Hyacinth Grey. Indie Author. I write fiction.

Tag: fantasy

  • Favorite Quote

    Favorite Quote

    The short answer is: I don’t have one. I do like some quotes, but I don’t use a lot of them in my daily life. Therefore, I’m going to share one I used in a piece of free fiction. “Die Religion ist … das Opium des Volkes.” – Karl Marx Translated from the original German,…

  • Update about In Life

    Some of you may have wondered what was happening with my free fiction piece, “In Life.” I’m happy to tell you that I’m still working on it, but there’s something I’d like to share with you. It will still be free, but once it’s finished, it will be published on Smashwords instead of on this…

  • The Dark Tide

    Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes. – Karl Marx Everyone had been called to Worship. I stood outside the temple, and waited for the doors to be opened. It was early morning, and very bright, with sunbeams reflecting off the snow that had fallen the night before. I felt exposed, standing as I…

  • The Dark Tide is coming, but don’t worry, it’s just free fiction!

    Last year, I wrote a novelette or maybe a very long short story. It’s called The Dark Tide, and it needs some revisions. I’m happy to announce that I’m well on the way to getting that accomplished. I hope to post it by the end of August.

  • Still working on The Dark Tide and names

    I need to revise “The Dark Tide,” and one of the problems I have with the original story is about names. “The Dark Tide” is fantasy, and that is a genre devoured by names. There are two reasons for this: fantasy generally has a lot of characters who each need a name, and those names…

  • In Life – Part 15 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. “The floors above ground are public,” Red says as she opens the palace door. “This is the hall.” I step in and see a rectangular room with a bare wood floor. Tables and chairs are stacked against the left-hand wall. There’s no art on the walls, no chandeliers hanging…

  • In Life – Part 14 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. In life. When they use their 3D printer, people get in life. I remember asking what the noise was last night. The printer. It must have been the 3D printer, bringing Goldensword Harvestmoon in life. I’m sure I can ask, but I don’t want to talk to anyone. I…

  • In Life – Part 13 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. I follow Red through the opening in the wall and out into the sunshine. We’re on a path that appears to be made of some kind of stones. On either side of it, there are trees and bushes. In front of us, there’s a low, wooden building, and Red…

  • In Life – Part 12 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. “What time do you need to go back downstairs?” Grace asks. “Not until about ten.” “Oh good. I haven’t talked frankly with anybody except Peter and the kids since before we moved here.” “I don’t understand.” “My customers are wonderful, but if they knew, they might not be.” “If…

  • In Life – Part 11 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. The sounds aren’t getting any louder or closer. My phone is somewhere on the floor in the dark, and I don’t want to take the chance of getting up and trying to find it. Time passes, but I have no idea how much. I lie awake, unwilling to take…

  • In Life – Part 10 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. Thud! My eyes fly open. It’s dark. Thudda chugga whoosh. I sit up on the couch and look around, but I can’t see anything. Chugga whoosh thud! What’s going on? I grope for the end table. Where is my phone? Is there a burglar in here? I touch the…

  • In Life – Part 9 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. The pizza is wonderful, but I’ll have to go on a diet for the next year to offset the calories consumed. I’m also disappointed that the quadruplets don’t allow me to meet their parents. Purple takes a tray up to them, and I don’t hear anything they say, because…

  • In Life – Part 8 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. The next screen asks for eye and hair color. “Blue eyes and blond hair.” If I imagine marrying somebody, it’s a man with blue eyes and blond hair. Blue taps the relevant buttons. A large green START button appears at the bottom of the screen. Interesting. I’m about to…

  • In Life – Part 7 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. Today’s the day. It’s the first Saturday in August, I know how to turn on a computer and do some basic things, but I don’t know if I’m going to accept the quadruplets’ invitation. I stand in front of my closet, unsure of what to wear. If I don’t…

  • In Life – Part 6 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. The next two weeks pass by in obscurity. I have nothing to do all day long. Worse still, I don’t feel like doing much, but I know Aunt Bev would not approve of this idleness. She’s left me her home, her money, and her legacy of love, but I’m…

  • Cover Reveal: The Dark Tide – free fantasy fiction

    The Dark Tide The gods are angry, and everybody must flee. One man cannot leave until he packs every one of his daughter’s sketches. The Dark Tide is the story of his quest to find the truth. Will the truth destroy him and everyone he loves, or will it make him and his family stronger?…

  • In Life – Part 5 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. Later that morning, I meet Adam at the church. We arrange Aunt Bev’s funeral for a Monday so that her friends from the salon won’t have to take a day off. I dread going home and calling Becky, but I know I have to. She doesn’t go to church,…

