Scars

About five years ago, I started writing some stories revisiting some old characters and as I re-introduced these characters into the world I found some of them lacked any kind of back story. They hadn't needed it before and now they did. So, I took one of the minor characters and wrote her background in the form of a little short story. Here it is. Hope you enjoy:

Scars

Assanté Kassanani stood a slender six feet in her bath towel in front of the mirror.  Her lithe body shone around the shoulders from the vitamin rich skin lotion she had massaged into her dusky skin to ease the knots out from another long day.

She looked at her unblemished face and traced a finger around her full lips; soft and plump, a smile hiding just behind them. She pressed the soft spot beneath her eyes and then with both hands drew imaginary circles around them, relaxing and breathing slowly as she did so. Her eyes were her favorite part of herself:someone sweet had recently called them feline. She loved, when the rare moments arose, to line her eyes with black and accentuate the look: exotic, feminine and cat-like. It brought out her high cheekbones in her softly lined face. Pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail, she fantasized that she looked like Cleopatra might have looked.

These thoughts; these features made her happy but, as was her need every day, she removed the towel from around her willowy form and allowed it to drop unchecked to the floor. She turned her body, allowing her eyes to follow the line of her shoulder blade to the first of her secrets.

An eight inch scar ran from her left shoulder in a diagonal line towards her spine,with two similar but smaller scars running parallel to it. The big scar was a dark pink color, raised like a plowed furrow in a field. The others could barely be seen in the low light but she knew they were there. Down towards her left hip a burn scar a foot long mottled her beautiful black skin into a peculiar, uneven blob. On the days she had to stand for long spells, it was like she could feel again the hot torch being pressed against her. She touched it, feeling the rough bumps and remembering well the man who left them there.

From back to front on her right side, a series of small, uneven shaped holes were dotted in a large semi circular fashion down her body and down her side, like some kind of moon landscape. Carefully she counted them turning her body into the light so that each scar was seen and remembered. 

She had been twenty-six years old in '94, studying hard, trying to get placement in a respectable school to learn Psychology. It had been her passion from the moment she read a book about the brain. Unfortunately, Rwanda was about to explode as tensions between the Tutsi and Hutu were about to spill out into the neighborhoods. Friends would betray friends and then even God seemed to desert them. Hiding in churches was no safe haven as priests turned in their flock.

From Kigali she had somehow escaped, a Tutsi woman alone, but along the way she picked up her scars. Some of them she did not wear on her body as a record of history, instead they were rooted in her memories. She had family once: parents,brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and three grandparents but during that genocide, and the terrifying flight for their lives, they had all been killed, taken from her or simply lost. She prayed for them every night. 

Alone she had arrived in Tanzania, having borne the ignominy of repeated rape at the hands of the man who supplied her transportation. And finally, with much effort and heartache behind her, she had managed to secure a way out and a trip to the United States.

Filled with renewed purpose granted only to those few who survive genocide, she worked harder than ever to earn her way into College. Waiting tables, cleaning dishes and volunteering at the Orphanage at one time or another and sometimes all together. It was a hard time but nothing as hard as she had already survived. And she had survived. 

Finally,she picked up her degree in Psychology, specializing in child psychology, her intelligence and hard work making her trip through college a short one.  And from there another short journey to where she now stood, naked in front of a mirror in her small but comfortable apartment in a nice area of town.

She smiled as she remembered her graduation and took two steps from the mirror to her dresser and picked out the underwear she had chosen specially for tonight. Hanging nearby was a dress she had also taken extra care with. Tonight she would dine with the new man in her life and, if he could get past the scars, she had something beautiful to share with him.

GSY

R.S. Emeline Blog Tour

It's a banner day on my blog as I host a stop on R.S.Emeline's BLOG TOUR. And I didn't even have to bribe her with cake! :0)

With a new novelette out for you to read:

which can be purchased easily from AMAZON here - - > Purrfect Storm (eBook) < - -  now is a purrfect time...(see what I did there?) to get to know this wonderful author.

Over beer and pretzels Tavin Chauncy, the Hero of my novelette, Purrfect Storm, opened up about life, the Marine Corps, and living in the present. --R.S.

RS: What led to your decision to join the Marines?

TC: I had something to prove to myself and my parents. The Corps seemed like the way to go. It got me away from my past. *laughs* At least, I thought it had.

RS: Do you plan on getting out of the Marine Corps?

TC: Only if they force me out.

RS: So what is next for your career?

