Sci-fi queen Isobelle Carmody closes the book on a much-loved series.

Hello there!

After you read my post, if you have time to check it out, I'm guesting over at Nilanjana Bose's excellent blog talking about the Gothic Novel and Italy.

IT'S ALL ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION!

WEP has a science fiction challenge coming up where we have to write a sci-fi story set in an alternate world. That turned my mind to the genre, not one I write in. BTW, if you're into sci-fi, I hope your story impressed the judges for the #IWSG Anthology.

Yolanda and I asked Alex J Cavanaugh to write a guest post on how to write sci-fi. I hope you'll pop over to the WEP site and check it out and leave Alex a comment.

Struggling to get that book/series finished? Well, you're in good hands. I read an article by Isobelle Carmody recently where she talks about her series that took 35 years to complete. I never actually knew Isobelle was now a Brisbane-based author, (once winging it between Victoria and Prague) so that explains why she did a book signing at my favourite book store/cafe, Avid Reader at West End to announce the arrival of The Red Queen, the seventh and final installment in her science-fiction series, Obernewtyn Chronicles. She started writing this  series when she was 14 years old (she's now 57!)


I'm not a huge fan of science fiction but I do read some authors in the genre (Alex J Cavanaugh, of course!) and Isobelle is one sci-fi author I like, mainly because students I teach rave about her so I started reading her books.

At her book signing, Isobelle said it was an odd feeling to have finished the series. "It's strange and odd to hand it over, especially after all the pressure from fans begging for a new book over the years." She went on to say that now that it's ended she felt an outpouring of grief. Do you feel like that when you finish a book/series?

It's interesting to hear the motivation behind the Obernewtyn Chronicles, a long-running dystopian fantasy series.  Being the eldest of eight children, Isobelle found writing a way to deal with the grief of losing her father in a 'horrible car crash'. "What's more like a nuclear holocaust to a child than the death of a parent?" she says. "There's no doubt that I was drawing on that."

Now I can sit down with the complete series and read from beginning to end. I'm one of those readers who grab a book in a series in no particular order, and read it, then am piqued to read the earlier novels.

I wish Isobelle Carmody all the best as she takes a break from deadlines and fan's desperate letters.

Her website will be unwomaned until June...

• How about you? Have you read any of Isobelle's books?
• Do you insist on reading series from the beginning and wish the author would hurry up and bring out the next one?
• Do you write series? How long do you leave between releases

• If you enjoyed this post, please hit my Share buttons!

Don't forget to join the WEP science fiction challenge. The sign up has been quieter than usual. Are people scared of science fiction, or just busy with Christmas looming?

And don't forget to click on over to say hi at Nilanjana Bose's excellent blog.

What is Steampunk? And what has Arthur Conan Doyle got to do with it?

Hi there!

It might sound dumb of me, but I haven't understood "steampunk" -- what it is, who are famous "steampunk" writers, and how is it currently developing?

To answer many of my questions, a wonderful book, full of gorgeous illustrations and "steampunk" history, landed on the desk at my local library.

Buy on Amazon: 

What I've learned so far...

• Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy literature, primarily concerned with alternative history, especially an imaginary 'Victorian era' when steam power and mechanical clockwork dominated technology. 
• Earliest literary works of Steampunk chronicled a future that never happened, one in which the Industrial Revolution took a different direction.
• Steampunk stories feature the technology and at times the attitudes of today filtered through the past, hence the 'punk' appellation.
• Steampunk has grown to encompass film and television, graphic novels and computer games, music and fashion.
• The word "steampunk" was coined by writer K.W. Jeter who suggested the label when submitting a story to Locus magazine.
• Victorian fantasies a la Jeter, Blaylock and Powers lay the groundwork for a huge explosion of the genre across all media. These authors drew on the classic science fiction of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle.
• There is no one definition that encompasses everything given the label -- the adventures of mad scientists travelling the world in airships, steam-driven robots and pseudo-Victorian or at times Edwardian settings. 

So, Steampunk is in the eye of the beholder. It can take readers to worlds of land leviathans and cannon-shots, to the moon, to lost civilizations. It provides alternate histories in which the British Empire never fell or the atom was never split.

