Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 22

Part 22

"An Airtight Alibi"

Another week passed, and Lewis was no closer to achieving any sort of breakout than he had been at the start. Ashwyn kept him informed of the captives' status, and Mr. Storm expressed his satisfaction with Lewis' apparent dedication to cleaning up trash by dropping hints that a higher-ranking position awaited him. But nothing much changed, and by far the most aggravating thing about Lewis' job was that every time he was close to getting any kind of perspective on the Phantasmenagerie's layout undetected, Adolf would manifest somewhere in close proximity. Lewis caught onto the fact that the henchman's werewolf senses could detect fairies, but even if he managed to contact Ashwyn or Queen Evalia from a distance, Adolf appeared while Lewis attempted to mind his own business, glowering at him without a word. Lewis had even tried to complain about him to Mr. Storm, but that only led to the carnival director advising him to steer clear of Adolf and anything to do with Krasimir Schlimme. At least by speaking up and taking his employer's advice he no longer felt like Adolf was actively stalking him anymore, but he would still show up several times throughout the day, as if to remind Lewis that the lad was under the surveillance of a born predator.

About midweek, Lewis was picking up trash near the food court when he heard Krasimir Schlimme bellow, "Zere he is!"

Mr. Storm and two security guards (regular humans, not Adolf and another werewolf or any Underworlders) converged on the young janitor as Krasimir fumed, "You seenk you can break into my menagerie and cause problems, ja? You are suspicious of me, after I gif you a good job at ze museum, after I have been so accommodating? You seenk zis way you vill get more exclusive access to my creations, ja?"

Lewis furrowed his brow and watched Mr. Storm through the artist's tirade. "What is he talking about, sir?"

The director coughed. "Um, well, Lewis, it seems that there have been a few strange goings-on in the fre--uh, fantasy attraction," he explained. "Trash cans tipped over, enclosures left unlocked, machines unplugged, that sort of thing. Did you ever find yourself on that side of the carnival in the last week?"

Lewis shrugged. "No, I've just stuck around the main carnival grounds. Are you asking because I might have seen something?" he queried, but then the pieces fell into place. "No wait... You think I could have messed with that stuff?"

"Of course you did!" Mr. Schlimme retorted. "No one else could haf known enough about my things to want to sabotage me! You are just looking for an excuse to discredit me!"

Lewis shook his head. "Not at all, sir. I work for Mr. Storm and I would not do anything to interfere with his carnival or any shows associated with it."

"If I may," Mr. Storm broke in, holding up a tablet produced by the security guard. "We have some footage here of what looks like a large animal knocking over one of your trashcans," he pointed to the grainy image where all that could be seen by the can in question was a flicker of light and then a small, squat creature about four feet tall colliding with the can.

Mr. Storm went on. "Maybe this animal is responsible for the trash everywhere, at least, and the other accidents are just that, random bouts of equipment failure."

Krasimir glared at Lewis. "Who is to say zis boy did not deliberately drive zis... animal, as you say, into my side of ze carnival? Have you searched his belongings for ze keys I am missing?"

One of the security guards raised a key ring from his pocket. "You mean these?" he asked, jangling them before Schlimme's shocked face. "Somebody found them on the ground just outside your main tent this morning and handed them to me. I was just on my way to turn them in when Storm called me over here."

"And I wasn't even here in the morning today," Lewis piped up. "I had class this morning back at Browning Academy."

Meanwhile, Krasimir had actually viewed the security footage and his whole demeanor changed. He cooled down from his anger into a frigid calm. "I cannot prove zese seengs vere done by Herr Grant, but I want assurances zat he does not set foot in my menagerie vissout my express permission."
Mr. Storm nodded. "That I can ensure, sir. I will discuss this with Lewis and we will work out an arrangement I am sure you will find most agreeable."

The self-proclaimed artist gave the young man a devastating scowl, but he stomped back toward his domain. Sure enough, as Lewis watched him he caught Adolf peeking out from behind a tent with his lip curled in a snarl, but at a barked command from Schlimme, the henchman followed his master.

Mr. Storm wagged his head. "I'm sorry about that, Lewis. I know this situation is not your fault, but you know how it is when rich artists start making demands." He shrugged. "I wouldn't normally agree to work with someone so hot-tempered, but he is bringing in far more revenue than my carnival alone has in past years." He laid a hand on Lewis' shoulder. "I've said this before, you've been doing a very good job fulfilling your duties. In fact, before all the complaints this week I was almost ready to promote you to a higher position by Friday, giving you a team of staffers to supervise in various locations around the carnival. However, I think you and I can agree it's for the best if you just stick around this side of the carnival, and avoid doing anything that would put you in the vicinity of that area." Mr. Storm cast a furtive glance toward the Phantasmenagerie. Turning back to Lewis, he continued brightly, "How about I assign you to the arcade for the time being? You can help run the games, troubleshoot as necessary, and make sure the guests have a good time."

Lewis slowly nodded along. Granted, it wasn't the same level of free rein he'd enjoyed as a janitor able to roam around the carnival at will, but it was also nowhere near the Phantasmenagerie, so Krasimir couldn't possibly accuse him of sabotage again. At the same time, if he was going to map out a rescue plan and get the chance to pull it off, he would need a place to lay low until the artist's ire faded. "Sounds good, Mr. Storm," he said.

"Great!" Mr. Storm pointed across the food court. "Why don't you finish with these last few cans and stow the cart so you can head over to the arcade now. I think Ashley is the lead there today, and she can give you some tasks to do."

Lewis straightened his cap and cleared his throat. "Okay, Mr. Storm," he replied, and prepared to do just that.

Once he arrived at the arcade, he found Ashley just starting a young girl on a game of Whack-a-Mole.
"Hey, are you Ashley?" Lewis asked.

The round-faced redhead looked up and smiled when she noticed Lewis wearing a uniform that matched hers. "Yeah, are you the new guy?" A buzzer sounded as the girl ended her game.

Lewis nodded. "I'm Lewis. Mr. Storm told me to work the arcade for the next week or so."

When Ashley smiled, her hazel eyes seemed to sparkle in the afternoon light. "That's great! I'd appreciate the help. Do you mind reaching over to grab that stuffed panda?" She gestured to the wall of prizes beside Lewis, and he obliged. The girl skipped off happily, and Ashley stepped down from behind the game to join Lewis in the middle of the space. Lewis noticed she wore a tiny microphone clipped over her ear, but her voice didn't seem amplified as she spoke to him. "All right, Lewis, here we have Skeeball, Whack-a-Mole, basketball, pinball, a claw machine, and ring toss." She pointed around the space. "Everything's pretty self-contained, single-player, and you shouldn't have many problems. The bulk of this job is resetting the rings, pressing the buttons on the machines to reset those between each customer, and doling out the prizes."

Lewis pointed to her microphone. "Do I need to wear one of those?"

Ashley shrugged. "Probably not. I only need it if the games get too loud and I need to explain the rules of another game, or if a group decides they want to compete with one another. Any more questions?"

Lewis shook his head, which prompted another smile on Ashley's face. "Great! Let's get started!"

Ashley supervised one side of the arcade, and Lewis manned the other. After about an hour of steadily welcoming people in, Lewis was finding a rhythm to running the machines. So much so that he didn't panic when Ashley said, "Well, I need to take my break now. There aren't too many people coming in anyway. Are you going to be okay till I get back?"

