EnterTheMirror.com

I am now publishing under the pen name Catiana Nak Kheiyn because that is the name that I use on my Divine Memorabilia column at Blogos.org. In an attempt to begin to make a name for myself in this ocean of writers, I am trying something new: the serial novella, published online at EnterTheMirror.com!

The Mirror Has Three Sides is a serial novella that is published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In short, it's a young adult science fiction novel, combining fast-paced adventure, fantastical creatures, and innovative sci-fi technology with twists of teenage angst and witty humor. Sound like something you'd like? I certainly love it. ;-)

Synopsis: Bannert and Golden, lifelong teenage friends, escape reality by using a miraculous mirror that leads to an extraordinary library with books that open portals to fairy tale worlds. Unfortunately, this is no magic mirror. It holds a terrible secret that will ensnare them in a plot that tosses them across time and space to find and rescue the only man who can save them.

But wait! There's more! This isn't just a passive serial novella. No, no... It's an opportunity for YOU to share your art and photography skills to help illustrate this story right on EnterTheMirror.com! Wanna know more?

Join me over there to read as this story unfolds throughout the week. The excerpts are short and digestable, but the story stayed engaging. Oh yeah, and leave comments! I love me some comments. ;-)

"Carl" by Inkaholics X

Just as we're beginning a new Collaborative Writers Group (Inkaholics 12), two more books are coming to their final stages. The Inkaholics X Writers Group novella, Carl: the Uprising of a Leprechaun Madman, is now available!

This incredible story tells the background of a minor character from The Case of Dr. What by Inkaholics 007. There are some blatant nods to prior Inkaholics books in this one that make it extra special. Here's the synopsis:

Carl isn’t your average leprechaun.

Sure, he has the green bowler hat and short stature, but he’s also the son of Mickey McPherson McWharle, son to Michael Marscapone McWharle, the Godfather of the Leprechaun Mafia. Trouble is, Carl doesn’t like being a hitman for the Family. All he wants is a peaceful life and a lovely companion.

With the help of his new friends Qué, a 6’ 6” meerkat, and Phish, a goldfish detective with telekinesis, Carl takes a leap of faith and attempts to leave the Leprechaun Mafia Family. His actions spawn a series of events which only get more dangerous and forbidding with every passing day.

Will Carl find the balance between the good in his heart and the evil in his genetic makeup? Or will one side rise up and reign supreme?

Here There Be Fairies

The other day, a dear friend of mine posted this enchanting image of her daughter (above) running through the woods. The moment I saw it, I knew some Photoshop magic needed to be worked into it as a surprise for my friend and her daughter.

The image below is the result of my impulses. It is a collage of sorts, pieced together with images from the internet, and enhanced with some special lighting effects to give it a little sparkle.

I posted this on my friend's Facebook wall this morning. She loved it. :o)

NaNoWriMo 2011: Day 9

Writing days have been up and down lately, squeezing in just a few hundred words here and there. It's been a weird week, and I've found myself behind. Tonight, I've got to get some serious noveling done!

'Round about chapter 7, I decided that it was time to change POVs (point of view) to the secondary main character, Beck. He's from a contemporary world (ours) and, as I discovered surprisingly, a total geek. He even wears glasses. I love, love, love his voice. Some great lines have come out from Beck's third person POV.

He had no idea the the old doorframe from the antique shop would take him to a distant realm of fantasy where there was no indoor plumbing and certainly no wi-fi to speak of. If he had known, he wasn’t sure if he would have walked though that shimmering portal at all. But standing here, even freezing to death in the stables, talking to Chan, he wondered if maybe she was the reason he was here.

Back in his world, a techie geek was sexy in theory, but in practice? Perhaps not so much. Not many cute girls liked to hang out in the computer data server room at corporate offices. It was dusty. And hot. And there was always the possibility of breaking something just by turning around. Or getting electrocuted.

And here's an awesome, comical scene from today's writing:

Beck stared at the ground from atop the enormous horse. He really didn’t want to meet the dirt any faster than necessary, but Chan was already too far off the road to call. No, he didn’t need help to get off of a horse. How hard could it be?

Fingers gripping the saddle horn, Beck leaned forward and brought one leg up. He rested it atop the horse. While adjusting his other shoe for balance, he lost track of his higher leg, and his body twisted. He reached out for something--anything--to grab. Finding nothing but air, he peeled backward off the side of the stallion and fell on his face.

The horse whinnied and sidestepped away.

Beck spat gravel from his mouth and tried to stand. His every sinew ached. “Thanks for nothing, Lester,” he muttered to the animal, who whinnied at him once more. Funny, he sounded like he was laughing at him. Or was that his pride turning into a cherry slushie?

I'm having a ton of fun writing both of these characters. So far, I still love the story. Here's hoping it lasts at least another 21 days.

In other news, the next episode of Month of the Novel was released today. Check it out!

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YOU TUBE CHANNEL: MonthOfTheNovel
WEB: monthofthenovel.com

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Day 9 Word Count: 12,580 (pre-noveling tonight)
Words Remaining: 37,420

NaNoWriMo 2011: Day 3

Didn't get a whole lot of writing done today--about 1,000 words. But I'm still a bit ahead, so there's no cause for alarm just yet. This excerpt is actually from yesterday's writing, but I still like it, and it shows the main character's personality very well.

"Stay alert, Princess.”

“Yes, indeed I will, Sir Joshue.”

It was the burly man’s turn to blush. “Please, Princess. You embarrass me.”

“Precisely what I intended then.”

ON A RELATED NOTE: A handful of my young writer friends from the east side of the country and their cohorts have started a series about a writer who is attempting to write a NaNo novel, but she's...running into some creativity issues. This is hilarious and done completely by teens and young adults.



YOU TUBE CHANNEL: MonthOfTheNovel
WEB: monthofthenovel.com

I just discovered that they were working on this project and had to share. Enjoy!



Day 3 Word Count: 6,211
Words Remaining: 43,789

NaNoWriMo 2011: Day 2

I didn't get any noveling done during the day today, but my friend MightiMidget and I squeezed in three 10-minute Word Wars in the wee hours of the night. Here's an excerpt from tonight's writing.

Now that I looked closer, I could see that he wore some kind of decoration on his face. Two circles of metal with glass windows in them, perched on his nose and affixed to his head by two metal bars that wrapped around his ears. “This is curious,” I said, reaching for the adornment.

I didn't realize Beck wore glasses until this moment. Love surprises like that!

Day 2 Word Count: 5,212
Words Remaining: 44,788

As a side note, I entered a short story into a contest at Lulu.com. It required putting that short story in eBook format to submit it, so here it is if you're interested in taking a look: The Question: A Short Story

NaNoWriMo 2011: Day 1

Today, NaNoWriMo 2011 began. Having taken the day off of work, I went to the all-day write in in the morning. It was quite a productive handful of hours. The novel got off the ground, and my final word count after leaving the write-in was around 2,700. Each day, we need to write at least 1,667 words in order to make the 50K goal by November 30. I've still got some writing I want to do tonight, but I've got a great head start.

Here's an excerpt from today that I particularly enjoyed writing. It's a description of the view outside Princess Chan's window.

I gulped down the lukewarm tea, staring out the stained glass window into the fields around the castle. The forest spread out to the west, nestled up against the slate rock of the mountains. Snowy peaks whispered misty secrets to one another high in the light blue sky. Royal dragon riders circled the formations as they scouted the borders for signs of invasion by Westonia’s sworn enemy across the sea.

Day 1 Word Count: 3,764
Words Remaining: 46,236