OMG!

I have a book cover?  WTF? So awesome. User over at deviantart has created a cover for my story And Then I Met Him that is over at goodreads.com Yes, that's right, its been posted over there too. Incredible. and I have a dozen plus reviews and over 40 ratings. o_O

This is too much. I didn't know all of this had been happening. I've been buried with so much work, i haven't had time to even read a story. :(

Well, this certainly is exciting. Now I only wish I had gone back and edited the story like I intended to. That seemed to be the most common critique. I hope they read my comments where I explained that I wasn't really editing the story at all. Don't want them to think I'm a complete moron, just someone who is lazy...

Here are the links to FruitCake and my goodreads.com page:

http://fruitcake1729.deviantart.com/#/d4tn5zf
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12725737-and-then-i-met-him

Have a look and comment if you can. I'll try and update fiction press soon. I want to get back to writing, but now I'm torn between which story to update. Edit one or complete the other. AHHH! the stress. I wish I could clone my self right now. Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill...

L

I'm alive!

...and I just updated

BONUS TIME!!

Hey everyone!  I've been working on the next installment.  It's nearly done, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the first bonus content for anyone who frequents this blog site...all six of you lol

Anyway, it's the missing Madison section that was absent from the last chapter.  I didn't have it written up completely by the time I wanted to post the second chapter, so I cut it out.  Now its all ready to go.  Enjoy.

Madison

           My heart pounded so fast I thought it might explode.  I felt light-headed.  Not even after I sat between my bed and nightstand did my heart settle.  That used to work before, but so had the breathing exercises and they had already failed.  Nothing seemed to work anymore. 

I had had another nightmare again.  In this one, I was at the theater.  I was seven and Emma had taken us to see a movie.  The whole place was empty, I wouldn’t have gone otherwise, and all the lights were off.  The soundtrack played in the background and you could see light projected on the screen, but nothing showed. 

Emma got up to go complain to the manager, leaving Cassy and me by ourselves.  I stayed put in my seat next to her, gripping her hand as tightly as possible.  It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Cassy suggested we play a game to pass the time.  She was doing it so I wouldn’t feel anxious.  It was Red light/Green light.  I used to love that game.

When she called out “Green light,” I ran down the ramp.  I only made it three rows before she stopped me when she yelled “Red light!”  This went on for a while.  The frequent ‘greens’ and ‘reds’ distracted me completely from worrying about Emma.  I wasn’t scared anymore.

Then one time, Cassy yelled “Green light!” and I ran as hard as I could.  I sprinted so quickly that I had to use both my hands to stop me when I had reached the end.  I had run right up to the blank white screen.  As I turned around to look back at her, the lights flashed on and every seat was now filled.  Parents and children sat and stared at me with a look of disgust and horror on their faces.  “Look at the freak,” I could hear them thinking, though no one said it aloud.  I could hear all of them, what they were thinking.  Even the kids.

My eyes blurred as tears quickly filled them.  I searched and searched for Cassy, but when I finally found her seat, it was empty.  It was the only empty chair in the entire theater.

Then everyone in the room started hissing and booing at me as if I was part of the show.  The children laughed and pointed as I struggled to breath.  It wasn’t until someone plucked a red, solid brick from the sidewall and hurled it at me that all the other bricks inside the theater quivered and tumbled like dominoes.  The whole theater caved in on us.  That was when I woke up, panting and sweating. 

If Emma saw me like this, that would be reason enough to start drinking in the middle of the afternoon.  I didn’t want that.  I wish Cassy were here.  She would help me through this.  She always did before.

I wanted to tell her not to go when she said she was leaving.  I wanted to beg her to stay with me, but I couldn’t do that to her.  I can’t drag her down with me.  Besides, she had said that she wasn’t going to take long.  She was just going out to lunch with a friend.

“Madison?  Are you all right?  I heard the furniture moving in there.”  It was Emma.  Her voice sounded so close I knew she was already at the door.  Don’t let her see you like this, Madison, I thought to myself.