No wonder there are so many "steampunk" fans out there. 

• How about you? Do you read Steampunk? Do you have any questions? 

Thanks for coming by. No, my blog is still not updating...

Insecure Writers Support Group - Writing outside of your comfort zone...can you help me write FANTASY?

Hello all who come by today! I hope you're enjoying a wonderful holiday season! I'm back as promised!

As writers we all have our favourite genre, right? Some write sci-fi, some paranormal romance, some women's fiction...but a whole heap of writers just love writing and reading fantasy! I haven't been one of those writers. Sure, I like some fantasy novels -- The Magus by John Fowles would be one of my favourites, and I've definitely enjoyed reading some bloggers' fantasy novels (am currently being wowed by Make Believe, a wonderful fantasy anthology featuring our very own Lynda Young), but I usually prefer to sink my teeth into a good Pat Conroy, Anita Shreve or Jodi Picoult  along with my penchant for reading and writing romantic fiction (which some say is fantasy anyhow!). I also saw the LOTR trilogy and just went to The Hobbit yesterday and really loved Avatar. That's all got to help, right?

HOWEVER, and this is the rub, what do you do when your Writing Group decides on a whole-group project? These fans of fantasy of course have decided to write a fantasy epic -- going the whole hog -- creating our own particular world (one of our members is a scientist, so the progress on this has been a little slow as he likes to get the sun in the right place to cause the right climate, blah blah). We have to keep reminding him that this is fantasy -- we can create our own world -- but he is more of the sci-fi bent.) That said, I'm sure our fantasy will stand up to quite rigorous analysis.

But I digress -- what does a romantic fiction writer do when she has to write a fantasy chapter to seamlessly blend with other chapters/characters/worlds written by other group members? Well, this bunny did a crash course in Fantasy -- devoured the books, the movies, the dictionaries. I even wrote and won joint first prize for my first fantasy story at Kathy McKendry's Knights of Micro Fiction for a story I imagined of two knights entering a Dark City, called City of the Dark Gods.

For the Writing Group joint project I was given the character of the Princess who lives in the castle on the edge of the city. She has to hook up with a commoner (young man) and go on a quest. So I asked myself -- what do fantasy princesses do/look like/act like? I read a few books such as Tamora Pierce's Alannah series which I enjoyed, so I read a few more fantasy books featuring young girls. After that,  I went to THE TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASY LAND by Diana Wynne Jones and found that:

Source

Princesses come in two main kinds:

1. Wimps
2. Spirited and wilful. A spirited Princess will be detectable by the scattering of freckles across the bridge of her somewhat tiptilted nose. Spirited Princesses often disguise themselves as boys and invariably marry commoners of sterling worth. With surprising frequency these commoners turn out to be long-lost heirs to Kingdoms. 

Well this is a good start. I can see where I can use some of this for my Princess. No question my Princess is going to be spirited, if spoilt, so has to bribe the young man to let her accompany him, but she is going to show her mettle on her quest.

You may be able to help me here as I have to write at least 1,000 words of my Princess chapter for homework and the deadline is looming.

• Do you have any hints/suggestions on writing fantasy?
• Do you have any particular suggestions for my fantasy Princess? Such as a name, description, personality? All suggestions welcome!!

Thank you for coming by. Click here to see more IWSG posts.

Insecure Writer's Support Group Post - exploring your creativity within a writers' group.

Aren't the months whizzing by? First Wednesday of the month again, so it's time for Alex J Cavanaugh's IWSG. Here we are to post about what we're insecure about re our writing, or post something that will help our writing buddies out there.

I'm not at home, so have no access to all my stuff, and I know I promised to continue my 10 sneaky tips for writing that novel quickly, but something else is burning on my mind today...

Perhaps the best tip I can offer to give your writing career a boost, or get it started in the first place, or to give you that encouragement you need in the face of rejection is to  - JOIN A WRITING GROUP. Not any old writing group, but one that is just made for you. 

It can be problematic finding a writing group, finding a critique group, finding even a critique partner - all these things are fraught and need to be a good fit, otherwise they detract from our writing career. So today I'll give you my experience of joining a writing group. You may take away something helpful and that is all I ask.

