A quick note about my free fiction: this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on the blog. But it’s fun to do.
The clips from this story stay up for a limited time and then they will turn back into a pumpkin. Those available at the time I’m writing this are:
A quick note about my free fiction: this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on the blog. But it’s fun to do.
The clips from this story stay up for a limited time and then they will turn back into a pumpkin. Those available at the time I’m writing this are:
The station needed a lot of work. Mouse had been right about it needing a lot of upkeep. Jadz fell into the easy rhythm of pulling maintenance records for each area of the station and just getting to work.
“Have you eaten anything today?” became a frequent question from Mouse, who often showed up with a wrapped sandwich in hand which she tossed at Jadz with a wink. “Don’t stay too much passed your shift.”
A quick note about my free fiction: this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on the blog. But it’s fun to do.
The clips from this story stay up for a limited time and then they will turn back into a pumpkin. Those available at the time I’m writing this are:
“How many people are here now?” Jadz thought this might be a good time to change the subject.
“The station is meant to be run with minimal crew since it would be mostly astronomers. There’s usually one United officer here, and they generally sleep a lot, along with a communications person to help run things. Right now, we’ve got seven astronomers, me, and you.”
“Does that make you the communications officer?”
“You got it. See how I did that? I communicated my position to you without actually telling you in words.” She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. “I’m good.”
“I see that.” Jadz took a moment to enjoy the revelry of a new friend before putting her hands on her hips trying to take the same commanding stance her father had for many years. “But I don’t want my story being communicated to all the astronomers here.”
Mouse overlapped her hands on her heart and fell backwards on the bed. “Oh, you wound me!”
“I’d rather have them keep their eyes on the stars rather than me.”
“Oh, see? You’re sharp. Yeah, you’re going to do just fine here.” Mouse sat up, then stood. “Well, I guess there’s nothing left for me to do here. I’m sure you want to unpack, settle in, and explore the three centimeters of space we have here. Don’t worry, I think I can find my way out.”
Jadz watched Mouse as she started to leave and found herself wishing the other woman wouldn’t leave. It was nice to have someone to talk to. “Hey, Mouse, he was a commander.”
Mouse opened the door before turning. “See? I knew it. You’ll tell me more. I’m good at communicating.”
After Mouse had stepped backwards out into the corridor and shut the door, Jadz found herself smiling. This place might be at the end of the universe, but it was exactly where she needed to be.
A quick note about my free fiction: this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on the blog. But it’s fun to do.
The clips from this story stay up for a limited time and then they will turn back into a pumpkin.
Let’s proceed, shall we?
Deep Space Omega (#3)
by Dawn Blair
Pulling her legs up to sit cross-legged, Mouse settled in to be more at home here than Jadz felt she was doing in trying to put her scant belongings away. It didn’t help that she had an observer.
“So, tell me about that last boyfriend, the one you’re running from.”
“I’m not running,” Jadz lied. “Look, my mom always had two pieces of advice for me: don’t pick in high school, and don’t pick on a starship. She said both ponds of choices were far too small to find true love in considering how vast the universe was.”
“And I take it that you didn’t listen.”
“No, I wish I had though.”
“So who’d you pick in high school?” Mouse leaned forward with a wide, eager grin on her face.
“Tsk, no one. I’d been with most of those kids since elementary school, preschool days for some. My parents never got transferred. I remember watching some of my classmates eat paste or Tersilian worms, and not always separately.”
Mouse blenched, her face pulling like she might vomit at the thought.
“Let’s not forget the huffing of scented markers. There was this one kid, Lalmin… he stuck two, one in each nostril, up his nose and kept them there until he passed out. I was one of the lucky ones that got to help roll him to the infirmary. Yeah, not the people I wanted to date. I knew way too much.”
Mouse shook her head, but it was in total agreeance with what Jadz was saying. In that moment, Jadz decided she liked Mouse, even if the girl was a bit inquisitive.
“That brings us to,” Mouse said, holding onto her legs and rocking slightly back and forth, “who you picked on the starship, if you didn’t pick in high school.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t matter. He was just a guy.” Jadz shrugged.
“Just a guy doesn’t send you fleeing all the way out here. No, you had to get away. Was this before your first transfer, or why you left your second posting?”
“First,” Jadz said, not really sure why she was answering these questions at all. Did she really want to talk about it?
“So what was his name?”
Jadz sighed. “Yeah, I really don’t want to talk about him.”
“Hmmm, ranking officer, huh?”
Jadz wasn’t thrilled that Mouse could obviously read the situation like a book. Did she have mind reading powers or maybe it was in Jadz file.
Mouse laughed. “This is a small space startion, but if you think your story of unique, think again. That lug who was just in here, I’m married to him. I’d rather be out exploring space, but what can I say? I do have a thing for astronomers. He loves it out here. Most people don’t stay long; they get cabin fever. I’ve met a lot of people and heard a lot of stories. In the universe over, love messes people up.”
A quick note about my free fiction: this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on the blog. But it’s fun to do.
The clips from this story stay up for a limited time and then they will turn back into a pumpkin.
