The Envoy

I have a terrible knack for starting new projects when old ones aren't finished yet. "Manor" is still in the reworking stage. Personally, it takes a lot of momentum to go back to a finished story and rework the ending. It requires me to submerge myself in the particular characters and discover an alternate path of resistance for the story to take. It's harder than it sounds, I think. Meanwhile, I'm working on another project, "The Envoy."

"Envoy" is based upon a Warren Zevon song of the same title. It's a sci-fi set in the distant future. Earth and her settled colonies have been at peace with the only other species to have yet been encountered, the Diadem. Our POV character, Owens, is an ambassador to the Diadem that promises on behalf of Earth to destroy a creature that terrorizes the Diadem homeworld. When the creature, that the Diadem only refer to as "the dragon," proves to be as indestructible as those creatures of legend, Owens finds herself sent to the Diadem homeworld accompanied by the President's personal errand boy, the Envoy. Enjoy the first half page:

“You want us to slay a dragon?”
The Diadem Ambassador nodded his head solemnly.
Michelle Owens sat back in her chair and drummed her fingers slowly on the armrest, studying the quadruped ambassador for any sign of humor. After finding none, she answered carefully.
“I assume that you are unable to slay the beast yourself?” After waiting for the translator to finish the sentence, the Diadem nodded again.
“The creature I speak of is a plague to our entire home planet,” he said in his own language. He twitched a leg, as if not pleased about revealing a national weakness. “For seventy years we have traded with the human. In our understanding, the human has benefited much more for the relationship. We ask this one thing of you and your people.”
“It’s true that you have paid us generously for our help,” Owens said, “but don’t forget that your entire civilization has advanced an entire millennia into the space age in under fifty years because of my government. Our relationship has been mutually beneficial.”
The Ambassador bowed his head. “Of course, your ladyship.” Owens felt a flare of annoyance at the archaic title.
“Why, in seventy years, have you not mentioned this ‘dragon,’ before?”
“Because we were ashamed,” he said. “We did not think that the human would trade with a nation that could not protect itself against one animal.”
“So this is why we haven’t been allowed near your planet since we gave you subspace technology?” Owens mused aloud.
“Yes.”
“You know we almost went to war over that?”
“Yes, your ladyship.” The Diadem bobbed his sleek, feline head twice. “It was a great matter of debate for us. But now, with the technology to explore among the stars, we are at even more risk from the dragon. It can enter and leave the atmosphere at will and stay in space for long periods of time. It destroys nearly every one of our satellites and attacks trade ships and transports. Not a single one of our weapons can harm it.”

The Manor at Scharling Lew

"Manor" is my current project. It is the short story I wrote at OSC's boot camp. I hope to have it done by this weekend and submitted to a magazine by Monday. This is the comment I recieved from OSC on the manuscript: "Ending sucks, but great story." I've scrapped the last two thousand words or so and am rewriting the ending to include everything I left out due to time contraints at the boot camp. I'm also following the advice of OSC and many of the bootcampers to include Rachel in the climactic scene.

"Manor" is alternate history fantasy set in Victorian England. In this alternate world, England has been invaded by the French just after the Franco-Prussian War which the French had won. It is told from the point of view of Camdyn Lewis about his adventure with Sawyer Hughes after being asked to investigate an ancient manor to find out if its magic can be used to fight the French. Here is the first half page:




