Prompt #1 Part 4

Well, this is the long awaited update to my writing challenge. I'm sorry for the delays in everything, life has been really busy for me. I might even come up with a title for this... one day. Anyway, here is the next installment. It's only taken me f*cking forever.

Part 4

She forgot about the envelope as the day progressed. It wasn’t until her shift was over that she even remembered that she had stuffed it in her apron. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it. Her name was written on the front in beautiful cursive lettering. She tucked it into her jacket pocket as she left the diner.

A shiver went down her spine as she walked to her car. She felt like someone was watching her but she didn't see anyone. She unlocked her car door and climbed in. She couldn't shake the eerie feeling of being watched. She buckled her seat belt and drove home.

It was only a few minutes but those few minutes felt like an eternity. She ran from her to car into her apartment building. She looked outside and saw someone standing just inches from the glass door that separated them. She froze as fear spread through her. She couldn't see his face but his presence terrified her.

She slowly backed away from the door. She turned on her heel and fled up the stairs, not stopping until she was safely inside her apartment.

Billy watched her curiously from the couch. "Everything ok?"

She slid down the door and started to cry. "No. I've had this feeling of being watched since I left work. When I got inside some guy was standing outside watching me. When I saw him I froze. It was like I was looking at death. I've never been so scared."

Billy picked her up off the floor and took her to the couch. He sat down and tucked her against his chest. "Everything will be alright." He pulled off one of her shoes and threw it at the closet door. "Gladius get your ass out here."

The apartment door flew open and Gladius walked in. "I wasn't in the closet. I actually know how to use a regular door." He looked at them in disgust. "What's wrong with your little pet?"

"Someone followed her home from work and scared her," he said, tucking hair behind her ear. He leaned back and settled her beside him. "Do you think you can go take a look?"

Gladius shook his head. "I just came in from outside. I didn't sense anyone other than humans and the paras that live in this building."

Billy looked at him curiously. Usually Gladius didn't bother with coming in the front door. "You've never used the front door before/ Why now?"

Gladius' perfect cupid's bow mouth turned down. "I was trying to take into consideration your new little pet. I didn't want to walk in and unexpectedly find her naked. It is one thing to find you naked, quite another to find her naked."

"Why would you think you'd find her naked?"

A slender brow arched up. "As if you haven't seen her in all her naked glory. You lived under her bed for how long?"

Billy's face grew warm and he slightly choked as he tried to come up with an answer.

Carly pulled away from Billy her face bright red as she remembered all the things that she had done before knowing she had a roommate. Thoughts of her 'celebratory' night came to mind. Her blush deepened even more but a simmering heat started between her legs.

She watched as he argued with Gladius, noticing small little details that she hadn't noticed before. like how his shirt stretched taut across his shoulders and chest, and how his jeans cupped his ass just so nicely.

She glanced away before she got caught checking him out. She really needed some alone time with her wonderful little rabbit that she had dubbed Fernando. Or she needed to get a boyfriend. She'll go with option one. But where?

She snorted. Obviously not the bed. That was completely and utterly out. She was a lady, at least she tried to be anyway. The shower? Fernando wasn't waterproof but they did have a detachable shower head. She looked up as she noticed the complete silence in the room. "What?"

Gladius smirked and tittered before turning away. Billy just looked at her, nostrils flaring. "I said, do you want take out?"

Gladius started choking and coughing. Billy growled and whacked him on the back bringing Gladius' fit to an end.

"Uh, sure. How about Chinese? There's a place around the corner that has some really good sushi," she answered. There was definitely something going on as Gladius broke out in another coughing fit. Billy smiled but it was forced and he whacked Gladius on the back again.

She stood up and grabbed her favorite set of pajamas. "I think I'm going to take a shower. Just call the place and ask for my usual plus whatever you want."

Billy watched her as she crossed the room, almost groaning as she grabbed the set of pink pants and tank top. She had no clue to the turmoil she was causing him. He knew she only wore that set after she had 'fun'. She was going to be the death of him. Right after he killed his best friend as Gladius started having another coughing fit.

Prompt #1 Part 3

I am sorry for the delay on posting the next writing challenge. Pokemon Go abducted me. Yeah, I know, I'm a nerd so what? I also crochet, cross stitch, and collect Funko Pops. I also watch anime. And weirdly I still write romance stories..... So yeah I have certain quirks.

Anyway, moving on.

Obviously the name of my character doesn't match that of the prompt but hey it's my challenge. If you haven't read the first two challenges then I would suggest that you do. Prompt #1 and Part 2

Carly yawned as she walked to the diner. Her and Billy had been up late talking about how he had never realized his best friend was gay and that it had only taken her a few moments to realize it.

