Lara and the Witch Part 8

A month or so back (maybe slightly more), I started on a new Lara & the Witch story, when I got stuck on the one I'd started in February, which I was calling "Wookin Pah Nub."*  In the story "The Company You Keep," there was a single throwaway line of dialogue where Holcomb asks Lara if Perpetua Trevorly has been bothering her again.  When I was editing the audio of the story, I paused and thought, Why would Perpetua Trevorly be badgering Lara like this, and might there be a story in it?

Well, of course the answer is yes.  There's a potential story in every namedrop or vague reference I write in these things.  The real question is, whether there's enough of a story in it to carry me through to the end.

And, in this case, anyway, the answer was yes.  And a very simple, enjoyable yes.  It was harder to find a title I liked than getting to the end of the fifteen thousand word story.

This one is called "Here To Help," and it comes from a State Farm (Insurance) slogan.  In it, Lara is approached on the street by a strange woman (Perpetua Trevorly), who claims to be a friend of Lara's mother's.  I'm not a good enough writer to have a theme in my stories, but if I did, this one would have the theme of, DOES No Good Deed Go Unpunished?

It takes place when Lara is fourteen, and a month or two after the Valentine's Day story "The People You Touch."  This makes it the eighth official Lara & the Witch story (the others being "Like A Good Neighbor," "You're In Good Hands," "Made Just For You," "The People You Touch," "The Company You Keep," Bundling Made Easy," and "When You Need It Most").

At this rate, I'll probably publish it around 2026, but I started formatting it today, and that's usually the step I take right before sitting down and recording the audio version.  So, you never know (which has to be some insurance company's motto, right?).

*It's a great title (I'm sure to change), and a pretty good idea, where Lara tries to set Holcomb up with a nice man on a dating app, after the witch has only ever previously made contact with total creeps.

Hike One

So, it was a warm, sunny-ish day, and I went on a hike, for the first time this year.  I wasn't planning on it--I was wearing the wrong pants and the wrong shoes--but I felt like I ought to.  For various boring and emotional reasons.

I drove way up north, passing four different potential hiking trails, to get to the one I first hit during the pandemic (it was closed halfway up due to the winter the first time, and closed due to the COVID pandemic every time afterward).  The last time I'd gone, I lost all cell service a mile or so before reaching the path, but they seem to have put up a new tower, because I still had during my walk.

It's still officially closed for the season, with signs that said the bathrooms and drinking fountains at the base weren't accessible, but I found both of them working, so we must be days or hours before reopening for the summer (the urinal didn't flush, though, I found out only after using it.  Sorry).

Everything is green, the sky is blue, and though I saw no animals, something moved through the brush higher up on the trail from me, and left only a waving branch when I tried to get a look.  I assume it was a jackalope.

I thought I was the only person hiking the trail, but as I got up to the most photogenic part of the climb, I saw an older couple coming down the trail toward me.  And I had to push them off, Your Honor, you understand.

I went up another quarter mile or so, all familiar terrain, even though I think I only ever went there in 2020 (maybe a single time the next year), and suddenly, I could go no further.

The trail was covered by a strange landslide of snow, effectively ending any further progress (unless you wanted to risk going over the hill of ice).  I took a couple of pictures of it, but nothing quite captured how impressive it was.*

In front of the pile was a sign that read "TRAIL ENDS - DO NOT CROSS."  But I didn't need that sign (shoulda taken a picture of it, though).  All the way up the hill was one long snowy portion, with no snow anywhere else.  

So, I had no choice but to turn around and go back down the hill.  No big deal, but I remember literally running down the hill in the past, and I'm glad I didn't, because there were a couple of places where the hiking trail was cracked, from either landslides or tree roots pushing up the concrete (or possibly the Great Old Ones trying to emerge from whence they slumber), and I'd have gone sprawling.

I got to my car and drove home, aware that this might be the last time I ever go there.  Hmm.

*And I was glad that the old couple had seen something so majestic right before their unfortunate fall(s).

Exercise Update

 I did miss a few days, but I'm not gonna stress about it.

