Author Journey: September 23, 2022

 Welcome back, dear Readers! I've got another small portion of the short story I'm working on to share with you today. I also have another word prompt for the writers out there. And I'm happy to share a little more about our kittens with y'all. I better get started.

Author Journey: What's been happening?

I have actually been so mentally and physically busy that the week has passed by without me writing much besides blog posts. We still don't have the money for me to get Outh'n's story published. Soon, though, I hope. The short story will come along, I think, but I just haven't had much in the way of inspiration. I may need another prompt to help me along...

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

Speaking of writing prompts...

If this is your first time participating in such a writing exercise, you're in for a treat.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

I'm particularly happy with this one. I love mushrooms. So many of them are just so cute! 

Today's image is also courtesy of Markus Spiske. Check out his gallery on Pexels.com by clicking here.

I hope you'll remember to drop your link in the comments below if you're writing meets the requirements mentioned in the rules. 

Writer's Life: Kitten Update

Our male cat, Spartacus, is now 6.5 pounds. He is also now neutered. Poor guy! He's confined to the cage kennel for the next few days so he won't just or run. 

He's not too happy, as you can imagine, but he still purrs loudly when we go and pet him and spend time with him. We can't sit there all day, but his sister is staying pretty close to him sometimes, too. 

Dusk, our female, is getting more and more fluffy, if that's possible. She has some extremely furry paws, with fur between her toe-beanz. That makes for an interesting scramble across the uncarpeted floors in our house. 😁

They're both doing pretty well and growing. And we're all settling into a routine that works for us. 

Just Keep Writing: Knock, Breathe, Shine by Robin McElveen 

Chapter 5 - Burning Need

In no time, she’d smoothed healing salve on the wound at Eerk’s side and packed an herbal paste into the entrance and exit wounds below his shoulder. “This paste will help to draw impurities from the wound,” she explained as she applied it. “I’ll give you a small tin of it. A little is all it takes after the first application.” 

He nodded, but kept silent.

“In two dawnings time, you’ll need to redress this wound, then once each dawning. The wound in your side will need an application of healing salve each dawning for the next nainda. Your arm wound will take a little longer.” She finished winding the dressing on his arm with a satisfied nod. 

“My thanks to you, Merili,” Eerk murmured. His eyelids seemed too heavy for him to keep them open. 

“You need rest and this corner will not do. Come on,” she urged. 

He rose with her help and she slipped under the arm on his uninjured side. With her help, they walked into the small sleeping chamber. Her workroom would do for her own rest this dusking.

As soon as they stepped through the arched doorway, he realized what she intended. His sudden stop almost sent both of them crashing to the floor. 

“None of that now! You’ll be sleeping here. Don’t try fighting me in your state.” Merili practically growled the words as she struggled to move him forward to her own bed. Thank Tugansol her scattered mind had forgotten to pull up the cover when the rising suns woke her. 

Eerk shook his head roughly, and she used the momentum to guide him around until his back was to the soft surface. Then she gave him a gentle push landing him almost exactly where he needed to be. His eyes were only slightly below her own as he gave her a sleepy and ineffective glare. 

Shaking her head, she chuckled. “Please don’t fight me on this. You’re body is hurt and who knows when you’ll have a clean bed to sleep on next. I have work that will keep me up late, anyway.” She didn’t want to worry him, so she didn’t add that she’d also be keeping watch for his pursuers. 

Merili lifted up a prayer of thanks to Tugansol. He’d made it here safely. She’d been able to help. He was now sleeping in her bed and would likely feel much better come the suns’ rising. Add to that the large project she was working on which could prove enough of a deterrent to any unwelcome visitors to her cabin, and the list of blessings was encouraging. She’d better get back to it.

As Merili worked, she wished she understood the deep-rooted need she had to help the helpless. It had never brought her much in the way of friendship. Actually, it was another thing which kept her from finding a life-mate. The tsimikin passed by faster and faster and for nine of them, she’d been alone more often than not. She’d taken in an apprentice or two for a few minsikin after her parents had passed on to Zoleta. Neither stayed long, preferring the brightness and interaction a more civilized place provided. 

But she’d never preferred those things over communing with Tugansol. Town noises often clouded her vision and muted the Creator’s voice in her ear. No. The wild, unpopulated areas were best for someone like her. 

She placed the last completed mosaic frame in her entryway floor, leaving little room for anyone to walk through without completely destroying her work which had been ordered by Guardian Seth Yi’in. If Merili had doubted Tugansol’s provision for the Children, this whole dusking would’ve cleared up that question for her. 

I've only one chapter for you today. There are more, but if I keep struggling to write, I may run out too quickly. So from now on, I'll be sharing one chapter each week. 

Also, for those who are wondering what some strange word is...

• dawning/dusking - day time/night time
• nainda - (NINE duh) - the weeks are nine days long on Y'Dahnndrya
• minsikin - (MEEN see keen) - months
• tsimikin - (TSEE mee keen) - years
• Zoleta - (ZO let ah) - Shinnoahn equivalent of Heaven
• Tugansol - (TOO gahn sole) - the Shinnoahn name for the Creator deity
• Kai'yanga - (KEYE yahn gah) - the D'Koruyin name for the Creator deity (You may need this one later on. I think I used it in later chapters.)

Thanks so much for checking out today's post! I hope you found something interesting or useful in it. I'll have more posts next week, some writing prompts, and another chapter in my short story. See you then!

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