An Introduction & A Plan

Yes! We're branching out! Now I will be providing books on video! Lol! Also, I might vlog once in a while too, I'm finding it to my liking so far. Granted, writing a blog is much easier, but less personal.

Please share this video everywhere. Pass it along! Help me out here peeps!

(I'll have a lot more time to write if I don't have to go to a "real" job!)

Out of Frustrating Sometimes Comes Some Good

My scheduler at work has been annoying me rather significantly lately. You see, I am supposed to be a server/busser in our restaurant. Lately though, I have been scheduled to cashier. The problem should be clear to anyone in the restaurant business, but if you aren't I will explain:

Servers make mullah tips.
Bussers make so-so tips.
Cashiers make next to no tips.

The reason I left my former job for a job that pays a full dollar an hour less was that I would be making tips. In the first couple of months at my job I was making about $700/month in tips, and only $750 in actual paychecks.

So, instead of only making $8/hr, I was in fact making about $18/hr...nearly unheard of in this county.

Now, cashiering, I am making much, much less. Barely enough to survive on. Actually, I am not making enough to survive on. I have made my issues known, and have been assured that it will only be for about another week, but still I am very tight on cash.

The good that has come out of this very frustrating bad is this: Cashiering is so damn boring and slow that I have been able to roughly outline the entire first half of Shadows On The Wall this week. HUZZAH!

Unfortunately, I have come across a new problem: a plothole.(Like a pothole in the road, only it's in the storyline).

A plothole right smack dab in the middle of the book. The rough draft that I wrote approx. 6 years ago has this huge hole, like a time vortex that one of the characters just slipped into and disappeared while the others carried on as if nothing had happened. I mean, they should feel really awful for letting that happen...terrible human  beings.

I think I have come up with a cure for the plothole, but getting the story back on track after that hole may in fact be difficult.

Nonetheless, the fact that I have had so much idle time on my hands at work lately has brought this bugger of a problem to my attention far before it became a really difficult issue.

I suppose I should be a bit on the thankful side that I have had the extra time, but my wallet and bank account are not feeling very magnanimous.

This looking on the bright side post brought to you by: Shanco.corporations.
(Lobbied against by: The wallet and bank account of Shannon A Hiner.)


On a completely unrelated side note: Long time and very successful authors may not be effected so much by their reviews on book selling websites, but I certainly am. I feel that it is necessary to give a hugely thankful shout out to my first reviewer in the iTunes bookstore, a certain Beekersc. I appreciate so much that you took the time to not only read Only The Stars Know but to also leave a few lines telling others how much you enjoyed it.

Only The Stars Know in the iTunes Store
Remember everyone: A book read, but not reviewed, kills a faerie. No joke.

Obsessions, Procrastination and Possibly Some ADD

I am absolutely obsessed with the coast of California. I'm really not sure why. The ocean is too cold this far North to really enjoy. The beaches are mostly rocky and there are tons of hippies all around, but I can't seem to stop researching, viewing pictures of, and visiting the coast. I love it. It's the most beautiful place on Earth to me.

Yesterday I was online and somehow (I really don't remember how) I ended up looking at a map of the state up toward Crescent City. An hour later I was doing research on estuarine lagoons and an hour after that I was trying to figure out how to place a story around it. I know, this is ridiculous!

Anyway, I'm trying to apologize in advance in case any odd coastal scenes pop up in the next couple books. Like I said I can't seem to help it.

I'm having a lot of trouble with procrastination and concentration lately. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Damon smacked down another ultimatum soon. I'm trying to avoid that, but I make no promises. I'm out of unread books at the moment, having just finished 2 in the last 3 days. I will try very hard not to order anymore for some time. I have a bad case of trigger finger whenever I am on Amazon.

That should, naturally, mean I should avoid Amazon, but you see: I end up on Amazon as a result of viewing book trailers on YouTube. And I end up on YouTube because I see book ads on Facebook. And of course, I'm on Facebook to let you know that I just wrote another blog. Vicious circle it is.

