The A to Z Challenge! P is for PPP

P is for PPP.

Now before you think I'm getting lazy, a PPP is a real thing in my multiverse of stories. PPP is short for Portable Portal Projector. It's a device that allows the stockbots of the Multi-Mart to deliver groceries and other items to those customers who can't leave their worlds. Sort of like how some stores used to deliver items to shut ins.

PPPs are similar to remote controls or cell phones. Here is an excerpt from Multi-Mart to explain what they look like and do...

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The stockbot walked over to one of the consuls and pulled a small lever.  A panel on the wall behind them flipped open and revealed shelves of small, blinking devices that resembled cell phones.

The stockbot picked up a device and handed it to Gym.  The manager showed it to Kyle, “This is the newest model Portable Portal Projector, or PPP for short.  It can open portals to other Earths and return back.  It can even travel from Earth to Earth and even cross through closed Earths.”

Gym pointed to the front face of the device, “You see here on its front there is a key pad where you can dial in any Earth’s number.  Then you press the button with the star and it’ll open a portal to that world.  If you’re in a hurry you can just hit this arrow key and it’ll open a random portal to the first universe it finds.  The return key brings you back to the store.”

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So imagine your cell phone could take you here...

and then take you here...

 

or here...

or here...

and where ever you went, after a small period of time for the PPP to reset, you could just leave whatever environment...

and enter a new world...

If you don't like the Earth you are on, you can simply try a new one...

 

Some would be set in what would appear to be the past for you...

And the next one could be the future...

While in some universes, Earth wouldn't resemble itself at all. Maybe a different planet in the solar system would be the designated "Earth" that the Multi-Mart uses...

"Imagine the possibilities!" - Quinn Mallory from Sliders

The A to Z Challenge! O is for Orphans

O is for Orphans, namely the vampire orphans of Palmer Orphanage.  Annabelle and Thomas meet them in London while she searches for her brother in NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK CHANGES.

Known History:

In London, when the vampire Rake known as Ryan turned teacher Molly O' Connell, she was upset. She rejected him so he captured five of her students and turned them into vampires in their sleep. Molly gathered them and escaped Ryan's clutches. She found an abandoned building in the heart of London where they could hide. She named their home the Palmer Orphanage after a famous vampire hunter. It was her way of rejecting their new life. Despite her feelings, Molly continued to teach the children what little she knew.
The American vampires Annabelle Foresight and Thomas Dunston were running from vampire hunter Hawke. They stumbled upon the orphanage and Molly gave them shelter. Annabelle and Thomas soon moved in with the orphans and eventually everyone relocated to Germany's Black Forest where they joined up with the Mullo vampire gypsy tribe.

Who they are:

Mary Stilton(Age 16)
Eric (Age 14)
Selina and Samuel (Age 10)
Charlotte (Age 7)


Here are some pics of vampire children and teens I've found on the web...

 

 

The A to Z Challenge! N is for Night

N is for night.
I love the night. I used to be scared of walking my dogs along at night but then the ideas for my Night Children series came to me. As I got swallowed up in inspiration for the books, I could really feel Annabelle's love of the peaceful night time. Suddenly I was no longer afraid of the shadows but welcomed them. The moon was intoxicating, especially when it was full.

I have no idea why the switch. I don't know how I could feel my character so strongly. Beta readers have told me I am really in touch with Annabelle. That you could truly feel her voice.

Sure, it's all made up, but for some reason I can feel a connection to Annabelle, more than my other characters. Maybe other authors experience the same thing with their creations?

Anyway, here are some fun night pictures.

The A to Z Challenge! M is for Multi-Mart

"Welcome to Wal-Mart.  How may I help you?"

How many times have you walked into a Wal-Mart and had a greeter welcome you to the store? What about the check stands? The isles of merchandise? The stockmen grabbing carts from the snow? These are all experiences that we are very used to in the early part of the 21st century. It's the new town hall, where neighbors, friends, coworkers and family meet and greet while browsing the current DVDs or picking up their milk.

I'm not saying I'm Wal-Mart's #1 fan. I realise they creep into towns, shut down the local businesses and set up mini-monopolies in every American town. But regardless of whether they are "good" or "bad" or somewhere in the middle, Wal-Mart is part of our culture.

So I go there every week. It's the only game in town and the city is 45 minutes away. I used to work for them as a stockman. I know them pretty well and you're suppose to write what you know.

Meanwhile, I've always been obsessed with alternate Earths. String Theory says that there could be billions of alternate worlds out there. Worlds where you might have turned left instead of right. Worlds where America lost the war of independence, Hitler won World War Two, dinosaurs still roam the earth or JFK was never shot.

I love the possibilities, understand the mechanics and thrill to the stories. It's all thanks to DC Comics and their many adventures with Earths 1,2, 3, X and S. Two Supermen or Wonder Women in an adventure, alternate Flashes and Green Lanterns, so many similarities and yet differences.

It didn't take long for these ideas to shape in my mind while strolling the isles of Wal-Mart. What of there was a store that set in-between ALL universes, where any number of characters could cross paths with each other? And if there is a place that touches all universes, who would see it as a perfect beachhead for multiversal domination?