Lewis waved to her. "I'll be fine. See you later!" He went back to collecting the rings in their basket.

Some time passed, and Lewis watched the last person in the arcade finish their Skee-ball game, collect their prize, and leave. No one else in the immediate vicinity seemed to be heading in his direction, so Lewis took the opportunity to sit in the plastic folding chair between the basketball game and the pinball machine. He felt something tap his shoulder and a small voice said, "Oh, there you are!"

Lewis lifted his hand and Ashwyn landed in his palm. "Ashwyn, I've been meaning to talk to you."

The small fairy plopped down and pulled her knees to her chest. "What about? Why are you here and not going around emptying garbage cans?" Her wings sparkled briefly. "Did you get promoted?"

Lewis sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not exactly..." he responded slowly. "Mr. Storm put me here after a bunch of stuff went wrong in the Phantasmenagerie."

Ashwyn burst out laughing, a musical tinkle as her wings buzzed against his palm. "Oh! We really showed that Captor! I even made sure to pull those pranks when there were other Underworlders or Phantasmians about, so Adolf could never hone in on my particular scent. Aren't you proud of me for not getting caught?"

"Well, no!" Lewis retorted. "Mr. Schlimme still tried to blame me for the sabotage! I never asked you to do that! What possessed you?"

Ashwyn huffed and rose into the air with her arms crossed. "You think I could see all my kin and my friends getting tortured every day and not want to get a little bit of payback? Besides, it's not like he had any proof at all of your involvement. You were never anywhere near it when we went in to have our bit of fun!"

"Ashwyn!" Lewis groaned. "I'm trying to stay undetected so Mr. Schlimme and especially Adolf hopefully gets used to ignoring me so when I make a plan, I can put it into action without getting caught!"

The mischievous fairy's face fell. "Oh... I get it now."

Lewis wagged his head. "No more pulling pranks, okay? It's too risky. You're lucky Mr. Storm thought the goblin that was chasing you and knocking over the trash cans was some kind of large raccoon or something."

"Oh, haha!" Ashwyn cut a couple loops as she chuckled. "That was so funny, leading him all over the place as he bashed his head over and over again and made such a mess! I kind of hoped the master of Storms would choose you to clean it up, and then you'd have an excuse to go there--"

"No more, Ashwyn," Lewis begged her. "Please, just stop trying to interfere on my behalf."

She stopped her crazy loops, hovering in midair. "Are you sure?" she asked, a strange tone in her jingling voice. "Please, can't I do just one more thing--"

"No!" Lewis shook his head. "One more prank and I might be in just as much trouble as I was at the Warehouse. I can't afford to frustrate another employer!"

"Well then..." Ashwyn started bobbing up and down in agitation. "You might not like what's about to happen..."

Lewis narrowed his gaze on her, reaching out to snatch her out of the air so she couldn't get away. "What did you do?"

A moment after the words left his mouth, a terrific crash shook the ground, and Lewis almost lost his footing as Ashwyn dodged his grasp. The little fairy took off from the arcade, pealing "I'm sorry!" as she few away.

Lewis heard screams and saw nearly everyone still at the carnival streaming toward one end of the grounds. Stepping into the aisle beside the arcade, Lewis walked toward the source of the mayhem, the Phantasmenagerie.

The moment those grisly black gates came into view, he realized what had made the noise: one of the large tents (not the huge main one at the center, but one of the larger ones off to the side) had collapsed, and a pipe somewhere had burst, spraying a gush of water into the air where it sprinkled down on anyone standing too close.

Lewis watched the frenzied movement under the collapsed tent, his eyes distinguishing the shape of something with wings--it had to be the gryphon, he surmised. At least it wasn't the strait-jacketed Lisa buried helplessly under all that heavy canvas. A crowd of people cringed under the falling water and raced away from the Phantasmenagerie as fast as they could, screaming and shouting all the way.
Lewis kept inching closer as crowds behind him swept him forward, and people in front of him kept obscuring his view. Krasimir's oddly-shaped "staffers"--the disguised Underworlders--raced to block the water pipe and reset the tent, while also recapturing the Phantasmians it contained.

Lewis now stood at the last row of rides before the fence around the Phantasmenagerie. He heard a furious voice bellowing German curses and when he looked toward his right, there was Krasimir Schlimme, thrashing somebody with a thick riding crop. The person he beat wore a staff uniform similar to Lewis' but it didn't seem to fit right on the twisted body. Dark, furry hands reached up in a plea for mercy, and Lewis felt his knees buckle as he realized it was a burly ogre whose humanlike disguise had partially washed off.

"Hey you!" snarled a voice, and Lewis whirled around.
Adolf!

The werewolf was still in human form and standing on the other side of the gate, but the murderous glare he leveled at Lewis was decidedly monstrous. "You're not supposed to be over here!"

Lewis immediately turned back toward Storm's carnival and took off against the flow of people, toward safety. He managed to reach the other side of the food court before he stopped to catch his breath. Beside him, a pair of staffers discussed the fiasco that had just occurred.

"Yeah, that place is a real mess right now!" one said. "Pass the message along to the front gate attendants, that Mr. Storm says admission to the Phantasmenagerie should be halted at once, till they get the situation under control."

"Gee, I hope that place isn't closed for too long," his friend replied. "It'll probably take them days to put everything back together!"

Lewis shuddered. Mr. Schlimme would definitely not accept losing a single day of revenue. Even back at his post in the arcade, Lewis could still hear the animal-like wails of more Underworlders getting punished. Would the Phantasmians in his possession become the targets of Krasimir's wrath as well?
That evening, after a quick dinner in the food court, Lewis decided to check in with the fairies an hour before his bus was scheduled to come. He made sure he was alone at the staff lockers (since so many had opted to leave as quickly as possible when the tent collapsed) before opening his backpack. Queen Evalia and a crowd of fairies flew out, while the elves tumbled to the floor in eager cartwheels.

"How did everything go today?" asked Queen Evalia.

"Not well," Lewis answered, looking around at the sparkling fairies. "I need to speak with Ashwyn. Is she here?" The fairies stopped to hover and prove to him that she wasn't among them, so Lewis searched elsewhere around the space. "Ashwyn? Where are you?"

"She's not here right now," of of the elves climbed up onto the bench to speak with him. "Last any of us saw, she came in, said she'd done something bad, and told Queen Evalia that she needed to go back and fix it before you finished for the day."

Lewis watched the Queen settle on the top shelf of his locker. "Is this true?"

Queen Evalia nodded. "She left some time ago, and I haven't seen her since." The light of her wings pulsed. "I fear she may have gone back into the Captor's domain, and she hasn't come out again."

Lewis glanced out the window of the mobile unit. Sunset was nearly complete. The shadows were even thicker and darker than they'd been before. "I have to go find her!" he said with a gulp.

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Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 21

Part 21

"Sniffing Around"

Lewis held his breath as he twisted the full garbage bag shut and lifted it out of the can to replace it with a fresh liner.

It had been a full week of keeping his head down, emptying trash cans and gathering bits of trash discarded by customers as they explored the carnival. He had managed to earn the approval of Casey and keep within the good graces of Mr. Storm, all while avoiding Krasimir Schlimme and the Phantasmenagerie. He couldn't even look in the direction of those creepy black gates without shuddering. Occasionally, he'd see Adolf stomping through the carnival on some sort of errand for Mr. Sclimme, but as Casey had said, the boundary between Storm's carnival and Schlimme's attraction was not breached often.