I am a proud member of the Vannguard Writers Group.

Some of us in our favourite hats for our 'hat' writing exercise

I've been a member of the Queensland Writers Centre for sometime. A great resource for writers and just across the river, a 5 minute walk for me. It offers the most amazing courses/workshops/seminars all year round, and as selling short stories is my bread and butter, I decided to attend a Short Story 4-week course earlier in the year. The course was fabulous, but the best thing was that we were a group that jelled right from day one - not everyone of course - but about 8 of us didn't want the comaraderie to finish, so we decided to keep meeting at the same time as our regular courses - each Wednesday from 10.30 - 12.30. As our wonderful tutor was called Meg Vann (who is the incoming CEO of the QWC), we called ourselves Vaanguard Writers. Boy, are we an interesting crowd!

Paul Smith turned up one day in full  gangster garb as he's written a detective novel (and has been a  Private Investigator).

We have been meeting for 6 months or so now. Our major mission is a collaborative project of writing a fantasy novel. We have each taken part in creating the world, and have chosen our characters to place within the world. When our group meets, we devote half of our time to our project and the other half to writing challenges which may/may not be related to our novel. But all improve our creativity. We usually have writing homework and post them up on our Facebook group page, linking to google docs.

Jamie got right into the spirit of things when Charmaine organised  a hat challenge, which she wrote about  here...

What else do we do? We encourage each other to send our work out there - we regularly swap competitions and opportunities and try to send work out there every week. 

We are a diverse group and have much to teach each other. We also bring along special activities to spur our creativity. Before we broke for our school holiday period last week, I brought along an activity which took us into the Queensland Art Gallery, right next door to where we meet in the State Library of Queensland.

The instructions were:

• Choose a painting
• Decide whether you're the painter, a character in the painting or an onlooker 
• Write in first person present tense about what is happening...

I chose Tintoretto's Risen.  I am the sleeping  Roman soldier asleep in the bottom left of the frame. 

Jillanne chose John Faed's Annie's Tryst. 

Charmaine got quite carried away with her story which resulted in murder, mayhem and Gothic characters...

Raelene's The Eviction led to a powerful story from the little girl's POV.


So you can see we have a great time working on our craft at  Vannguard Writers Group . Watch out for our novel - should be out this century!

I hope I've encouraged you to explore your creativity, as that's what writing is primarily about.

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

ANNOUNCING ROMANTIC FRIDAY WRITERS NEXT 2 CHALLENGES - OPEN TO ALL WRITERS OF PROSE AND POETRY:

This challenge is to celebrate the shared birthdays of your hosts, Denise and Donna. Perhaps you share an October birthday too? 

Have you ever been to a birthday party that was so extravagant it actually made you jealous? Create a story or poem in which a character goes to a birthday party that is completely out of his/her  league. This especially includes the present that you got this person. Totally inadequate :).

Get penning your 400 words of prose/prosetry now!

The Linky will go up today at Romantic Friday Writers.

CHALLENGE NO 47 - Friday October 19

It's Halloween!

Another FW/RU Challenge

We’re looking for chilling stories of ghosts and haunted locations – and maybe even love from beyond the grave. 

A romantic element is essential, but we’re looking for stories with a thrilling edge of fear to add to the romantic tension building between our Hero/Heroine.

Have fun with this one! 

Don't forget the Romantic Element!

Let your head go! 

You can write up to 1,000 words of prose/prosetry!

The Linky will go up on October 12 at RomanticFridayWriters.

Reading, 'Riting and tRavelling in Fiji. What have I been reading? Heaps of books!

When I'm not reading or writing I'm checking out the islands. Here's the singers welcoming  us to  South Sea Island

So this holiday is a bit different from my usual travels, where I spend every waking moment sightseeing. Seeing I have such a long time in Fiji, I'm able to pace myself - a day at home to read, write, blog, fb, tweet etc and the next day to hit the road, the towns or the islands.


It's been a good plan. I've had time to keep in close touch with my Writing Group which meets at the Queensland Writer's Centre in Brisbane. We're collaborating on an epic fantasy novel. At this stage we are world building, profiling our characters and plotting. All good for pantser me. 


