Yo! Update!

Yo dudes!  Long time no see (but that happens with me...cue the promise to be active more here...)!

I've been a busy little bumblebee!  My S.O. & I are finally living together again and I have been going back to school!  I've also been writing like crazy!  And it's not just fanfiction, either!

I took an intensive creative writing course this last summer and it really lit a fire under my butt!  I have been writing not just more short stories, but I have revisited poetry and have written a ton of poems with my rekindled love of poetry found again!

Not only that, but I put together a writing group with another classmate and not only have we recruited members and meet regularly, but we also have been encouraging each other to submit our work to contests!  I have entered into one poetry contest and one short story contest already, with one more of each on the way!  We'll also be looking at what it takes to go the publishing route after this upcoming NaNoWriMo (which I WILL be participating in this year!  I already have 1100 words and counting!!!)!

So there's a lot going on in my life writing-wise, which is probably what will be coming up on this blog here for the next few posts.  I'll be posting some stories, poems, a few essays, as well as some light fanfiction peppered throughout because I honestly can't resist my sweet tooth.  I hope to also post blurbs of my NaNoWriMo, but we'll see how that goes with everything else I got planned:

I may re-organize this blog.  The tags are quite messy and could really be condensed, I think.  But that's a project to ponder and one that won't take place until probably after I am done with this school quarter.  In the meantime, look out for new Pages at the top of the blog - I'll be a good Capricorn and organize the writings and such in one easily accessible place.

HP&THBP 1.6180339887...Ch.4

Title: HP&THBP 1.6180339887...

Genre: Fan Fiction, Spiritual/Drama

Current Chapter: 4 - Heirlooms

Chapter Word Count: 2,698

Total Story Word Count: 10,809

Summary: Two years after the Final Battle, Harry Potter receives an unexpected and rather unwanted letter amidst his already tumultuous life. He embarks upon a new quest, this time a more deeply interpersonal one as he blazes a trail down what's left of Severus Snape's memory lane. Is he truly ready for his parents', or more accurately, Severus Snape's history?

Find the story on FF.net!

Read the story with its original format!

IV

Heirlooms

SHOCK was what Harry felt when he read that sentence in Snape’s new letter to him.

Harry Potter, I also have memories from both your parents.

But, how?! Harry wondered, his mouth hanging open.

The letter didn’t say and there wasn’t too much to the letter after the shocking bit, just detailed instructions on how to mix the catalyst to view the memories, which sounded suspiciously like complicated Potions brewing to Harry.  

After staring at the letter with the glow of his wand for some indeterminate amount of time, he had finally lit one of the two candle-filled lamps in the sitting room and had continued to sit staring off for another indefinite length of time.  

This is mental!  This has to be some cruel joke!  A very elaborate cruel joke, mind you.

Harry’s mind kept coming back to how.  How had Snape set this up?  How had Snape gotten a hold of memories from Harry’s parents, who were dead long before Snape died?  How, how, how?

It just couldn’t be possible...

Short Story Revisited - Winter

I recently joined an online writing critique community called LegendFire and so far I'm having fun and learning lots about my craft.  I've posted two of my short stories already and have revised one - Winter.  I believe the story is now quite improved, though it probably could still use a little more revision (doesn't all art, though, from the eyes of the artist?).  Anyway, here's the revised version!

Rating: G

Genre: Supernatural Flash Fiction

Word Count: 875

Author's Comments: This is an older piece of mine (like 2009 old).  I was inspired by the song "Old Tennessee" by Dan Fogelberg and a piece of art by a friend at the time.  Revised from original - it may still be a tad bit description-heavy, but I feel it reads better.

Winter

I woke this morning to the sound of wind in the trees - winter was coming.  Sitting up, I closed the window from that crisp autumn breeze and chanced a peek outside.  It was nearing the end of October, and the woods already started to look sleepy, confirming what the wind had already told me.  I blew into my cupped hands to warm them briefly before clasping the metal handle and, giving it a good shove, closed the window on the dulling world outside for the last time this year.

Needing a good cup of tea to start my morning, I rose, shivering slightly as I made my way to the kitchen.  Glancing at my boxes of teas lining the wall of the counter, I decided none of them looked appetizing.

