Daulphina tries to Drive

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

Continuing with my series of excerpts from The Bull Riding Witch, below Daulphina tries to function in a world of technology.  The Bull Riding Witch will be released on July 17 and will be only $.99 only as a release day special.

I abruptly let go of him and sniffed my underarms. I did stink. A princess couldn’t stink. It just wasn’t done. “I don’t know what to do. Joshua doesn’t have any clean clothes.”

He rolled his eyes. “Typical. Why don’t you take them over to Meemaw’s and get them washed?” he said, like I was the stupidest person he’d ever had the misfortune to meet. “If you go now, she’ll probably make you breakfast, too. She’s always feeding Joshua. Then you can head over to the library, but if you think you’re taking one of my horses after last time, you don’t have the sense God gave hamsters.”

I was too shocked to speak for a moment. “If I can’t use a horse, how I am supposed to get to Meemaw’s and this library?”

“You drive Joshua’s truck, of course.” He headed out of the trailer without waiting for me to dismiss him.

My mouth dropped open. Abandoning royal dignity, I ran after him. “I can’t work the magic of those horseless carriages!”

He heaved a great sigh. “Enough of this magic nonsense, but our vehicles are probably too primitive for the likes of you. Since you’re too high and mighty to explain your tech to me, I should just leave you to your own devices, but I happen to need Joshua to do some chores. Come on, I’ll show you how to work the truck.” He led me over to one of the carriages—a beat-up, brown one. “This is Joshua’s truck,” he said, and opened it. The floorboard was littered with trash and empty beer bottles. “You put the key in there and turn it.” He pointed to the slot beside the wheel. “Use the gear shift to put it in gear.” He pointed to a stick with a knob attached. “D for drive. R for reverse. P for Park. Push the pedal on the right to go. The one on the left to stop. Turn the wheel to change directions. That’s all there is to it. Have fun.” As my head spun with the instructions, he turned toward the barn.

“Wait a minute. Where’s the key? And how do I get to Meemaw’s and this free library?”

Uncle Gilly shrugged. “Key should be in the trailer somewhere. You’ll have to search for it.” He pulled a notepad and pencil out of his front pocket of his overalls. “I’ll draw you a map. Meemaw’s is on the way to the library. It ain’t far.” He drew a map and explained how to get there. He abruptly walked away, still seeming angry about the sock.

I turned back to the truck. Could I do it? Uncle Gilly said it wasn’t magic, but surely that was impossible. Remembering a princess is always brave, I went back into the trailer to find the key, not an easy feat considering the mess. Thinking it might make it easier to find the key, I decided to gather the laundry first.

I found a large bag. Wanting to touch Joshua’s dirty clothes as little as possible, I found a pair of work gloves and gathered the clothes up from between the various messes. They smelled like he let something die and crawl in among them. I picked up one pair of pants that had been on top of a plate covered with food remains. Nasty, huge, black cockroaches scurried in all directions. I jumped back and let out a muffled scream. Dear Cailleach, get me out of this place. I stood still for several moments, but nothing else happened. I shook myself and continued stuffing the clothes into the bag. I found a set of three keys on the bedside table under a dirty pair of boxer shorts.

Picking up the boxer shorts, I uncovered a picture of some sort. It depicted Joshua, a few years younger than he was now, with an older woman. Momma, I thought, and tears came to my eyes. Good gods, Joshua missed his mother as much as I missed mine. But how was it that I felt his emotions? I felt like collapsing on the bed in sobs, but of course, as a princess, I couldn’t do that.

I rigorously repressed the emotions that weren’t mine. I looked at the picture more closely and noticed something odd. It didn’t appear to be painted. How had it come to be?

Shaking my head, I set the picture down and lugged the laundry bag out to the back of  Joshua’s truck, which had some kind of shell over it. I put the bag in back and opened the front door warily. Moving carriages without horses seemed far too advanced of magic to handle with a simple key. But if Joshua had, surely I, crown princess of Asteria, could.

I sat in front of the wheel. I prayed to Cernuous, god of life, that I could work the carriage and get to Meemaw’s house without killing myself or anyone else. I focused my will, braced myself for the pain, and tried to put one of the keys in the slot. It wouldn’t fit. I tried the second key. It went in, but no matter how hard I concentrated it wouldn’t turn, so I tried the third key. As soon as I turned it, before I’d even focused my will, the truck roared to life. I screamed, but not because it hurt. In fact, there wasn’t even the smallest amount of pain. Could Uncle Gilly be right? Was I in a world without magic?

I stared at the carriage’s controls and tried to remember everything Uncle Gilly had said. I grabbed hold of the gear shift and moved it to D for drive. I pressed my foot on the go pedal, and the truck jumped forward. I panicked and slammed my foot on the stop pedal. The key had allowed me to work the magic, but could I control it? All my life I had heard stories of apprentices trying spells too advanced for them. The results were always disastrous and usually ended up with the death of the apprentice.

But what choice did I have? Shaking, I tried pushing the go pedal more gently. The truck crept forward. Slowly, the truck moved onto the road that led to Meemaw’s house. I hadn’t gone far when another carriage zoomed up behind me and sounded a truly awful horn. I shrieked, veered off the road and into a fence post before I thought to slam on the stop pedal. The operator of the other carriage, leaned out his window, shouted something I couldn’t understand, and put up the middle finger of his hand. Before I thought about it, I returned the gesture. It felt familiar, like one I’d made thousands of times before. Good gods, was Joshua in here with me? No, he was in my body. If he was here, surely, things would make more sense.

