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Dark Fairy Queen Writerly Bridal Shower Entry

Title: A Very Faery Wedding

Author: Christina Krieger

eBook: Yes

[hr]

“I announce from this day onward, you are eternally joined faeries.”

A few hours earlier…

“Come quickly, Eliza,” an elderly faery said with a friendly smile, grabbing Eliza by the arm and leading her inside. “We must get you ready. No time to waste.”

Eliza had barely crossed over from the human world to the faery realm. Her newly transformed skin glittered and reflected the light as she moved. She would also have to get used to her new pair of wings. Eliza turned her head to marvel at them once more. Apparently, every faery’s wings had a color unique only to them. It was known as the faery’s gwenfaer. Her wings were a pearly light gold. She couldn’t believe it. This was actually happening. Eliza, once human and completely unaware that faeries even existed, had crossed into a whole new realm and turned faery herself. All because she had fallen in love with Rowland, a faery native to this world. She was the only one ever to do so, and her actions had caused quite an uproar. Many faeries found her transformation incredibly romantic, but a few found her to be an abomination.

Eliza tucked all that aside; she had to get ready for her wedding, after all.

As she entered the woman’s house, ten other faeries rushed at her, surrounding her with smiles and squeals of excitement. They simultaneously started to replace her current clothes with her wedding gown.

“It is customary for the bride to wear her husband’s gwenfaer,” the elderly lady said, who was evidently supervising all the other faeries getting her ready.

The gown was beyond beautiful. The entire dress was the same deep royal blue as Rowland’s wings, and it was covered in shimmering blue stones that shone with a brilliance she had never seen on earth. As they slipped the dress over her head, Eliza saw the intricate weave pattern in the delicate lace-like fabric. Slots at her back allowed her wings to slide through with ease. Her hair was then curled and adorned with the same jewels that covered her dress. When she finally got to look in the mirror, all the faeries gasped at her reflection.

“You look radiant,” one of them said, barely able to get out the sentence due to her excitement. “Rowland will probably fall out of the sky when he sees you.”

The faeries led her outside where she met Rowland in an expansive field under the boughs of what looked like a giant weeping willow. All the limbs were covered in blue and gold shimmering flowers. Countless faeries flocked to watch the ceremony, but Eliza hardly noticed. She was too fixated on Rowland, who was staring intently into her eyes.

“You look absolutely stunning,” he said in a whisper.

Eliza smiled. “So do you.”

Rowland’s tunic was a pearly gold, the exact color of her gwenfaer. Eliza then understood the tradition. Rowland wore nothing but pearly gold and had royal blue wings. She wore royal blue and had gold wings. It was a symbol of how their lives would be forever intertwined.

The king of the realm appeared and attempted to start the ceremony. But before he could say anything, a fire erupted in the middle of the field. Balls of flame started raining from above and all the spectators immediately scattered. As if by magic, the fire started to move on its own, taking the shape of letters.

“We need to get you two out of here,” the King said.

As they flew into the sky, they saw what the letters said: Abomination

All of this because she had crossed over into their world. It was all her fault.

The King led them far from the willow tree and into a cave high above the ground.

“You should be safe here, at least for a while.”

“Now what do we do?” Eliza said as Rowland wrapped his arms around her.

“We continue the ceremony of course. If you two don’t join, they win. We have no reason not to proceed.”

Rowland and Eliza both nodded.

“As the king of this realm, I announce from this day onward, you are eternally joined faeries. May your love forever be an example and inspiration for generations to come, and may your union be blessed for the noble stand you have both taken.”

Rowland gently rested his hand on the side of Eliza’s face and pulled her in for their first kiss as joined faeries… but it would certainly not be their last.

[hr]

This is my entry into the Dark Fairy Queen Writerly Bridal Shower, where we all write wedding-themed flash fiction as a gift to the lovely Anna Meade who is getting married!