As much as exercise sucks (most of the time), it's always enjoyable to color in the little squares.

Apropos of Nothing

The other day, my buddy Jeff called me from Germany, to tell me he was watching the Fede Alvarez remake of THE EVIL DEAD, called, horribly, eViL dEAd.  It was a movie I was too afraid to watch (heck, I couldn't sit through the trailer), but he was going to give it a watch.  What's worse, his wife was in Portugal on a . . . get this, a yoga retreat.  Obviously code for something.*

So, Jeff, alone in the house, watched EEEEEEEVILDEEEEEEAD, by himself.  And then, he went to the cinema--again, alone--to see EVIL DEAD RISES, with no one to hold his hand, and then came home on the train to an empty apartment, one filled with shadows, lack of reassuring pets, and windows so large an NBA player-sized murderer could climb through them.

Honestly, this image is effed-up enough I am hesitant to put it on my blog.

But he's more of a man than I am, that much is clear.

So, I was going to go for a run tonight, and around ten-thirty, I finally changed into my sweatpants and light-colored running shirt . . . then watched YouTube and pretended to edit audio until nearly midnight.  Finally, though, I shut off what I was watching (er, I mean, editing my next podcast), and got going.  And I found, disturbingly enough, the front door was open.  It was five minutes to midnight, and the door was not unlocked, but open.  

Gulp.

Thanks, Jeff, for not dragging me to see EVIL DEAD RISE with you.

*Kids, if I ever tell you I'm going on a "yoga retreat," feel free to give me five, wink, and say, "Congratulations, man, but make sure you save your photos in a special, hidden folder."

Podcast That Dares 41: The Squaw

Yikes.  Rish presents Bram Stoker's short story, "The Squaw," a tale where the title is somehow not the most problematic part of it.  

Warning: Despite being from 1893, this story is particularly rough.  Listener discretion is advised.

To download the episode, Right-Click HERE.

To support me on Patreon, come on, just click HERE.

Logo by Gino "The Chief" Moretto.

My Voice on "Bye, Baby Bunting" on HorrorAddicts

*

Wow, here we are, a new batch of HorrorAddicts podcasts, all or most of which will feature my voice.  This one barely qualifies, as I only have one or two lines in the whole thing.  But hey, a gig's a gig.

The story this time is called "Bye, Baby Bunting" by Leslie Warren, about a new widow and mother, and a baby with a mouthful of teeth.  And yellow eyes.

You can check it out HERE.

*Pretty kind of them to use one of my baby pictures for their cover art.

Audiobook Update 5-6

Well, there you go.  All done, barring relines in the last couple of chapters.  I even got a Closing Credits and got that done too.  And I've got to say, doing this silly daily blogging thing, and making my LGBT-friendly progress chart, really helped me stay motivated.  

I look forward to accomplishing many new things in the rest of the year, but I've been in the revenge business for so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life.

Audioboooook Updaaate - 5-5

I can't believe it . . . I just began editing the final chapter of the book.  I'm sure there will still be errors to correct and chalupas to re-heat, but wow, this has been quite an accomplishment: my longest and most ambitious audiobook project to date.  

Audiobook Update 5-4

I'm really focusing on editing today, and up ahead, I can see the finish line, not so far away.  In fact, I can see somebody waiting for me there, somebody to cheer me on, no doubt . . . but why is he wearing a black hood and holding a scythe?

Audierbook Update 5-3

Sadly, yesterday (and most of Monday) were the first days that I haven't worked on "Cormorant" in months.  I fully intended to yesterday, after focusing on editing my Patreon address (still only half-done) on Monday . . . but I fell asleep as soon as I Noise Reduced the file, and didn't wake up again until it was time to either go to bed or go to my cousin's house.  So I did the latter.

Today, though, I was back in business, and decided not to go to the library to write, but to instead focus on editing this.  The end is in sight.

Audiobook Update 5-1

 *

Anyhow, I'm getting close now.

*I liked this image, of parents covering their childrens' eyes, but the stern-looking dad covering his bored daughter's eyes bothered me.  Much better was a stern-looking dad covering his delighted son's eyes.  So I switched it.