  • In Life – Part 4 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. There’s hardly any traffic on the way home. As soon as I walk through the front door, I take off my shoes, go to my room, change into my old pyjamas, and lie down on my bed. It’s not late but I’m through with the day. The problem is…

  • In Life – Part 3 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. The truck’s engine won’t start, so I’m going to be stuck here for a while. I see a woman talking on a cell phone and wish I had one. While she can call wherever she’s going and explain she’s stuck in traffic, I have to sit here and wait…

  • In Life – Part 2 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. I make myself a fancy lunch because I don’t know what else to do, and I’ve just gone into the bathroom when the phone rings. I hurry and make it to the phone by about the twelfth ring. “Alexis!” It’s Amanda, my best friend in the whole wide world.…

  • In Life – Part 1 – Sci-Fi Fantasy

    This is a work of fiction. “I’m not feeling well,” Aunt Bev says. We’re sitting at the kitchen table, and I’m eating toast, but she hasn’t touched hers. “Are you going to call in sick?” I ask. She works at a salon doing people’s nails. Me? I can’t stand the feeling of stuff on my…

  • What is my free fiction about?

    I’ve been talking a lot about free fiction lately, but I’ve neglected to write “About the Story” blurbs for most of the pieces I’ve posted. To correct that oversight, here they are. Once you find one you like the sound of, click the link above to be taken to the page with links to all…

  • Fun with Free Fiction

    Back in April, I launched free short fiction on this site with The Choice. That piece was short, but over the months since, I’ve started writing longer pieces. Both finished stories and pieces in progress can be found on my Fiction page. As of this writing, the story called Lockdown has almost come to an…

  • Genres: Tips for Writing Fantasy

    Fantasy is one of the most fun genres, because it’s not constrained by reality. Anything goes. Really. The imagination’s the limit. I’ve got two tips about writing fantasy. Be consistent and don’t be “explainy.” First things first. Consistency. Is magic allowed in your world? If it is, you have to define it. Who can perform…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 10

    This is a work of fiction. “Before we go,” my wife said, “why did that man want to kill me?” I told her about the bicycle cart accident just as the mother bird had been landing. “My daughter,” my wife said when I’d finished speaking, “would you please help me pull him out of this…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 9

    This is a work of fiction. It took longer than four hours to reach the place where the young sitting bird, the children, and my daughter’s love were, because we had to stop along the way for food and water. My daughter ran ahead to warn her love that he mustn’t be seen or see…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 8

    This is a work of fiction. I went to check on the female Leader of Worship. As soon as I removed the gag, she asked for water, which I provided. Then she said, “What will you do with my Partner of Worship and me?” “I will set you free once I have killed him.” “May…

  • What happens when the gods are angry but a man cannot leave behind what he treasures most? – The Dark Tide – fantasy fiction

    The Dark Tide – Part 1

  • The Dark Tide – Part 7

    This is a work of fiction. As soon as I took the gag out of his mouth, the male Leader of Worship started screaming for help. Quickly, I gagged him again, and then I listened. I heard a distant voice. So did he. He smiled. It took a few seconds before I could hear it…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 6

    This is a work of fiction. The canoe drifted toward the house, and I thought it was going to collide with it, but it skimmed past the corner of it and carried me downstream. I had nothing left in the world except the canoe, the clothes I wore, and my daughter’s sketches. If I could…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 5

    This is a work of fiction. The two men laughed as they drove the bicycle cart away, and I was left standing alone at the edge of the precipice. For a few seconds, I considered jumping off and joining my daughter, but my wife might still be alive, and I owed it to my daughter…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 4

    This is a work of fiction. The bird flew through the clear air, and I looked far into the distance, and could see nothing but evergreens, snow, and blue sky. A frigid wind blew all around me, and I thought how good it was that the children and the young bird were tucked up safely…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 3

    This is a work of fiction. I held the sketch in my hands and looked at it carefully. It showed two babies. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I thought it might be of the two children upstairs. Why had she done this sketch? It was as good as the ones she’d done when she…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 2

    This is a work of fiction. The wind howled all night, and I woke up several times, but no cloud came for me out of the earth. At dawn, I rose and got dressed. I put my daughter’s sketches, still in their folder, into a light bag and strapped it securely onto my back, and…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 1

    This is a work of fiction. Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes. Karl Marx Everyone had been called to Worship. I stood outside the temple, and waited for the doors to be opened. It was early morning, and very bright, with sunbeams reflecting off the snow that had fallen the night before. I…