A Karabu Creation

A Safe Haven

2012-01-19T23:46:00.000-08:00

There were trees of every size and color,filled with sprouts of new growth and tiny flowers not yet opened. Still none ofthem seemed right. Some might be adequate; they were near fresh water, othersclose to food, but those already held nests full of eggs or hatchlings in theirboughs. I needed the perfect spot to nest with my new bride, Sparkle. I’dagonized over the decision too long. What if I was too late?

Watching her bathe in a puddle this morning,I saw how heavy she’d grown with the eggs she carries. We needed a nest soon -very soon, a safe home where our family could thrive. Sparkle put her trust inme and I wouldn’t let her down.

I circled again in desperation, but knew thatnothing had changed. There was no choice. I would have to seek out the Wisdom Willow. I trembled at the idea, myfeathers quivering, but knew that keeping Sparkle and the babies sheltered fromwind, and concealed from predators was more important than my qualms.

Will the tree speak to me? I’ve heard shedoesn’t care for birds. She lived in a remote, quite corner of the woods. Itwas rumored that she befriended the squirrels and the thought of a huge squirrel charging almost made me turn back, but I tried toremember what was needed of me.

What else did they say? I’d need to approachfrom the ground. She didn’t tolerate anyone in her branches. Speak clearly in alow voice and avoid chirping or singing. The tree was said to be temperamental.I could do everything right and still be sent away. I was almost there. It was too late to worry now. Just get it overwith.

I fought back my fear of the forest floor,forcing myself to land a short distance from the majestic tree. I hoppedcautiously, cringing at each rustle of the leaves, trying to watch everydirection at once. I was so exposed. It was dim beneath the trees, and Icouldn’t see well. Every breeze andstir made me want to flap away as fast as I could, but soon I was before themighty willow. Her soaring trunk was very intimidating from my low position.Her branches stretched out, and seemed to hold the rest of the forest away. Noother trees dared to let their branches intertwine with hers. I felt foolishfor approaching. She would shun me for wasting her time. Maybe I should turnback...

“Windsong, why do you seek me?” The voice was not loud, but filled theforest with authority. I shouldn’t havebeen surprised that she knew my name, but I was.

I spread my wings, bowing to the WisdomWillow hoping she couldn’t tell I was shaking.

“Great One, I seek your guidance." Thewords came out in a high squeak and I cringed at the sound. "Where shall Inest my family that they may thrive?” That wasn't what I had meant to say, butmy well-prepared speech would not come to my beak.
"You are late in the season to beseeking a nest only now," she said.

The others were right. I was foolish to come.To her I was only another stupid bird. "Yes," I managed to chirp,taking a hop backward, ready to fly if I should need. A cold breeze blewthrough her delicate branches making them float all around me. Was that a signof anger?

“It has been ages since a bird sought mycounsel, and this corner of the woods has been longing for songs,” said theWillow in a creaking, ancient voice. “Little One, you shall build your home inmy branches. I’ve missed the joy of children these many years.”

I released a breath I didn’t know I washolding, and almost toppled over in surprise. Had I heard correctly? The willowsaw my confusion and a wispy limb scooped me up.

“Do not fear me. I know what some say aboutme, and it doesn’t matter. You trust your own mind and heart over silly gossip,or you would not be here now. You shall be my eyes and ears throughout thewoods. I am old. A young, courageous bird would be a welcome helper.”

The tension inside of me faded so quickly, Ithought my feathers might fall out. Fluffing myself with pride I said, “Thankyou... I am honored.”

Warm rays of sunlight filtered through herleaves, catching juicy insects and glittering motes of dust in their beams. Howhad I never noticed the beauty of this region of the forest before?

Pretend this blog isn't here today

2012-01-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

I am very overdue for a blog post, and really wanted to get one up tonight, but instead, I decided to join the many sites all over the internet going dark to protest the SOPA bill.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to make my blog actually go dark (and no one probably cares if I do anyway), so I'm just posting this instead.

For educational purposes, here are a couple of links to folks how know a lot amore about the bill and are better at explaining it than I am:

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/013461.html#013461

http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2012/01/today-the-us-senate-is-considering-legislation-that-would-destroy-the-free-and-open-internet.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wwdn+%28WIL+WHEATON+dot+NET%3A+in+Exile%29

And, isn't great that I can still post links to helpful, interesting things? I'd like to keep being able to do that.

Cover of Darkness Jan 2012 Available

2012-01-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

My short story, "In the Eye of the Beholder" is in the current edition of "Cover of Darkness " from Samsdot publishing. It's the story of a scientist studying alien creatures on their home planet, and discovering that they are not what they first appear.

I'm so looking forward to reading the other stories in the anthology.

I started to write this story for a writing exercise for an online critique group I belonged to at the time, but I couldn't get it to fit into the 400 word limit the exercise required. Instead of fighting the word count, I decided to skip the assignment that week and write the story the way I wanted it to be. This should be a reminder to me that they best way to increase my odds of getting my work published is to actually finish something and start submitting. Finishing is a weak area for me.

So anyway, go out there (or click over there) and get a copy. Then come tell me what you think of it! I don't see the ebook up yet, but will post about that when it shows up.

Geocaching

2011-12-05T22:49:00.001-08:00

Photo credit: Robert Hartz

This is one of my new favorite hobbies. It’s basically aworld-wide treasure hunt that uses GPS co-ordinates to find the hidden caches.Geocaching combines a lot of things I already like to do. We go out into natureto hike and explore to find the caches, it uses a fun tech gadget (Although atmy house, we just use an ap for my Android phone,) sometimes you have to solvea puzzle or figure out a hint to find the right hiding spot, and who doesn’tlove searching for a hidden surprise?