TC: My command deploys to Afghanistan soon.

RS: Oh wow. Thank you.

TC: It’s what we do, but you’re welcome.

RS:  Before Leila turned human you were pretty logical. Does it stand to reason you now believe in Magick?

TC: Damn right I do, but usually we try to keep that to ourselves. The Corps and I don’t see eye to eye on that. It’s made for some heated discussions and some unpleasant meetings.

RS: Is that going to cause problems for you later?

TC: Nothing I can’t handle.

RS:  I’m sure you can handle whatever you need to. Since we’re speaking of Magick, is there a difference between Magick and Magic? Or are they just different spellings for the same thing?

TC: Magick is Old. It’s true power and energy. It gets things done and can have serious consequences if messed with. Magic is the fun stuff you see on stages. No harm, no foul stuff. It’s pretend.

RS: I guess I can understand that. It makes a strange kind of sense. Speaking of strange, did you find it weird that a black cat had appeared out of nowhere?

TC: At the time I didn’t think anything of it. If the same thing happened now, I’d be concerned it was another lost love I didn’t know about.

RS: That could be awkward.

TC: Leila wouldn’t like them popping out of the woodwork.

RS: Do you have any plans to change your name back to its original form?

TC: It’s not easy to change your name when you’re in a government career. It would take a lot of paperwork, and I hate paperwork.

RS:  Now that you remember your different life cycles, can you tell us what it was like living so many different lives?

TC: Most of the time they’re like dreams I only remember parts of. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it sometimes. Mostly I don’t think about it. I’ve got a good life now, with a woman I love. The past isn’t important.

RS: Do you think readers will hear anymore about your lives in the future?

TC: I wouldn’t count it out.

RS: That could be exciting. Thank you for taking time to meet with me today.

TC: Not a problem. The beer was worth it.

About the Novelette: Tavin Chauncy thinks he has his work cut out for him when a fellow Marine gets arrested for assault. He soon realizes that it's nothing compared to the way his life gets flipped upside down when a mysterious woman appears in the middle of his living room during a rare desert storm.

About the Author: R.S. Emeline grew up in the sogginess of Washington State where she nurtured her love of writing with dark teenage poetry. Today she spends her time in the perpetual dryness and sun of the California desert. She lives there with her husband, the Marine; her niece, the Artist; her daughter,the Munchkin; and two animals--King Furry and Mistress Meow-- who are the true rulers of the roost.

Stalk Her:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/rsemeline
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rsemeline
Blog: www.rsemeline.blogspot.com



 - - > BUY PURRFECT STORM FROM AMAZON

Thanks for stopping by R.S. and best of luck.

Aellyra and the Moon

I have written an urban fantasy story based upon the roleplays that I have talked about before on this blog. The setting of the story is in modern day but some of the characters are older and required some attention to their back story. One of the characters is called Alec Moon. He is a bit of a mystery and that's something that hopefully will be uncovered as the story proceeds but I thought I'd share a little excerpt of the story...unedited...that reveals a little of the myth and wonder behind the character. It's difficult to write in a more flowery prose style to evoke a different time or place but I attempted to do just that to make this section stand apart from the rest of the story. The reader is meant to wonder if it this is the truth or if it's just the retelling of an old myth or fable.

In the story, Alec himself relates this tale to a young girl who has discovered him in a forest. This is the story of Aellyra and the Moon.

Aellyra: Princess of the Dark Kingdom, danced in the beams of light cast down from Helios, The Sun, bathing in the warmth of his approving eye and demurely laughing at his approaches for marriage.  The sight of her skin, soft and pale like goose-down and her eyes, stars plucked from the heavens, made Helios ache and his fire burn all the more brightly. Long summer days were enjoyed by the Kingdom while the Sun courted the daughter of the King.

Fylwir the King was happy that his daughter had caught the eye of Helios and he promised him that one day soon he would be given her hand in marriage.  This was all Helios could dream of and to his celestial brothers he boasted of the beauty of his Princess.

Menos: The Moon, Helios’ younger sibling, hung in the darkest parts of the sky quietly watching the slumbering of the Kingdom below. He had not witnessed such beauty, only the creatures of the night which preyed on one another in the shadows.  Helios, however, would not be accused of lying and so granted his brother some light so that he too could look down upon the Kingdom and see the things that were invisible to his owlish eyes.

That night, Aellyra was awoken by a strange silvery glow dancing through the gaps in the clouds.  She glided to the window and looked up into the sky expecting the yellow glow of Helios, instead seeing the cold handsome outline of Menos.

