Category: Writing Updates (Page 1 of 4)

Murder at the Opera

March 25, 2025 / fionagreywrites / 0 Comments

“C’mon, you’ve got to come,” Halima begged, twisting her long ebony hair into a makeshift bun and securing it with a skewered pencil. “Eleanor’s coming and Peter’s out of town. What’s your excuse?”

“I have papers to grade,” June said firmly, and reshelved the dusty box of archived files with an emphatic thump.

“But The Crows only play opera once a year. Seriously, you can’t miss Murder at the Opera night. It’ll be like nothing you’ve heard before.”

“Opera.” Skepticism hung heavy in the restricted section as June studied the university archivist. “Opera. At a bar.”

“Lead singer’s a trained operatic singer,” Halima answered promptly. “The band does things with electric violin and bagpipes to give it this techno-Celtic vibe…it’s haunting. Sounds more like mystical wailing than opera, I promise. If you don’t like it, drinks are on me.”

“Opera,” June repeated. She shook her head, curious in spite of her trepidation.

***

This week’s prompt was from nother Mike, about crows singing opera. Quoth the husband: “You don’t have to take it so literally!” But I kind of like the idea of a busking group of crows, especially if they’re there to attract a crowd so they can pickpocket shiny things…another time!

My prompt went to Leigh – check it (and more!) out over at MOTE!

PS – Have you picked up Wyrd Warfare yet? Or if you haven’t checked out Fantastic Schools War, it’s now available in paperback. Cheers, and happy reading! Or if you’re just here for the MOTE prompts, happy writing!

Writing Update: The Dragon Problem

March 21, 2025 / fionagreywrites / 0 Comments

Hey, y’all! I’ve got a new short story out — The Dragon Problem – available now! I can’t wait to read the rest of the Wyrd Warfare anthology.

I’d hoped to get an accompanying short story out exploring the creatures of this world, but it’ll be just a bit longer before Wish Fulfillment is ready to share.

I do, however, have a series blurb to whet your appetite:

Every warning tale your granny told was true.

Monsters. Myths. Magic.

In 2034, the Emerged awoke, rudely torn from legend and lore.

Now a hidden war rages in the shadows. It’ll take understanding the world of the Emerged to protect humanity…before humans become myths to the monsters.

But there are all sorts of Wyrd Warfare stories included in this anthology – available now! Get your copy here.

An AI-Generated Ritual

March 18, 2025 / fionagreywrites / 0 Comments

“Antelope antler, ground. Calendula. Silphium. Burdock root. Mayorka herb of Mary Rose. No, that word jumble must be rosemary.”

Peter looked up from his computer and blinked. “New recipe for…tacos?” He closed his laptop’s lid. “Maybe I should cook.”

“AI-generated translation of an ancient language that I don’t speak,” June replied absently, squinting at her tablet from where she curled on the couch, surrounded by books. “A ritual, something about waking the dead to answer a single question.”

The laptop hit the coffee table with a heavier thump than usual. “And you’re planning on using it?”

“We do have questions…what’s silphium?”

“Extinct.” Peter’s mother swept into the room with a waft of herbs and lemon. “Closest living relative is fennel, I believe. What’s this about? And where is my granddaughter?”

“Still waiting on the bus, and maybe we could get some answers about Paladin University from the founders in the crypt.”

“Right,” Peter said. “What could go wrong, swapping fennel for silphium?” He headed for the kitchen. Pots and pans banged with emphasis. “Or bringing back the dead?”

***

This week’s prompt was inspired by Parrish Baker: The ancient recipe called for an ingredient that no longer existed.

Mine went to Padre – he’s on the hunt for escaped sealife! Find more over at MOTE.

PS – Typing is still harder than it should be, so I’ve put myself on a training regimen. Will this image turn into a finished story by Friday, to be the companion to a new anthology story? Fingers crossed, we’re halfway there!

Ring in the New

December 31, 2024 / fionagreywrites

“Cheers,” Peter said, and clinked his whiskey glass against June’s hastily raised one. “New year and all that.”

She took a sip of the whiskey, relishing the bite. “Do you think resolutions are worth it?”

“What d’you mean?” He settled into an easy pose, staring out the window of the townhouse they shared.

“Well.” She perched on the edge of the mocha leather couch that had been their indulgent move-in purchase six months prior. “You know, promising to your future self that you’ll do a thing, only to be disappointed when the next year comes and you realize you’ve forgotten all the things you meant to do.”

“No,” he said briefly, and took a drink, still studying the neighbors’ steadily glowing Christmas displays. “I suppose it’s a bigger deal in the US – especially after living through a few different types of new year celebrations, at different times of year.”