The upshot of this is, after I finish this blog and let you all know that I have written it, I will probably end up ordering another book. I should probably be banned from the internet, but let's face it, that's not going to happen.

Well, I have started the first chapter of Shadows On The Wall, but as I said, concentration is at an all time low here. I have got to stop renting movies constantly, and going to see movies. But this month is golden as far as movies go. This weekend is definitely taken up, what with The Hunger Games. Two weeks ago it was John Carter. Two weeks from now Mirror Mirror comes out, and of course I will have to see MIB3 as well. Should be interesting...

If any of you are in the habit of praying to anyone, you might send out a request for me to have concentration and some sticktoitiveness. That would be wonderful.

Scrappy Prose and a Note

My own expectations weigh heavily
Pressing down upon my shoulders
Burying me beneath their crushing force
Masking my natural sunniness
With a quiet, forced formality.

This is not me, I scream
Silenced by the distance
That keeps me cut off from all
Only the most persistent
Find me in this dank, creeping jail

Am I lost here in my self-imposed
Prison with walls so high
I can’t see over, wander about
Aimless and without the desperation
Necessary to escape this exile

Defeat claws at my feet
Reaching to take me, keep me
Please just let me get away from
The apathy of sameness, always the same
Want to feel, be and see the world beyond

Trapped in the now and don’t know
How to see the future or even
The way to reach what I know is my
Destiny sleeping at my door, still asleep
As I scream and cry and beg for it to find me.
                                                                                

So I've got 2 prologues of epic goodness staring at me, questioning who will be first. 1) Shadows On The Wall and 2) In The Darkness Remain. While I am truly torn between them, I think in the interest of publishing order I should work on Shadows On The Wall next.

Damon says he doesn't care, as long as I'm writing something.

Progress reports should be forthcoming in the weeks ahead. Wish me luck.

Mission Control: We have a break-through! (BGSP)

It has been 4 long, long days since I have read a new book. This knowledge/inspiration desert has been tough on me, I won't lie.
At first, I didn't know how the Ultimatum would resolve itself. I knew I wouldn't touch a book until I had written the prologue--I couldn't go against Damon's wishes like that-- but it was very tough going.
The first day, I wrote a few paragraphs.

The second day was little better, I could think of nothing, so I went to work after writing nothing and with little hope of ever knowing a new book. The meager brainstorming I did at work resulted in me adding paragraphs of scene description to what I already had.

As I tried to sleep on the second night I had a brief burst of inspiration which made me glad that I had a pad of paper and pen on my bedside table.

On the third day, I woke to rainy skies that mirrored the aching of my soul. (melodrama, anyone?) It was my day off, so I went off to run errands. When I arrived home I spent a few hours working on the marketing strategies for Only The Stars Know. Then I spent a few more hours creating a book trailer. Then I spent an hour watching TV.

By the time 1am rolled around I was thoroughly disgusted with myself. Really, self? This was the best I could do?

So, I pulled out the big guns. Sometimes the only way to get excited about a scene is to have lived it. Sometimes the only way to get all the details is to have lived it.

After going through my Big Gun Secret Process I started scribbling madly away at my journal. I literally could not write fast enough to get the scene onto paper. By 3:30am I had the gist of it down, and I couldn't stay awake any longer. I laid aside the journal and turned out the light. I fell asleep easily.

On day four I woke up late, a result of being up until 3:30, I'm sure, so I got ready for work and left soon after. Business was slow at work, and I was itching to work on the book, so I requested to go home early and ended up leaving around 8pm. I stopped for dinner and then hightailed it home. I brainstormed for about half an hour (painting my nails is a very good way to brainstorm, I have discovered) and then discovered I had left my journal in the car. I ran through the dripping cold rain to retrieve it and then finally sat down to finish the prologue.

Last night, around about 12:15am, I finished that prologue.

