Last time I did a post with a title like this, it was about a sequel to Second. This one will get there, but I’ve got some other explanations to get out of the way first.

I haven’t been very active on here, and for that, I apologize. I haven’t gotten much writing done either, what with my husband’s back injury and my father’s two brain surgeries in February, life getting turned upside down in March, then again in April, and again in May. I had originally planned to work hard on River’s End in March and finish it. That didn’t happen. June was still crazy busy, but at least I was starting to see where I could make a little free time for myself. So I moved the March goal of finishing River’s End to July. I even posted about it. Then I was in a car accident and was still just as busy, but had to figure out how to do everything without the use of my left arm and without a car, how to get another car, and to fight for my right to work so I could get paid.

I wrote half a chapter.

Now it’s September already. Things are still busy, but my left arm is doing much better. NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to use it for finishing River’s End. I am determined to finish that book this year, and I’m not going to wait for NaNo to actually start. I’ll be working on it all September and October, so who knows, maybe fortuitous lightning will strike this time, and I’ll actually get it done before NaNo. Maybe I’ll only have a sliver left come November 1. Whatever the case, there’s a second story writhing within me, waiting for River’s End to get out of the way so it can be my NaNo project.

It’s another Synth dialogue-only story, following Second and Haze. Its title is Feral.

Five years have passed since the Haze was discovered and Segun’s code was “fixed.” Exploring this vast place with its puzzles, traps, and treasures has become a staple sport of the Synths. One day, the treasure they find at the back of a deep cavern is another Synth in suspended animation and identical to Segun before her code was altered.

She is a copy made by the Server. For Nil, now the same age as this copied Segun, she is the friend he lost when she was changed. For the older Segun, she is the embodiment of a past she competes with. For the world, she is a novelty currently up for grabs.

Wouldn’t it be grand to own the famous glitch? Lock her up, put her on display where she can’t hurt anything, but you can say she is yours. Others want her to wreak havoc. Still others want to ensure she is destroyed. Because this copy is a Feral Synth with no designated master and set to be deleted if she doesn’t get one.

The Server sets up a competition with Copied!Segun as the prize. Death Matches. If Nil wants to keep her out of the hands of collectors and extremists, he’ll have to step into the ring, and among the challengers are ones he never wanted to face.

While Death Matches were mentioned in the first two books, we haven't seen them firsthand yet. I fear this story might be a bit darker than the other two, but what are your thoughts? If I tagged you on this post, it’s because you read the first two. Would you be interested in this one?

Last note: I haven’t forgotten about Pearl Before Swine or that as of December 2019, my plan was to write the second half of it for NaNo this year. But I had also planned for River’s End to be done in March. Pearl’s story will have to wait just a bit longer. I am looking forward to getting back to it (and the edits for Alliance ) but right now I need to focus on one goal at a time. (Okay, I realize this is still technically two.)

Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout this post and my long months of silence. Any sharing of your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

#Synths #Second #NaNoWriMo

You're about 30 and really skilled at ascapes. You're also really smart in odd ways. Just to name a couple, you know a heck ton about animals and sailing. You break out of the mental hospital you've been in for a long time believing you are the next Noah. You steal a huge boat and are determined to collect two of every animal on earth. You are probably chased by police around the world and you are alone in your quest. You manage to get a lot of animals and maybe even collect a few friends. Maaaaaayyybeeee either someone falls in love with you or you fall in love with someone (they're someone you collected to come on your boat.) And come to the end, a series of huge bombs from the war that's been in Antarctica throughout the story has melted a bunch of glaciers and now the whole earth is flooding and a lot of the land is covered. Soooo, you are one of the few people left when all the earth has been covered.

Note to self: Something inspirational but okay for a 13 year old to read. I want fiction though. No horror (I suck at writing horror and will leave myself paranoid for days because I’m that easy to scare lol). I can do Sci-fi, fantasy, etc.

