tenaciousnancy

I've yet to fall off the Friday flash wagon. They're just being posted to my website, is all. Here's the start of them with links to the rest.

"Irreconcilable Differences"

At first I thought she was laughing. Her shoulders shook as she sat on the guard rail near the traffic light, seemingly oblivious to the traffic speeding past. Odd place for a phone conversation, I thought.

I continued along the sidewalk, casting furtive glances at the young woman. She leaned forward, head down, resting her forearms on her thighs. There was no sign of a cell phone, not that it mattered. Her body language was all wrong. The redhead was curled in on herself, keeping the world at bay.

Her sobs prompted me to stop. I scuffed my feet in the grass as I approached. “Hey,” I ventured, “are you okay?”

(More!)

"Patrick"

I’m not sure where the idea had come from. One day the odd bits of tubing, gears, and whatnot I’d collected over the years begged to be assembled. So every evening I’d look over the bits and bobs pushed to one corner of my workbench. The work-worn wood bore dents and burns from years of personal projects. The scars lent it a wizened look, which I hoped I shared.

It started with a two-inch square block of stainless steel. A steel flange with a two-inch outer diameter suggested that the metal bits belonged together. Welding the flange was tedious because it wasn’t stainless steel, but worth the effort. The block and flange fit somehow.

Although the simple shape was pleasing to the eye, it needed more.

(More!)

"The sea is angry," Ashlynn said.

Jake, stretched out on the salt-and-pepper sand beside her, didn't look up. The 10 year-old's attention was fixed on the tiny piles of sand grains he'd made on one of his flip-flops. "That's retarded."

"Is not." She frowned at whatever the hell her brother was doing. One of the sand piles contained dark-colored grains. The other was all light. "That's retarded."

Jake peered up at her, shading his dark eyes with his well-tanned arm. "It's mineralogy." He pointed at the dark sand pile. "Most of these aren't from the island's rocks. I'm gonna figure out where they're from."

Ashlynn shook her head. Her little brother was such a dork sometimes. "Who cares?"

Jake rolled his eyes, then turned to the waves lapping on to the beach. "Who cares if the sea is angry? It's not like it could be." He sniffed the last part.

"You really can't feel it." It was hard for Ashlynn to believe sometimes. She faced forward, into the salty breeze. The air carried the ocean's displeasure. She didn't know what had bothered the vast spirit, but it was displeased. The dozens of whitecaps topping the waves showed it. Yet her brainiac brother was oblivious.

"No," Jake said simply, poking at one of his precious sand grains with one finger. "'Cause it's inanimate. Like these bits of rock."

Ashlynn didn't bother arguing.

---

Ashlynn and Jake are characters from my and Vanessa Brooks' sci-fi/romance Strange Little Band.

Edmund dangled his legs over edge of the roof of the Old State House. Despite his white breeches, however mud-splattered, against red brick, no one noticed him kicking his legs, the Yanks' artificial lights glinting off of his shoe buckles.

He could hardly contain his glee. It was March 5th, Edmund's favorite day of the year. Soon they'd come: modern-day men and women--as if the King would've let birds serve--playing make-believe. Some dressed as the rag-tag colonists who'd surrounded him and his comrades. Others wore chintzy versions of his scarlet uniform. They'd be cheap and the details wrong, but their red coats were clean. He'd tried to scrub the blood and filth off his, Lord knew.

He'd run through them and they'd exclaim from the cold, and maybe, just maybe, one might hear him. God willin', let one hear him. He was so bloody bored with American Idol.

---

March 5th is the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, which took place in 1770 in front of the Old State House.

Edmund is a character in my and MCM's paranormal thriller Tori's Row.

Anna, author of the fantastic web serial Above Ground, took advantage of our sneak peek offer and wrote a lovely review.

review: Tori’s Row on 1889 Labs

Here's a tidbit:

Tori’s Row promises to be a suspenseful dark read that may drive you mad, but in a good way. Recommended for thrill-seekers, paranormal enthusiasts, history buffs… and the insane.

Read the rest!

Alphabete read the first eight chapters of Tori's Row and kindly wrote this spoiler-free review.

Her Thoughts Were Red Thoughts: Tori’s Row

There is intrigue aplenty to be found in the opening chapters of Tori’s Row but I’m not sure it’s what I think it is. Right now I know as much as Tori does about her situation and I’m quite looking forward to knowing what happens next. I expect this story will become, in the immortal words of any grammatically incorrect small child, somehow even more gooder.

Read the rest!

Tori's Row is a paranormal adventure co-written by MCM and me. Starting Monday March 8, a new chapter will be posted every Monday at the 1889 Labs website. When it's finished print and ebook versions will be for sale. I had fun playing in Photoshop to create the cover art. The talented Mike Folden took the spectacular photo of Boston (actually Cambridge, but close enough *grin*) in the background.

MCM whipped this up in AfterEffects. :)



And now, ye olde book blurb:

Tori McNulty has problems. As she’s putting her life back together, she’s attacked in Boston's South End. She doesn’t remember much: mostly blood-drenched pavement and the crumpled body of her assailant. The good news is that she’s uninjured and not a murder suspect. The bad news is the obnoxious young man in 18th century dress shadowing her and confusing, violent flashbacks. Tori must figure out what happened that night before her stalker gets to her or she goes completely mad.

If you'd like a sneak peek of the first several chapters, please contact me at nancy [at} nancybrauer {dot] com. In exchange we ask that you post a little something about Tori's Row on your LiveJournal, blog, or Facebook.

Hi everyone! I'm not dead. Just busy writing Strange Little Band, a novel and a novella, and noodling around on Twitter and Facebook.

The novella is on hold for the time of being, but the novel is almost here! I'm going to be coy and not give away the title just yet. It's a paranormal adventure co-written by MCM and me, and will be released as a serial on the 1889 Labs website. Starting Monday, March 8 a new chapter will be posted every Monday. When it's finished print and ebook versions will be for sale.

For now, check out the mystery box--in this case, a "mystery envelope" in the lower left corner--for hints and eventually a trailer. MCM, the brainiac behind 1889 Labs, is an AfterEffects whiz. And a writing whiz. And a programming whiz. Pretty much an all-purpose whiz. :) Anyhoo, I'll keep you posted as new hints are unlocked!

I'm stealing addergoole's blurb on account of being sick. Or maybe just lazy. :/

Watch a cross-universal sillyfic grow as Shiva goes on a dating show with Shane from Strange Little Band, Rae from Above Ground... and a silly little man I don't know!

This mini-rant, although prompted by a Twitter discussion, applies to anyone who thinks that the best way to change the status quo is to yell them into submission.

Under normal, non-abusive situations, you cannot change people's behavior. Even if you pass laws forbidding certain activities, people will find a way around them. The best you can hope for is persuading them to see your point of view. Being confrontational is counterproductive.

I hold several beliefs that are not popular in mainstream America. I'm agnostic, anti-marriage, childless by choice, pro-gun rights, and choose not to vote in national elections. I think that political protests are a waste of time. I believe that what people do in their own homes is their business. I don't care what you do with whom or if you're doing drugs, as long as you're not harming anyone else. Live and let live, even if you don't agree with others' philosophies. I teach by example. If an opportunity arises--like this one--when I think my views may be considered, I'll speak. Otherwise I'll quietly live my life.

Despite my postlessness here, I have not kicked the bucket. More often than not I'm on Twitter (I'm tenaciousN). I've become a bit of a junkie.