Sighing, I turned to the small wooden table littered with sheaves of paper and empty mugs from days bygone.  Many of the dirtied mugs still had strings stained brown and gray hanging limply from their lips.  I grabbed my heavy deerskin coat from the back of the chair, holding it slightly aloft as I struggled with the flannel one underneath it.  Finally managing to free the lighter jacket, I shrugged it on, carefully laying the deerskin one back on the chair, and made my way to the back door.  

I walked out into the garden, the rusty metal hinges creaking as I pushed the weathered wooden gate open just enough for me to sidle thorough and make a drowsy beeline to the little patch near the house that I reserved for my herbs.  I bent down, smelling the aroma of the earth from the sweet morning dew.  Most of the herbs were beginning to fade, the dead-brown color creeping up their little stems, infiltrating their leaves. I gingerly sniffed the chamomile, letting it's warmly pungent spice scent soothe my nostrils – it was still fresh.  I grabbed a handful.

As I was dusting the earth from my thick cotton pants, I stopped short while there was a flash of yellow in my peripheral.  I looked up in time to see a gust of wind burst forth from behind the woods. The leaves rolled in a splendid wave of yellow and red and orange then came to land, scattered, about my feet and the garden in a wet, brown mass.

I turned my gaze back to the forest where gray clouds were lumbering onto the sad yellow sky. And there.  Lightning.  Quick as an arrow.  A few moments bated breath, and, there.  The deep growl of the thunder shook a few jittery leaves from the trees.  They fell, fluttering wildly, to the ground.  A wolf stood at the edge of the forest.

What an awe-inspiring specimen!  The wolf was pure white and stood perfectly still, its ears erect and tail completely relaxed.  It was slightly larger than a regular wolf, and it was facing me.  A chill wracked my spine and I shivered, dropping a chamomile plant.  It made a small plop as it hit the mud right as another lightning bolt ripped across the sky.  The wolf and I shared an abyssal glance before the thunder came lumbering through in another tree-shaking guttural moan.

The wolf slowly turned its majestic head to the sky as more leaves fluttered off their branches, flashing orange and red.  And then, the beast began to change.

It rippled from head to tail and its snow-white body began to warp and stretch.  The neck and legs were elongating at an alarming rate and the skin underneath the fur was a pale translucence. Swirls of ethereal teal light swam around under the blindingly white fur.  The wolf began panting slightly, it's pink tongue poking in and out of it's mouth like a gopher tasting the air.

The wolf, at this point, barely resembled any worldly creature.  I continued to stare, awestruck.  It raised it's enormous head higher and opened it's huge crocodile jaws to the stormy October sky.  It whipped it's willowy tail once and, with an ear shattering and Earth rumbling crack of bright blue lightning, it was gone.

I held my breath, and my ground, waiting for the tremors of thunder to pass.  The forest gave one last shudder, and then everything was still.

I wanted to flee back inside – my clothes were damp and my feet were cold, but another low, distant rumble of thunder stopped me.  I looked up into the gray sky, bidden by the deep call. Instinctively, I shaded my eyes with the palm of my free hand as the sky became intensely bright.  I continued to stare as my vision slowly returned in tiny, glistening specks.  I blinked once, slowly, and was kissed by snowflakes.

I opened my eyes to see the dancing white flakes in the air.  They drifted onto the trees and the leaves and the earth, covering it with a sparkling frost.  They touched down silently around me.

The spell was soon broken as my focus shifted to a piercing, distant noise - the kettle was boiling.

I moved back toward the house haltingly, as if awakened from a dream.

But as I crossed the threshold from outside into kitchen, I found myself facing the white, white winter outside.

Short Story - The Zoo

Title: The Zoo
Word count: 1,898
Rating: K+ (for mild elements of gore)
Genre: Horror/Suspense Fiction
Background: I had three random images: A cracked egg, a T-Rex, and a ticket-stub.  I made a story out of them.  A small homage to my partner, who used to dream of T-Rex's chasing him when he was little.
Link to the Short Story - The Zoo (you can also read and review this story, as well as others, on my FictionPress )

The Zoo

Today was the day.  Oh yes, it was going to be a day!

Simon was going to see the tigers!

His mother had been planning this trip to the zoo for the past week now, and Simon’s excitement had been building and building and now, on this day, the day, he could hardly contain himself.

