Nightmares

Hello everyone, I just noticed I have a new follower on Anglemeister Chronicles and wanted to welcome to the blog! I regularly am assigned to write some sort of article/poem/short story for the P-Town Post, my school's "newspaper" I use the term loosely. Very loosely. I love getting a new P-Town Post every now and again but really it's not a difficult place to get published in. Anyways, the theme for this edition was Halloween, I decided to write a Halloween short story. For awhile I was uninspired and just browsed the NaNoWriMo forums. One day I looked under the amazingly inspirational Illyria quotes on my blog and found one that greatly inspired this short story, there is a possibility that I will continue this story in some way, shape, or form in the future but for now just enjoy my P-Town Post Short Story, Nightmares

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Nightmares

“In my time, nightmares walked among us. Walked and danced, skewering victims in plain sight, laying their fears and worst desires out for everyone to see. This to make us laugh.” - Illyria

The Harbinger followed the child intently; he was no more than 13, with ice blue eyes. Eyes which spoke of all the terrible things someone his age shouldn't have seen. That's why he chose him. Fear was the Harbinger's drug; a Nightmare could have no sustenance but fear, paranoia was just the aroma, panic the first bite, terror the delicious dessert. This Nightmare could sense that this one's fears would be a feast.

The boy looked over his shoulder, straight into the eyes of a nightmare. If only he could have seen it. Nightmares were seen only when they wanted to be, and when they were seen they had already manifested as their victim's fear, not that they'd ever live to tell if they had seen a Nightmare's true form. The boy shivered and continued his solitary journey.

The Harbinger had followed the boy for some time now. He knew that the boy was making his usual trek to visit his aunt and uncle on the outskirts of the mundane village he had grown up in. The Harbinger's skin tingled at the fear that the boy felt when he thought about that place. He could feel the boy's emotions, mostly his fears, and the memories attached to them. There were so many fearful memories, the Harbinger almost felt overwhelmed in the sea of terror, almost.

The boy was isolated, now there would be no one to interrupt his feast. He didn't mind eating in front of the other villagers. In fact he usually reveled in it, but this time was different. This was too great a feast to risk. The Harbinger probed the young boy's mind; he would start small, planting the tiniest of seeds to feed his fear. The Nightmare spoke, willing himself to be heard. He spoke the boy's name.

“What? Is someone there?” The boy quivered. The aroma of fright curled off him like smoke, the Harbinger was in a trance. The Nightmare placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to jump. The boy madly turned to look in every direction, trying to see if someone was playing some cruel joke. It was cruel but this was no joke for the Harbinger, this was survival. Without fear, he would be nothing, he couldn't allow that to happen, he would not fade away.

He became the boy's worst fear, and revealed himself.

“Wha - what are you doing here?” The boy stumbled, backing away from the Harbinger. He just smiled in return.

***

The Harbinger dumped the boy's corpse back to the ground, his face frozen in terror. He was surprised by just how much he had feared this woman, his aunt. Not that he could blame the poor kid. The things she did, that he did. No, she did these things. That was his fear, that was what he made the boy experience in order to live another day.

END 

______________________

So that's the end of that, If you have any opinions about it you can comment below or contact me in any of the following ways:

Email me: anglemeister.lpz@gmail.com
Email my shows: FEshow@kpdo.org or AbstractDiscourse@gmail.com
Follow me: @Anglemeister
Ask me questions: http://Formspring.me/Anglemeister

The Chronicler's Return

Hello all, once again I'm not following my blogging schedule, and I haven't been reading things off my list. I know, I know, I'm a very bad Angel.

Now I've already scolded myself so I don't need to do it again publicly. Unless you're into that sort of thing. I'll try to ignore the sexual innuendo and say that I do have things to say regarding...well everything!

Going in chronological order, I'm going to start an October Novelette tomorrow, I intended to start it as soon as October started but I was busy with having nonstop lunch meetings at school for various things I'm involved in. What things you ask? Well I'm glad you asked!

I had a class meeting last Tuesday to talk about our Halloween Carnival and planning the school dance. It's rather sad that the decisions are now being made by a 3rd of the class, at the beginning of the year we made it quite clear that if you aren't going to help raise money for the class then don't bother coming to the meetings. Now there's less chaos coming from those that don't want to be there, unfortunately we had a mandatory class meeting during the first 30 minutes of our 3rd class. I didn't miss the chaos of the old meetings.

