#51 The Lost Week + Christmas Musing

 Happy Blog Day Everyone!

A quick-ish one this week as I'm sure everyone will have better things to do then hang around here! First up we have Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz, looking at that fragile time between Christmas and New Year. After that, a short bit of fiction, looking at my various characters at this time of year...

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

We've all been here haven't we, feels worse when you have kids, as by the time you've stopped it's January 2nd and you wonder where all the time has gone.

For Riz, the explanation is quite simple. He was pissed!

Christmas Musings

For some light reading, I present to you, my characters at Christmas.

The chosen characters should be familiar to anyone reading this blog or the Malarkey's Imaginomnibus anthologies (links to get them in the Quick Link section!).

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Gabriel (found in Daemon Soul and Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volumes Fade to Noir and Hubble Bubble)

     "You're willing to do this? Even at Christmas?" The man said, shivering as he did. 

     Gabriel looked back at him with a smile:

     "Of course? What kind of person would I be if I didn't help out, at any time of year. Though in a way, I guess I'm kind of like Santa."

     "What?"

     "Like, we both have lists that we check twice, at the least. I also reward people for being good to me, and punish those who are not. I also do my best to answer wishes...but don't worry, I'm not going to make you sit on my lap to tell me yours....So, what kind of deal do you want?"

     "This Christmas...I want to take back what was rightfully mine..."

     "That can be arranged, let's talk details..." Gabriel smiled as he hooked another soul.

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Josh and the Ghost Duty Team (found in Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1)

     "An interview for Limbo City news? Well, guess I've got time before work! My name is Josh and Christmas was my favourite holiday when I was alive."

     "..."

     "What about now? Oh, well it's tied with Halloween, because, well, we all get that night off?"

     "..."

     "Do I think we should get Christmas off as well? I'm not sure how to answer that, i know the angels watch this show."

     "Scared? Of course I'm scared! You would be as well if you had the threat of your Karma debt rising! Not to mention quadruple overtime...I'll take Christmas as it is without rocking the boat over wether I think we should be able to celebrate it properly with out having to go to work to scare some old rich guys into being nice!"

    "..."

     "That beeping sound? Oh, crap its my Karma debt! They've increased it again! Argh! I knew they were listening!"

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Cypher and Serena (Found in Daemon Soul, not yet released but Serena features in Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir)

     The streets of Highdale were thankfully quiet, as Cypher and Serena gazed down on it. The pair were stood on their usual spot, and taking in the transformation that the town undertook every year.

     "Christmas again..." Cypher said, as he rested on the railings. His eyes glossed over the town and towards the quieter parts in the suburbs, where he knew his mother was, alone.

     "Do you not like Christmas?" Serena asked. "I've often wondered what it was about. Every year, most places would change for this event...One that I have never experienced."

     Cypher didn't know how to respond to that. He knew their experiences would never match up fully, the lives they led were so different. He let the silence linger for a moment while he thought, before eventually saying:

     "Christmas...is about family...Well, that's what my mum always told me. It's about spending time with those you love. As a kid i thought that the gifts and the sweets neved hurt," Cypher let out a hushed laugh, while Serena stood there, taking it in.

     "It's also supposed to be the one time of the year where everyone can be at peace. Even World War One stopped for a moment because of Christmas. Maybe that's why we're not seeing any demons out here. A Christmas miracle."

     "A Christmas miracle? Just because there is no demons lurking around?" Serena asked, tilting her head slightly.

     "No, because I get to share this moment with you. My new family." Cypher stepped towards her and they embraced. "Merry Christmas, Serena."

     "Merry Christmas," she replied back to him. 

     They held each other in their arms under the moonlight, as snow began to fall...

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Brennan and Riz (found in...a whole host of stories and their own novel!)

     It was Christmas, because of course it was. It almost felt like summer was two seconds ago. Given time's relentless march, I saw some wisdom in Riz’s annual Christmas past time, getting blind drunk. I held off though, as Valarie joined us this year, providing a welcome companion compared to the rat who was falling out of his desk, dead to the world, for all intents and purposes.