I sat there for a while trying to control my heartbeat and breathing, and more carriages zoomed past on the road behind me. By Cailleach, how could you control something moving so fast? I wanted to get out of Joshua’s truck and never touch it again, but if I did that, how would I find my way back to Asteria? It seemed absurd to be struggling on my own. In my world, I was almost never alone. I had a host of servants, advisors, and hanger-ons buzzing around me. I had but to snap my fingers, and Duke Tearlach would be waiting on me hand and foot, and he wasn’t the only one. But here, who could I rely on besides myself? It was situations like this my father must have had in mind when he told me a princess was always brave.

I could do it. I would make it to Meemaw’s. I waited until there were no carriages on the road behind me, then I tried R and the go pedal again. The carriage eased backwards. When I got on the road, I moved the gear shift to D and pressed a little harder on the go pedal. The carriage leapt forward, zooming at impossible speed. Still, carriages continued to close rapidly on me and sound their horns. But I managed to keep control of the truck and continue down the road.

Before I reached Meemaw’s, I stopped shaking. Something about operating the carriage felt familiar, like I’d done it before, although that was absurd. Still, I kept the speed as slow as I dared. I stopped the truck in front of Meemaw’s and moved the gear stick to P. Good gods, it hadn’t hurt in the slightest. What was this technology Uncle Gilly spoke of? It seemed much better than magic. I lugged the bag out of the truck, approached Meemaw’s front door, and knocked.

The Witch and the Crackpot

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

Continuing with my series of excerpts from The Bull Riding Witch, below is Daulphina’s first meeting with Uncle Gilly, local crackpot and the only one who will believe her that she isn’t really the man whose body she wears.  The Bull Riding Witch will be released on July 17 and will be only $.99 only as a release day special.

 

Uncle Gilly ran up to me. “Whisper Willow gots colic. Go and walk her. I’ll call the vet.”

Surely Jocelyn could have better handled the problem than I. My training was incomplete. Still, Jocelyn was gone, and I could cure a colicky horse. I didn’t have any herbs or a place to make a potion, so I’d have to use a poppet even though that hurt a hell of a lot more. Uncle Gilly headed for the farmhouse, and I headed to the barn.

Unlike the stench of Joshua’s trailer, the barn had a fresh, clean, and familiar scent of straw. There were stalls for about a dozen horses and a similar number of cows. Tied to a post in the grooming area was a bay mare. The horse was rolling her eyes, snorting and groaning. I looked around, but I couldn’t see materials for making poppets. I thought of my sock. I quickly took off one boot and removed the sock. Dear gods, it stank! I carefully approached the suffering mare; a colicky horse doesn’t pay much attention to its surroundings and can step on you without even realizing you’re there. I plucked two hairs out of her mane, stood back, and used the hairs to tie the sock up into the semblance of a horse.

I looked around for something to cut myself with. In the tack room, I found a very long knife, almost a sword, hanging on the wall. I grabbed it, brought into the main barn, and carefully made a cut a on my left thumb. At least, I meant to do it carefully, but the knife was so gods-cursed big that I slipped and cut a nearly half inch gash. I dripped, or rather gushed, blood onto the sock. One drop should have been enough, but I was bleeding everywhere.

I sucked on my bleeding thumb for a second and then ignored it and breathed on the sock horse. I held the image in my mind of it being the living horse. A sting shot through my hand as the magic gathered. I ignore the pain, breathed again, and focused my will. It felt like a bright light was exploding inside me, and my head exploded with it. I breathed a third time, and a hard lump coalesced in the sock horse’s abdomen, right where the horse’s intestines must have been blocked. I just avoided screaming at the pain in my own abdomen. Good gods, I hated poppets. I used the large knife and cut a hole in the poppet where the horse’s anus should be. With one bleeding and one nonbleeding hand, I gently massaged the lump toward the hole. The pain dulled to several levels below excruciating.

The mare reared and whinnied, and I had to jump back or risk getting crushed. Soaking the poppet in blood, I continued massaging the lump further toward the hole, and the horse fidgeted and snorted. I gritted my teeth against the pain and squeezed and squeezed, the lump getting slowly closer to the hole. It would only move a miniscule distance with each squeeze because that was as fast as the blockage could move in the mare’s intestines.

Uncle Gilly came back and stooped over me. “What in God’s name are you playing with a bloody sock for?”

I thought it would have been obvious. “It’s a poppet.” When he looked at me blankly, I add, “For magic.”

“Magic,” he snorted and pointed at the sock. “There’s no such thing as magic.”

I gaped at him, stunned that anyone could deny the obvious. “There most certainly is.”

Uncle Gilly laughed. “That’s what the aliens want you to think.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but at the moment I needed to concentrate on the spell. I ignored him and continued squeezing the lump farther toward the hole.

Uncle Gilly picked up the large knife. “What’s all this blood on my machete?”

I guessed that was what the knife was called. “Be quiet. This hurts, you know.”

He gave a loud humph, but didn’t say anything else until I finally squeezed a lump of who-knows-what out of the sock, and the mare let out an immense fart and pooped out a huge pile of . . . you know. I sat down hard on the wooden barn floor, as the pain drained out of me and near euphoria took its place. Magic might hurt, but the aftereffects were almost always worth it.

Uncle Gilly stared at me open-mouthed. “What kind of alien technology is this?” He took the sock from my hand and picked up the lump that I squeezed out of it and sniffed it. “Where’d someone like you get this? You haven’t been abducted lately, have you?”

