September 24th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by CA
Dear Alex,
I didn’t want you to worry, but I am in the hospital again. This time, though, it is nothing serious at all. An explosive went off near me and I got a concussion. I have been here for a couple of weeks, but I should be getting out in a few more days.
Something occurred to me this morning. I cannot remember smelling anything for a long time, at least since I was in the hospital having my legs worked on. I have been going so hard for so long that it didn’t occur to me at first. But, I had a dream last night and I got to thinking.
I was dreaming that we were at a picnic in the park; like the summer before we got married. The park was large and mostly deserted as most of the people were inside on this Independence Day, the hottest day of the year. You were wearing your red bikini top with the white polkadots and a pair of white shorts. We played frisbee in the grass for a while and then collapsed on the picnic blanket to smell the freshly cut grass, the flowers, and the warm summer air.
I miss that day and you. Sure, I am in a hospital, but I can’t even smell the ammonia and bleach they clean this place with. At first, I figured that maybe the concussion just blocked out my sense of smell, but then I remembered that I haven’t smelled anything for weeks. I can’t even smell this awful food, not that cardboard with ketchup has a strong smell, anyway.
It’s been a couple of days and I still cannot smell anything - not even Larry’s socks. Maybe it is a blessing after all. I have been cleared for duty and we are being shipped out. I just remembered to call Larry and tell him. Remind me to tell you about the time we left Larry behind. It was frakin funny.
Gotta scoot.
Please walk out into the yard and smell everything - smell it for me, because I can’t.
I’m only a single heartbeat away.
Michael.
Posted in: Letters from the Heart, series
September 9th, 2008 / No Comments » / by CA
Dear Alex,
Rain. For six straight days it has done nothing but rain. It rains all day, and just as the sun goes down, it starts raining - until dawn, when it keeps on raining. You know I love a good rain and especially a good storm. Many nights we would just lay in the bed and listen to the rain pound our little house. Those were some of the best sleeps and most special of times, in the dark next to you - close, very close, but not touching, our bodies stripped of clothing to savor any breeze from the open windows and stave off the heat of summer. When a rainy breath would slip in, the chill would cause all the hairs on my body to stand straight and the shiver was all the more special because it was shared between us.
I love a good rain, but this is just too much. I am so wet that my feet slosh, even when I am barefoot. After the third day in XXXXXXXXXXX, I have given up trying to eat. By the time I could get a packet or can opened, it would be so full of water to make it more like soup than anything else.
This was supposed to be a simple recon mission. An easy one to let the team get a chance to get out of the infirmary, but not overtax ourselves and get back to work, but this is anything but easy, it is nothing if not one of the hardest trips yet. I’d much rather take hard combat to all this creeping around on the ground and being rained on for a week.
I sure hope it is sunny where you are. I imagine you in your white sneakers, red shorts, and white tank top, sitting on the front steps in the sun reading this note. The thought helps me get through the night. I remember the sunny day when we got that letter. It was such a nice day up until then. Be warm and enjoy the sun for me.
a soggy heartbeat away.
Michael.
Posted in: Letters from the Heart, series
September 5th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by CA
Don’t start in the middle, be sure to read Part 1: Meeting and Part 2: Maui before you read this part.
—–
Hearing the sound of curtain hooks sliding across a metal rod coming from the booth to her left, Drusilla stops staring into the mirror and pulls her own curtain aside. She steps out seeing Topher, to her left, examining himself in the full length mirror. Stepping up to his right side, she places her hand on his right shoulder. Before them stand a young man and a young woman, each in their early twenties. Their matching black body suits are trimmed in florescent green. The woman’s ice blue eyes sparkle with excitement from beneath her straight black hair. Standing shoulder and head taller, the man’s blue eyes, deep like the sea, show a mixture of glee and apprehension. Standing together, they smile at their choice in body suits, each one fitting like a glove, revealing their endowments and gym time effort in black curves. Satisfied with their purchases, the pair collect their bags and stroll out into the early afternoon sun, hand in hand. Before taking more than a few steps, the couple disappears into the sea of tourists and honeymooners.