     "I don't know how he can do that," Valarie pointed out, using a pencil to prod at him.

     "Remember Riz rule number 8?" I said  changing the CDs over on the karaoke machine.

     "Let sleeping rats lie? But he hasn't done anything...unless you count getting pissed out of your skull a thing."

     "Normally, I'd agree, but he was up earlier to go and mess with the local fox hunts. Dread to think what he did but whatever it was seemed to work. A fair few were cancelled."

     "Maybe he bit each and every one like they deserved? How do you know that though? I swear he's still in the same position as last night."

     "Security device in the hall way. Also caught him doing you know what in your shoes, hope you brought a spare pair."

     "I always do when I come here for that reason. Still, who'd have thought that the only act of charity that Riz would do on his own was to protect foxes."

     "I'm pretty sure that he's also teaching them to steal things with varying degrees of success given how many times I've woken up to see one with its head in my drawers. Don't know what's worse, them or the Goblins that Riz convinces to work here."

     "Guess even at Christmas, it's never a dull day here," Valarie said as she held her glass up to say cheers. I did the same with mine as Riz started babbling in his sleep:

     "Oi! Der booze is all mine, gobbos...do sumit," Riz's orders turned to yawns and gentle nuisance.

     "Yup...Never a dull day," I said, rolling my eyes.

-----

There you have it! I know some of it is better than the others, the same as some of it is absolutely rubbish but even if you were only entertained by a few then I did my work

Till next week,

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

Quick Links 

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat 

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble 

Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13

#50 A Riz Christmas Finale + Riz’s Silent Night

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Well, here it is, the last Blog before Christmas, and with it two special offerings!

First off is the concluding part of A Riz Christmas and then something extra special, a brand new short story!

So read on...

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

And there we go! Alls well that ends well. Proved really hard to get the words in there, so I'm glad it's over with!

The eagle-eyed amongst you might have realised that we're now 50 issues in and from 53, the strip will have been going for a year with no breaks! This hasn't been easy to achieve, I tell you. 

Riz’s Silent Night

Its been a while since I last posted any original fiction Exclusive to this blog (Brennan and Riz: Pandemic Blues for those wondering, right before my hiatus), so with it being Christmas, I thought it was a good time for a new one. So, please enjoy this story:

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     Our story begins one Christmas eve, in the office slash home of one Brennan and Riz. Though our tale doesn’t concern Brennan, whose Christmas spirit is driving the rat Riz to despair.

     Riz tried to block out the music, he did his best to ignore the decorations hanging from every available space, he even looked past the tree that occupied his third favourite napping place. What he couldn’t overlook, in this season so festive, was Brennan and Valarie, drunk on Karaoke. It may have been their seasonal tradition, but as far as Riz was concerned, there could only be one in the office who was the master of the mike.

     With the last straw well and truly broken, Riz set out into the cold night, eager to find a drink that didn’t come with an ear splitting rendition of Away in a Manager. Considering that fact, no one would blame him.

     The wind ruffled through his fur, and as Riz crawled through the dark streets, each bright light irritated him more. Another week, that’s all he had to wait, if he drank enough he wouldn’t even be awake. A horror awaited him with every pub he tried, a barred door and dark visage.

     “How can dey be shut!” he squeaked out with a sober cry. He cursed his luck and carried on his quest.

