And now possibly a third...

Although the story is still in an infant stage, I have fallen in love with a more wordy, descriptive style that has been developing as a I continue to write... an excerpt from the newest writing:

She spoke to me in metaphor, like a Hemingway story, those thick twisting ribbons of symbolism churning and diverging until finally no chance of a tangential thought was possible.

The sun had risen late that morning, as though night had overslept its alarm as well, apparently reluctant to let go of the trees, the leaves and the branches of the trees.

I smiled back as my I overheard my autonomous reply of agreement creak from my tired lips, but I smiled because I could smell fresh coffee in the air.

And though the day was just beginning to unfold, it also was slowly ticking away, and choosing at that moment to prefer the latter, I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.

Story number two

My second story, a fairy tale composed as a gift for my fiancee's little sister:

For the first few steps, Alexandra felt an overwhelming urge to collapse onto the ground. As if gravity itself had suddenly decided to meet her knees, Alexandra was taken over by the desire to stop walking all together and just sit down. Not from exhaustion, or from any real feeling Alexandra could offer to her mind so desperately in need of something concrete to build upon. This unknown desire lead her to question herself, and as she began her journey beyond the crossroads and down the dirt path simply called ‘West’, she realized what it was she felt.

While I could certainly and ably explain this sensation to you, Alexandra instead called to mind a fitting piece of imagery which draws a much simpler picture of how she felt than my words could do justice. As the barks of the opera dogs chasing her guide through the endless grass field faded into the distance, she recalled her favorite chair at home. She imagined as she trudged along in the morning sun how she would curl up in the chair with a good book, and wake up with a distinct feeling the chair had been napping along with her. And she thought of how she would read the book, and fall asleep, and when she awoke, the book still said the same thing. And now, she was beginning to wonder whether this chair even existed anymore, and if it did, then the only way to return to it was to endure more of this world which seemed to defy reason in every way. Surely falling asleep in a chair with a book here did not mean the pages would still read the same way when you awoke. Simply put, nothing was sure, and nothing was familiar. And if you are wondering what this type of thinking can do to a girl who is not yet a woman, well it makes her want to sit down.

But our heroine would hardly be a hero if she simply gave up or gave in. Instead, Alexandra no longer fully trusted this gift in herself, and as logically as possible, she decided to continue walking along her road, for she was certainly not moving any farther away from anything. And so it was that she was found smiling in a casual stroll when a black and white talking cat suddenly appeared beside her and commented upon the pleasant weather.

My first novel

This is an excerpt from my first 'real' novel... very long (came out to ~600pgs) piece of fantasy:

The third day in the woods began much as the other two had, but the cold air that had been present during the night did not warm as the morning came in a dull haze. Still deep inside the woods, the clouded sky could occasionally be seen through small gaps in the leafy canopy overhead, and the dark clouds soon brought rain by mid morning. The cold stinging rain fell hard onto Kithicor, drops falling down without mercy onto the progressing travelers below. This cold rain and the equally cold air set up the day ahead to be miserable for the group, especially Dewreal and Bruener who wore so little equipment. Yet the group was in high spirits and walked on without complaint, their cloaked and hooded figures laughing and speaking much more openly with one another than they had so far. Cirran and Lan again walked side by side, briefly discussing what they had learned about their fellow companions from the night before. Bruener and Dewreal spoke up from behind them, often to make a joke when Cirran or Lan made an error in their retelling, but also to elaborate on details they had skipped over during the previous night. It appeared to their guide that the two groups had at least become one, hoping this shaky acceptance of the others would be solid enough to endure the coming difficulties they’d surely face. By afternoon, the rain had stopped and they noticed the trees becoming slightly more sparse, a sign of the height which they were quickly reaching. Although the climb through the slanted forest floor seemed more grueling than the days before, the group only stopped twice, once for a quick break and food, the other when Aldebaran became alarmed at something, sending Bruener happily sprinting off into the surrounding trees. He returned with nothing to report, and so they pushed on.

By late afternoon, a wall of light was visible ahead of them, and after the days spent in the dark wood, they at last reached the final row of trees. Ahead of them lay a breathtaking sight, one which none of the younger had seen and no book could do justice to. The great mountains rose and fell before them, their gray, rocky slopes rising proudly, before giving way to majestic snow-capped peaks. To the north and south the four looked, the mountains filling their view and seeming to go on endlessly in either direction. The clouds overhead were scattered and broken; the sky a deep blue spanning the great hills, as they noticed again the sight of the sun, nearly forgotten during the past days. Aldebaran led them in a path parallel to the tree-line, looking for the road into the mountain town they would soon reach. The ground beneath them was hard and cold, but the change from walking uphill was welcome. By early evening, they had found the path, very similar to the road through the Western Commonlands. It appeared clearly in against its surroundings, yet also gave signs of its lack of use. They walked a short time along the trail before Aldebaran spoke up, deciding it was time to make camp.