Some of the cans Lewis had to empty were close enough to the "menagerie" that he could see the milling forms of the "attendants"--slouching, awkward figures that passed for human on first glance, but the one time Lewis couldn't help staring, he found that they all had an eerie quality about them that betrayed their true natures, even if the unsuspecting public couldn't see it.

On the Saturday after Lewis' first full week, a large group of teenagers on some sort of holiday passed by the entrance booth of Storm's carnival, and every one of them bought admission to the Phantasmenagerie. Lewis wagged his head as they didn't even pause at any carnival games or rides, but headed right for those shining resin gates. He imagined he could hear the cries of the gryphon and Gathlen's pained whinnies issuing from somewhere in that fog-ridden wasteland. Every so often, he'd hear a high-pitched cackle, but it was so consistent that he could dismiss it as a sound-effect from some display. It irked him, how clever the so-called artist was: mingling things that were obviously fake among his real captives, also done over to look artificial, so that anybody looking at them would automatically assume that everything was fake.

Just as he was about to pick up some refuse that missed the trash can five feet away, a flurry of movement caught his eye. Lewis almost flinched, but it was only Ashwyn who came to land on the rim of the open can.

"Someone is looking for you," she chimed faintly, taking a covert moment to slip into the pocket of Lewis' uniform polo.

Lewis winced. "Who, Mr. Schlimme or Mr. Storm?" What if it's Adolf? he thought. He had avoided encountering the burly security guard ever since the meltdown at Moulton House, after Lewis had witnessed the man transform out of his werewolf state, but if Krasimir Schlimme suspected him at all, then Adolf would be just the man--or wolf--to uncover the connection.

"Neither," Ashwyn answered. "It's somebody from the big learning place, the long-haired one. I heard her say that she knows you work here." Lewis felt her movement against his chest as she climbed up to poke her head up near the edge of his pocket. "Do you want me to gather reinforcements to stage a diversion?"

Lewis hefted the full garbage bag and put it in his dumpster cart. A carnival-goer finished the last bite of funnel cake just as he was walking by Lewis, and without even looking, the man tossed the greasy paper plate into Lewis' cart and kept moving.

"No," Lewis whispered to Ashwyn as soon as he was alone. "It's just Quincy, probably. I know her, she's harmless." He heaved the cart to get it rolling toward his next stop.

Minutes later, just as he'd left the rides and moved toward the games section, Lewis heard a familiar voice yell, "There he is!"

He glanced toward the voice to see Quincy, Jesse, and Brayden headed toward him.
Quincy grinned and waved like she was greeting a long-awaited friend returning from an extended trip. "Lewis! Good to see you! Man, it's been a while!" She gave him a small side hug as the guys opted for a more subtle greeting.

"'Sup?" asked Brayden, as Jesse held out his hand for a friendly fist-bump.

Lewis obliged. "Hey guys. Welcome to Storm's Carnival."

"It's nice to have somewhere we can get away on the days we don't have classes," Quincy remarked, toying with the neon paper bracelet on her wrist. "There's a discount on admission for Browning students."

"Not the special exhibit, though," Jesse pointed out.

Quincy waved a nonchalant hand. "Meh, I just wanted to be able to see it at least once before it goes away. I typically like spooky stuff, especially while the weather is still cold!" she shivered and wrapped her coat closer around herself.

Lewis could tell from the nervous expressions on the group's faces that they weren't as keen as Quincy. He shifted the topic of conversation. "So, I know I haven't been in the same circles at Browning for the last couple weeks, basically just attending classes and then spending the rest of my day here. What have I missed since then?"

"Oh, big changes!" Quincy jumped in again. "You know that big catastrophe that happened at Moulton House?"

"Of course he knows, Quincy! He was there!" Jesse grunted before Lewis could say anything.

The dark-haired girl blinked. "You were? I thought you were at the other place for your new job this semester, the Warehouse."

"I did sign up for Warehouse 31," Lewis confirmed, eager for something to divert their attention away from his proximity to the place. "I might have been in the area of the museum that day, but I wasn't still working as a janitor when everything kind of fell apart."

Quincy was too eager to tell her story. "Well, anyway, word is the old building, while an important piece of history, was too damaged in the collapse to be able to restore it at all. They've moved whatever art they could salvage over to a warehouse--not the same one as you worked at, but a different storage facility--and they're tearing the whole thing down to build a new one."

"I still can't get a straight answer from anybody on what happened," Brayden said. "Some girls from my art class said they saw an actual unicorn running across the road in front of the museum, while Zane from Chemistry class swears he could see a giant hand as big as a car reaching out of the roof--but nobody had any proof of these things. I mean, just looking at the damage, it does match what the faculty says happened."

"And what do they say?" Lewis queried in a small voice.

Brayden shrugged. "Anytime somebody asked, the teachers all would say a gas line ruptured and blew off the front wall of the building, and a water-line burst and caused even more damage." He finished with a slow shake of his head.

"Any word on when you'll be back to a normal schedule and able to join us for Study Hall again?" Quincy asked. "It's dumb that we don't get to hang out like we used to."

Lewis scratched behind his ear. "I don't know," he said. "That's going to be up to the Dean, I guess."

Jesse abruptly hunched his shoulders and scooted in closer to the group of friends. "Don't look now," he whispered, "but there's a weird guy in a carnival staff uniform over by the roller coaster giving us a creepy stare."

Lewis didn't move his head but lifted his eyes to see over Jesse's shoulder. Sure enough, he spotted the man at once, but that was because only he could tell that it wasn't a man at all. The hairline was a bit to high, the torso a bit too short, the legs bent oddly in long slacks, and the arms were just a touch too long. Not to mention that he was wearing the uniform designating him as a staffer from Krasimir Schlimme's Phantasmenagerie. It had to be one of the disguised goblins, Lewis concluded.

"We should probably let Lewis get back to work, so we can look through the spooky attractions before they close down for the day," Quincy was saying. "Catch you later, Lewis!" She waved as the three of them went on their way. Lewis noticed as he returned to his work that the goblin had moved on as well. Why would Krasimir Schlimme want to spy on his friends?

After his shift ended, Lewis headed for the food court to grab a slice of pizza. Of course he didn't forget his small stowaway, sneaking bites of pizza into his pocket for Ashwyn.

"You know that goblin wasn't watching your friends, right?" she mused from down between the layers of fabric.

"I know." Lewis kept his hands folded in front of his face so it wouldn't be too obvious that he was talking. "Do you think they've figured out that I have the Phantasmagyth?"

"Oh, most assuredly!" Another voice shimmered above his head.

Lewis pretended to lean back and stretch as he located Queen Evalia flitting among the hanging floodlights over the courtyard. "There is no doubt the Captor knows for certain that the common factor in his sudden fall from dominance is you, and that at one point you were around when the Phantasmagyth went missing."

"Don't worry," Ashwyn jumped in as Lewis felt his pulse racing. "He probably assumes you know nothing about us or the way the Phantasmagyth works, so you're not too much a threat to him as long as he believes he can get ahold of the Phantasmagyth at some point."

"So... What should I do with it?" Lewis squeaked. "I can't keep it, but it sounds like I can't get rid of it, either!"

"Oh, dragons no!" Queen Evalia bellowed. "you must never let it out of your possession, until Gathlen and the others are free from the Captor's grasp. Since you were the last one to activate the Phantasmagyth, that makes you its interim guardian, until it can be safely returned to the Red-Horned Unicorn!"

