The Whisker Brings The Rain- Flash Fiction

Henry craned his neck to stare out the window as Fred landed their ship on Unaris, the 2nd planet in orbit around a set of binary stars. Gloria had been here once before so instead of peering out the window with her crewmates she sat going over the scans of the ruins below.

 Henry threw off his harness and patted Gloria’s shoulder he passed her on his way to the airlock. 

“Well, if we are going to get this planet ready in time then we better get moving,” Henry said with a shrug.

Gloria sighed. ‘I am not looking forward to this.’ 

Due to the lighter gravity the three of them hopped lightly over the dry grassy field towards the ruins. Unaris had oxygen so they didn’t need their suits, but the air was dry and stale. Fred stopped a moment to take a drink from his water bottle.

 “You might want to conserve as much of that as you can,” Gloria said, pausing to watch him take in another big gulp of water. “The rain system could be on the other side of the planet, by the looks of things it hasn’t rained here in a while.”

 “Isn’t that your job, Whisker? To get the rain to come back?” Fred said with a chuckle.

 Gloria narrowed her eyes at him and sighed. “It’s not that simple,”

“What does the machine feel like when it turns on Gloria?” Henry asked curiously as they walked up the dusty metallic steps into a giant metal tower.

 Whoever had lived here had long since moved on. Buildings farther down from the tower were either caved in or over grown by thick dead plants.

 Gloria gulped, she really didn’t want to think about how it felt.

 “It’s a little creepy, the machine transmits impressions from the designers. It helps you feel what the planet needs and where it needs it.” Gloria answered. 

“Man that is creepy.” Henry said shuddering.

 At the top of the tower a giant machine stood in a roofless room. The machine held huge metal prongs pointed high into the sky above them. Taking a deep breath Gloria climbed into the odd control chair. At her touch the machine lit up, recognizing a living being’s electrical impulses again after so many years. A metal band lowered around her forehead and after one last thumbs up to Henry and Fred she closed her eyes.

 In her mind images of the world around her invaded her mind. Memories of the world as it once was, as well as its current state. She could see the rain system, stalled out over the western ocean. She could see the air currents, barely moving due to the lack of convection from the suns. Something inside her felt the designer’s intentions.

 ‘Bring life back.’ 

 Gloria waved her mental hand over her spot on the globe floating in her mind. Vibrations shook the machine gently as the metal prongs came to life, stirring the air into motion.



**Photo Credit: via photopin (license)


This post was part of the 52 week flash fiction challenge on facebook (somehow I never hit publish here on my blog so it is a bit late.)
Week 9 word prompt: Whisker
Word Limit: 20- 500
This one tops out right at 500 words.

Readers: Would you like to have the whisker's job of keeping the planet's weather system going? Do you think it would be stressful or peaceful? What do you think would be your favorite weather system to control?

New Enemy- Flash Fiction

Submitted by A.K. Stein, a fellow author and Facebook friend, inspired by her 6 book werewolf romance series. Werewolves were supposed to be myth. Right. Now I know differently. And now I am one, too. And now we have an enemy who is much more terrible than Faris, the evil werewolf, was. Vampires. And they are invading the US.

