I didn't have a topic planned for today, so just for fun I thought I'd post a bit from the first chapter of my newest book, Wizard's Mischief: Flame. The book is still in the editing stages so what I post here may or may not make the final cut!
Note: Copyright is reserved on all my blog contents except those I don't own such as quotes or excerpts from other people's writing. I especially note that I am the copyright holder of the content posted below and reserve all rights to it.
“Rogan!” a voice behind me shouted.
I quickened my pace--not toward the shouting voice, but away from it. The dirt path beneath my racing feet was dusty; we hadn’t had rain in days, and thanks to Great Aunt Grinnie I knew I’d stay dry today, too. The shouting voice behind me was growing more distant; Cousin Calogera, Great Aunt Grinnie’s one unmarried daughter, wasn’t young enough or fast enough to catch up with me, even if she had been about thirty pounds lighter, which, of course, she wasn’t.
Freedom, in the shape of the dark tangled woods just ahead, loomed. I permitted myself a grin--not a small, tight-lipped sort of smugness, but a wide appreciation for the gift this good day was about to become. Unthinkingly, I risked a glance over my shoulder to make sure Cousin Calogera couldn’t reach me in time to stop me…
...and as I did, a tree root buckled up suddenly from the path in front of me, and I tripped and fell.
To be fair, it was at least the fourth or fifth tree root Cousin C. (you don’t mind if I call her that, right? It’s what I usually called her) had magically pulled up out of the ground and sent my way; but living among minor wizards has its benefits, and one of them is this: you learn to avoid the magic they send at you. With Cousin C., you only have to watch out for tree roots and other buried but living things. She can make a dandelion uproot itself in front of you as a distraction (hey, it worked when I was four) or trip you with tree roots or lace vines in your path, but once you know that’s what she does, it’s easy enough to avoid her little traps. All you have to do is keep your eyes on the ground in front of you. Which, of course, I had just failed to do.
Cousin C. was still way behind me. I could easily have leapt up and resumed my flight, but that wouldn’t be playing fair. I have a great belief in the importance of fair play. Great Aunt Grinnie thinks it’s because she and my late Great Uncle Gorry raised me to believe in being fair, but certain childhood memories of mine don’t seem to support that theory. In any case, I just sat there on the ground and waited for Cousin C. to catch up to me. She knew perfectly well that I would wait, too, and so she took her time.
When she did finally arrive, she was out of breath, panting heavily, her face twinkling with perspiration. Pausing in front of me, she put her hands on her hips in a gesture of exasperation that had been familiar to me since my toddler days. “Just what do you think you’re doing, Rogan Jems Brandle?”
******
Note: Copyright is reserved on all my blog contents except those I don't own such as quotes or excerpts from other people's writing. I especially note that I am the copyright holder of the content posted below and reserve all rights to it.
“Rogan!” a voice behind me shouted.
I quickened my pace--not toward the shouting voice, but away from it. The dirt path beneath my racing feet was dusty; we hadn’t had rain in days, and thanks to Great Aunt Grinnie I knew I’d stay dry today, too. The shouting voice behind me was growing more distant; Cousin Calogera, Great Aunt Grinnie’s one unmarried daughter, wasn’t young enough or fast enough to catch up with me, even if she had been about thirty pounds lighter, which, of course, she wasn’t.
Freedom, in the shape of the dark tangled woods just ahead, loomed. I permitted myself a grin--not a small, tight-lipped sort of smugness, but a wide appreciation for the gift this good day was about to become. Unthinkingly, I risked a glance over my shoulder to make sure Cousin Calogera couldn’t reach me in time to stop me…
...and as I did, a tree root buckled up suddenly from the path in front of me, and I tripped and fell.
To be fair, it was at least the fourth or fifth tree root Cousin C. (you don’t mind if I call her that, right? It’s what I usually called her) had magically pulled up out of the ground and sent my way; but living among minor wizards has its benefits, and one of them is this: you learn to avoid the magic they send at you. With Cousin C., you only have to watch out for tree roots and other buried but living things. She can make a dandelion uproot itself in front of you as a distraction (hey, it worked when I was four) or trip you with tree roots or lace vines in your path, but once you know that’s what she does, it’s easy enough to avoid her little traps. All you have to do is keep your eyes on the ground in front of you. Which, of course, I had just failed to do.
Cousin C. was still way behind me. I could easily have leapt up and resumed my flight, but that wouldn’t be playing fair. I have a great belief in the importance of fair play. Great Aunt Grinnie thinks it’s because she and my late Great Uncle Gorry raised me to believe in being fair, but certain childhood memories of mine don’t seem to support that theory. In any case, I just sat there on the ground and waited for Cousin C. to catch up to me. She knew perfectly well that I would wait, too, and so she took her time.
When she did finally arrive, she was out of breath, panting heavily, her face twinkling with perspiration. Pausing in front of me, she put her hands on her hips in a gesture of exasperation that had been familiar to me since my toddler days. “Just what do you think you’re doing, Rogan Jems Brandle?”
******