Drusilla marvels at everything, the shops holding their exotic wares, the man at her side, their fortune at getting such a great deal on the trip, and especially the weather. The crowds are not as oppressing in September, and that is one of the reasons for the couples’ decision to go ahead and attend summer internships before making the trip. The weather she suspects is always wonderful here but feels a little internal confusion for such a September afternoon back home would hint at Autumn with colored leaves drifting across the roads and fluttering from their high summertime perches.
After stashing their bags in their hotel room, Drusilla and Topher enjoy a late lunch because they both know they will be too nervous to eat later, prior to the night’s activities. Midafternoon finds the couple sitting on the Kapalua beach alone. They sit in the sand, their sandals lie together, discarded for the moment, as Drusilla sits in Topher’s lap. With their arms intertwined, they stare out at the blue water and softly crashing waves, enjoying the luxury of just spending time, no deadlines, no pressing appointments, no pressure, just two people content in the others’ company.
Late afternoon brings Dru and Topher back from the beach to don their body suits and catch the shuttle out to the airfield. Sitting in the shuttle, their hands clasped, the realization of the purpose of the trip finally settles in and so do the nerves. Arriving at the airfield, they meet the other hardy soul who will be joining them on this adventure, a slightly older man named Artie, and their guide, Lisa. The next hour finds them engaged in training for the jump, parachute safety, basic skydiving maneuvers, and emergency procedures.
When the foursome emerge from the hanger, darkness has gathered around the island like a shroud. Geared in their parachutes, hands clasped tightly together, Drusilla and Topher accompany Artie and Lisa out of the hanger and across the tarmac to the small airship, moored at the boarding platform. Little more than an elongated balloon, with an enclosed cabin and propeller, the airship looks like it might be capable of taking six people, plus the pilot, but most likely without much gear. The couple board and sit on the port side bench, opposite Artie seated on the starboard bench.
Seated in the near darkness, Dru stares into the same dreamy blue eyes she fell in love with a little over a year ago, the same blue eyes she cannot imagine spending another day without. This summer was the worst yet, after having spent the previous nine months almost entirely together, being apart on separate internships for three months, so far apart that they could only arrange a few weekend visits, quickly became intolerable. She realizes in an instant that she does not need to do this any longer; She does not need the rite of passage, she is ready to say “I do” to this man, completely, wholly, without reservation, hesitation, or regret. She briefly considers telling him all this and just remaining on the airship with him, not jumping, just here holding his hands and staring into his blue eyes, but she doesn’t want to deprive him of this experience. He had selected Maui, having always wanted to go, but took a lot on convincing that the skydive was the perfect shared experience for them - the perfect leap of faith. After getting him convinced, though, he committed to it completely. She knows that he would be disappointed if she were to back out now, so she holds his hands and holds his eyes, thinking, “We can do this.” Like many times before over the past year, she knows, intuitively, that he is thinking the same thing, “We can do this,” and this comforts her.
For a moment, Dru breaks eye contact and looks up. The light in the ceiling, that was once red, is now blinking amber, and then stays solid. The time approaches for their leap of faith. Lisa, their guide, stands before them and yelling to be heard above the roar of the single engine pushing them onward, she directs everyone to stand and to hold the rails, “THIRTY SECONDS!”
Dru looks back at Topher, his eyes there to greet her, like a hug after a bad day at work. She melts again, he always does that to her. With fear shining in their eyes, he mouths, “I love you” and she returns the whispered, “I love you,” though the whisper is immediately consumed by the engine’s roar. Bending his head, he leans in and they kiss briefly as Lisa begins yelling again.
“JUST LIKE WE PRACTICED. JUMP, COUNT TO TEN, THEN PULL YOUR RED HANDLE,” touching the red handle dangling from the left shoulder of her jump harness. “SHOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG, THE BACKUP CHUTE WILL DEPLOY AUTOMATICALLY. YOU WILL BE FINE. TRY TO ENJOY YOURSELF!”
A buzzer sounds from overhead as the amber glow is replaced with green. Lisa pulls the sliding door open. The roar of the engine, though louder with the door opened, is immediately forgotten to the void of the wind swirling around them. Lisa motions to get into position at the door’s edge. After a little coaching, Drusilla stands behind Artie, then Topher and finally Lisa.
