by Jim
III As the longboat neared the ship, Lailah’s eyes scanned the ship suspiciously and focused on the black and red flag on the back. She quickly turned to Melisande, “Pirates? That’s who you’ve cast your lot with?” Melisande looked Lailah in the eye as responded sternly, “They are finer people than any I have […]
by Jim
II Melisande and the group returned to the Black Vengeance. Worn out, she took to the cabin and closed the door. More than anything at that moment, she just wanted to be alone. Baltazar watched her and shook his head, “Poor girl, this just doesn’t seem right somehow. We came all this way just […]
by Jim
Book 4 Dark Revelations I The next morning, Melisande woke up on the forecastle, once again sleeping on Baltazar’s shoulder. The last time this happened, her heart jumped and she panicked. This time, she didn’t move. She was comfortable and more relaxed. Baltazar was roused by her movements and smiled, “Good morning.” “Good morning, though […]
by Jim
V Melisande woke up the next morning in the cabin of the Black Vengeance. There was another set of clothes waiting for her. A new blouse, vest, and trousers sat folded on the edge of the bed. While these weren’t as fashionable as the ones Baltazar left for her before, they would allow her […]
by Jim
IV Time went by slowly on the Black Vengeance as Baltazar counted it. When the hour finally came to a close, Papi came back up on deck, “Bad news Captain.” Baltazar nodded, “Well I expected we’d have more than our fair share of it. What’s the matter?” “It looks like Jaspart was scraping the […]
by Jim
From HeatStreet: Book publishers fearing the backlash from social justice activists are hiring special readers to check the books and flag up racist, sexist and other so-called offensive content before they go to print. “Sensitivity reader” is a person who, for a small fee, will provide feedback about the book based on self-ascribed areas of expertise like “dealing with terminal illness,” “racial dynamics in Muslim communities” or … Read More Social Justice Editing!
by Jim
III The group rushed out of the sanctuary and down to the small rocky beach where their boat was waiting. It bobbed up and down as they jumped in. Papi and Melisande climbed in while Morgan and Baltazar pushed the boat back out. Once it was safely in the water, the two men hopped […]
by Jim
II Another day passed as the ship sailed for Mont Saint Michel. The morning watch reported seeing smoke on the horizon as the sun rose the next morning. One of the men shook Baltazar out of his bunk to wake him. Baltazar rubbed his eyes as he looked up, “What is it man?” “Sorry […]
by Jim
Book 3 As the Tides Change I Deep beneath the ground, in the fiery land of hell, an imp creature approached the entrance to the darkest cave in the Underworld. This cave was the only way to reach Lucifer’s castle by those not capable of flight. Even so, most creatures avoided it. The imp stopped […]
by Jim
VII Melisande was awoken the next morning by a sound on deck. To her horror, her head was resting on Baltazar’s arm. She shot out of his bed, thankfully still dressed and promptly left his cabin, despirately trying to avoid being seen. Gilles was standing on deck about to relieve the night watch as […]
by Jim
VI Melchior was true to his word. The crew returned within a few hours. Together, they loaded all the supplies that they’d need to make repairs to the Specter during their voyage. When the sun finally began to set on the horizon, Baltazar turned to Melchior, “Order all hands on board, ready the ship […]
by Jim
I have wondered this myself, as my novel is set in real places in Colorado… I do have a question along the same lines: How important in fiction-dystopian writing is geographical accuracy and specificity? People living here would know the difference and could be distracted by inaccuracies. People that are not familiar with the area may get lost in the details. And maybe the … Read More Writing Reality
James Harringtons Creative Work 