These are the concepts in one of my favorite stories. It's half finished and I can't wait to return to it.
M is for Multi-Mart.
Multi-Mart stars Kyle Jordan as a kid thrown into the store whom has to escape with a Stockbot into the multiverse to get help before a tyrant takes over the store. It features Kelli the vampire girl from NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK THREATS and Bril the elf and younger brother to Eli from Farnalla.

Now as you ponder these concepts, here are some pics of alternate Earths...

The A to Z Challenge! L is for Lyndi the Dragon

L is for Lyndi Pendragon

Lyndi is one of the main characters in Myths. She’s hot headed, rebellious and sarcastic dragon. A natural trouble maker, Lyndi uses her shape shifting abilities to appear as a human girl. She pretends to be a sorceress apprentice and addends school with the other kids. Best friends to Flitty the fairy who is the only one who knows the truth. In human shape, Lyndi can move fast, fly, breathe fire and has sharp claws.

She does not get along with Eli the elf and causes a great deal of hot headed trouble during their quest. Lyndi is secretly scared because her father is searching for her and if he finds her friends, he might just roast them and start another war in Farnalla.

Here are some pictures of dragons I've collected on the web for research...

The A to Z Challenge! K is for Kyle Jordan

K is for Kyle Jordan
Kyle is the protagonist in my novel Multi-Mart.  He's a quiet boy who constantly gets teased at school. He has no friends and is an only child. His parents constantly argue so he hides away from everything in his comics.

 After school he flees from a bully right through an unseen doorway. Here is what he sees (remember, this is a work in progress so this scene might be changed at a later date)...

 

Multi-Mart

Chapter Two: Welcome to Multi-Mart, How may I help you?

 

Kyle screamed and the old lady alien stepped back, startled.  His eyes focused on his surroundings.  He stood in a large foyer.  Metal grating covered the entire floor.  The walls appeared to be thick crystal and the ceiling rested fifteen feet above.  It seemed to be made of crystal as well because it glittered as rainbow colored light reflected off it.

The light came from behind him.  Strange doorways seemed to open and close, each one framed with multiple colors.  If he wasn’t so scared, he’d admire their beauty.

He screamed again when he saw what came through the weird portals.  Something gurgled from a fleshy lump where its head should’ve been.  Eight tentacles pulled the thing through the glowing opening, which closed at once. 

Kyle couldn’t run fast enough.  With that thing behind him he had no choice but to bolt forward.  He passed the old alien lady in the blue vest and into the larger open area.

She sighed and replied in a bored voice, “Whatever.  Welcome to Multi-Mart.”

It was brighter here.  The ceiling and walls ended, revealing a building so big that he couldn’t see the end.  The new ceiling rose at least twenty feet.

At the front of the large warehouse-type building was an impossibly long row of noisy machines.  Each one had another short grey alien, grabbing small items and passing them under a device.  Lines of creatures stood by the machines, some placing other items on small black conveyor belts.

Rows of long shelves covered the entire floor.  Each one loaded with various items of different shapes and sizes.  Kyle quickly ducked between two. 

He bent over and put his hands on his knees.  His shoulder still stung but he was alive.  As he tried to catch his breath he took a second look around.

It all seemed terribly familiar to him.  Lines of beings, each completely different from the others, waiting while grey aliens checked... no scanned each item.  Every E.T. wore the same blue vests and each had a badge with their picture on it.  Most ran the machines, registers?  Others stocked shelves and some wore red on their badges and moved to the other grey aliens anytime a light above one of the strange cash registers would blink.

Like lightning it came to him.  It was Wal-Mart.  Yet so different.  A store for aliens? 

 

 

----

 

I'm not sure what happened to the formatting there but that is the general idea. Kyle winds up in a store that caters not just to aliens, but the entire Multiverse. This means that any universe could conceivably connect to this store. Both Annabelle's and Eli's worlds will appear in the novel, as well as many more. Kyle will have to save the store from a mad dictator. He'll make friends and learn about himself along the way.

More on this with the letter M.

 

 

 

 

 

The A to Z Challenge! J is for Janeen

J is for Janeen.

 

 

Janeen is my long suffering wife. She's my partner, my best friend, my support, my love and my soul. All throughout my struggles as an author she has been there for me. She has cheered me during my greatest triumphs, shared in my joys, helped in my endeavors and lift me up when I was at my lowest.

 

 

How could I possibly share my writer's journey without giving her credit? When the sky is the darkest, she shines her light into my being and shows me the way.

 

 

Thank you my sweetheart. Thank you for the last 21 years. Here's to many more to come.

 

 



The A to Z Challenge! I is for Incredible Artwork

I is for Incredible Artwork.  Yes, I realize I'm stretching things a bit because A should stand for artwork and I could have said I is for Invisible Man but this way I can show off the great art others have done for me.

I love it when people do pieces for me. It tells me that my stories have touched them enough to inspire them.

These two pictures are by Ian Watson. He did them for me on the Tales of the Parodyverse website where I used to post small stories.

These two pictures were done by Adam Diller. Adam is a very talented artist whom I also know from the Parodyverse site.

 

 

Adam also did the cover art for NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK THREATS

 

 

And here are two pictures by a real fan! Elizabeth Hansen did these for me...

 

 

It means a lot to have people actually spend time on artwork of my characters and worlds. I love them all and hope for many more someday.

 

Thanks again guys!