It is...indescribable. Damon asked me if I love it, and I had to reply honestly that I could not love it, because of the horrible pain he suffers through for it. But I am proud of it. I think my writing ability is becoming more and more finely honed with every story I write. And I think that you, the readers, will love and hate the story, which are not two different things, but facets of the same thing: passion. And I want this story to inspire passionate responses.

Of course, the best news is that as long as I type up the prologue today, Damon said I could start reading my new books immediately! Huzzah!

Damon's Ultimatum

Damon's Ultimatum...Translation: I got myself in trouble with my character and now I am going to be punished accordingly.

Last night we were driving home from my parents house, Damon and I, that is, and he said in his normal quiet tone, "Will you be working on the book tonight?"

I knew he meant In The Darkness Remain, for I had stupidly told him I wanted to start the prologue soon. I had, also stupidly, thought aloud to myself that I should write it that night, while I was in between reading books.

I hesitated before answering him. I knew he had heard my still liquid-like plans and I knew he realized how easily I would push them aside. At the same time, I really did want to work on the story. It's just, I had been awake since 8am (a near unbelievable feat for me) and it was already 11pm...and I was tired...Okay so I'm rationalizing. But really, what did he expect? We've known each other for almost 8 years, if he doesn't know me by now then there is really no hope.

So I stopped hesitating finally and said, albeit haltingly, "I had considered it."

His voice somehow went lower as he said, "I think you should."

In fairness, I do know that tone. I know it means trouble, and I know that if I decide to ignore it I will regret it.

As I walked into my apartment and set my things down, I went through my normal routine: let Pangur out of my room, feed Pangur, put away laundry(aka throw it on the ground and hope it puts itself away), make cup of tea, turn on Sam, sit in front of Sam sipping tea, check email, check ads, check sales, check blog....

So 12:30am rolls around and I'm really tired now. I think about picking up my newly arrived Sherrilyn Kenyon book, the 2nd in Nick's trilogy!, and put it back down because I feel guilty... I turned on the TV, watched a rerun episode of an old sitcom...turned off TV...fell asleep at a 1am.

Long story not so short: I'm in trouble. I am now forbidden to touch any of my newly arrived unread books (2 at the moment with a 3rd still in transit) until I have written the prologue. Those of you who know me well understand what a horrible sentence this is. Not touch books? Not read my new books? WHAAAT?

Well, like I said, I always regret it when I ignore that tone from Damon. There is no question of me not adhering to this edict either. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Alas, there shall be no more reading until In The Darkness Remain is properly started. I never thought I would miss Angela as a main character after finishing Die For Me Again, but she is a fluffy bunny compared to Damon's slave master approach.

...hmm...slave master... *evil smile*

New Venues for Only The Stars Know

In my tunnel vision, I originally only published Only The Stars Know to Kindle and Paperback...how stupid is that? Well, via Smashwords Only The Stars Know is now available on just about ALL ereaders. Including, but not limited to: Apple iPads/Books, Nooks, Sony eReaders, etc... Click Here to go to the Smashwords page for my book where you can buy it for only $0.99.

 Also, you can read the first 20% of the book for free to see if you like it. If you do, and you read the whole thing, please post a review! Reviews are something my books and I need to live and thrive!


In other news! I got about 30% of the outlining for In The Darkness Remain done yesterday. Those of you who know me well probably remember that I normally don't outline at all. Well, I've been having so many ideas for the story that I'm afraid I'll start forgetting them. As for the actual writing itself, I have started some drafting from Damon's POV, which most of the story will be in, but I doubt any of what I've written thus far will be in the book. Mostly it's just background on his life before being a vampire to help me understand him as well as possible. There are certainly some curious circumstances...Don't worry, I'm not going to continue being this vague within the book. You will understand Damon almost as well as I do, once you read it.

In my personal life, my Pangur Ban is turning 7 months old this Sunday, the 15th! Her birthday present is something she would have been most happy to do without, she was spayed yesterday by the Paws Clinic in town. She is not altogether happy with me. She's taking her pain killers with a good grace that makes me suspicious, and frankly I fear she will kill me in my sleep.

