You can see the whole chain at the link above, and check out the previous entry in the chain at KitCat’s: Twilight Asylum.

The next one will be up shortly at Jennifer B’s: The Writing Cocoon.

I had a whole other interview planned, and then wrote this instead. I changed ideas when I realized I could just have two of my characters run the show themselves, and keep myself out of it Adanya and Skye are characters from my 2011 NaNo Novel, which is currently in the editing and revision stage.

Skye:     Change of pace for today, folks. As per usual, there’s nothing to report from last night’s attempt at getting some concrete footage. I have some lovely shots of a blurry mailbox, if anyone needs, though. Rather than bore you with that, and because she was foolish enough to say yes, I’m doing reader questions for Miss Ada.

Adanya: This’s more interesting than watching the mailbox?

Skye:     Barely. So, first question, how did we meet?

Adanya: Uh, we went to the same school in grade one.

Skye:     More details, please.

Adanya: Fine. You came in after the year had started. I made fun of your hair or freckles or something. You failed at beating me up in return.

Skye:     Only because the teachers caught us.

Adanya: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we got sent to the principal’s office, got detention, blah, blah.

Skye:     Which leads to the obvious question, you became friends after that?

Adanya: Well, we all wound up on the same bus going home, found out you lived, like one building down, and there weren’t a lot of kids in the neighbourhood my age.

Skye:     Jerk.

Adanya: Nah. I actually felt bad, even though I only apologized ’cause my mama made me. I don’t know, is that weird?

Skye:     Maybe a little.

Adanya: Well, it helped that you got your obsession started early and I liked staying out at night. With two of use my parents weren’t quite as jumpy.

Skye:     So, you’ve been using me our whole friendship.

Adanya: Says the girl who dragged me out at three A.M. last night, just to sit by a stupid mailbox to provide a “frame of reference”.

Skye:     Which brings us to, why do you let her drag you around like that?

Adanya: ’Cause you’re crazy, and would just go out bothering ghosts alone otherwise? Actually, yeah, pretty much that.

Skye:     I don’t even leave our street. I’d be fine.

Adanya: Yeah, you say that, but they don’t always just stand around on the corners, you know?

Skye:     That’s all they do when I’m watching. I’d love to see them move.

Adanya: My brother would not agree. Whatever they did scared the shit out of him.

Skye:     He’s the one I should be interviewing.

Adanya: Which would be why he bails anytime you come over. You’re pretty freaky yourself when you get started on this stuff.

Skye:     This, of course, being the ghosts, which are real, because I’m not crazy?

Adanya: You’re asking me?

Skye:     It’s one of the common questions, “is she just crazy?”

Adanya: Well, I’m not qualified to answer that, but she’s right about the street being haunted. I wasn’t sitting alone by that mailbox, even if all the film caught was a blur. Those kids have been appearing under lampposts my whole life. Just one of those things.

Skye:     Why doesn’t that freak you out?

Adanya: Maybe just because they’ve been around so long? I mean, my parents always just said, “oh those are the ghosts, don’t mind them” and that was that. Then you moved in and got so excited, and wanted to investigate and film them and everything. Never seemed weird until then.

Skye:     What about now?

Adanya: Now it just seems kinda sad. I mean, they’re kids, you know? I’ve grown up here, and they still look like they should be heading to school tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one over, what sixteen? Fifteen?

Skye:     That’s what they look like to me.

Adanya: And all they do is stand there, looking so… empty. What for?

Skye:     If we could talk to your brother, we might find out. What was he doing anyway?

Adanya: Like he’d say. Anyway, I guess I can’t get all worried about it, ’cause I really just feel sorry for them. They’re stuck there, but if you look in their eyes, they’re really just not all there. Okay, maybe that part creeps me out. It’s better to watch them from across the street or something. I don’t know why you like walking up to them and everything.

Skye:     Because this is a big deal! Can you imagine if we could prove they really are ghosts? Reliable ones people could test?

Adanya: And if you could, then what? Really? Say you finally get one on tape, and other people come out and they film them, and the whole world knows that our ghosts are real, and then, what?

Skye:     It would change how people think.

Adanya: You’ve always been more optimistic than me. I think people’ll just find ways to spin it so they don’t have to change, because no one wants to. They just all want to be right, no matter what.

Skye:     Great. Now I’m depressed. Want to get pizza?

Adanya: Sounds good.

Skye:     Q and A over, people. Back to our regular schedule of blurry footage and ranting tomorrow.