Let’s proceed, shall we?
Deep Space Omega (#2)
by Dawn Blair
The quarters were like most Jadz had seen before: bed, table, desk and chair. Except this room had something different. There was a man inside, seated at the desk. His cheeks flushed red as he dropped the tablet he’d been holding and stood up. He saluted. “Sorry… ma’am. I should have been done before you arrived. I only learned you were coming in early a few moments ago.”
Jadz watched him look for insignia on her collar, knowing he’d find none. “It’s fine, lieutenant. I’m a civilian, so I’m just happy to have United issued equipment.”
An expressive look of relief went through his face and he gave a genuine smile. “Let me know when you’re settled in and I’ll come back and finish.” He scooted around toward the door and left.
“That’s right. You don’t want to stay in my presence,” Mouse said, waving toward the closed door. “I’ve only been on him for a week to get your computer and accounts all set up. I don’t think he really believed anyone was coming until we got the inbound flight manifest. Well, here you are. Home, sweet home.”
Mouse sat down on Jadz bed as if to wait while Jadz unpacked. “Your record said this is your third transfer in less than two years.”
Jadz bit down on the inside of her lip, wondering if she’d been a topic for conversation and scrutiny before even arriving. At length, she responded, “Yeah.” No point in denying it.
“Didn’t have any red flags in your file, or signs that you’re disruptive and need to be sent away from the human population. Way I see it, you either are running from your last boyfriend or you really have a thing for astronomers. You wouldn’t come out to the Big O if it weren’t one of those reasons.”
“Big O?”
Mouse held up her arms to indicate everything around them. “This place, the DSO.”
“Ah, Deep Space Observatory.”
Mouse laughed, clearly mocking Jadz. “No. Deep Space Omega. That’s what we call the O around here. You are at the last spot in the world, no, the universe. Nobody comes out this far. Nobody. Heck, we once had space raiders try to overtake the station. They came aboard to take us over and they hightailed it out of here leaving us with supplies.” She scoffed again. “Imagine that, feeling so sorry for the people you just tried to raid that you take pity on them.”
I am bringing back my free fiction. As always, this is raw draft with little editing. I don’t know where the story is going, or if it’ll even get completed on here. But it’s fun to do.
As before, the clips from this story will stay up for a limited time and then they will disappear (turn back into a pumpkin). I’m making these sections really short this time, less than 500 words so that they will be quick and easy to read. This one doesn’t even have a cover right now, so it’ll be short and sweet each time.
A speedy note about this story: I am writing Deep Space Omega as a sci-fi romance. When I’m done, I’ll be putting a pen name on it, mostly to help my readers differentiate my work. Some writers use pen names to hide work they don’t want to admit having done. I plan on being fully open about it. Yes, I already know what name I want to use, but I’m keeping it secret for now. I don’t know how long this work is going to be. Already it is approaching the original length I thought it was going to be, but I have just barely gotten into the story. I’m starting to really enjoy these characters and it’s been fun spending time with them and getting to know them. Unfortunately, I can also see a larger romance series building (somebody help me!).
Let’s do this, shall we?
Deep Space Omega (#1)
by Dawn Blair
As Jadz walked through the corridor connecting the two airlocks, she thought about how thin the passageway sounded, as if it might crumble under her feet. She stopped, feeling the sway beneath her. Her lips and forehead tighten as she decided this would be the first thing she fixed.
Emerging from the faulty tunnel onto the space station, a bright young-faced brunette with hair pulled back in a messy bun greeted her. “Jadzine?” she asked hopefully.
Jadz quickly realized the woman could only be a couple years younger than her, despite her young appearance. “Jadz,” she lightly corrected, trying not to offend. First impressions at new assignments were so critical.
The woman nodded. “I’m Mouse. Okay, really my first name is Maripsa, but everyone calls me Mouse. So, I get it.” She bobbed her head around and even gave a little roll of her eyes as she spoke with excitement. “We’ve got your quarters all ready.”
“Permission to come aboard then,” Jadz asked, holding out a little card toward Mouse.
Mouse, who had already started leading the way, glanced back over her shoulder and gave a dismissive wave. “We’ve already got your information. As for permission, you got off the ship bringing you here, didn’t you?” She laughed. “We’re a lot less formal here.”
Steely letters backlit by neon blue light on the gray metal wall read, “Deep Space Observatory.” Jadz wondered if anyone coming this far out would really have any doubt about what orbiter they had landed on. This wasn’t exactly a tropical paradise destination for tourists. There were only two reasons to be this far out: punishment or silence.
Jadz returned the card to the front pocket of her pants. “Yeah, about that corridor… why hasn’t anyone fixed it? It feels like it’s going to fall apart under your feet when you’re walking through. It needs reinforcing badly.”
Mouse grinned from ear to ear. “Why do you think you’re here? It’s about time we get a decent engineer around here.”
“Mechanic,” Jadz corrected her again. She wouldn’t start people thinking she was more than she was.
Paying her no attention, Mouse gestured as she turned down a branching hallway. “Crew quarters are this way. We’re all on the same deck. Hopefully you’re good being close to your coworkers.”