I love to hike, and hang out in the out of doors. I’ve triedto get my kids to love this too, but it doesn’t always go well. They do lovethe outdoors, but mostly if there is a playground involved. They get bored tooeasily on even small hikes. Geocaching came to the rescue for me. Now when wehave a goal! We aren’t just walking along to enjoy to journey. We’re goingsomewhere. We’re on a quest!

What’s strange is that when we geocache, they are actuallymore likely to do the things I used to wish they would do on as regular hike.Things like, notice interesting plants, listen to birds singing, spottingwildlife, and noticing seasonal changes. I wonder if they take more notice ofnature due directly to the fact that they are searching for something andtherefore their observing circuits are active. Or could it be that since theyaren’t currently thinking, “When will be done here?” they’re more open to beingpresent in the hiking moment. I actually tend to think it’s the second. Ingeneral, they are not all that into the actual search. Sometimes they like tocarry the GPS, and they will give a token, half-hearted attempt to help mesearch once we’ve come to the right co-ordinates. Usually they are contented tofollow me along, look around a little at the hiding area, but what they getexcited about is seeing the container once we uncover it, and checking out the‘swag’ inside.

Swag is the name for the small treasures that some cachescontain. We have a collection of items that we take with us when we geocache sowe can trade for some swag if there is any. Some caches are too small for anyreal swag items. The treasures are usually small, cheap toys, or similar items.The kids of things you’d find in Gatcha-gatcha machines. Some of the larger ormore remote caches may have a more interesting selection of swag.

So really, the prizes are not the reason to geocache in myopinion. You could get similar things with a lot less effort. For me, it reallyis about the journey. If you’re already a geocacher, or want to learn more,check out www.geocaching.com. I’m khartz over there if you want to see the cachesI’ve found or be my geocaching friend.

National Novel Writing Month 2011 Starts Tomorrow

2011-10-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

And I haven’t decided if I’m going to participate or notthis year. Actually, I decided that I’m not going to participate. Then I justclicked over to the website to look around a little. . .

But, no. I don’t have time to do NaNo this year.

Then I went back to the website and updated my bio and addeda picture. In the field asking for information about my novel, I entered mycurrent work in progress.

What’s the matter with me?

I think what it is, is that I do WANT to do NaNo. I like it.It’s fun. It’s a crazy community. It makes it feel okay to put writing ahead ofother stuff for a change. After all, I HAVE to hit my 1667 words every day.Normally, I would do those dishes, but I can’t. It’s NaNo. Sorry.

Last year was the first time I ever ‘won’ NaNo. I know havea much clearer idea of what it takes to keep up that sort of writing pace for awhole month. Right now, I’m just afraid that I don’t have that in me. We movedrecently, and I’m nowhere near as unpacked as I should be. I’m starting acouple of great writing projects for work. Projects that are very important tome, and I want to be the very best they can be. I need time to dedicate tothem, and there’s a little bit of a learning curve as I’m figuring out some ofthe technical aspects that are taking me a little longer than I thought itwould.

Last year, I pretty much won by giving up television,gaming, and reading for pleasure. This year, I already do a lot less of thosethings. I don’t have much I can give up. Maybe I’m just afraid to lose, but Idon’t think so. I’m afraid of overloading myself. I’m not good at pacingmyself, and only taking on what I can handle. I tend to pile so much on that Ifreeze and do nothing.

But I love Nano. What can I say? I’m signed up. I have anovel that needs more words. So I know I’ll pop over to the National NovelWriting Website and enter any progress I make. I’ll be breaking the ‘rules’ by not starting a new novel fresh on November 1^st, but no one reallycares. I’m going in with the expectation of not hitting 50,000 words this year.That’s okay. I just want to be involved. Make some progress.

Do you have NaNoWriMo plans? If you’re unsure, why not joinme in a half-hearted attempt? Could be fun.

All Moved, and the Silverware is Found

2011-09-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

I had a head full of ideas for blog posts. Then we moved. Now my head is full of boxes, and I didn't label most of them properly, so most of my ideas have been misplaced. I have a million notebooks all over the place for the explicit purpose of writing things down, and I still don't do it. It's a habit I'm still trying to instill in myself.

Anyway, I've been pretty overwhelmed by the move and I haven't been writing. Here or anywhere for that matter. I wasn't writing all that much before, but with this break, I now find myself missing it. A lot. So tonight, I thought I'd at least type up a little blog entry since virtual dust has been gathering over here lately.

Now the silverware has at last been located, so we're starting to feel like this is a real home, and less of a house-shaped box storage facility. Time to get back into the flow of regular life. That includes writing, and blogging. As I write this now, one or two of my post ideas have emerged from the dusty storage of my mind, so I hope to get back to regular posting.

Nothing too exciting for today. Just wanted to say, I missed you.

I'm in Stories For Children Magazine

2011-08-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

My Story, "A Thief in the Night" is now out in the Aug/September Back to School Issue of Stories For Children Magazine. I'm so excited. It even got its own illustration.

It is the story of a little girl trying to catch the tooth fairy.

This is an online only magazine, sort of like an e-book. My story is on page 9, so it even shows up in the tiny sample if you follow the above link. It's too tiny to actually read though. If you'd like to go straight to buying the whole issue, you can do so Here.

Now that I'm done admiring my own story, I'm off to go read the rest of the issue. I saw an article about dinosaurs in it, so I'll probably need to share with my kiddo when I'm done.