Wednesday I was at the Game Day at our school which was put on by the Youth Advisory Council (YAC for short) which I am a part of, we are essentially a drug and alcohol prevention program with a side of peer mentoring. Game Days are fun a lot of the time but It's rather lonely since the afternoons are so bright and sunny now and no one wants to be inside. It isn't actually a meeting but when you're told you HAVE to be there it can feel a lot like one. Thursday I did have an actual YAC meeting and we just did mentoring retrospective and came up with some ideas on how to improve on our mentoring. No big deal.

Friday (yes on a Friday) I had a meeting regarding Youth and Government. I love this program a lot and last year was a total blast to be a part of. We are still covering the basics which is understandable but by this time I was starting to get fed up, although next week we get to talk about sweatshirts (WOOT!)

I'm sure you can see why I would be aggravated to have a meeting during lunch? I know I could quit some of these but there are some decent perks.

1) I get to go on the senior trip provided that my academics are in good standing.

2) I get to get out of classes so I can mentor the lower grades

3) I get to go to Paso Robles and Sacramento.

I do miss hanging out with my friends and being an obstacle in the hall (yes singular) especially since the group's leader, Cap'n Sassy San Pedro Felipe is only at school on Fridays so I don't get to catch up with the Cap'n except in Biology which is after lunch but I must be ever so quiet in order to catch up.

*SIGH*

WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARY(ISH) SCHEDULED BLOG POST

I believe I was talking about my Novelette? Ah right, well I have a character I'm preparing for NaNoWriMo named Zyon Cairn. Zyon has the power of Psychometry, meaning he can divine the history of an object or person associated with the object by touching said object. It's a neat little power that will have some hopefully neat consequences as well. How does this relate to the Novelette I'm writing? Well, I decided that I wanted to write something that tied in to my NaNoWriMo novel, So I'm writing a story about a set of characters told by Zyon, his Psychometry allows him to logically have most of the memories of the characters which he acquired from an undetermined object that will be relevant to the story. Zyon feels like the right narrator for this story, plus it allows me to really get to know him before November comes around. I'm hoping to have a lot of fun with the story, once I figure out what the plot is.

While I'm on the subject of writing, I have to have a scary story ready to turn in by Monday and I still don't know what to write, I may just throw together a fantasy story with subliminal gay undertones. That's always fun.

Last Friday I turned in my English assignment in which I had to write a Public Service Announcement, I decided to do one for NaNo. I want to get it back on Monday so I can record it and through it online! I'm proud of this little PSA, it doesn't seem like anything special but I had fun writing it!

I seem to be finding the perfect segues today because I have a friend who wrote a PSA regarding the several suicides of teen gay males. I won't go into a whole rant on this because I am slightly pressed for time but I did bring it up because on October 20th which happens to be my birthday, there is a number of people who will be wearing purple in memory of the teens who committed suicide, I know what I will be wishing for on my birthday. I just wanted to inform those of you who were not aware.

Segueing to lighter matters, I'm still going to the Shakira concert in Oakland on the 22nd. Really excited for this! On October 26th Geist by Philippa Ballantine comes out, Pip is a podcast author, therefore I am excited about the release of her book. I am also excited because I read the first chapter of her new book on the book's website, BooksOfTheOrder.com and I definitely want to buy the book. Not only am I going to buy a copy, but I hope to win another copy and if I can buy a third copy so that I have one for me, a loaner copy, and a copy to give to a friend.

In November I hope to do some more writing themed posts, and/or link to my daily novel progress, again really excited.

I'm not sure if this is in November or December, but I will be in Paso Robles for a weekend in one of those months for the Youth and Govt. meeting. I don't have to go but I would like to see everyone I met there again, If it's in November it will through off my daily word count, so that's not so exciting.

In December I will be finished with the Cybrosis novel on my radio show Furthest Edge, which you can become a fan of over on the facebook gadget to the right. I will either go on a winter hiatus or do guest interviews. What do you think? I'm going to make a poll for this blog and on facebook. Expect that widget up soon.