Click here to see more details on the Writerly Bridal Shower

This can be a stand-alone story, however the characters come from a flash fiction piece I wrote for one of Anna’s famous contests. I figured that would be fitting. You can read more about Rowland and Eliza here.

Congratulations, Anna!

Gateway to Reality Scavenger Hunt Blog Tour

Hello all!

Last week I helped announce the release of Becca J Campbell’s newest novel, Gateway to Reality. If you missed her guest post, check it out here.

In that post, I promised you all my official review as well as information on how to get more entries into Becca’s fabulous giveaway. So here it is…

Gateway to Reality by Becca J Campbell is a science fiction novel that turns our perception of what is real and what is fantasy on its head. In the book, Wes discovers that our world is not real. In fact, it is a creation of our minds as an escape from the real Existence, where nothing makes sense and logic doesn’t exist. But the worlds are more connected than we think…

I loved Gateway to Reality. If you’ve read the Circle books by Ted Dekker, they are similar in that when a character is asleep in our world, he awakes in the other. But beyond that, this is a new and original story that will take you to another world, root you there with lovable characters, and drive you forward with an intriguing and mysterious storyline. Fans of Becca J Campbell’s other works such as Foreign Identity and the Sub-Normal Series will love her latest. Not only does she demonstrate once again that she is a master of science fiction, but she eloquently weaves a love story into the mix and wraps it together with a message of staying true to what is real and not being bound to a fantasy.

I would definitely recommend Gateway to Reality and I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Now, on to the giveaway!

The Scavenger Hunt Blog Tour

You can enter the giveaway now, but to really amp up your odds at snatching one of these prize packs, check out each site along the blog tour.

Schedule

April 1st     Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews

April 2nd     The Peasants Revolt

April 3rd     Catharsis of the Bogue

April 4th     The Pen and Whisk

April 5th     Write for Life

April 6th     S.M. Boyce

April 8th     Paranormal Lounge

April 9th     Lisa Is a Bookworm

April 10th     Jade Kerrion

April 11th     Paper Book Princess

April 12th     Now is Gone

April 13th     Worlds Away Book Blog

April 15th     FU Only Knew

April 17th     Sarcasm and Lemons

April 18th     Brandon R. Luffman

Your Fifth Clue

Wes visits many worlds in the Existence. Here’s your challenge in this scavenger hunt:

Collect the names of the fifteen worlds in Gateway to Reality (one will be revealed each day).

Following the schedule above, collect a world name at each stop, and when you have them all, plug that list of 15 worlds into the giveaway below to win a BONUS TEN ENTRIES.

Here’s Your Fifth World: Marilyn’s World

Continue with your hunt tomorrow at S.M. Boyce.

Good luck!

Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

Gateway To Reality Release Blitz

I am super excited to be apart of this event to announce Becca J Campbell’s newest novel, Gateway to Reality. Next week I’ll be posting my review of the book (as well as information on how to win some awesome prizes!) Today we have a guest post by Becca herself. So here it is, and be sure to check back next week…

Gateway to Reality: A Mind-Bending Urban Fantasy Tale by Becca J. Campbell

I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my second novel, Gateway to Reality, now available at Amazon US and Amazon UK. Keep reading for a chance to win one of three prize packs!

Gateway to Reality

Here’s a little more about the story:

Talented artists shouldn’t be waiting tables, scraping by, and living mediocre lives. But that’s exactly what art school graduate Wes Teague is doing.

Then he wakes from a bizarre dream, haunted by the sense that his life isn’t real. A harrowing truth presents itself—the real world lies in his dreams, not when he’s wide awake.

The dream world he enters each night is rich and vibrant. Chicago appears the same on the surface, but chaos runs rampant as gravity, physics, and other laws of nature become fluid, changing unexpectedly. There, Wes’s parents, brother, and sister are strangers. His girlfriend Emily doesn’t recognize him. Wes longs to return, to unlearn the truth about his dual reality.