I wasn’t sure what all this talk of aliens was about, but evidently he’d never seen magic like this before. Considering how badly telling the truth had gone with Jocelyn, I hesitated. But I didn’t know what else to say. “I’m not Joshua.”

Uncle Gilly squatted down near me. “Then who are you?”

“I’m Daulphina, the crown princess of Asteria.”

Uncle Gilly rubbed his chin. “Asteria? Is that in the Andromeda Galaxy or farther out in the Sunflower?”

Confused and still bleeding, I shook my head. “Galaxy?”

“Yeah, you know, what planet are you from? Is Asteria anywhere near Zenon?”

“I’m not from a different planet. Asteria is a parallel realm, at least I think it is.”

“Parallel realm?” he scoffed. “And people think I’m crazy when I tell them about the aliens from Zenon who abducted me.” He picked up the machete and pointed it at me. “You just don’t want to admit that aliens have replaced Joshua with you.”

“They did?” I wondered if Uncle Gilly knew something I didn’t.

“How else could it happen?” He squinted his eyes at me. “Although I don’t know why they’d bother with a loser like Joshua. It’s usually important people they mess with, like world leaders and talk show hosts.”

“It is?”

He nodded knowingly. “Of course. Our last two presidents have been aliens.” He leaned closer and whispered as if he didn’t want these aliens to hear. “I’m pretty sure Oprah Winfrey is, too.”

I was sure I’d heard the name before, but I wasn’t sure where. Then, I remembered. “Meemaw was talking about Oprah.”

Uncle Gilly nodded. “She always does. Oprah creates mind slaves of people if they watch her too often. Her slaves even read the books she tells them to, if you can imagine that.”  He drew back and raised the machete. “But you already know all about that, don’t you?”

“I don’t know anything.” I looked away. I could feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes, and I didn’t want him to see them because, of course, princesses don’t cry.

Uncle Gilly hesitated, then patted me on the shoulder and sounded more sympathetic. “It wasn’t your choice to come here, was it?”

I shook my head. “Somebody did this to me.”

“And they didn’t give you any instructions?”

“None. I don’t understand this place.”

“What you going to do about it?” he asked.

Furiously, I wiped at my eyes with my left hand. “I have no idea. I don’t even know where to begin looking for an answer.”

Uncle Gilly scratched his head; then he smiled. “The library, of course. Aliens have been trying to control information by making everything digital, but the library in town is holding out.”

I didn’t know what he meant about making things digital, but could a library really hold the answers I needed? “Where is this library?”

“In downtown Hamilton, of course.”

“Would they allow me to use it?” I looked down at myself. Who would allow a peasant as I seemed to be to touch his precious books?

Uncle Gilly laughed. “It’s a free public library. Anybody can use it.”

I gaped at him. “Anyone?” Somehow a free library seemed more bizarre than a horseless carriage. Books were expensive. The librarian in my father’s palace got possessive when I even wanted to look at a book, and he had to be threatened with dismissal before he would allow me to take one out of the library. In fact, my father was the only one the librarian didn’t give a hard time.

“Sure, anyone.” Uncle Gilly straightened as if that settled matters and walked out.

“Wait,” I said. I needed Uncle Gilly to tell me more. Maybe he didn’t believe in magic and parallel realms, but he at least seemed to know something. Still, he was gone. I leaned back against the barn wall, damning whoever had done this to me. I wanted to blame my bastard brother or my stepmother, but my bastard brother was even more poorly trained than I was, and my stepmother didn’t have any magic at all. Could they have paid a witch to do this to me?

Bull Riding Witch, introducing Joshua

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m out of town all week at a family reunion, so I’m posting excepts from The Bull Riding Witch, which is being released on July 17. Please let me know what you think in the comments.

While the novel’s focus is on the princess trapped in the bull rider’s body, let’s not forget the bull rider is also in the princess’s body. What follows is from chapter 2 of the novel and introduces Joshua Killenyen, the princess.

From Chapter 2

I dreamed I saw myself cowering in the corner of my bedroom, dressed only in my shift. Well, it looked like me with my long curly blonde hair and slight built, but somehow, I wasn’t inside the dream figure. I was watching as if it were a play. My eyes were wide and looking wildly around the room. The door opened, and my maid Sylvia came in. “Your Highness, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I have boobs, that’s what’s wrong!”

By Cernuous, was I watching Joshua inhabiting my body?

Sylvia sighed. “Your Highness, I know things would have been easier for you if you had been born a man, but isn’t it time you dressed?” She held up one of my favorite green dresses. It had leaves and purple flowers embroidered around the edges.

Joshua put up his hands. “I ain’t wearing no dress! Oh, God, how did I get here? And where the hell is here? This sure as hell ain’t my trailer!” He looked around at the large canopy bed, its woodwork carved into a pattern of dragons; the two huge wardrobes with matching dragons on the doors; the ornate chairs covered in embroidered silk; and the marble fireplace. “Looks like some Louis XIV’s palace or something.”

Sylvia’s face creased with concern. “Your Highness, are you all right?”

He wrapped his arms around himself. “Hell no! Haven’t you heard what I’ve been saying? Somebody turned me into a woman!”

Sylvia set down the dress and felt his forehead. “You don’t feel like you have a fever, but . . . should I fetch a physician?”

“No, fetch whoever turned me into a goddamned woman and make him turn me back!”

Sylvia backed away. “I’ll get a physician.” She nearly ran from the room.