Also, I'm decorating my apartment. I'm hanging pictures and art like crazy. I am cleaning a lot as well, my roommate thinks I'm either on drugs or suffering from some type of hormonal imbalance due to pregnancy. I told her she's insane and then threw out the 5 year old apple cider dry mix that was rotting in the kitchen cabinets. Honestly...

I am in my second month of my new job and my stress levels have gone waaaaay down. I do have a wee bit of a cold at the moment, but I'm taking Zicam and vitamins like crazy, so hopefully it will amount to nothing.


One last note, I know you might be wondering why I am working on In The Darkness Remain instead of Shadows On The Wall. My normal routine is to write the rough draft of one book, then revise a different book until I publish it. I was going to scrap that routine after I published Only The Stars Know in favor of a faster publishing time for the next book, but Damon has been bugging me lately to write his story. And I recognize the feel of the pull, the story is ready to be written.

Until we meet again! Adieu!

Project Code Name: Emerald Eyes (SCRAP!)

In the depths of Sam's memory lies the project we call, (dun dun dunn) Emerald Eyes.

In my newly posted About The Author page, you will read about the time before Submerged In Darkness. In that time I wasn't writing about vampires, I was writing about elemental beings. Well what my autobio doesn't mention is that there was actually another time set between both of these stages.

Project Code Name: Jewel Trilogy
Part 2: Emerald Eyes

This was an odd time for me, somewhere between the time of elements and bloodsuckers...I had a little bit of everything in store. It was during this time that I entered The Immortal World. Just a couple toes in the water at first, it wasn't until I met Damon Reine that I was submerged.

It was at this time that Emerald Eyes was born. A wonderful commentary on my then current state of mind. While I will not be sharing Emerald Eyes with you, I would like to share a the introduction that I wrote.

The end has something that those of you who read Submerged In Darkness will recognize from one of Damon's lines.

Do you remember that part where Alexandra asks Damon,

"What exactly are you?"

He leaned forward as his eyes glittered eerily, "An immortal being of night." He paused, clearly for effect, then straightened, "At least, that's how one of my favorite authors describes my kind."

It was from Emerald Eyes that Damon drew his quote. Don't ask me why I let him read it, I never say 'no' to Damon.

Well, enough of fun facts, onto the now scrapped introduction!

Ahh, humans...An interesting topic always. Such complex creatures with such simple minds. The only way to truly understand odd creatures like them is to study their history. By far the history of Earth was one of the more fascinating things in the Universe. Humans constantly fought amongst each other for no reason. They had plenty of resources where they were, yet always, they wanted more. They know stealing, lying, and killing is wrong (no matter their religion) but they do it anyway!

Humans are weak, simple-minded creatures that have no chance of ever becoming a truly superior race. Don’t tell them that though. Humans have never had any idea that there’s someone smarter than them. They, quite simply, can’t imagine it. Well, rather, handle it. Many of them have imagined other beings...most of which have been unpleasant, but all humans would rather these beings not be real. They would do anything to keep their superior status-even if that means denying the obvious. The evidence is there.

The other beings make mistakes, show up at the wrong time, kill the wrong person...

So who are these ‘other’ beings? We are what make up your nightmares. We are what you fear, walking down that dark alley. We are the ones who can send shivers down youR spine just by passing you on the street. We take many forms. Some of us rule elements, others grace the skies. Some of us have stolen away from the underworld, while others furnish sharp teeth.

We hide from the human race for one reason, and one reason alone. True, we are ten times as strong, twice as smart, and thrice their agility...but we have a distinct disadvantage. Numbers. The humans are stupid, but there are billions more of them than us. If they realized their own inferiority they would stamp us out...leaving no trace. Without us, the human race would finally own the world, and all the creatures in it.

Until we are more than them, we are content to use their strays to multiply. Content to puppet them around the truth until we take our own. So, who are we?

We are the demons.

We are the shapeshifters.

We are the vampires.