Wes would sacrifice almost anything to get back to blissful ignorance in a false world.

But now he has feelings for the real Emily.

The Matrix Meets Inception

This book explores ideas similar to two of my favorite movies, though it wasn’t directly inspired by either. Dreams are key in the story, as is the idea of two worlds—one that’s real and one that isn’t. Gateway to Reality merges the two concepts and fuses them together with good dose of romance in a way that is fresh and vibrant.

Genre-wise, Gateway to Reality is a New Adult novel that walks the line between Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. It is a topsy-turvy, reality-bending, relationship-driven tale that explores the relationship between truth and fantasy.

Giveaway

I’m giving away several prizes to celebrate the book’s release. The Grand Prize is a Chicago-theme prize pack and it will include:

  • An autographed paperback of Gateway to Reality
  • A journal with an artistic representation of Chicago on the cover
  • A Cloud Gate button
  • A Gateway to Reality button
  • Three postcards: Gateway to Reality, Cloud Gate, and Crown Fountain

The Second Prize is:

  • An autographed paperback of Gateway to Reality
  • Gateway to Reality postcard

The Third Prize is the full Becca J. Campbell ebook library (your choice of Kindle or ePub version):

  • Gateway to Reality ebook
  • Foreign Identity ebook
  • Not the Norm (Sub-Normal #1) ebook
  • Unmasked Alloy (Sub-Normal #2) ebook

Scavenger Hunt Blog Tour

You can enter the giveaway now, but to really amp up your odds at snatching one of these prize packs, bookmark this page and come back in a week to check out each site along the blog tour. Follow the schedule below: collect a clue at each stop on the correct day and put them all together to reveal the answer. Plug that into the giveaway below to win TEN BONUS ENTRIES.

April 1st     Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews

April 2nd     The Peasants Revolt

April 3rd     Catharsis of the Bogue

April 4th     The Pen and Whisk

April 5th     Write for Life

April 6th     S.M. Boyce

April 8th     Paranormal Lounge

April 9th     Lisa Is a Bookworm

April 10th     Jade Kerrion

April 11th     Paper Book Princess

April 12th     Now is Gone

April 13th     Worlds Away Book Blog

April 15th     FU Only Knew

April 17th     Sarcasm and Lemons

April 18th     Brandon R. Luffman

Good luck!

Want to see pictures of the prizes? Check them out here.

Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

Where to find Becca

Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Author Blog | Pinterest | Amazon

Five Sentence Fiction – Character

I am the adversary of evil, a guide to the lost, and the answer to every mystery.

I stand silent in the shadows; you may not see me, but I see all.

I unravel every conspiracy and the plot in every game.

I know the players, the pawns, the innocents struggling to be free.

I am your guardian, your liberator, your ally—my name is Garrison, though most of you know me as G.

[hr]

For this FSF, Lillie asked us to write about a character from one of our WIPs. I chose a character who is not only in my WIP, but has appeared in many flash fiction pieces here on my site. I hope this gives you a little more insight into who G is.

Be sure to check out the Five Sentence Fiction weekly challenge created by Lillie McFerrin.

Five Sentence Fiction – Candidate

“Is she asleep, Doctor?”

“Yes, she’s under and will awake with no memory of the procedure.”

“Her mate, Rowland, is… detained… and won’t interfere with our faery-human relations research—Eliza’s the perfect candidate.”

“Good… the fetus’ heart rate is normal; maybe we can determine if she conceived before or after she transformed into a faery.” The doctor paused, stared at the monitor, and said, “Vick will like these results—a half-breed is an abomination and will give him the excuse he needs to destroy Rowland and Eliza.”

[hr]

This is part of a series I’ve been writing. You can read all about Rowland and Eliza here.

And be sure to check out the Five Sentence Fiction weekly challenge created by Lillie McFerrin.