With a slap on Topher’s shoulder then continuing the chain of slaps to Drusilla and she to Artie, the group files out of the cabin into open space. Over the thunderous roar of the rushing wind, Dru can only hear her own scream, as “down” instantly becomes something much more abstract than it was a moment before. Remembering the training, Dru spreads out her arms and legs to gain her orientation. The sensation is kind of like standing in rushing water, except without the water.
The night that was dark and soft like velvet has been replaced by streaks of light all around her. The lights resemble the Aurora Borealis, but this aurora is red and pink, gold and yellow and descending toward the ground, almost like a fiery mist. Instinctively, Dru pulls in her left arm and leg to swerve to the left, barely missing the first parachute inflating below her. She rights herself and thinks, “Has it been ten seconds already? I only remember five. I’ll wait a couple more.”
A couple of seconds pass and Dru pulls the red handle, deploying her own chute. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Whipping her head to the right as the chute catches the wind and jerks her hard, she catches an image of tumbling and flailing before her breath is knocked from her. As if in slow motion, which she will always remember, Topher’s face is visible to hers only for a moment and their eyes lock, the unspeakable panic in those eyes will haunt her forever. The panic softens some as he recognizes her, then….
Holding tightly to the handles of her chute, Dru shakes her head and tries to figure out what just happened. She recalls tumbling, then Topher’s face and those eyes. She whips around trying to see where he is, then, with dread filling her soul, she looks down to see the form of her love plummeting toward the ground. “TOPHER!”
She recalls Lisa’s words, “SHOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG, THE BACKUP CHUTE WILL DEPLOY AUTOMATICALLY.”
“The emergency chute. WHEN will it deploy automatically?”
Then, she sees a glint of white fabric fluttering below her, but the chute doesn’t open like it was supposed to. Instead, all she can do is watch in horror as Topher continues to tumble and the chute wraps around him like a blanket instead of inflating to slow his descent. After a few more seconds, seemingly like an eternity, Dru loses sight of Topher - black body suit against a black background.
Several seconds later, dreading it, Drusilla feels more than hears the thud. The wail that explodes from her soul, continues until her feet finally touch the cursed earth again. Swiftly disengaging her harness, Dru follows the blinking emergency beacon to Topher’s body. Dru falls to her knees and begins to unwrap Topher from the emergency parachute, meant to save his life. Once his face is uncovered, she cradles his head in her lap and stares into the perfect face of the man she loves.
Ignoring the shouts of voices from somewhere distant to her and her misery, Dru cries, “Why didn’t I call it off? We could have just stayed on board. Damn it! This is all my fault. Me and my damned rite of passage. I love you! I wanted to marry you! Why didn’t I just call it off up there. We would be disappointed, but we’d be alive and together!” The anguished wail, that accompanied Dru to the ground finds her again and she descends into a place so black that she wishes she could die right here, with him.
Hands pulling at her, bring her back from the blackness. She wishes that she could just die here, with him, but knows that he would hate that. He would want her to live on and be happy. How can she ever be happy again? Paramedics have arrived and are loading Topher into the ambulance. Drusilla follows along and climbs into the back to sit next to Topher. She vaguely recalls the efforts of the paramedics, in their vain attempt to bring life back to her love. He was gone and it was all her fault.
Posted in: aurals, short
Tags: aurals, short
September 4th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by CA
My first copy of Playing for Keeps has arrived!
Thank you, Mur!
This goes on my shelf, right next to Brave Men Run and Infected.
Posted in: books
Tags: books
September 4th, 2008 / 2 Comments » / by CA
Don’t start in the middle, be sure to read Part 1: Meeting before you read Part 2: Maui
—–
Beth and Chloe knew, though Drusilla could or would not see it, the time of the trio would always be the “good ol days,” now that Dru and Topher were together. Despite the ending of an era, neither Beth nor Chloe could begrudge Dru for falling for this guy. Each knew that, had the dice rolled only slightly different, any of the trio could have met and fallen for the tall, blonde haired guy with the dreamy blue eyes. Topher, they discovered, was attentive, respectful, courteous, imaginative, very intelligent, shy, and above all, head over heels in love with Dru. Though Dru loved him dearest of the trio, Beth and Chloe loved him, too. He, immediately and intuitively, recognized the trio for their special bond and did his best to intrude into that space as little as possible.
