Taking the Towel Back Out & More Realms Faire Games

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Last week I wrote that I was throwing in the towel on my WIP after months of frustration with it. Apparently the WIP didn't like that idea, as right after I wrote that post I got inspired to go take the towel back out and work on the story. And to my amazement, I actually finished the first draft over the weekend! Once I started writing again I couldn't stop.

So I think that story still wanted to be told and I am more than happy to oblige it. I have tons of work to do as the first draft is garbage, but I am excited now about tackling it.

This story is a follow-up to Polar Night and Polar Day but is set in Chicago instead of in Alaska. The antagonist is a ghost this time, or a sort of ghost, who has connections to the Civil War. I came upon this photo on Twitter from the Chattanooga National Military Park this week out of the blue and it seemed like another sign that this story is meant to be finished. Isn't this a haunting shot? I love it.

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I'm looking forward to being able to share more about the story in the coming weeks.

Thanks again to everyone who left comments on my post last week. I really appreciated all of the encouragement and advice!

The Realms Faire is getting closer and I am excited to spotlight a few more games today from my fellow participants.

House Bookworm - Riddle Me This
I am a book so popular they made a movie of me. Within the what if realms I lie. Horror? Fantasy? Or am I Sci-Fi? A riddle every day during the Realms Faire for you to take your best guess and have a chance to win a prize most splendid.
For your guessing pleasure, visit Cherie Reich's blog every day November 9-13 to make a guess and be entered for a daily prize.

House of the Hero's Dilemma - hosted by Tyrean Martinson
Hero's beware! Here at the House of Hero's Dilemma, a new cliff-hanging adventure will dangle new heroes above the depths of destiny or despair. In 100 words or less, a hero will face a danger in story form.
Each day, the people of Realsmdom will decide the fate of these heroes in three sentences or less. If fateful endings are giving answer in poetic form, an extra entry for prizes will be awarded.
Daily e-book prizes will be awarded via random name-pulling from the entries. Everyone is invited to participate.
People of Realmsdom, you have the power of storytelling might to decide the fate of the would-be heroes. Will they die in glory or shame, live in victory or defeat? It is up to you.

House Waibel - The Stockade Brigade
Warrants of arrest have been issued for select authors accusing them of witchery and wizardry. The pillory has been erected and the trial dates set.
Good people of Realmsdom, I call upon you to bear witness to these trials and offer your testimony for or against the author's crimes.
Points will be awarded for wordsmithing a comment in your best Olde English afore 8 of the clock in the Eastern time on the following scale:
5-Ye speak as one from the days of Queen Bess.4-Ye could pass muster as a Ren Faire cast member3-Ye could pass as a Ren Faire attendee2-Ye wouldn't be foolin' yer mother1-Ye stand out like the sun in a cloudless sky
An e-book will be given every day to the witness who scores the most points. Fear not, your daily score will be accumulated and the person with the highest score shall receive a special prize at the end of the week. So, brush off your Olde English and prepare to testify.

For all of the info on the Realms Faire, including a full list of this year's games, visit M. Pax here. 

The Gray Lady Ghost & More Realms Faire Games

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After I wrote about the Confederate cemetery in Johnson's Island, Ohio back in August I discovered there is actually another haunted Civil War POW cemetery right here in my home state. Camp Chase is in Columbus, where I lived for several years. Although the cemetery is not far from where I lived for a while. I had no idea it existed.

Now that I know, I'd like to visit sometime as I love the legend associated with it. According to the legend, the cemetery is haunted by the Gray Lady Ghost, who was known in life as Louisiana Rainsburgh Briggs, which is easily one of the best names I've ever read in my life. Supposedly, Ms. Briggs was the fiancee, or some say wife, of Tennessee Private Benjamin Allen, whose grave is shown above. She made the trip to Ohio to visit him and, finding him dead, died herself soon after.

Dressed in a gray traveling suit and wearing a gray veil over her face, Louisiana has often been heard weeping at the site of Allen's grave. During a Civil War re-enactment event in 1988, many participants reported hearing the sound of a woman crying and tried to find the source of the cries, but no weeping lady was every found.

In addition, cemetery visitors have regularly reported seeing fresh flowers on Allen's grave, although no one has claimed responsibility for placing them there. According to speculation, Louisiana herself visits the cemetery at night to place the flowers at her loved one's grave.

More than 2,000 prisoners died of disease and starvation at Camp Chase, so it's not hard to imagine there are other spirits haunting the area today. I wonder if Louisiana Briggs has any companions who join her when she makes her late night visits to the graves of the long dead.

All of this has provided lots of inspiration for my WIP, which includes my own Confederate ghost and a Civil War POW camp. I'm thrilled to be able to state that I'm FINALLY getting lots of writing done and making significant progress, so after months of being a slug I am getting closer to the finish line now. Maybe I just needed a little ghostly inspiration.