Lewis leaned forward and let his head drop into his hands. "I didn't ask for this!" he moaned.

"None of us did," Ashwyn responded quietly, "and yet here we are. I believe in you, Lewis. You can see us safely home again."

Lewis sighed and leaned back to wrack his brain. "I can think of a few places to keep the Gyth in my room where it would be safe from anybody trying to snoop around and look for it," he mused. His mind went to the puzzle box he'd hidden the Chain in when he'd gone back home for the holidays. If he put that under his travel bags in the top of his dorm room closet, no one would even think to look up in what should be a bunch of empty cases for a massive gemstone!

"What about the Chain?" Evalia asked. "It is imperative that you keep such a powerful artefact within reach, not where the Captor can get to it without your knowledge. Him laving the Gyth is one thing, but he must never come in contact with the Chain."

Lewis nodded as he gathered his empty dishes and headed toward the nearest trash can. "It's safe enough in my backpack. That thing has so many little pockets I don't even use that it would be hard for someone else to locate something that small unless they knew the right compartment to look in. Plus, I basically carry my backpack wherever I--yipe!"

Lewis had just turned around from throwing away his trash in the middle of speaking to find Adolf standing just behind him.

"Who are you talking to?" The swarthy henchman snarled.

Lewis recalled what Gathlen had said about him being in charge of the Underworlders--and just seeing the man's face reminded him of the awful sensation of being charged by the werewolf.

"N-nobody!" Lewis stammered. "I was just eating some dinner after I finished my shift. I'm leaving now!" Why did he feel obligated to answer to this creepy, brawny henchman, anyway?

Adolf sneered at him. and Lewis could hear the weird sniffling sound his breath made as Adolf said, "Do you smell something?"

The question caught Lewis so off-guard that he didn't quite know what to say. Did the fact that they were both from Phantasm mean that the werewolf could detect the scent of fairies? "W-well, the only thing I'm smelling right now is the trash can beside us." In the dark at the edge of the carnival, Lewis could se the bus arrive to take passengers back toward Browning Academy and the nearby city. "I've gotta go," he finished, and before Adolf could try anything else or detain him any longer, Lewis dashed straight to the staff lockers, picked up his backpack and caught the bus. Only then did he dare to let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one!" he muttered aloud. At least Adolf hadn't caught him actively sitting and chatting with the fairies. Lewis had no idea how he would have talked his way out of that situation!

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Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 20

Part 20

"Welcome to The Carnival"

Lewis fidgeted with the strap of his backpack as he waited at the bus stop near the central plaza of the Browning Academy campus. Today was going to be his first day at the carnival, and he wasn't sure what to expect. The letter of recommendation from Dean Rushford crinkled in his pocket, and as the bus pulled to a stop, Lewis felt his heartbeat quicken. He got on, showed the driver his student ID, and took his seat. Outside the window, a flicker of light caught his attention. The round glow settled on the sill of his window, and Ashwyn waved to him. He watched her take off in the same direction as the bus when it pulled away from the school. A lot of Lewis' anxiety dissipated at the sight of her. At least he could count on one friend in this new venture!

Storm's Carnival was a collection of large tents and a scattering of rides in a large-open field surrounded by tall trees. Lewis could hear the canned music loops playing out of several different corners as he left the bus and headed down the main thoroughfare. He could see a few spinning rides, a Ferris wheel, some swings, and a funhouse, interspersed between game booths of almost every variety. Staffers carried loads of plastic-wrapped inflatable and plushy prizes that they were still hanging on the walls of the cages separating the games.

He made his way to the bank of mobile trailers that looked like shipping containers, where he saw the one labeled "MAIN OFFICE."

When Lewis knocked on the door, a voice from inside called "Come in!"

He entered to find a paunchy, balding man scouring a sheaf of papers on a very cluttered desk. in front of the desk sat two squat, sagging chairs. He looked up when Lewis entered.
"Who are you?" he asked with a frown.

Lewis took a deep breath to steady his nerves, pulled the letter of recommendation out of his pocket, and said, "I'm Lewis Grant, sir--from Browning Academy? Are you Mr. Storm?"

The man nodded quickly and gestured to the chairs with one hand while holding the other out to receive the letter. "Ah, that's right! I did get a call that a student would be coming down to apply for work experience this weekend. Good to meet you, Lewis. Please, sit."

A brief silence hung between them as Mr. Storm read over the letter to make sure things were all in order. He set it on top of the many other papers in front of him and now surveyed Lewis with a grin. "Well, all I can say is, welcome to my carnival! Says here your work experience has been mostly a janitorial position at the campus art museum?"

Lewis fought the cringing feeling in the pit of his stomach. Had word reached Mr. Storm of the catastrophic "accident"? Would he start asking questions? "Yes, sir. Janitor, and also some warehouse work."

Mr. Storm waved his hand. "Nah, don't much care about that. Actually, we could use some extra hands to do the groundskeeping work, you know--make sure walkways are clear, empty trash bins, pick up litter, wash up spills, and in general make sure the area around the games and the rides stays looking nice. You see," he leaned back and folded his hands over his round gut, "it was as much as my usual staff could do to keep pace with the amount of guests we'd normally see in a given season, but this year, we're expanding." He sat up and pulled a colorful poster out from under the pile of letters and forms.
Lewis felt his heart pound even harder when he instantly recognized the face leering at him from the background of the poster. "KRASIMIR SCHLIMME PRESENTS: PHANTASMENAGERIE!" the poster proclaimed. In the foreground, the display boasted an emaciated-looking unicorn, a rearing and muscle-bound gryphon with bloody fangs and bared claws, and jars of glowing specks like firefly lanterns. Along the edge was a person depicted looking through the bars of a cage at a giant figure writhing in a straitjacket.

If Ashwyn saw this, it would kill her! Lewis thought. He couldn't restrain a shiver that shook his whole body.

"Gruesome, isn't it?" Mr. Storm agreed with a chuckle. "This artist approached me on Sunday and said he was an artist starting a tour with creepy and macabre fantasy items, and he wanted some space to exhibit them."

Lewis swallowed hard. "You mean, like, sculptures and stuff?" Why hadn't Schlimme just taken everything to another museum? Why seek out a carnival right next door to put his prisoners on display?
The carnival owner shook his head. "No, these were more like animatronics, or animals with alterations--visual trickery and whatnot. He asked if I would let him use the space right next to my carnival, and he said all he'd need were a few large tents for his displays, a billing on our showtime schedule, and a small percentage of admission fees, to allow guests at my carnival to explore his exhibits and performances without having to pay an additional fee."

Lewis felt his heart pounding in his ears as he listened to the man.

"At first I wasn't too keen on it--the imagery he showed me looked pretty bizarre, and I like to keep my attractions family-friendly, you know? But the artist swore it would be a huge hit with the teenage and older audiences, who might find my carnival a little boring. So I rented him the space--but I still need staff to help maintain it. There won't be as many rides or games to clean up after over on that side. I figure it would be easy for you and a couple others to just take care of the trash around those tents, and if I see that you've gotten the hang of janitorial duties, we can talk about expanding your role to maybe help run the games or rides sometimes." Mr. Storm gave Lewis a hopeful smile. "So, what do you say?"

What other choice did he have? "I think... that sounds like a great opportunity, sir," Lewis replied, sticking out his hand. "Thank you so much, Mr. Storm."