     He'd been out an hour now, wandering on all fours, and with each passing moment, he acted as he was dying of thirst. He even passed some of his kin, raiding a bin, and even they gave him a look of ‘what are you doing?’. They quickly scattered though, and Riz wondered why. A quick glance told him that they were all alone under the full moonlight. He looked up, and saw the fleeting shadow, of something that should not be but was, flittering through the night. There are few things in this world that can make Riz give up a drink, but danger is at the top of that list. He wanted booze yes, but also knew when to snooze, he thought about retreating when saw another and another. The shadows disappeared as quickly as they came, with Riz sighing much relief. He justified himself saying he doesn’t work for free:

     “If someone wanted me ta take on dose things dey wud ‘ave paid a fee!” He goes to carry on, but looks back in the direction that the shadows disappeared. He thinks to himself that all the time with Brennan has rubbed off on him, he can hear the faintest vestige of a conscience trying to make contact with him. A conscience of course, that he swore off a long time ago. Like a distant echo, it urged him to pursue what ever entity had flown by, as like Riz himself, anything out late on Christmas Eve could surely be up to no good. Knowing that any attempt to argue would result in it never shutting up. Feeling a heavy burden, he heads off after the shadows, doing a deed right.

     He absolutely hated this, it should be said. If faced with a choice he'd rather be dead. Still, he did his due diligence, and pressed on. A few moments more about with no danger in sight, he thought about returning home, till sinister growl put him right.

     “In there lies the food, all snug in a bed,” a voice above sang. Riz tilted his head back and saw three Gargoyles with stony skin circled a house, one in particular flew close to a window, peering inside.

     “Soddin, Gargoyles…Y did it ave ta be Gargoyles! Especially wit out Bren ta act as bait!” Riz cried. As much as the burden was weighing down on him, he still wanted to miles away, chewing on something fried.

     The creatures above paid him no heed, they were too busy getting ready to feed.

     It was now or never, for our furry friend, to take action. His thoughts split into fractions. He grabbed a stone in his little paws, and started gnawing. 

     This was the point, when the Gargoyles noticed the little rat, biting on stones in the morning. A peculiar sight, they started laughing at the vermin, dispensing insults with ease.

     “Look at that rat down there! Does it want us to stop? Does it want us to say please?”

     Riz wasn't bothered, on the contrary, he wanted them to do more. To shout at him till their throats were sore. Afterall, they wouldn’t be laughing in a minute, no, he expected them to be pleading for mercy.

     “Oh noes! Does Grotesques up dere do look fancy!” Riz was sure his acting would win an award.

     “Grotesques?” All three Gargoyles cried out. “We're going to leave you out for the count!”

     The Gargoyles left the window they were hungrily watching, and came down to the lonesome animal. They never understood the danger they were on from the plucky mammal. 

     The leader of the three scooped up Riz on its granite like grip.

     “Rite,” said Riz. “Dis is ya first nd last warnin before I let rip!”

     "We'd like to see that!” The Gargoyles laughed, though little did they know, they'd get just that.

     Riz waited till they were all close by, and with an evil smirk he uttered two terrible words. Had the Gargoyles understood they may have begged for their life. As it was Riz cut off their cries like he wielded a knife.

     Of the words he used, I can't repeat here, but let's just say, they did the trick, thanks to his little Rune Stone, the Gargoyles couldn't take the mick.

     A flash of light and it was all over. 

     Riz admired his handiwork, some of his finest yet. He just wished there was someone around to put in his debt. An act of charity, he'd never admit but it was still a silent night, so no witnesses to his good deed.

     What of the Gargoyles, I hear you ask? Well, the child they were after, awoke at sunrise. He found three stone statues outside his window it was a big surprise.

     Our hero, Riz, what did he do next? He returned home, sadly sober and alone. Yet, under the little plastic Christmas tree was a present for hin, unsurprisingly it was a bottle of rare gin. At last, his quest was over, the drinking could begin.

     So please remember, this Christmas season, of those little acts you can do. The spirit of the season, is of doing the best you can do.

‐------------------------------------

Well, that's it for this week!

If you're celebrating, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukkah for the Jewish. If you don't celebrate either, be good to yourselves.

Till next time,

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

Quick Links

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble

Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13

#49 A Riz Christmas Part V + What Went Wrong With My Nano

 Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Today I'll talk about what I should have talked about last week, that of my NanoWriMo entry that while complete, is sorely lacking (in my eyes).

Before that depressing talk though, we'd better see how Riz is getting on...

