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.
A 19TH CENTURY ONNA-BUGEISHA. VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.A recreation of a photo of Nakano Takeko, from the 19th century.TOMOE GOZEN BY TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI CIRCA 1875. VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.AN ONNA-BUGEISHA SAMURAI WIFE WITH HER NAGINATA BY UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI, CIRCA 1848. VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.1880 PAINTING BY TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI OF EMPRESS JINGU INVADING KOREA. VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
Feudal Japan’s Women Samurai, Were Erased From History
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 Herefor Ms. Hastings account.
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
Enjoy a Three-Part Supernatural Horror Story – Exactly 100 Words Each
One: Brother’s Maker
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.
Two: Brother’s Keeper
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.
Three: Brother’s Killer
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.
First drafts rejected. But I Keep Trying.
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.
By D. L. Lewellyn 