Choose Your Own Adventure: Year of the Dragon

Howdy, howdy, howdy!

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghop. This is not the beginning. If you wish to start the adventure, hop on over by clicking the image below.

DUCK!

You tuck forward into a roll.

RIIIIIIIP.

Razor-sharp talons slice open the back of your brand new uniform, the silk gi. Wind catches the shorn material, flinging you into a patch of thorny bushes. You shield your face just in time. Angry barbs pierce your skin, pulling you to a stop.

You scramble out of the shrubbery, pinching thorns away from your snagged costume.
Sensei is going to roast your eyebrows! The torn crimson dragon logo hangs off your shoulder, exposing the plain black t-shirt beneath. So much for honor and respecting your dojo’s seal. Of course Sensei would forgive you if he were faced with the phenomena that now stares you in the eye.

The ground shudders. You fall to one knee. The massive beast tucks its wings, standing erect on two ruby legs, roughly the size of a school bus. His wide orb-like eyes pierce you, swirls of misty blue color dancing across giant black pupils.

Trembling you rise to your feet and strike an attack pose, though what good it can do you against this freak of nature is beyond your recollection.

The creature huffs. A gust of smoke puffs about you, encasing you in rotten-egg stench. You cough and bat it away. The ground starts to rumble with…

Laughter?

Yes, the mammoth is chuckling at you. The earth shudders once more and as the smoke clears you come face to face with glistening ivory teeth, those bizarre eyes, and your own reflection.

“You and I have the same master.” The booming bass rattles your bones.

Your jaw drops. The creature reaches toward you with two pincer-like talons and snags the back of your uniform, lifting you off the ground. As the material pulls tight around your armpits, cool air tickles your exposed abdomen, legs dangling.

“Free me young one.” The beast’s mouth is not moving. He’s speaking directly to your…mind? —And with a charming British accent no less. “Steal back the relic that holds me prisoner.”

An image flashes through your brain, a jade sliver with a carved dragon curled around the head. A toothpick?

“Free me,” the creature demands.

Will you: Dedicate yourself to the dragon’s cause?

 Or: Nod and flee the instant his back is turned?

Start Over

Year of the Dragon Maddness

Guess what? I moved. Wahoo! *happy dance*

*clearing throat* And now that I'm in my new house, most of the insanity handled, it's probably time to become a person again. Er, a writing person.

Okay, so I haven't exactly been sitting on my fingers this last month. In fact I arranged and performed a song, wrote a couple short stories, edited for a two critique partners, and worked on this:

This is the official badge *beaming in pride* that I just finished designing. Yay! Some days I think I should have been a graphic designer, but then I remember how badly the computer and I get along, and well, I've just got too many other things to do! (Like home schooling my kids. Speaking of which...)

Hope to see you back here on the 29th for the third official Choose Your Own Adventure bloghop. I LOVE CHOOSE YOUR OWN'S! Do you?

Hello. I'm Still Alive. Are You?

So apparently I'm allergic to mold. WHO'D HAVE GUESSED?

And do you know where mold grows especially well?

FLORIDA

Picture may be a slight exaggeration.

Or more particularly, our rental home. So while trying not to kill over, we began the home search process, and finally put down an offer. That's my excuse for disappearing off the blog-o-sphere. Yup. Finishing my last semester or serious revisions on my requested manuscript had nothing to do with it--or Christmas. That's right.  *shifty eyes*





So here's my future writing haven.
<---------- Isn't it perdy?

Now what dragged this lethargic, thoroughly unhealthy individual back to cyber space? Temptation--in the form of the third Choose Your Own Adventure bloghop. Yay! Participants are invited to contribute as we celebrate the year of the dragon with a whole new adventure. Sign up now, or stop back in March as we launch this fabulous experience upon the world. (Here's hoping it won't happen right in the middle of my move...)

And for those of you who missed our previous journeys, check out:

The Abominable Snowman Expedition
And
Ahoy Sea Serpent

Can't wait for some high flying, scaly, fire breathing fun! Will you be joining us?

Choose Your Own: Ahoy! Sea Serpent?!?

To go to the beginning, click here.

“Ahab’s ghost!” You blink against the glaring light of those luminous orbs, pulse spiking. Each eye is the size of a cannon ball. Two horns sprout up behind the creature’s gilled jaw, glistening with dripping water. It yawns at you, revealing three rows of flesh-tearing incisors and a flat, slitted tongue.

You gasp and reach behind you for something, anything to defend yourself, not daring to look away from the creature. Its head rises as you back away. Its long neck shimmers in the sunlight like diamonds as it leans over the rail toward you.

Your hand fastens over a flimsy life vest. You grunt.

The beast’s head tilts curiously, giving you the impression you are staring into the eyes of an aquatic Labrador—except it’s bound to strike the instant your back is turned. You feel blindly along the deck with your other hand until it clasps over an air tank—prepped for diving. Smiling innocently, you inch the tank closer.

