Here’s a snippet from my latest publication, SHIFTY: TALES FROM THE WORLD OF SAGE. SAGE, in case you don’t know, is my fantasy trilogy.
In this excerpt from the first story in the collection, “The Gleaming Ones”, Kinnan has been rescued from his wounds by a woman who speaks to him from within impenetrable fog and who leads him indoors.
Hunting Clothes
excerpt from SHIFTY
by Marian Allen
Flames leaped up in the central hearth, revealing the interior of a snug round wooden hut, sparsely furnished. And, but for himself, empty. Kinnan’s scalp tightened and his heart squeezed and thudded. He tried to stand, but his legs betrayed him. He sat again, his weight causing the wooden bed-frame to creak.
When his eyes adjusted to the glare, he saw the figure he had missed before. A woman faced away from him, pouring water from a wooden jug into a basin. She wore a short, unbelted sepia tunic over an ivory gown.
“You’re ill-dressed for a walk in the dark,” he said.
When she turned, he saw eyes of the true, pure-blood Istoki lavender in a rose-tinted bronze-brown face, the caramel curls closely cropped. Around her neck was a torque of ceramic set with opals, and her gown and tunic were richly embroidered. The embroidery was studded with tiny silver bells which tinkled with any sudden move.
“These are my hunting clothes,” she said, in the voice from the fog.
“What do you hunt in clothes like that?”
“Heroes.”
~*~
SHIFTY is available in print and for Kindle and free Kindle apps.
It can also be ordered by your friendly neighborhood independent bookstore:
- ISBN-10: 1942166206
- ISBN-13: 978-1942166207
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A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Someone is rescued — or are they?
MA
Dan
January 15, 2017 at 7:19amIs if open season on heroes?
Marian Allen
January 15, 2017 at 8:20amIt is for her.
Joey
January 15, 2017 at 3:54pmFantastic. Dang that’s good.
Marian Allen
January 15, 2017 at 5:53pmThank you SO MUCH! 🙂
Jane
January 16, 2017 at 8:19amGreat. WOnderful description of her appearance!
Marian Allen
January 16, 2017 at 10:05amThere’s always a danger, in describing appearances, to sound like a Society Column. “For her trip up the red carpet, Ms. Spookylady wore ….” But how she looks is important to the story. I’m glad it worked!
Jane
January 17, 2017 at 8:18amYeah, I always worry when a vampire hunter first has to tell me exactly what her fashion choices are every time she goes out of the house. Brings the story and the imagination to a screeching halt!
Marian Allen
January 17, 2017 at 3:58pmUnless it’s important, I can generally do without it. But I realize there are some readers who eat that stuff up with a spoon. I’ll have to write a story where it’s really important to the character or sumpin.