Month: July 2018

WIP – YA Ghost Hunting Story

July 28, 2018 / Rissa Renae

I’m getting back into the swing of things! My pneumonia has officially been expunged, I’m slowly getting back my stamina, and I’m getting the urge to write again. Which means I can finally pick up my WIP series again.

The next in my list is another YA novel which may or may not become a series. I’ve been kicking around a couple of names but nothing’s stuck yet. This may be a strong contender for NaNoWriMo2018 if my fantasy WIP decides to take a back seat. November is still a long ways off and I do have to finalize Book #4 in my Rose Cross Academy series before then. Phew. The remainder of this year is gonna be a tight squeeze. But until then, on with the WIP!

Influence:

The biggest influence for this work was CLAMP’s X universe (which encompasses Tokyo Babylon, X/1999, Tsubasa Chronicles, Card Captor Sakura, and I’m sure there are others) And to a certain extent, another influence is my own Rose Cross Academy series about a high school that teaches it’s students to hunt demons. I like the mysticism in which CLAMP portrayed fighting ghosts and demons (and even the people) that were trying to destroy Tokyo, as well as the underlying connection between characters even when those two characters were busy trying to maim and/or kill each other. An undertone of sadness always festered in the relationships, be them romantic or familial, which made the story rich. That, and the characters fought with huge-ass mystical swords that were just plain awesome. I have a soft-spot for sword-wielders.

My own sword collection, bankai Zangetsu (Bleach), and Nenekirimaru (Nurarihyon no Mago).

Summary:

Post 9-11 New York City is becoming overrun with spirits of the dead and the unsettled. The more their numbers, the stronger they become. It’s up to a rag-tag group of high school delinquents to cleanse the city.

I centred the story around a fish-out-of-water Japanese exchange student and his uncle–his teacher/guardian, sent to NYC to deal with the supernatural threats bringing the city to its knees. Throughout the story, the MC (the name Subaru stuck and I can’t get rid of it) has to navigate school life in a foreign country while keeping his ‘side-job’ under wraps. But it turns out he’s not the only teenage exorcist in the city. Subaru and the other teenage exorcists do not become fast friends; in fact, neither can stand the other for more than a few minutes at a time until situations call for them to put their ‘teenage problems’ aside and work as a team.

I wanted to keep to the notion surrounding the burden of relationships, which CLAMP showcased in the X universe; how love for your family or another person can mask pain and sadness, and how those two elements can turn into one’s downfall. This work is darker than The Rose Cross Academy and targets an older crowd of teen-to-young-adult readers.

Excerpt:

“Paper!” Subaru thrust a black permanent marker before him as if the object had become a magic wand. “I need paper!”

“I’m soaked and I lost my backpack, ESL! I don’t have any goddamn paper!” Zach yelled back.

“Money! Do you have any money?”

Zach rooted through a pocket and came back with a crumpled one dollar bill. “What the hell are you gonna do with—”

Subaru swiped the bill and hunched over before scribbling down the length of the note.

“I’m sure that’s a federal offense, exchange student! Unless you’ve got holy water in that pen of yours–”

A roar cut him off and shook the streets, sending both boys diving to the wet pavement. In the darkness of the city, a deeper shade moved through the alley, large as a bear or perhaps larger.

Subaru scrambled to hands and knees and presented his one dollar bill as if the coiffed representation of George Washington had become a dangerous weapon. Scribbled down the President’s face were several kanji glistening against the wet paper.

“Distract it! I have an idea!”

“Distract it?” Zach’s mouth flopped open several times. “W-with what! My charming good looks!”

“I know you can call animals, I’ve seen you do it with the crows around school.” Subaru grabbed a handful of Zach’s shirt and pulled him to his feet. The other teen spun to face him, eyes wide, mouth agape, but Subaru held him back with a finger ordering him to be silent. “Worry about how I know later. Right now, we’re both going to die if we don’t do something!”

And now . . .

I’m hopping back into writing, which isn’t as easy as I thought it would be after my forced break. My day job is also crankin’ up the crazy-busy factor, so I’m having to do some tactile time management. But the best thing about being an Indie writer is I make my own rules and I follow my own timelines. I’m a rebel! But this rebel does have a cause.

Stay healthy everyone! The alternative sucks.

I tried but June sucked

July 9, 2018 / Rissa Renae

Soooo . . . I had this great plan for June. I was going to write up a storm, I was going to post here, there, and everywhere. I was going to make blazing progress in all my WIP’s. And then ‘it’ happened.

Pneumonia.

(It takes talent to contract pneumonia in the middle of summer, but I’ve never been one to follow the rules.)

At least I had company while sick

Within 24-hours I went from my normal, snark-laden self to being bedridden and unable to walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing for air. I’ve never fallen ill so quickly and so aggressively. It was kinda scary. Pneumonia is no laughing matter, especially for me. I lost both my grandfathers to pneumonia.

I spent a week in bed or within close proximity to bed, relegated to the top floor of my home since stairs became my mortal enemy. Doc started me on a course of antibiotics, but it seemed like they did nothing to help. A week later, I was still deathly ill, perhaps even ill-er (is that a word?), but now with a new complication to add to my resume.

Pleurisy.

Think of pleurisy as like having blisters on your lungs. It hurt like the ever-loving crap just to breathe. In order to get over my pneumonia, I had to cough up the crap in my lungs in order to get better, but couldn’t do so because breathing hurt and coughing was agony. So I was in a nasty pickle.

Another week on the couch (I managed to upgrade from being bed-ridden), a second course of antibiotics, and some groovy pain killers later I was finally able to move around enough so that I could get out of the house and walk around. I lost a lot of weight in those two weeks (my BMI dropped below 19). Although I could move around, I couldn’t stand for more than ten minutes, and walking for more than a few minutes was right out of the question.

You know what else was right out of the question? Sitting up and typing! Even on the couch, I could only sit sideways and lean on one side in order to take pressure off my lungs. I could jot notes in my notebooks, but positioning either the laptop or my tablet to type was a challenge I couldn’t conquer.

Boo also got lots of rest

I’m now into my 3^rd week with pneumonia. I still have crackling in my lungs, and the pleurisy hasn’t subsided completely. That, and I kinda think I’ve cracked a rib due to all the coughing. Doc wants me to wait another week until I’m scheduled for more x-rays to see if the pneumonia has buggered off before she will look into my ribs. There’s nothing that can be done for a cracked rib other than to take it easy, which I’ve become an expert at these past three weeks.

I’m well enough that I’m allowed to go to work, but not allowed to do much else. No exercise, no outdoor activities (though I’ve snuck in a bit of light gardening), no lifting, no strain . . . basically no fun.

Sitting with my back flat against something is still uncomfortable. I still can’t cough unless I contort myself into an odd position where I won’t aggravate my lungs, but it’s caused me to pull a few muscles in my back. I’m just a mess.

So my grand plan for June is being put on hold. Even July is lookin’ kinda sketchy. We’ll see what happens.

I’m slowly picking back up and have been able to sit down and type in my corner of the universe at home (aka my couch), as long as I have half a dozen pillows to prop me up. My energy and appetite is slowly coming back, and I’m getting my personality back. Pretty soon I’ll be able to chase my cat around the house, nag the boys to clean up after themselves, and take my weekly walk to the corner store.

But for now, I’m still on rest, rest, and more rest. And maybe a chocolate bar. Man, I really want a chocolate bar.

Stay healthy, everyone!