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

The penultimate part is here. I'm quite happy with myself for how I've managed to pace this arc. Gives me confidence that I can do another one...though not for a while yet!

As you can tell from the number, we're getting closer and closer to #53 which will mark a full year of the Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz...doesn't feel like it!

What Went Wrong With My NanoWriMo

This hasn't been an easy article to write. I've been churning it over in my head.

To remind everyone, I decided to do Avalon Tales as my NanoWriMo this year, hoping to do at least one novella (with the hope of starting the second as well).

This didn't happen, for a couple of reasons as I've explained before. However, all the other times, I've never went into detail about what happened on the story side of things that made me lose faith in my writing skills. 

Let's start at the beginning.

When it came to choose my NanoWriMo, my choices were limited to what I'd put the groundwork in already. If done a lot of work for Avalon Tales, trying to tie together the Arthurian imagery better, so it seemed like a no brainer to pick that.

I stuck close to the plan, and at first, things were going well then I hit chapter 5...

The first two chapters are set up, showing where Isabelle’s (the main character) place in the world and within Avalon and introduces her supporting cast. Chapters 3 and 4 bring in the novellas main plot and a character bringing the antagonistical role, Rainer, who hailed from Avalon’s main headquarters in the first draft. Things started slipping here. It started with small things I'd overlooked in the plot and pacing within scenes. It came to a head in chapter 6 which was supposed to be Isabelle’s new team Baptism of fire upon the battlefield. It became clear that things weren't working as the story ground to a halt. My main issue became that the story I was trying to tell, was longer than the Novella format I was wanting.

Draft 1 went in the bin, and draft 2 started with Chapter 7. My aim was to link the two up in editing. The characters largely stayed the same but Rainer changed into the Knight Master of the North East Branch as I tried to simply the plot. Speaking of which I shifted the action to Isabelle and her team searching for the mcguffin and eventually tracking it down to a factory which would serve as the last battground. For a moment, I thought I had it 

The problems reared their ugly head again. The new characters were still not working with the plot and their actions seemed forced. More and more plot holes started poking through so I embarked on draft 3, in order to try and save things. 

It didn't work.

Following this I made even more changes. I took away Isabelle’s squad and replced then with Robyn (Isabelle’s girlfriend) and Cade Anderson (a Knight Inquisitor who was only supposed to be evaluating the North East Branch of Avalon). I also promoted Ramona to Knight Master of the North East Branch a story early, dropping Rainer completely. This is where the story fell apart  I spent the rest of NanoWriMo rewriting, trying to get bits to fit.

As it stands, the story is a Frankensteins monster, but it doesn't equal the sum of its parts.

What will happen next with Avalon Tales? I don't know. I want to completely start fresh with it and hopefully get it to where I want 

That's all for now, sorry for boring you all!

Till next time, 

Keep on writing.

Peter James Martin

Quick Links

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir l

Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13

#48 A Riz Christmas Part IV + Update

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

I know I said I'd be looking at my NanoWriMo entry in depth this week, but things have had to be shuffled around I'm afraid. Before I talk about that though, let's see what Brennan and Riz are doing!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz 

Part 4 of Riz’s Christmas epic is finally here and I can tell you that part 5 is well on its way. Looks like I may actually get ahead on these after all! Got a good one for Christmas week (issue 51!) Planned as well!

Update

So that Nanowrimo write up...It was taking longer than I planned so I moved it to next week so I had more thinking time. This is fine though as it gives more tike to polish that and to write a little gift for everyone to be posted the week after.

What's the gift about, you'll have to watch this space! Suffice to say it involves getting this blog back to its roots and maybe, just maybe, it'll mean finishing something that was left three years ago.

Other than that, I've not done any writing since the end of Nanowrimo (at least creative writing) which is normal for me as I do need that little bit of a break in between things. 

That's all I've got to say for now though (you can all breath a sigh of relief!)

Till next time,

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin 

Quick Links

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1

Malarkey's and Fade to Noir

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble 

Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13