Joshua muttered, “Maybe this is some kind of delusion brought on by the alcohol. I never should have drunk so much whiskey.” His hands flew to his crotch. “It’s gone! I don’t have no goddamn dick!”

Sylvia returned with Uistean. I didn’t have much faith in Uistean and did my own healing. There were stronger witches in the city, but my father hated witchcraft and barely tolerated me in the palace, let alone someone more powerful. “What seems to be the trouble, Your Highness?” Uistean asked.

Joshua got shakily to his feet and grabbed his breasts. “Look at me! I have boobs! And where’s my dick?”

“You see what I mean?” Sylvia asked.

“My, yes!” Uistean nodded. “It’s clear she has an imbalance in the humors and needs to be bled.”

“What the hell?” Joshua put his hands on his hips. “Who in the twenty-first century bleeds people? Oh, God, have I time travelled or something?” He turned to Sylvia. “Can’t you understand I’m not the princess? I’m in the wrong damned body!”

Uistean’s eyes narrowed. “I know Your Highness doesn’t believe in bleeding, but I assure it is an effective cure for when the humors are as imbalanced as yours are.”

Joshua stabbed a finger at Uistean. “What I need is someone who knows how to change me back!”

Uistean opened his case and got out a lancet and bowl. “Give me your arm, Your Highness. I’m afraid your case is rather serious.”

“Try it, and I’ll knock your head off!” His hands formed fists.

The physician put the instruments back in his case, snapped it closed, and turned to Sylvia. “Try to keep Her Highness quiet. I will discuss her treatment with the king.”

Bull Riding Witch, Daulphina’s introduction

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

I’m going to be out of town all week at a family reunion in Kentucky.  To keep you entertained while I’m gone and to get you excited for the release of The Bull Riding Witch on July 17, I will be posting a series of excerpts from the novel. Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments below.

The following scene comes from the very beginning, proving that waking up in a man’s body will ruin any princess’s morning.

Chapter 1

I woke with my head pounding and my tongue coated with the fur balls of ten thousand cats. I nearly gagged at the stench that filled the air, a scent that combined the reek of the inside of a knight’s armor after jousting with the odor of rotting flesh.

Confused, I examined my surroundings. Hanging on the wall facing me was a portrait of a huge bull with its head down and its heels kicked high into the air. Incredibly, a man, holding onto a rope with only one hand, sat on the bull’s back. Why would anyone ride a bull? Bulls were dangerous and impossible to control.

Piled high on the bedside table were plates covered with the remains of several meals, bowls with a few dregs of sour milk, and empty bottles. The sheet I laid on was stained with various substances I didn’t want to identify. Where was I? This was certainly no place worthy of me, the crown princess. Maybe I had somehow ended in the servants’ quarters, although I couldn’t imagine how.

I tried to sit up, and my head felt as if it were going to split in two. I groaned, and the sound was deep and masculine. What the . . .? I looked down at my arms. They were muscular and covered with hair. I grabbed my naked chest. My breasts were entirely flat, and my chest was covered with thick, coarse hair. When I rubbed my hand across my face, I felt thick stubble. I looked down at the short clothes, which were the only thing I was wearing; there was a bulge that just shouldn’t have been there. I lifted the waistband and peeked. Dear gods, how had I gotten one of those? I poked it with my finger, and it twitched. I snapped the waistband closed and jumped away, but I couldn’t get away from the body I was wearing.

My breath came in dizzying gasps, and my pulse raced. This was just a dream, I told myself. It couldn’t be real.

From the bed, I saw a small, closet-like room with a mirror on the wall. With my skull threatening to split apart, I stumbled out of bed and tripped over piles of dirty clothes that covered the floor. I pushed through them to the other room. In a mirror stained with water spots, a man stared back at me. Medium-height, broad shoulders, shoulder-length brown hair with brown eyes to match. A scar near the right eyebrow enhanced rather than detracted from the rugged good looks. It was a face that would have drawn a second glance, even from a princess, and one that would have sent my father calling for the guards.

But it wasn’t mine. I grabbed the filthy porcelain basin underneath the mirror. How had this happened? Had I gone mad? “Think, Daulphina,” I told myself. “There has to be a logical explanation.”

The sound of knocking startled me, and a woman’s voice called out, “Joshua, I know you’re in there.”

Thinking the woman might know something, I stumbled through the piles of clothes to the door and unlocked it. With her brown eyes and brown hair, the woman looked like a female version of the face I’d seen in the mirror. She was about my age, early twenties. What was more, she was wearing pants like a man and a tunic of an odd fashion. How was this possible? When I had complained about the ridiculous dresses a princess had to wear, my father had assured me that the gods would be displeased, that the sun and the moon would go out, indeed that the very universe would come to an end, if women adopted men’s style of dress. Yet here was a woman dressed like a man who didn’t seem to suffer as much as a hangnail.

The woman wrinkled her nose. “Whoo-ee, you smell like a distillery. Just what were you drinking last night?”

I put my head in my hands, certain it was going to fall off if I didn’t. “How, how did this happen?”

The woman pushed past me and entered the room. “Good Lord, it stinks in here.” She picked up an empty bottle. “Whiskey? You’ve been drinking Jack? I thought you only drank beer. Josh, you’re not becoming an alcoholic, are you?”

I shook my head. This was a mistake because it made the pounding worse. “Please. Something’s wrong. You’ve got to help me.”

“Help you? What do you think I am? Your nanny?” she asked.

