santa's sleigh.”

~The Doctor travels around in a time machine/space ship called a TARDIS, an acronym for “Time And Relative Dimension In Space.” TARDISes can appear outwardly like any common item, but the Doctor’s became stuck as a British police call box—a type of phone booth exclusively used for contacting the police. However, one never sees any other TARDIS (that I recall) look like anything other than a police box until the modern reboot, and is likely that the “stuck” explanation was a later addition from the modern Dr. Who episodes.

4) Santa: “Time is a squishy, slimy reality. Has to be for me, you know.”

~In the 2007 episode titled, “Blink,” the Doctor uses the phrase “wibbily wobbly timey wimey” in explaining how time “operates.” My version here, though not nearly as memorable, should be enough to trigger that connection in any Doctor Who fan.

5) Santa held up a finger. “. . . Not everyone is as smart as me.”

~The Doctor usually sees himself as the smartest and most “clever” person in the room. And usually he’s right. But in recent years that arrogance has been mitigated to a degree, usually by the influence of his companions.

6) Santa nodded. “Now get a seat and hold on. This time-warp stuff gets a little tricky.”

~The Doctor would like to think he’s in full control, but sometimes his time travels don’t go as planned as the TARDIS has a mind of its own. Most notable is the first episode when Matt Smith becomes the Doctor, “The Eleventh Hour” in April of 2010. He miscalculates in returning to young Amy the promised few minutes after he left. Instead he arrives several years later when she’s a young adult. Whoops!

7) Santa pulled a lever, flipped a switch, spun a couple of dials, and then banged on the dash. Lights flashed randomly across the console. A huge tube, swirling with every color of the rainbow, materialized before them.

~Anyone who’s seen the controls of the TARDIS and how the Doctor goes around flipping this switch, pulling that lever, spinning various dials in seemingly random fashion, and sometimes banging on the controls to get them to work, will get this allusion of Santa operating his sleigh for time-warp in a similar fashion.

8) Santa: “Besides, I believe they’ll understand you better than you might think.”

~In Doctor Who, the TARDIS generates an automatic translation effect so as to allow the show’s writers to use English for all alien species and still be relatively realistic. So if Samantha was with the Doctor, she’d have no problems communicating with the aliens in a common language. Santa’s comment to Samantha allude to that aspect of Doctor Who.

The final question to answer: Is Santa Claus from Gallifrey?

Mayhem Negotiations

This story resulted from throwing two more titles together to form a new one as a writing prompt. I also challenged our local writing club to come up with their version for tonight's meeting. Enjoy.

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"Don't tell me you forgot?" Mary sighed over the phone.

Tom fumbled with his desk calendar. "Honey, of course not." Today was May 15th. What happened on the 15th?

"What do you have planned?"

"Ah, a birthday party."

She huffed. "No! Not a birthday."

Tom snapped his fingers. Their 20th wedding anniversary. "Yes, a birthday. The birthday of our 20-year marital bond."

Her voice grew softer. "You did remembered?"

He laughed. "Forget our 20th? Are you kidding?"

"How are we celebrating it then?"

Think, think. He palmed his forehead. "You remember that Italian restaurant we ate at during our honeymoon? We have reservations."

She squealed. "I can't wait! I love you, honey."

"I love you too. I'll pick you up around six."

"Bye."

"Bye." He wiped his brow. Narrowly escaped that one. He pushed the intercom button. "Barbara, call Andiamo Ristorante and make reservations for two at six."

"Right away, Mr. Longshot."

Tom turned his attention to his paperwork. Sharp raps rattled his office door. His boss, Ben, opened the door and stood before Tom's desk. "You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Not again! "Who me? Forget?"

Ben stared at him. "You did, didn't you?"

"How could I forget...ah, the birthday party."

Ben frowned. "Since when is meeting an advertising client a birthday party?"

Ah. Of course. "Meeting new clients is the birth of a new beginning. We're meeting with the owners of Andiamo Ristorante at..." Tom swallowed.

Ben pointed at Tom. "They'll be here at six. Don't be late."

Tom smiled and threw his hands up. "Where else would I be but here?"

Ben smiled and nodded. "See you at six." He left, closing the door behind him.

Tom let his head fall into his hands. "Now what am I going to do? I'm doomed."

"Perhaps I can help?" A sweet woman's voice met Tom's ear.

He jerked up his head. A young woman, black hair, wearing a tight, blue, knee-length skirt with matching blouse stood against the far wall.

Tom cleared his throat. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

She waved her hand: sparkles grew and died off in its wake. "I'm your fairy secretary. Were you expecting your godmother?"

Tom rubbed the back of his neck. "A fairy what?"

She frowned. "Secretary. All executives have one."

She walked to his desk. "I know your predicament. You need a double."

Tom sat back up. "You can do that?"

"Just watch." She waved her hands in a figure eight pattern, then thrust them toward him. Sparkles engulfed him, then moved in unison next to Tom. As they died off, a second Tom stood beside the original.

Tom looked over the double as it did the same. "Wow," both Tom's said at the same time.

Tom paused, then turned to his fairy secretary. Both said, "Does he say everything I do?"

The fairy secretary nodded. "It is one of the limitations of a double. It doesn't have its own independent thought."

"That's annoying. How am I supposed to do both at the same time?"

She smiled. "It will take a little language negotiation. Chow." She disappeared into thin air.

Tom stared at himself. "Now not only can I talk to myself. I can talk back too."

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Mary and Tom entered the restaurant. The head waiter greeted them. "Your name, sir?"

"Tom Longshot."

"Glad to meet you." The owner put out a hand to shake. "I'm Louie Armori, and this is my wife, Loraine. I look forward to your presentation."

The waiter said, "Ah, here you are." He checked off their name. "Follow me."

Tom shook Louie and Loraine's hands. "I look forward to it as well."

The waiter looked over his shoulder. "Sir?"

"Eating at your restaurant." Tom grinned at Mary's inquiring stare.

Louie and the waiter said at the same time, "Ah! You've not eaten here/there before?"

Tom swallowed. "Twenty years ago. Been a while."

Ben rose and proceeded to give some introductory comments to the Armoris while the waiter seated Tom and Mary.

After the waiter left, Mary gazed upon Tom. "You've been quiet tonight. What's going on in your brain?"

Tom whispered, "Waiting to start."

She raised an eyebrow. "Start what?"

Ben frowned at Tom. "My accomplice is ready. Tom?"

Tom cleared his throat. "Romance."

Mary leaned in closer. "Here?"

"Food is romance."

Louie nodded. "Catchy slogan. I like it."

Mary wrinkled her brow. "So you're waiting to eat before talking?"

Tom danced in his mind. "Romance is more than a touch, more than a feeling. Romance is two people bonding through the intimate act of eating with sexual appeal." Tom placed his hand on Mary's. "Then a touch is transformed into romance."

Mary gazed into his eyes. "How sweet."

Ben stared at Tom with a "what are you doing" expression.

Loraine smiled. "I like him."

Louie pointed a finger at Tom. "Great, but how do we get that across to the public?"

The waiter returned with a bottle of wine. "Are you ready to order?"

Tom replied in his sexiest voice, "Shrimp Alfredo, garlic bread, and a salad topped with your finest blue cheese dressing."

Louie sat taller. "Ah, I see. The TV ad will show a couple sexily ordering, then the slogan, 'Food is romance.' Brilliant!"

Ben's wide eyes stared at Tom. "Yeah, brilliant. That's what I told him."

Mary grinned. "Oh Tom, I've never heard you order food that way before." She glanced at the waiter. "I'll have the same."

Louie rose from his chair and extended his hand. "You've sold me."

Tom shook his hand. "I'm happy we're going to work together."

Mary's face fell. "What?"

Tom grabbed a glass of wine. "Here's to a fabulous future together."

Mary leaned over and kissed Tom. "I love you."

Louie gave him a thumbs up. Tom watched as Louie and Loraine followed Ben to the elevator.

Tom let out a deep breath. "Glad that's over."

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 8, 9, 10

As I'm writing this, today would be the start of day 10. Day 8 was another long day with too much to do, and I couldn't even get to the writing of the novel. Our phones came in, so after waking up at 10, and spending from 12:30 pm to 7:30 pm helping wife clean houses, eating, I then spent the rest of the time until 5:30 am activating the three phones, setting up email and the like, getting data and contacts transferred, installing needed apps, etc. Needless to say I didn't have the energy to make a blog post about it.

So today I started thinking. Originally, I'd planned to keep going on the novel and finish it even though it would take longer than 10 days. However, reality set in. I have an edit that came in on a novel that needs to get done within a month. I also planned on doing final edits and publishing Virtual Game, the third novel in the Virtual Chronicles series, during October. I can't afford to take another 10-20 days to finish this novel, which is the pace I'm currently working at. Fine for a NaNo pace, but this isn't even going to be close to 10 days. So finishing this, doing the edits, and being ready for NaNo in November just isn't going to happen. Something's got to give. Since the edit is for my publisher, that comes before finishing this novel.

Bottom line: I took the 10 day challenge and lost. Primarily due to slower typing than I used to have, but even at my old typing speed, I still would have only reached 20 something thousand by this point. This past week turned out to be the worst week of the year to attempt this because I've had much less time than normal to devote to such a project. No way I could have known that going in, but it is what it is.

So my plan now is to put this story on the shelf and schedule another 10 day writing challenge to finish it when I can devote more time to it. For now, I'm done with this challenge. I'll get back to a regular blog posting schedule (I've an interesting short story I'll be posting here once I can get it edited), get my novel edit done in the next few days, edit and publish the third novel of the Virtual Chronicles series, plan my novel for NaNo and get that done in Nov. I've got so many projects in the oven right now, its crazy. On top of that, this week, I came up with another novel idea I want to explore in the near future.

I should adjust the above statement a little. I say I "lost," but not really. True, I did lose the challenge itself. Didn't even come close to reaching the goal. But the truth is I mainly won. First, I've got a 10K start to this novel I didn't have before. It is shaping up to be a fun adventure story, and is exciting to see the world and characters develop. I'm liking the story. My main challenge is going to be to make time for it in the near future to finish it, and not forget about it with everything else going on. But the challenge was fun, logging it was educational, and I had fun even if it was mixed with some disappointments and setbacks. I hope those of you following my logs enjoyed reading about my experiences. Some day, however, I will write a novel in 10 days. Now it is a challenge I intend to conquer. Just not at this time. I will live to fight another day.