We are the faeries.

We, are the immortal beings of night.

Fun! Huh? I love this scrap... It was also from here that I draw all inspiration for describing The Immortal World to people.

Scrapped Piece of Tears You Apart

I stumbled across this the other day whilst reading deleted scenes (yes, I have deleted scenes saved from ALL my books). It's a wee little piece from Tears You Apart, in the beginning before Aubri and Hadrian meet.

At the time, I was writing the book with an entirely different meeting in mind for them. Well, almost entirely. She was always upset and driving (and of course in a fatal accident), but the particulars were much different at first.

You see, normally when I write I'm simply copying down the story as the characters tell it to me. Well, we had had the initial meeting to establish that I knew the jist and would work well with them, but then the two had left me to my own devices for a few days. I was desperate to get some of their story down, so I didn't wait for them to come back and whisper the story in my ears.

It was a stupid thing to do, I admit that. My own attempt, without the particulars was stilted and a bit odd. I am still a pretty good writer though, and there are some interesting scraps left over as a result. It's just, that's not how the story really happened.

Tears You Apart was actually my first attempt at writing a full length book from the point of view of two main characters. When I was finished I felt so good about the attempt that when I revised Only The Stars Know I stuck with that feature. Blood's Faith, the original form of Only The Stars Know had switched back and forth between Zane and Ally, but everything had been done in first person and was confusing. It works much better now.

Anywho, now that I've rambled on so long you've forgotten what this post was about in the first place...I shall share with you, a dream!


The swirl of faces. Blackness, yet so much color. Disorientation and the feeling that nothing is real, but everything is. Who am I? Whomever I want to be. Who are you? Whomever I want you to be. What are we doing? Whatever I want us to be doing. Laughter, fun, excitement. The swirl begins again. And suddenly, a nightmare enters. Everything has gone wrong. People are dying, wolves are chasing, the light switch doesn’t work. The inner conscious takes over, emoting deepest fears and screaming deeper truths.

This is a dream. My dream. I am dreaming.

Figures that I have never met, known, or dared imagine, dance in my head. Faces, voices, memories I don’t yet own. The future is uncertain. I close my eyes against the bright glare. I feel a hand touch mine. I shiver, knowing that this too, is not real. My eyes open, already knowing who I will see. I have never met him. I have never seen him, but for here, in my dreams.

Golden hair, that of an angel surely. Piercing green-gold eyes. An angular face. That of a young man, but his eyes show years, centuries, of learning. Inexplicably, there is a certain darkness to this light man. A feeling of despair. Strange, these things I dream.

He smiles wearily. I swallow, feeling sad beyond explanation. He shakes his head, motioning with his hand for me to be silent. He does not speak, there is no sound in my dream. Only the silence. He mouths words to me. I can’t understand what he’s saying. He is smiling and then disappearing.

I close my eyes.


That's it!

See, I had to cut it because it's odd...but I couldn't get rid of it because it is also pretty cool.

Only The Stars Know Available as An Ebook!

Only The Stars Know is now available as an ebook through Amazon.com! Even if you don't have a Kindle, I know from experience that downloading the Kindle for PC is a piece of cake! (Delicious, booklike cake!)

It will only cost you $0.99 and it's so instantaneous it brings on a whole new level of instant gratification!

I'm still working with CreateSpace to make some nice paperbacks for you, we're in the review process now so hopefully it won't be long.

Don't forget! Interview with Romancing-The-Book in less than 2 weeks! (8/20/11)

Excerpt from Only The Stars Know

I'm giving you a Sneak Peek at Only The Stars Know until you are able to get your own copy to read! This will have to tide you over until you sit down to read the whole thing!

Without further ado, from one of my favorite scenes, I present you,

Only The Stars Know

.....

The animals were moving about the woods freely, that was a good sign. A herd of deer were a ways off. She could hear them chewing the leaves from surrounding trees. It didn’t calm her like normal. The air around her was tainted with her fuming rage. The animals gave her a wide berth. She wanted to scream that she was not a predator to them, but it seemed too much like a lie. Another lie.