Behind the Curtain: Charade

Paris, 1900. The Paris Opera House was the epicenter of upper-class society. Only the wealthy could afford to attend, while the not-so-lucky would read about the ballet and the performers’ latest scandals in the next morning’s paper.

 ~

“On and off stage couple, Gerard and Ella, captivated yet another audience in last night’s stunning performance,” Ella read the article aloud to her dance partner, Gerard, as she paced across her dressing room. “Many claim to have seen an engagement ring on Ella’s finger, while others insist they are already secretly married. The couple has yet to confirm or deny these rumors.”

Ella slammed the paper into Gerard’s lap. “How long are we going to keep up this charade?”

“As long as they keep buying tickets,” Gerard said plainly. “I have to go; I’ll see you before curtain.”

“Fine.”

The door slammed behind him, followed by a knock ten seconds later.

“Did you forget to kiss your ‘fiancé’ before leaving?” She yelled.

The door cracked open and a head of brown shaggy hair popped in.

“Is it safe to enter?” He said.

“Luke, it’s you,” Ella sighed in relief. She ran to him and kissed him gently on the lips. “Did anyone see you come in? If a reporter found out I’m courting one of the stage hands and not the leading dancer…”

“No one saw me.”

As she was about to kiss him again, a short man with gray hair burst into the dressing room.

“What are you doing?” He said, franticly closing the door. “What if someone else had come in?”

“Well, it is a dressing room. Most people knock.”

“Your romance with Gerard is selling out the theatre.”

“What romance? It’s all fake!”

“As the manager, I cannot allow you to see Luke any longer. I’m arranging for Gerard to propose after tonight’s show… And you will say yes.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll see to it that you never dance again.”

 ~

As promised, in front of every reporter, Gerard got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. Ella barely heard his question over the gasps of the crowd. Sneaking a glance beyond the throng, she found Luke with arms crossed.

Dancing was everything. What choice did she have?

“Yes,” she said to Gerard. The last thing Ella saw before they kissed was the look of a betrayal painted on Luke’s broken face.

[hr]

This was written for the Behind the Curtain flash fiction contest at Yearning for Wonderland.



Lascaux Flash Contest Entry – The Light

I recently entered the Lascaux Flash Fiction contest. The rules were to write a 250 word story inspired by the picture provided. I didn’t win, but I had a lot of fun writing the story.

For those of you following Rowland and Eliza, this will loosely tie in to their story, see if you can pick up the connection!

So here is The Light

[hr]

“What happened?” I say, turning to look at the passenger seat. “Dom?”

I try to see through the windshield, but the glass is shattered. I can only make out fragments of colors and faint lights in the distance. Stumbling out, I find Dom lying in the gravel, covered in blood.

“Lisa, are you okay?” He coughs and more blood sprays from his mouth.

“I’m fine,” I say, holding back tears.  My head’s spinning and my thoughts come in fragments: Must have been an accident….thrown from the car…coughing up blood’s never good…

“And the baby?”

I look down and touch my stomach, feeling a kick. “She’s okay too.”

Dom nods. I choke back sobs as he loses consciousness. He can’t die; I won’t let him.

I never told Dom what I can do—how through a simple touch I can affect a person’s mood. It’s an ability I inherited from my dad. But if I can alter someone’s mind, who is to say I can’t alter their body? Who is to say I can’t save my unborn child’s father?

I put my hands on his wounds and close my eyes. “Please, this has to work.”

Tears flow freely now, splashing onto Dom’s blood-stained shirt. I look down and gasp. Gold light is streaming from my hands…

…And my stomach. Could my baby have the ability too?

Seconds creep like hours, until I’m drawn back to the present by my dear Love’s voice, “Honey, is there something you want to tell me?”

