Vacation

Just to warn you all, I shall be leaving for around two weeks. Yes...two whole weeks. I shall miss you guys! :(

~Icewolf

Chapter One - Night

Chapter One: Of Night and Day

            It wasn’t unusual for me to be here. It kind of grew on me, and ever since my first visit, I’ve always been compelled to stay. It was welcoming, granted a little weird, but you got used to that pretty quick. Or at least I did.

            “Finish up! Dawn’s almost here and I’ve got to open soon.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I put the finishing touches onto the painting and presented it to her. “What do you think?”

            “Dark,” she muttered. Ms. Nightingale, or Ms. Night, was a woman who seemed older than she was, her frizzy hair so blond it was white. She kept it short and spiky, and her demeanor was much the same. But with costumers she could be as friendly as a cuddly puppy. I was one of the lucky ones that met her short-tempered side after hours.

            Ms. Night owned a shop that was a mix between a coffee shop and a crafts area. She offered spaces for artists to work with a little coffee thrown in to boot. It’s a really brilliant idea, honestly! I never knew how many art-lovers lived in our small town before I started coming here.

            I was a regular visitor at the Painted Mug (wonderful name, right?), but my visiting hours were not like the others. My times here were usually at night. I wasn’t an insomniac, in case you were wondering. But every night, ever since the start of summer, something kept waking me up at one in the morning. A nudge on the foot, a tap on my head, a growl in my ear, or a screech in the yard – there was no end to the various types of ways I woke up. But I always did.

            And my parents wonder why I sleep so early.

            “Dark like me,” I replied, looking at my painting and thinking of my black hair and deep brown eyes. I had taken dark shades of color and swirled them into a messy swirl. Occasionally I added specks of white and yellow, small lights in a dark night.

            “You can put that with the others,” Ms. Night told me. I took my painting from the easel and walked over to the wall where artists could display their works. My pieces were on this wall, and I felt some pride when I watched people admire them while I drank my coffee.

            “Now, Raven, do you think you could work the counter today?” asked Ms. Night.

            “Of course,” I said, walking over to the coffee-shop portion of the Painted Mug. Snatching an apron off a hook, I stepped behind the counter and started the coffee machine.

            It wasn’t long before the first person arrived. A mousy looking woman, with dusty brown hair drawn up into a sloppy bun and big round eyes, scurried through the door and caught sight of me.

            “Morning,” she squeaked at me.

            “Good morning, Meg,” I greeted. Meg, another regular here, was rather timid when it came to meeting other people. She loved to make threaded necklaces and bracelets. In fact, I think I still have one of her bracelets somewhere in a swamp I call my room.

            Meg ordered a small coffee with a streak of cream, and took that over to a table. The next person to come in was Mr. Thun. Unlike Meg and me, Mr. Thun wasn’t a regular. I’ve only seen him twice here, and I didn’t really know him well enough to say much about him. Kind of scares me though, with his wide-set shoulders and beady eyes. I’ve seen him sketch some, but I’ve never seen the actual drawings.

            He didn’t order anything today, sitting off by himself and bringing out his sketchbook. Casting me a glance that pierced me like lightning, Mr. Thun hunkered down to sketch. Unnerved, I tried to calm my racing heart so hard I didn’t notice when a customer I’ve never seen before walk up to the counter.

            “Do you sell foods,” asked she, a small girl with red hair streaked black. It was depressing for me to see young girls dye their hair.

            “Y-yes,” I stammered, still recovering from shock. I pointed out the menu to her, and she politely ordered a scone.

            “You here for the food or art,” I asked after I had gotten a hold of myself. The girl smiled at me, pleasantly surprised to be in a conversation.

            “Both, and that’s a wonderful thing,” she replied.

            “It is. I love this place,” I agreed.

            “You don’t look like you sleep much,” commented the girl serenely, pointing to my eyes, “you’re expression gives it away.”

            “No, in fact I don’t,” I said, rubbing a hand across my face to stimulate my mind. I made a mental note to get some coffee as soon as this customer was dealt with.

            “Any reason in particular,” she asked.

            “Interrupted sleep,” I answered truthfully.

            “I’m Amanda, by the way,” she stuck her hand out over the counter.

            “Raven.” I shook her hand. It felt cool against my hand, which was odd because my hands were usually really cold. When she released my hand to me, I pressed it to the skin of my other arm. Nope, I wasn’t warm – I was as just as cold as before. She was even colder.

            Somehow that thrilled me.

Night

New story idea! Tell me what you think!

Prologue

            Night. It always had some mystical element to it. Either you were afraid of the dark – or you were fascinated by the mysteries it beheld. I was more inclined to be full of wonder in its respect. One never knew what creatures roamed within the darkness, and perhaps no one will ever find out the full extent of how many nighttime monsters roamed our planet.

            Oh, yes, we know of bats and other such animals that only come out when the sun has gone down. But I can assure you we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more out there, some of which I’ve encountered myself. There are ones that you would think of when you are the age of, say, 5, such as closet monsters or the ones that live under your bed.

            Those are real.

            There are others such as dragon-type creatures, or creatures as tall as trees, and some like trees.  Panther-like, snake-like, demon-like, monster-like…all of them just a small sample, so I am promised. My experience is nothing compared to those I know. And even they swear they know only a fraction of reality.