I quickly got up and wiped away my tears on my sleeve.  “I-I’m fine,” I said.  “I just slipped getting out of bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” my voice trembled.

“I need to run to the store.  You can wait in the car.”  Oh no.  Not this.  I can’t let her see me like this.  But if she leaves…if she leaves, I’ll be all alone.

“N-no. I c-can’t.”

“Come on, Madison.  It’ll only take a minute.  Cassy’s not here so if you don’t come with me you’ll be a—” she stopped just sort of saying it.  Don’t say it, Emma.  Don’t say it or I’m going to lose it.

“I’ll be okay,” I quickly interrupted.  “Cassy called and said she was on her way home already.” I had to lie.  I had to say something.  There was no other way to get rid of her.  I just had to hope that my lie would come true and Cassy would return soon.  Wishes never worked for me.  I stopped believing in them a long time ago.

“Are you…” insane, I thought I heard her say.  Instead, she added, “I can’t leave you unless I know Cassy is with you, you know that.  Let me in,” she turned the doorknob.  Luckily, I had locked it.  I always locked it.

“Don’t come in, I’m changing.”  The doorknob stopped moving.  “I need to do this Emma.  I’m in high school already.  I need to fight this.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

No.  “Y-yes.”

“Well alright.  I have my phone with me.  Call me the instant you need to.  Do you want me to put you on speaker phone while I’m gone?”

So you can hear my whimper?  No.  “That’s okay.”

“I’ll be fifteen minutes at the most.  The store is just around the corner.  Madison?  I’m leaving now.”

I couldn’t say anything I was breathing so hard.  Even when I clutched my knees to my chest, I still felt like I was falling.  My throat felt tight and my toes were all tingly.  I had to concentrate on the second hand of my watch just to make sure I was breathing every so often.  “I’m not alone,” I said to myself in a whisper.  “I’m not alone.  Cassy is in her bedroom.  Emma is downstairs watching TV.  I’m not alone.”

When the door slammed shut, I felt a cold drop of sweat drip down from my forehead to my cheek and neck.  The tingling quickly spread to my legs and arms.  I gripped my knees closer together.

“I’m not alone.  I’m not—” My throat tightened again before I could finish.  I felt like someone was strangling me.  The ghost.  The ghost from when I was little.  He was here in this room again. 

Get away from me.  You’re not real.  You’re NOT real. 

The lights in the room grew dim.  It was him.  He was doing this.  My neck felt cold again.  It wasn’t my sweat this time, it was his fingertips wrapped around my throat.  He was going to strangle me, murder me in my own home, in my own room.  And no one was there to save me.  No one.  Not Emma.  Not Cassy.

Then everything around me suddenly went darker…   

Update coming soon!

How soon? Like this week. Woot woot
I think I'm getting a better feel for these characters. I was struggling earlier because I was still stick on Seb & Eli. LoL
I guess I just can't get over those guys. Must return to their world eventually...
This post is coming via iPod touch, so I apologize in advance for any oddities. It's also close to 2am so my brain is a little loopy.
Anyway, I am starting to like the idea of a reward for you blog visitors. There are only a few of you, which is probably my fault for neglecting this place so much. So to reward those who frequent this blog, I will be uploading sections in advance. I will also be more open to fun suggestions or references that don't dramatically alter story.
Sound good? If not, then hit me up with any comments suggesting otherwise. Maybe I'll also post ideas for future projects here, or even short one-shot stories that u all provide the characters/specific details. Like names, general description and/or the type of story. I'm not saying I'll be amazing or that I'll follow through with all of them, but it would be a fun project. There's not that many of you guys anyway lol
I promise any side project I do won't interfere with new story Hollow Inside.

Email gone Haywire

:(
Sorry for the lack of updates. I had been trying to write up a new chapter for the past week and a half, but I got sidetracked when my email went nuts on me. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I got spammed with so much crap my email just tanked. And it wasn't even porn, DAMMIT! Hotmail blocked me from signing in. Really depressing. The only place I really used that account was on FictionPress, so obviously someone doesn't like my stories. lol (The jerk could have just left me a bad review.)

