Category: WIP Hell

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.

WIP – Japanese Ghost Story

June 13, 2018 / Rissa Renae

Ride paddies in the Chuubu countryside

My first post in my WIP Hell series will be my least developed story: a Japanese-style ghost story set in the countryside of the Chuubu (west-central) area of Japan. It’s unnamed as of yet.

Influence:

Graveyard (photo taken through a train window)

The idea for this story came from a family trip to Japan. We took a local train from Tokyo to the Edo-era town of Takayama, which is vastly different from taking the Shinkansen or other JR lines. We encountered a rain storm during the 3 hour train ride, and mixed with the endless rice paddies and family/community graveyards and shrines that dotted the countryside, it became a spooky ride.

That, and the endless Tokyo Ghoul posters plastered all over Tokyo already had my imagination running.

Summary:

I wanted stay true to the underlying theme of most Japanese horror stories wherein the ghost has a purpose and backstory, and they’re just not around to scare the pants off of you. After meeting the ghost in this novel, Takuya starts noticing there’s something ‘off’ about this tiny little farming village he can’t seem to escape. The more layers he pulls back, the more complicated the story becomes. Just when he thinks he’s figured out the identity of the ghost and what happened to her, someone or something throws a wrench into the mix and he’s back at square one. All he wants to do is sell the family business and move to Tokyo, but he can’t do so until he can get the ghost to bugger off.

Excerpt:

Takuya turned a corner in the village and the long road running between the patty fields called to him. Takuya took off at a run. He ran until his lungs hurt, until his legs burned. He stopped only when a sharp clap of thunder startled him.

In the distance, the blue streak of the Shinkansen passed by on a track without a sound.

Cold heavy raindrops hit his head and shoulders. They cut through his clothing and burned his skin.

He turned his face to the dark heavens and flinched as a raindrop hit him square between the eyes. “Seriously?” This crap about the Woman in the Rain was just an urban legend. Japan, he found, lived on superstitions and old wives tales.

He turned on a heel and stopped. A curtain of pouring rain had swallowed the village and cloaked the sharp-peaked roofs in grey. The air grew oddly still. Something in that nothingness rumbled and it took him several moments to realize the sound was millions of raindrops assaulting the asphalt road.

“Damn it.” He took a chest-heaving sigh and closed his eyes. Seconds later, the veil of water hit him like a cols slap. Within the same amount of time, he was drenched.

His feet had become heavy as he forced himself to trudge back to the village. Puddles had already formed on the old road and he didn’t bother avoiding them. With each step, his shoes made a slosh-slosh sound.

Another sound echoed his soggy footfalls. Not another person on the road. More like a shuffling, like someone dragging a heavy sack behind them.

He glanced over his shoulder but saw only grey rain and wet road.

He harrumphed and continued down the road. A warm bath and hot cup of tea would—

The dragging sound again. Closer this time. He frowned and turned but again saw nothing.

His steps quickened now, slosh-sloshing down the wet road in the direction of the closest house; old man Hayashi. It didn’t matter if the crotchety old man wouldn’t be happy to see him. His house meant sanctuary from—

The sound again. Right behind him. So loud he hunkered down. Takuya spun around in time to see a darker shade among the rain, like a dog-sized slug with short stubby legs. It skittered into the grey nothingness hidden by the rain.

A grumble oozed from the last location of the creature and his heart leapt into his throat. Rational thought left him and Tayuka broke into a run towards any safety he could find. Urban legend or no, something lurked there in the rain and he wanted nothing to do with it.

As he ran, something sloshed after him punctuated by a harsh dragging. As he ran, the sloshinggrew closer and closer. Right on his heels.

Will I publish it?

Likely not. Right now the story is a collection of half a dozen scenes, mostly the scary scenes I thought up during the train ride, or in the downtimes in our ryokan. Of all my “Hey, this is a good idea” stories, its my most developed, but no where near being publishable. It’s a fun story to pick up when I need a chill to tickle my spine.