P ~ Power (and Pink Floyd)

Welcome to day 16 of the A-Z challenge. Today’s letter is “P” for power (and Pink Floyd).

There’s a lot of power being slung around in my novel, The Eye of Kedge. The mages have power. My antagonists all have insane powers. There is magical power in the air. Even my young protags have oodles of power, though they haven’t realized their full potential.

Societies tend to frown upon certain kinds of power: power in government, power in the work place, power in education. People don’t take to oppressive sorts of power too well, as obvious in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”

As John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton said, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

And while power can be viewed negatively, we as individuals would die as a species without it. We all possess the power within ourselves to change our behaviors. As parents, we pride ourselves on our power to take care of our young, to see to it no one else brings them harm. We have the power to help others in need, to organize community events, to become better than we are. Writers have the power to change opinions through words. Artists have the power to influence our fashion sense. Books have the power to open minds and let imagination run free. The thirst for ‘power’ isn’t a bad trait to have. It’s all in the reason we want it and the way we use it that makes us lions or lambs, good guys or bad guys.

Which one are you?

K – Kedge

Hello peeps of the world! Welcome to day 11 of the A-Z challenge. Today’s letter is “K”, which in my world stands for Kedge, as in “The Eye of…”

What is Kedge? It was once a central meeting place of the mages buried deep in the Sankara Mountains. It served as their secret headquarters during the great Dragon War. Fingers of tunnels spanned from the base, serving as safe passages to all of Fallhollow. The eye of kedge is a magical stone that energizes the crystals that hide the tunnels from creatures of black magic. It went missing at the end of the great war. With the possibility of war looming over Fallhollow once more, it is important to find the Eye of Kedge. The mages are gathering. Time is running out.

What does the eye of kedge look like? Click here to see my inspiration.

H – Havendale

Happy Tuesday, everyone, and welcome to day 8 of the A-Z challenge. Thank you once again for visiting and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event. After you’ve lingered, please jump on over to see what the other participants are blogging about.

Now on to the letter H. From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, I bring you the town of Havendale, Tennessee.

Havendale is a fictional mountain town nestled in the heart of the Cherokee National Forest. As the name implies, it is a quiet town, a refuge, a sanctuary from the rest of the world – that is until inexplicable events begin to happen, and David and Charlotte come face to face with a mysterious little man with ill intent.

F – Fallhollow

Hi all, welcome to the A-Z challenge. I thought I had this little ditty planned to go live yesterday, but when I checked my blog this morning, it was still sitting in time out in my ‘edit’ box. It’s all good, though. This way I can post and do my Sunday Snippet Blog hop all at one time!

The A-Z challenge letter for yesterday was the letter “F”. Since I’m focusing on my novel, The Eye of Kedge, let’s take a little trip to the magical and dangerous world of Fallhollow. I think I’ll let Sir Trogsdill Domnall tell you about it. (BTW, this scene is currently in edit mode. Feedback and comments would be very helpful).

Trog leaned against a tree and peeled the skin from an apple. “Einar seized the kingdom and made Berg Castle his lair. That’s when he started growing his army of shadowmorths.”

“Why didn’t the mages do something to stop him?” David asked, popping a handful of berries in his mouth.

“They tried, but everything they did failed. Jared got involved and sent his daughters and an apprentice magician by the name of Seyekrad to Fallhollow. Together, they confined the beast below Lake Sturtle.”

David sputtered his food.

“That’s stupid.” Charlotte tossed David the boda bag. “Why not just kill him?”

“His scales ward off white magic.” Trog cut a slice of apple and ate it. “All they could do was imprison him.”

Charlotte stood and tacked up her hair. “Well, they didn’t do a great job did they.”

“How long ago did all this happen?” David asked, his brain trying to envision a dragon beneath Lake Sturtle.

“Oh, about a hundred years ago, give or take a few years.” Trog wiped the blade and sheathed it. “Of course Einar, being the self-centered miscreant he is, decided to go after Hirth, but he was beaten by a fifteen-year old lad and an arrow tipped in heem.”

“Heem?” Charlotte threw her satchel over her shoulder.

“The saliva from an estreal, a rare bird found in the jungles of the floating isles of Ansilar. Dragon hunters use it to kill their prey. Sadly, it didn’t kill the beast but it did incapacitate him, until about eighteen years ago.”

“I take it he attacked Hirth again?” David said.

“Tried,” Trog said. He pulled on his boots and gathered his bag. “This time the mages were able to spin a powerful sleeping spell around him, which held until two days ago.”

David’s stomach fell into a hollow emptiness under the weight of Trog’s words. He knew all too well what happened two days ago. Now if he could only figure out how to fix it. Thing was, he didn’t have a clue.

***

Don’t forget to hop around to the other bloggers who are participating in the A-Z challenge. You can find the list here.