And both my mates are out on a hunt. And thinking they might bring home deer afterwards for dinner. We were not to be werewolf. The crystal could have changed all that but for Faris. His cowardliness prevented Nathan, my mate and the alpha, from changing to human. Evan, my other mate, was changed back to human, but since Nathan couldn’t, he became werewolf again. And so then did I. And it turns out we are needed. We’re the only ones who can fight the vampires. “My lady!” One of the other werewolves has come running into the room. “What, Eric?” I say. “Nathan has ordered a lockdown. He and Evan will be back here shortly. The vampires are on the move and it looks like they’re coming here.” My stomach hit the floor. “All right. I’ll get Nathan Jr. You round up everyone else and we’ll meet in the dungeons in two minutes.” “All right.” He runs out the door as I go into the other room to get my little two-year-old son. I’ll have to wake him from his nap. He won’t be happy. “My lady!” the man yelled again as I entered the dungeon area. “The vampires are at the door. Hurry!” “Where’s Nathan and Evan?” My little son is crying. I feel like it, too. “I don’t know. They haven’t contacted me again.” Now my stomach has really hit the floor. He ushered me into the hidden room and shut the door. I flipped on the light so I can see where the bed is to lay my son down. He’s still crying. I don’t blame him. My tears are at the gates, too. I laid him down and smoothed out his beautiful blond hair. His father’s hair. And his father’s gorgeous blue eyes look up at me in fear. “Everything will be all right, sweetie.” I lie to him. But maybe not. I hope. An explosion occurred. Sounded like it was just on the other side of the house. The rumble shook the house. Was it the vampires? Trying to get in? What do they want here, aside from killing all of us before we can turn werewolf again in the next full moon? Those thoughts ran through my mind as I sat on the side of the bed, trying to comfort my son. My fear is for my son. He’s too little, and not a werewolf, to survive an encounter with the vampires. But what they evidently don’t realize is it doesn’t matter if we adults are not in the full moon phase. We are still strong enough to fight them. But where is Nathan and Evan? Running footsteps started just outside the locked door. I felt I should be out there helping them, but I’m needed here for my son. Nathan has commanded it. I listened, but I didn’t hear anything else. Wondering, I went to the door and listened again. Nothing. My urge is to open it but Nathan has told me that when I’m in here I am not to open the door until I hear the special knock. But the waiting is unbearable and I don’t know where he and Evan are. Where are you my darling mates? I need you. Need you safe. Another explosion happened. It shook the room. My son is crying again, frightened of the noise. I hurried to him, but my mind is on my mates. Where are they? Running footsteps are outside the door again. Only a few this time. Whose are they? I heard a scraping sound on the other side of the door. I watched the door handle move. The door is locked, but. . .To my amazement, the lock slowly clicked. The door handle moved again. And then the door opened. A man peered in. No one I know. But his curious look morphed into a sneer. “Well, well. What have we here? I believe it is Nathan’s wife and progeny. What good luck I am having.” I could smell him. The rancid odor of vampire. I knew what he wanted. But he had not considered the equation of me. I slowly laid my son down and rose from the bed. Faced him. I had no fear at this point. Only anger. And I knew what I intended to do. He smiled. Came into the room. Peered at my son, then grinned at me. “You are beautiful, my dear, but I’m afraid I need to eliminate you. Payback to Nathan, you see.” My brows rose. “Really?” “Yes. Now how is it going to be? Nice and easy or difficult and nasty?” “How about you tell me?” I didn’t give him time to answer. I pounced. My hands became claws seeking to rip his skin. The surprised look on his face gave me confidence. He countered, but only after I slashed his face and neck. Vampire blood spewed over my shirt and ran down his. His attack was less than I expected. I supposed it was because of his surprise. Because when he came back around, he smacked me so hard I went flying across the room. Hit hard against the wall, then tumbled to the floor. But I wasn’t done. I jumped up and sprang at him again. This time he was ready. He batted at me, but I dodged his aim and came in under his arm. Slashed at him again, across his midsection. More blood. I heard my little son crying in the background. Then the room erupted with werewolves. Nathan was in the lead. Fairly snarling as he leapt for the man. Evan was right behind him. Relief whooshed over me. I let them handle the situation now and went to my son. Grabbed him up and held him tightly. It was over within minutes. The man lay dead close by the door. The other werewolves dragged him out while Nathan came over and grabbed me up in his arms. Evan came up beside me, put his arm round me. “Well,” Nathan said. “I guess we married a powerful woman after all.” He kissed me hard. Evan rubbed my back. “I guess we did.” I smiled at that, but my insides were scrambled. I couldn’t speak for a moment for the shaking my insides were doing. But I took a deep breath, let it out, then said, “So. . .what’s for dinner?” They burst out laughing.

Ms. Peck (aka AK Stein) has written stories since she was in the 3rd grade. She started out writing about horses. She loved horses, you see. But it was during that time that she discovered science fiction and fell in love again. Literally. Has daydreamed science fiction ever since. But along the way, she discovered fantasy, with magic and myth, and so added that to her list of loves. The result of all this are her books you see today. Some being this FULL MOON werewolf series. She hopes you enjoy them.

Find out more about Ms. A.K. Stein at http://www.goldframeromance.com

So Apparently Its My Fault

Hearts Over Mind – It’s Virginia’s Fault!
By: Karina Fabian

I have a lot to thank Virginia for, and not just for hosting me today on the Mind Over All tour. It’s her fault that this trilogy actually ends with a fourth book, a novella called Hearts Over Mind, which is available free with the purchase of the Mind Over trilogy.