So the final ending tally on my 10 day challenge is 10164 words in 17.8 hours of writing. Thanks for taking the journey with me.

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 7

Rose up from my slumber at noon. Received shortly the news from my son that he made a 92 on his final and a B for this latest block at Le Cordon Bleu. Very proud of him as he was struggling with it. Went through my morning routine and checked emails/blogs as I ate breakfast.  Did the dishes, and found out wife would be coming early to pick me up. I proceeded to get ready.

She arrived about 2:40. We head off to clean a house. 3:40, I head out to pick son up from Austin. But we meet on the furthest reach of the bus route, so it is a one hour round trip, not a 2.5 hour round trip. Arrive back in town, stop by the AT&T store to get a sim card for switching phones between wife and son.  I drop him off at home, and head off to meet wife at second job. Arrive there at 5 pm. We work and return home a little before 8.

Son studying to be a chef prepares us a lovely chicken and green bean dinner with some type of wine sauce. Delicious. I watch an episode of DS9 while I eat and catch up on emails.

By now, I'm thinking I should be going after the novel, but I'm feeling drowsy and having a hard time motivating myself. I also think wife may be going to bed soon. Instead, I get interested in the Michael J. Fox show. I would have liked to have watched it, but we don't get much in the way of TV. So I settle for watching a 40 minute interview with Michael done about  a month ago.  Being that the has Parkinson's and I likely do too, I'm very interested in what he is doing. He's had it for 20 years.

As a matter of fact, I have an idea that I will at some point, write a story where the protag has Parkinson's, and donate all proceeds to Micheal's foundation. A future project out there somewhere.

Anyway, I finally start to write at 12:30. Go till 1 am to add 287 words to it. Put wife to bed and get my cashews and prunes. Hot tea I made earlier while doing the dishes from dinner. I'm back at the computer at 2 am and type solid until 3:30, another 886 words. Decided to call it a night since wife expects me to be ready at 12:30 to go clean two more houses. Figures the week I pick to do a 10 day novel challenge ends up being one of the heaviest work load in the last year for me, leaving me limited energy and time for writing. And at my speed, that's a killer on the challenge. I usually have two to three days a week with no work. No days this week.

So my totals for today is 1173 words in 2 hours, averaging 587 words per hour.

10 Day Novel Challenge totals for Dragon City:

Day 1: 2281 words in 3.5 hours (652 w/h avg.)
Day 2: 1907 words in 3.25 hours (587 w/h avg.)
Day 3: 1494 words in 3 hours (498 w/h avg.)
Day 4: 2071 words in 3.45 hours (600 w/h avg.)
Day 5: 0 words in 0 hours (0 w/h avg)
Day 6: 1238 words in 2.6 hours (476 w/h avg)
Day 7: 1173 words in 2 hours (587 w/h avg)

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Novel Progress: 10164 words in 17.8 hours
Words per Hour: 571
Words per Day: 1452

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 5

I've decided I'm going to take a mulligan today. I feared this might happen. But subsisting on 3 hours of sleep and awake since 7 am this morning, my brain says to me, "What? You want to create something! Hahahahahahahaha!!"

Up at 7, despite the protest of my body, wife and I head out to clean two houses. One of them a small one-hour job. We're done by 11:30 am. We rush to make the 1:15 drive into Austin in 1:10, pick up son from Le Cordon Bleu, and zip down Lamar to arrive at the MHMR building 2 minutes after 1 pm. (Mental Health and Mental Retardation Dept.) Due to him exhibiting some signs of high-functioning autism, we wanted to have him tested, so if he was, he could get additional help. After 3.5 hours of discussions and testing, the psychiatrist determined that he fell in the "unlikely" category, which means essentially, yes, he does exhibit some signs, but not enough to diagnose him as autistic or having aspergers. So that done, we grabbed a bite, took him grocery shopping, dropped him off at his apartment, and took the 1:15 drive back home.

Needless to say, we were tired. But we did discuss the options with our car situation. The mechanic called on our way to Austin to tell us the engine is toast, as I feared. Won't go into all the details here, but it puts us in a pickle. We'll be one-carring it until we come up with a solution. Not likely the "ideal" will work, but maybe God will make a way. Sad  thing is in the last three months we sunk a good bit of money into repairs and maintenance. My wife wants to go siphon out the gas as we'd just filled it up.

The other task was to call our cell phone company to ask a question, then go online to order phone upgrades. Doing this for son in Le Cordon Bleu. He will like this phone or else. There won't be any way to get another for a while.

That took me to around 11 pm. Wife went to bed early. I wanted to go to bed, but I take a pill at 4 am, and I don't want to take it too early. So I piddled around until 2. I thought maybe I'd jump in and get at least a few words in today, but as I said at the beginning, my brain says, "No writing for you!" So at 2 am I start writing this post, so I can hit the sack early and get in some serious sleep before I wake up to tackle cleaning another couple of buildings with wife tomorrow. Who knows, if I wake up early enough, I might get in some writing in the morning and make it a big number day.

Also to look forward too, Dragon Speak Naturally is coming in tomorrow. I'll probably get to try out that tomorrow and see if it improves my word count or not. So with that I'll sign off.

Totals for today: Nada

10 Day Novel Challenge totals for Dragon City:

Day 1: 2281 words in 3.5 hours (652 w/h avg.)
Day 2: 1907 words in 3.25 hours (587 w/h avg.)
Day 3: 1494 words in 3 hours (498 w/h avg.)
Day 4: 2071 words in 3.45 hours (600 w/h avg.)
Day 5: 0 words in 0 hours (0 w/h avg)

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Novel Progress: 7753 words in 13.2 hours
Words per Hour: 587
Words per Day: 1551

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 4

This turned out to be a very weird day. What I expected was to get up, run some errands after morning routine, go help my wife clean a house for 2-3 hours, return home, eat dinner, and dive  into the novel.  But as life has it, it didn't want to operate according to my plans.

Woke up at noon. Wife almost immediately calls to deliver the news that her car died at the end of the street and wouldn't start. So she had to take my car. She'd called our two mechanics we use, and gave me the number of a towing company I could call after I check it out. So I walk to the end of the block and try starting it. The starter is turning, but not the engine. Not a good sign. Could be anything from a broken timing gears to a cracked shaft, or some other oddity. So I call the tow truck, make sure nothing  is valuable in the car, and return home to eat breakfast, look at email, respond to blog post, check blogs, FB, etc.

With me stuck at home and wife not needing me to work, due to some space being freed in her schedule, I figured at least one good thing would come of this. I could spend more time writing. So at 3:30 pm I open up my writing database and Libre Office novel file, grab my smoothie, and start typing. 5 minutes later, my wife calls to remind me of the documents we need to gather for the meeting in Austin tomorrow. So I stop at 3:35, adding a whopping 35 words to the novel, and shift gears. (This is why I like writing at night. No such distractions.)

I spend the next 1.75 hours going through paperwork, making calls, on the phone with various people, filling a folder with needed papers. At 6:10 pm, I'm off to the races on the novel again. That takes me to 7:17, a little over an hour, throwing in another 652 words to the story.

Wife comes home, we lazily heat up TV dinners, eat, chat, I watch a few YouTube videos while I eat. At 7:17, I return to writing. Sort of, anyway. Not sure what came over me, but I was obsessing over where this character should come from instead of Bethany, Oklahoma, that would be close to some mountains within view. After viewing a few places on Google street view, settled on Fort Collins, Colorado. (The wonders of modern technology. It might have taken days of looking through books at the library to figure out what I did in 40 minutes at my desk.)

With that out of my way, I really returned to writing the novel at 10:20 and typed for another hour, clocking in another 573 words. I took a break to spend time with the wife and see her off to bed. Eat some ice cream. At 1:25 am I'm back to writing with my bowl of cashews and prunes. Didn't bother with the hot tea because I knew I wouldn't get far on it since it is going to be an early night. Stopped at 2:45 am, another 811 words fed into the hungry novel beast.

Spending one hour writing this blog, then I'm off to bed. I'm turning in early because I've got to be up at 7 am tomorrow, work with wife all morning, then all afternoon will be traveling to Austin to take care of personal needs of my son in Le Cordon Bleu there. Expect to return home late afternoon or early evening. So it will be a long day for me with a little over 3 hours of sleep again, but no nap. I don't know how long I'll be able to work tomorrow night. We'll see.

Today's totals is 2071 words in 3.45 hours, for an average of 600 w/h. Better, even though I didn't feel it was buzzing along. And so far I'm liking the story and characters. Fun to see these stories develop.

10 Day Novel Challenge totals for Dragon City:

Day 1: 2281 words in 3.5 hours (652 w/h avg.)
Day 2: 1907 words in 3.25 hours (587 w/h avg.)
Day 3: 1494 words in 3 hours (498 w/h avg.)
Day 4: 2071 words in 3.45 hours (600 w/h avg.)

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Novel Progress: 7753 words in 13.2 hours (587 w/h avg.)

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 3

Woke up today at 7 am with a little less than 3 hours of sleep under my belt. Hard to convince your body that, yes, you really do need to get up. But I did. I try to get closer to four hours on Sunday morning, but creating yesterday's blog post took longer than expected.

Went to church, coffee hour afterwards, then arrived home around 2:30 pm. Hit the sack until 6 pm. Talked with wife, went out to eat, then went grocery shopping. By a little after 12:30 am, had the groceries put away, the garbage taken out, and some hot gunpowder green tea brewed.  Finally checked email and blogs for the first time today, responded to one email. While wife had her computer time and got ready for bed, I clocked in 45 minutes on the novel, from 1:15 to 2 am, putting in 429 words. Part of that time I spent getting an idea of where I was going next and rough idea of how it would happen. I'm now past the point I'd written to those many years ago. So it is all new, and though I have an idea of what will happen, it can often take turns into ideas or plots/subplots I'd not expected.

Took a break to send the wife off to sleepy land, get myself some cashews and prunes, and return to my writing. Began typing anew at 2:45 and went until 5 with only some bathroom breaks. Added another 1065 words in 2.25 hours.

Total for the day: 1494 words in 3 hours, for an average speed of 498 w/h. Not great, worst average yet. But my fingers don't seem to be very lose tonight. Plus the words were, for a while, coming in spurts instead of flowing. I actually was rolling better toward the end, but I need to get some sleep in. Though my wife only needs me for 2-2.5 hours of work tomorrow, I have several errands to take care of. I'm hoping I'll get an earlier start on the novel tomorrow evening.