This is all I'm up to, I am still reading other things off my Kindle app but I hope to finish my book list by the end of the year or early next year. I feel bad for not being further ahead. By the way, I've recently been copying all the stories my friends have sent me and turning them into e-books so I can read them in bed with the lights off, the only time I actually can slow down enough to enjoy a good story.

You know, I didn't think this post would be as long as it turned out to be... I guess I have more stuff going on in my life than I claim.

I do have a number of other things I want to discuss, but there shall be other posts for that. For now, know that your Chronicler has returned and he will continue to be the scatter-minded rambly writer blogger you have come to...appreciate?

Ooh! I just remembered this, I'm considering turning my NaNoWriMo Novel into a podcast! I plan to bring it up on the forums but I wanted to immortalize it here first, but I want to bring in any willing participants, I need voice actors and I would like to not have to kidnap them in order to have them. I do would like to podcast other NaNo-er's novels afterwards but I will just have to see if people are interested. My novelette may become the first installment of the new Furthest Edge, coming 2011 and possibly other local writers will contribute and if things work out even some NaNo-er's works.


I think that's absolutely all I have to say.

As always, my contact info:

Email me: anglemeister.lpz@gmail.com
Email my shows: FEshow@kpdo.org or AbstractDiscourse@gmail.com
Follow me: @Anglemeister
Ask me questions: http://Formspring.me/Anglemeister

- Warm regards, your Chronicler

The First Time

They say the bathtub is a great place to think, I can't remember who said it, But I believe Einstein did this and that's got to count for something, right? Maybe he said it? I don't know.

I haven't even started and I'm already off track. This is a bit ridiculous? Let me try this another way.

So it's been almost five months since I've started doing shows on the radio (KPDO 89.3 FM) and I still fondly remember my first time (feel free to chuckle at the innuendo, there's going to be quite a few I'm afraid)

I have also caught myself narrating and describing the things I see or remember. It started today with me watching the shower head spraying down water at the drain and imagining the individual drops of water floating up and swirling around in the sky like leaves on the wind.

anyhow, as I stepped into the shower and I reminisced about the first time, I began to mentally describe it all, the emotions I felt sitting behind the mic and hearing my voice replayed on air.

This story is the result of that.

Day One 

I was alone, the beast ready to chew me up and spit me out. I wasn't ready, not by a long shot. The beast could tell. It glared at me with it's 12 orange eyes of malice, it primed it's 3 arms, ready to take my every breath. Tens of Dozens of multicolored thorns threatened to prick tens of dozens of holes in my hands. I'd spent the last month training for this moment. This was it.

I closed the door of the chamber, If I was going to do this I would need to do it right. taking a deep breath I equipped myself with the necessary gear to challenge such a beast. Mustering all my strength I lowered the first switch, bringing up another at the same time.

It's first arm was level with my mouth, I recited the first phrase I was taught, This was it, I was actually doing it.

My words stumbled off my lips like boulders off a cliff side. My hands shook as my soul bared out before the beast, my hands twitched, fear yielding to mere anxiety. I plugged in, changing the switches once more.

The beast roared, but the voice was not it's own. No, the beast spoke with the voice of another. The voice I chose for it. I smiled with satisfaction, the beast was less frightening, now that I was winning.

I stepped back, momentarily disarming myself, A faint voice echoed throughout the chamber, my voice. My grin now spanned from one ear to another. It spoke with my voice. The beast spoke with my voice, all could hear it. The knots of my stomach unwound completely. Anxiety was replaced by confidence, donning my gear once more and prepared to return to the airwaves.

Time seemed non-existent, before I knew it my time in the arena was up. I bid the spectators farewell, and freed the beast, letting it hear it's own voice once more. I disarmed, The beast was mine. I knew then, I would return, wanting to improve. To see how I could better challenge the beast- no the machine. That's all it was now. Just a machine, and I had bested it. Not bad for the first day on the job.

END

So what did you think? This is the first draft I wrote just after stepping out of the shower but I want to have people tell me what they thought so I can make necessary changes and submit it to the school newsletter, The P-Town Post.

