Monthly Archives: June 2022
Writing Prompt: Table
I haven’t posted one of these in a while. Twice a month, I get together with some other writers. We pull a prompt from an envelope and write for 30 minutes, then read to each other and chat. Sometimes I have to cogitate before coming up with something to write. Not this time. I plunged […]
Worldbuilding
Each morning, when the weather is nice, I sit on my porch and eat my snack while my second cup of coffee perks. It’s now late June. The yard looks lush and at peak greenery. The mountain laurel are flowering—white and pink snowballs covering the bushes. The smaller sheep laurel dots the surrounding green with […]
Well, Toss that Blog Draft in the Bin
“As a matter of constitutional substance, the majority’s opinion has all the flaws its method would suggest. Because laws in 1868 deprived women of any control over their bodies, the majority approves States doing so today. Because those laws prevented women from charting the course of their own lives, the majority says States can do […]
There’s No Birding in Space
At heart I’m a nature girl, so it was hard to write a novel that takes place mostly on a space ship. In Endurance, Captain Lyn Randall even laments about wanting to hear bird song and feel the wind. It’s summer now here in New England and the days are long. I’ll wake up at […]
Last Endurance Excerpt #19
She worked the buttons, responding as Ani called out instructions. The ship slowed then stilled. Random items continued to ricochet around the bridge. Gravity was off. The red flashing lights switched to yellow. Whatever had breached was sealing itself. The life support siren quieted but echoed in Lyn’s head as she caught her breath, frustrated […]
Endurance Excerpt #18
As Lyn waited for Ani to get to the window, she heard from her first officer. “Franklin to the bridge.” “Randall here, Marc. Where are you?” “In my quarters.” His cabin was the farthest aft on the Bridge Deck, next to the muster area known as the Paddock. A loud thunk came through the link […]
Endurance Excerpt #17
That left manual backups, or Lyn’s mind link. Last resort, but with shipwide failures, it might not work anyway. She pulled herself along railings to the command seat and strapped in. The vibrations had stopped but she could feel every whip and lash as the ship yawed and spun. She lifted the manual console from […]
Endurance Excerpt #16
She crashed into the ceiling, like a vicious version of her brothers’ crack the whip. Or when her dad would twirl her in circles by her hands. Screaming with joy and mock fear. This was not fun. She’d trained for this, but it had been a long time and under controlled conditions. She pressed the […]
Endurance Excerpt #15
The story continues… The room spun. Her stomach heaved. She wiggled out of the tight bedding, a safety measure for just such circumstances, only to be flung across the room, slamming into her dresser. She grabbed for the railing circling the room and steadied herself. The ship shuddered. Her teeth chattered. Lights streaked by outside […]
Endurance Excerpt #14
For Pride month, I’m posting daily from the first chapter. Pre-order links below. The story continues… It began with a low rumble intruding on a dream. Lyn stood at the edge of a high cliff as vibrations rattled her body before the ground suddenly fell away. She jolted awake to a brilliant flash filling her […]
Elaine Burnes 