The
Rise of the River Man
Conguise
Chronicles
Book
1
L.
S. O’Dea
Genre:
Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher:
LSODea
Date
of Publication: 10/30/2015
ISBN:
978-1-942706-04-5
ASIN:
B014I7M82I
Number
of pages: 108 pages
Word
Count: approx. 27,700
Cover
Artist: Vincent OCampo
Book
Description:
Obedient
monsters are hard to create.
Mutter
was sure that his pending execution at the Guards’ Shelter was the
worst thing that could happen to him, but that was before he met
Professor Conguise.
Now,
he is living in a laboratory and the Almightys are giving him shots.
He fears that they are attempting to mutate him into some kind of
monster like those in the other cages. The creatures in the other
cages are unnatural. Things that he can’t believe exist. Things
that shouldn’t exist and if he doesn’t escape, soon he will
become one of them.
Available
at Amazon
1.
Is there a message in your novel that
you want readers to grasp?
There are a lot of messages in my novels and it is interesting getting feedback from beta readers. Most get some of the messages but are completely oblivious to others.
In Conguise Chronicles: Rise of the River Man, I’d have to say that one of the messages is to consider what life must be like for the animals in laboratories and shelters. In some ways, we as a society are Conguise and Ableson in this story and that is a hard pill to swallow.
There are a lot of messages in my novels and it is interesting getting feedback from beta readers. Most get some of the messages but are completely oblivious to others.
In Conguise Chronicles: Rise of the River Man, I’d have to say that one of the messages is to consider what life must be like for the animals in laboratories and shelters. In some ways, we as a society are Conguise and Ableson in this story and that is a hard pill to swallow.
2.
What book are you reading now?
I know that I should be reading story after story, but I don’t. I don’t do a lot of the things that “they” tell me I have to do in order to be a successful author (could be why I am not all that successfulJ). I do love to read, but I don’t have time. Between working my day job, taking care of my animals, exercising (I’m trying to lose weight), doing the bare minimum around my house and yard, marketing my completed books, and writing, revising, editing and proofing my up-and-coming book, I, quite frankly, don’t have time to read.
When I do decide to take a break and grab a book, it is usually a fun romance or a YA novel.
I know that I should be reading story after story, but I don’t. I don’t do a lot of the things that “they” tell me I have to do in order to be a successful author (could be why I am not all that successfulJ). I do love to read, but I don’t have time. Between working my day job, taking care of my animals, exercising (I’m trying to lose weight), doing the bare minimum around my house and yard, marketing my completed books, and writing, revising, editing and proofing my up-and-coming book, I, quite frankly, don’t have time to read.
When I do decide to take a break and grab a book, it is usually a fun romance or a YA novel.
3.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I see dialogue. My first draft was almost all dialogue. I had to go back and imagine the setting and add that to the story. I am getting better about seeing the setting while writing the first draft, but visualizing the environment is hard for me. I visualize the inner thoughts and feelings, what really makes my character tick, not really what they look like.
I see dialogue. My first draft was almost all dialogue. I had to go back and imagine the setting and add that to the story. I am getting better about seeing the setting while writing the first draft, but visualizing the environment is hard for me. I visualize the inner thoughts and feelings, what really makes my character tick, not really what they look like.
4.
Are
you a plotter or a pantster?
A little of both. I usually start with an idea. It may be the beginning or how I want the story to end. Then I plot it out while jogging around my yard. When done exercising, I go inside and write down the broad brush strokes of the plot – kind of an outline. Then as I flesh each piece out, I let my mind take over. I often drop sections of the original outline and add new sections. I have never yet stuck to the entire “outline” until the end.
A little of both. I usually start with an idea. It may be the beginning or how I want the story to end. Then I plot it out while jogging around my yard. When done exercising, I go inside and write down the broad brush strokes of the plot – kind of an outline. Then as I flesh each piece out, I let my mind take over. I often drop sections of the original outline and add new sections. I have never yet stuck to the entire “outline” until the end.
5.
What
is your favorite food?
That can change on a given day. I go through phases. I’ll eat one type of food for weeks and then not touch it for months. A few standards for me are popcorn. I can eat that almost every day (I did for a while). I also eat a lot of Gardein products. One absolute for me is Pepsi. I love that sweet, carbonated beverage.