Simon leaped from his bed, thinking he’d save his mother some time by dressing himself today.  Then he bounded his way downstairs (making as much noise on the hardwood as possible) to the breakfast table.  He hoisted himself onto a chair, and sat, bouncing up and down.

“When is it going to be time to leave?”

Mom glanced at him from her position near the stove where Simon could smell eggs cooking.  “You in a rush?”

Simon rolled his eyes.  He wanted to say, “Duh!” but he couldn’t say that to his mother.  Instead he said, “I’m just really excited.”

HP&THBP 1.6180339887...Ch.3

Title: HP&THBP 1.6180339887...

Genre: Fan Fiction, Spiritual/Drama

Current Chapter: 3 - The Prince's Humble Abode

Chapter Word Count: 3,210

Total Story Word Count: 8,111

Summary: Two years after the Final Battle, Harry Potter receives an unexpected and rather unwanted letter amidst his already tumultuous life. He embarks upon a new quest, this time a more deeply interpersonal one as he blazes a trail down what's left of Severus Snape's memory lane. Is he truly ready for his parents', or more accurately, Severus Snape's history?

Read the story in its Original Format

Find the story on FF.net!

III

The Prince's Humble Abode

APPARITION always made Harry quite dizzy.  He stood for a moment staring at the cracked cement beneath his feet, getting his bearings back and his faculties functioning normally before he took his surroundings in.  It didn't take too long and soon his eyes were roving over a dilapidated, dingy, near-deserted spread of outdated brick houses with an old factory chimney looming on the hazy grey horizon.  Harry himself happened to be on a street corner near a small, gross-smelling brook, which wended its way on his left and on towards another grouping of slightly nicer houses.

Harry began to recognize the area from the memories he had witnessed of his mother and Snape as children, although the years had made the area itself worse for wear.  The rusted, crooked street sign did, in fact, read "Spinner's End".  

Being on the correct street, Harry decided that the only way to go was forward and so forward he went.  He began to wonder, after passing what had to be the seventh-or-so boarded-up house, if anything still lived in these sad little dwellings at all anymore.  

Not that he was worried about being seen or anything (he was usually most comfortable in Muggle jeans and t-shirt anyway) but he found the lack of people rather comforting, oddly enough.  At least he felt that no-one was going to bother him about anything he was or wasn't doing here.  

Here, he was only here for one thing, a thing of his own choosing again, with no-one to bother him except the memory of a dead man.  

HP&THBP 1.6180339887...Ch. 2

Title: HP&THBP 1.6180339887...
Genre: Fan Fiction, Spiritual/Drama
Current Chapter: 2 - A New Quest
Chapter Word Count: 2,676
Total Story Word Count: 4,901
Summary: Two years after the Final Battle, Harry Potter receives an unexpected and rather unwanted letter amidst his already tumultuous life. He embarks upon a new quest, this time a more deeply interpersonal one as he blazes a trail down what's left of Severus Snape's memory lane. Is he truly ready for his parents', or more accurately, Severus Snape's history?

Read the story in its Original Formatting!

Find the story on FF.net!

II

A New Quest

GRIMMAULD Place was dead quiet when Harry stepped out of the fireplace and into the large drawing room.  The late afternoon sun was filtering through the shuttered windows and Harry could see dust motes floating like dainty, dreamy snowflakes in and out of the rays of light.

“Kreacher?” he asked aloud, but not too loudly for the silence was grating on him like a foreboding shadow (that and he still had not yet removed the portrait of Sirius’ mother).  Looking around his inherited home, he realized he hadn’t been here in days (or maybe weeks?), usually spending what free time he did have these days with Ginny (when she also had time away from practices and games) at The Burrow, which was always bustling with warmth, action and good food, unlike here.  

Suddenly there was a little pop! and his wizened house-elf stood hunched before him.  He was wrinklier, looking more like a pile of old than ever, his garb was his usual tattered and dirtied potato-sack-loin-cloth getup but with the addition of Regulus Black’s locket hanging from his neck, swinging softly like a pendulum from the house-elf’s recent Apparition.

“Master has returned,” the stooped and gnarled creature before him said, giving him a wily look.