P.S. listen in to my show Furthest Edge on Monday from 5-6pm Pacific Time. This week I'm playing another episode of Cybrosis! Also tune in to my new show with Shannon Bowman-Sarkisian of http://coastsidewriterforhire.blogspot.com Abstract Discourse, we talk about all sorts of speculative fiction, last week we discussed William Gibson and Neuromancer. This week we talk about Writing, more specifically writing speculative fiction! Tune in Tuesdays from 4-5 pacific. you can also listen to Shannon's show South Coast Salon Sundays from 4-5 pacific. if you don't live in Pescadero listen live at http://kpdo.org/listenlive.php

Contact Me:

Email me: anglemeister.lpz@gmail.com
Email my show: FEshow@kpdo.org or AbstractDiscourse@gmail.com
Follow me: @Anglemeister
Ask me questions: http://Formspring.me/Anglemeister

Explanations of the Mud

If you have been a regular visitor of Anglemeister Chronicles or if you know me personally then you may have noticed that quite a lot of my blog entries of the past 3 years have disappeared. What happened is, I took them down.

I was once of the mind that once they were published, I should leave them up there, it showed how much I matured as a blogger and as a person in general. However now that my blog has begun to attract a bit more attention I realize that keeping posts of me sharing a link or a single picture are pointless. I jotted down the titles and dates they were published before deleting them. As for the remaining posts, I cleaned up all the early posts, making them slightly more articulate, even joining several entries into a single umbrella post. Honestly I was appalled by just how bad most of these posts were and more than a little embarrassed that I once thought I should leave them up. this resulted in a blog whose post count went back down to 37 posts, which is quite a ways of the 54 posts I once had but It won't be long before I make up for it. I may have to change the title of what once was my 50th blog post but it does give me time to gain more readers and actually do something special for the 50th.

As for everything else in my life, it's not doing so bad, I'm going on a camping trip tomorrow, so that's going to be good fun! The price I pay for this trip is sadly, one day off the air. I quite enjoy doing my radio shows, even if I don't speak much. However, It is only one show and I'll be back to it the next week. Also I've made some progress on my reading list.

In case you don't remember:
1) A Dirty Job
2) The Science of Fear
3) Neuromancer
4) Nightwatch
5) The Maze Runner
6) The Twilight Gods

I started "A Dirty Job" I like the humor but I haven't decided if I like the book itself. Still haven't touched The Science of Fear but if memory serves it wasn't bad, I just have trouble getting used to nonfiction. Neuromancer hasn't come in yet and I may just download it for the Kindle App. Nightwatch hasn't even been cracked open yet. The Maze Runner, has just started sucking me in to the story, I'm currently on chapter 5. If you've kept up with my tweets, you'll know I've been frustrated by the fact that it still hasn't arrived, I already checked the mail today but I'm about to go once again to double check, and yes I know it's Sunday but I want the book already! Beyond this book list, I did order another book for my iKindle which is what I am calling my iPod Touch when I'm using the Kindle App. I have decided. The book is called Cat in the Cradle which has me on chapter 12 after my 2nd day reading it, I'm going to set it down today to continue with the list above but know that Cat in the Cradle is part of my list now. That's 28 now I think.

I don't know when I'm going to record my next podcast, today would be a good day but I don't know what to say just yet. I may talk about my 2010 Book Challenge. As for writing I as usual am stuck in the mud, I've gotten a rope though and am trying to pull myself out. No worries!

That's all I've got for now but keep an eye on Anglemeister Chronicles and don't forget to hit the lovely Follow Button in the sidebar!

You can contact me in the following ways:

Email me: anglemeister.lpz@gmail.com
Email my show: FEshow@kpdo.org
Follow me: http://twitter.com/Anglemeister
Ask me questions: http://Formspring.me/Anglemeister

Books

Get comfy folks this is gonna be a big one.