So the novel now stands at 5682 words, about where I'd hoped to be close to the first day to be on track. We'll see if we can't at least put in more time tomorrow and make better progress.

10 Day Novel Challenge totals for Dragon City:

Day 1: 2281 words in 3.5 hours (652 w/h avg.)
Day 2: 1907 words in 3.25 hours (587 w/h avg.)
Day 3: 1494 words in 3 hours (498 w/h avg.)

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Novel Progress: 5682 words in 9.75 hours (583 w/h avg.)

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 2

Today the alarm went off at noon so I could take my meds. Saturday mornings tend to be time for wife and I to eat breakfast together and talk, among other things. She'd already eaten, but we spent time together until around 2:30 pm when she ran off to take care of errands. I checked and responded to emails and scanned blogs.

However, I had to get ready for church. I'm Orthodox Christian, for those not aware. I do a bulk of the Byzantine chanting for Vespers on Saturday evenings and Matins Sunday morning. So I worked on getting that ready, which left me an hour and a half for a shower and preparing to leave by 5 pm. Made it there, had the service, we drove back to our city (45 minutes each way), and stopped at a local restaurant for dinner. Returned home around 8:30 pm.

After checking some more emails and responding to an entry on my blog, I finally started working back on the novel right at 10 pm. I made progress, but was broken up by several breaks due to wife and food distractions. One 45 minute block netted me 286 words. After a 10 minute break, I put in another whopping 10 minutes to add 184 words. We took an ice cream break of 30 minutes while talking. Then I typed for another 10 minutes to include 97 words. By this point, I feel like I'm going no where fast.

I took another break to see wife to bed, which took almost 30 minutes. Do we see an inverse pattern here? The breaks are getting bigger than the writing times. But by 12:15 am, with wife fast asleep, I could focus more fully on writing. I typed until 1:45 to increase the story by 900 words. That's better.  About this time I realize I had a problem with topography. Mark for later correction. I wanted mountains. But not in the center of Oklahoma will I get them. lol.

Responded to another up-late writer's comment to my blog. Her comment got me to thinking. At this pace, I'm not going to come anywhere close to finishing this in 10 days. I'll be lucky to do it in 20. So I took my break time to research and purchase with money from my writing account, Dragon Speak Naturally. Should arrive Wednesday since I have Amazon Prime. Might take a little getting used to, but if it works as billed, could get my word count up to speed and stand a better chance of getting close to my target. Meanwhile, I'll have to muddle along with my fingers.

Returned to writing at 2:55, put in another 240 words by 3:31 before calling it a night. Since I've got church in the morning, I have to wake up at 7 am. Normal Sunday routine is to crash for a good 3 hour nap upon returning home, get up to check email, eat dinner and go grocery shopping with wife (a required activity). By then it will be around 10 to midnight before I get back to this.

For today, however, I spent 3.25 hours of writing time to crank out an additional 1907 words. That clocks in at 587 words an hour.

10 Day Novel Challenge totals for Dragon City:

Day 1: 2281 words in 3.5 hours (652 w/h avg.)
Day 2: 1907 words in 3.25 hours (587 w/h avg.)

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Novel Progress: 4188 words in 6.75 hours (620 w/h avg.)

10 Day Novel Challenge: Day 1

On starting day of this challenge, awoke at 1 pm. Would have been a solid seven hours of sleep save a nurse call I was expecting woke me around 10 am. Had trouble getting back to sleep, so closer to six hours of sleep. Anyway, went through my morning routine. Grits for breakfast, went through email, started a pot of beans cooking in the slow cooker for dinner. Finished most of the emails but none of the blogs when 3 pm arrived. The time my wife was supposed to be picking me up to go clean a vacation house. But she was running behind which gave me an extra 30 minutes to finish up a reply to an email.

Wife picked me up around 3:40 in the rain. We had to stop at another house first to take care of a couple of items before taking the 20 minute drive to the house we were to clean. At least it was supposed to take 20 minutes, save for the two wrecks we had to snake our way around at 10 mph. But we got there around 4:45, and finished the job a little before 8. Returned home around 8:30.

We promptly partook of pinto beans and a salad while I recaught up on emails and scanned the blogs. Jumped on Facebook to respond to a couple of people and quickly scanned the feeds. Called my son after doing some phone research to find out what he wanted for a phone. We're on a family plan and he's not happy with his android phone. Oh well.

After some time with my wife, she fell asleep early, but she'd have to wake up to get ready for bed. I let her nap while I finally turned my attention to the novel at hand around 10:45 pm. First order of business was to review the outline to orient myself to the proposed plot and the characters. I spent about 30 minutes doing that, changing the names of my two MCs (used them in the novel I did instead of this one some years ago) that gave me opportunity to make them more interesting. Named the two counties where the story takes place, along with three cities I knew I'd need. More will come, but I'll come up with those as I go.

By 11:15, I started writing. I wrote most of the first 1022 words in 1.75 hours, stopping at 1 am. I actually at one point had started the book, and wrote the first two chapters some years ago. I recall most of what I did, but didn't go back and read them. I wanted what I wrote now to be as unencumbered with what I did before as possible. After all, I've hopefully learned a thing or two since then.

Took a break, woke my wife up. We got some ice cream and I made some hot blueberry tea. Returned to writing at 1:26 am. Wife went on Facebook in the meantime. Worked another half hour until 2:06, putting in another 479 words. Took another break to officially put my wife to bed, then grabbed a bowl of prunes and cashews and went back at it at 2:57. I wrote until 4:18, at which point I called it quits. That added another 780 words to the count.

Totals are 2281 words in 3.5 hours of writing, averaging out to 652 words an hour. Better than I did last night. Good NaNo day, but not going to make it in ten days at this pace.

I've mentioned my bad left hand. I suppose I should explain. Last October, and all through NaNo November, I noticed my left hand didn't want to work smoothly. My mind would tell a finger to press a key, and it would do one of three things: press the key once, twice, or not at all. Since then about half the words I'm either pausing to type, or backspacing to erase letters that aren't supposed to be there. It has cut my typing speed in about half of what it used to be, and takes a bit more work to do. I'm thinking I may need to try a voice recognition program. Anyway, finally went to the doctor this past June, and he believes it may be Parkinson's Disease. I've been referred to a neurologist that I'll see in December for a fuller diagnosis. Meanwhile, I am on meds to help control the tremors that developed earlier this year, but my speed has only marginally increased.

I don't say this to gain your pity, just to let you know why my word count per hour is so low to what most people's is. That said, as I've proved last November, have proved the last two days, and will undoubtedly prove again this coming Nov, I can still crank out a novel in a month. If I could put enough hours into it now, I could write one in ten days. But my wife has me on a heavy schedule next week with few, if any, days off. So this will really be a test if I can pull this off. So far, I'm behind. Will take some good writing days to make it. If not, I'll keep going until it is done, and take everyone here with me. Time to get to bed so I can tackle it tomorrow.

10 Day Novel Challenge Totals:

Day 1: 2281

----------------

Total: 2281

Facing the Cave

This flash fiction story originally appeared in MindFlights. The magazine is no longer active though the story still shows up. This is one of my allegorical fantasies.

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"And though countless have tried," the bard said to the tavern audience, "The dragon that never dies continues to devour all who come to its cave."

Galak clapped with the people but noticed Sir Humblart, his teacher and friend, stared as if into another world. When Galak saw Sir Humblart's jaw set, he knew the story had stirred a desire in his master. Galak took another gulp from his stein in hopes of numbing the rising fear.

Sir Humblart rose from his seat. "Come, Squire. We have a dragon to slay."

The bard laughed. "Didn't you hear me? This dragon is death itself. No man can defeat death."

Sir Humblart smiled and his eyes lit as they always did when he would say something of importance. "Correct: no man can if no one attempts it."

"Attempt away! The dragon is always hungry." Laughter erupted from the patrons.

Sir Humblart nodded. "And if I return from death, then what?"

The bard stumbled over words, then blurted out, "I'll believe that when I see it!" More guffaws arose.

Sir Humblart downed the last of his ale and motioned for Galak to follow.

After grabbing supplies, Sir Humblart led Galak through the forest toward the undefeated foe.

"Sir, I have your sword," Galak said.

Sir Humblart didn't turn his head. "I'll have no cause for such weapons. Keep hold of it. You will need it."

Their feet crunched the dirt and dried leaves on the forest floor as they pushed toward—what? His death? Galak watched the armor-clad knight marching resolutely to face the monster that had sent so many to hell's gates. No hint of fear twitched across his face. No evidence of second thoughts surfaced in those coal-black, unblinking eyes.

In due time, they entered the clearing where the dragon's cave bore into the mountain. Strewn across the knoll lay scorched armor and rusted swords. Bones rested thick across the grass, piled by the cave opening. Many lives had been spent attempting to destroy the dragon.

A roar erupted from beneath the earth, and the ground shook. Smoke belched from the entrance as if dust long undisturbed exploded from its cloisters. Mournful cries underlay the horrific noise; Galak wanted to cry with them.

Galak fled behind a tree as he watched the beast burst from the cave and land a few feet from Sir Humblart. A mélange of greens and browns shimmered in the sunlight on its hide. The slender body tapered to a tail, which whipped to and fro. The other end held aloft a neck three times as long as any man's body. At the end of the neck, a broad head examined Sir Humblart with fiery eyes, and a forked tongue lashed the air.

"Sir, flee before it's too late," Galak yelled out.

Sir Humblart turned to Galak. "To free them, I must die." He faced the dragon, his feet together, lifted his arms as if to fly, and cast his head forward.

Now Galak knew his master had lost his mind. Perhaps the villagers brewed a stouter ale than they realized. He cowered behind the tree as a deafening roar caused him to cover his ears in pain. But he couldn't remove his gaze from Sir Humblart.

The beast's head dove, and its open mouth scooped in Sir Humblart. Its head flung back. Galak watched as a bulge slid down the dragon's neck. Apparently satisfied with its meal, the dragon lumbered to the cave.

Galak's stomach twisted, and bile rose up his throat. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks. Then he remembered: he still had the sword. He could yet save his master and friend. An attempt likely ending in death, but love demanded no less. He steeled himself, unsheathed the weapon, drew himself to his feet, and prepared to charge.