Partly in preparation for writing my fantasy characters, I've been reading fantasy novels. Several.

Nas' daughter had a Tamora Pierce lying around - Alanna, the First Adventure. This was timely, as I imagine my female princess character sharing some traits with Alanna, a girl pretending to be a boy training as a knight. Now I'll have to look for the rest of the series.

Free ebook

I also read Nancy Williams' Magic of Windlier Wood. I've had this beautiful little fantasy short story with enchanting characters and settings on my TBR list for sometime now. Nancy, whose novel Treasures of Carmelidrium was gorgeous, certainly knows about world building, something our Writing Group has spent a long time on. 



Blogger India Drummond's Contemporary Urban Fantasy, Book 1, Blood Faerie has been languishing in my Kindle for several months. I'm finally getting to read it. I haven't finished yet. It's not the sort of fantasy our group is writing, but I'm learning a lot about India's fantasy writing and world building. The main character Eilidh is on the run from faerie land, escaping a death sentence. But she finds herself having to make some big choices when she lives amongst humans and a mutilated body is discovered. (You can download India's book now from Amazon USA andAmazon UK  

Click to buy

I also caught an interview with Linda Gillard on Talli's blog. I instantly bought her book, The Glass Guardian. It's a romantic ghost story. Very intriguing. I loved it. It has some similarities to a romantic ghost story I've been writing to submit to Entangled Publishing. Can ghosts love? Good question.


Another romantic ghost story I read was a free ebook A Romantic Ghost Story by Jason W Chan. An entertaining read about a grandmother who's dying, but has died before. Now she's going to meet her love, who many years ago, died that she might live again.

Click to buy from Amazon

Then there's Love Knows No Bounds. A great anthology of novellas from Enchanted Publishing. 
I came across this anthology when I was checking out writing opportunities at Enchanted. Love Knows No Bounds is EP's current Featured Release. This is a fabulous anthology in their Flirts Category. Strong on romance, but full of quirky intrigue. It contains 3 stories:  TWEET by Boone Brux, BITTERSWEET by Brooke Moss and REMEMBER ME by Nina Croft. 100% of profits benefits the charity Autism Speaks.


Speaking of EP did you catch the fabulous Pitch contest over at Brenda Drake's? Several EP editiors will be on board to take their pick from several Pitches.The contest closes when the magic 200 pitches is reached. Just checked - they have 191, so closing soon!


So that's my reading for the fantasy/paranormal genres. I've been reading heaps more. I'll talk about them some time soon.


Nobody asked me to read or review these books. I bought them myself and thoroughly enjoyed them all.

• What have you been reading lately?
• Have you read any of the books I've mentioned?
• Did you enter the Enchanted Publishing Pitch Contest?

Knights of MicroFiction - 'City of the Dark Gods'.

My story has just been named joint winner! 

This month I've joined the blogfest, the Knights of Micro Fiction challenge hosted by Kathy and Jess McKendry   Knights of MicroFiction. 

You have to post on your blog sometime on the 15th of the month, then add your link to the comments on the prompt post. A couple of days before, Kathy will post the new prompt on her blog. 

This month's prompt is:

In 200 words or less write a flash fiction using the phrase:  The sky darkened...
then for an added challenge include a sound that surprises one of your characters and a foul smell.

As I've been studying up on fantasy writing for a group project with my Writer's Group, I immediately thought of having a go at a little bit of magic.

HERE IS MY SUBMISSION:

The City of the Dark Gods

The sky darkened as Prince Ysandir and his knight Gareth entered the City of the Dark Gods. Only blackness remained beyond the North Gate. The desert sand had disappeared; inside the City the streets were paved in black. The horses’ hooves made a dull frightening crack with every step closer to the Temple.

Then the smell hit them.

The heads of the dead were dangling from the alien buildings, a ghoulish touch to the beautiful and intricately carved timbers. Amongst them was the wizened head of the Prince’s father, King Naxan.

‘My father has given his life for our people. We will not fail.’

‘No, my Lord. Your father lacked magic. Our magic will defeat these Dark Ones.’

Their horses’ hooves were silent. The Temple loomed before them.

‘Prince Ysandir? You would enter our sacred domain?’