The Mind Over Trilogy follows Deryl Stephens, a human psychic whose powers drive him insane. With the help of an intern, Joshua, he learns to control his abilities. Eventually, he recognizes the alien minds that are trying to manipulate him and breaks free of their influence. He travels to their world, falls in love with one, heals and befriends the other, and eventually saves both their worlds. Through it all, Joshua is there to guide him, advise him, and slap some sense into him as needed. They become great friends.

Joshua has his own strong storyline as he falls in love with a nurse at the asylum where he helped Deryl. He and Sachiko have a rocky relationship because of their careers and the secret she kept hidden from him for too long. In Mind Over All, Deryl is horrified to return to Earth to find them in the middle of a fight that might end their relationship. He’s had a premonition that they must be together and help him save his new homeworld or else he will fail. He recruits Joshua, hijacks Sachiko, and on Kanaan, the two are able to heal their relationship. They finally set a date for the wedding – just in time to save the world.

Virginia is not only a good friend, but also likes my books and proofs them for me. When I gave her Mind Over All, she wrote back how disappointed she was that she didn’t get to see the wedding. In truth, I had too many loose ends to wrap up that I could not fit in a wedding scene. I had long had a great idea for a disastrous bachelor party for poor Joshua, but had been content to just imagine it and giggle now and again.

Thanks to her encouragement, I decided to write a short story about the days leading up to the wedding and the wedding itself. It would start with an argument, include the failed bachelor party where Josh falls off a boat, and end with a happily-ever-after wedding and a kiss to rival Princess Bride. However, when it would not work from Joshua’s POV, another friend suggested I try it from the POV of the bride. After all, it was her big day, too. Soon that led to a deeper exploration of the issues they’d faced, her own insecurities, and a whole lot of fun as she deals with everything from a half-drowned fiancé to a wedding kimono that’s psych-ward pink. The short story became a novella, and my publisher was only too happy to produce it.

So thanks, Virginia, for making me do more than daydream about a funny scene.

My response: To let you all in on a bit of the background to this article... I signed up to help Karina with her book tour and asked her for a guest post. I had no idea that I would open this in my e-mail box when she sent her files. I was surprised! Ha-Ha! You are more than welcome Karina, I am thrilled and honored to have inspired you to continue with the story! I can't wait to read it!

Karina is right- I have read her books. I have been entertained by and loved every single one of them! I encourage every one of you to go out and get a copy of all of them! They are fun, family friendly, and an over all sci-fi roaring good time! You WON'T regret it!

Want to find out more? http://karinafabian.com/mind-over-all/ 

Come buy yours here! http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-All-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B011LSN6BE

Karina Fabian

By day, Karina is a mild-mannered reviewer of business software and services for TopTenReviews.com. After hours, she’s a psychic intent on saving the world; a snarky dragon who thinks he saves the world all-too regularly, a zombie exterminator who just wants her world clear of undead vermin, and nuns whose callings have taken them off our world. Needless to say, her imagination is vast, her stories legion, and her brain crowded. When she’s not converting her wild tales to stories, she’s enjoying time with her husband, Rob, their four kids, and their two dogs.    

Find Karina at:

Website: http://fabianspace.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karina.fabian

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/KarinaFabian

Google +:  https://plus.google.com/103660024891826015212

Trying Out My New Printer

I bought a new printer from a nice lady in my local For Sale or Free Yard Sale group on Facebook just a day or so ago. Since then I have been trying it out, putting it through its paces. I'll be attending Kaboom Arts And Crafts monthly second sunday festival in Garner NC This sunday from 12:30- 5pm. (Find out more about Kaboom Arts And Crafts)

For this event and for my future events I decided to create a name tag just for the fun of it:

I also pulled together a flyer helping to show off all the other events I will be appearing at. I love spreading the word about these events because they are all so much fun! Come bring your whole family!

Then afterwards, on their request, I took some time and whipped up some name tags for some of the other PDMI Authors. I wish paper could support clickable links... QR codes are close but only those who have smart phones AND QR readers can access those links. 

So... in the mean time, you can click on the badge pictures here- all three of these guys are wonderful authors! 