The dragon halted before reaching the cave. A mournful cry shattered the air, and the dragon thrashed about, as if attempting to throw an invisible rider. It spun and writhed until another shriek filled Galak's ears. He fell to his knees; the sword dropped to the ground.

The dragon teetered and fell over onto its side with a ground-shaking crash. Galak peered at it, but the dragon no longer moved.

The ground rumbled until a blast of air exploded from the cave and twirled into a vortex. Galak swore he heard joyous singing within the gale. The bones around him rattled before the swirling wind sucked them into its grip, and they flew beyond the mountain and into the sky.

The pull of the music and push of the wind encouraged Galak. He crept toward the beast, eying it through wind-whipped hair, ready to flee, but it did not move. Not until Galak came close enough, did he see a bulge pushing against the skin.

He gasped and stumbled in haste to retrieve the sword. He raced back to the carcass and swung the sword two-handed upon the base of the neck. Green blood spewed forth, and with it the dragon's body vomited out Sir Humblart, covered in chunky, pea-green slime.

In his acid-seared hand, Sir Humblart held a heart the size of a grown man's head. He arose and cast a bright gaze upon Galak.

"No man can escape death. It can only be defeated from within. And now, I have destroyed it." Sir Humblart cast the heart into the cave.

Galak's pulse quickened as Sir Humblart's eyes pierced through him. The master turned and proceeded down the path to the village.

Galak followed, as he had always done—but now, through death to life.

The Three Little Pigs, or How to Invest Wisely

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. No, not those pigs. Come on. Stay with me here. Must you always jump to conclusions?

Okay. As I was saying, there were three little pigs. One day Papa Pig says to the three, "I'm getting old and can no longer work the farm. I need to give you each your inheritance so you can invest it and provide from me into my old age."

And so he did. To pig number one, Sam, Papa Pig gave him $500,000 dollars. To pig number two, Jake, he gave $300,000. To Bubba, pig number three, he gave $100,000.

Sam decided he would invest his money in stocks. Surely the profits he would get would more than pay for his Papa's retirement. So he bought $500,000 of stocks in real estate notes.

Jake thought it better to invest in something more solid. He decided to buy property. Then not only would his Papa gain an investment, but a nice place to live that was paid for.

Bubba thought for a while and then decided both of them were wrong. He hit the streets and found the lame and beggars. He gave them $1000 with the words, "This is from Papa Pig to help you."

As luck would have it, a big, bad wolf...what? No, no, no! Not that big, bad wolf. This is altogether different. Trust me.

Now, there came a big, bad wolf market to Sam's investments...oh, I see I got the animal wrong, didn't I. My bad. There came a big, bad bear market. It knocked on Sam's computer market tracking software and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me in. Trade off your stocks or I'll growl and I'll snarl and I'll eat them up!"

Yeah, yeah, I know. Not the same punch, but like I said, this ain't your mama's three little pig story. Now where were we?

Sam said, "Not by the...click of one little mouse." So the bear growled and he snarled and he ate the stocks up!

Sam ran to Jake's house, and lamented his losses. He cried, "I've lost all $500,000 of my Papa's money. It is left to you to provide for him. We know Bubba doesn't have any business sense. He gave all his away."

Jake patted a wall of his mansion. "Papa will do just fine. I knew those stocks you bought were risky."

But then the big, bad, wolf...I know I got it wrong last time. I'm on track now. Let me finish. The big, bad, wolf in sheep's clothing, otherwise known as a politician, knocked on Jake's door. He said, "Little pig, little pig, let me in. Or I'll write a 5000 page bill and add it as an amendment to the "Keep our Kids Safe from Drugs and Bullies" bill (otherwise known as KKSDB), and I'll confiscate all your land."

Jake shook his head. "Not by the vote of the next election."

So the big, bad wolf in sheep's clothing stayed up into the night writing a huge bill, introduced it to Congress, added it to the "Keep our Kids Safe from Drugs and Bullies" bill, and it passed by a vote of one.

Jake then heard another knock at his door. "Who's there?"

"We're from the EPA, and your land is the only habitat for the endangered albino wolf. We'll have to take your land and kick you out."

So Sam and Jake ran to Bubba's humble abode. They both decried their poor fortune at losing their inheritance, and Sam pointed out, "And you have nothing to show as well. Our Papa will live in poverty for the rest of his life."

Bubba shook his head. "Yusa jist don't git it, do ya?" A knock at the door interrupted him. "Who's banging?"

It just so happened to be the big bad wolf in sheep's clothing again. "Little pig, little pig, let me in. Or I'll...I'll..." The wolf in sheep's clothing grumbled. "What did you invest your money in?"

Bubba snickered. "I gone and put it in peoples."

"Peoples? I mean, people?"

"Yes. I giv it away to folks who need it."

The WISC snarked. "That's government's job. You can't give it away."

"Too late. Already gone and done it."

The WISC remained silent for five seconds, and then said, "I'll need to expand the gift tax. Yes, it needs attention." Then he left.

Jake threw up his hands. "We got rid of the wolf, but not before he drained all of our Papa's retirement away."

Bubba shook his head. "When a person gives, it comes back ten-fold and stores treasure in heaven."

Sam slapped his forehead. "What good will that treasure do him now, unless you plan on speeding up his death from starvation?"

Bubba opened his door. "Fowler me." The two shrugged and followed. Bubba led them to their Papa's house.

Some men worked on house repairs. One family carried a crock-pot full of slop to the door.

Bubba pointed at the house. "Looks like he'sa gitten cared for right nicely, if you'sa to ask me."

Sam and Jake stared wide-eyed. Sam said, "Friends in this life."

Jake nodded. "And a treasure in the next."

Bubba smiled. "And no wolf cana take that away, no how."

Love is a Many Crazied Thing

"And remember. . . " Milnore pointed a long, bony finger at Josh. "Be careful with this spell. Love is a very powerful emotion. It isn't to be used without good cause."

Josh raised his eyebrows. "What is a good cause?"

Milnore tipped his pointed hat back and scratched his forehead. "When it is in the best interest of all parties to do so."

"And how will I know that?"

Milnore huffed. "Use the thought reading spell."

Josh wrinkled his forehead. "I don't think you've taught me that one yet."

Milnore's eyes grew wide. "I haven't, have I?" A smile cracked across his face. "I suppose you are right. But one spell at a time. Avoid using this one until I teach you that one, then."

Milnore raised a finger. He closed his eyes and murmured a spell. His eyes flashed open. "No one is around or listening in. Here is the spell to cause someone to love you."

Milnore leaned in and Josh tilted his ear to him.

"You obtain an item of the one to make love another. Hold it in your hand, and recite the following words after you initialize for a spell: Eros love comes from above, from within, from the heart, instill it in thee for me."

Josh recited the words a couple times.

Milnore nodded. "Good. Keep practicing. I have a meeting to attend. When I return, I'll see if you can use it."

Josh smiled. "If I can't use it on anyone, how can I practice using it?"

Milnore opened the front door to the house and paused. "Insects and animals." He turned and exited the door, shutting it behind him.

Josh grimaced. "I'll not be using that on mosquitoes." He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and recited the words of the spell several times between gulps of water. After the tenth time, he yawned.

A knock echoed from the front door. Josh leaped up and answered it. His best friend, Sisko, stood in the doorway. "Hi. Come on in."

Sisko stepped inside the house. "Thought I'd come by and see how your training is going."

Josh smiled. "I learned a new spell today."

Sisko's eyes snapped wide. "Huh...I just remembered my mother had some errands for me to run." He wheeled around on his heels and headed for the door.

Josh mumbled the kinetic spell, and the front door slammed shut. "Not so fast! I'm not going to use the spell on you."

Sisko put his hands on his hips. "That's what you said the last time. You about killed both of us with those flying axes."

Josh held up his hands. "I know, I know. I blew it that time."

"And then there was the incident with the dentist."

Josh closed his eyes. "Okay, so I've blown it a few times. But this spell is easy. So easy, it is foolproof."

Sisko seated himself on the living room sofa. "So what is this spell?"

"A love spell."

Sisko rubbed his chin. "A love spell, eh? To make people fall in love with...?"

"Me."

Sisko smiled. "So someone would fall in love with you? Not me?"

"If there is a spell for that, Milnore hasn't taught it to me yet."

Sisko sat up. "I'll bet you can't make Sarah fall in love with you."

Josh gulped. "Sarah? Are you crazy? She's the last person I want falling in love with me." The crazy girl taunted Josh every chance she could.

Sisko pointed a finger at Josh. "That's just it. We both know she hates your guts. If she can be made to love you, you'll know the spell is working."

"It would be a test. But Milnore said not to use it yet."

"I'll do a chore for you."

"Really?" Milnore did expect him to haul wood in and chop it for the fireplace. The spell was simple enough. "Okay. Deal."

Sisko stood. "I believe she is at the market. Let's go."

What had he gotten himself into this time. Why did Sisko want to see this so bad?

-------------------

Sisko pointed down the isle of vegetables. "There she is. With her sister Lori."

Sarah held a brush, combing it through her hair every once in a while. Josh breathed deep and stepped toward them. Sarah glanced his direction as he approached, and then fixed her eyes on him. "What do you want, goofy."

Josh grinned. "Your love."

She gritted her teeth. "In your dreams, wizard want-a-be."

Josh laughed, and then stuck his tongue out at her. The action had the desired effect. She launched the brush at Josh. He ducked, but not quick enough. A thud resonated inside his skull.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his forehead as the brush landed at his feet. He glanced at Sisko, who covered his mouth in a controlled laughter as he approached. He began to think Sisko wanted to see him squirm.

Sarah laughed. "Now, give me the brush back, or I'll beat you up myself."

Josh picked the brush up and then mumbled the love spell. He focused on Sarah to see what she would do or say. Instead, Lori ran his direction.

Sisko patted Josh on the shoulder. "Looks like you nailed the wrong girl."

Josh glanced at the brush in his hand. "This must be Lori's brush." Josh braced himself as Lori raced toward him, a crazed look in her eyes.

Lori flew past Josh and landed on Sisko, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Her lips locked onto Sisko's, as he stared wide eyed at Josh and flailed about on the ground.

Lori moved to kissing his face and neck. Sisko gasped. "Josh, do something!"

Josh snickered. He must have said "thee" twice instead of "me." But this wasn't innocent fun. Lori had started unbuttoning Sisko's vest. She'd have him naked in the middle of town if he didn't do something.