Mr. Storm chuckled and shook Lewis' hand over the desk. "Wonderful! Welcome to the team, Lewis!"

They exited the office, and Mr. Storm gestured to a similar structure down the aisle between the bank of mobiles. "This way, Lewis. All staff have lockers in these two mobiles. We'll find you an empty one where you can store your things while you're working here." He nodded to the backpack on Lewis' back.

The first mobile was full, but the second one had a few unoccupied lockers. There was a young man just closing his locker and adjusting his hat with the words "CARNIVAL STAFF" embroidered on the front.

"Ah! Casey," Mr. Storm greeted him. "This is Lewis, he's from Browning Academy and he'll be working with us in the janitor position."

The sandy-haired young man grinned and offered a handshake. "Hey, that's awesome! Welcome to the carnival life."

Mr. Storm nodded his approval. "Well, I have to get back to running things. Casey, will you show Lewis where to get his gear, and show him around the carnival grounds?"
Casey bobbed his head. "Sure," he replied.

Mr. Storm gave Lewis a pat on the shoulder. "Pay attention to where the trash cans are on your tour, young man," he said. "You won't want to miss any when this carnival gets going in full swing!"

Casey led Lewis out to another mobile with the large sign STAFF UNIFORMS. "This is where you'll pick up a uniform in your size," he explained. "Usually just a cap, a jacket, a couple shirts, and an apron if you're on a team that deals with a lot of messes."

Lewis eyed the cabinet full of carnival uniforms, and chose the articles Casey mentioned in his size. Casey waved to the other side, where the bank of washing machines and dryers were. "If your outfit gets messy, you can change it out for a clean shirt and wash the dirty one. Mr. Storm likes us all to look clean and professional as much as possible."
Lewis logged that away and followed the young man out to the attraction grounds.

"Okay," Casey continued. "So here we've got the food court, with all the carts and booths, there's a bunch of trash cans through there; then over this way, we've got the arcade of games, and then through here, a few rides."

Lewis nodded as he peeked around the basketball arcade and past the ring toss to note a few garbage cans around the arcade. The rides each had a trash can next to the exit, probably so prospective riders could deposit any trash before getting on the ride, but this carnival was much smaller than the annual county fair held in his hometown. Past the spinning ride, he spotted a second carnival gate, strung with cobwebs and painted dark colors: the PHANTASMENAGERIE, featuring the art of Krasimir Schlimme. The black fake-iron gates were flanked by distressed cement columns and squat figures of some kind. Venturing closer, Lewis recognized the shapes: bulbous goblins, but Schlimme had not endeavored to manufacture any sort of realism as he had for the art museum displays. Instead, these goblins had been coated with a substance to make them look like they were carved out of the same cement as the columns behind them.

He pointed at the gate. "What about that place?"

Casey glanced only briefly and shuddered. "The creep show? No, we don't have to go there unless the guy running it specifically requests staff from Mr. Storm. As far as I know, he's got his own staff, and all he's doing is renting that corner of the field so that he didn't have to set up his own parking lot and entrance gate. If you work at the entrance booth, you'll have a separate box for people buying access to the freak circus, so that guy gets his portion of the normal carnival entrance fees. But, personally, I'm not a fan of that spooky stuff. Especially since it's springtime--a little too late for scary stuff! But Mr. Storm says there are a lot of people who are fascinated by the macabre any time of the year, so he got the spot." Casey wagged his head. "Just don't worry about that place. You'll do all right here."

Lewis gave one last look toward Krasimir's new home to display his captive creatures. There was a conspicuously large tent behind the barriers, plenty large enough to house a giant Linda's size. The memory of her depicted in a straitjacket made his skin crawl. How much of that poster was real, and how much was just an illustration created by Schlimme to attract attention?

Thinking of Linda reminded him of Ashwyn, but as the tour wore on, and Casey explained how each game and ride worked, Lewis realized that he wouldn't have time alone to talk to the little fairy until he got back to his dorm at the end of the night. He pretended to nod along and pay attention as Casey showed him all the inner workings at the back of each booth, where the controls were, and especially any troubleshooting shutoff buttons for each game. In reality, his thoughts obsessed over the place he never wanted to go, the place he wanted to avoid more than others just about as much as he wanted to expose Schlimme again and drive him away to rescue the living creatures subjected to such heinous treatment. But what could he do about it?

"And that's about it," Casey finished, rubbing his chin. He checked his watch and bobbed his head. "Well, that puts us about dinnertime. Want to head over to the food court and pick up something? Mr. Storm gives all the staff food vouchers each week. I have an extra one you can use." He offered Lewis a rumpled piece of neon paper with the carnival logo printed on it.

"Thanks," said Lewis, shaking off the sight of the Phantasmenagerie and focusing on the other side of the carnival.

At the food court, Casey picked up some tacos and a lemonade, while Lewis headed to a cart selling chicken fingers and fries, with a soda to wash it down. On their way to a table, some other young staffers greeted Casey and invited him with them, ignoring the newcomer in the process.

Lewis sat alone at a table at the edge of the pavilion, munching on his chicken strips until something bopped against the side of his neck. He reached up to brush it away, and it gave a frantic squeal.

"Don't squish me!" Ashwyn yelped.

Lewis withdrew his hand, and pulled the edge of his collar up so the fairy could hide there. "Why are you out here?" he muttered under his breath. "I was going to head back to the lockers after this."

"You were taking too long," she insisted. "I was worried you'd forget about us."

Lewis rolled his eyes. "Okay, so what was so important that you had to risk exposing yourself to come find me?"

He felt her settle into the crook of his shoulder. "I visited Mr. Schlimme's menagerie to see what he's done with the captives. Lewis, it's awful!"

"I know," Lewis responded. "I saw the poster in Mr. Storm's office."

"No, you don't know!" Ashwyn insisted. "You see, when you activated the Phantasmagyth and freed everybody from the effects of the venim-gas, Mr. Schlimme can't make everybody stiff anymore. He has set up the attractions to make everybody look like regular Earth animals, or mechanical toys."

"Did he really put Linda in a straitjacket?" Lewis wanted to know.

"Not exactly," Ashwyn answered after a moment. "He tied ropes to all her limbs and joints, rigging them to a frame at the top of the tent, so she can't move unless someone is pulling on the ropes. He also has some kind of a mask plastered over her face, that he can control like one of your puppets, so she looks like a fake invention." Her wings buzzed against his neck. "He's done all the Phantasmians up to be so fake and cheap-looking, meanwhile his ogres and goblins are all disguised as regular humans, and they are the ones working around his show!"

Lewis' alarm went off, and he realized that he needed to leave right then, or he'd miss the last bus back to Browning Academy.

"How are we going to get out of this, Ashwyn?" he asked on his way out of Storm's Carnival.
"I really don't know, Lewis," replied the fairy. "But we have to try!"