No, given the chance she would change into a giant cat of prey and tear through the forest. The very thought made her muscles twitch. Her fingers flexed, trying to ease the itch in her palms. Her eyes burned and her vision shifted. The forest was more than just shapes in the darkness now. Everything had a color now. The trees were swirls of brown and green, the ground was gray. The creatures she had heard with such clarity before were now spots of red on the edges of her vision.

Her stomach rolled and she fell to her knees. The earth felt warm beneath her palms. The animals sensed the change. Each squirrel, jackrabbit and deer fell utterly still. They turned in her direction as one.

Run.

The word was a command in the darkness. She wasn’t sure if it came from them, or her…or both. They didn’t wait. Every beast bolted.

Prey. Her muscles twitched all together and she fell on her back.

“No!” She screamed, the agony was ripping through her in waves. She had to fight it. Not again. Please God, not again. Kali fought herself. When her muscles tried to make her rise, she threw herself back to the ground. It was long minutes before she could breathe the cool air again. Her eyes finally shifted back.

The forest was utterly silent. The animals would not return here for days.
Kali curled into herself on the ground as the sobs took over. She could not get angry...She could never allow herself to revel in that emotion. Because it would happen again.

When she could finally control herself, Kali lifted herself from the ground. She wiped the dirt from her arms and shook it from her hair. The bottom of her shirt would do for wiping away the tears. When she felt relatively whole again, she starting walking back down the road. As if nothing had happened? No. She could never pretend it away. The monster inside would never go away. She would never be truly alone.

Kali folded her arms around herself and walked faster. Up ahead the forest ended and Rowan came into view. The town was built in what used to be a large meadow. The buildings lined the outer circle, and in the middle was the Rowan tree. The path to Grandma Ivana’s was almost directly across the town from the Verbotsch’s.

As Kali entered the town she again had the feeling of being watched. She slowed down and glanced around cautiously. The town had gone to sleep for the night. Most of the houses were dark, but the windows that shone light had curtains drawn down as well. There was absolutely no one in sight. She raised her nose and sniffed warily.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

She walked faster again, keeping her head down and her ears peeled. As she approached the Rowan tree, the feeling of being watched grew. Her shoulders were tense and she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. When she was directly underneath the Rowan tree she could suddenly smell cotton and soap. She stopped moving.

A twig snapped just before something hurled itself out of the Rowan tree and at her. The man landed gracefully about three feet away and stared down at her. In the dark she could not make out his features, only that he was tall, imposing, and angry. She could also smell something else on him, something strange that she had never in her life smelled before. It reminded her of the predator smell that the dangerous animals always carried. It was sharper though, and more sweet.

Kali took a step back.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” His voice was soft and dangerous, but somehow she recognized it.

The blinding hatred that drove him was vaguely familiar, but Zane wasn’t in the mood for placing it. At the moment he was doing all he could not to strangle Kali before she explained herself. Her scent carried something new with it this time, forest and predator. If he hadn’t been so angry he might have questioned what she must have run into in the forest. That would be later, after he killed her.

“Zane?!” She whispered in surprise and fright.

He stalked toward her, cutting the distance between them in half. Her fear seemed to be converting to anger. Good, he detested the smell of fear. “What are you doing with my family?” He tried to keep his voice low, he wanted to shout very badly. If he shouted though, the rest of his anger might release. He would not kill her before he knew what game she thought she was playing.

“You’ve been spying on me!” She exclaimed, “Instead of going into that house and telling your family you’re alive you hid outside and spied on me!”

He growled, a barely controlled sound that seemed to rip from the back of his throat, “I wasn’t spying on you. I was looking in on my family. You should not have been there!”

“Hah! I shouldn’t have been there?!” She crossed her arms again, “They think you are dead!”

“I am dead!” He yelled finally. He could not hold the fury anymore. Grabbing her shoulders he lifted and shook her, “I died twelve years ago! I am never coming back!"
.....