Into the fields of whispergrass she ran, the cold no burden on her excited body, and she went to where Menos could see her in all her glory and called to him,

“Who dares steal my beloved's fire?”  She was excited and frightened at the wonder before her.

“'Tis not stolen but given freely so that I may see the beauty that has usurped his every word and his heart along wi' it.”

“Witches and serpents would commend such lies but I am neither and I believe you stole it, and yet, thine eyes speak truth.”

“Princess, my words are a jumble in my mouth in your presence and they dropped too hastily from my mouth before my heart had arranged them to spout from me as poetry. Such is the effect of your radiance.”

Aellyra blushed, “Your words are soft as a woman’s and yet you speak as a man: with flattery and kindnesses but I warn you, I am promised to another.”

Menos laughed, “I am a man; I am Menos, brother of Helios and my words are soft only because you touched my heart when you gazed upon me.”

“Menos, you say you are brother to my future King then why have you come upon the Kingdom this night and awoken me?”

“Fair Princess, I had no thought of rousing you from your gentle slumber, I simply sought to see why Helios boasted so and, now that I have witnessed your beauty, I shall away and not bother you again.”

This saddened Aellyra, for while she did love the warmth of Helios' gaze, Menos spoke in ways that touched her heart; ways that Helios, a War God, would never be able to understand.

“Stay awhile.”  Commanded Aellyra.

“Aye.”  Said Menos.  He had wished for those words of pause. And now, gratefully, he spoke of things of beauty and of the heart. And during that first night they fell in love.

Fylwir banished his daughter to her tower in the castle upon hearing her refusal of betrothal to the Sun.  He would not hear of such folly while his Kingdom basked in Helios' glory.

“My heart has made me a liar father, but now by the silvery light of my love, I have been awoken and Menos is the man I would marry.”  Aellyra was defiant as the thick wooden door was closed and locked sealing the Princess within her chambers to consider her father's wishes.

Helios was angered by his brother's duplicity but the warrior within him understood that the woman's beauty was so overpowering no man could fight it. Menos he could forgive, if only because now he understood the prize he was to marry. Once that was done, Menos would know heartbreak worse than any pain inflicted upon him now.

On the third day, as Aellyra remained a captive in her own home, Helios made a proposal to the King in an attempt to remedy the ongoing problem.

“Her beauty is blinding good King. Without it my brother would be no more interested in her than a rock.”

The King did not understand, “Would that were true then so would it apply to thee.”

Helios thought for a moment and said, “Then perhaps if only when I sleep. In those moments I have no need to bask in her beauty. I would not care if she was an ugly trollop, but in my waking moments as I shine upon this Kingdom her beauty should be radiant. Only then, I believe, is it possible for this union to continue.”

The King was wise and thought for a moment until the answer sprung forth, “Of course, I shall tend to this problem and we all shall have what we need from this.”

That night, a messenger was sent into the dark forest with gold and promises, to lure a witch from hiding and grant a spell for the sake of the Kingdom.

Aellyra awoke with a start as nightmares held powerful dominion on her sleep and when she opened her eyes a twisted woman stood in her chambers pointing a crooked finger at her.

“The light of day your glory be, by shadows’ fall, a serpentine beast.”  The witch cast her spell.

Anguished, Aellyra called to her father as the last of Helios' light faded from view and her body heaved with violent transformation.  The witch, Effrielle, stepped from the chambers and vanished back to the forest as the castle birthed a new horror.

A roar awoke the King and he rushed, sword in hand, to vanquish the beast that was tearing his castle asunder only to stop and wail when he realized that the Dragon; the all consuming monster of his nightmares, was his daughter, turned by magicks bought by his own treasure.

The Kingdom lay in ruin by morning light and the Princess sat alone amongst the destruction as Helios arrived, smiling and beaming as he did upon sight of his beloved.  However, he saw that his Princess no longer smiled nor even glowed in his presence and upon seeing the destruction realized that the King had undone all their dreams.

Without another word Helios left and darkness fell upon the land.  And with the darkness, the Princess changed into the Dragon.

Menos appeared, still bright from borrowed fire; the gift from his brother, and he shone upon Aellyra seeing no Dragon but a beautiful Princess instead.

“I have nothing.”  Weeped the girl.

“You have me.”  Menos could not fathom the sadness for all he saw was the beauty in Aellyra.