They had eventually decided on their sleeping arrangements as well, Billy on the lounge and her in the bed. She had been more than willing to take the lounge seeing as how the bed was a lot bigger than the one she had had and he needed more space to be comfortable. But he had declined saying that if she didn't agree he would shift and sleep under the bed.

Reluctantly she had agreed and had climbed into the massive bed that took up one entire wall. The entire apartment seemed to be bigger than before as well. Maybe it was some kind of spell, like in that Harry Potter movie she had watched a few years ago.

She waved to David through the pass-through where he was starting the lunch orders. She stashed her purse in her locker and clocked in. She grabbed one of the white frilly aprons that the waitresses were required to wear along with their usual uniform of pepto pink dress and white shoes. She grabbed a fresh order book and relieved Tory of her section.

She couldn't help but smile as Mr. Johnson walked through the door. "Mornin' Mr. Johnson. Are you sitting in your usual spot?"

The old man smiled, causing his already wrinkled face to become even more so. "I'll take my usual pot of coffee and heart attack waiting to happen burger."

She laughed. "One pot of extra strength coffee and the Baconattor coming right up."

He went to his usual booth. It was tucked back in the far corner. He always sat with his back against the wall and watched the people that came and went from the diner. Today seemed to be no different than usual, until she went to take him his food. He was sitting with his back to the door.

She placed his plate in front of him and poured him a cup of coffee. "Everything alright, Mr. Johnson?"

He looked up at her. "Why don't you have a seat with me dear?"

She looked around the diner, checking to see if anyone else needed anything. "Let me see if I can get someone to cover my section while I sit with you." She waved over Gail and asked her to cover her section while she talked to Mr. Johnson. She sat down across from him and looked at him expectantly.

He sipped his coffee. "We have a mutual friend that would like to see you go to a certain social event."

She looked at him in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He smiled at her. "Your roommate was invited to the Nightmare King's bicentennial ball. Someone wants you to go with him."

"But why? I'm just a human," she said.

He leaned forward. "You are much more than you seem." He pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. "Open this when you get home. It will explain some things that your mother kept from you." He took another sip of coffee and pulled a few dollars from his pocket. "I'll be seeing you next week, my dear. Thank you for talking with me." With that he got up and left.

Carly sat there wondering what he was talking about. Things just seemed to get weirder and weirder lately. She picked up the envelope and tucked it into her apron before clearing off the table.

NOTE: So my surprise for this post has actually been pushed off until either the next one or the one after that. Once again I am sorry for the delay in getting this up for all of you. The next post may not be prompt oriented but hey something may catch my eye.

Species Compilation of Trinity Mates

This is my compile of all the different species we come across in Book 1 of the Trinity Mates.

Freorian, Hydrakian, Draconian - Human in appearance, the closer to the original blood line they are the more dragon like abilities they possess. Their height can range anywhere from 5' to 7' tall, mainly between 5' and 6' 6'' tall. Their life expectancy can span centuries. All three species are at war with each other.

Terran - Terrans are human in appearance and physiology. The main difference between the two are that Terrans live much longer than humans. They normally extend their lives even more by exchanging biological body parts for cybernetic ones.

Criptian - Small mammalian beings who are very intelligent. Their features can range from those of a mouse to those of a raccoon. All are no taller than 4' and they are the natural prey to the Kartorians.

Kartorian - Lizard like beings that stand anywhere from 6' tall to 9' tall depending on age and gender. The smaller the Kartorian to weaker they are considered. Most leave their home planet due to the harassment of the larger Kartorian. They are a hostile and violent race known to cause mayhem where ever they go. Males are usually smaller than the females. An off world male Kartorian never breeds with a female of his own race. He usually kidnaps a female from any human like race.

Grenicks - Small amphibious beings known to be cannibalistic. They are very resilient and are known to travel in large groups. Kartorians are known to use them in battle as their first wave of attack.

Credorian - They are a small humanoid race that stand no taller than 4'. Even though they are highly advanced and intelligent they are very trusting and naive. Most become historians for cities, countries, or even entire worlds. A select few become accountants and investors.

Arachni - Spider-like beings. They are a horrible combination of human and spider. They have the ability to shift between the two forms and even shift into a hybrid of the two. They are mostly female. Females are exceedingly attractive and 'marry' men, use them to breed the next generation and then devour them. Males, who are also highly attractive, can only be found on their home planet. Males are much larger than females and are known to breed several females at once. If a female attempts to attack the male he tears her apart and leaves her for the other females.