From a balcony carved from glassy stone, a black figure stood, finger pointing at the young men.

‘Aye, demon, we enter to vanquish you and your Dark Ones.’

‘Come then, Prince. Your mortal weapons will not touch us.’

Gareth and the Prince dismounted and clasped strong hands. The magic flowed strong between them.

‘Mortal weapons, demon?’

Holding hands, they entered the Temple.

©DeniseCovey2012

WORD COUNT - 200

Image - colorbox.com

•  I hope you liked my first attempt at fantasy writing. 

Publication Party Session 6 - fantasy author N R Williams

Welcome again to all! It seems every week we learn something new from our guest speakers. Last week we heard from Lisa Maliga who warned us of some of the pitfalls within the publishing industry. Today we learn the route N R Williams took to become a published author. The common message I'm getting is that it takes hard work and determination to become published whatever route you choose. 

Before we proceed, I ask you all to grab a drink and put your hands together for last week's winner of Lisa Maliga's e-book Notes from Nadir. Congratulations Ellie. Contact Lisa directly and make arrangements to receive this wonderful book onto your kindle.

Now let me introduce Nancy.

N. R. Williams lives in Colorado, U.S.A. with her husband. She is delighted to have two three year old grandchildren, cousins. She’s a long time member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has been privileged to attend conferences and workshops. Since her formative years, she’s been inventing fantastical stories and since she could spell she’s been writing them down. While she majored in art in college, she didn’t make a living at it. Now, she uses her skills of observation to create fantastical worlds, interesting characters and stories that touch the heart.

Thank you Denise for hosting such a timely subject of publishing for all of us authors and for letting me grace your blog.

For anyone who doesn’t know, I self published my epic fantasy as an e-book in Dec. 2010, and just finished a blog book tour to promote, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, in Jan. 2011.

So here is the burning question: Why did I choose to self publish my book as an e-book? Did I try traditional publishing? Did I query editors and agents?

Answer: Yes, I did query both, I pitched my book in person to both, and I sent out many letters and was rejected. However, I was also asked for partials or the complete manuscript. In every case, not just a few, who actually read some of my writing, they replied that they “loved it, but it’s not right for us.” Yes, I know publishers and agents like to say that, but I also had over fifty people to read the book for feedback. I was told they couldn’t put it down. At one point I had two co-workers fighting over who would get the next chapter. All this before I hired an editor.


Because of the reaction of my test readers, I was confident that I had an excellent story.


Turning point is not just for our stories, it happens in real life too. I had two. The first was three years ago at The Colorado Gold Conference, hosted by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, of whom I’ve been a member for years. (RMFW)

http://rmfw.org/


I had a two minute pitch, my fourth. I sat down across from this agent and began by introducing myself. She said, “How long have you been a member of RMFW? Why aren’t you published yet?”


I answered the best I could, began again, she interrupted to say, “Why aren’t you published yet?”


I answered and began again and she interrupted again with, well, by now you can guess. Was she rude? You bet. I was hurt, and I couldn’t get over it. I stopped writing altogether. I still monitored my critique group, but I didn’t take anything. Fast forward nine months later to May 2010. Okay…I didn’t connect the dots to realize until just now that nine months is significant in giving birth.


I began to meet with a fellow member of RMFW, Lynda Hilburn. She writes sexy, x-rated, vampire stories and is published, but had lost her publisher and just wanted to get together with a few other writers to talk about the publishing industry. I figured it couldn’t hurt for me to join in. It seems that every author has their share of horror stories, in Lynda’s case it was her previous publisher. Lynda had the e-rights to her novels and decided to put them up on Amazon.


http://www.lyndahilburnauthor.com/


Here’s the difference between us:


Lynda is a published author and had a following already. She had two books on Amazon kindle and smashwords, that were also paper books, but no longer available as paper. The first month, April, she earned $300 from the sale of her two e-books. By the end of May she was making $1,000 a month, making Lynda one of many authors on Amazon kindle's best seller list. She also added a novella and as of this writing has signed with a new publisher.