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be spotlighting games from the upcoming Realms Faire periodically from now through November when the Faire will be held. First up is Beware the Vortex, hosted by River Fairchild. Here is the scoop:

Beware the Vortex

Evil is afoot. Chronos has accidentally created a vortex while cleaning his hourglass, plunging a few unfortunate souls into Lucien’s Bar, gateway to the Underworld. Now they are trapped. Lucien wants to keep them but will give each hapless victim one chance to earn their freedom. His condition? Enter a contest of skills with an Immortal opponent of his/her choosing.

Do you think you can survive a swordfight with War? How about wend your way through a carnivorous garden to get to Gaia’s treehouse? Or weave a portion of the Great Tapestry of Life while avoiding Atropos’ giant pair of life-ending scissors? Perhaps you’re brave enough to challenge Death to a peanut-eating contest? Or whip up a batch of punch with Jezebel, the Master Poisoner? Do you have what it takes to win your way out of Lucien’s grasp?

Your mission: on the day you appear in the contest you will post on your own blog, or gather together your Facebook and/or Twitter friends and provide a link to this blog, pleading (begging works too) with your loyal supporters to come to your aid at http://riverfairchild.blogspot.com/ , and cheer you on to victory. Their comments will decide your fate. I will provide you with a few magic words to bolster the power of your minions. Plead well, for you will need their strength to endure. Others might seek to cast their votes with the Immortals.

Rewards? Yes! Besides winning your freedom (hopefully), each volunteer (that would be you) who is locked in the struggle will receive an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. In addition, a few lucky commenters will be picked at random to receive a gift card at the end of the Faire. Four brave people have signed up so far. I need one more to fill the week.

Interested? Sign up at . http://mpaxauthor.com/realmsfaire/ or email me RiverFairchildAuthor@gmail.com

There are a number of blogs participating in the Realms Faire and many prizes to be had, including a Grand Prize at the end of the Faire. If you’d like to run a game yourself and/or contribute a prize (ebook, gift card, artwork, swag, anything you can come up with), go here to sign up. http://mpaxauthor.com/realmsfaire/ 

Another game I want to spotlight is Dueling Bards, hosted by Cassandra Webb. This game is a chance for your character to duel another writer's creation. The audience will decide who emerges triumphant in the contest. I know Cassandra still needs a few duelers, so if you want to see more about the game and sign up to participate visit her site for all the info here. 

IWSG and the Confederate Ghosts of Johnson's Island

Happy August, all! The first Wednesday of the month means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by the Ninja Captain himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here to see this month's co-hosts and the list of participants, and add your name to the list if you'd like to join us!

Earlier in the summer I said I was going to work on two manuscripts at once in the hopes of getting my butt in gear on the writing front. Sadly all I managed to do was stall and get nowhere on two manuscripts instead of one. With the summer winding down, I'm feeling irritated with myself that I have been so unproductive, and insecure that maybe I will just never get these manuscripts completed.

But then I remembered there are still five months left in the year so I have time to make sure 2015 isn't a total wash. I went back over both stories and I still love them and want to finish them, so I'm not throwing in the towel yet. I hope by next month's meeting I'll be able to share some progress.

In other news, a few weeks ago when I was on vacation I traveled around Lake Erie and had a great time visiting some of the towns and sites there. It's only a 4 hour drive from Cincinnati so it's kind of nuts I'd never done any exploring there, but better late than never. Anyway, I actually managed to get some inspiration for one of the stories that I've been stewing over while I was there.

I visited Johnson's Island, which was the home of a Union POW camp during the Civil War. The camp was made up of 13 barracks which sat right on the shores of Lake Erie. During the winter, the icy winds and snow coming off the lake made for miserable conditions for the prisoners, to put it mildly. Over the course of the war more than 11,000 Confederates were housed at the camp.

Today all that remains of the camp is a cemetery which holds 200 graves. There is also evidence to suggest that unmarked mass graves can be found around the island outside the gates of the cemetery. As you can guess, such a place is a fertile ground for stories of ghosts and hauntings.

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This statue of a Confederate stands at the entrance to the cemetery and looks out over the lake. There are numerous stories of him coming down and moving around the cemetery, or just changing positions on his base. In addition, several people have reported seeing soldiers moving through the trees or hearing their disembodied voices.

The most interesting story by far to me was about a group of Italian immigrants who were hired to work at the nearby limestone quarry some years after the war. The immigrants spoke no English, yet they were heard singing Dixie, the anthem of the Confederacy. According to legend, the Italian workers heard the ghosts of the dead singing the song of their homeland and picked it up for themselves.

I sincerely doubt that the Italians learned the words to Dixie from ghosts, but it's still a fun story. And as for my own story, it includes a Civil War prison camp in Chicago and a Confederate soldier who is imprisoned there. I wouldn't have thought of it before, but now I think I might just have my ghost sing a little Dixie. :D