Well I created a new email account and blocked people from seeing it...hopefully. Looks like any interaction will be limited to this blog as well as any private messages on FP. I hope I don't offend anyone for removing my email.

Anyway, work has been insane. When I was able to sneak in a few minutes for myself, I dedicated them to writing the next chapter for Hollow Inside. I've got about 2k words so far and it definitely has taken a different turn than I was expecting. Darker. I might even have to rewrite it because I don't want people to start hating any of these characters. At the rate it's going, someone is bound to get hurt. I'm all for angst, but I don't know if this is crossing the line.  Damn my sick and twisted imagination. Damn it all to heck!

Since there are only a few of you that actually check out this blog, and since i'm doing a HoRRendous job updated it, I was thinking about giving you all a special treat.  Maybe like a preview of the next chapter before it's actually finished. Like one of the character's pov or something. I don't know.  It's just a thought.  Any suggestions?

Peace out Amigos
L

New Story in the Works!

I've been tinkering with a new story for a few days now, and I think it's almost ready for the spotlight.  Remember folks this will most likely have MxM and possibly even MxF relationships, so be aware.  As for the rating...I haven't decided yet.  Teen for now, though language and references made in story might change that.  Any interactions, of the sexual nature, are definite possibilities.  Hence the questionable rating.

Anyway, the story, as it stands, will be told from multiple points of view, all first person.  It's a fresh new tale that I think is rarely, if ever, written about, so I feel pretty excited about what the community is going to think. 

I hadn't planned on writing another meaty story that will go on for a while, similar to my last one, but it definitely looks like a possibility. These longer stories can be a bit exhausting, but I guess they are also that much more rewarding.  As per the content of my story, I think I might explore the boundaries a bit before getting into the details.  I know that sounds a little vague, but I just want to make sure I do the story justice.  I promise I'll be more specific in future comments.

Well, better get back to writing.  Expect an update REAL soon.

L

First Slash Story Completed

It's a bitter sweet moment to reach the end.  I had initially started writing this story because I was simply experimenting with this writing style.  I have been a fan of slash for a while, and I kept running into stories that were abandoned or took forever in between updates.  (What can I say, I'm needy) Anyway, I read so many stories, a few of which were really good and many that...weren't as appealing.  So, I came to the conclusion that I would try my hand at writing my own slash.

It didn't take long to come up with the general concept for And Then I Met Him: boy looking for love, finding it in the strangest of places.  When I started writing, I figured it would be a good hobby, only lasting about twelve chapters.  It ended up ballooning to nearly forty chapters, 120,000+ words.  Yikes.

Well, it was a great experience, and I received so much positive feedback that I'm eager to try writing another story.  Hopefully, it will be equally captivating.

I admit, I'm a little relieved that this story is finally over.  It was amazing to write, truly.  I never really hit any major roadblocks, and I always seemed to know exactly where I wanted the story to go.  That being said, I knew that if I really wanted to, I could expand the story world so much, it would never end.  I admit pulling back the reins every once in a while so that I wouldn't deviate too far from central story line.  No matter how much I wanted to explore other characters and situations, I tried my hardest to keep things simple.

Perhaps it's not the best strategy for writing, but I think its suitable for my type of prose. After all, I rarely look back to revise my work, mostly just perform a quick edit right before publishing. (another poor practice)

So, anyway, that's that.  I'm a little sad, a little relieved, and a little excited about what comes next.  I'm probably going to write several first chapters for entirely different stories.  I'll use that to decided which one to focus on.  Don't know if I'll make them public or keep them all to myself.  It sounds cruel, but I just don't want to get anyone's hopes up.  I don't think I can juggle multiple projects.  Not with my work schedule.  And I really don't want to be the type of author that seems to rarely update because he or she has so many stories out at once.  Like I said before, I like to keep things simple.

L