That can change on a given day. I go through phases. I’ll eat one type of food for weeks and then not touch it for months. A few standards for me are popcorn. I can eat that almost every day (I did for a while). I also eat a lot of Gardein products. One absolute for me is Pepsi. I love that sweet, carbonated beverage.
Excerpt:
MUTTER
WAS IN TROUBLE. No one wanted a Guard like him. He was too big and
too strong and too ugly. He stretched out on the concrete floor and
winced. He definitely had some broken ribs, but he’d fought and
won with broken bones in the past. He started coughing. It was this
sickness that had cost him the match. He sat up; the coughing
subsided. He’d pleaded with Vickers, his Almighty master, not to
make him fight but the money had already switched hands. He leaned
his head against the bars of the cage. He’d lost the fight and now
he’d lose his life. Vickers did not give second chances.
The
door opened and a male Almighty around thirty years old with blond
hair entered the room followed by Satcha, the House Servant who ran
this establishment. The Guards’ Shelter didn’t allow visiting at
this hour but Almightys did whatever they wanted. He didn’t even
bother to stand up. No one wanted him. It was a bit embarrassing,
but he’d tried to find a new home his first few days here. He’d
even trimmed his beard, but it had done no good. Every time that
he’d run to the front of the cage and had smiled at the Almightys,
he’d smelled the fear on them as they’d passed. Most tried not
to look at him, but he was big and scarred and hard to ignore.
They
stopped in front of his cage.
“Ableson,
this is the one I told you about,” said Satcha. “Looks like he
was a fighter, so he should be used to obeying. He does have a bad
cough, but I thought he might work for you.”
The
Almighty remained quiet, his blue eyes sizing Mutter up.
“Come
here,” said Satcha.
Mutter
wanted to stay where he was to annoy the Servant but Guards like him
didn’t get many chances for a home. He slowly stood, letting the
Almighty get used to his size and appearance.
“How
old are you?” asked Ableson.
“Not
sure. Been around for a while but not too old.” That was the safe
answer. He had counted nineteen winters but that might be too old or
too young. He never could tell what an Almighty wanted.
“By
his teeth and body we estimate around twenty-five to thirty years,”
said Satcha.
Ableson
twirled his finger. Mutter understood that signal. Before the
fights started, when the betting happened, he was often sized up by
the gamblers. He turned in a circle, slowly, giving the Almighty
time to study him.
“I’m
strong and healthy.” That was a lie but he would be healthy again.
He just needed a little time and food.
“Does
have that cough, that I mentioned.” Satcha sent him a glare.
“Just
a little. From this damp, rotten place.” He hated Servants. They
didn’t know when to keep their big mouths shut.
“I
need an obedient Guard.” The Almighty’s eyes roamed up and down
his frame.
“Won’t
find one more obedient than me.”
“Let’s
see if that’s true.” Ableson walked down the aisle. “Is there
another Guard who he’s close to?”
“Him?”
Satcha laughed, following the Almighty. “He’s so big and ugly
even the other Guards stay away from him.”
Ableson
stopped in the hallway. “Take this one out.”
The
Servant opened the cage and slipped a rope over a young Guard’s
neck. Mutter’s chest pinched. Typical. The Almighty’s always
chose the young ones. His only chance was gone. They would walk out
and soon he’d be executed. He started to sit back down, when the
three of them stopped in front of his cage.
“Put
her in with him,” said Ableson.
“Ah,
we keep the younger ones separate from the older ones, especially the
older males,” said Satcha.
The
Almighty didn’t say a word, but his look was enough. The Servant
muttered an apology and opened the door shoving the young Guard into
Mutter’s cage.
He
glanced at the little Guard who stood as far away from him as
possible. She couldn’t have been older than nine. She had russet
hair and large, frightened, brown eyes.
“Hit
her,” said Ableson, his tone conversational.
“Wait,”
said Satcha. “That one’s young and attractive. I can find a
home for her. Let me get—”
“I’ll
pay for both.” The Almighty’s eyes never left Mutter.