I am an unknown author. At this writing I have just put my first book on Amazon kindle, and smashwords, who distribute to Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, Borders and others. I have plans to write two novellas this year, one to complement my epic fantasy and the other with a completely different setting and a phoenix heroine. I also plan to complete the next book in my epic fantasy series, titled: The Rise of Lord Sinon.


I didn’t do any of this blindly. I did research. I had first had knowledge of Lynda’s case and that was followed by many articles that I’ve read online. In many cases the experience of some was outstanding. But there are also those who don’t do well at all.


So, here’s what you must do:


Write the best story you can.
Get an editor and multiple eyes on it before you publish it.
Hire a professional illustrator (unless you are a professional illustrator.)


You can publish without doing any of that. But if you put out junk, no one will ever buy your books again. Amazon has multiple book covers to choose from but they are also on multiple books. You want yours to stand out.


Now that you have a gem, it’s time to put on your business hat.


You must promote your book. If you don’t you will fail. Do a blog book tour. Use CreateSpace or another such site to give you a print copy. Do book signings. Offer to meet with a book club. Join Goodreads. Ask others to read your book and do a review. Pay for the book so they don’t have to. Don’t expect to make a lot overnight. Especially if you are an unknown writer.


If you are close to publishing and need inspiration, go to this link and read what Joe Konrath of a Newbie's Guide to Publishing has to say:


http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/09/konrath-ebooks-sales-top-100k.html


Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

Currently, I'm selling an average of 7000 self-pubbed ebooks a month on Kindle. Those numbers are for 19 self-pubbed titles, though the top 6 account for more than 75% of my sales, roughly 5000 per month.


That means those six are averaging 833 sales, or $1700, per month, each. That equals $20,400 per year, per ebook, for my top sellers.


Those six are my top sellers because they're novels. My other 13 ebooks are novellas and short story collections, which don't sell as well.


Considering the average advance for a new novel is still $5,000, each of these ebook novels is quadrupling that, annually. And these numbers are rising, not falling.


Read the entire article, it’s worth your time.


Note how many books he has available: 19

This, my friends, is a numbers game. Now that you have paid your dues and you know how to write…do so.


Other web sites to help you:


2010 The Year Self-Publishing Lost Its Stigma, at PBS.


http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/12/2010-the-year-self-publishing-lost-its-stigma363.html


Ever heard of EPICA? Check them out for the latest news, contests, etc. on e-publishing.

http://www.epicauthors.com/


The Blood Red Pencil did an entire series on this subject. To find, go there and in the search this blog type in e publishing.


http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/


N. R. Williams (Nancy).

Whoa, Nancy, that was super! Such a lot of info and links today. I hope your talk inspires all aspiring authors to polish off that story and hit the e-publishing road.

Now before our session ends a word about the PRIZES. N.R. Williams is happy to give away a copy of her e-book, The Treasures of Carmelidrium, as well as offer a chapter critique on a lucky someone's WIP.

Here's a little about The Treasures of Carmelidrium to help you decide if you'd like a copy:

When a hooded man steps in front of her car, Missie is thrust through a portal into a medieval world where she encounters monsters and mythical creatures. Here, her flute has magical powers to heal and destroy and to empower “The Treasures of Carmelidrium.” She is romanced by a prince and hunted by the villain. Will she find her way home? Does she want to?

THE TREASURES OF CARMELIDRIUM is available at Amazon for Kindle and Amazon UK for Kindle. The book is being sold for $2.99 until July 1, 2011 when it will increase.  



 Before you leave, please do the following:

•please leave a comment with your email address if you want to be in the draw for this week's ebook prize or the GRAND PRIZE and giveaway books and writing paraphanelia at the end of the series - next week is the last session (you must comment on each post to win, starting at the first post. If today is your first day, go back to the previous sessions, read and leave a comment. I'm keeping track...) I attached links to all previous sessions in session number four's post.

•ask Nancy a question or two
•if you're published (book/short stories), tell us about it in the comments
•e-mail me @ den.covey@gmail.com if you'd like to find a Crit Partner.

Thanks for stopping by. Winners will be announced at our final Publication Party next week, Wednesday 23 February when author Ann Carbine Best will be speaking to us. Now isn't that going to be exciting!

Bad News blogfest - They're People Too! blogfest below this one.