I remembered who she was. Her name was Jocelyn, and she was Joshua’s cousin. Oh gods, how could I know that? I didn’t know a Joshua!

“You haven’t been answering your phone, and Meemaw sent me over here to find out why you didn’t show up last night to your birthday party. All the family was there except the guest of honor.”

None of this made sense, and the world whirled around me. I clutched the door frame to keep from fainting.

“You don’t look so good,” she said.

“I don’t feel so good.” I dropped to my knees and vomited down the wooden front steps. It felt like hot lava scouring the inside of my throat. I vomited and vomited until there was nothing left inside my stomach. I collapsed onto the floor, trembling.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes and squatted down beside me. “I don’t care how hung over you are. Meemaw told me to come get you, and I’m getting you. Clean up first.”

“No, this isn’t real. None of this is real.”

“Geez, Joshua, you stay away from the whiskey.”

“I never drink whiskey,” I said. “It’s a man’s drink.” A princess only drank wine, nothing stronger. At least, that’s what my father always said. It occurred to me, not for the first time, that if a person were to follow all my father’s rules about what a princess should or shouldn’t do, she’d be so restricted that she might as well be handcuffed, shackled, hog-tied, caged, paralyzed, thrown in the dungeon, buried alive, have her tongue ripped out, her hands cut off, and turned into a brainwashed vegetable. Yet, somehow my younger sister Jenna followed most of these rules.

Jocelyn looked at me strangely. “And what are you? A little boy? Into the shower with you.” She helped me to my feet. I was too frightened to resist. She took me to the adjoining room, shoved me into a small, filthy stall—short clothes and all. She turned a knob. Warm water splashed down on me from overhead. I stared. How was that possible? Was magic heating the water? If so, who was working it? And who would expend magic for something so trivial?

“Don’t you have any clean clothes?” Jocelyn shouted from the other room.

Trembling under the warm water, I didn’t answer. How had I gotten here? How was it I was wearing a body that wasn’t mine? How was it I remembered Joshua indeed had no clean clothes? “Here’s a t-shirt and a pair of jeans that aren’t too bad. I’ll lay them on your bed. You’ve got ten minutes to get showered and out here, or I’m coming in after you. Don’t make me see you naked again. Despite what people think about us Alabamians, I have no interest in marrying my cousin. I’ll go hose off your trailer steps. At least you had the sense to throw up outside this time.”

Wiley Petersen and The Bull Riding Witch

Jamie Marchant Posted on by 2

As I mentioned in last week’s post, Rodeo and Research (http://jamie-marchant.blogspot.com/2017/02/rodeo-and-research.html), my best source on Bull Riding and rodeo in general came when I found the website, http://bullridercoach.com/. First, the site itself has a ton of information, including instructional videos on everything to do with bull riding from how to rosin your rope (something I wasn’t even aware they did) to what to do if you get hung up.

They also sell an ebook titled Bull Riding Basics, which was enormously helpful. These things offered me a lot of technical knowledge. I put too much of the technical details into early drafts of the novel, which I then edited out of subsequent drafts. This is always a danger when doing research. Not everything you learn adds to the story, but the more you know, the more you can make sure that the details you do include are accurate and don’t throw your reader out of the story.
Despite how helpful this site was, I was still left with a ton of questions that weren’t covered. Things like: “How do you find out which bull you’ve drawn?” (the bull they are to ride that night) and “Is there any general attitude among bull riders about other participants in the rodeo (ropers, barrel riders, etc.)? Do the other participants in the rodeo have any general attitude about bull riders?” Questions that only a participant would generally be concerned about, but would affect certain scenes in the novel.
 
This is where Wiley Petersen came in. Since I don’t know any bull riders, I use the “contact us” tab on bullridercoash.com. I introduced myself as a fiction writer setting my novel in the world of bull riding and asked if they had anyone who would be willing to answer some questions. Wiley responded that he’d be happy to answer my questions, which he did in a thorough and friendly fashion. He thought some of them were weird, such as when I asked if they could touch the bulls. I wanted to know because Daulphina needed some of the bull’s hair to perform a spell. This was his answer: “We don’t really try to touch the bulls. We just go look at them and try to find the one we’ve drawn by looking at them in the back pens. Most bulls don’t really want to be touched.” I could hear him in my head, saying, “Bull aren’t pets, you know? We don’t get all warm and cozy with them.” I had to ask a follow up question to clarify why I needed to know, and it turns out it wouldn’t be a problem out. Just wait until the bull turns his back and grab a few. He answered my initial questions and any follow up questions that I had. 
 
Only later did I learn that Wiley was one of the country’s top bull riders. He is #16 in the Professional Bull Riders all time money winners. But he couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful.
 
So the moral of the story is, if you don’t know something that effects your story, ask. Most experts are happy to share their knowledge and like it when writer try to get the details right. 
 
One last video of Wiley in action to demonstrate why he will forever remain my bull riding expert:
 

The Bull Riding Witch‘s release date draws near.  On July 17, you’ll be able to get the whole story.

 

Ryan Mueller, debut fantasy author

Jamie Marchant Posted on by 1

Meet my guest today, fantasy author Ryan Mueller, as he releases his debut novel, Empire of Chains.

  1. What made you want to become a writer?

When I was young, I always had all these story ideas in my head. I spent a lot of time putting them down in notebooks, usually in the form of imaginary video games. I was a huge fan of RPGs, so naturally my interests tended toward fantasy. Then, when I was ten years old, I first read Harry Potter. I knew from that point on that I wanted to be a writer. [Jamie’s Note: Great books Harry Potter. At least the first three or four times. My son was obsessed with them. I read him the first four nine times. They got a little old by then.]