1. (Extra)Ordinary

You live in a world of superheros (and villains...). It should be cool and all, but even the "good" guys are extremely elitist and discriminate against "Civils" (people like yourself, who were born without powers). In pure spite, you prove them wrong by applying and getting into one of the top hero organizations, but what now? Will your oddly-specific talents and party tricks be enough to fight evil?

Bonus: You actually do have a power- Intimidation, the ability to make others think you have a power. This paradox is what got you onto the team in the first place and kept your city's criminals on their toes.

2. ViRus

Virtual Reality has become the norm and people have gotten used to escapism with outlandish avatars and networks of online-only friends. It's all fun and games until some users get infected with a virus, one that in turn also affects people in real life. Think a zombie apocalypse combined with a video game setting. How do you survive?

Bonus: Will those programming skills of yours help you cure the bots/zombies and restore order in both worlds, or will you seek guidance from a questionable hacker?

3. Skeptical Chemist/Skeptic Alchemist

Science and Magic. Polar opposites or two sides of the same coin? Think of a world where these sides are actual divided kingdoms at war (or on the brink of it), and a historic breakthrough (the Industrial Revolution? Renaissance?) has changed the tides. You are the calalyst: you have discovered a new element/the Philosopher's Stone, and both sides want it for either its nuclear or divine properties. Which side are you handing it over to? Or perhaps you should hide it away from everyone...

Bonus: This strange rock causes a lot of other issues as you escape pursuing doctors and sorcerors. You accidentally gave an object sentience (Science calls it AI, Magic says mimic). You summoned something otherworldly (alien or Old God?) and made a rogue copy of yourself (clone or homunculus?).

Rules for any prompt:

- Unconventional MC: Make them diverse (race, sexuality, age), add that flavor many stories don't have. You could make them the side character, the antagonist, etc? Morally grey/chaotic motives is fun! Talk about their random, unrelated habits and hobbies!!

- Break tropes: Relationships don't work out well in the end? Parents actually stay alive/don't disappear? No stereotypical token characters! Comic relief doesn't die!!

You're on your way home one rainy night and you see something in the middle of the road. You pull over to get a closer look and see that it's a human and they're still alive. You rush them to the hospital and decide to come back in the morning and check on them. When you do so, there is no record of them at all so you leave. When you get home, that person is sitting at your kitchen table, perfectly fine. The rest is up to you!

You are reading a novel about a character that you absolutely adore. You look up to them and wish that you could be them and live in their world which seems way more adventurous and interesting than yours does. Daily after school, you rush home and immerse yourself in the fantastic tale. As you progressively read through each chapter, you begin to fall more and more in love with the world, the characters, and the story. A little more than midway through the book, you begin to feel that your life is too mundane and pine away dreaming that you were your favorite book character.

But then, as you read a bit into the second half of the book, you start to see twists, turns, and conflicts that you didn't expect. You see that it's getting really interesting, but you have a weird feeling that the book isn't going the way you expected. You begin to question whether or not this book will carry on in the perfect way you thought it would. You worry that it might not even have a happy ending. After finishing the first chapter of the second half, you fall asleep slightly disturbed.

The next day, you wake up and realize that you have become your favorite character. You are now in their world, surrounded by their friends, enemies, and troubles. You have the second half of the book to face and you have no idea where it's going. To add to the oddness, you now have access to a little book with your name on it that tells a tale of your ordinary life back home where your favorite character has now presumed your role. At first, it seems a dream come true to embody your favorite character in their spectacular world, and it is amusing to read along and see them trying to survive in your normal one. But, soon, the future becomes unclear. You constantly ask yourself what your favorite character would do in each new dilemma, but the situations don't work out as smoothly as they did when you were the one doing the reading. Every night before bed, you read the strange little book with your name on it and see that your favorite character seems to be (possibly accidentally? maybe on purpose?) ruining your real life as each new chapter appears.

Maybe this fictional life wasn't all it was cut out to be.

Maybe your favorite character isn't as cool as you thought they were.

Maybe your normal world was just fine after all.

Will this story have a happy ending?

If not, will you ever be able to escape it and get back home?