“I was raised on a starship. Close confines like that even in space might as well be a prison”
“Never heard a United lifer talk like that,” Mouse laughed as she gave another wave for Jadz to follow her into a room.
One of my favorite things about being a “discovery writer” (that’s someone who doesn’t plot a story out, though I am thinking that some planning would help, but that’s a blog for another day) is finding little bits of story that are gems waiting to be uncovered.
There’s one “gem” though that I’ve been waiting for years to find out what the story behind the story is.
In Quest for the Three Books, I “knew” that the Shant’olin (nasty ghosts who eat souls) were tied to the ruins of Lilinar. I always figured Rivic had had something to do with this. But as I prepare the ending of Walk the Path, sequel to Tangled Magic, I haven’t discovered the answer to how the Shant’olin were contained to the ruins, or even how they got there.
It remains a mystery.
Also, when I was working on all the stories in the Sacred Knight series, I know there is something special about the gates of Lilinar, perhaps that there is something buried beneath them, maybe right inside. The observant reader will notice that the Shant’olin never approach near the gate in Quest for the Three Books. In later books, Steigan often has a strange sensation as he’s walking into Lilinar. Again, I thought I would find out what was going on when I wrote Rivic’s books, since he was the one who built Lilinar. But Walk the Path ends with him just starting the building of Lilinar after he leaves Gohaldinest.
That leaves me with the question of what is going on?
There is another story here. Is there a character I’m missing? A bigger picture? Another story between stories?
Do you want to know the best part?
That means there is more to this story for me to start to discover. And that is my happy spot.
Tomorrow sees the release of the ebook version of Tangled Magic. It has developed so much since I was running it here on the blog as Onesong. In fact, it still continues to grow and change as I discovered another scene that I wanted in Walk the Path, the coming sequel to Tangled Magic. It’s fascinating to watch a story expand and deepen.
While Tangled Magic is still a day away from release, you don’t have to wait to get a story fixed. Let’s get you to Palladium.
Chapter 42 has now turned back into a pumpkin. If you missed it, click on the banner above to go to the current posts for my blog. There’s another free story or story excerpt somewhere around my blog – I try to post something new every week. Hunt the story down, read, and enjoy!
This excerpt is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
I’m trying to write and my faithful dog, Merlin, would rather have me petting him. This is a good problem to have. I’d rather have this than a lot of other dramas I see people inviting into their lives. Why a person would want to create that kind of stress is beyond me. I’d rather keep my life simple and let my characters have the drama.
Okay, I won’t go getting up on my soapbox today. The sun is shining, something we haven’t had a lot of the last month or so. I like my light. I couldn’t live somewhere that didn’t have a good amount of sunlight. Now if only the snow would melt off.
I discovered Merlin shedding today. Both him and my black cat, Coville, are trying to get rid of their winter coats. I tried telling them that it’s a little premature on their part; we still have more cold winter ahead of us. But do you think they listened? Nope! I think they both had the sun of their black fur and got a false sense of the warmth.
I hope my tulips are smart enough to keep their heads down for a while longer. The snow hasn’t melted yet and there’s more in the forecast. A little sun doesn’t equal spring! Even though I am also craving it very badly. I must wait too. Bring on summer. I had someone comment to me this last week that “didn’t the weather know that it was supposed to go Thanksgiving, Christmas, summer?” That’s almost a true story for Idaho weather, but I find it’s more like cold, cold, warm-ish, cold, cold, cold, flip switched, blazing hot! And I use to be one of these people that preferred the blazing hot to the cold. Not so much since I had heat stroke many years ago; hot weather saps my strength fairly quickly, but I will still take it over the cold. Everyone is always telling me that when it’s cold they can put on more layers, but when it’s hot they can’t take anything else off. I reply that I can always go jump in a pool but I hate being the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!
Well, enough chatting about the weather. Feel free to let me know what it’s like where you live in the comments below. Meanwhile, let’s get you to the story.
Chapter 41 has now turned back into a pumpkin. If you missed it, click on the banner above to go to the current posts for my blog. There’s another free story or story excerpt somewhere around my blog – I try to post something new every week. Hunt the story down, read, and enjoy!
This excerpt is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Ah, yes… in the post of my weekly chapter last Friday, I did mention that I would talk about why I’d been absent. Look at how well I dodged that!
Hehehehe!
Okay, well, if you figured from the not so discrete announcement, I’ve been busy getting Tangled Magic up. I had so wanted to let it have a longer pre-order time, maybe get some hype worked up for it. But after finding it delayed for nearly a year, I couldn’t do that. I just didn’t want to wait any longer.
So, I finally had to draw the line in the sand and say that I was getting it done.
Read it before the Sacred Knight story starts towards its conclusion with The Missing Thread (more on that to come!)
In case you are wondering, this story has changed significantly since it here on the blog under the working title of Onesong. Which, honestly, it should because the chapters I release here are merely work in progress to keep me moving. By the time I make them into a book, they should be worked out and cleaned up. It’ll be familiar, but (hopefully) delightfully different.