Lewis shook his head and bid her farewell as he boarded the bus. One thing was very clear: activating the Phantasmagyth had done very little to actually save any of the captive Phantasmians. Krasimir Schlimme would not rest until he had the complete Phantasmagyth in his possession.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

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Reader's Review: "Beauty and Beastly" by Melanie Karsak

Synopsis from Amazon:

When Isabelle Hawking and her father set out from London on a sea voyage, Isabelle is thrilled. Visiting foreign courts, learning from master tinkerers, and studying clockwork mechanisms is her dream. And it doesn't hurt that the trip also offers Isabelle an escape from her overbearing and unwanted suitor, Gerard LeBoeuf.
But Isabelle never arrives. Swept up in a tempest, her ship is lost.
Isabelle survives the storm only to be shipwrecked on a seemingly deserted island. The magical place, dotted with standing stones, faerie mounds, and a crumbling castle, hints of an ancient past. Isabelle may be an unwilling guest, but her arrival marks a new beginning for the beastly residents of this forgotten land.
>>>>>>>

My Review:

Melanie Karsak is an author I've been following for a while, ever since I read her steampunk take on "Red Riding Hood", Wolves and Daggers. It's an early one, but I enjoyed it very much.

As far as retellings go, this story was glorious! I've read plenty of "Beauty and The Beast" retellings, even recently participating in an anthology themed around "roses", leading to several stories (including my own submission) taking on the classic tale with our own spins. But when Karsak puts her signature steampunk/gaslamp twist on it, she really takes the story from "great" to "magnificent"!

Rather than inventing a horrendous beast-creature or dragon or what-have-you in an abandoned castle for her cursed character, Karsak has isolated him on an island where the animals and even the rose gardens around the castle are all enchanted clockwork! Rather than "Belle" being a dreamy girl who is constantly reading and very ostracized by her community, Karsak gives us a young woman of substance in Isabelle, an intelligent tinkerer, an inventor in her own right, and someone who makes plans and doesn't give up on accomplishing them.

The clockwork servants around the castle are fantastic, and the twists Karsak puts into the story are so fun and inventive. Plus, fans of the story will enjoy a highly-entertaining "Easter-egg hunt" with all the clever references Karsak adds to her own unique tale. (Including some bonus nods to Shakespeare's The Tempest! Don't think I didn't suss those out immediately!) I giggled, I gasped, I snorted, I sighed.... and most importantly, I couldn't stop reading!

Beauty and Beastly hits ALL the hallmarks of a great fairytale retelling: inventive characters, a compelling plot, quippy dialogue that doesn't feel forced or contrived or overly expositional, and a satisfying ending that will have every fairytale-loving reader squealing with happiness! To the surprise of absolutely no one, I give it the full *****5 STAR***** rating, and add in an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLLY RECOMMENDED endorsement! The romance is clean and sweet, the character development is on-point, and I'm definitely putting this one among my favorite retellings, and definitely the best version of "Beauty and The Beast" out there!

Further Reading: (Fairy Tales/Clean Reading/Retellings/Steampunk)

-The Girl and The Clockwork Cat--Nikki McCormack

The Alexander Legacy--Sophronia Belle Lyon
       -A Dodge, A Twist, and A Tobacconist 
       -The Pinocchio Factor

Punk Anthologies--Writerpunk Press Group
      -Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 1 
      -Once More Unto The Breach: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 2 
      -What We've Unlearned: Classic Literature Goes Punk

-Dreamtime Dragons--Dreamtime Fantasy Authors

-The Wendy--Erin Michelle Sky 

-Severance--M. A. Smith 

The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair 

Verona: The Complete Mermaid Tales--Pauline Creeden
       -Scales 
       -Submerged 
       -Salt 
       -Surfacing

Wonderland Guardian Academy Series--Pauline Creeden
       -Red The Wolf Tracker

       -Belle The Beast Tamer

-Mythical Doorways--Fellowship of Fantasy

Flash Fiction Friday: Flashes of Inspiration No. 24

 

#24 "The REAL Sleeping Beauty"

Prompt: Aurora woke up not after 100 years, but 1000 years. The first thing she saw was...

.... A thin shaft of light shining through the collapsed rafters. The sturdy metal bed frame, complete with posts at all four corners that once held up the canopy around her bed, was the only thing that had prevented the collapsed roof from smothering her completely.

Aurora rubbed her face and sat up carefully. Not another living thing stirred in the space around her. What had happened after her birthday? The last thing she remembered was withdrawing to her royal bedchamber when the festivities of the night before her sixteenth birthday had ended. She shifted carefully, trying to see past the dilapidated barricade. The blankets beneath her felt gritty and gossamer-thin. Snatches of a melody ran through her head… Another memory! Just before everything went blank, she did recall hearing a strange sound! What did it mean?

“Hello!”
“Shh! Quiet, you dork!”
“Why do I need to be quiet? It’s not like there’s anybody who can hear me in this abandoned castle! ECHOO!”
“SSHHH! Remember how Mrs. Tooley said it could be haunted?”
“Cut it out, Jessica! It’s not like any ghosts are going to attack us just for making noise! Come on, let’s climb up here and see if we can make it into the tower!”

Aurora’s heart beat rapidly. People! Two girls, it sounded like. Were they here to rescue her?
Desperate, she found her voice and called out, “Help!”

Dead silence followed. Then one of the girls said, “What animal was that?”
“Come again? I didn’t hear anything.”
“SHH! Quiet—listen!”

Aurora, emboldened by the voices getting closer, yelled again, “Help me!”

“Jess! It’s coming from the tower!”
“But we can’t get there! The wall collapsed and took out most of the stairs! Besides… How could anybody get up there if nobody’s been here for a decade?”
“That we know of…”
“Hello!” the girl named Jessica called. “I hear you!”

“Please!” Aurora begged. “I’m trapped and I can’t get out!”

“How long have you been in there?”

“Pardon?”

“When did you find this castle?”

Aurora frowned. “Find? I live here! This is my home!” She pressed against a board, feeling it give slightly at her touch. “I seem to be buried under a mountain of wood! The ceiling of my bedroom must have collapsed.”

“Ugh—oof!” Aurora could hear boots scraping against stone, the sounds of struggle. She decided it was worth struggling too.

The young princess searched around the perimeter of her wooden shell for the weakest point, and began shoving as hard as she could until the board snapped off, letting in even more light. Aurora could stick her whole arm through the hole, but she still couldn’t escape.

“Dude!” she heard Jessica gasp. “I think something just busted a hole in that pile of wood there!”

Hastily, Aurora thrust her arm through it and waved. “It’s me! I’ve been trapped in here since… I think since my birthday, and now I’m trying to get out!”

Jessica’s friend snorted. “That’s ridiculous! Who brings a girl out to some castle ruins for her birthday?”

Aurora withdrew her arm and looked around her bed, wishing she could see more than just her immediate area. “What do you mean ruins? When I came into this room, the castle was still standing. Surely it’s only the roof that has collapsed.”

The two girls were so silent, Aurora panicked that they might have departed.
“Umm,” came the voice of Jessica’s friend, “This castle hasn’t stood for… at least a few centuries! When did you say you got here?”

Aurora sighed. “There you go again, talking as if I wasn’t born here and lived here with my father and mother, the King and Queen, my entire life!”

“Whoa! King and—you’re a princess?” Jessica squealed.
“Wait a minute!” her friend interrupted. “Who are you?” Her shadow brushed over the hole Aurora had made, but she was still too far away to see her face.

“My name is Aurora,” stammered the princess.

More scuffling sounds, and Aurora could hear the girls whispering to each other. “Hello?” she queried. “I would really like to get out of here if I can. I think I’ve been asleep, but I have no idea for how long—“
“A thousand years,” Jessica answered, nearly stopping the very breath in Aurora’s lungs.

“W-wh-what did you say?” choked the princess.