2. What are your biggest literary influences? Favorite authors and why?

My biggest literary influences would be Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, and Jim Butcher. They have a way of writing high-magic, high-action books that I love. My books have a few more quest elements than theirs, though. More recently, I’ve come to enjoy the works of Phil Tucker, who came in second place in last year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off. Then, of course, there’s The Wheel of Time, which had its issues but will always hold a special place in my heart.

3. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?

I’m somewhere in between on the whole plotter/pantser thing. Recently, I’ve been more of a pantser, but I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate. I usually have a general mental outline of where I want the story to go. It’s just a very flexible outline that allows for me to come up with new developments as I’m writing. As far as writing rituals, I pretty much have to have music playing. Usually, it’s some Power Metal or Symphonic Metal. Some of my favorites to listen to while writing are Kamelot, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, and Epica. I also enjoy the pure cheesiness of the Power Metal band Gloryhammer.

4. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?

Empire of Chains is a book that has been with me for over a decade now. My first versions of it were terrible and clichéd with a horrible prophecy and a quest straight out of Tolkien fan-fiction. Since then, I’ve evolved as a writer, and I’ve made into a much more complex and interesting story. On the surface, it appears to be a story about overthrowing an evil emperor, but as you read it, you realize the so-called evil emperor isn’t so evil at all. He’s a man willing to do anything to save the world, and for me, those make the most interesting characters. I’m a big fan of anti-villains. That is, they fill the role of a villain in the story, but you could actually look at them as heroes from a different perspective.

5. What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?

When it comes to writing, I’m a big fan of magic and action scenes. Those scenes are the types that flow from my fingertips, and I write a lot of them. Part of the fun of fantasy, for me, is that the fantasy elements allow you to write much more interesting action sequences. You’ll see this love of action in everything I write, including the next three books of World in Chains, which I’ve already drafted and expect to have out by the end of the year, as well as my Sunweaver trilogy, which is already drafted too, and should be out shortly after the rest of World in Chains.

6. Do you have a day job in addition to being a writer?  If so, what do you do during the day?

Currently, my day job is in retail. I work in the Shoe Department of a large retail chain. It’s certainly not an ideal job, though when I’m cleaning up the department at night, I often have the chance to think about story ideas. I’m also going to school for Electrical Engineering at the moment. I still have two years to go. I won’t say I’m in love with the field, but I like it enough that I’ll be all right working in it if I don’t make “quit your day job” money as a writer.

7. If you could be transported to any fictional world, which would it be? Why?

For me, it would be the world of Harry Potter. It was the first fantasy world that really captured my imagination when I was younger. I’d love to go to Hogwarts, as long as it’s in the post-Voldemort era. (As a side note, Microsoft Word actually knows the word Voldemort. I find that amusing.)

Where can we find you online?

Blog: https://ryanwmueller.com/
Website: https://ryanwmueller.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanwmuellerauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RW_Mueller
Amazon: amazon.com/author/ryanwmueller
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16822285.Ryan_W_Mueller

Empire of Chains

Five hundred years ago, powerful magic sealed Emperor Darien Warrick inside a ring of mountains fashioned by his own magic. For five hundred years, his subjects have been trapped beside him. Some say he’s evil and these actions were necessary. Others say he’s a man willing to sacrifice anything for the greater good.

To young noblewoman Nadia, he is nothing but a murderer. On the day Warrick’s executioner takes her mother’s head, Nadia dedicates her life to one goal: killing Warrick. She spends her days training with the castle guard, her nights poring over the notes her mother left behind. In them, she finds the location of the only spell that can defeat the immortal sorcerer. But it feels too convenient. If she is to succeed in her quest, she must figure out Warrick’s true motivations.

For young woodsman Markus, Warrick is the man who owns him. Markus has spent his entire life training to become an Imperial Guard, but it’s a future he can’t stomach. However, it’s the only option he has, or at least the only sane one–until he meets Nadia.

Reformed thief Berig doesn’t care about Warrick one way or the other. Berig would rather keep his head down and try to scratch out what meager living he can. But in a world like this, he’ll never get what he wants.

After all, Warrick has other plans.

Excerpt

Prologue

The night Nadia lost her mother started like any other.

She and her mother were practicing their swordplay in the castle’s courtyard, evening sunlight glinting off their blunted blades. Nadia tried to ignore the sweat dripping into her eyes, focus on her footwork, and follow her instincts.

Her mother scored a hit on her chest. “You aren’t defending yourself well enough.”

“The sword is starting to feel heavy. I need a chance to rest.”

“Warrick isn’t resting.”

“I know, but—”

“I don’t want to hear your arguments,” her mother said. “If Warrick finds out what we’re planning, he will not hesitate to kill us.” She gripped Nadia’s shoulders, her touch firm but loving. “Both of us.”

Nadia had no response for that. She was only twelve, but she wasn’t stupid. She understood the dangers involved in opposing the emperor. They all did.

She hid her anger, though. Her mother had taught her to conceal her emotions. As nobility, they often had to speak with Emperor Warrick, and Nadia could not let slip that she intended to kill the tyrant.

“I know I sound angry,” her mother said, “but you’ve done well today. Perhaps we should wash up and join your father for dinner.”

After bathing, they joined Nadia’s father in the castle’s dining chamber, at a long wooden table draped in a red tablecloth. Magical torches cast blue light upon him as he sat alone, poking thoughtfully at some chicken with his fork.