Mutter
kept his face a mask but his stomach clenched. He didn’t want to
do this. He’d fought females before but they were all older,
experienced fighters. This wouldn’t even be a fight.
“I
need an obedient Guard,” reminded Ableson.
The
girl trembled in the corner, tears streaming down her soft, round
cheeks. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
Pleading
didn’t do any good. It didn’t change anyone’s mind. He knew
the game and it would be her or him. He stared into the girl’s
scared brown eyes. “Bruised, broken or dead?”
“Just
hit her. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
Mutter
stepped forward. The girl curled in a ball on the floor, pleading
and crying. He grabbed her by the shirt. She weighed next to
nothing, all skin and bones. He punched her in the gut, making the
blow look harder than it was, but the girl was so small she gasped
and coughed. He hesitated, waiting for the Almighty to stop this,
but no words came. He hit her again. She yelped in pain. He
shifted his stance, stalling again and praying for the words that
would allow him to quit, but the only sounds were the yells of the
other Guards in the nearby cages. Most screamed for him to stop but
some cheered him on. If the Almighty wouldn’t end this, he would.
His next punch caught her upside the head, knocking her out. He let
her slide to the floor.
He
walked toward the Almighty.
“I
didn’t say stop.” Ableson’s blue eyes challenged him.
He
stared at the girl on the floor. Only in the roughest fights, those
to the end, did they hit opponents when they were down.
“Forget
it. He won’t work.” Ableson turned and headed for the door.
His
only chance was leaving. He’d be dead tomorrow if that Almighty
walked out the door. The girl’s tiny frame was about the size of
his arm. She was still breathing. “Wait.”
Ableson
walked back to the cage, a smug smile on his face. “Obey or I
leave. This is your one warning.”
He
nodded. His heart thudded as each footstep moved him closer to the
little female. The other Guards had fallen silent. He grasped her
by the back of the shirt. Her head lolled to the side, her eyes
closed. His supper churned in his stomach. He stared at the tears
on her cheeks as he punched her over and over, trying to hit
non-vital parts but it was difficult. She was tiny and his fits were
big.
“Enough,”
called the Almighty.
He
lowered her to the floor. Her breath was ragged as blood trickled
from her lips. His eyes burned, but no wetness came. He hadn’t
cried since he’d lost his mother. It didn’t do any good. He
wiped the girl’s blood on his shirt as he faced the Almighty.
Ableson
smiled at him and handed an envelope to the Servant. “I’ll take
him.”
Satcha
looked in the envelope. “Ah, the price for the girl…”
Ableson
frowned at the Servant but dug in his pocket and handed Satcha a few
more bills. The Servant stuck them in his pocket and opened the cage
door, putting a rope around Mutter’s neck. He fisted his hands,
fighting the urge to kill both of them, but he’d never make it out
of the shelter if he did that.
“Come.”
Ableson yanked on the rope.
“What
about her?” asked Satcha.
“Do
what you want with her.”
“But…you
already paid….”
“If
she lives, sell her again, or kill her. I don’t care.” Ableson
walked toward the door.
Mutter
refused to look back at the girl, the sacrifice for his freedom.
About
the Author:
L.
S. O’Dea sees things a bit differently than most people. This is
probably a bi-product of being the youngest of seven children in a
time when TV was only worth watching in the evenings or Saturday
mornings and there were no computers. Back then, kids had to amuse
themselves and being five years younger than her closest sibling she
was often the unwilling entertainment.
Since
she was so much younger than her siblings, it was only reasonable
that they knew how to do many things that she could not, such as read
and write. One day, before she started kindergarten, she really
wanted to learn how to spell her name. Her mother was busy cooking or
cleaning (she had seven children to care for), so her brothers were
instructed to help their baby sister.
After
she learned how to spell her first and middle name (Linda Sue), she
raced into the kitchen to share this new knowledge with her mother.
She was so proud, standing tall and reciting the letters of her name.
L-E-M-O-N H-E-A-D.
Her
mother was not happy with her brothers and stopped what she was doing
to teach Linda the correct way to spell her name. L. S. still
receives a box of Lemonhead candy every year for Christmas.
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