“Your name is Aurora and you’re a princess who’s been sleeping in a castle for several centuries… I’m pretty sure this means—“

“Holy crap, Jess!” her friend yelped. “We’ve just discovered the REAL SLEEPING BEAUTY!”

<><><><><><><><>

Did you enjoy this tale? Head over to FLASH FICTIONS for more "Flashes of Inspiration"!

Reader's Review: "Set In Stone" by Frank Morin

Synopsis from Amazon:

Impossible choices. Explosive magic. Brilliant humor.

Connor is cursed . . .

In Obrion, that means he must obtain patronage from a high lord prior to his sixteenth birthday, or face execution.

Connor turns sixteen tomorrow.

Not to worry, he has a plan. Although it doesn't take into account little things like 'accidentally' setting the local lord's mansion on fire or his town getting invaded.

Armies clash, superhuman Petralists step out of legend, and layers of deadly intrigue shatter Connor's simple life. Caught in the middle of the conflict, he cannot understand why both sides are so interested in his curse.

If he stays, he dies.

If he leaves, people he loves will die.

Some birthdays are like that.

And there's this girl . . .

>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Eight years ago, I attended my local ComicCon and had a blast navigating the Artist's Alley section, particularly the area that specifically pertained to books by local authors and other writers and booksellers. I perused many interesting titles (which I ended up buying as ebooks a few weeks later) and received a lot of promotional "swag" items like bookmarks and postcards. One such was for Set in Stone, and therefore on the next ebook-buying "binge", I included it in my purchases. It then sat in my TBR for the next few years, overtaken by so many other books I read in the interim, as I watched that list of "Books I owned but have yet to read" grow longer and longer! But at long last, the time arrived when I would read it!

I was a bit apprehensive going into it, since some of the reviews I read complained about certain character arcs and made it sound like a trope-laden hodgepodge of plot holes and cheap escapes, fan-service type stuff... but I did want to give it a fair shot, so I kept reading. At least none of the characters were too insufferable at the beginning!

I really think reading about the inspiration behind the story, learning that it grew out of a storytelling improvisation session with his 11-year-old child really helped reframe the story as one geared toward the middle-grade reader, and from that perspective, it was a great story! I very much enjoyed the concept of the Petralists, the world-building centered on quarry-work and "unlocking" latent superhuman abilities based on different types of stone. I love that it almost felt limited in this first book, as it provides enough of an introductory foundation that promises payoff in the form of even more development in ensuing sequels. Yes, I did note the character arc that annoyed the other reviewers so much, but in the context of "this is a story meant for middle-graders" I didn't find it so terrible--and there were some tropes I was expecting to see that didn't happen, so I was definitely happy about that!
The variety of personalities in the cast of characters was awesome. Everything from the strong, solid, stoic type; the bubbly, exuberant type; the arrogant and overbearing type; and the dedicated, dependable type can be found in these pages. It does get to feel a bit long and dragging at times, if you're going in expecting a quick, simple, straightforward story like most children's novels. This is very much "epic fantasy for preteens." I really got a lot of "Ranger's Apprentice" vibes from it, if I'm being honest, and some of the chapters were actually shorter than others, so it makes the story feel like it's going by a bit faster when the action and movement is slow.

Set in Stone is an ingenious middle-grade novel that starts off on a unique premise, builds its world well, and manages to be highly entertaining just when the reader's attention is starting to drift. I'd rate this book a granite-steady *****4.5 STARS***** and if you're someone who enjoys finding new middle-grade fictional worlds to explore, OR you know a middle-grader who would love a new epic fantasy series to really get swept up into, I would recommend you pick up Set in Stone and see if it excites your imagination as much as it did mine!

Further Reading: (YA Adventures/Epic Fantasy/Young Heroes/Strong World-Building)

-Black Train--Clareesa Savka

-Anamatus--Derrick Tribble

-Dreamtime Dragons--Dreamtime Fantasy Authors

-The Purple Door District--Erin Casey

-The King's Warrior--Jenelle Leanne Schmidt 

-The Wendy--Erin Michelle Sky

The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair 

The Bhinian Empire--Miriam Forster
     -City of A Thousand Dolls 
     -Empire of Shadows 

The Portal Prophecies--C. A. King
     -A Keeper's Destiny 
     -A Halloween's Curse 
     -Frost Bitten

Happy Birthday To The Upstream Writer!!

Happy New Year, Upstream followers! I have so many updates since the last time I posted any kind of update at all... which was last year in January. So... This becomes a new birthday post for you all!

Life Stuff

First off, health-wise, I've seen much improvement since my sleep apnea diagnosis last year. A year of getting deep sleep every night has made a huge difference in my energy levels, namely that as long as I get a decent amount of sleep, I'm no longer fighting fatigue every waking hour as I was before!

Personally, I've been doing all right in the two years since my brother's passing. There are times when the grief hits me, for sure, but I find myself able to move past it more. It definitely helps that we've welcomed not just one but three new nephews into my family in the last year. They are all adorable and thriving in their respective families.

That being said, my summer wasn't nearly as productive as I wanted it to be, since I had some very strange muscle spasms on two separate occasions. In July it was my back that suddenly went out very randomly, rendering me nearly immobile for an entire weekend. I could lay down to sleep, but the transition between sitting and standing, and also moving around was very painful. In August--during the family reunion where I got to meet all my nephews at once--I ended up straining my bicep which almost completely immobilized my arm and gave me a great amount of pain for several days. That one lasted a week or so, in which I had to restrain my arm in a sling and thus I didn't really have the bandwidth to do a lot of writing.

Writing

Which brings me to the full disclosure: I'm still not finished with Fugitive of Crossway. It's still not where I want it to be, it's still rough in many places, and although I'm going to give it my best shot, there is a good chance it will still take me into winter to finish it.

However, all is not lost, as I've managed to release three short stories in limited-run anthologies this year. The first was Genie in A Bottle, which has recently been delisted as it has finished its run. For that one, I wrote a brand-new story titled "Gears, Guns, and Guttersnipes", a version of the Aladdin story based on the eventual Book 3 of the Undersea Saga. (*Note: This anthology has been discontinued at this time; the short story may appear in a future "Tales From The Undersea Saga" collection!) The second was Cracked Fairy Tales, a theme that aptly fit my short story "The Dragon's Mark", a retelling of Cinderella I'd done a few years back here on the blog. (*Note: This anthology has also completed its limited run, hence you can either read the serial as it is here on my blog, or look for it in an eventual short story collection!)

Last of all, is Rose of Disgrace, for which I chose to polish up and tweak "The Prince and The Rose", a retelling of Beauty and The Beast in which the damsel character isn't noble, innocent, or charitable, although her name is ironically Charmaine--she is vain, selfish, and rude; all the characteristics normally attributed to the Prince who is commonly placed under a curse in the traditional story. I had fun changing up the archetypes, pitting a penitent-yet-cursed prince against a beautiful-but-arrogant damsel, just to see how things might turn out a bit differently. I feel like it turned out well and I can't wait for you all to read it! 

In conclusion, I haven't made as much progress on The Undersea Saga as I wanted, but the year hasn't been wholly devoid of writing!

