Sunday, April 16, 2017

New Jidaan Book, Werewolf, and some Pro Wrestling

Well, it has been months since I've written, so I figure I'll post a brief update.  When last I posted here, I was working on a new urban fantasy called GrimFaerie, but I'm sad to say that the story has stalled.  As my son once said when he was only 4 years old, "Sometimes...that happens."

Thankfully, another story started pushing its way out of my brain, and I decided to go with it.  GrimFaerie will still be there when I'm ready to approach it again, and the scenes I was seeing were clamoring to be written, so I put GF aside and wrote just one scene.  That scene turned into a chapter, which was followed by another and yet another.  And now, I'm in familiar territory and having a blast writing a new book in the Jidaan series.

Set two decades after the events in the first trilogy, you'll find some old friends and make some new ones.  I'm loving it so far, and I hope y'all will too.  Here's an excerpt from the rough draft:

WIP - Current Title: "Reyanna's Destiny"



Through the red haze of agony, Reyanna saw a man. He was of midling height, lean and strong, not old but not young, wearing a battered old brown hat and a traveling cloak. Wind played with the folds of his cloak, whipping it about. He had something long strapped to his back, its wooden handle jutting over his right shoulder, a small leather bag tied on the end as though to cover it.

Odd, she thought absently, the pain in her head keeping her from examining it more thoroughly.

The stranger was standing on a grassy rise that overlooked a meadow. In the distance, Reyanna could see the stark bluffs and steep crags of an ancient mountain range. The man’s face was hidden in the shadows of the hat’s brim, but when he turned to look past her, his eyes caught the light, and they blazed a sapphire blue. She had seen those eyes before. But where? Through the pain in her head, she could not focus, could not think. She dimly realized that she was on her hands and knees in the grass, but that seemed less substantial than the vision in which she was immersed.

She heard a terrifying howl, an animal, and finally she saw a massive beast top the rise to stand next to the man in her vision. It was a mastiff, but bigger than any she had ever seen. Its muscular body was covered with scars, its face pulled into a permanent snarl that only widened as the dog barked and howled at something that approached. Reyann felt a rumbling deep in her bones, and saw the two figures stumble as they fought to keep their balance. The dog barked louder as the man’s eyes were drawn upward. An enormous shadow crawled over them as something blocked out the sun. Something approached. Something big. The intensifying wind ripped off the man’s hat, leaving it to dangle behind him by a thin leather thong that encircled his throat, and Reyann saw his shock of bright blond hair buffeted by the wind. The vicious scar tissue that covered the right side of his face was clearly visible, and the shock of recognition hit her again, followed by confusion. She knew him, but did not.

In her minds eye, the vision continued, and the man’s face took on a ferocious, determined glare. Whatever was coming, it was evil and he would fight it. In one smooth motion, he reached over his shoulder and pulled the unknown weapon from his back, revealing a long-bladed spear that gleamed in spite of the looming shadows. Reyanna felt the man’s power rise as he brought the weapon into a fighting stance, and saw the leather bag suddenly disintegrate as the emerald beneath it blazed brightly to life, burning the covering away. He bellowed in defiance as the huge dog beside him howled its own fury into the wind at the oncoming threat.

And just as suddenly as it had come upon her, the vision ended, leaving her slumped facefirst in the grass, her lungs heaving in relief.  -  Copyright Whit McClendon 2017

There's a werewolf in it.  And other stuff.  I'll keep you posted.



In other news, I've become the announcer for our local pro wrestling promotion, Domination Zone Wrestling, Inc.  Loving every minute of it!  Although it's not something I ever planned to do (I kind of fell into it.  Well, volunteered to be choke-slammed into it.) I'm having a total blast.  Local shows are just a few minutes from my house and my son loves going and cheering the wrestlers until he's hoarse.  Definitely Father-Son bonding time at its finest.
  https://www.facebook.com/DZWrestling/
It's Easter today, and I'm going to get back to my annual watching of Ben Hur.  The official McClendon family tradition is that I watch it on Easter, eating chocolate cake, in my underwear.  Hey, it's just how we roll.  Happy Easter, folks, and I hope you have a great day! 

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