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| Yes, these are my swords. No, you cannot touch them. |
A
long, long time ago, easily more than twenty-five years back (which is ancient
according to my sons), I wrote a short story—Through the Sting of Fairy Smoke.
It was simple, straight-forward, based on a thumbnail understanding of
samurai and medieval Japan, and riffing on a few themes of interest. More importantly, the story was one of my first
where a strong, female character kicked ass and took names. Josai wasn’t the main protagonist in Through the Sting of Fairy Smoke, but
she was important, and a protagonist in her own right.
Here’s
a nice little sample that outlines exactly Josai:
“Stop. I found
the Marked man,” Josai said. “Your
so-called Circle had power enough to cover his trail, pay off enough people,
and burn his possessions, but you didn’t dare get rid of a Marked.”
The blood in Pershin’s face drained, leaving him pale
with a sheen of sweat on his forehead and lips.
“The Circle cannot be broken,” Pershin insisted, but
his voice quavered as he spoke the words.
Josai’s smile came quickly, all feral teeth with no
hint of humor in her gaze.
“It already is broken,” she replied. “How do you think I found you?”
For the first time in their conversation, fear filled
the tax collector’s gaze, and Josai knew she had found her leverage.
After
Tears of Heaven was released, and
before Hell Becomes Her, I was asked to
submit a
short fantasy story for a collection of new and upcoming authors. Honored, because I was so new to the world of
publishing, I didn’t really think I could live up to the other, more
experienced stories that were sure to be submitted. But . . . I agreed.
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| Yep. Nine. Enjoy! |
The
problem came when I couldn’t find the full, original text of Through the String of Fairy Smoke. The introduction to the characters and the
rise of the conflict was intact, but there was no conclusion. Tearing through all the old records (which
makes it sound organized, when really it was just a pile of papers) turned up
nothing. I reached out to old friends
and family members to see if anyone had a copy.
Nothing.
Finally,
with the deadline rolling inexorably toward me, I did the only thing a writer
can do: I wrote. A new rising conflict,
a new character, and a new conclusion.
It would never be what the old one was—those words are now lost
forever. The new conclusion was its own
thing, and it turned out better than I could have hoped.
For
free, you can now read Through the Sting
of Fairy Smoke, along with eight other excellent examples of fantasy heroes
found in Nine Heroes: Tales of Heroic Fantasy.
And
if you’re so inclined, please leave a review.
Even if it’s to say you liked/loved the book and nothing more. The more reviews a book gets, the more likely
it is to see greater exposure through the Amazon algorithms.
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