Another change for me last year, which you may have noticed, is that for the first time since basically 2013, I chose not to participate in NaNoWriMo in the month of November. Honestly, it's been waning since before the pandemic, as the small band of local participants couldn't keep a regular "Municipal Liaison" for more than a few years, and nobody really seemed too keen to take up the role. Then when lockdowns happened, everything sort of unraveled and there wasn't any sort of structure to the community at all, so we sort of drifted apart.
This year, it seems the organization made the (in my opinion) rather unfortunate choice to associate with and subsequently double down to defend said association with a program that uses generative AI. I may not know much about such a concept--and I've used some image generators for cover mockups or character inspiration, but the aspect I disagree with is the notion of using AI programs to generate novels themselves, and the fact that such programs will often generate based on information gleaned from published works, often those independently published, without crediting or asking permission of the author. This is theft, and I don't approve. NaNoWriMo, in their response to objections to the association with the generative AI program, maintained that users of generative-AI writing software are doing so because they could not access the activity of writing without it, and those that object to using generative-AI to write whole novels are speaking from some kind of "privilege" that allows us to come up with our own original stories and plots and words, while generative-AI programs give "access" to those who somehow cannot do their own writing without it.
It's not privilege, it's skill. And injecting an AI generator into the process isn't going to develop the skill the same way writing organically does. What it may do is create an increased dependence on the program, while the fledgling writer's own ability to self-generate remains immature and undeveloped.
Therefore, I am convinced that NaNoWriMo is no longer a place for writers and story enthusiasts to band together and support each others' writing. An organization that defends the use of AI to generate whole plots and characters and writing in the name of "access" just feels like it's about padding the numbers and giving the appearance of popularity, of quantity over quality, and I don't agree with that.
Hence I'm just going to continue tracking my word counts and projects on WordKeeperAlpha, and not even bother with the NaNoWriMo site. I missed the heady rush of earning the fun badges, but at least I'll keep on writing my own words!

Anyway! Back to writing.

What's In Store for The Upstream Writer?

As we enter 2025, I'm coming to grips with a combination of unofficially (self-diagnosed), internalized ADHD (likely the source of a lot of my "airy" tendencies growing up), on top of the coping habits I fell into from undiagnosed sleep apnea... and I've got a few strategies I've started to implement to try and un-learn the ineffectual stuff and form new neural pathways to get me to a point of productive success!
I want to be more active in blogging this year. I want to make a return to Serial Saturdays--or at least make an attempt to finish what I've already started, projects like Fairies Under Glass and A Writer's Tale, to name a few. I'm even toying with the idea of revisiting the ReBible series and maybe adding those to Wattpad, thus reinstating Wattpad Wednesdays. In between, I'm hoping that edits on Fugitive of Crossway won't take as long since I'm not completely rewriting the whole thing a third time! 2025 could very well be my year, folks! (I know I've said that every year for the past three years... but I have a few things going for me this year that I haven't had before!) Perhaps with the completion of this main project, it will open for me opportunities to return to abandoned projects (such as at least two people who still bring up a desire to see "The Last Inkweaver" in print! Even though I haven't even touched that project since 2018!)
I also purpose to find a few more blog hops to do... I have one at least that I still need to fill out, but maybe I turn it into a blog series instead of trying to do it all at once? Still thinking about that one... Meanwhile, I had so much fun with the anthologies from this year that I'm considering finding other anthologies to participate with, while at the same time I don't want the new projects I might have to produce to interfere with progress on The Undersea Saga anymore! I'm done with distractions, it's time for FOCUS!

Reading

Speaking of focus... I had hoped to be able to read more in 2024 than I did in 2023... Which I succeeded, but not by much!

I managed to achieve 20 books read in 2024, which divides up to 6 indie reads and 14 "mainstream" books.

My Top 3 Reads for the indie books are as follows:

Number 3 is probably Alienation by S. E. Anderson. Not to say it's in any way bad at all, all 3 of my picks were the most stellar of all the books I read last year, but just compared to the other two, there was a lot more I liked, as you will soon see! You can read my whole review in the hyperlinked title, but let me just say that I very much enjoyed revisiting the universe Anderson has created, and everything about this sequel felt like it elevated all the elements I enjoyed about the first book! So I'm absolutely loving the Starstruck Saga!

Number 2 favorite indie read is You're Not Alone by Kelly Blanchard. I've almost reached the end of the Chronicles of Lorrek, and boy, what a ride it's been! This book also definitely wins the prize for "Most Direct Messages To The Author In All Caps Like I'm Screaming." Like, before I even finished the book, not even ten chapters in, and I had to set it aside and let her know directly what I thought about her plot! (But that's the best part about reading an indie book and following the author on social media, right?) Even now I'm remembering those extra-special twists that had me SCREAMING. If all eight books have been preparing me for the Big Payoff in Book 9, it's bound to be EXTRA big!

And finally, my favorite book out of all 6 indie reads for 2024 is: Time Tree: The Guardian by Lisa Rae Morris. I read the first book back in 2019 so it had been a while, but the moment I opened book 2 and started reading, the plot grabbed me by the scalp and absolutely didn't let up the whole time! I also ended up messaging the author with "screaming" texts, though probably not quite as severe as with the previous book. Again, follow the hyperlinked title for my full review, but this book hands-down was totally amazing and wonderful and I felt absolutely exhilarated when I finished it!

As for the "mainstream" books, I may have read a lot of Agatha Christie and whodunnit mysteries like Paula Hawkins, Alexander McCall Smith and Michael Crichton, but those aren't the ones that stood out to me.

Third place on this ranking goes to Amari and The Night Brothers by B. B. Alston. It's one of those Scholastic Book Fair purchases that came strongly recommended by a coworker, and I actually enjoyed it more than I expected to! It's a new magical world sort of a cross between Grimm and Harry Potter, a magical Divergent, if you will. The mystery centers around a girl named Amari searching for her missing brother and discovering her connection to the supernatural world of magical creatures, and a latent ability she didn't know she had, which she then needs to harness in order to defend the magical world and the non-magic world from being overtaken by chaos and destruction. Highly imaginative and very compelling!
Then in second place is Wild Robot by Peter Brown. I actually tracked it as I read it along with the third grade class at my job, so it definitely counted even if it wasn't on my TBR! I very much enjoyed the imagery, the perspective Brown uses in viewing the world through the eyes of a robot as well as an island full of wild animals. When the movie was announced I was super-excited... and then found it to be kind of a let-down with how far the adaptation strayed from the novel. Suffice to say, I genuinely think it was a very good book, and would recommend it to anyone!

My favorite read of all, though, comes from seeing promos of a serial adaptation (which has since been canceled and then eradicated from the streaming platform!) that intrigued me, and then learning from a friend who read the book and strongly recommended it to me: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. It's one that has long intrigued me, especially after the promos and watching the pilot episode. The show was very quirky, and I wondered if the book was just as quirky. As a matter of fact, it was. But not as quirky as the show made it out to be! The show actually skips over quite a bit of what made the book very rational and practical in its own way, and veers off into a massive tangle of something wholly forgettable and off-putting! But if you're the sort who wants to see kids reading books that challenge their minds and a plot that almost calls out the culture that just accepts what we've been told at face value... Then let me tell you this book is worthwhile and it's one of those "unorthodox" styles that I found very intriguing and irresistible!

That will be all from me for now. If you haven't read the books I mention and you want to, I encourage you to seek them out and secure them as soon as possible! I think I've got a much more reasonable reading goal for myself. I might even succeed in it this time, and with my overall year goal of FOCUS, I think I might achieve all that I want to do!

Meanwhile, thanks for coming along with me, and, as ever...

Catch You Further Upstream!