Image by Dot Myl – Google Plus
Hello dear friends and imaginative travelers!
We regret to have left you at the Tree alone for such an extended period of time. We thought of you often, and despite our best efforts to return, the Door to the Tree eluded us, busy as we were fighting monsters in our path.
But if you’re here, if you’re listening… we’re knocking.
We’re writing.
Where will 2018 lead us?
Come along. Let’s find out.
A little science fiction, in honor of Mr. Bradbury passing away earlier this month.
I miss color.
That’s the one thought going through my head as I scan item after item for customer after customer. It’s been a busy shift, what with the holiday and all. Everyone in the whole colony seems excited except for me.
I miss color.
It had seemed so cool when the opportunity first came up. I mean c’mon, I was eight. Who didn’t want to live on the moon? It had seemed like the best birthday present ever. We would be the very first, and Dad was going to develop moon-growing vegetables and Mom was going to design a drill to well deep into the surface to harvest moon ice.
Plus there was a rocket ship ride. Complete with a whole hour of anti-gravity free time. That feeling of floating, of not being weighed down by yourself or towards anything else, was the most amazing thing in the world.
I even got to wear a spacesuit. Had to, in order to get from the ship into the airlock. Fifteen minutes to put on a suit I got to wear for about two and a half. That was pretty cool, too.
Our first year was in tents, as the building happened. They’d built the entire Air-and-Grav dome around absolutely nothing to begin with, because it cost less to have people work after the dome was built, than outfit a bunch of people in suits for long periods of time. It seemed like camping. Which is fun for about two weeks. But then you kind of miss running water and warmth. The AG dome is protected from the harsh heat in the sun and cold in the shadow times, but the temperature is always either chilly or hot. And really, there wasn’t much here but rocks and dirt at first, so exploring wasn’t as exciting as it sounded.
The tales that say he was a man turned beast are wrong.
There were never any claws or fangs. He’d never howled into the night or wrought fear upon men through feral yellow eyes.
His true nature was much more difficult to discern beneath layers of expensive, well-fitted clothing and years of practiced charm. One could easily fall victim to the seductive grin and fine cheek bones. His milky skin, smooth and velvety soft.
He never wore gloves. When he danced, the young women swooned. It was the thrill of feeling the heat of his hands upon their waists. The small, addictive taste of the forbidden. Continue reading
It’s impossible to run in glass slippers.
I don’t mean difficult—I mean flat-on-your-face impossible. In fact, flat on my face is exactly how I ended up when I attempted it. One heel dislodged, my toe was still trapped, and there I was, sprawled on the marble steps, the bounty of layers from my dress thankfully breaking my fall.
The palace guards were on me in the blink of an eye. Surely someone trying so hard to get away had a nefarious reason for it, and they wanted to stop it.
That was how it happened that after an hour and a half of dancing with me—and by dancing I mean all but carrying me as he twirled; it’s impossible to dance in glass slippers also—the prince abruptly met my true self, strong-armed by two men the size of trees.
Inspired by characters from the Guardian series by Isabelle Santiago. She didn’t ask me to write this, but I felt like it was appropriate to end her debut week!
She can’t remember a time when he didn’t fascinate her.
Fire.
And he was as fickle and biting as his element. Warm and sweet at times—especially when she had something he wanted—but cruel and careless at others.
She can’t remember a time when he wasn’t in love with someone else, either.
She can remember a time when it didn’t matter, though. When they all belonged to each other—a tiny family, all growing side by side. He loved her sister, but it didn’t matter, because she would always have both of them.
Until she couldn’t.
Surprise! Bet you weren’t expecting to see me yet again this week. While my other creative half Lisa is enjoying the breath-taking Rocky Mountains, I figured I’d fill in with something a little different. I don’t claim to be a poet, but sometimes, there’s something to be said that cannot quite be said within the structure of a story.
Either way, we love that you come to visit us here at Tales From the Hollow Tree, and we hope you continue to swing by. We really love the company. ❤
And now for your regularly scheduled programming…
Annie woke up feeling tired, like she’d thrashed around a lot in her sleep. Not tired enough to notice she wasn’t in her room, though. She jumped up, heart pounding, almost slipping on satiny sheets. She was in a small, lush room, all embroidered brocade and rich cloth in carefully-coordinated earth tones. Her favorite colors. There was even a small china plate of chocolate chip cookies on a tiny nightstand that was built into the wall. They smelled like they were freshly baked. She herself was in a silky negligee, but it went down to her feet, very classy-like.
She didn’t understand. She didn’t know how she’d come here. But if she’d been kidnapped or something, this was somebody really sick—who treated their hostages like royalty? She tried to remember what she’d been doing last, or at least what she’d been thinking before she’d fallen asleep, but her mind was a blank. She had an impression that she’d been with Derek—that she’d been breathing in his cologne and the smell of the ocean as he’d kissed her neck—but as she ran a hand over the same spot, the certainty skipped away, out of her grasp.