Choose to be a Jedi, a Sith, or one of a variety of other classic Star Wars roles, and make decisions which define your personal story and determine your path down the light or dark side of the Force. Along the way you will befriend courageous companions who will fight at your side or possibly betray you based on your actions. Together you will battle enemies in dynamic Star Wars combat and team up with other players to overcome incredible challenges.

( Read more at SWTOR.com )

“I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true — hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.” 

— Ray Bradbury

I’ve decided to join the fun at Write 1 Sub 1 for 2012. It’s a writing experiment following Ray Bradbury, is reported to have finished a story each week, mailed it out to a magazine, then started working on the next one. To start off, I’m not going to be jumping in at one story a week (I’ll reserve that for a future challenge), but I am going to join in the Write1Sub1 Monthly. I hope that will get me back to looking at short fiction, which I sorely neglected last year.

It seems like it will be crazy productive fun!

Corporate line rules all.

I saw that spray painted on a wall once. Back before the fire I’d have thought it was some paranoid’s rambling, but not after. We never got a team into the offices, never had the forensics from the generator. All we got was a report: problem found. Some bullshit about a flaw in the wiring or the metal or both. It was a clever work of fiction, I’ll give them that.

But in the end, it didn’t matter, not to the people who lived in the city. That fire burned hot and it burned wide, and we’re lucky more people didn’t die. If the company wanted to admit fault, no one was going to argue with where they put the flashpoint.

All they cared about was restitution, and where they were supposed to live now that their homes were charcoal. There were plans to sue, negligence or something, but then the company stepped up without legal pressure, laid down the cash to rebuild the city. Everyone said it was a sign the corps cared after all, that they had hearts.

They bought us all, and we thanked them for it.

Same thing goes for the network, cloud or undertubes. It’s not like he looks anything like that picture in there, not even enough for the nice little tag line. None of us do, the real ones, and that’s the point. Someone should’ve told Llewellyn that, but he wouldn’t have got it, not really. He was most comfortable in his own skin, enough to recreate it. Prototypers never were. That was part of the point.

My face isn’t the one on my warrant, any more than Cayle’s was. My face is smooth on the surface, faceted underneath, made of gem stone that smiles. My eyes are clear crystal, and I’m just me, not that woman, not that man, just me.

I would make the same choice again. Even if time was still a concept out of my reach, I would not have changed that moment in the eternity I had to do so. Or so I believe. Must believe.

Because there is an end now.

It’s not gone, though. I had always thought they made choices, left them behind, left in what they call the past. It isn’t so. They carry their pasts around with them, dwell in them as much as we ever did, and now so do I.

Even if I wanted to, I cannot take it back.

“So this is where you’re hiding.”

He jumped as Brier joined him, settling herself on the edge of the cliff, frowning into the darkness below.

“I hate being up here at night.”

“Seeing the water wouldn’t help you if you fell.”

“But I like knowing it’s still there.” She rubbed her arms, even with her heavy coat. “Your father is looking for you.”

“Did he tell you to bring me back?”

“No, but he was complaining to your sister.”

“Then I’m staying here, thank you.” He pointed up to the stars he’d been watching for more than an hour. “I can’t find the dragon.”

Brier frowned. “Why would you want to?” She shivered as the Spirit in the Cliffs cried out.

“I think it’s moved.”

“The constellations don’t travel.”

“Everything else does.” He thought of the darkness in the water below, and the deeper shadows of the forest surrounding the Hold. “Except us.”

Survive one hellish night as you fight hand to hand against undead enemies and mad scientists using the hands-free controls of Microsoft Kinect. Using knives, chainsaws and your bare hands, rip your foes limb from limb while uncovering the location of your kidnapped wife.

( Click to read more at XBox.com )

I took her at her word. Besides, I didn’t want to hear how embarrassing it was to have the Security Forces come knock on her door. Last I heard, the house had been reclaimed and she’d been moved into a box tower. I don’t know if she’d like that better or worse.

There were times when I wanted to call her, when I thought maybe I’d be told anything except to stay gone, but I never did. Lies, even to yourself, only have so much weight. Besides, they’re still monitoring her calls.

And that’s all folks! Another NaNo down. This year I also managed to complete a personal NaNo goal, and ended with a calendar widget of all green squares (screenshotted for posterity).

The power adapter for my laptop died last night (as far as I can tell), so I won’t be able to find out how many of these words I’m dropping off the bat. I already know some of the scenes are switching view points, and I’m dropping the hobby of one of the characters, so I wanted to pull the related sections as soon as my final word count was in. Unfortunately, those will have to wait with everything else until after this draft has rested for a month.