Rule of Three Contest--week 2

Today is week two of the Rule of Three contest, in which we post the continuation of our short stories for the contest. My first post is here: http://richard-writingandliving.blogspot.com/2011/10/rule-of-three-contest.html

I used the prompt: a character lies to another in an important matter.

Here is week two's entry:

            “Hello,” said the man on my left. “It’s a pleasure having you here in Renaissance. Please let me buy you a drink.”

 He had the most intense green eyes I had ever seen. Having no money, I had to accept his offer.

            “What would you like, Miss …?”

            “My name is Camilla.”

            “Camilla,” he said, straightening his red silk tie, “I’m Prince Giovanni. What shall it be?”

            “I’d be happy with a glass of wine.”

            “A goblet of wine for my lady,” he said to the barmaid. The beautiful young woman gave me the most curious smile, as if she knew something I did not know.

            I studied the prince carefully as I said, “I’m grateful for your generosity, my lord.”

            “It’s nothing. It’s my duty and pleasure. I’m here to guide you through Renaissance.”

            How is this possible? I wondered. How could he have known I was coming? “Why do I need a guide, my lord?”

            “Renaissance is a beautiful place, but it is not without its dangers.”

            “Prince Giovanni, I assure you, I am not afraid.”

            “You are brave then?”

            “I am afraid of nothing, my lord.”

            “That’s all the more reason you need a guide. Nothing here is as it seems.”

            “What do you mean, my lord?”

            “Take that man on your right. He seems friendly enough, but he is a rogue—a villain.”

            I looked at the man on my right. He had the most intense blue eyes I had ever seen. He did not look like a villain. I turned back to Prince Giovanni. “What do I have to fear of him, my lord?”

            “I cannot tell you, Camilla. It’s a secret.”

            My nerves began to tingle. My true fearfulness was beginning to assert itself. Maybe I did need a guide. “How do I know you’re not a rogue—a villain?”

            “I am a prince. I’m of noble blood. My blood is pure.”

            “How am I to know that, my lord?”

            “I will take you at sunset to the old silver mine just north of town and show you.”

            “My lord, how am I to know in advance that it’s safe to go there with you?”

            “Did you not tell me you’re afraid of nothing?”

            “That’s true, my lord.”

            “Then it’s agreed. You will go with me at sunset.”

            “But, my lord--”

            “I must take my leave, Camilla. You can trust me. I will meet you here at six-forty-six—sunset.”

            “But, my lord,” I said as he bowed to me, strolled out of the tavern, and disappeared.

            What have I done? My hand shook as I picked up the golden goblet.

            The barmaid began to chuckle, looking at me as if I were a fool.

             I took a long drink of wine from the golden goblet. The wine tasted sweet. It began to steady my nerves. Thank goodness for wine. Without it I would have revealed my true nature.

            I heard shuffling on my right and looked over at the man sitting there.

(To be continued)

Rule of Three Contest

The Rule of Three contest has begun. You can check out the rules at http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/rule-of-3-blogfest/.

I took as my prompt 'someone might fall in love'.
It's about 500 words.
One of the things about Renaissance that wasn't mentioned in the rules, but was a part of the description of Renaissance, was that everyone there has secrets. So, I tried to work that in. Anyway, here's my first entry:

Welcome to Renaissance

            I found myself in the town of Renaissance, as if I had awoken into a dream, as if I had left the real world behind. I walked down Main Street, admiring the statues and frescos and listening to the troubadours singing love songs. This was better than Real World, where there was no happiness. All I had wanted in Real World was love, and all I had gotten were vampires attacking me like swarms of mosquitoes on a hot summer night. I hated it. So, here I am in Renaissance, which means “rebirth.” Have I been reborn? I hope so.

            The sign outside the town had said: Welcome to Renaissance, Population 333. How can a town know its exact population? Do they put up a new sign with a new number every time someone dies or is born? I guess, with only 333 people, there probably aren’t many births and deaths here in any one year, maybe not for years at a time.

My life is a mystery to me, one I’ve been trying to solve for a long time. My one big question is: why do vampires like me? What’s in my blood that attracts them, makes them want to feast on me? They never bothered me until I began my menstrual cycle. When my scent was released into the air every thirty days, the vultures would circle in the sky over my head. Is that why they call the female’s monthly flow of blood the woman’s curse? Whatever it’s called, it’s the real world, and everywhere you look in Real World, things are after you. Some things want you alive so they can suck out your essence, and some things want you dead so they can eat you whole. And the two things fight over you. And, if you’re weak, in their fight they will tear you apart. That’s just the way it is in Real World. I only hope it won’t be that way in Renaissance.

Everywhere I look here, the people are beautiful. The women wear the newest fashions. The men wear the smartest suits. I’m disturbed that I’m dressed in worn out blue jeans with holes in the knees, and a cowl neck sweater. In Real World, I was chic, but here, I’m a fright. But everyone looks at me, smiles, and says hello. Everyone seems friendly. I’ve got to get to know these people. The one thing I don’t want them to know, though, is that I’m afraid.