A hand grabbed Josh's shoulder and spun him around. Sarah bared her teeth. "What did you do to my sister, you perverted spell-caster?"

"Nothing really. I..." Sarah's fist landed across his face. Blood trickled from his nose as he staggered back, cradling his jaw in his palm.

Sarah reared her fist back again as she gritted her teeth. "Now fix her, or I'll knock your teeth out."

Josh blinked at the hovering knuckles. He could only think of one solution. He grabbed her arm and said the love spell under his breath.

Sarah's face relaxed. She jerked her head around to see Lori spread Sisko's shirt open, revealing his chest. Her kisses worked their way toward his stomach.

Sarah shoved Josh away and raced toward Sisko and Lori. "You can't have him. He's mine!" She banged into Lori, rolling her to the side. Then she caressed Sisko's bare chest. She closed her eyes and smiled into the sky.

Sisko tried to push her away. "Josh! I'm not doing your chore!"

Lori rose to her feet and plowed into Sarah. "He loves me! Get off him!" The two girls rolled off Sisko and into the dirt road.

Sisko scrambled to his feet. "Now what?"

Josh scratched his head. "I don't know."

A voice behind Josh said, "That's the first sensible thing you've said so far."

Josh spun around. "Master! Am I glad to see you."

Milnore lips tightened. "I thought I told you not to use the spell yet?"

Sisko raised his hand. "My fault. I encouraged him. I should have known better." Sisko glanced at the two girls clawing at each other.

Milnore frowned and shook his head. He mumbled a spell and cast his hand at the two women. "Never mess with a woman's emotions. Way too unpredictable."

Sarah and Lori stopped fighting. They paused for a moment as they stared at each other. Then Sarah rose and dusted herself off. She stalked toward Josh.

Josh ran behind Milnore and peaked out from behind him.

She pointed at him. "You better hide, numb-face. I'll get you back for this humiliation." She growled before turning on her heals.

She paused to look at Sisko, his shirt and vest hanging open. She wiped her mouth with her arm and spat on the ground. "In your dreams, scrawny." Then she stomped away with Lori in tow.

Sisko shrugged his shoulders. "What did I do?"

Milnore cracked a smile. "I do have a spell for turning people into toads."

Josh stood by his side. "Really?" That certainly sounded appealing.

Milnore cleared his throat. "But now would not be a good time to teach it to you. However, I hope you have learned your lesson today."

Josh nodded. "Yes. Don't let friends convince you to use a spell before you know how to reverse it."

Milnore nodded. "Good, but not what I was thinking of."

Josh stared up at him. "Then what?"

Milnore stroked his beard. "Eros love is not a tame mistress. Treat her with respect, and a good dose of agape love to balance it."

"I didn't know about that."

Milnore patted Josh's head. "That, my apprentice, is why I told you to wait. I hadn't told you the whole spell yet."

Josh groaned. Would he ever learn?

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Read more stories about Sisko and Josh in Reality's Dawn!

The Pain of Paradise

Josh breathed heavily as he lugged an urn of water into the clearing. Milnore's black house lay in the center of it, surrounded by axes, grass cutters, a small plow, and a wooden storage shed toward the back. Green, knee-high grass surrounded the small house.

Milnore exited the house. "Josh, I'm going to town for supplies. Finish filling the water urns and then work on your transport spell."

Josh groaned. "Master, I've practiced that spell hundreds of times. Can't we do something else?"

Milnore stopped his progress toward the trail and turned toward Josh. "Basics first, my apprentice. You have to know it so well that you can do it without thinking."

Josh sighed. He mumbled the words of the spell he'd been taught. His perspective shifted from the edge of the clearing to the porch of the house. "How's that, Master? Now can we move on?"

Milnore stroked his beard. "Not bad. But there was a slight delay in recalling the words. Keep working on it." The wizard turned to continue his journey to town.

Josh shook his head as he let out a breath. "This may be the only spell I ever learn."

"Then learn it well," returned the wizard's voice from the forest.

Josh opened the door and entered. He wound around the couch perpendicular to the fireplace, and set the urn of water next to its companions by the kitchen basin. He turned to get a drink of water before practicing his spell when he noticed a book lying on the kitchen table.

He stepped toward it, and examined the open page. The title at the top said, "Revealing Aura Spell."

Josh raised his eyebrows. "This is Milnore's spell book!" The wizard always kept it hidden. He must have been using it and forgot to put it away before leaving.

Josh flipped the page. "Mental Communication Spell" labeled the page. "Cool. I could use that with Sisko at some point." He grabbed some paper and ink, then copied it down, and stuffed it in his vest pocket.

He flipped through a few more pages until he read, "Visit Parallel Worlds Spell." Josh widened his eyes. "Really? There are parallel worlds we can visit?" He studied the words.

Then he read, "Warning, remember the following words to return from the spot you entered: Reverse the last spell I uttered. Which means, you can't cast any spells in between."

Josh smiled. "I can do this. I'll just go there and come back. What could go wrong?" He read over the spell, memorizing the words.

Once he thought he had it down well enough, he stepped back and stood straight. He whispered, "Worlds of old and times abound, pick one for visiting today, we pray."

The furniture of Milnore's house vanished. Trees and dense foliage replaced them. Birds tweeted happy songs as wind grazed the grass and leaves of the trees.

Josh gazed at the wonder. Every tree, every branch, every leaf, shown as if it had a light of its own. Indeed, he could see no sun in the sky, but light existed around everything.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud.

"Paradise," a hissing voice said behind him.

Josh turned to see a long lizard-looking creature wrapped around the branch of a tree. Its tiny claws held tightly to stems. Its face flared when it talked.

The creature moved closer. "Would you like to partake of my tree? It is delicious and will make you the most powerful wizard ever."

Josh stared at the fruit of the tree. "Really?" It did look enticing. It begged to be eaten. "How can it do that?"

"By making you like God, the most powerful wizard of all."

The most powerful. That was tempting. Josh shrugged. It was just a piece of fruit. Worst that could happen, he'd eat some food. Best, he'd become the most powerful wizard ever.

He reached out to pick some of the luscious fruit.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," a new voice rang out.

Josh jerked his head around to see a man clothed in bright light walk toward him. Josh had to squint. "Who are you?"

"I am man. Don't eat of that tree. It is commanded by my creator to not eat of it."

Josh reached and grabbed one of the fruits. "What's the harm? It's just fruit, isn't it? Why can't we eat of it?"

The radiant man waved a hand at Josh. "Because, the creator said the day we eat of it, we shall surely die."

The lizard hissed. "Surely you shall not die."

Josh realized not only where he was, but what time. "I don't think that is a good idea." He withdrew his hand from the fruit.

The lizard flicked its tongue and slid out of the tree, and fell on Josh, wrapping himself around Josh. "Take me to your world."

"I think you're already there." Josh mumble the words of the transport spell. His perspective shifted to further away from the tree. The long lizard fell to the ground, then climbed back onto the tree.

Josh gasped. "I've done another spell! I can't get back."

The man lifted his hands. "We're in paradise. Why the desire to go back?"

He did have a point. And yet..., "Sorry. I don't belong here. I need to get back to my world and time."

Josh rubbed his forehead. "Maybe if I do it twice?" He opened his mouth and stopped. "Wait a minute. If I do that twice, it will only undo the undo spell." Josh stomped his foot on the ground. "I'm trapped here!"

The man shrugged. "Not a bad place to be trapped."

"But you don't understand. Look at me? Do I look like part of this world?"

The bright human rubbed his chin. "You are clothed with something other than light. Why is that? We're you not created?"

Josh smiled. "Uh, long story." He snapped his fingers. "At least I can stop it. I can change history."

The man cocked his head to the side. "Change history? What is history?"

Josh pointed at him. "Right, you don't have much of it yet."

A rolling thunder shook the ground and caused the trees to sway. But in the midst of the noise, Josh could hear a voice say, "Josh, where are you?" A brilliant light grew as the being approached. Josh cringed at the sound of the voice, and shielded his eyes. The pain grew unbearable, so he ran to a fig tree and ducked into its leaves. He gripped the trunk, and shut his eyes, praying he wouldn't die.

"Josh, what have you done? Why are you here?"

Josh tried to steady his shaking body, to no avail. "I'm sorry, Lord. I can't get back."

"Use 'next to the last.'"

Josh almost opened his eyes, but slammed them shut. It was all he could do to not focus on the pain searing his body. He'd have serious burns if he survived this. "I don't understand, Lord." He hated asking the question, for he couldn't bear the thunderous voice speaking to him.

"In your spell, Josh. Next to last."

"Oh!" Josh winced from the sound of His voice. "Good idea, Lord."

The pain vanished. Josh cracked his eyes open. The blazing light no longer filled the area. He relaxed his grip on the tree, though his arms and legs still shook from the experience.

The shinning man spread the fig leaves apart and stuck his head in. "Of course it's a good idea. He is God, after all."

Josh stood on shaking legs and pushed his way into the clearing. "I thought I was going to die." He examined his arms. "Why, I don't even have as much as a sunburn."

The man's forehead wrinkled. "Have you already eaten from the tree before?"

"Who? Me?" Josh stretched his fingers and arms, attempting to get the shakes out. "Not really. Well, in a manner of speaking, you could say I did, through..." Josh froze for a second. "It's a really long, long story. So long, it would take at least 66 books to tell it all."

The man crossed his arms. "You are a strange fellow. What is a book?"

Josh bowed. "You'll find out." Josh shook his hand. "Thanks for your help. I'll take my leave now." Josh stood straight. "Reverse the next-to-the-last spell I uttered." The forest vanished and Milnore's kitchen reappeared before him. Josh let out a long breath. "Whew. That was close."

"I don't think we've finished with close yet."

Josh turned to see Milnore sitting on the couch, his arms crossed. Josh hung his head. "Sorry, Master. I shouldn't have gone there."

"What did I tell you to do?"

Josh stared at the floor. "I did do a transport spell while there. Quite nicely, if I do say so myself."

Milnore nodded. "The Hebrew word for man is 'adam'."

Josh stared at the wizard. "You know where I went?"

Milnore smiled. "Of course. Don't you think I tried it myself once. I nearly ate the fruit."

Josh nodded. "If it had not been for Adam, I would have too."

"Remember that. Spells you are not ready for can bring about nasty curses."

