Halloween in... July?

Sorry for missing the Friday update (right after I had commended myself for barely missing any updates). We had family over on Friday and Saturday, not to mention it was my friend's birthday party on Saturday night. So it's been a little hectic... And I'm forgetful. And since I'm being lazy today, I'm just going to post a very small short story that I had written for a spooky story contest. It's really not that scary, since I would probably give myself night mares if I actually tried to write a scary story...

“You, over there. Yes, you. Come here.”

A young woman hesitantly walked over to one of the bright tents of the travelling circus, a spindly young man standing in the doorway wearing a grin.

“You’re the fortune teller?” She asked upon catching a glimpse of the inside of the tent.

“I am indeed. I can see into the catacombs of your mind and life. Would you like a peek?” He stepped back into the tent, holding the door flap open for her.  Inside were jars filled with small, dead animals, floating in a sickly liquid that made them look only asleep. The scent of herbs and spices barely overpowered the smell of death.

“Now now, what an interesting future you have.” He purred as he circled around her. “So many possibilities, so jumbled in such a short time.” He reached forward and made as if to pluck something from her head. He stretched it out like a string and investigated the invisible thread. “Such a bad choice. Oh no no no, you should not have come.” He looked up from his reading, the light casting odd shadows over his face and turning him into a living revenant. With one quick motion, he snatched up her hand, tracing with one long finger each line on her palm. “So short, so short. Faded like a dream…” He trailed off into silence, then looked down at her, a malicious smile creeping over his lips. “What is your name?”

“Abigale.”

“Well Miss Abigale. Welcome to our show. Would you care to join it?”

“I don’t think I would make a very good carny.” She stated nervously.

“Oh, no need for that. We have a wonderful display of phantasms. So lifelike, almost as if they were real humans.”

“I think I would rather go home.”

“Oh but the show is about to start.” He grinned and pulled back the door of the tent.

Off in the direction of the big tent, a blood curling scream rang throughout the circus.

“They call me The Jinx. My fortunes are not very fortunate.”

Update!

I meant to post this like, 200 views ago, but happy 2,000 views! It's been almost a year since I've started this blog, and I'm just surprised that I've managed to keep to my three post a week schedule (mostly). I know that many of the views are probably people stumbling over the blog and moving on, but I also know that a lot of friends and family read many of my posts, so I'm really happy that I have not bored all of you yet. Hopefully I'll keep up with the entertainment, and maybe direct more of my focus toward writing instead of rambling. However, I've learned that posting stories and poems online means that I've published them, so to preserve the first publishing rights of any future publishers, I'm going to stop posting most of my writing. I will try to get writing exercises up still, like the ones I've been doing, along with any poems or stories I know I will not be trying to publish, such as the one about my grandma.

So yeah, that's just a brief catch up and thank you for everyone. Now I'm off to visit my grandma (the live one).

Happy Birthday, Canada!

Alright, belated birthday. I didn't even turn my laptop on until about ten minutes ago. I've barely been in the house today, and any time I have been home, I've been downstairs, away from my laptop, where it's cooler. Because summer finally arrived. So instead of doing a Character Conversation, I'll do a list!

Why I Love Canada (tacky, I know.)

1) We love to make fun of ourselves by mocking how polite we are. It's a good thing! I would much rather be a polite but submissive person than some arrogant ass hole.

2) We're known for our friendliness, rather than our moronic leaders, overweight and dim witted citizens and history of violence. *coughamericacough* Sorry, that was uncalled for... some moronic leaders, a couple handfulls of overweight and dim witted citizens and action movie violence.

3) it's beautiful. All I have to do is walk for  few minutes and I'm in the forest. A lot of people aren't so lucky, but most cities in Canada (or at least BC) make some effort to provide green space, even if it's a park in the middle of high rises and office buildings.

4) Everyone loves us... Okay, that's probably a hyperbole, but it's true to an extent. When you go travelling, if you're showing off a Canadian Flag, then people are more likely to be friendly to you. I guess this goes alone with being known for our friendliness.

5) Everything is so diverse. I guess technically everyone is an immigrant, even the first nations. But you look around now, and there are so many new immigrants, and new cultures. There are so many that these groups of cultures have pretty much become Canada. (Again, at least in BC. I cannot speak for anywhere else) There isn't really one specific culture that's considered Canadian. There are stereotypes, of course, but that's not a culture.

6) The weather is so neutral... Okay, it was... Kind of. There were thunderstorms, but at least I could sleep! Now it's summer, and the heat is unbearable. (It's like, 25 degrees or something...) I cannot image living in a climate that stays this hot for half the year or longer. I must be one of the only people that would be more than happy to live in a more northern climate to get away from summer.

7) Poutine. Nuff said.


And now I'm tired, so although there is more I could say, I'm going to head off to bed.

Meet the Characters: Audrey LeRue

It's still Friday, so technically this isn't late... Unless you're in a later time zone, in which case, sorry. We're going back into the Character Conversations. I only have a few left after this, but I'll probably post more later, since these are very good for developing characters.

Let’s start with your full name.

It’s Aurey LeRue.

Sounds French. Where are you from?