As Autumn passed into Winter and Winter to Spring, the trio became a foursome, or at least a pair of pairs. The foursome attended classes together, studied together, ate together, attended many of the same parties together, and celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day together. Though Topher and Drusilla were parted only for essentials, the occasional class, and to sleep, it was still a surprise when Topher invited Drusilla home with him, over spring break, to meet his family. Having spent the last four spring fling weeks as a trio, Beth and Chloe just didn’t have the heart to enjoy this last spring fling as much as in previous years.
Returning from the family introductions, the foursome became a definite pair of pairs. Beth and Chloe would always remember the time before that last spring fling as one of the happiest during college. Dru and Topher wore their new confidence in each other like armor. Each had eyes only for the other and their unswerving faith in their future together spread into every other aspect of their lives. They walked straighter and with purpose, unless together, when they appeared to float just above the ground. Graduation approached with the inevitability of the sunrise and the couple faced it and reveled in their love and its strength.
Prior to the spring fling week, the word “marriage” was never mentioned, privately nor publicly. Upon their return, however, the subject was as sure to come up as was the moon on a clear night. One such clear night, around the apartment dinner table, Chloe could stand the suspense no longer and asked, “Dru, when are you going to make an honest man of him?”
Chloe was well known for cutting right to the heart of an issue, but the question’s abruptness caused coughs to erupt around the table. Dru looked at Topher and he returned the look, “Well, love, are you going to tell them or shall I?”
With a touch of pink rising to her cheeks, Drusilla explained, “You see, it’s like this. We have talked about it, but we are not sure we are ready yet.”
Beth sputtered, “Ready, yet?!”
“Yeah. What do you mean you’re not sure if you are ready, yet? You guys spend almost every waking minute together, as it is. Except that Topher would not move in with you, you’re practically married already,” Chloe interjected.
Dru raised a hand, “None of us are here to get an MRS degree. We are here to make a difference, or at least to get started so we can make a difference. Topher and I talked about it and agreed to finish our degrees first, so we decided to not live together until graduate school, whether married or not.”
Topher, looking at Dru, began, “Beth, Chloe. You guys are two of the best friends I have ever had. I know I don’t need to, but I wanted to thank you for welcoming me into your lives. I really appreciate the kindness you have shown me and Dru. We wanted you to know first, and we were just looking for the right time to tell you. Well, it looks like this is it. I want to marry Dru and she wants to marry me, but there is something we need to do first. This may sound weird, but we need to do something crazy, some rite of passage before we are ready to make that next step.”
Dru, laying a hand on Topher’s, picked up the conversation, “Topher and I are going to Maui together after graduation. This is our graduation present to each other. We walk with you guys, party with you guys, sleep it off and on Monday fly to Maui. We are only there for three nights, but that will be enough time to do it.”
As eyebrows shoot up on Beth’s and Chloe’s faces and smirks form into protests, Dru continues, “NO. Not that ‘it.’ We are going to skydive at night over Maui. This is going to be our rite of passage. We will be done with the part of our lives spent apart and if we can do this together then we can do anything together.”
During the stunned silence, Dru and Topher lightly squeeze the others’ hand.
The silence shatters with their response, loud, immediate and in stereo, “You’re crazy!”
Find out what happens in Part 3 of Drusilla’s tale: Mayhem
Posted in: aurals, short
Tags: aurals, short
September 3rd, 2008 / 2 Comments » / by CA
Since her freshman year of college, Drusilla and her best friends, Beth and Chloe, had been more like sisters than friends. The trio met in a cafe, all having already decided to major in Psychology. Thereafter, their class schedules rarely differed. They lived on the same floor in the dorm and after the next summer, the trio shared an apartment, just off campus. Their lives were filled with shared secrets, laughter, classes, parties, and even a few hapless guys that dared to try and come between the trio. It was not until the latter half of their junior year, when individual specializations in their common field began to tug at their time together. As Dru bid her sisters goodbye that spring, to attend a summer internship at Emory, none of them could have known that this was their last moment as the trio.