“Beastly war,” Sawyer said, tossing down his newspaper with a snort.
“Beastly because good young Englishmen are dying on our own soil?” I asked, “or because you never get to see your wife?”
“The latter, to be sure,” my friend said. I set down my own paper and leaned back. I could tell Sawyer was readying for a good complain.
“Why they ever let women into politics is beyond me,” he said. “It’s not right, leaving a gentleman without his wife for weeks on end. And when I do see her, all she wants to talk about is this law and that ordinance.” He shook his head. “It’s even worse with the war. Bloody horrible, I say. I come home to a cold supper and a cold bed. Poor Rachel is cooped up with her nannies and never gets to see her mother.”
“Tragic,” I said dramatically. Sawyer continued, unabashed.
“No, I don’t like this business at all.” He seemed to be looking at something over my head. “And imagine if they win. That won’t go over well in London at all.”
I cocked my eyebrow at Sawyer. “Don’t you think the war is a bit more serious than an inconvenience to your home life?” In the twelve years we had been friends, I had never known him to have more than a passing interest in the reality of world-altering events.
He adopted a self-mocking air. “I’m convinced that the French invaded for the singular reason of annoying me.”
“You’re entirely too aware of your own ego,” I told him.
Sawyer cut off his reply to take a letter from the café waiter. He gave it a quick look and rolled his eyes.
“The missus?” I asked. He nodded.
“My dear,” he read aloud, “I have heard you speak of the manors built long ago with the old magic. One of these is located at Scharling Lew, a weak spot in our lines of defense. It has come to my attention that you are a descendent of the lords of this manor. Queen Victoria has personally requested that you retire to Scharling Lew and discover whether the old magic is potent enough to hold against the French lines. Signed Mistress of Sorcery, Katelin Hughes. P.S.” Sawyer continued. “Problems have arisen which will keep me in London for at least another four weeks. Enjoy Scharling Lew and give my love to Rachel.”

The Ballad of Hero Kyros

"Hero Kyros" is my first completed story (that I'll admit to). Set between the third and fourth crudades, it is a work of alternate history fantasy told from the point of view of a boy who has suddenly found himself in the apprenticeship of a Greek Hero who has come to the Holy Land to find his brother. "Hero Kyros" is currently being judged by the Writers of the Future contest and I will hear back about it sometime in the next 6-8 weeks. Here are the opening paragraphs:

I was only a boy of ten when we lost Jerusalem to the Muslims in July of the year of our Lord 1187. I remember, because it was said that many great Heroes died at the hands of the infidel, including my father’s elder brother. To add to my father’s hardships it was proclaimed that smithies in Cyprus must outfit crusaders and Heroes for one fourth their usual fees.
Hero Kyros came to our small smithy when I was not yet fifteen. The riots could be heard a mile away and were said to be claiming Jew and Latin Christian alike.
His manner was quiet and thoughtful, very unlike the Heroes we were used to fitting for new armor or weapons before sending them off to a Hero’s death in the sands of the Holy Land. They proclaimed their lineage loudly and claimed that they would slay a thousand infidels. Kyros simply asked how the winter had been.

I will keep a constant update here of the stories I am currently working on and the stories that have been sent out to a publisher or contest or have been scrapped for the time being. I always need wise readers and appreciate the input on my stories from anyone who is willing to give them a read through or an edit. You are welcome to email me at Brian@e-mcclellan.com to request a copy. Remember that once a story has been published, the number of electronic copies I send out will be limited to close friends and family members.

Introduction

Welcome to brianmcclellan.blogspot.com. I am a writer of fantasy and science fiction. As of this moment, I don't have a single thing published. That will soon change.

I hope that you'll follow me through the my failures and triumphs as I take the genre publishing world by storm. It will be a bumpy ride. Four days ago I finished the Literary Boot Camp with prominant sci-fi and fantasy writer Orson Scott Card. It was an amazing experience where I met fascinating people and learned a great many things. I look forward to building upon it. In addition to the bootcamp, I have taken two semester-long courses from Brandon Sanderson, the author of Elantris and the newly released Mystborn. My freshman year of college, I was lucky enough to take a semester of creative writing from Margaret Blair Young, a writer of contemporary fiction.

The purposes of this blog are many. It is so that my friends and family and anyone else curious enough to ask can follow my writing career as it progresses. It is so that I have a way to document my progression for my own purposes. And most importantly, it is another impetus to keep me buckled down and writing.

Thank you for visiting and I hope that you will return frequently,

Brian McClellan