If you haven't gotten your copy of Galaxing Around then you can pick one up right here: http://goo.gl/TP2Wpe It is also available in paperback here: http://goo.gl/8mkeiz

Writing Fantasy

I love writing fantasy and science fiction stories. But the one thing that I hate doing is research. Why would I need to research anything for a fantasy story? A lot of stuff. It may not be apparent when you write your story but later on you might see that things don't quite connect. Some authors are ok with things not quite connecting but not everyone is. I am one such person.

1. What Is Your Story About?

This is normally called the plot but I'm a little different. So what is happening in this story? Is your characters going on an epic quest or are we just going to see a small snippet of your fantasy world? Is this a big enough story to have a map and even languages?

J.R.R. Tolkien had not only maps of his world but even created a language for the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit. You may not think these things matter but you may have a reader that wants these things.

2. Types of Fantasy

You may think that this should have been first but as I've stated before I do things a little bit different. There is a WIDE variety of fantasy out there and you can mix them as much as you want as long as you make it sound plausible. So you could have androids with unicorns as long as it is plausible then have fun with it.

Cyborg leprechauns, FYI.

They can be a thing. Anyway once you have decided what your story is about then you can decide just how fantastical you want to be. But what about my characters? Just hang on we are getting there.

3. Characters

I already have a blog post about making believable characters. So basically you just have to do the normal routine on your character and if you find something new to add into your fantasy world then go ahead and do it. You may even find out that your plot/story line whatever changes, even expands. Yea, yea whatever. But sometimes a change in the plot line is fine.

4. Writing The Story

Now the hard part begins, writing the story. Don't stop writing until you have finished. Just remember to let yourself be creative (it's part of writing). Yes I know this is a short redundant tutorial but hey I like writing these.

What are you still doing reading this? Go. Go write your story. It's never going to be read if you never write it.

NOTE: I originally wrote this on my Wordpress blog. I have decided to copy the posts over to here cuz you guys need some lovin' too.

Dark Things

I stopped using this blog a few months ago to switch over to Wordpress. I've talked about this before. I missed all of you. But there is another blog that I have abandoned for much longer that this one.

It was the blog were I let all my darkness seep out into and I left it behind so long ago. I think it's time to bring it back to life. I haven't touch it since November of last year and seeing the dust on it while the darkness swirls inside makes me want to cry.

So starting next week I'll slowly be resurrecting My Zombieverse. I won't be posting on there as regularly as I will be on here but I'm thinking that once the darkness begins to rise again then things will right themselves.

Most of the posts on there circle around Halloween but it's how my blog was before then that I want to get back to. The zombies. That's right. I, a romance author, loves zombies. Reading, movies, makeup, games. I love zombies. I have so many ideas for zombie stories but it doesn't fit within my writing parameters. Another reason for my writing challenge. I want to send my writing to the darkest parts of the horror realm and see what I can do.

Will I lose some readers? Maybe. But then I'll also gain readers who like the darkness spewing from within me. Will I mix my romance roots with the darkness that I'll be stepping into? Most likely. But I am trying to push my boundaries and see what I can do. If I publish anything that comes from my dark writing challenge I'll probably do so under a different pen name.

Yes, I use a pen name. I'm surprised if you haven't figured it out. Why do I use a pen name? I felt that I needed a fresh start. My original works were not something to be applauded. The concept of the stories were great but ultimately I felt that they were not what I wanted to present to my readers. So my pen name came about.

Now that I have gotten off track I'm going to say that if ya'll want to check out Zombieverse then please do. I'll be doing my dark writing challenge over on there so please keep an eye out for any updates (I'll mention them on here and Wordpress).

Prompt #1

Carly groaned in frustration. How was she supposed to pay the rent, buy food, and replace the spark plugs on her car? She pulled the crumpled bills from her apron and thumbed through them. $20 in tips from a ten hour shift. She threw the rent bill towards her bed, only to watch it flutter underneath. Looks like she was going to be cleaning out from underneath there...

She stared in a mixed sense of horror and fascination as a scaly green human-like hand with long black claws shoved the rent bill and a stack of cash out from underneath her bed. She hesitantly approached the cash. She bent and picked up the rent bill and cash, whispering 'Thank you' as she stood up. 

Momma had always taught her to have good manners. She didn't think Momma had meant with whatever was living underneath her bed but it was better to be safe than sorry. She was sleeping right above his... her... it's living quarters.

She headed for the door, excited to actually be paying the rent on time and not hearing her landlady scream about being evicted through the door. She stopped as she placed her hand on the door handle and turned back to the bed. "You live here too. You don't have to stay hidden under the bed anymore." She smiled before turning the handle and opening the door. Strangely, it felt like she was stepping into a better future as she stepped through the doorway.

