phywriter.com|Prone to occasional grandiloquence

The Declaration
by Johne Cook

This isn’t a story as much as a fragment of a story, and that fragment happens to be my first love scene, and it all came about rather by accident.

To make a long story short, I started to write something small and targeted and ended up with something large and sprawling. I utterly failed to achieve my intended goal, but there was one diamond in the rough – in the process of trying to write the story, I realized that I’d ended up with my first love scene almost by accident. I liked it too much to scrap altogether, so I’ve held onto it for an occasion just like this.

The scene is this; Beladri is your basic fantasy city by the sea. The Caducean Order is both law and church for the city, and is comprised of two competing houses, the Hand of the Dove (Knights Templar), and the Hand of the Vulture (Dire Knights). Beladri is an interesting society because marriage is outlawed. The Templar Knights believe in monogamy but are seen as heretical and aberrant. Their mates are called ‘war wives’, and if discovered, their heads are shaved, their children are taken, and they are banished from the city. Nothing legal happens to their husbands, the Templar Knights, but it is a defacto defrocking for them as well, as they must choose between staying and serving the city or laying down their oaths and becoming landless, powerless, and penniless. It is a terrible decision to have to make, and yet young couples in love continue to defy the social morays and meet in clandestine marriage.

This is a scene among two young lovers, secretly married but hiding their commitment, as they are on the cusp of event that will change their lives and the fate of their beloved city:

She was a remarkable woman. I will never know what she sees in me that persuades her to risk everything just to be with me, a Knight of the House of the Dove, a monogamous man in a city of socially-expected sexual ‘sharing’. I was a strange sort of rebel, a warrior priest hiding my fidelity from society.

As if to prove her exceptional worth, her sea-green eyes fluttered open at just that moment, and her eyes focused on me, and met my gaze.

She gave me a sultry smile and nuzzled my neck, and then she laid her head on my bare chest. “Ok,” she said. “Now tell me about it.”

Download: The Declaration

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Ray Gun Revival Issue #24 has blasted off!

50 Pages

Stupid Computer by S. A. Miller
An artificial intelligence is used by a hunter of people.

Eight Arms of Death, Part Two by John M. Whalen
Jack Brand journeys to Nemuria, a city at the bottom of the Tulon Inland Sea, where he meets a doomed race of people and an ancient evil that dwells at the bottom of the Black Gorge.

The Adventures of the Sky Pirate: “Assembling The Crew” by Johne Cook
A disgraced captain, a wedding, an amazon with a wicked sharp knife, a pilot named Eggplant, and the long-awaited explanation of how Flynn survived the fall off the cliff. This chapter is about the end of the beginning, and the beginning of real adventure as Cooper Flynn assembles his legendary crew.

Memory Wipe, Chapter Twelve: “Ghost Town” by Sean T.M. Stiennon
Takeda and his companions trek across the wasteland, facing heat, thirst, exhaustion, and the fierce beasts that inhabit the desert.

Jordan Lapp’s blog exists to chronicle his progress as an author and to provide resources for the genre writer.

He’s starting a new feature on his blog called Markets For New Genre Writers, and has kicked it off by writing about Ray Gun Revival! It’s a solid post and has already elicited some excellent comments about the magazine, what we do well, and what we could do to continue to improve.

Why is the magazine attractive to you?
They are always putting out calls for more submissions and have been known to publish debut stories from a variety of authors.

As a plus, their magazine covers look awesome and your name goes right on the front. Definitely something you can brag to your friends about.

Ray Gun Revival Issue #23 has achieved orbit!

44 pages

Can Giraffes Change their Spots? by Jenny Schwartz
When giraffes around the globe change colors, two scientists are confused, and the enterprising aliens responsible are horrified.

The Old New Ensign by M. D. Jackson
What happens when a lowly soldier tries to better himself and catches the eye of the mad-as-a-hatter fleet admiral?

The Eight Arms of Death by John M. Whalen
Jack Brand journeys to Nemuria, a city at the bottom of the Tulon Inland Sea, where he meets a doomed race of people.

Deuces Wild: “In the Lap of the Gods, part Six” by L. S. King
Stuck in the capital city during an enemy attack, Tristan wonders if Slap is still alive.