Comfy yet? yes? Ok good, so I recently stumbled upon a new blog http://dreaminginbooks.blogspot.com/ while I was looking into whether or not to order "The Twilight Gods" off of Amazon (Side Note: I have ordered it I even sprang for the expedited shipping so I'm expecting it sometime this week) One recent blog post featured a picture showing all the books on his reading list or soon to be at the moment. I realized since I have quite a few books I still have not finished off yet, why not assemble them in a pile and write about what books I plan to read soon, what may come later, and which books I doubt I'll ever EVER open again. I originally thought I'd be able to count it on just two hands, when I gathered ALL the books I never finished or began I came up with 27 titles. Yes, that's right 27 books I haven't finished. Which books are these you ask? take a deep breath and scroll down

In no particular order

01) Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko
02) Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
03) Betrayals by Lili St. Crow (book two, and apparently there's a 3rd out there...shit.)
04) The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (yup I know it's for young readers but it's a light and refreshing read)
05) The Awakening by Kelly Armstrong (book two and I need to get the 3rd)
06) Candor by Pam Bachorz
07) Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
08) Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
09) Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
10) Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (book two)
11) Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (yes this is a series, I now need to get book 4)
12) Everworld (1-3) by K.A. Applegate
13) Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith (there may be a sequel)
14) Gone by Michael Grant (there are two more books, just as thick...dammit)
15) Queste by Angie Sage (book 4, I need to get book 6)
16) The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones
17) Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
18) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Zombies! I think)
19) Doctor Who: Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn
20) The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner (GASP Non-fiction!)
21) Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (Book two of a series I believe)
22) Doctor Who: Taking of Chelsea 426 by David Llewellyn
23) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
24) The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Kindle Edition)
25) Dark Worlds: Project 31 by Zack Daggy (Kindle Edition)
26) Neuromancer by William Gibson
27) The Twilight Gods by Hayden Thorne (waiting on it to show up in my mailbox but it counts)

so yes 27 books on my unfinished list, this is slightly overwhelming but it can't always be helped. It may not seem like it but I am quite busy sometimes, especially with the radio station soaking up all my free time. It's fun but it does leave me feeling a bit drained, sometimes regrettably too drained to jump into a book and its world. This list is several years in the making though across several years of busy-ness and occasional laziness. Some of these books were titles I started reading but got bored and put down in the middle of the chapter, others were put down when I picked up brand new shiny books out of a bookstore, and then there are the books that I did pick up brand new out of a book store and haven't gotten a chance to read because I just don't have time.

I definitely want to finish some of these books, a lot of them have really good plot arcs I want to see resolved, or answers I'd like to find out. especially before a sequel comes out and I add another book to my list. I want to finally be able to say I finished these books and be able to walk into a bookstore without worrying if I'll have time to read it (it will obviously be a concern but having less books to finish at home can only help)
In order to do this, I have decided to schedule my reading out so I can finish all these books before 2011. I am going to read and finish one book a week, with another being read lightly on the side. These books are going to be separated by urgency, meaning if they are borrowed or really interesting they will be pushed up the list, also where I left off will greatly affect the order in which I will read them. With the exception of Bone Crossed and Everworld I am really looking forward to reading all these books. One thing of note is, I learned that Bone Crossed is a sequel in a series called the Mercy Thompson Novels, me being incredibly OCD when it comes to books I am not picking it up until I pick up the first book, especially since I felt completely lost when I opened the book and started reading, as for Everworld it just felt...meh.

A Dirty Job and Nightwatch are a very high priority since they were borrowed from my friend Shannon Bowman-Sarkisian, who happens to be a writer for hire, she has her own blog called, http://coastsidewriterforhire.blogspot.com/

also, I am currently reading Mazer Runner and Project 31 on my Kindle for iPhone app and Twilight Gods should be coming in soon. I almost forgot that I am reading Neuromancer and The Science of Fear as part of a summer reading assignment so my personal reading assignment for August is as follows:

1) A Dirty Job
2) The Science of Fear
3) Neuromancer
4) Nightwatch
5) Maze Runner
6) Twilight Gods

I'll keep you posted on my progress as well as podcast what I thought about all these books. let the Anglemeister Chronicles Summer/Fall Reading Challenge begin! Let me know what you're reading or writing! Later this week I'll be blogging about some of the different series I'm reading, My favorite Book(s), and just for fun next week, an entry just about (non-sparkly) Vampires!

You can contact me in the following ways:

Email me: anglemeister.lpz@gmail.com
Email my show: FEshow@kpdo.org
Follow me: http://twitter.com/Anglemeister
Ask me questions: http://Formspring.me/Anglemeister