This is a short I wrote for a bloghop last Valentine’s Day. The prompt was “love at first sight.” This is just a photo, a moment.
It was a hot day for February. A Saturday, too. A million people or more littered the beaches of Southern California, which was usually enough reason for me to stay away—I liked my beaches better quiet, something akin to private. It was the first day in months that my friends Wes, Ky and I all had off work the same weekend, too, so we did the same as everyone else, and took advantage of the heatwave. We were seventeen and after graduation we’d all split ways, it seemed natural to hang out as much as we could.
The funny thing is, at first I didn’t even see her. There was a whole gaggle of girls playing volleyball, a couple of whom I’d seen before from school. I noticed because Katie Huxley was there. I’d always had a thing for Katie. We sort of grew up together, and she was nice. She reached “out of my league” status around freshman year though, and I’d always been content to admire from afar.
The three of us were walking down to the water, but we slowed to watch the game a bit. We weren’t the only ones—it’s not everyday you see the volley nets used at all, much less by a group of teenage girls. Katie was serving the ball, and it went high over the net. Some girl on the other side lobbed it back, and it went out of bounds—knocking the girl on my left right into me.
Okay, things have gotten a little hectic here with Isabelle back at her day job and me getting ready for a big move, and we’re a couple of days late, but anyhow, it’s here!
You can now buy your very own digital edition of Tales From the Hollow Tree, Volume One: Stories of Enchantment and Desolation, a collection of ten Hollow Tree Tales. Eight have been previously published on this blog, and two are brand new and exclusive to this collection, beautifully formatted just for you, and a steal at only 99¢!
There are THREE WAYS for you to purchase this collection:
1) For your Kindle from Amazon.
2) For your Nook from Barnes & Noble.
3) Here as a PDF from (or in our sidebar).
The last is my personal recommendation, just because the .pdf version is just so beautiful. If you’re a fan of the extra touches available on a .pdf, ours certainly won’t disappoint you. Then again, I guess you could buy all three… I certainly wouldn’t mind! 😉
And now for what you’re really interested in. To celebrate our release, we’re going to have a week long blog hop giving away our ebook, and there may be some other prizes available here and there, too!
FIRSTLY – we’ll be giving out one copy of the .pdf version of Volume One. Leave a comment on this post and tell us which Hollow Tree Tale you’ve enjoyed the most so far. OR, if you’re new to the Hollow Tree, tell us the name of your favorite short story. Don’t forget to leave your email or a way to contact you, also!
SECONDLY – There will be a GRAND PRIZE (which is going to be a secret, but it will involve Hollow Tree Swag!) here on this blog next Friday, but we’re going to put you to work a little bit. In order to win the Grand Prize, you’ll have to collect a keyword from each of the blogs participating in the Blog Hop. If you collect all SEVEN keywords, then you’ll be entered to win the Grand Prize. The keywords will also be clues as to which stories are in the collection.
Sounds fun, huh? We’ll start you off easy, though, and give you the very first keyword here:
COYOTE
Check back here tomorrow to see where to go to find another chance at winning a .pdf, and for your second keyword for the Grand Prize! In the meanwhile, add Tales From the Hollow Tree to your Goodreads list!
*Originally posted here.
I snap my suitcase shut. It’s a classy vintage number—maybe I should have thought about how much space it’d take up in my dorm room when I saw it at the thrift shop, but I couldn’t help myself. It was so pretty.
I couldn’t be more excited about getting out of this town. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad town. It’s just suffocatingly small. And the only person who made living here worth it left three years ago. Not that Kyle Landry ever really saw me that way, anyhow. I got into a good college on the coast and other than holidays, I’ll never have to look back.
A knock comes at the door and my mom pokes her head in. “Just about ready? It’s a long drive, you know.”
An unexpected tear pricks my eyes, but it’s gone in a second. It’s just because Mom is trying so hard to be strong. If she was really so nonchalant, I would be too.
“Yeah, I know. I’ll be there in a sec.”
Most of the car is packed. Pillows, comforter, a box of books and another of knickknacks I didn’t think I could live without. The truth is, I’m not taking too much. This is little girl stuff, a lot of it. Time for something new. A whole new life, far away from here. Then again, my best friend Sheila is coming with me, so that takes up some space.
I lug my suitcase downstairs, and there’s a knock at the front door. Has to be Sheila.
I flick my messy strands of hair out of my face and throw the door open—and Kyle Landry is standing there, his eyes lighting up until he sees my suitcase. My suitcase drops. So does my heart.
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Forgive me for cheating this week, I’m getting ready for a move, and for our big Tales From the Hollow Tree Release Giveaway. Make sure you’re following us on Twitter and Facebook so you have all the latest news from the Hollow Tree!
**Image credit to vintageleathersuitcase.com
Isabelle
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Lisa Asanuma
Tales From The Hollow Tree 