The creature blinks at you—blinks with snake-like eyes, membranes sweeping across from the sides.

Getting a grip on the neck of the tank you tense to swing.

The thing snorts, spraying you with a fine mist of dripping goo. You freeze, disgusted.

The creature lunges.

Its teeth cut into your shirt, narrowly missing the flesh. It whips its head back and flings you into the air, your hand still clasped over the diving tank.

For a second you glimpse the sun and clouds, then the water’s surface rushes up to meet you. At the last second you hold the tank out in front of you to break the swell. Salty liquid bursts around you.

Before you have a chance to fight for the surface something loops around your ankle. Salt stings your eyes as you force them open.

A snaky tongue—almost purple in this light—tightens on your ankle. You have only an instant to think before the mythical beast tugs you down. You shove the scuba regulator into your mouth, hoping you can equalize with the changing pressure in time to keep your lungs from bursting.

But instead of dying you see a light ahead, or below, an ethereal purple glow. Maybe you are dying. Maybe this is the equivalent of that tunnel of light everyone talks about, except under water.

As you near you can see it’s a dome of sorts…a gigantic bubble. It could cover the whole of Manhattan.

There are things moving under the bubble, living things—people or vehicles, you can’t tell.

The leathery tongue unleashes your ankle and the creature’s gleaming eyes meet yours. It nods toward the bubble.


Do you go with the creature

Or turn and swim away as fast as you can—without bursting your lungs?

Bittersweet Words

My list begins with: school, writing, rainy days, birthdays, and...

"The End."

I sit here, staring at my latest draft and lamenting that the story has nowhere new to take me. It's so fulfilling, and yet so sad.

"I'm done."

"Finished."

"That's all folks."

*sigh* It's kind of depressing really. Well, or it would be if I wasn't compelled by external forces (*glaring at my hubby*) to write this story into a series.

So, now that I've finished my WIP (again), I find myself going, "Okay, what's next?" Well, let me tell you. October is a busy month. I'll be critiquing and beta reading this book, and on October 24th, come back for the most awesome CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE bloghop ever!

Eighteen authors have come together to present the adventure of a lifetime, and you get to be one of our lucky readers. Look forward to seeing you there!

What's the worst/best "The end" you've ever met?

Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghop

Welcome. This is not the beginning of the choose your own. No. It's the end. To hit the beginning please click HERE and swing over to Kerri's blog. =) Happy adventuring, and may you succeed in your quest for the Yeti.

Fortune favors the bold, and you figure you’re pretty much dead anyway.

Flipping on your camera you point the shot upward. Taking a deep breath you whimper, “cheese”.

The camera flashes. The closest (and largest) yeti leaps to the cavern floor, rattling your bones with a thunderous crash. It roars with rage.

Your finger slips and snaps another picture.

The yeti blinks at you. You blink at it.

You flash another picture.

The yeti shrieks and throws its arms in the air like an angry gorilla.

Your knees buckle. What happened to that cheeky plan to snap a shot and run? You turn and smash into a furry wall of white.

The camera drops to the ground and another flash lights the cavern.

The beast you just ran into leaps back, hands in the air and screeches—like a woman who’s spotted a mouse.

Supercharged, you aim for the cavern entry, but two giant hands clasp around each arm and press inward, threatening to crush your ribcage. Your feet leave the ground. Slowly you are lifted.

Giant black eyes peer into your face. Glistening fangs are bared. A long white cloud of mist hisses between the creatures jagged teeth. Warm air circulates around your goosebumped flesh and you gag on the rancid breath. Garlic?

The yeti giggles.

Giggle? No. That couldn’t possibly be…

It occurs to you that perhaps this baring of teeth is not an act of aggression. From the way the corners of its mouth turn upward… Yup. That’s a smile.

The creature tucks you under one arm and starts grunting at the others. They now stand in a tight circle. Another one grunts back, then a third in a higher pitch. It appears they are having a yeti family council?

Meanwhile the fur against your cheek is becoming rather agitating. Rash, you are definitely going to have a rash from the friction. Hives maybe.

The yeti plops you down in the center and delivers a good smack to the top of your head.

“Ouch!” you cry.

The yeti giggles again. Another one gives you a smack on the head.

“Hey!” you protest.

They all laugh.

Another wallops your shoulder. You flail forward, landing in the paw of the largest one, deafened by the roar of yeti laughter.

***********************************************************************

It’s been three months and six days. You aren’t hungry, although you have no idea what it is they feed you. You aren’t cold—because baby yeti chose to make you his teddy bear tonight. How you hope he won’t roll over and smash you in the middle of the night.

You sigh.

You are resigned to being the family pet, but one day, just one day you might be able to escape. Wow. What story you’ll have to tell then!

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