Josh nodded. "Yes, sir." But he did meet God in person and still lived. That was an experience he'd never forget. And didn't want to repeat, at least until he was ready for it.

Reality's Dawn Free on Kindle!

If you missed the free Kindle download of Reality' s Dawn last August, now's the time to cash in. The book will be free on Kindle through Saturday, 1/12. So don't miss out, grab a copy from Amazon!

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Yippee for Christmas! by R. L. Copple

As I've been doing for the last few years, I'm presenting to friends, family, and fans a Christmas short story as my Christmas gift to you. Thanks to everyone who has read, supported, and been a friend over the past year, and I pray into the new year as well. Now, enjoy my new Christmas short story: Yippee for Christmas!

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Once upon a time, in a land far, far away that amazingly looked a lot like Texas, there lived a king named Loren. King Loren ruled a kingdom full of joyous, peaceful, and loving people. For they had much to be thankful for. From the mountain ranges in the west, to the plains in the north, to the ocean beaches on the southern coast, and the forest in the east, rarely was heard a dissenting voice. Crime gained no foothold here, as no one lived in discontent. It was Heaven on Earth.

What you say? Impossible? One would think so, save for one basic fact. The biggest celebration in this kingdom happened every December 25th on Christmas day. Each year, the king threw the grandest party in his castle, not sparing neither Christmas turkey, Christmas ham, Christmas tamales, or Christmas picante sauce. No child left without a present from the king. The whole kingdom celebrated Christmas.

What? Oh, you're wondering why this created their private utopia? Not because of the food, but because of what they celebrated: joy, peace, and love. The celebration reminded them all year long to practice these virtues, and so they did with the utmost fervor. They celebrated and practiced these virtues so well that all crime vanished, no one starved or lacked a roof over their heads, and no one complained over what they had, didn't have, or what their neighbor had that they didn't. The focus on joy, peace, and love overshadowed everything else.

One Christmas eve, King Loren's death ended his reign. The funeral line processed in a solemn march through the city as adults and children lined the streets. The normal joy of the season fell silent against the night of the king's life. Everyone reminisced about the good king's deeds and heroic decisions, and the most honorable kingdom in the world under his rule. No one shared a negative word against him, so great was their love for him.

King Loren's rule fell to his oldest son, Xander. Before the festivities of Christmas began, the lords of the land installed King Loren's son to the throne.

As King Xander examined the solemn crowd in the usually festive hall, he said to them, "My loyal subjects. Ever did my father find joy, peace, and love in the Christmas celebration. We can do no less in honor of his memory. He would not be pleased to find us sad on this day, lest we forget all he has taught us. So let us lift a glass to his memory and celebrate this festival as if he is watching, for he very well may be."

Heads nodded and smiles filled the sea of faces sitting around tables laden with all sorts of Christmas foods. Hands reached for glasses to join in the toast, all except one. One hand raised above the growing hum of voices and said, "My lord, I have a complaint!"

Gasps raced across the hall; talking halted. The king, along with every other eye in the crowd, stared at the man with the upraised hand. King Xander scratched his beard in disbelief. "Kind sir, are you from our fair kingdom? For complaints are rare with our people who celebrate and practice joy, peace, and love throughout the year. What possible complaint will you bring before us on this august day?"

The man lowered his hand and stood. "My lord, I am new to these parts. I had heard of the joy, peace, and love of this land, and wished to join such worthy festivities. Now that I am here, I feel excluded, for I am not of your religion. Would not it be more inclusive of all faiths who also celebrate joy, peace, and love, if we gave this holiday a new name? I beseech you to consider this request so that I too, and those who follow other faiths, are free to celebrate with you." The man sat down.

All eyes turned to the king in anticipation of his words. King Xander stroked his beard for a moment and then said, "Long has it been the tradition in our land, set by my father, to call this day Christmas. Yet your argument is sound. I will put my wise men to the task and by next Christmas—or whatever it will be called—we will have a new name. So be it."

The lords replied back, "May the king's will be done." The man smiled, and the celebration continued through the day as it had for many years.

Shortly before the next Christmas...I mean, whatever it would be called, King Xander made an announcement in his court. "My dear subjects. Last year, I declared we would find a more inclusive name for our celebration of joy, peace, and love. After much consultation with my wisest counselors, we have settled on that name.

"Beginning this year, it will no longer be referred to as Christmas, but Yippee! You will no longer have a Christmas tree, but instead, a Yippee cactus. Santa will no longer deliver Christmas presents; he will leave children Yippee presents. No longer will you hear Christmas in your songs. Rather you'll hear songs like, 'Yippee, Yippee time is here. Time for laughter, time for cheer...' Instead of hearing the story ''Twas the Night Before Christmas,' you will hear, ''Twas the Night Before Yippee.' All references to Christmas will be changed throughout the kingdom in favor of the new name to commemorate joy, peace, and love: Yippee!"

The hall erupted in a glorious, "Yippee!" followed by clapping and shouts. They had never felt more inclusive.

Christmases...I mean, Yippees came and went for seven years. Each year the celebration grew grander to outdo the last. But other changes emerged over the seven years. Crime rose from nearly non-existent to 30%. Complaints became the norm instead of the exception. Despite doing more in the Yippee parties than his father, King Xander received notices of discontent about them and a good many other government services as well. Joy, peace, and love declined even while their virtues were lauded.

At the eighth annual celebration of Yippee, King Xander put on another exciting Yippee party at his castle. After listening to a rousing rendition of "Yippie Bells," and a fun sing-along with the king of "O, Yippee Night," the king sat at the head of a table filled with Yippee turkey, Yippee ham, Yippee tamales, and Yippee picante sauce. By this point, King Xander had also added his own touch to the menu: Yippee figgy pudding.

King Xander stood, raised his glass of Yippee wine, and then said, "My loyal subjects, each year at this time we celebrate the virtues of joy, peace, and love: the founding principles of our land. So I toast with each of you that these virtues will prevail among us and that our country will always celebrate their values and benefits."

A couple of heads nodded. Many said, "Whatever." Hands wandered toward glasses to join in the toast, all except one. One hand raised above the growing grunts, and an eight-year old boy said, "My lord, I have a complaint!"

A few, "What's new?" comments echoed among them as eyes focused on the king's response.

King Xander waved his hand. "You'll need to take it to the complaint department. It is open on Mondays through Fridays from noon to one o'clock."

The boy stood. "I have a question then. Why?"

The king's forehead wrinkled. "Why what?"

"Why do we celebrate joy, peace, and love? Especially when there is so little of it."

King Xander moved his mouth as if to talk for two seconds before emitting an answer. "Why? Because my young lad, you are not able to remember the joy of my father's reign. The celebration of these virtues is what provided such prosperity and harmony in our land for many years. We have fallen from that ideal, I will grant you, but that is no reason to not celebrate their glorious effect upon our kingdom."

The child shook his head. "But why celebrate something that ain't happening?"

King Xander scratched his head, then turned to the wise men seated on the left side of his table. "Answer the boy's question."

The wise men stared at each other to see who would give an answer. Five seconds passed, then the oldest of them stood. Wise Joseph—King Loren's trusted adviser and the one, lone dissenting voice concerning the Yippee celebration change—bowed to the king.

Wise Joseph faced the child. "In the ancient writings, the angels appeared to shepherds in the fields by night. Upon arriving, the angels declared a message of great joy, and upon departing, they shared the words, "On Earth, peace." That is, peace and goodwill among men. But these virtues were not the purpose behind their celebration. Rather the angels pointed to One who would infuse joy, peace, and love among mankind. It is not the virtues we celebrate, but the god-man who came from Heaven to give us joy, peace, and love." Wise Joseph returned to his seat.

Silence prevailed for five seconds. Then the child asked, "Who is this god-man?"

The king stared at the boy, then raised his hand. "My loyal subjects. I fear we have made a grave mistake these past eight years. In our attempt to be inclusive, we have excluded the very person who instills these virtues into each one of us. Knowledge of and living by His words have diminished, and therefore, so has joy, peace, and love. From this moment forward, we will return to calling this celebration Christmas. We will have our Christmas trees, our Christmas foods, our Christmas presents, and yes, even our Christmas figgy pudding to celebrate the Christ through who we are made joyful, peaceful, and loving. We are not inclusive by excluding anyone, most especially the guest of honor, but by inviting all to join in His celebration. So be it."

The lords raised their glasses. "May the king's will be done." Loud clapping and cheers arose from the celebrants.

And so the kingdom celebrated Christmas once again, and a measure of joy, peace, and love returned to the land over the following years. What? You want to know what happened to the ideal kingdom? Once corrupted with the knowledge of evil, the kingdom is rebuilt one person, one heart at a time as they partake in the redemption of the God-man and find true joy, peace, and love abiding within. The ideal kingdom reigns in such persons, and it is this truth that the people of King Xander's country learned to celebrate.

Yippee for Christmas!

Hallow Fright

Decided to offer a free Halloween story this year to my fans. It's around 1300 words, so not long. Enjoy!

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"Ouch! Mom, that hurt."

"You can thank me later." She yanked again on Tulek's rough hair. "Now hold still like a good little orc, and I'll give you some more."

Tulek smiled. He'd not messed up his hair for nothing. After all, he had to look good for Halloween. "Ouch!"

She put the brush down and wiped her finger-claws on her apron. "That's enough. Don't want to make you look primed and proper, like those vampires."

Tulek frowned and hopped off the stool. He sat at the table next to his little brother, Jukel, already chewing his bat innards. But he turned his attention to his plan for the night.

His mother's thoughts appeared to be there as well. "Tulek, you remember what your dad said about tomorrow?"

"Yes, ma'am." But he knew she'd tell him again anyway. She never believed he remembered anything. Well, sometimes he had to admit, he forgot things, but really?

"For your coming of fright day, he's signed you up for a bed. Did he go over with you what to do under that bed?"

Tulek nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Once the lights are out and the parents have left, I make growling noises and shake the bed."

She stared at him. "You should appreciate this opportunity. Your father worked hard to get you an easy shot like that. Do you want to get your fright by jumping in front of a car or eating someone?"

Tulek grimaced at the thought of eating a human. They tasted horrible. "No, ma'am."

She nodded as she pulled her apron off and set it on the counter. "I should hope so. Now finish your bat and go enjoy your last Halloween as a little orc. I've got to help your father with his lunar array project." She walked down the hallway of the cave. "Can't let those werewolves get a jump on getting to the moon's energy."