            Huh, reality. A strange concept in the world I live in. But it’s true and just as real as you or me.

            Human feelings are more accurate than what most think. Some may argue animals like dogs sense more than we do. They can, probably. But I think we underestimate our own ability to sense danger or kindness. When you stand outside while night still reins the sky, think of the feelings you get. You feel watched, or threatened, or sometimes you feel totally at peace.

Your intuitions are usually right.

Writing and such

I must attribute Jayden for inspiration for this post. Thank you, Jayden!

So questions you might be asked in your writing life is "Why do you write?" and "When did you start writing?"

Heh. To keep the insanity from taking over, why else? Well, that's not really the reason. ;) One reason for me personally would be to get some stories out there that I think would be a great story. Let's go back in time. See young Icewolf? Say hi, Young-Icewolf! Anyway, when I was younger, I would search and search for specific story plots, but would never find them in my libraries. So I came up with a brilliant idea.

Why don't I write them myself?

Granted, my first 20-some stories were AWFUL. Like, really awful. To the point where I disown them. And I could never stick with a story. Eventually I got stubborn and stuck to a story. Welcome to the point in time called Outcasts. I'm not sure how many of my current followers were with me at that time, when Outcasts was still a major part of this blog. But it was most of my thoughts.

Oops, getting off track....but I wrote cause there were so many ideas I had for the writing world. Also, characters and scenes would come into my mind and a story would unfold from there. I prefer not to know the finer details of the story. I know the beginning, where the story needs to go, and how it needs to end. The rest? That's up to the story. It'll evolve on it's own.

So, in my thinking of what to write next, I'll give a brief history of Icewolf's writings.

I started with mini-stories, and the first one I ever completed was 20 pages (if I recall correctly) with 20 font. It was HORRIBLE. Then we have the stories worked on with a friend of mine, involving many made-up creatures. Those, too, were in my opinion not worthy of mention. Now we zoom over a gray area of which I forget what happened in my writing life, and over to Outcasts. Skip that chunk of time, and we come to SOF.

Ah, SOF. I won't go into detail, cause I know you guys can't read it, but let's just say, I think this one is going to go somewhere. Like, it has a real good chance of being published (according to my ninja). So, if you see a book called Soul of Fire by Stephanie Sky, it's mine. :) But most likely I will have posted in a HUUUUUUGGGEEEE explosion of happiness if I was sent a letter from a publisher saying yes, so you'll all have fair warning.

~Icewolf

Awards!

Now I'M late for my own contest. XD My excuse is that I was busy with finals and the long days of summer. So awards!!!

In second place:
SCEZZLE

Third place:
CRAZY AUG

Thank you contestants!

I even gave you guys an extra day....:(

So far, there have been no links to my blog for me to see stories for my contest. The end date was supposed to be yesterday, but alas none. So, extremely limited offer! Today and only today am I still accepting entries. Post a link via comment box to your entry, please! The winner gets the latest Icewolf Photography picture, not yet seen before!


~Iceowlf

Awards and stuff

Hey, blogworld! So apparently I was awarded on Skyracer's blog (sorry, Aug, but that name sticks with me...do you mind if I call you that?)

So, I am now declared awesome. 

As indicated in the title, I had already knocked out the 'award' portion of it. Now for stuff. 

The contest is still running, people! Less than half a week left. Oh, and did you know commas can save people? Example:

Let's go eat Grandma. 

Let's go eat, Grandma. 

A comma can save you too! XD *laughs* I love that example. 

So I consulted with my Ninja-editor, and it's a no-go for Soul of Fire. You'll just have to wait if it ever gets published! Many apologies...but I'm still working on it, and so far I'm quiet pleased with it. I have no idea where it's going to go though. 

*ponders* I wonder what to talk about next.... how about...........uh..........

Death to my brain!!!

~Icewolf (with nothing else to say)

Thanks you Skyracer!

So I check our your blog, and was surprised to see a post for yours truly! Thanks. :)

As for the 'amazing writer' compliment, if you've read what I currently have up, Soul Of Fire is better. Or at least I think. I have to confer with my ninja to see if he'll let me give you guys a taste. Who knows? Maybe he'll semi-join us in the blogging world.

Hold on....*goes to iTunes and puts on a better song* Don't you hate it when stupid songs come on? I do.

*coughs* Ahem. Sorry, side-tracked. I'm thinking, since everyone is hosting a contest of their own, I want to see how many followers (I count my commenters as my followers, not who's following my blog) pay attention. ;)

So my contest is, as a writer myself, to judge a writing contest! Please note this is my first contest that involves written entries. So if I fail for whatever reason, that would be it.

Rules:
-Uh, not too long please. I have a short attention span sometimes. XD But I don't really care how long or short it is. Enjoy the flow of writing!
-Entered by...oh let's see....today is Thursday, right? How about I'll end this thing on next Wednesday. That gives you little less than a week
-Post the entry on your blog, and send me a link via comment box below this post!
- HAVE FUN. Writing is meant for fun. Strange as it is ("writing? You mean like, words? And pencils? And coming up with stories?" <-- my imitation of a ditz).


Until later!
~Icewolf