Quebec, Canada. So yes, French, but not the real French.

Have you ever been to France?

No, but I’m saving up money to travel there. It would be awesome to just backpack through the country, away from all the tourists and busy cities.

Sounds beautiful. Would you go with anyone?

If you’re thinking about my parents, hell no. I would rather go with a close friend or two.

I notice you don’t have an accent.

No, we moved away from Quebec when I was seven. I speak French, but I lost my accent.

Why did you move?

A lot of drama with my parents that I don’t understand. I think my dad had an affair or something, but they both deny it. As long as it doesn’t affect my life, I don’t care.

You seem distant from them. Why?

I don’t know. They never seemed to care about me when they made life changing decisions. Like moving away from Quebec to some stupid town in the middle of Canada. They’re also really strict. They won’t let me date, or be out past ten. They refuse to let me go to any parties, and I’m not allowed more than two people over at the same time. I’m surprised they even let me bleach my hair, though I never told them before I did it…

Wait, parties and dating? How old are you?

…I’m almost seventeen.

Kids these days…

Life Update!

I'll continue with the character conversations on Friday (hopefully), because today I'm just too tired. I keep telling myself that I should get used to waking up earlier every morning so that when I have to wake up at five to get to work for the opening shift, it won't be so bad. But then the next day I sleep in 'till ten and my sleeping pattern is messed up again...

Anyway, just a few life updates. I got to train someone on closing shift on Monday. I've been working at Starbucks for almost five months, and apparently they trust me to teach the new people now. It was mostly due to a small scheduling error, where my manager thought someone else was closing, but hey, she didn't change it, so apparently she trusts me. Hopefully I did a well enough job. We'll see when the new guy closes by himself for the first time.

The second thing isn't really an update... or about my life, for that matter. One of my friends, Sarah-Jill, went in for surgery today to get something in her spine fixed. (I'm sorry, but I will never understand all the medical lingo...) She came out alive and well! I just wanted to say that she's an amazing person with amazing friends and family to support her. If you want to know more, check her out here, or her Facebook page here.

Not much else going on right now. Just enjoying the cold and rain here and dreading the coming heat of mid-summer.

Review: A Murderous Procession *SPOILERS*

I'm going to interrupt the character conversations to make a review, as I just finished a book today and I want to write about it before I forget. (even though I completely forgot about Friday's post anyway...)

The book this time is called A Murderous Procession. It's the fourth book in a series by Ariana Franklin, though it's one of those series where each book could be a stand alone. All of her books are historical fiction, and all are murder mysteries. What I love about them is how historically accurate they are. Of course the main character is fictional, along with a few others, but it still has Henry II and mentions of the Normans. After my history class (Europe in the High Middle Ages) I understand a lot of the references and smaller details. It's great for anyone that loves European history, but might be a little too detailed for anyone who doesn't even know what a Cathar is...

Anyway, the main character is named Adelia Agular, a female doctor of death from Sicily. I won't go over the first three books, but by this book, she's been in England for seven years, and is finally going back to Sicily with a procession that includes the English Princess who is going to marry the Sicilian prince. in this group is someone out to kill her though. 

Ariana Franklin is in line with Agatha Christie when it comes to suspense, in my opinion (though I've only read one Agatha Christie book...) Although you have a suspicion at the beginning about who it is, through the rest of the story you begin to doubt and suspect other people. In this particular novel though, at the end I laughed in triumph because I had guessed right, so Franklin might have slipped up a bit here by giving away one clue too early. 

Now the best, and worst, part about this book is the very end. It's a huge cliff hanger. Honestly, someone is on the brink of death, and Franklin just ends it! Then guess what? She dies! Not the character, oh no. Ariana Franklin died in 2011, and never finished the series. I am going to be agonizing over this for months now. The reason why I say the ending is so good is because I didn't really like the character that might have died... and it was beautifully written. No important characters had died for a while, so I think it was called for.

Anyway, sorry for missing my Friday post, and I'll get back into the Character conversations on Wednesday. My next book review may take a while, because I'm now onto a book that's 1,252 pages long... Yay!

Meet the Characters: Blight

Today's character is named Blight. He's most recently stared in the beginning of a short story I began to write for my speculative fiction class. In that story he is a Lamia (Latin for vampire) but other times he is a monster hunter. 

It says here that your name is Blight. Is that true?

It’s what I call myself.

But it’s not your real name? What name were you given at birth?

That’s none of your business.

Alright, fine. What did you do to deserve your current name?

That’s none of your business either.

We’re not going to get very far in this interview if that’s going to be your answer to everything.

People seem to die around me.

That’s a little different from seeing dead people. More like you create dead people?

In a way.

Lovely. Isn’t that against the law?

Some were accidents. Others were just part of my job.

What job?

Security.

Of course. What were the accidents?

None of your business.

…

My parents. And my sister. And my adopted family. And my fiancée. And my best friend.

That’s harsh. I’m sorry for your loss… losses.

I don’t need your pity.

A tough guy like you? Of course not.

I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.

What sarcasm? I’m sure you’re just as stone hearted as your name suggests.

…Of course.