When she returned there was no sign of anyone there. She was disappointed but knew she would eventually meet her strange but new roommate. She tucked the receipt for the rent in her lock box. She refused to just toss them anywhere willy-nilly, that's how she lost her last apartment. Now she kept every single receipt and scrap piece of paper she received from the landlady that way she couldn't be swindled again.

She tucked the lock box back underneath the cabinet and sat down at her kitchen table. There was enough extra money to buy groceries, replace the spark plugs on her car, maybe even buy a new kitchen table or a futon for her roommate.

She glanced at the bed. "You going to introduce yourself or am I going to have to assume that I have gone insane and am sitting in a padded cell having delusions?"

She heard a deep, raspy chuckle come from beneath the bed.

"I will come out when the sun has set."

She looked over to the window. It was dark out but the light from all the signs and buildings made it seem earlier than it was. She grabbed a heavy blanket from the closet and hung it up the best she could, muttering about her next purchase being blackout curtains. She turned back towards the bed, hands on her hips. "This is as dark as it's going to get. It's after midnight and being in the city means it's going to bright out even at night."

She heard a aggravated sigh before two hands came out from beneath her bead. The hands were quickly followed by lean, muscular arms, a head of long black hair, broad shoulders, a wide chest, lean hips and long muscular legs, then a set of thin masculine feet. He had to stand of 6 feet tall. 

She looked from him to the bed and then back to him. "How the hell did you fit under there?"

He shrugged. "I can change shape." He lifted his arm. "My color not so much."

She finally stopped puzzling about how he had fit under her bed to really look at him. And look at him she did. He was the kind of guy that every woman dreamed of having in her bed. Or at least close enough to drool over. If they didn't mind someone that looked like he had been dipped in green ink and hadn't ever known what fingernail clippers were.

She couldn't help looking at him. He was a piece of perfection. Green perfection but still. Her eyes kept drifting lower until they stopped at his hips and she realized he was completely naked. 

She whirled around, her face growing hot. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been looking at you like that!"

"Like what?" he asked, puzzled.

"Like you're some sex figure. Momma always taught me that people are people not sex figures, be it man or woman," she said. And if Momma had seen how she had been staring at that poor man she would have smacked her upside the head before reprimanding her. 

She had only ever seen a male physique as wonderful as his in magazines she had found it hard not to stare at him. Oh how Momma would paddle her behind for staring at him as if he was a sex figure.

She heard him start chuckling before all out laughing. He coughed and cleared his throat. "I guess it's a good thing that I'm not a sex figure then."

"You sure look like one," she said, keeping her eyes on the curtain in front of her.

"So I'm guessing that I'm going to have to change back into my other form or find a set of clothes?"

She quickly nodded her head. As long as she could keep her hands off of him then things would work out. If she touched him then it would be sexual harassment and Momma would come up out of her grave and tan the ever-living hide off of her.

She heard him groan and sigh in relief. "You can turn around now."

She turned back towards him and looked down at him. "You're a gremlin?"

He snarled in irritation. "If you are comparing me to the gawd awful movie then please do me a favor and don't."

She knelt down and looked him over. "But you look just like them."

"Because the director knew me and thought it would be funny to have the monsters of his film look like me," he growled. "That's what I get for going and getting drunk."

"Ok, so no gremlin jokes. By the way, my name's Carly," she said holding out her hand.

He looked from her hand to her face. He placed his small scaly hand in hers and slowly shook it. "My name's Billy."

"Why are you living under my bed?" she asked.

"Because that idiot landlady rented out my apartment while I was still living here," he snorted. He turned towards her bed and hopped up on it. "I guess we'll be entering the honeymoon phase now."

"Huh?" she asked, curiously.

He waved his hand around. "You know. That phase where we get to know each other."

"Oh. I do have a few questions. Am I the only one that knows you are here?"

"No, the landlady knows along with several other tenants but until another apartment opens up I can't move out."

"Why can't you move to another apartment complex?"

"Don't you know?" He looked at her suspiciously. "This complex only rents out to monsters."

"But I'm human," she said.

He looked at her in horror. "You're human? But your kind isn't supposed to be allowed to live here."

She shrugged. "No one asked if I was a monster."

His eyes narrowed and he looked her over, inquisitively. "You're taking this awfully well for a human."

She smiled. "Momma taught me that not everything in this world is black and white. Sometimes there are things that we can't explain and that just because we can't explain it doesn't mean we should be scared of it."

He laughed. "You are one strange human. Do you think you can handle living with someone like me until another apartment comes open?"

She shrugged. "I think I could I just have a couple more questions. Are you allowed to get wet? And can you eat after midnight?"

NOTE: I love Gremlins! This is not meant to bash the movie in any way shape or form. I thought it would be funny to have it in there as a running joke for the prompt.