“I always hated the guilt when I realized I’d failed,” she admitted, toying with the end of her braid. June set her drink on a side table, immediately picked it up and put it on a coaster instead, and tugged the band from her hair.

She ran her hands through the waves, obscuring her vision, and pushed the strands back to find Peter at eye level.

“I always liked the new year,” he said softly from one knee, a small box resting on the palm of his right hand. “Ring out the old. Ring in the new.”

***

I really liked this prompt from Padre – Ring out the old. Ring in the new. – and it was particularly poignant when it looked like it would be the last prompt from MOTE. But we’re back! Get your prompts into oddprompts@gmail.com like usual, and check out more (like nother Mike’s response to 2024 asking how it did) over at More Odds Than Ends Version 2.025!

Cloud Battles

November 19, 2024 / fionagreywrites

Peter felt his temples pulse and held his fingertips to the sides of his head. It did absolutely nothing to stop the throbbing.

“That won’t help,” a slightly tinny voice said through his laptop’s speakers. A two-dimensional version of June tilted her head. “Try at least little circles.” She motioned, nearly spilling the coffee still in hand across her blazer. “Oh, blast.”

“Blasting might help,” he said, hope lifting his spirits, if not the headache. “As would a stroke. I really don’t believe this.”

“Your minion claimed doesn’t just have a wild imagination, I assume?”

“Intern,” he corrected absently. “The same one, I suspect, who caused the feckin’ problem to start.”

“Your Irish is showing.”

He grinned, and managed an exhausted wink. “Aye, lass, and innit a shame you’re two hundred klicks away?”

“Professional continuing education is important,” virtual June said primly. “This conference is great, actually. You can show me how much you missed me later. Now, show me the closet?”

“Server room,” he muttered with a sigh, and felt the throbbing return with a vengeance. Peter hefted the laptop to his chest and turned toward the closet on his left.

“Is that our connection?”

He caught a glimpse of a frown as she twisted her head, clearly hoping he’d turn the camera toward the door.

“No, lass, that’s the cloud storage having thunderstorms.” He set the laptop on a printer that had been disconnected so long it carried a thick layer of dust. “Bit tense to open the door, really.”

“Well,” June said, biting her lip. “What’d the minion say he did before he reported this problem?”

“He didn’t.” Peter’s words were sour as he contemplated the door, with its flashes of lights and soft booms of thunder escaping through the inch-high crack at the bottom of the door, exactly as if the server farm now had its own thunderstorm. “He also ran away. His latest project was setting up a mythology database, though, if it helps any.”

“Mythology,” June said slowly.

“That’s your thinking voice, love.”

“Mmm-hmm. Why don’t you come and join me for the rest of this conference?”

“Can’t,” he said. “I’m the only mage with the right skill set around. Whatever’s in there will eat everyone else alive.”

“It might also eat you alive.” Virtual June had lost all semblance of teasing, now, and despite the connection being worse than usual, he thought she’d also gotten paler. “Because after whatever your intern downloaded for that project, my best guess is that those are the thunder gods duking it out in there.”

***

I picked up a spare this week: When the cloud storage started having thunder storms…

Check out more – or play along – over at MOTE!

On the way to war…

August 31, 2024 / fionagreywrites

A cool thing happened whim I was noodling around one day, oh, almost a year ago.

A series of thoughts:

What would World War Two have been like in a steampunk world?

What if Sherlock Holmes was a strategist?

Hey, didn’t certain royal figures have wartime jobs helping the military?

What if nanogears and biomechanics mix?

…and what if I throw in a biomechanical octopus?

If an Octobot doesn’t tweak your fancy – and I’m not sure how it possibly couldn’t! – maybe this awesome cover by Cedar Sanderson will.

Steam Rising – out now!

Temporary Magic

June 14, 2023 / fionagreywrites

“Hayes,” the man greeted him, and set down his book. He peered over the edge of the counter with wide eyes. “Who’s this?”

“Jimmy, this is Kea, my – my daughter.” He stumbled over the word, and felt the sharp sting of a kick on his ankle.

Jimmy leaned back and gave him a look filled with regret. “I am sorry, but I can’t let her in the building. It’s not bring your daughter to work day and nobody told me, right?”

“It’s all right,” Kea said in a soft, clear voice. She gave the security guard a winning smile. “I can just stay here with you while Dad runs in and grabs what he needs.”

“That’d be lovely,” he agreed, turning to face her.

Just in time to get a handful of golden glitter blown into his face. She smacked her palms together, scattering glowing dust mites onto the floor where they faded against the uneven marble floor.