BAD NEWS BLOGFEST

Okay, two blogfests in a day! I hope you'll read both.

This is a possible ending to a story I published for the Secrets blogfest. If you want, you can read it here. Some commenters hoped my lady wasn’t going to die. Hmm. What do you think? Did she?

I apologise for the formatting. It had a mind of its own and I couldn't change it without a lot of fiddling, so I hope you don't mind the set out, grr...

She remembered that night with a terrible remembering.

The phone call had woken her in the middle of the night. It had been Frank Mangin, Jack’s boss.

‘I’m sorry, Mrs Sandilands, I have bad news.’ He’d hesitated. ‘Jack has had a heart attack. It was sudden. There was nothing anyone could have done. I’m sorry.’

Her face had frozen solid in that instant…she couldn’t speak…she’d dropped onto the bed where she’d laid, suspended in time…

Frank had droned on. She’d heard his words coming from somewhere…

‘It happened just as we were tidying up the paperwork. He wasn’t alone.’

That had been something, Charlotte had thought at the time. No one should die alone.

‘Are you there Mrs Sandilands?’

Charlotte had tried to speak. The poor man had sounded so worried. But her throat just wouldn’t work.

‘Could I ring someone for you? Someone you’d like to come around?’

That was the last thing Charlotte had wanted. She and Jack had been tight. Neither had any family. Always just the two of them. Enough. A plethora of richness.

‘Uh, no,’ she’d groaned, ‘I’ll be fine. I’ll just sit up. Please give me a moment.’ She remembered lurching from side to side, but there had appeared to be a weight pinning her down. Her hands had refused to work. The cordless phone had thudded onto the floor with such a loud clunk that it had restored some of her wits.

Frank had sounded alarmed. ‘Are you all right, Mrs Sandilands?’

She recalled how tinny Frank’s voice had sounded, how panicky, disembodied, or that might have been her.

‘Are you sure I can’t ring someone?’ he’d begged.

‘No, no, NO!’ Her world had exploded, sending fragments scattering throughout her head. She was shattered into tiny pieces. How could anyone help put her back together?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…

…She’d begun to chant and rock her head from side to side…

…Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…

Tears burst from her eyes…little pearl droplets that felt like ice.

She could tell Frank was beside himself with worry as she continued her childish, watery chant, blocking her ears, retreating to the carefree days of her childhood, oh, so many years ago...

…All the king’s horses…

‘Mrs Sandilands?

…All the king’s men…

There was just one more thing I have to tell you.’ Frank had continued at the end of that dreadful conversation. The poor man had been so nervous. ‘Jack had a message for you. He whispered it just as he, er, was, er, passing.’

…Couldn’t put Humpty…

‘What?’ she’d croaked, when he didn’t go on. ‘What did he say?’

‘He said, and I wrote it down straight away so I’d get it right. I knew it would be important to you.’

‘Go on, go on,’ she’d urged, impatient now. Her heart was skittering all over the place. She would have something to hang on to...thank you Lord.

‘He said ‘Tell Charlie to come to the shack.’’

‘Are you sure?’ she’d asked.

‘Yes, I’m sure. I thought it was strange because I know your home at Gulliriviere is long gone. I couldn’t figure it out, but that’s the message.’

‘Thank you Frank. You have no idea how important that message is to me.’ 
Her voice had trembled with emotion, emotion that had hit her already fragmented head with another blow, but she'd felt the first glimmer of hope.

If Jack wanted her at the shack, then to the shack she would go…

***

She could smell the sweet fragrance of the red roses whirling around her. She ran through the tall grasses, trailing her hands over the white silky flowers. The creek was just ahead, just beyond the white houses. She could hear the gentle lapping of purest water. She longed to touch it.

Ah, there it is!

The stand of weeping willows stood as they had before time, their lush tendrils like dishevelled hair caressed the water as it flowed by, gently, gently.

Then—she saw him—there he was—her Jack, dancing through the weeping willows, moving aside the graceful drapery of elegant foliage as he passed through.

Throwing aside the last green veil, he hurried towards her on angel’s feet, arms outstretched, welcoming her home.

They were together again.

THE END

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©DeniseCovey2010