Friday Night Write – Slow Turning

Violet snuck through the back door of a bar at the outskirts of a small Alabama town. The place looked like it could have once been a barn; there were still remnants of hay sprinkled outside. From the dark hallway by the restrooms, she could hear the muffled sound of upbeat music and shuffling feet. Peaking around the corner, at least thirty people were crammed on the floor dancing and swinging to an old song she didn’t recognize. The crowd was dressed in jeans and casual shirts, and nearly everyone wore cowboy boots. Shouts, laughter, and the occasional, yeehaw filled the barn-like atmosphere.

She had been on the run for months, and she just needed a place to lay low for a while. She would definitely not blend in here. She would draw far too much attention with her leather jacket, black hair, and studded wrist cuffs. She slowly backed up, hoping to sneak out the way she came, but her escape was hindered by an immovable object standing right behind her. Violet gasped as she turned and saw the one face she prayed she would never see again.

“You,” Violet whispered. The man grabbed her by the arms, rooting her in place.

“Did you think you could outrun me forever?” His sly voice said quietly, trying to keep their conversation from being overheard by the occasional passerby. He was tall with a slender face, dressed in a trench coat, the brim of his hat hiding his eyes.

“The thought crossed my mind.”

“Your feeble attempts to hurt them have caused no more damage than a fly buzzing around your face—a little annoying, but nothing a little swat won’t cure.”

“Then why have you been hunting me so tirelessly if I didn’t hit a nerve? They’re scared.”

“Hardly.”

“Admit it!” Violet yelled.

The man gave her a hard shake and lowered his face so he could look right in her eyes. “Enough! You’re coming with me. If I weren’t under strict orders to bring you back alive, I would dispose of you myself. But my employers want to poke and prod before ending you.”

“What do they want with me?”

“I’ll just say that they have an obsession, of sorts, with studying and then riding the world of mutants like you.

Fury bubbled beneath her skin as the familiar burning ran through her entire body, and congregated in her arms right where his hands gripped her. She was ready to release her deadly fire, ending the pyro-hunter’s life for good, but the flame no more than sparked when it was immediately snuffed out with a puff of smoke.

“What the heck?”

“Did I forget to mention…” the hunter said with a grin, “that I have my own unique abilities? Except mine is that I can reverse the effects of other mutants’ powers. So as long as you’re with me, no more flames…”

Violet gulped as he led her out the back door and into the dark night.

[hr]

This is my entry into the Friday Night Write weekly challenge at Sweet Banana Ink.

The Challenge:

  • 1 Song (this week’s song was Slow Turning by John Hiatt)
  • 60 Hours (Friday @ noon to Sunday @ midnight EST)
  • 500 Words

This is part of a series I’m writing. You can read more about Violet Blair here.

Five Sentence Fiction – Memories

It was time—time to say goodbye to everything she loved, to everyone she knew, to every memory she ever held dear.

She had discovered too much, and now he was hunting her—the epitome of evil wrapped in human flesh.

Her only option for survival was to run, hide, forget all she knew, and hope he would never find her.

She took a deep breath as her savior, a man known as G, hooked her up to the machine that would take her memories.

Whispering her final goodbye, she closed her eyes, and waited for the moment she could reopen them to her new life.

[hr]

I wrote this to tie into my first novel, No Exit (more details on that coming soon.) So this is a little teaser for you.

Check out the Five Sentence Fiction weekly challenge created by Lillie McFerrin.

Five Sentence Fiction – Blush

“You’ve been ignoring me for months, are you ever going to tell me what’s going on,” Eliza said after cornering Rowland.

“Ignore you… I could never ignore you, love.”

Eliza tried to keep up her furious facade, but her blushing cheeks betrayed her.

“You can’t keep leaving me in the dark like this; talk to me.”

“You remember Vick, the one who tried to kill you… well, he has a group of followers intent on fulfilling his mission.”

[hr]

This is a previous FSF prompt that I haven’t had a chance to post until now. Better late than never.

Check out the Five Sentence Fiction weekly challenge created by Lillie McFerrin.

This story is part of a series, The Transformation. You can read the rest of the story here.