Aellyra picked herself from the ground and danced in the moonbeams; a princess while she strayed from shadows. As the Long Night began, the couple spoke again of soft things, of love, loss and before the return of Helios, a son was born to the couple.

Menos looked down as the mountain shuddered and cracked asunder.  A boy stepped from the earth and was embraced by his mother and bathed in the luminescence of his father.

“Welcome, my son.  I will call you Alexandros o' the Moon.”  Said Aellyra.

Myths, monsters and fantasy movies

The summer quickly approaches, and with it a glut of expensive blockbuster movies. One of those movies is called Wrath of the Titans and if you click on the movie title you can have a look at the amazing effects.

Wrath is a sequel to a movie called Clash of the Titans which itself is a remake of a movie from the 80's. That movie, the 1981 Clash of the Titans was, at the time, the best fans of fantasy movies could hope for. The movie marked the final time Ray Harryhausen created the stop motion effects for a movie.

Harryhausen was a pioneer and undoubted master of stop motion special effects. During the late 50's and early 60's his effects allowed Hollywood to bring fantastical creatures into movies without relying on a guy in a rubber suit. For fans of fantasy movies this was a amazing time: Sinbad fighting a 35 foot Cyclops, Jason and the Argonauts battling Hydra and an army of skeletons, Bronze statues coming to life and cowboys capturing dinosaurs. Harryhausen brought the legends and myths of the Greek gods and other fantasy stories to life on the big screen.

I came along in the 70's and I grew up watching the 50's and 60's fantasy movies on British television. The 70's brought another couple of Sinbad movies with effects by Harryhausen, including Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger which featured several memorable stop motion moments including a final battle between a Sabertoothed Tiger and a 15 foot tall monster with a horn on its head. It was heady stuff for a small boy and I loved it. Many monsters were slain in games after those movies and with Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, a lifelong interest in the stories of the Greek gods was started.

Despite looking very dated nowadays, those early stop motion movies were an amazing leap in special effects and without those movies many great fantasy and sci-fi stories would never have been made. The time that followed the original Clash of the Titans brought along a handful of fantasy movies, some of which are considered cult classic but even being kind, lack the kind of punch the Harryhausen movies did. Budgets were tight and so the special effects looked every bit as cheap as you'd expect, although it was clear there was an audience waiting for the effects to catch up to the imagination.

Eventually CGI came along and despite a huge pile of cheesy looking straight to DVD and cable TV monster movies it was still apparent that audiences wanted to see heroes do battle with giant monsters. Jurassic Park marked a pivotal moment for fantasy fans because it showed dinosaurs and actors in the same space and the CGI effects made it look entirely believable. Soon, Hollywood was clamoring for other monsters to put on screen and when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King snatched up every Oscar it was nominated for it was clear that special effects had finally reached the point where they could show what writers could imagine.

It took a few more years before the Greek gods came back but in 2010 they did with Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and the remake of Clash of the Titans. Sadly for all the great effects, the stories lacked any punch. They both made money and both have generated sequels but I for one hope that more effort is made with the actual story now that they have some of the best special effects to work with.

2012 sees not only the return of Perseus but a massive increase in movies based on fairytales, another section of the fantasy genre that had gone under realized until effects caught up with the ideas. This year alone Jack the Giant Killer, a pair of Snow White movies and a Hansel and Gretel movie are coming out.

I'm secretly hoping for a remake of Jason and the Argonauts and looking forward to see if other interesting stories make it to the big screen like maybe a proper telling of the Hercules story. I think done properly these would be fun and exciting movies to watch.

I remember so vividly watching Jason and the Argonauts and those skeletons popping out of the ground to fight the crew of the Argo. At the time it was just about the coolest thing I'd seen. I hope the modern effects can also bring some of that wonder and perhaps fuel further interest in those great stories.

Despite the remake of Clash being a bit dull, I'm going to give Wrath of the Titans a chance...and I'll let you know how it turn out.

Do you enjoy fantasy movies? If so, tell me about it. You got a favorite? Comment below!


GSY

I'm back...

I got floored by the flu or poleaxed by the plague. Either way, I'm back breathing on all cylinders and just to welcome in the unseasonal weather, here's a very cool piece of music I've been listening to lately:


Ludovico Einaudi - Primavera

Enjoy!


GSY

Children's Stories

Each generation probably thinks their television, music and movies were the best but they would all be wrong. Clearly my generation had the best of everything.