I came to a tavern and, being hungry and thirsty, decided to go inside. There were two men sitting at the counter, drinking beers and eating sandwiches. I was immediately struck by their handsomeness and their politeness—they both stood up and bowed to me when I came through the door. I was taken aback. They smiled and waited for me to sit down at the stool between them before sitting down themselves. My heart fluttered. Maybe I had been reborn.

(to be continued)

So, there it is. Where to go from here? I have a good idea, but rather than keep writing, I decided to wait for the next set of prompts, and hope they work for my story.

Platform-Builders Campaigner Challenge #2

Rachael Harries 2nd challenge. http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com/

The Challenge is:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

• include the word "imago" in the title
• include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

NOTE: I could not find the word 'oscitate' in the Webster's Unabrided Dictionary or through Google.
I assume it's a verb form of oscitant, meaning yawning, drowsy, lazy.

This is my entry (#117 on the list) http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com/

Imago: A Prose Poem On “The Apparition (Self-Portrait with Muse),” A Painting by Marc Chagall

           

What I see in the mirror is the truth of what I am: a fractured soul in love with shape, form, and color. The three qualities collide within my mind, creating a miasma of reality. Soft blues and gray-white blend in with my muse and oscitate above me in the lacuna of space-time. Within the disarray of flat space and broken time emerges a harmonious synchronicity--a portrait of myself that is beautiful in a way that cannot be explained.

The Platform-Builder Campaigner Challenge

I want to congratulate all the winners of the Rach Write's Campaigner Challenge. You did some great writing. I made some new friends. I think it was a great success.

Word Count: One Month Later

On August 19, I posted the word count on my WIP. So, now, one month later, I'd like to give an update.

Aug. 22-27:            5,582 words
Aug. 29-Sept. 3:     7,841 words
Sept. 5-10:             5,535 words
Sept. 12-17:           3,668 words

Total:                    22,626 words

On August 19, I estimated I had about 90,000 words to go out of a 110,000 word novel. I have to keep changing estimates, though. Now I feel the book is probably closer to 120,000-130,000 words in length, and I'm about, maybe just a little over, halfway. I've completed over 70,000 words, so I have about 50,000 to 60,000 words to go. (I'm not sure this math adds up, but, what the heck.)

I'm pleased with the progress I'm making, although I'm not sure I can finish the book during October. It's looking more like sometime in November. I'm thinking of self-publishing it in January or February 2012. I have some decisions to make, one of which is developing a cover for the book. I'd like to hire a professional firm to do that. I'm not sure how long it takes a firm to work up a suitable cover. Over and over again I hear and read that an eye-catching cover is crucial. So, that will be an important undertaking for me.

Rule of Three Writing Contest

I've been invited to join in on the Rule of Three writing contest, in which a short story is written over a period weeks using the rule of three. The setting of the story is a town called Renaissance, and it has a history. If you're interested in taking part in the contest, go to http://amloki.blogspot.com/p/sign-up-for-rule-of-three-blogfest.html . I haven't written a short story in years, maybe ten years or more. So it will be a challenge. I'll be using the story I started on the Platform-Builders Campaigner in a previous post of mine. At this point I have no idea where this story is going, but I'll do some thinking, planning, and executing soon. It'll be a challenge for me, but one I think I'll enjoy. It looks as if I'm going to be writing in a genre I've never written before (except for a story I wrote in high school back in the 60's--that tells you how old I am)--horror. Yikes. I would never have believed it. But, what the heck. I'm so fascinated by Roland Yeoman's blog http://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-do-you-get-when-you-cross.html that I want to try it. Anyway, I'm hoping some of my friends will take part. See you there if the forces are with us.

First Campaigner Challenge.

The first challenge for Rachel Harrie's (http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com/2011/09/first-campaigner-challenge.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RachaelHarrie+%28Rach+Writes...%29) Platform-Builders Campigner Challenge is to write a 200 words or less flash-fiction short story. It must start with the words: The door swung open....

Here is my entry.

An Open and Shut Door

The door swung open even though I had locked it. What the…? I pressed my back to the wall. Footsteps in the darkness. One foot dragging along the floor. What the…? There was grunting with each footstep and drag.

“Jack?” I said, barely audible. “Is that you?” My chest heaved, my breasts stiffened.

Another footstep and foot drag.

“Jack, if that’s you, I’m going to kill you for this.” I slid along the wall until I bumped into a side table, knocking something over, breaking it. Without looking at the table, I felt around in the darkness until I felt a saucer-sized piece of broken glass.

A large shadowy figure with large shining yellow eyes appeared before me in the darkness. What the…? “Jack, this isn’t funny.”

The yellow eyes were beautiful. They were alluring. I couldn’t stop staring at them. They offered warmth. But I knew they were alluring for all the wrong reasons. “What are you?” I muttered. “Keep back.”

“I want you,” the gravelly voice said. “Please let me have you.”

What the…?

“I need you,” he said.

Those yellow eyes…I wanted them. They were beautiful. “Okay. I’m yours.”

All of a sudden, the door swung shut.

That's it. Exactly 200 words.