Here is an update on what’s been happening with this amazing community of writers put together by Fraser at Feed My Reads. Thank you Fraser!
https://timetofeedmyreads.blogspot.com/2022/08/a-little-update-on-your-feed-my-reads.html?m=1
Before the month is out- I wanted to say again what a pleasure it was to join this community. And to participate in an author interview. – D. L. Lewellyn
A little introduction: Hi, I’m so glad to meet you all. My pen name is D. L. Lewellyn, but you can call me Darci. I started writing fiction in my 50s…
D.L. Lewellyn Author interview
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So what did I do instead of write? I stitched.
I have been writing nearly every day for a year and a half. But I once enjoyed other crafts before the written word and my pod people took possession of me.
This year started with compiling a chart and goals to log my cross stitching as I’ve done for the last several years, and to go for some finishes of my many WIPs. Sadly, my beautiful stitching projects have languished in their beautiful project bags for most of the year. But this weekend it was movie marathons with the hubby, and because I can never just sit and watch movies without keeping my hands busy with some craft or other, I made some great progress.
My pod people were not necessarily silent the entire weekend, but they seemed to understand and made sure to mill around in my head and keep the ideas flowing, and I did manage to work on a book cover, one of my newest favorite pod people refusing to stay completely in the background… but she still let me spend lots of time stitching…
So, that is all this blog is about. Doing something other than writing for a change. Here’s my stitching progress, just in case you were curious.
Book Three, Tigris Vetus, in my series has also been calling to me. And with my mind freed from the pressures of writing, I came up with some great stuff I’m anxious to get to… all in good time… My friend Lucky has been encouraging me to work on balance, which is a thing he strives for, and this weekend’s activities reminded me how important mindful activities are to maintain balance.
What are your favorite mindful activities to keep you balanced in life? Share with me in the comments. Hope you had a great weekend, too!
First off, I live in a state where these are legal to own. My husband is a blade expert. And he’s the best story collaborator any writer could have. That said, this was my present today after a hard day’s work. Something to keep at my desk as I write my urban fantasy story involving Japanese brothers who are animal shifters (which animal is completely unique in shifter lore and will remain a secret until release time), and they come from a long line of shinobi warriors, otherwise known as the ninja. And okay, so this is a pink monarch butterfly design. But it’s still badass. I love it. Thank you honey.
The Nakamura brothers are teaming up with a homeless teenage girl and her dog Harley to find their missing parents. Raelyn has a knack for throwing blades, at least she thinks so… until she comes under the scrutiny of Mrs. Nakamura. My husband likes this story. When I got home today, he told me he had a present for Raelyn.
MTech Knives made this beautiful linerlock it dubbed Onna-Musha, female warrior, because it’s perfectly sized for a female, well-made, and feels great in the hand.
Naturally as a writer, I had to research. Scroll down for photos and a link to the fascinating story of the female samurai, namely the valiant Nakano Takeko.
While most Japanese women were subject to rigid social expectations of domesticity, onna-bugeisha women warriors who were known to be to be every bit as strong, capable, and courageous as their male counterparts… Click Here for Ms. Hastings account.
An encouraging snippet on Author Fairs. 💜💜💜
So long as they’re giving me something and not taking… Hmmm. Or are they? Well, what I don’t know won’t hurt me.
Meanwhile, characters, aka my Pod People, are bursting out of me and burgeoning all over the pages, and I now have two amazing Works in Progress, which I’m having a hard time putting down and seem to want to work on simultaneously. Anyone else getting some great new ideas for stories this summer? Let me know in the comments. Meanwhile, enjoy some quirky and intriguing alien artwork by William Louis McDonald
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Thick rivulets of blood moved down the wall like snakes slithering into Hell. Lucius thought going there himself would be better than mucking out this foul slaughter. Hiding his brother’s crimes from Prince Remus. Death by fire, their punishment if caught.
Linus, too far gone to understand the danger, had killed another valuable hunter. Lucius labored to obliterate the evidence while Linus crouched over an arm sucking out the blood and marrow like a human sucking meat from a crab leg.
Lucius had turned his brother. Watching him deteriorate was penance. Figuring out how to stop it, his only purpose.
Lucius stared in frustration at the naked female, then grabbed newspaper from the alley trash to cover her. Copious blood soaked through, turning it to pulp. He added more paper. Didn’t help. Blood spouted like a fountain from her torn jugular. He yanked his brother, who’d pounced on her again, away from her neck.
“You couldn’t have gone one more block?” Linus whipped towards him. Lucius stifled a gasp. The nerdy, giraffe-legged brother was there. Then the eyes turned soulless, reflecting the red pooling beneath their feet, and Linus’s stark hunger. Pain stabbed Lucius where his heart once beat.
Lucius cradled Linus’s head in his lap. Just his head… which Lucius had to remove. He stared at the rectangular hole holding his brother’s body, then forced his gaze away to take in the fateful surroundings. The graveyard was damp. Dew glistened on the grass. Dripped from cypress trees and giant yews. None of it made this real. They’d been vampires for five decades, inseparable. But Linus’s self-control had deserted him. He broke too many council laws.
“You never believed you could be ended, brother. Didn’t you once think it would be me who would have to do the ending?”
Had to add this. I love making book covers, even for tiny fiction.
I was happy with my first attempt to do a 100-word story. The publisher, not so much. But that’s okay because I learned a lot in the process. These bits about vampire brothers were inspired by a minor character in my Starlight Chronicles series. I admit, pure horror is a challenge for me, though I love reading and watching it, the darker the better. I read Bram Stoker in my youth, along with Mary Shelly, which means those sweeping, tantalizing, horrific impressions are there, deep down, and now that I’m writing fantasy, I’m compelled to draw from their brilliance.
Vlad the Impaler has been an endlessly fascinating figure in history and fiction for me, no matter how many ways his story has been told. And today’s supernatural fantasy authors are finding entertaining ways to retell the tales. Many of them inspired me.
Luke Evans portrayed an excellent fictional Vlad. Dracula Untold sparked my imagination and gave a feel for the period and setting. I was disappointed with its box office failure, which ended hopes of a sequel. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the trailer.
Please take a moment to read the drabbles above and let me know if I’m on the right track for a story told in exactly 100 words. Better yet, share your own 100-word story in the comments.
Thank you!
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By D. L. Lewellyn 