“Thank you for the guest all-access badge, Jimmy,” Kea said coolly.

He blinked and dug into a drawer filled with a row of badges in a wide rainbow of colors. “Of course.”

Hayes waited until they entered the elevator. “What was that?”

Geo poked his head out from underneath his suit lapel, where he’d hidden in Haye’s shirt pocket. “Jimmy’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”

Kea nodded agreement with the frog. “It’s leprechauns all the way down.”

He threw out a hand and rolled his eyes.

She laughed at his impatient confusion. “Temporary magic.”

The ancient elevator dinged onto his usual floor, for once cooperating with something resembling more speed than a snail on its reluctant way to a medieval battle. He suspected Kea’s silent assistance.

“You’ll be able to do that soon,” she added just as he exited the creaking box of doom.

He caught his stumble against the table, spilling Geo unceremoniously into a flowerpot, as she flounced down the hall toward his office.

***

I’m late! Just a quick snippet today (and apparently switching POV again, whoops – still drinking coffee). Becky inspired this piece with leprechauns all the way down, while nother Mike got my prompt this week, over at MOTE: “You don’t want to know what happens next.”

It’s been rather hectic here, for a number of reasons, but the goal is still to make LibertyCon. Who’s with me?

An administrative note: On the off chance someone reads this and wants to sign up for the newsletter — hahaha, no one signs up for the newsletter, I did it as part of a contract requirement and haven’t sent one in two years — for the time being, you will no longer automatically receive the free download of the Paladin University newspaper interview with June.

Why? Turns out, no one had downloaded it for two years. Plus, generating content is more important than getting all this set up properly as a business — I’m writing again, and Paladin’s Legacy is back in progress— especially since this is a side gig I do mostly for fun. It was enough of a pain to set it up that I’m not going to remove the option on the website, either, because eventually I will need it again and no. I am not going through that again.

The point being, if you sign up for the newsletter and want a copy of the (very) short story, just email me.

Thank you!

March 29, 2023 / fionagreywrites

Thanks to everyone who’s picked up Bonds of Valor, told their friends, and left a review over the past couple of days! I’m having a blast reading it myself.

Would you look at that gorgeous orange tag?

Rob Howell let me know yesterday that “The Coward’s Shadow” won the best story submission. I was shocked, and honored just to be a part of all this.

And here’s a secret. I nearly didn’t submit the story at all. I didn’t think I’d get in, especially since it was conceptually a stretch. Who would ever come to care about a mouse?

Me, that’s who, and I wanted to share her story.

A MidJourney render of Rian abandoning his duties…with a hint of regret making redemption possible.

Interested in submitting to the next anthology? Check out the submission call for Oaths of Valor here.

It’s been a good week. Thank you again.

And now, back to work.

A Snippet

March 21, 2023 / fionagreywrites

From something I’m working on, inspired by Becky Jones‘ prompt: I watched it fade into the distance.

This will be part of a companion prequel to the story I have in Bonds of Valor, releasing 24 March. I loved writing The Coward’s Shadow, and am typing as fast as I can to get the prequel done.

If you’re interested in watching at least one author stumble over her words from nerves, check out the YouTube launch tonight at 7PM Central!

***

A puff of wind blew the gossamer curtain into the solar, carrying with the delicate fabric the sound of clashing metal. Engela glanced out the solar window. Her matchmaking delight faded as she studied the practice fields. “War makes love come faster, child. Now. Let’s talk about putting you to better use. I need a researcher to delve into the archives. Altria needs to expand her options against the Kolung encroachments.”

“I read archaic forms of Altrian,” she offered, wrapping her hands around her skirts. Adacia kept her mouth firmly shut on explaining why. If Engela knew she could peruse the archives, the queen probably already knew Fogfield Province’s sad and pathetic library hadn’t been updated by the last five barons.

“So I hear. And let’s face it, dear…I can get most women to weave better than you, even for bandages. Let’s get you working in an area you’re better suited, shall we?”

***

My prompt went to Cedar Sanderson this week:

Check out more prompt ideas, stories, and methodology discussions over at More Odds Than Ends!

Squee!

December 17, 2022 / fionagreywrites

It was a pretty big week.

And, of course, I had a meeting that prevented me from being able to open this announcement up so I could find out whether I’d been accepted or if it was a consolation notice.

Sometimes a story sticks in your head and expands without conscious thought as it demands to be shared with the world. This was one of those stories. I can’t wait until you can read it.

I don’t know yet if I’ll be able to make FantiSci – will you be there? Let me know! Fingers crossed it will work out.

March is a long time away. Here’s a MidJourney teaser for you in the meantime.

Join Clan Fiona Grey Writes!