“Is everything all right?” asked Nadia’s mother, taking a seat next to him.

“Oh, yes, everything’s fine.” He went back to his food, avoiding both their gazes.

“Father, are you sure nothing is wrong?”

He laid his silverware aside, leaving half his plate uneaten. His abrupt departure from the table caught Nadia by surprise. She tried to catch his attention, but he left the chamber, looking like a defeated man.

“Do you have any idea what might be bothering him?” Nadia asked her mother.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this before. Perhaps Warrick is making his life difficult again.”

“Warrick makes all our lives difficult.”

If Ryan has intrigued you, his book can be purchased below:

The Last Wife of Attila the Hun Book Tour & Giveaway

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  
The Last Wife of Attila the Hun
by Joan Schweighardt
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Historical
Two threads are flawlessly woven together in this sweeping historical
novel. In one, Gudrun, a Burgundian noblewoman, dares to enter the
City of Attila to give its ruler what she hopes is a cursed sword;
the second reveals the unimaginable events that have driven her to
this mission. Based in part on the true history of the times and in
part on the same Nordic legends that inspired Wagner’s Ring Cycle
and other great works of art, The Last Wife of Attila the Hun offers
readers a thrilling story of love, betrayal, passion and revenge, all
set against an ancient backdrop itself gushing with intrigue.
Joan Schweighardt is the author of five novels, and more on the way. In
addition to her own writing projects, she writes, ghostwrites, and
edits for individuals and corporations.
Follow the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!

Cassandra Fear, Demon Hunter

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

Welcome today’s guest, Cassandra Fear, and enter the world of demons and angels.

Cassandra Fear lives in Ohio with her husband, two kids and two dogs. Hiking, taking care of her fish tank and reading are her favorite hobbies. She loves chocolate, hates driving in the snow, and could eat macaroni and cheese every day. In her spare time, she loves to write and has always dreamed of becoming an author. Her dreams will become reality with her first book, Above the Flames.

Interview

  1. Tell us a little about yourself?

I love to write, of course, and read, but I am a mom of two and a wife of thirteen years. I have two dogs and a cat and a mortgage. Underneath the books, I am just an ordinary person trying to put my stamp on the world, one book at a time.

2. What made you want to become a writer?

I have always been a writer. In high school my teachers used to yell at me when I turned my essays in and say, “This is not creative writing class.” I knew then and there I wanted to write, but life got in the way for a while.

3. What are you reading at the moment? Would you recommend it to readers of this blog? Why?

I am devouring everything from Sarah J Maas and definitely recommend.

4. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?

I would like to share with you Above the Flames, which is the first book I wrote. It follows the story of Jasmine Reynolds as she finds out what has always made her different from everyone else actually has the ability to stop the demons from taking over her world. She goes through obstacle after obstacle and has a hard time finding who she is, but eventually she does. If you like demons and angels, this book is an exciting adventure into their world.

5. If you could have dinner (and dessert) with any fictional character who would it be and why?

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. For one, I always wanted to visit the English countryside, and for two, I would love to see what she would wear in this day and age. Haha.

6. Titles have always been extremely difficult for me. How do you come up with yours?

I have a hard time with them too, but I had the titles for all three books in The Flames Trilogy before I even wrote one word. It is crazy how that happens sometimes. I usually brainstorm with my friends until I find the perfect title.

Where can we find you online? (please cut and paste links):

Blog: www.writingforwords.wordpress.com and www.cassandrafear.com
Website: www.cassandrafear.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cassandrafearauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CassieFear
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Fear/e/B01DR0T4FQ/
Instagram: @cfear_27

Above the Flames

Jasmine’s sixteenth birthday was the worst ever…

All in one day, her dad died, she met a demon, and her mother rejected her existence forever. After all, the demon who killed her dad was there to take her, and all because of her stupid powers—the ability to conjure blue flames.

Two years later, she’s happy. But happy never lasts…

After moving to Idaho to live with her grandparents, Jasmine has a new life. Almost nobody knows about her powers, and she’s just a normal teenager with normal problems. Then comes her eighteenth birthday—and the earthquake that changes her world forever.

An army of demons rise from Hell. And Jasmine is right in the middle of the battle…

When demons claw their way to Earth, Jasmine is surrounded by hundreds of fire-eyed beasts. Worse, she is captured by a big-shot demon named Bael. He’s a tricky foe with a chip on his shoulder—and the desire to make Jasmine use her powers for evil.

Amon is a fallen angel with an attitude—and everything to lose.

Successfully escaping the underworld undetected, Amon is on a quest to regain God’s grace when he rescues Jasmine from the clutches of a particularly nasty demon he knows all too well. The attraction between him and the not-entirely-human captive is instantaneous. Heavenly sparks fly, but ideas of romance will have to wait. First they have to stop the demon race from wiping out the mortal realm. Humanity’s fate rests in their hands.

Can two fallen angels rise above the flames to ensure a future for mankind? Or will Jasmine and Amon’s souls be bound together—in hell?

Excerpt

She continued toward the sidewalk, taking in all the small shops that lined Main Street. Each side looked the same. Blood splatters. Broken windows. Glass sprinkling the street. She saw another body sprawled face down on the sidewalk, a puddle of crimson soaking into the concrete, turning dark brown. It seemed like she was walking through a haunted house, not the town she fell in love with.