You've been cursed to create a serum. Why is it a curse? The catch is that once the serum/potion/cure has been used, you must provide the source to keep it going. For example, if the serum keeps an individual youthful, you must supply the youth. What serum do you create and what do you choose to give up? Why do you do it? Why are you in this position?

(Reminder to myself: No horror and safe for a 13 year old to read and think fictional Short stories…)

Prompt 1: Butterfly Wings

Soon the world will end and due to a massive radiation leak people in Tokyo start to turn into different types of monsters. A little girl (age 12) was born with the gift of purity… with her powers she is able to turn back the infected people. Along the way she makes friends and awakens her true potentials when facing a threat capable of wiping out the rest of humanity (if it were to happen). This threat can be another huge wave of radiation or the people infected evolve, you choose. Her squad of 3 kids help her along the way.  Each accommodating for her 3 weaknesses. Those weaknesses are fear, control, and speed. She is the only one who can save this world but no one believes her but the 3 other kids AT FIRST. The saved humans in the meantime hide within a dome blessed by her purity. You can either kill off her parents or let them live inside the dome. 

(Feel free to make changes and move some things around if you need too) 

Prompt 2: Tragic Flower

(This one will probably be super short…)

You are taken back to the era of the dinosaurs and you witness the life of a bird back in this era. You first begin by hatching in the wrong nest and your mother makes the valiant effort to save you but she fails. Prior to this you were stolen from your nest by another creature. In the fight between your mother and the other creature, you fall off the cliff that you are currently on. Your fall is a safe one but you land in the nest of a bird similar to your mother’s. The nest that you landed in was left unguarded and when the caretaker arrives they have no idea that there is an extra egg. You hatch into a beautiful bird and live a good life, before you die in a snowstorm. You die due to the heavy pressure from the snow on your wings… describe the death in an elegant way. 

Prompt 3: Imperial Beauty 

You are an empress who lacks the ability to control your armies and they sometimes don’t listen to your orders. You have no husband and you are the only Royal who can take power for now. Your only son is murdered and you are the only hope for your crumbling nation. 

Prompt 4: Dragon Star

You are the only dragon who can visit the human world and you have no limitations to what you can do. Your only weakness is being discovered. Find a way to return back to your realm without being captured. 

Prompt 5: Starfall 

You are a god among the stars and your realm is being attacked by other gods. Destroy them before they destroy you. 

Prompt 6: Malagón 

Malagón is a place of anger and sadness. It’s fate of destruction is inescapable and you aren’t allowed to do anything but watch the place come crashing down. Retell the story to us. 

Prompt 7: Ashstar

A star has exploded and it has caused a way to travel back in time. However, the portal it has opened will close in 1 month. Escape before you are lost in the past. 

Prompt 8: Other World

You are a teenager facing the thought of suicide after being mistreated all your life. After finding an old mirror you can see your other life on the other side. 

Prompt 9: Bejeweled Hope

A vampire born without having to suck the blood of humans tries to live a normal life.

Prompt 10: Devil’s Secret

You are the secret child the devil had with an angel. You have the power of both evil and good. Which one will you choose? 

Prompt 11: Mediva

After a horrible accident you wake up as Mediva, a sorceress sent to retrieve an amulet of the olden times. 

Prompt 12: Loveless life

Born with the ability to see the ending future you live a hopeless life trying to save the world.

Prompt 13: Empty Hollow

After being saved by mysterious people you wake up to find yourself without  a human heart. 

Prompt 14: Density Mass

As a mad scientist you have but one goal and that is to create an angel. 

Prompt 15: Wire

After sleeping through your entrance exam you decide to join the league of mages. You end up discovering the disgusting side of being a mage, you seek to change their ways. Many of the higher ranked mages disapprove of you, but in the end you succeed and become the next mage King.

If any of you would be willing to read through the full manuscript of What Time Forgot and look for any typos, inconsistencies, or plot holes, please fill out the link below! I am looking for 5-10 people and it would mean a lot. Thank you!!

Link: https://forms.gle/G8MR4GU3kakkkA8T9

I am forever indebted to those who have volunteered. Y'all the real MVP's!!