The A to Z Challenge! E is for Eli the Elf

Vampires are not the only things on my brain. I'm a fan of several things, including fantasy books and movies like Lord of the Rings and Narnia.

Way back in the eighties I had an idea for a band of mythical characters trapped in our world. I played with the idea and mapped our various versions of the story. After I wrote Annabelle's rough draft, I  decided to become an author and share all these ideas. It was only natural that my mythical story would be one of the novels I'd want to write.

Today E is for Eli, the main protagonist of my novel Myths.

Eli is your typical teenage elf. He lives with his mom and younger brother. His dad used to train both his sons at archery. As an elf, Eli has a natural skill with the bow. He has a creative streak and has bought several pre-set scroll spells from a local merchant. He then fixed them onto his arrows to give them an extra kick.

Eli's family was happy until they got word that his father was killed in the war. Since that time he has withdrawn a bit. His mother hasn't helped the situation because she constantly compares him to his father, stating that he should be more like the heroes in their family.

All this has given Eli the desire to leave on a quest with his sorcerer apprentice friend Mark. Said quest will lead Eli not only to the other side of their world, Farnalla, but to another world.  He and his friends discover a mythical place only told about in fairy tales and horror stories. A place where only humans dwell. A place called Earth.

Here are some elf pictures I've gathered from the web...

Bite of Story Thursday

Here's another look into what I'm currently working on. This is from the rough draft so it does not reflect the final product. Enjoy!

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Myths
Chapter Seven: Ogres

Eli let an arrow fly.  The shaft tore into an ogre’s left shoulder, which caused it to bellow out in rage.  “Forget the powder and find something useful!”  He dodged the beast’s massive club, adorned with five inch spikes for better effect, and fired two more arrows at the ogre’s back.

“But it is useful.  If I could just find it...”  Mark knelt on the rough ground with his pouch open and both his arms inside up to his elbows.  “Maybe it’s in the bookcase behind the Inner-Outer spell book?”

Another ogre almost clobbered Mark with her club but Frunz knocked it aside with his quarterstaff.  “Mark, get up and help!” Frunz pleaded.  He used the staff as a third leg and leaped upward.  He kicked the attacking ogre in the chest with his hooves.  “I’m the coward, remember?  I’m not supposed to be the one fighting.”

“You’re doing a fine job,” Flitty remarked.  She zipped around the third ogre which caused the she-beast to follow the fairy with her head.  Dizzy, the ogre stopped to hold her head in place.  Flitty fired a pixie-bolt in the beast’s face.

Eli managed to scramble up various broken statues, and then spring onto the top of a broken wall.  He fired a net arrow.  Strong spikes unfolded from four corners of the expanding net.  Each one bore into the wall, trapping the ogre.  “One down.”

After a shout of inhuman rage, the ogre ripped the net open and charged the wall that Eli stood on. 

Eli somersaulted over the creature as it shattered the free standing wall.  “Guess not.” Eli said as he landed on a smaller stone wall.

Lyndi’s mouth formed a thin smile.  She pushed against one of the she-ogres, her hands clasped with the beast.  Each one tried to push the other to the ground.

“Fall,” the ogre demanded.  “Why won’t food fall?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Lyndi replied through gritted teeth.

Flitty buzzed around them and suggested, “You could beat her in an instant if you simply did you know what.”

“Quiet,” Lyndi hissed.  “I’m as strong enough in this form.  I won’t do ‘you know what’ because of a stupid ogre.”

“Food calls Untha stupid?” the ogre growled.  “Untha not stupid.  Food stupid.” 

Bite of Story Thursday

Here is a sneak peek at my current work in progress, Myths. This is from the rough draft so it does not reflect the final product. Enjoy!

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Myths
Chapter Ten :  Big House On The Prairie

Celeste joined him by the glass.  “They don’t teach us much about them in school.  They’re called the Nephilim but most races in Farnalla call them simply giants.  They always keep to themselves and remain neutral in the wars.  The Verbena Forest is the only place in Farnalla big enough to hide them.  Who knows what their correct size is or even how many kinds of giants there are?”

Eli spied a raggedy doll on the bed.  It resembled a girl but had to be at least eight feet tall.  As bedrooms go, the child’s room seemed simple.  She didn’t have a lot of toys or books.

He turned back to take in their prison.  A simple wooden box surrounded them.  Bits of torn up bushes and some tree limbs lay scattered around the box.  A few large rocks were strewn throughout, which some of his friends sat upon.  Tiny holes allowed for air but their circumference was much too small for Flitty to escape through.

His eyes caught on a few sinister objects.  A couple dead locusts were piled in a corner and a minotaur skeleton lay in the opposite corner with some leaves on top.

Celeste explained, “We figured that’s her last ‘toy’.  I covered it up out of respect.”

Heilgar’s primal scream startled everyone.  He charged the glass but when his body hit it, he simply bounced back into a bush. 

“Aw Heilgar,” Flitty said.  “That trick never works.”

The dwarf stood up and gave her a fiendish look, “I don’t care.  You’ll never catch me becoming a pile of bones in a child’s bug box.”

Multi-Mart is coming along

"Wait," you say. "I thought he was working on Myths?"

Well true, I was. And I will be again. But for a while I'd have a lot of false starts on the project. Sure, I feel the tale and want to tell it, but something was blocking me from getting fully motivated.

So last week I decided to reread the beginning work I had on Multi-Mart. I found myself editing what I had done and then plowing through with more stuff. I'm on a Multi-Mart high. I've flushed out more of the outline, created most of the cast and finished more chapters.

Blame it on the fact that I'm watching Sliders on Netflicks. Blame it on the huge desire to write this book that I've kept in check for a long time. Whatever it is, I'm back on the saddle again and it feels wonderful!

Multi-Mart is the story of Kyle Jordan, a kid who winds up at a store that sits in between all alternate universes.  The store caters to a wide variety of customers from many alternate Earths. When it gets taken over thanks to a greedy assistant manager, it's up to Kyle to find help among the many worlds.

It stars Kelli, the kid vampire from NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK THREATS, and Bril, Eli's younger brother from MYTHS. It also stars James from Tyme Travels. Together, these unlikely heroes must use their separate strengths to help liberate the Multi-Mart from the clutches of the Warlord Oskar and his chief assassin, Gerwulf.

It's a middle grade novel and fun to write. I hope it'll be just as fun to read.

I will return to Myths as well as editing Book Two of Night Children. Watch this space for further developments.