Jasmine covered her mouth and she gasped as she passed Mr. Gregory’s barber shop, where Pa always got his hair cut. Mr. Gregory sat with his back to the wall in the doorway; his neck cut open and red streams flowing down it.

Footsteps pounded the asphalt behind her, and she knew the others had joined her, but it didn’t register. She rushed to the barbershop and grabbed the barber’s wrist, checked for a pulse, and let his dead arm fall to the ground. It landed with a thud that echoed off the walls in the small entrance. She cringed at the sight of blood coating his skin. Her stomach roiled and she stepped backward until she slammed into the wall behind. She turned her head, not wanting to see what lay before her.

Caim came forward and crouched down next to the body. “His body’s still warm. They can’t be far.”

“Everyone stay close. We don’t know what we are walking into,” Lamia said quietly but firmly.

Jasmine walked forward mechanically, and Beau matched her pace. She took steps, one after the other, like a zombie. Trash littered the sidewalks. Glass shards crunched under her feet as she followed Caim. The coppery smell of blood filled her senses. Dead bodies surrounded her. So many bodies.

Her voice shook. “Is there anyone left alive?”

 

If Cassandra has piqued your interest, tell us in the comments. Book can be purchased here:

Rodeo and Research

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

You may rightly wonder how a college teacher of literature and all round city girl knows enough about rodeo to set her novel in that world, especially when she views rodeo as a fascinating anachronism. (See last week’s post http://jamie-marchant.blogspot.com/2017/02/inspiration-for-bull-riding-witch.html).

After I attended that rodeo discussed last week, I kept attending more as the idea for The Bull Riding Witch simmered in my head. The incredible skill combined with the complete uselessness of such skill in the modern world continued to work on my imagination. When I was read to start writing the book, having attended a hand full of rodeos was hardly sufficient knowledge of the world of rodeo.
I tried to find a book on bull riding. There are a ton of romance novels starring bull riders.

 

But I couldn’t find a “how-to” book. The best I could come up with was Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, & Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour.
 
 
I read it. It taught me some things. In case you are wondering, the flank strap does not go around the bull’s testicles. It would be impossible to put it there even if they wanted to. It is an irritant, but the bull isn’t in real pain. I also learned that buckle bunnies, rodeo groupies, will ask bull riders to sign their breasts. (That detail didn’t end up in my book). But it didn’t tell me what I really needed to know, especially Joshua Killenyen, my bull rider is distinctly small time.

I did some internet research. While the bulls don’t often get hurt, the riders do. Injuries, often serious ones, are ridiculously common. This article from the LA Times sums it up with examples from one bull rider:
Bulls ripped open his chin, blackened his eyes and broke his nose, ribs and legs — the right leg three times.
But that all paled in comparison to what happened about a year and a half ago, when Beau Schroeder climbed on a snorting, bucking 1,800-pound monster called 800 Night Moves.
The bull threw him into the red dirt of the arena in Fort Mojave, Ariz. Its massive hooves trampled his chest, punctured his lungs and tore open his throat.
He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t talk. He could barely breathe.
Bull riders can even be killed or paralyzed. As bull riders like to say, “It’s not whether they’ll get hurt, it’s when.” Bull riders are crazy about it, too. The rider in the above story was back riding only two months after almost being killed. And that’s considered normal in bull riding.
I hit pay dirt when I cam across bullridercoach.com. More on that and Wiley Peterson next week.
Remember The Bull Riding Witch is coming on July 17.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve research? Tell us in the comments below.

What does Solar want? Character as Desire

Jamie Marchant Posted on by  

In character development, one of the most, if not the most important, aspect to think about is your character’s motivation. What does he or she want? It is a character’s desires that controls their actions, and if you don’t have a clear idea of what those desires are, you end up with an inconsistent character that acts in ways that don’t make sense. You need to know what your character desires in the abstract as well as what achieving that desire will mean practically in any specific situation.

King Solar in The Goddess’s Choice has ruled over 50 years of unbroken peace. What he wants is for that peace to outlive him, to be the legacy he leaves his people. This is his great desire, what he wants in the abstract. For that to happen practically speaking, he knows he must have an heir. Without one, rival claimants will tear the country apart. But he reaches 70 without having fathered an child despite having had two wives and numerous mistresses. The priest tell him that the only way for him to have an heir is to take a wife just entering puberty. He finds this distasteful, but since peace is so important to him, he takes a thirteen-year-old wife. If you don’t understand his motivation, this might seem a little creepy of him, but if you know what he wants, it makes perfect sense. Achieving his desire of peace means in this particular circumstance he must marry someone he views as a child. When his young wife Fenella also fails to get pregnant, he is forced to face that fact that he is indeed sterile and decides that if he can’t get his own heir, someone else will have to do it for him. He manipulates circumstances so that Fenella will have an affair. Thereby, he gets his heir.

However, this complicates his life in ways that he hadn’t anticipated. Solar, like many characters, finds himself wanting more than one thing. Before Samantha’s birth, the nearly only focus of his desire was for lasting peace, but against his expectations, he falls in love with his daughter and finds himself wanting her to be happy.

 

When those two desires come into conflict, he becomes indecisive. Samantha is so young that he knows she needs a strong husband to ensure the stability of her reign, but Samantha doesn’t want to marry, and he is convinced that she will hate him if he forces her into a marriage. Desire #1 one–continued peace–is now in conflict with desire #2–his daughter’s happiness. Which will win out? You’ll have to read The Goddess’s Choice to find out.

 

What do your character want? Discuss them in the comments.