Alpha part 31

(read from the beginning)

31

“The bubble continues below London,” Quake says. “Also, it is impregnable. I cannot pass.”

Quake moves through and disturbs solid matter. He travels underground, amongst deep roots, fossils, and buried history.

This is his home turf. His parents, Russian emigrants, wanted a life of finance for him, of old school ties and a political future. They named him Quentin, cruel fuel for public school bullies. He renamed himself Quake.

“So,” Alpha takes stock, “it’s resistant to physical strength, to phasing and to teleportation.”

“Effectively muzzling us,” Thunder says. “Alien tech?”

“Like none we’ve encountered. We’re in England. I’m guessing magic.”

Rise part 37

(read from the beginning)

37

Olivia tried to understand what had happened. Ruth had wanted her gone, had said cruel things, but Olivia couldn’t help feeling responsible for making Ruth and George fight. She was the outsider here.

“Ah,” she said. The brothers looked at her. “Shouldn’t we do something?”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded, “yeah. Don’t guess Ruth’d be too chuffed to see you though. We’ll go after her.”

“Oh good,” Charlie looked uneasy, “and here I forgot to bring a muzzle.”

“She ain’t gonna bite.” Harry swatted him on the shoulder. “Probably. Let’s just bury our smart tongues. Real deep. Like, fossils and coal deep.”

Cosmic Discord part 15

(Read from the beginning.)

15

Harriet swung the Silent Symphony through a long corkscrewing curl.

“We are outcasts,” she said, “heretics. We must decide what to do with ourselves.”

“Escape?” Doc suggested. “Discourse on any species of future beyond the next few seconds might prove unduly optimistic.”

“You have no vision, Doc. You’re only saying that because you’re afraid.”

“I am undoubtedly afeared.”

He wasn’t the only one.

“But one of those beams strikes us true and we’re liable to need more than a plaster. We get into your wife’s clutches and the punishment will scar. Let us talk of freedom when we are free.”

Xeroversary 4

Where is the fourth Xeroversary? Where was it? Where did it go?

All important questions. All, in fact, the same question...

So not much happened over the last year, particularly on this blog. To use a much overused simile, it's been a bit swan-like in twenty fourteen so far. A lot going on under the surface and not much to see up top.

I've reigned in the personal pressure on completing an individual project and relaxed into a more enjoyable schedule. I would say it's been more productive too, but in a different way.

I'm writing every day. Without exception. Fiction (blogging or tweeting or journalling do not count). I've got two novels in (slow) progress, and I'm jumping from one to the other as I feel inspired, and when I can't sit my head well into one of those worlds I'm writing something else, some flash, a short story.

When I was forcing myself to work on a single project, I sometimes wrote parts I didn't much like, telling myself I would be able to fix it in edit, but ultimately it meant I ending up not much liking writing it, and not much liking the whole project. Which I don't think leads to good work. I write better when I'm having fun. I know this to be true.

The real test of this process, of course, will be seeing if I finish what I am working on. And seeing if I edit the shorter work and submit it, because getting some stories out there, around the place, beasts in the wild, will also be worth it.

The other ongoing work is what you see up on the right there (assuming you're on a pc right now, and not a phone/ tablet). Three serials: Rise, Alpha and Cosmic Discord. Currently I've just been updating those on their individual pages, but I'm going to start posting new parts to the main page (and keeping their own pages updated as well, of course).

I haven't added anything to the serials for a month or so because of preparing 101 Fiction issue 4 and going on holiday, but I'm going to get back on that soon. All going to plan there will be at least one new part this week.

So, in short, there is no Xeroversary this year because it's been a quiet kind of year for xeroverse.com, but it felt wrong not to mark the passing of another year. So this is what is, what has been and what will be, kind of. We'll see what happens next year.

Take care. Be good. And whether you're writing or reading, have fun. =)