Rylan was becoming very familiar with all of his counselor’s staff as often as he had been visiting Desmond. So when Rylan caught sight of Desmond’s secretary, he waived at the slight and sociable woman, “Hello Ciara, is Desmond free?”

“He is Rylan, and I’ll check to see if he’s ready for you.”

“Thank you,” Rylan said as he took one of the open chairs in front of the secretary’s desk.

Ciara shifted her gaze to the small device next to her main display, and typed something on it and waited. After waiting patiently for another few moments, she must have gotten a response because she looked back over at Rylan saying, “He’s ready to see you now Rylan...

Ezekiel was standing among his guards, hands zip-tied behind his back, as he thought about how this had happened. He had stumbled upon this conspiracy, and with that discovery, the pool of those he could trust had shrunk drastically. The only reason he was alive, despite being in captivity, was due to his training. His days spent with special forces had transformed him into the living weapon he actually was. Unfortunately, even with that training, he couldn’t handle the sheer number of minions in this conspiracy that had swarmed him in the Rotunda.

As he examined his surroundings, one of his guards said irately, “Stop eyeballing me.”

“Calvin, calm down and relax.” The steely-eyed leader said as he shifted his gaze away from the man and towards Ezekiel. “Our friend here will answer all our questions.”

Ezekiel mentally chuckled at the lofty words, he had ducked into the Rotunda because a senator was being honored in death...

I was feeling a little under the weather for the latter half of last week, so I wasn’t able to write the piece of flash fiction that I wanted to. As poor as I felt I didn’t completely ignore the site, I was pursuing my insights for the posts that I link to on my facebook page. The gold standard for an author, or any creative individual, is unsolicited feedback, be it reviews for my books or comments on my posts. Now my blog is currently not configured for comments, thankfully when I publish a post, I also publish a link to it on my Facebook page. This way I can see any conversations that might be had there. And ever since I posted the first link to that page, I’ve been eagerly awaiting for my first Facebook comment.

I know that I’m still building my presence on Facebook, so I knew going into this that getting an honest opinion would take some time...

Whenever I’m finished with my initial work on one of my stories, be it a short story or a full-length novel, I can’t wait to get feedback on my work. This was true for Dead Man’s Hand, the flash fiction I post on my blog to the other tales that I’ve been busy crafting. So once I finished the initial work on Drawing Thin, I immediately started reaching out to people that I trust to give me their honest thoughts on what I had. In fact, I implored them to tell me where I messed up. Those particular notes mean more to me than the ones that highlight what they think I did right...

“Good morning Lewis.” One of the numerous rodeo clowns said with a smile

“Morning,” Lewis replied as he hurried toward his private locker room. The technicians had certainly taken their time examining all of his cybernetics. He sighed as he transitioned into a run, while he admitted that with this particular bull, Lewis would never have been allowed to skip the examination. He just wished that the technicians had been swifter in their examination.

The bull that Lewis was going to ride was named Metalus. It was the only cybernetically enhanced bull in any rodeo, which was the reason he had to have his own cybernetics certified. He was approaching his locker room when he caught sight of his manager waving him down. Lewis slowed to a brisk walk and once he was within arms distance asked, “Everything okay?”

“Where have you been?”

“Getting my exam,” Lewis replied as he waved his metallic arm in front of his manager’s face...

I remember almost five years ago I bought a computer game called Torchlight from Amazon. A friend had recommended the game, and I decided it was time to give it a try, so I started a game. There are three classes for that game, the Vanquisher, the Destroyer and The Alchemist. I remember hearing that the Alchemist was akin to a mad scientist, at least in the broadest of definitions. So I leapt at the chance to play the Alchemist, and I gave him the name Harrison.

One of the interesting aspects of the game is that your character gets an animal companion right from the start. I chose the feline companion, and I came up with the name of Sylvia, I may have used the random name generator though at this point I honestly can’t remember how I chose the name of that companion...

Keldon was walking down the hill his team had been dispatched to search, and there was still no signs of their missing colonists. Thankfully over the first three months on this new world, the colonists had managed to survive despite the crash and the vicious creatures that have been found on the planet’s surface. From the roaming giant wolves to the swooping dragons, they had run into many animals that seemed to have been pulled out of legend yet somehow existed on this planet. But despite the dangers from the local wildlife they had managed to form a foothold on the world. Crops were beginning to take root in the alien soil, and the remnants of the herds were already replenishing their numbers. And right when things were looking fantastic, three of the more reliable colonists just vanished, as if they had never existed.

Tarian had immediately ordered the search, but after a long week filled with searching that yielded no results, people were beginning to think that they had been caught by the local wildlife...