Jukel let his bat skin fall to the plate. "Are we going to go now? Huh? I want some candy."

Tulek swallowed. "Right after I get my first fright."

"But Mom said that was tomorrow, not tonight."

"I know."

"And you can't get a fright on Halloween."

"So they say." Tulek ripped the last of the intestines from the bat and gulped it down with some poison ivy juice.

Jukel shook his head. "Dad will not like this. No, no, no."

Tulek swung his head around. "You didn't tell Dad, did you? Or Mom?"

Jukel's long nose flared. "No, of course not. I'm not ready to lose any limbs."

Tulek relaxed, but pointed a finger at Jukel. "And don't you forget it, either."

Jukel dropped from his stool. "I still think it is a waste of time."

"That is precisely why I'm doing it."

"What? To waste time?"

"No, silly. To prove it can be done."

Jukel grabbed his bag and slid his feet into his shoes. "My life goals are so much more practical. Candy."

Tulek laughed. "You don't understand. But that's okay. Keep it simple, until you no longer can." He breathed deep before grabbing his own bag and heading for the door.

# # #

Tulek scanned the horde of children accompanied by their parents. Halloween, the one night an orc could mingle freely with humans and not scare them. Many of his kind, as well as vampires, werewolves, and other monsters, joined the kids for trick or treating. But it also was the night hardest to get one's first fright. A day off for most monsters, but not him. Not tonight. Tonight, he was set on becoming a man-orc.

Jukel pulled on Tulek's coat. "Come on. If we wait much longer, all the candy will be gone."

"Just a minute. First things first."

"We've been waiting for several minutes."

Tulek huffed. "Okay, okay." He scanned the area for a good target. He saw a small group of girls, unattended by any adults. He smiled. They would be the best bet. "Stay here. Watch and learn."

Jukel frowned, but nodded, and then sat on a small tree stump.

Tulek followed the girls and caught up to them. One dressed as a witch, typical pointy hat, broom, and black dress. Another girl arrayed as a fairy princess Please! One of them wore a pirate outfit, eye patch and broad-flat hat. The girls, looked to be around eleven or twelve, giggled among themselves as they gawked at other costumes and discussed their candy hauls.

Tulek leaped in from of them, extended his claws, and yelled out a big, "Aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggg!"

The girls screamed and ran away. Tulek grinned. He knew he could do it. Then his smile sank into a frown. "They're laughing!"

Jukel had walked to where he stood. "Of course. That's why it's hard to scare anyone on Halloween. They don't take you seriously."

"I know that." Tulek growled. "But I just thought I could be different. Though I could prove to Dad that I don't need an easy job. That I'm as good as anyone."

"Don't take it hard. At least you have tomorrow. It'll be like taking candy from a baby."

Tulek stared into the stars. He blinked. "What did you say?"

"You have tomorrow."

Tulek smiled. "No, after that."

"What? Like taking candy from a baby?"

He snapped his fingers. "That's it. You're a genius, little brother."

"Can I get that written in blood?"

"I'll write it with my decomposed flesh if this works. Wait here."

Jukel shook his head. "Here we go again."

Tulek spotted a child dressed as a dragon. He'd just hopped out of a car. The perfect target. Tulek crossed the street and approached the child.

The kid's eyes peered from behind the dragon mask and he paused, watching Tulek.

As Tulek drew close, he stopped. "Have some good candy, kid?"

The child clutched his bag to his chest. "Uh hu."

Tulek bared his teeth and flexed his claws. The kid shrank back, his feet shaking. Hard to see his facial expression behind the mask, but he looked scared. Tulek had his fright!

The child stepped back. "Don't take my candy!"

Tulek lunged forward and grabbed the bag from the child's hands, ripping the paper. Two pieces of candy fell to the sidewalk. Tulek grinned at the fake dragon snout. "Boo!"

The kid's fake dragon mouth opened. Tulek knew it was to scream.

A whoosh of fire engulfed Tulek's face. The smell of burning flesh flooded his nose. Heat seared his head. Pain soared through his skull. He dropped the bag and fell backward, screaming.

As Tulek lay on the ground, writhing, he heard the kid running to the car screaming, "Mommy, I got my first scare, on Halloween!"

# # #

Tulek spit in the urn by the side of his bed. They'd taken him to an orc hospital. He had to spend a few days recovering, which meant he'd miss his appointment for an easy scare. Now he'd be seen as a total failure instead of the hero he wanted to be.

His dad and Jukel entered the room. His dad smiled. "Heard you tried to take candy from a dragon."

Tulek growled. "I didn't know he was a real dragon. Could have sworn he wore a costume."

Jukel giggled. "He did wear a costume. A dragon wearing a dragon costume. How cool is that?"

"Not very." Tulek stared out the window. "Sorry for ruining your Halloween."

Jukel pulled closer to his brother. "But have you seen your face yet?"

Tulek raised his hairless eyebrow. "No."

Jukel grinned and grabbed a mirror laying on a stand next to the bed. "Look!"

Tulek took the mirror and placed it in front of him. A horrid mess of charred flesh stared back at him. If he'd been human, it would have made him throw up.

Tulek's widened his eyes and turned to Jukel. "With this face, I can scare anyone!"

Jukel nodded his head. "Isn't it cool?"

His dad patted Tulek's chest. "Good job, son. You should have no problem getting your first fright now. Thanks to some dragon-based plastic surgery."

Tulek turned back to the mirror and caressed his face. "This is so cool." Yes. Now he would stand out and be the hero after all.

Jennifer Eifrig Interviews Me

Author Jennifer Eifrig has posted an interview of me. She asked some more unique questions than some I've had, and so you get some unique answers than perhaps you've heard from previous interviews with me. I think she did a great job, and am thankful for providing the opportunity.

Check out her interview with me and post comments on her site. You can here as well. Thanks for checking it out.

Interview: Seeking Unseen by Kat Heckenbach

Today we have a treat for our readers. Kat Heckenbach's new title, book 2 of her The Toch Island Chronicles, Seeking Unseen has just been released this month. For the Splashdown launch party, I'm kicking off the blog tour to feature her and the two books, Finding Angel and Seeking Unseen. Here's her interview:

Did you always want to be a writer?

Well, yes and no. I actually grew up wanting to be an artist. I drew all the time and was very good. But, when I got to college (after deciding I'd like to teach art), I lost some of my interest in it. I had some phenomenal science teachers at the community college and ended up changing my major from Art Education to Biology. I never really went into science as far as work. I ended up teaching and tutoring (mostly math) until I had my son. Then I became a stay at home mom and eventually started homeschooling. Then, a couple of years ago I was overcome with the desire to write. I love reading Young Adult fiction--became completely addicted to the Harry Potter books and movies and Cornelia Funke's InkHeart series--and decided one day I just had to give it a try. Memories came streaming back that showed me it was a desire I'd always had. I read all the time from the time I was very young, but never thought I could do what those authors do, so I pushed the idea out of my head for so long. But, I suddenly remembered sitting on my bed when I was in high school trying desperately to start a novel. I also remembered writing fourteen-page notes to my friends all the time, which should have been a clue that I like writing :). And I always got A's on my papers and essays. I just think I was so focused on my art and never had the self-confidence in writing. I didn't think I was interesting enough to come up with any grande and creative ideas. And, I was too young back then. I didn't have enough life experience. Now, I've been through a lot and all of that comes out in my writing.



Tell us about your relationship with your publisher Splashdown. Any surprises as you’ve worked with them?

The whole experience has been one surprise after another! I had no idea what to expect from working with a small publisher. But it’s been awesome. Grace Bridges is wonderful, and the whole group of authors work really well together as a team. We brainstorm back cover blurbs and such for each other, and everyone is respectful of each other’s suggestions. I will admit, I love the creative pow-wows Grace and I have when it comes to cover art. We seem to totally connect most of the time and it’s ridiculously fun. Those moments of, “What if we….?” followed by, “Oh, yes, that’s brilliant!” happen a lot—in both directions. There have been far too many for me to doubt I’m in the right place.

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Kat Heckenbach grew up in the small town of Riverview, Florida, where she spent most of her time either drawing or sitting in her "reading tree" with her nose buried in a fantasy novel...except for the hours pretending her back yard was an enchanted forest that could only be reached through the secret passage in her closet...

She never could give up on the idea that maybe she really was magic, mistakenly placed in a world not her own...but as the years passed, and no elves or fairies carted her away...she realized she was just going to have to create the life of her fantasies.

Now she shares that life with her husband and two kids. Ok, maybe "share" isn't the right word--more like lives that life in her writing and tries her best to be normal the rest of the time...

Kat is a graduate of the University of Tampa, Magna Cum Laude, B.S. in Biology. She spent several years teaching, but never in a traditional classroom—everything from Art to Algebra II—and now homeschools her children.

Author Website: http://www.katheckenbach.com/

Toch Island Chronicles

Book 1: Finding Angel (Sept. 2011)
ISBN: 978-1927154137

Book 2: Seeking Unseen (Sept. 2012)
ISBN: 978-1927154298

Visit the other blogs in the tour:

Grace Bridges	http://grace.splashdownbooks.com
R. L. Copple	http://blog.rlcopple.com
Ryan Grabow	http://www.egrabow.com/rm.php?e=Prime
Diane M. Graham	http://dianemgraham.com/blog/
Travis Perry	http://travissbigidea.blogspot.com/
Paul Baines	http://www.pabaines.com
Caprice Hokstad	http://caprice.splashdownbooks.com/
Keven Newsome	http://www.kevennewsome.com
Greg Mitchell	http://www.thecomingevil.blogspot.com/
Robynn Tolbert	http://ranunculusturtle.blogspot.com/
Frank Creed	http://blog.frankcreed.com/
Fred Warren	http://frederation.wordpress.com/

Reality's Fire is Here!

The Reality Chronicles trilogy comes to a close with the advent of the final book, Reality's Fire.

As of today, the paperback has made its appearance on Amazon, though it is still in process as the cover image isn't up as of this writing. And there are no copies yet to sell, however, you can pre-order and Amazon will ship them when they come in. Additionally, there is the Kindle version for the ebook lovers. In the next few days, expect to see the book appear at B&N both paperback and for Nook, as well as it is currently available at Smashwords in formats that can be read by most any ereader out there.

For more information on the book, you can visit my page which gives you the book's blurb, a sample chapter, and links to where you can buy it.

