Apparently I’m a writing fiend this morning. Or a posting fiend. My poor post that was supposed to be here will have to go up tomorrow. But in reading the other posts from the No Kiss Blogfest (My bit is here) I found another one and I really want to participate. So…I know what I’ll be doing today. (Reading everyone else’s work, yay! ^_^)
The point this time? abuot 500 words from my NaNoWriMo 2010 project. I had two of them this year, and I blurbed them a bit anyway. But I’m hardcore focused on Apathy’s Hero right now, so I’m going to take a snippet from that one.
A tiny bit of background. Actaeon/Conner is the Titan son of Artemis and Orion. He’s spent the last several milenia trying to figure out why the gods fight the way they do, losing the women he loves, and learning not to care about much of anything.
Conner’s eyes narrowed when his gaze landed on a familiar figure moving through the shadows. Anger pulsing through him, he unfolded his arms and pushed away from the wall with his right foot. The sound of his loafers shuffling on carpet was lost in the dance remix screaming through the dark strip club. He wove through tables of patrons, seeing but not acknowledging the dozens of gazes focused on the naked women on stage.
Images whirled through his mind, each begging to be the plan of attack once he cornered the man. An obstacle appeared in his path and he suppressed a growl of irritation.
“Conner, Buddy.” The club manager, Tony, straightened his shoulders, his receding hairline still only reaching Conner’s chin. The shorter man ran stubby fingers over his thin hair, the dark strands springing up again as soon as released, and licked his lips. “I need a favor.”
Rolling his gray eyes toward the open ceiling, Conner let out a sigh. “Yeah, okay. Can you make it fast though? I need to talk to the boss.”
“Ah.” Tony exhaled through his nose. “See, that’s what I was going to ask you. Don’t. Walk the floor, go take a long lunch, grab a VIP room. Just leave him alone tonight? I don’t know if I can handle the consequences if you piss him off.”
Conner rested his slender fingers on the man’s shoulder, pushing him aside with subtle force while he talked. “Don’t worry about it. He just owes me a couple of month’s worth of pay. Once he hands over the cash, I’m done. I promise not to try and aggravate him.”
Tony swallowed. The hesitation in his eyes said he didn’t believe it, but he didn’t move to block Conner’s path again. “Right. I’ll be working very hard, on something, and shouldn’t be bothered if anyone asks where I am. In fact, I’ve been in there all night.”
Drawing on the anger to fuel his short journey, Conner continued toward the back offices. He didn’t smile at any of the waitresses and he kept his eyes turned away from the other bouncers. He pushed through the wooden door marked ‘Office’, kicking it shut behind him with his foot.
Lucifer looked up, eyebrow raised. “Something I can do for you, Ace?”
The corner of Conner’s mouth pulled up in a bitter smile and he crossed the room in two short strides. Pulling his right arm back he let his fist fly, knocking the archangel in the jaw and sending him stumbling back.
“Fuck.” Lucifer rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, jaw popping as he adjusted it. “Nice to see you too.”
“Why did you bring that thing back?” Conner’s growl rumbled through the room.
I love it. I felt like I was there. Well written and forceful. I’m dying to find out more. Thanks for sharing.
Really gripping, I felt myself holding my breath as the story progressed…great writing.
Ha! Nice twist with Lucifer and I want to know why Conner’s so worked up. Nice job! 🙂
Okay, I took a few paragraphs to warm up to this, but Conner’s subtlety dealing with Tony won me over, and I loved the reveal that Lucifer is the boss of a strip club! Good luck with this book, and thanks for joining in the blogfest!
first, Apathy’s Hero is a GREAT title! Serious, top-notch. I love how things just kind of built until we hit that twist. Great job!
Great title- I really like it. I also enjoyed the read, it took me a paragraph or two to get into it, but it was good.
I think punching Lucifer in the jaw is a totally reasonable choice under any circumstances, but especially if you know him personally!
Thanks for sharing this. Happy writing in 2011!
Okay, love it! I’m such a sucker for cross-mythological urban fantasy!!
I really liked this! Connor seems like my type of boy 😀 I’d be interested in reading more. Thanks for sharing!
I really like your background.
Mythological urban fantasy for the win! This is awesome!
I don’t normally read fantasy but I enjoyed this. I loved what you did with Lucifer!
oooh, archangel. Lucifer. I’m sold! Thanks for participating!
Great blogfest entry. I’m interested in the rest of the story, now! Thanks for sharing!