If you have a moment... come by for a post by Karina Fabian... Come find out what she blames me for O.o

I also have another friend that will be sharing a short story on my blog here in the next few days. While I'm at it... I really need to get back to writing some more shorts again myself! Stay tuned!

Deleted Scene- Hades POV from Kaitlin Bevis

Today I am bringing to you a deleted scene from a Facebook friend of mine, Kaitlin Bevis, from her newly released book 'Persephone'!

But first... a little about the book:

One day Persephone is an ordinary high school senior working at her mom’s flower shop in Athens, Georgia. The next she’s fighting off Boreas, the brutal god of Winter, and learning that she’s a bonafide goddess—a rare daughter of the now-dead Zeus. Her goddess mom whisks her off to the Underworld to hide until Spring.

There she finds herself under the protection of handsome Hades, the god of the dead, and she’s automatically married to him. It’s the only way he can keep her safe. Older, wiser, and far more powerful than she, Hades isn’t interested in becoming her lover, at least not anytime soon. But every time he rescues her from another of Boreas’ schemes, they fall in love a little more. Will Hades ever admit his feelings for her?

Can she escape the grasp of Boreas’ minions? The Underworld is a very cool place, but is it worth giving up her life in the realm of the living? Her goddess powers are developing some serious, kick-butt potential. She’s going to fight back.

- If you visit http://kaitlinbevis.com/ you will find links to where you can find the book, apparently its also in audio format!

Deleted Scene- Hades Point Of View:

She was beautiful. Hades hadn’t expected that. Silly really, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter would hardly be plain. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting as he tore his way through the earth. He hadn’t taken the time to think, had only been advised of what was happening above his realm, and acted.

She held her head high as the ice retreated. Her fists clenched in defiance as her white dress swirled around her petite frame. She had to be frightened. He could almost see her pulse hammering in her throat. Still, she stood calmly facing his chariot as he drew to a halt.

He felt as though he was seeing the sun for the first time. Had she only been beautiful, he would have been able to tear his gaze away from her. He had seen no shortage of beauties in his long and lonely existence. Helen of Troy, Andromeda, even Oreithyia could not have matched this girl for beauty. It was the purity and intelligence sparkling from her cypress green eyes that held him captive. That she was still standing spoke of immeasurable bravery to say nothing of that defiantly clenched fist.

He loomed over her, in his black chariot. He was trapped in her gaze, unable to move forward. His mind kept repeating an endless refrain of thanks that he had not been too late. Another thought kept edging to the forefront of his brain. He tried to shove it back unsuccessfully.

He had to have her.

That she would complicate his life beyond measure was of no importance. Demeter would be furious. If this begat a war with the few gods left, so be it. Cassandra had warned him this would happen one day.

Gods help him; he’d thought she was kidding.

About The Author:

Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn’t agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she’s always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA and Masters in English, Kaitlin went on to write The Daughters of Zeus series.

Webpage: www.kaitlinbevis.com
Twitter: @kaitlinbevis
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaitlin-Bevis/224768864266454
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/109348246034296581186/posts 

How To Set Up A Facebook Party- The Alien Mind VBT Post

I am honored to be featured on Writers And Authors today! Have you ever wanted to set up a Facebook party to release your book but you weren't sure how? Maybe you want to have a party to celebrate a special mile stone? Come on over to Writers&Authors and I will be happy to tell you how to do it! I've even included some game ideas to help you get started!


*Tomorrow, I'll be at Frampton Plantation at 1 Low Country Ln, Yemassee, SC 29945  from 8 till closing time signing copies of The Alien Mind! I'd love to see you there!

And... as a side note... This is also my 100th post on my blog! YAHOO!

Different Worlds, Different Minds- The Alien Mind VBT post

I get to do all sorts of interesting things with my characters! Last year, for The Alien Mind's e-book release book tour I was asked if it would be ok for an alien to interview my character Rivi. What an interesting request! Turns out, the alien was actually a character in Clay Gilbert's 'Annah' 

Anyhow... Stop by and see how the two girls got along!
https://portalsandpathways.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/different-worlds-different-minds/

And please don't forget- The Alien Mind (paperback) is available for pre-order! Those who order in time to get their copy for the release party July 10th and post a picture to www.facebook.com/vljennings of them holding the book (or e-book) will be entered into a drawing for a special prize!

Pre-order your copy of The Alien Mind today!