Autumn in the Forest

Autumn in the Forest

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

"The Madness"

I am still sick this week, so here is the second SNEAK PEEK at "Season of Madness." Evershade's Watcher hunts the infected when they cross the border...

(Unedited excerpt.)

The chipmunk paused briefly at the bridge, just as the mouse had done, but to Roan’s dismay, it chose the easier path—the one that led to the spiral stair of the Home Tree. Roan twitched his tail irritably. Now he had two creatures infected with the Madness traveling in separate directions.

The Watcher swore under his breath and traveled the length of the branch to the trunk. He gripped the rough bark and worked his way down the Home Tree to the uppermost level of the spiral stair. Letting go, he landed heavily, tweaking his back a little.

Roan took a moment to pop his vertebrae and slip the spear from its strap. Weapon pointed in front of him, he descended the steps on stealthy paws, alert and ready for confrontation. As the stairs wrapped round and round the trunk, Roan found himself plunged into darkness on the backside of the tree where the moonlight could not penetrate, only to find himself washed in the silvery blue glow as the stairs curved toward The Commons again.

Every so often, he paused to listen for the pawsteps of the infected chipmunk. It wasn’t until he had nearly reached the bottom that he heard the unmistakable dragging of unsteady pawsteps. Roan paused on a moonwashed step. Ahead of him, cloaked in the inky darkness of a shadowed section of stairs, the sick chipmunk teetered and dragged its hindpaws up the steps. At last, it emerged from the shadows and into the moonlight, and Roan could see the wet, matted fur on the slightly built chipmunk’s chest. Its mouth hung open, and its eyes periodically rolled to the back of its head. When it spotted Roan, however, it lurched forward, jaws snapping.

He pressed the fire-hardened point of the spear to the chipmunk’s chest and held his ground. The chipmunk pressed forward as much as its body would allow and reached for Roan with its forepaws, eyes wild and jaws biting at the air.

Who are you?” Roan asked in his deep, rumbling voice. “State your name.”

The chipmunk’s ears twitched as if trying to hone in on the sound of Roan’s voice, but it showed no other signs of understanding.

Do you understand me?”

A wet, snarling sound escaped the chipmunk’s mouth. Roan sighed. The poor fellow was too far gone.

He pulled the spear abruptly away from the creature’s chest, which caused it to stumble forward onto all fours. Roan waited for the chipmunk to right itself again. When it stood up, he rammed the point of the spear upward, driving it through the chipmunk’s lower jaw and deep into its skull until it ripped through the crown of its head, killing it instantly.

The chipmunk collapsed to its knees, the butt of the spear wedging itself between two steps so the poor devil remained somewhat upright, impaled and dangling in the air like a macabre scarecrow. Dark rivulets of blood streamed down the skull, oozing from the mouth and onto the steps. Roan grabbed the spear and dragged the body to the railing. He hoisted the smaller chipmunk’s body onto the barrier, deftly slid the spear from its skull, and toppled the body into the underbrush below. He would have the grim task of disposing of the corpse later. For now, he had an infected mouse to hunt.










Thursday, February 16, 2017

"The Plague"

To "celebrate" the fact that I'm sick this week, I am posting a SNEAK PEEK from my second novel, Season of Madness, in which a plague wreaks havoc on Evershade:

(Unedited excerpt)


A white squirrel staggered toward the Stone River. He paused, wavering in place as he looked skyward. The act of craning his neck threw him off-balance, and the squirrel fell backward, landing roughly in the grass. He lay there for a moment, confused, before rolling over to his front and pushing himself upright.

The squirrel stumbled onward, his feet finding a little-used path that dipped into a shallow ravine. He followed it down to the bottom, then began the steep upward climb, slipping more than once. When he reached the rise on the other side and stepped out of the grass, a great expanse of tiny stones opened up before him. The squirrel set both hindpaws on the stone and paused. A ripple of recognition passed through his eyes for the briefest of moments, but that was quickly replaced by the madness that had taken root in his mind.

He stumbled his way across the Stone River in the twilight, mouth agape and drooling. When he reached the grass on the far side, he stepped into the opening where the trail picked up again. The ground sloped suddenly downward, and he immediately fell tumbling into the ravine, rolling down the trail until he came to a stop at the bottom. The faint path was noticeably wider here, and he was lying in the middle of it.

Struggling to his feet, he cast another shaky glance at the sky before continuing on. He wandered the wrong direction at first, the wider part of the trail confusing him. When he found his way blocked by a wall of grass, he stood in place a few moments before turning his body and walking a different direction. By sheer chance, he eventually found the path again and followed it up the slope to a wide meadow.

An unseen force had taken hold of the pale squirrel, driving him to wander in search of he knew not what. But wander he must, for the only word his mind felt or understood was “go.”