It’s an “A-Z challenge” and “If you could” Friday! Whoo Hoo! (jennykellerford.wordpress.com)
A for Amethyst Dragon (jennykellerford.wordpress.com)
F is for Fandarr the Enchanter (valleyoftheoldones.blogspot.com)

C – Charlotte Stine

Good day, everyone, and welcome to day 3 of the A-Z Challenge. Thank you all for stopping by and reading my contribution to this fun blogging event. You can find the link to all the participants here, so after leaving my site, don’t forget to bop around to read the other offerings from almost two thousand other bloggers. Now onward to the letter C. From my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Charlotte Stine. You can see my vision of her by clicking the girl below.

Charlotte Stine was born on April Fool’s Day, but there is nothing foolish about her. She is an energetic, inquisitive teenager who speaks her mind, loathes war, and passes out at the sight of blood. Her core beliefs are put to the test after she and her best friend, David Heiland, are kidnapped, and thrust into a world of chaos and magic. Together, they embark on a perilous journey across a magical land, and discover strange allies in odd places, courage they didn’t know they had, and a hidden destiny that changes everything.

***

David slipped downstairs, careful not to make a sound, and unlocked the front doors. Ten tortuous minutes passed before the door opened and Charlotte stepped inside. She removed her white puffy coat and crocheted cap, spilling coffee-brown hair over her shoulders to her waist. David’s heart fluttered as she flicked him a smile.

“Hey, Firefox,” she said, using the nickname she’d given him as kids. “What’s got your boxers in a bunch?”

B – Bainesworth von Stuegler

Happy April 2 and welcome to day two of the A-Z Challenge. Today, I bring to you from my YA novel, The Eye of Kedge, the one, the only, Bainesworth von Stuegler

Bainesworth is an arrogant, devious knight and commander, serving the kingdom of Faucher, an ally kingdom to the kingdom of Hirth. His allegiance, however, doesn’t lie with Faucher’s ailing king, but with himself. He’s also made himself the arch enemy of Sir Trogsdill Domnall, a revered knight of Hirth. Trust me, there is no love lost there.

***

Trog tore the shirt from Eric’s hand, slipped it over his head and stormed through the doors. The murmurs hushed, the room fell silent except for the click of boots across the tiles.

“Well, well, well. Sir Trogsdill.” Bainesworth’s voice echoed in the hall. “How nice of you to join us. Are you well? You seem ill.”

Trog set his gaze on Bainesworth and grunted. “You have no idea how sick I feel at this moment.” He scratched his chair across the floor and sat down.

“Yes, well, as usual, you’ve kept us waiting for quite some time. Then again, that doesn’t surprise me. You’ve always been a bit ostentatious when an audience is involved.” He paused for a moment, as if waiting for a rebuttal. Bainesworth continued, a snide grin pinned to his square face. “Funny thing is, despite your grand entrance, I’m short of feeling honored by your disheveled presence. You know how I hate to wait – especially on the likes of you.”

“As if I give a damn about what you hate,” Trog said, his expression contemptuous.

“You should. You top my list.”

“I’m honored, considering I don’t give you a second thought.”

Bainesworth’s lip twitched at the corner. “I’d watch your arrogance, Sir Trogsdill. You never know where I’ll be lurking.”

“Lurk all you want. It makes no difference to me since your fate waits for you on the tip of my sword. Of this I swear to you.”

Bainesworth chuckled. “I look forward to your feeble attempt.”

***

Nice guy, huh?

Want to see my vision of what Bainesworth looks like? Click this little guyDon’t forget to hop around to the other bloggers who are participating in the A-Z challenge. You can find the list here

A for Amethyst Dragon

Hi everyone. It’s April which means it’s time for the A-Z challenge! This is my second year to participate and I’m really excited. Last year was fun, but I didn’t really have a theme. This year, I’m dedicating the A-Z challenge to my novel, temporarily titled, THE EYE OF KEDGE (formerly known as In the Shadow of the Dragon King). It is a YA fantasy that’s been in the works way too long. This year, I’ve decided to quit trying to make it perfect (because there is no such thing as a “perfect” novel), edit it the best I can, and move on to the second book in the trilogy. With that said, let the fun of the A-Z challenge begin!

A – Amethyst Dragon

We all have antagonists in our stories. Mine just happens to be a self-centered amethyst dragon by the name of Einar, and what a beast he is to behold:

“Dark purple and black scales covered his muscular body from snout to tail. Leathery wings twitched against his side. He measured no less than sixty feet in length, and stood half as tall. A stench of rotten eggs clung to him. The beast shifted. Shattered rock tumbled in clinks to the ground. His amber eyes, set wide in his horned head, blinked vertically.”

Steeped in black magic, Einar is impervious to death by humans and white magic. Most amethyst dragons are not confrontational, but Einar is not like most dragons. Over-confident and armed with a vendetta, he is determined to kill everyone who has caused him harm. He’s never been closer to fulfilling his lust for vengeance…until he comes face to face with the very thing that can take his life. Staring down his own mortality, Einar must make a choice and make it fast – fight or flight? His choice might just be his last.