This week’s challenge, pick one of five story seeds, or go with a random one. I had “an accident that might not be an accident.” the accident ended up being a lot more in the backstory than front and center, but I’m still pretty happy with how it came out, and I got to give Sunny her own story for a change.
As always, comments are welcomed and encouraged!
No Chuck Wendig challenge this week, so I decided I’d continue on with my swashbuckling tale. Comments, as always, are welcome, and yes, I promise not to leave you hanging here.
Nostalgia and Ruin
by Cameron Mount
This is a collection of poetry that is perfect for a cold winter’s afternoon, sipping whiskey by the fire. It’s introspective without the self-pity. It’s a reflection of life’s mistakes without being maudlin. It’s every day failures without the banality. It’s acknowledging that relationships can fall apart without being the fault on any one party.
Mount draws comparisons between himself and Bukowski, and while the themes are similar, Mount’s poetry is more polished and less raw. More focused inward than with the outward hate. It is an acknowledgment that life often doesn’t go as planned, and yeah, we have to own those mistakes.
My favorite poem of the lot is “Smokebreaks,” an ode to the quiet moments between crises, and how a mundane act can help ground you amidst the extraordinary. It also highlights that sometimes you cannot communicate completely with others, even when you desperately need to.
Needless to say, I highly recommend picking up this collection.
Nostalgia and Ruin is currently available on Lulu, but it will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, in the near future.
I know, I should probably call this “The Campaigner’s Return Part 3,” but I like The Serpent’s Map as a title better. Regardless, this is part three of who knows how many, continuing the adventure of Graciano and Viktoria. In this episode, Graciano reacquaints himself with an old friend, deals are struck, and pirates are fought. Still no magic, but this is a very alternative earth kind of feel to it. Will this continue? Yes, probably, even if I don’t use it to continue the Chuck Wendig Challenges. And yes, this in response to the challenger which was that it had to start with a knock on a door.
A simple enough challenge, or so you’d think. The story needs to start with a bang. Taken anyway you want.
So here you go, a bit of a swashbuckling tale, the kind I really should write more of.
Dark Perceptions 