"Season of Crows" available now:



Thursday, February 9, 2017

The Tragedy of Change

None of us can escape it. Change in this universe is as certain as death. But I have recently witnessed a change that is personal to me and causes a great deal of sadness.

The locations mentioned in "Season of Crows" are based on actual locations near my home--the High Field, Torzeria, Cedar Grove, Evershade, the Crow Kingdom, etc. They are part of my daily journey to town.

I don't know who owns the fields and woods, but one of the owners has recently destroyed a location that was pivotal to the plot in my novel. Ash discovers a great red-tail hawk dangling from silver vines, and his interaction with this predatory bird changes the fate of Evershade entirely. The farmer, unfortunately, has leveled the bushes and scrub cedar that grew along the silver vines, and the vines themselves have been removed. A large pile of cedar branches sits near the road now, much of it having been burned.

It is difficult for me to see one of the locations that literally changed my life being altered in such a way. Does this man know what he is doing to me? Of course not. Does he have a right to alter his field? Of course he does.

I just hate to see this particular change happen. Yes, Evershade is still there and, yes, Torzeria still stands, but I will always regret the loss of Oxl's silver vines and the path that led back to Evershade.

I think in my next book series I will simply invent a location to prevent my heart being ripped from my throat...
 




Wednesday, February 1, 2017

"A Dark Decision"

Excerpt from "Season of Crows." A vengeful mousemaid hatches a wicked plan...

(Links to book below.)


The banished mousemaids, Aster and Thistle, made do in the little grove of trees amidst the sea of grass in the neighboring field. There, the two mice had weathered much of the drought, surviving on bitter grass seeds and last year’s dried rose hips that still clung to some of the wild rosebushes.

Aster had ignored the signs of drought. Upon entering the grove, the two mousemaids had discovered a little pool of water trapped beneath a limestone outcropping. Instead of rationing it, Aster had drunk the water greedily. She hadn't counted on Thistle drinking as often as her, given her complaints about conserving water. And now they were in a fix.

As she slurped the last few drops of water from the stone pool without offering any to Thistle, she carelessly wiped her whiskers and belched loudly. Thistle shot Aster a look of disdain, which Aster returned.

“What’re we going to do now?” Thistle asked. “That was the last of the water.”

“Obviously.”

“Well? What’re we going to do?”

“We’re going to shut up and think, that’s what we’re going to do,” Aster replied, glaring.

She watched the stocky mousemaid turn her body away from her and slump in her usual pout. Aster sneered. Stupid fat mouse.

“We could go look for the Fray,” Thistle said at last.

Aster scoffed. “I ain’t going to look for it. I don’t want nothing to do with Evershade or its water.”

“Well, I don’t want to die of thirst,” Thistle retorted.

“You go by yourself, then, and see how long you last without me.”

“Without you? You’re the one that got me in this mess!”

“Me? You tricked that timid little ghost of a mouse just as much as I did! Blame Roan, if you want to blame someone. He banished us. Or blame the king. He told Roan to banish us!” Aster spat back.

Thistle shook her head and buried her face in her paws.

“Those goody-goodies, thinking they’re all peaceful and perfect. They’re just a bunch of cowards. Especially that snail. Hiding in his tree, showing his face once or twice a season. He shouldn’t even be king! He can’t run or climb like us. He can’t even gather food. He can barely move at all!” she snarled.

The lanky mousemaid sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the harsh voices of the crows across the field. Their croaks and caws pierced the thick, humid air. Aster shifted her weight and peered through the undergrowth in the direction of their noisy chatter.

At the end of the field to the east rose up a dark forest of slender, closely packed trees. They towered tall and gangly over the yellow grass that separated them from the little grove where the mousemaids sat. Aster stood and walked to the edge of the grove, gazing out across the field at the forest beyond.

“The Crow Kingdom,” she mumbled. She had always heard talk of the Crow Kingdom, but she had never actually seen it.

Aster studied the black trees in the distance, transfixed by the plan hatching in her head. Somewhere in her mind she noticed that Thistle had followed her to the edge of the little grove and now stood looking at her. Aster turned and leveled her gaze on the short, ugly mouse, a malicious smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she sized up her follower.

A most disturbing scheme to exact her revenge on Evershade and its goody-goody inhabitants seeped into the darkest corners of Aster’s mind like a disease. She turned away from Thistle and stood frozen in place in a sort of trance, eyes hardened, a wicked grin morphing her features into the face of absolute evil. The crows were the answer. They had been the answer all along—she had just been too dim to notice. But would they listen to her? She sneered.

Thistle and Willow and that little ghost mouse listened to me. Surely a bunch of dumb birds will be no trouble.

Aster stood taller, puffed up with her own sense of superiority.

Yes, they will listen to me. And the community of Evershade will be brought to its knees.