However, it doesn't surprise me that fairytales and children's stories seem to cross generations. Parents read their kids stories that had a powerful inpact on them and then they discover new stories together which will then be shared with the next generation.

Not only are these stories multi-generational but they're multi-cultural, tweaked to better fit within the framework of a particular group of people but the morality or the lack thereof remains unaltered. Walt Disney is the most famous exponent of packaging fairytales for the masses and to this day, kids drag their parents around the World and Land created by the famous animator.

Dozens of animated movies have been made featuring characters like Snow White, Cinderella, the Frog Prince, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio and Rapunzel which are based on stories written in the late 1700's and 1800's which in turn were based on stories written in the 1600's. Those tales are all actually based on folk tales from Germany, Italy, Eastern Europe and Scandanvia. Four hundred and five hundred year old stories still appealing to kids today is a staggering indication of the power of these stories on young minds.

I still remember when I was very young, my parents took me and my little brother on a tour of the Scottish Highlands in one of those Volkswagon Camper vans. We stopped at a picturesque little rest area where my dad walked me out towards a little stream with a small wooden bridge over the top of it. As we walked to the bridge and stood by it my dad proceeded to tell me the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and the Troll that loved under the bridge. I remember being both a little scared of the troll popping out but still able to laugh when the Three Billy Goats got the better of him.

What's most remarkable about it is the fact I don't remember one other minute of my trip to the Highlands in a VW camper. I think I was about five years old at the time and the only memory I have is the little bridge, the clear, burbling stream running beneath it and the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

I often consider the impact of that moment as I sit in front of my computer screen trying to write my own stories. I don't write children's stories but I hope to impart such strong characters and evoke powerful emotional moments that my story will leave a little residue in the back of a reader's mind. I love to think that one of my stories might constantly come to someone's thoughts during certain situations or perhaps they just felt so strongly they just end up daydreaming about it.  

The power of a reader's imagination married to the strength of a good story can produce magic. And maybe five hundred years later that magic will still be going strong. Is there a particular story or fairytale from your childhood that resonates with you still? Or is there a speical story you've shared with your children or grandchildren? I'd love to hear about them.



GSY

Movies of 2012 (part 4)

So, I've watched a pile of movies lately, mostly while I've been avoiding my current writing project. I've not been overly enthused by any of the newer movies and so far, this year, the best movies I've seen are all older movies. Here are another 3 reviews for the pile...

My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Goofy comedy that won Marisa Tomei a Best Supporting Actress Oscar that about knocked the critics off their high chairs. This is one of those movies I always find while browsing through the channels and always end up watching. It's very silly but Joe Pesci is likable as Vinny, the loud-mouth New York lawyer out of his depth in the South.(As usual Pesci's wig seems to have a mind of its own!)  Tomei also shines as his patient  yet hot-blooded girlfriend. And for those with long memories, check out Herman Munster (Fred Gwynne) as the judge! 3 bad wigs out of 5

Attack the Block (2011)

British sci-fi, horror, comedy which got a lot of rave reviews. I wanted to enjoy this movie more than I did. It was a standard alien invasion premise with an interesting setting: a housing block (called Projects in the US) and a different bunch of characters to root for. The effects were decent and the aliens interesting but somehow it just didn't add up to a better movie.

I think it let itself down most with the tone of the movie. In trying hard to be many things it succeeded in being none of them. The comedy element didn't always work and I thought the social commentary was heavy-handed at times too. That being said John Boyega one of several newcomers in the movie, put in a good performance as Moses, showing both sides of his character: the tough hoodlum and the sad, lonely kid from a broken home, really well. Sadly though it just lacked something and I'll have to give this 2 glow in the dark teeth out of 5.

Poltergeist (1982)

A classic from the early 80's, this movie still stands up against modern scary movies. Sure, the effects look a little dated in places, specifically the models and animated shots but you shouldn't let that stop you from watching it. The acting is brilliant throughout, there's an air of the natural about the family and how it operates together which just makes you pull for them all the more. Craig T. Nelson is great as the dad and JoBeth Williams is superb as the mom but the movie is most well known for the tiny, blonde-headed youngest daughter Carol Anne played with devastating cuteness by Heather O'Rourke.

The classic scene where Carol Anne announces the Poltergeist's arrival: [clip] "They're here."

There's a lot to enjoy about this movie and in particular the appearance of the peculiar Tangina is favorite of mine. Well worth it if you've got a spare Saturday night. I highly recommend this classic horror.

4 tennis balls out of 5