Tully glanced down at his hand and reviewed the note that was firmly attached to his palm. The shade stared at the elegant text, yet the memory of his death snagged his focus. While it was hazy, he knew he’d attempted to save a little girl’s life. The only other solid aspect of his memory was the crushing coldness as the underwater current pulled him under. As a shiver ran down Tully’s incorporeal spine, he stared up at the looming building that some unseen force insisted he visit.

Unsure of what he should do, Tully eventually ignored the note and searched the surrounding streets, finding nobody. The solitude unnerved him more than becoming a ghost. Determined to discover anyone, the shade stalked the streets of the city that never slept. He knew it should have been teeming with activity, yet with each passing block, he still found nobody...

Fresh off their costly yet crucial victory over Napoleon, the French have been driven off of British soil. While Temeraire and Laurence helped to secure this ever so crucial a victory, those who witnessed the devastation caused by Lien have no desire for Temeraire to remain so close to their borders since Laurence is still to be punished for his treason. Though they no longer wish to risk Temeraire’s outrage so instead of returning him to a wait for the gallows, they decide to lessen the punishment to Transportation, sending him across the world to Australia to live out his remaining days as far away from England as possible...

Ever since the charges that had been brought against Rylan were dismissed, he had been waiting for the meeting that would decide what the planet did regarding Laria. It had been a month since the dismissal, and the various leaders had been unable to contact anyone off world. The population of the planet was divided on what they should do, some wanted to ignore what had happened and just carry on as usual. While the other group wanted to build a ship so they could return to Laria and discover what had happened there, a desire that Rylan shared.

The technician knew that the only way he would be able to find out what happened would be to participate in the meeting. Unfortunately for him that required him to be present, his voice would not be heard if he didn’t show up. The rest of the population was not expected to be there, they had other options to be able to cast their vote...

Jemma and Charles were exploring Comic-Con amazed at the variety at their fingertips. This was just what they needed to jumpstart their YouTube channel. With each and booth they walked past they were able to chat with various companies about their upcoming projects. The twins were eager to take the notes from those conversations and transform them into new and engaging videos for their channel. They had even gotten a few sneak peeks at exciting and new characters ready to make their debuts.

Currently, though the twins were busy working on their way to a keynote speech for an up and coming company they had heard exciting whispers about when their path was blocked. The man who blocked the path had a thick British accent and was dressed as a butler, right down to the serving tray. A tray that was carrying fancy glasses filled with what appeared to be champaign...

If I were to ask who the father of modern fantasy is, who would you name? People will have their choice, but I think most people will reach back to the man who penned The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien. While I certainly believe him to be the father of modern fantasy, there are some who have a decenting position, such as Ed Power of the Boston Globe.

Now Mr. Power makes some points. However, they are based purely upon the content of the fantasies that are prevalent in the world today. Unfortunately, I have to argue with his premise, it is far too simplistic of a view. To merely make this determination based solely upon the content inside of the covers of various books...

A scouting squadron, responsible for finding safety, found it moored to the coast like a forgotten legend, scarred and silent, yet still afloat. A seemingly operable battleship, untouched by conflict or the passage of time. They hoped the vessel would be their chance to escape the dying world. Although it appeared safe, the fear of humanity’s bane terrorized the remnants of civilization. After key sections of the craft were cleared, the leaders dispatched the remaining engineers to determine if their last hope could be their salvation. While other teams cleared non-essential chambers, the engineers determined the vessel was not only seaworthy, but capable of surviving the ocean’s capricious nature...

The other day I received a message from Raymond Mullikin, via Kickstarter. After reading his message, I decided to check out his Kickstarter page to see what kind of projects he did. When I landed on his page, I immediately saw his current project Jonathin Quackup: Issue #3 - The Deadly Journey!. And the cover image of that project blew me away. That image with the skeleton in the background and an apparently sorry character is so captivating that I was pulled to delve into the details of the project.

Once I delved into the details, I was greeted with a movie that made me excited about the third book in a series that I had never read before...

One day, a father and his daughter were out eating at their favorite restaurant, The Noodle Shop. The father savored his meal as well as getting the night off from cooking. Meanwhile, his daughter enjoyed the establishment’s macaroni and cheese. As was their custom once they got their meal, they wandered through the restaurant until they reached their regular booth. While they ate their meal, the bell hanging from the entrance announced a change to their ritual.

A small man, walking stiffly, trying not to spill his food, approached their booth. Without asking, he sat down next to the father saying, “I hate to interrupt, but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation and unfortunately for you sir, she is correct...