The waning summer brought the sisters back together with news of summer adventures and an eagerness to catch up on each others’ lives in their absence. As Beth and Chloe, having scored appointments to the same internship over the summer, completed the tag-team telling of their adventures, dates, and mishaps, the sparkle in Dru’s eyes caused them to pause and say, in unison, “What’s his name?” The bubbling could be held no longer and Drusilla began erupting with details.
“His name is Topher. I met him my second week there. He was also doing the internship, and get this - he goes here!”
Beth struck first, “Tofer? What kind of name is that?”
“I asked him that. He said it was a nick name, short for Christopher.”
“Oh, okay. So, you say he goes here. What’s his major?”
“He’s a Psych major, too!”
Chloe wedges into the conversation, “Have we had classes with him? What’s he look like?”
“He’s the tall loner who always sits in the back corners of the class. The one with the wavy blonde hair and those dreamy blue eyes.”
Lost in thought for the moment, Beth just manages, “um,” as Chloe presses on, “I remember him. He is very tall and thin, like a basketball player, but with a slouch that says he doesn’t like sports.”
“YES. That’s him!”
Beth, catching up, “Okay. You met this guy. He goes here and has our major. So, what? It was just a summer fling, right?”
Chloe and Beth exchange a glance as Dru seems lost in some memory. Chloe leans over and snaps her finders in front of Dru’s nose. Dru blinks a few times and looks at her sisters. Again, in unison, Beth and Chloe groan, “Oh, no. Don’t say it.”
As the pair close their eyes in resignation, Dru squeaks, “I’m in love!”
Read Part 2 of Drusilla’s tale: Maui
Posted in: aurals, short
Tags: aurals, short
August 28th, 2008 / No Comments » / by CA
Another 2275 words down and Chapter 7 is drafted.
Most of the principal characters have been introduced and the action is getting ready to begin again.
Posted in: aurals
Tags: aurals
August 26th, 2008 / No Comments » / by CA
A rag-tag team of B-list superfriends populate Durham author and podcaster Mur Lafferty’s new book, “Playing for Keeps” (Swarm Press/2008). Keepsie can’t be stolen from; Peter can find out your secrets by sniffing you; Patricia can sober you up with a wave of her hand; Michelle can’t drop a loaded bar tray; and Jason has total control over…elevators. But the friends soon discover their powers are more useful than they thought. Mur Lafferty joins guest host Eric Hodge to discuss her novel, our cultural obsession with superheroes, and her extraordinary success as a podiobook publisher.
Today on WUNC.org, North Carolina Public Radio.
Posted in: books, news
Tags: books, news
August 25th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by CA
Today is 25 August.
Mur Lafferty’s book, Playing For Keeps, is on sale at Amazon.com today.
Help us boost Mur up the Amazon charts by buying a copy of this book today.
Buy Her Book, Today!
I have just purchased mine….
Come on, you know you want to. It is a great story, you’ll love it!
UPDATE from the Playing For Keeps website:
As of 11:00pm Eastern Time, Playing For Keeps reached:
#1 in Hot New Releases
#1 in Movers and Shakers
#1 in Science Fiction
#1 in Action/Adventure
#2 in Science Fiction & Fantasy
#2 in Genre Fiction
#3 in Literature & Fiction
#16 in Books
YEA!!!!
Posted in: books, news
Tags: books, news
August 24th, 2008 / No Comments » / by CA
This weekend, I caught up on some writing I have been putting off.
I have posted the newest in the Letters from the Heart series Letter 9.
After hearing a song last week, I began thinking about what I might write if I were composing a Letter to Me. If I were going to write a letter to my 18 year old self, how would I pass along a little wisdom, what would I say?
Sunday night, I returned to the story of Jack, Diane, Ember and the mysterious stalker by beginning Chapter 7 of Age of Aurals and getting about 900 words into it.
Monday is 25 August. Mur Lafferty’s book, Playing For Keeps, goes on sale at Amazon.com today. Help us boost Mur up the Amazon charts by buying a copy of this book today. Buy Her Book!
I have heard this amazing story in podiobook form before, and as I did with Matt Selznick’s book, “Brave Men Run,” and Scott Sigler’s book, “INFECTED,” I’m getting a copy of this book in print, too.
Join us. You will not be sorry.
Posted in: books, flash, news
Tags: books, flash, news