I thought this would be a good time to give some behind the scenes look at this series. I've told some of this on other sites, in interviews, but I'll go a little deeper here.

The Reality Chronicles series isn't an allegory proper, but does have some allegorical elements to it. Unlike some stories, God is simply God, not some strange name in this alternate world. But certain things do represent other things in an allegorical manner. For instance, as I've written on this blog before, the steam house is an eight-sided building. For history buffs, this represents the baptismal font, which in the early church, was eight-sided representing the eighth day of creation brought on by Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

And some might complain that Jesus is never mentioned in the books. And that would be true, and yet He is on nearly every page and story. He forms the backdrop for all that takes place, and is present in the climax of Reality's Fire. And that is the beauty of allegory. It not only indicates that something stands for something else (Jesus is the vine, we are the branches), but what the relationship between the two are based on the relationship of the known. (All branches are one in the vine, and so we are one in Christ.) So the allegorical elements in this story, some obvious, some not so obvious, show a relational revealing more than they show a ontological revealing.

But even every relationship in an allegory doesn't translate. Saying Jesus is the vine and we are the branches doesn't mean if the locus come along and eat at us, that Jesus is powerless to stop them, just as a vine would be powerless to stop an insect from eating at its leaves. But where it is an intended relationship, sometimes such things can make us see areas of our lives in relation to each other and God in a new light. Those without ears to hear, will just hear a good story. Which is fine too. Even those can show some good things to us.

So it is in that vein that I started out writing a little short story in the summer of 2006 which I called "Steamy Realities," and is the current first chapter in Reality's Dawn called, "Reality's Advent." In the critique group I was a part of, we did a group challenge, where all of us wrote a short story to submit to a magazine's contest that had the theme of "hot." Thus the idea for using a steam house. And my initial idea is it reflected a precursor to what God's presence would reveal in people on Judgement Day, where every man's work is revealed by fire. And that fire is God's presence itself, as Scripture states multiple times. Not fire as we know it, no doubt, but similar. Except those in Christ experience Him as light and love, while those who don't experience Him as the fires of Hell.

So you see that theme presented in multiple ways through these stories and is the "reality" that is being referenced: God's reality. And so these three books represent a miniature retelling of the Gospel narrative itself in concepts as we all go through it. Reality's Dawn, a person's birth and growth in Christ. Reality's Ascent, the continued growth and revealing that we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and darkness. And Reality's Fire, the culmination of what Christ accomplished in His battle with Satan, and how He overcame Him.

That first short story was picked up by "The Sword Review" online magazine, which eventually merged with "Dragons, Knights, and Angels" magazine to form what is now "Mindflights." The same magazine decided to run a contest with the theme of "hope." And in deciding what to do for it, I decided to create a sequel short story, currently titled "Anger's Spell" in Reality's Dawn. I entered it into the contest. It didn't win, and they didn't want it for publication, but the owner of the magazine, Bill Snodgrass, took a liking to what I was doing and wanted to encourage me. So he went to the trouble to do a detailed critique of that story in the hopes I would rewrite it and give it another go.

I decided to do more than that. I not only rewrote that story, but I wrote two more stories so that I would have stories based on the themes of faith, hope, and love. The faith story is "Faith's Fire" and the love story is "Love's Sacrifice." With each story I created, the world grew. And when I submitted all of them to the magazine, they accepted the faith and love stories right away, but wanted a rewrite on the hope story. In going through that story, yet again, it dawned on me why it wasn't working. I had my protagonist too passive through the whole thing. Everything was happening to him, but he did little to make things happen. So, I rewrote that chapter to make Sisko do something to affect the outcome, and it was immediately accepted. They accepted those in January of 2007 to run all four stories as a series in the last months of 2007, right before it merged with "Dragons, Knights, and Angels" to become "Mindflights."

But that was not all. Bill Snodgrass liked the stories enough, he wanted to put them into a book to sell through his company. I wrote an additional story to add to it as a "bonus" story not shown online, called "Desire's Trap" in Reality's Dawn, as well as an article on why I write fiction as a Christian, and by November of 2007 he published my first book. The novella we titled Infinite Realities hit the virtual selves of Amazon and other online retail outlets.

As the novella was coming out that November, I did my second National Novel Writing Month, where people from all over the world get together and encourage each other to write a minimum of 50K words of a novel. I started doing that in 2006, and did them every year except for last year, 2011, I ended up doing something different after a week into it. But in 2007, I had outlined a novel I wanted to write in November, but Bill put a bug in my ear about doing a sequel to Infinite Realities instead. At first I didn't think I would do it, as I had what I wanted to do planned out. But then on the first day of November, I made a quick decision to write that sequel, and spent the first hours of the month doing a quick outline of main plot points for the novel, and then jumped in to write it. I spent all of 2008 editing that book, and it ended up getting published as Transforming Realities in March of 2009.

Well, I was on a roll, and so when November arrived in 2008, I wrote the third novel in the series, which after many edits and look overs by various people and going through several names, is now the story being published this month through Splashdown Books as Reality's Fire.

What happened to Bill? Well, by the time I got Transforming Realities published, and went through edits of the third novel in hopes it could come out in 2010, Bill's life took a different turn, and it ended up that his company shut down. So I ended up with a two-book series, and a third book without a publisher. As 2010 headed toward November, I thought I had a publisher, signed a contract, but he backed out at the last minute for personal reasons. So I was back to square one.

But one of the things I had decided to do in September of 2010, was to write more stories to fill in the holes in Infinite Realities. The only big criticism I got was the book was too short. Everyone wanted more. Bill had even prodded me to do that at one point. In September of 2010, I got the itch to do just that. I planned out how many more stories I would need to make a full novel, snagged me a critique partner with the time, and started working on writing those stories at the pace of one a week. I planned to expand the original five stories to a total of fifteen. I had already written one story as a Christmas story the previous Christmas, so I only needed nine more stories. I was in the writing groove, and cranked out one good story after another. I kept thinking at any point, I'll run out of ideas of what to do next that is decently original and interesting, and builds on the character and plot arcs I had in mind. But no sooner would I finish one story, and start thinking about what to do for the next one, than an idea would pop into my head and I'd be off writing the next one. I was even able to fill in some back story for characters and events that appeared in the second book, Transforming Realities, and the third book, which I'd already written at the time, but not yet published.

It was shortly after November's National Novel Writing Month of 2010 that I barely made it to 50K because I was already worn out doing the equivalent of a NaNo with the new stories for Infinite Realities during October, that Grace Bridges with Splashdown Books, after some discussion, agreed not only to take on publishing my third novel, but to republish my first two books, and the first with the added stories. She moved fast on the first two. She published the new and improved Infinite Realities as Reality's Dawn, and republished Transforming Realities as Reality's Ascent in March 2011 and May 2011 respectively. And now the third book is finally coming out in June of 2012: Reality's Fire. Now for the first time, readers who've enjoyed the first two books, can discover how the series ends.

Some interesting notes on this novel. It is unique in several ways. In most of my novels, my outlines are rough major plot point outlines. And what has happened in most of my novels, is by the time I get to the "end" I had planned, I've only written half a novel. For instance, in Reality's Ascent, my original outline had the wedding of Nathan to Crystal being the big block-buster ending. But by the time I reached that spot, not feeling I could extend it any longer without it looking like that's what I was doing, I had only written around 25K words. Far from a full novel. So I made plan B and winged it. And as it turns out, the actual ending I wrote was far better than what I had originally planned. Most of my novels have been like this. The outline gets greatly modified by the time I finish writing the book.

Reality's Fire went nearly exactly as planned. As a matter of fact, unlike my other books where I had a vague idea what the ending would be, and by the time I got there it looked nothing like it, my first realization of what this book would be was the ending. In a hotel room at FenCon in 2008, with Bill sleeping away, I saw in my mind the perfect ending to the series. It fit the theological and series arc, and was exactly what needed to happen. And better yet, few would see it coming, even though it would be logical once they saw what happened, with everything else that had happened to that point through the whole series, even beginning with that first short story I wrote in the summer of 2006. It was like this story simply could not end any other way.

As I wrote this book in November of 2008, it went exactly as planned. Didn't missed a beat, nothing unexpected. Well. Almost. There was one crazy wrench Gabrielle threw into the story. Without giving anything away, at one point, based on what she could do, and Josh's condition, as I was writing what I figured she'd naturally be thinking, it suddenly occurred to her she could do something unusual. And as a writer, I couldn't deny her doing that because it wouldn't be natural for her to do anything else but what she did. And boy did she make a major change to the story. I did not see that one coming. But I worked it into the story as best I could. Not perfect, but it did provide some good story moments, nonetheless. Both drama and humor. It will be obvious when you read it.

But all the while I was writing the story, my mind kept running over and over how the end would go. I was glad when I finally got to write it, because then I could get the visions out of my head and on paper, and they wouldn't keep me up at night. As a matter of fact, by the time I started writing the ending, I didn't have to think about how any of it would go, what they would say. I'd been over it so many times in my head, all I was really doing was writing it all down. I've never had a book go almost exactly as planned, and an ending happen just as I envisioned it before I'd decided anything else the book would be about.

Also, this book was a departure in other ways. On one hand, I'd addressed some issues that my YA audience not only face everyday, but often get swallowed up by in many cases. I felt they were important issues, and because of what needed to happen to get to the ending, a big sin needed to happen. So this story has ended up focusing on more mature material. I've kept it PG-13, but it does mean some of the younger readers that enjoyed my first two books, would probably not be allowed to read this one, at least until they'd grown up some. My only regret is that it will potentially exclude younger children from getting to read this anytime soon.

Readers will also notice more romance and character interaction and not as much "action" scenes. They do happen. There is sword fighting. But it isn't as intense as it was in Reality's Ascent, or even Reality's Dawn. But some really cool stuff happens, even if it isn't high action fighting.

And yes, Joel does make some appearances in this book. Not as many as I know his fans would like, but he plays his parts which are critical. As a matter of fact, Joel is the one character that has so far appeared in every book I've written in this world.

So, that's the story behind this book and the whole trilogy. It is something that started out as one short story, and grew from there into a full world. But the stories don't stop with this book. I'm writing a spin-off series in the same world, that not only expands that world, but reveals how it relates to our own world. This series builds upon the dragon in "Faith's Fire" in Reality's Dawn to reveal a whole dragon culture in that world. So much more to come. Stay tuned!