“Yes, but unfortunately only for a short while again.  I’ll be needing provisions for a week - I’m going away...on...business...a business holiday.  Can you manage that?  Please?”  Harry waited for Kreacher to take action.  When the house elf continued to stare at him, unmoving, Harry began to feel both a wee bit agitated and anxious.  “Kreacher, did you hear me?”

Short Story - Inner Journey

Title: Inner Journey
Word count: 1,783
Rating: T/PG-13 (for mild swearing)
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Fiction
Background: Written in 2007/2008 and edited within the last year and a half, posted here now for enjoyment. This story came to me in the middle of the night out of nowhere; it's kind of cute, kind of strange, it's definitely got fey and also references the popular children's rhyme "Little Bunny Foo-Foo".
Link to the Short Story - Inner Journey

Inner Journey, by Kelsey Teresea

“I swear to god it was here yesterday!”  Victor shouted as he stood on the sidewalk, arms dangling by his side, mouth hanging open, with frown lines creasing his forehead.  He turned to the girl standing beside him, letting loose a sigh of agitation.  

“Summer, you have to believe me! I was in that shop,” he practically shouted as he pointed to the dilapidated store front, “that shop, talking to a guy, just yesterday afternoon!”  His worry lines deepened on his forehead; they made him appear at least four years older than he was, and he was fairly young.

Summer fished around in her little painted canvas bag, peering with feigned interest over Victor’s shoulder at the broken windows and the dark interior of the shop.  Its dark blue banner still hung over the door - Inner Journey: Metaphysics, Magic, and Answers.

HP&THBP 1.6180339887... Ch. 1

Okay... here' goes!!!

Chapter One of my fanfiction, titled HP&THBP 1.6180339887... Since I'm extremely attached to my formatting, please take a look at my original "manuscript" here. (I'll update this with a link to it on ff.net once it's up there as well{if I go that route} - I went that route: ff.net Chapter 1).

Summary: Two years after the Final Battle, Harry Potter receives an unexpected and rather unwanted letter amidst his already tumultuous life. He embarks upon a new quest, this time an internal and deeply interpersonal one as he blazes a trail down what's left of Severus Snape's memory lane. Is he truly ready for his parents', or more accurately, Severus Snape's history?

Chapter 1 - Harry Receives a Letter

HARRY Potter was not quite sure what to do after he read the letter in his hands. He felt rather nauseous, in fact. He remembered a time, some eight odd years or so ago (Merlin's bollocks, had it been that long already?) when he had stood just like this - hand-scrawled letter in hand, feeling outright sick to the stomach with this warm, sloshing anticipation. However this letter was from a different Headmaster of Hogwarts than the one who had sent him his letter as an eleven-year-old boy. Very different indeed.

Harry's stomach somersaulted sickeningly.

Severus Snape had been dead for nearly two years and yet here Harry was receiving a letter from the old bat.

As if it were yesterday, he thought.

He shuddered, but decided to read the letter over again, just to make sure he had read it correctly, just to make sure it was real.

Short Story - Winter

Title: Winter
Word Count: 968
Rating: K/E (for everyone)
Genre: Paranormal Fiction
Background: Another shorty from '09, edited & posted for the lulz. Inspired by a Dan Fogelberg song "Old Tennessee".
Link to Winter


Winter by Kelsey Teresea

I woke up this morning to the sound of the wind in the trees reminding me that winter was coming.  I sat up to close the window from that crisp autumn breeze and chanced a peek into the outside.  It was nearing the end of October, and the woods already started to look sleepy, confirming what the wind had already told me.  I blew into my cupped hands to warm them briefly before clasping the metal handle and, giving it a good shove, closed the window on the dulling world outside for the last time this year.

Short Story - Consumption

Title: Consumption
Word Count: 1,062
Rating: T/PG-13 (for mild swearing)
Genre: Paranormal Fiction
Background: I wrote this short story back in 2009 or so. I dredged it up & edited it a bit & figured I'd post it for the hell of it. This was inspired by the Magistrate villain from the video game "Demon's Souls".
Link to Consumption


Consumption by Kelsey Teresea

"What do you want from me?!"  He grabbed the nearest heavy object - a candlestick - and threw it at the advancing man.  The candlestick stopped a few inches away from where the man's face would have been and fell to the floor with a loud clang.  It resonated like a tuning fork.

"Heh heh!" was all the man said.  It was all he ever said.  And it was maddening.