Check in tomorrow and the next day for details on where to find Only The Stars Know published!

Scrap! Emotion practice...

This is a character exercise I wrote for my Advanced Creative Writing class. The point was to demonstrate anger, sadness, loneliness, and tiredness without actually saying that was the problem outright. The practice was good because it helped me to explore all the way our emotions effect us.

As for the format of this exercise, it was suggested by the textbook at the time. It's a little odd, but I had a good time with it.

At least three of the characters used here are directly from the Immortal World series, can you guess who is who?

What's The Time?

The sharp clicking of her boots hitting the sidewalk was the only sound that came from her. Her fingers curled into her palms, making white knuckled fists. The tension seemed to be building just between her shoulder blades. Heat like the blue of a fire built in her temples and then dropped behind her eyes.

“Excuse me, could you give me the time?”

Swinging on the person, she surveyed the stranger with a dangerous scowl.

The person took a few steps back, clearly reading the danger he was in.

She turned back to the sidewalk then and resumed her pace. Again her heels clicked against the concrete, reminding her of her destination…and why she had to be there. Damn him.
…

A vise seemed to have wrapped around his heart. It must have been the only thing still holding him together. Glancing up from the sidewalk, all he saw was gray; the sky, the buildings, the road. His muscles felt heavy as he trudged forward. In his pant pockets, his hands trembled. He searched the faces on the sidewalks for signs, but had to look down again when it simply intensified the pang.

“Sorry, sir, but do you have the time?”

The stranger appeared hopeful, even encouraging.

He shook his head, more at the sight before him than at the question. He started walking again, neither caring for his destination, nor knowing it.
…

Emptiness. It was a hole inside that no one asked about, no one even saw it. Gnawing like a dog at a bone, the hole never faded, only grew. She sighed, watching the mist rise and curl into the air like a dragon. It dissipated into nothing, vanquished by the Knight Aire. Her small smile was shared with no one. Her shoulders caved just a bit. Ahead on the sidewalk a pair spoke and laughed together. The ache suddenly increased. One of her hands stretched out toward them, but she could not convince her feet to move any faster.

“Miss, could you please tell me what time it is?”

She turned and found herself facing a handsome stranger. He seemed weary and frustrated. “I’m sorry, I don’t have a watch.”

He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, “Nevermind.” He turned and continued down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.

She watched him go, holding back the words that would call him back.
…


His breathing was labored as he stopped at the corner to rest. The sidewalk was crowded today. Cutting in between the other figures had left his legs aching. An unsightly yawn took him over suddenly. He covered his mouth and indulged in it, blinking a few times at the end. Even as his heartbeat relaxed, the desire to lie down upon the sidewalk and sleep until the next day was strong. No time for that though, he had to be getting to the meeting. After a few deep breaths he was ready to start through the crowd again.

“Hey, do you have the-“

The end of the stranger’s question was unheard as he took off into the crowd. Looking back, he noticed the man’s annoyed expression. Mentally he shrugged it off, he hadn’t ignored the man on purpose.

…

(Bonus!)
The stranger watched the man running through the crowd. He passed the girl without a watch and nearly knocked down the man who had just shaken his head. He couldn’t see the glaring woman anymore, but he hoped she tripped this other man when he got that far. What was with people in this city? Didn’t anyone know the time? And why were they all so rude? Well, accept that girl without a watch. Why didn’t she have a cell phone to check the time?

He found himself scowling into the crowd ahead, unwilling to risk the indignity of asking the time again. Enough was enough.

Lengthening his paces he shoved past the other people on the sidewalk. Now they looked upon him as he was the rude one. He merely sneered back.

…
My notes: I felt like sad and lonely were too alike. It’s difficult to distinguish, I think, because lonely people are often sad. I tried to avoid inner monologue in sad, that would have told why he was sad. Angry was fun, and tired was either really easy or I did it wrong. I wrote the end because I felt bad for the guy who never got to know the time.