Why this blog stopped...

I recently started a Reading Diary, and while setting up that blog I started looking at Square Zero again. Thought I would hop over here to post something that no one will read. 

It has been many years since I have touched this blog. I still look at it from time to time, and remember all the work I put into it. I had a blast keeping Square Zero running. So, why did I stop? 

Life happened. 

I switched careers, moved to a different state, got married... the list goes on. I still had time, but I didn't have the energy to keep up with something like Square Zero.  It honestly breaks my heart that this was one of the many things that fell away as I got older. 

I think one of the other problems I had was that all the different series were getting out of hand. There was just too much for me to keep track of, and eventually everything just toppled. I think, deep down, in stopped being fun for me. I was trying to force myself to write stories that I wasn't really ready to write, or that maybe I thought would be cool, but weren't really in my wheel house as a writer. The ReBirth Cycle for sure was one of those. I had no idea where I was going with that one, and writing it was starting to be painful. 

Now, looking over these old stories, I do ask myself if I would ever give something like Square Zero (and my previous blog, Soap Sudz), a shot again. The answer is... maybe? On a smaller scale. I don't know. My brain is yearning for a creative outlet, and this blog had always been one of the best for me. I have ideas. I always have ideas. The question is, do I have the energy and the drive to try doing a serial again? 

Maybe? 

Don't get your hopes up, but... I can't say it will never happen. I want to make sure I have it in me, and don't just stop midway through like I did when this ended originally. 

The delay continues...

While I had originally planned to be up and running again, I regret to say that the delay to restart the series will continue for a little while longer. I have started a new job, and am still adjusting to the schedule. That means my brain is typically fried when I want to sit down and write.

Square Zero is not dead, but it is on hiatus for a while longer, because I don't want to just push out filler chapters for the series. I want to go back in with a solid game plan on where things are going to go. I also want to go in with an idea of where these series are going to eventually end. This is especially true of Eye See You. The series is ramping up for its big finish, and I want to make sure that it is worthwhile. I don't want a series that I have been writing for so long to finish on a whimper.

So, keep checking back for more news. Hopefully I will start getting stuff up in the coming weeks.

Slime pt. 7

“You know the way down to the bunker?” Heather glanced at Marco.

Marco nodded.

“Good, she said. Then you’ll be my guide.” She smiled, and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Are there any other guys down there? Anyone you should alert?”

He replied. “Yeah, next time we get to a communications hub I’ll try and get a hold of them.”

It was Heather’s turn to nod. Then she motioned for Marco to lead the way.

They moved quickly towards the edge of the recreational district. The path wasn’t clear, though. Several more sections of the compound had started to crumble, and there were sinkholes everywhere. It felt like the whole place was coming down around them.

“Shit,” said Marco.

“What?” Heather replied.

He glanced around, looking at the dome above them, and the nearest walls. “We need to move faster. I just thought of something.” He picked up his pace, and Heather tried to keep up.

“Mind sharing it with me?” She was starting to get short on breath.

“If the instability effects the dome we could have a breach, and then this whole area could depressurize. If that happens we’ll be sucked out into space” He broke into a quick jog. “Or we’ll just explode because of the sudden shift in pressure.”

Heather didn’t respond. Neither option sounded all that pleasurable.

They found a clear stretch of path that was a straight shot to one of the doors that could be sealed behind them. Past there and they would be into the operational district. All they needed to do was get through that doorway, seal it up, and make their way down to the central control room. They moved as fast as possible, their footfalls sounding hollow on the ground underneath their feet. Heather could hear the crack and creak as more of the recreational district fell away, and the fear alone gave her a second wind.

“Just a little further,” Marco muttered.

Then he froze, and Heather nearly ran into him. She was about to complain, but shut her mouth when she looked towards the door.

Standing in the doorway were two figures. Both of them were stock still, and just watching. Well, one was watching. The other one couldn’t physically be watching them. He lacked a head, although something bright and green glowed from the ragged stump of his neck.

Heather’s hand shot to her mouth, muffling the scream that came bursting up. It was just enough noise for the two figures to lock onto them.

“Fuck.” Marco whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Heather said.

That was when the two figures starting running towards them. 

Series Updates and The New Schedule

First, there will be no new Tentacle University 2 chapter today. There will, however, be a new episode of Slime tomorrow.

Okay, so after thinking this over I have settled on a new schedule. There are going to be a couple of big changes, and a few small ones.

The first big change is that Tentacle University 2 is being put on hiatus. The series is going alright, but I need to do some serious plotting and planning to make sure it doesn't turn into a complete disaster. So when the blog resumes in mid-July, Tentacle University 2 will not be returning with it.

With Eye See You's new arc, Mutation, the series will be moving to one day a week, with longer posts to make up for the reduced schedule. Those posts will be posted on Tuesdays.

New Pom Pom Angel will continue to post on Mondays, and will be starting a new arc when it returns with New Pom Pom Angel: Heart's Dance.

There will be no changes to Rituals, and the series will continue to post in its regular slot.

Slime will be moving to Thursday when the new schedule kicks in. When Slime ends Tentacle University 2 will resume in the Thursday slot.

So, the new schedule is as follows:

Mon-New Pom Pom Angel
Tues-Eye See You
Wed- Rituals
Thurs-Slime/Tentacle University 2 (replacing Slime when the mini-series ends)

Until July 11th everyone!

Eye See You: Mother's Day pt. 12 *End Arc*

I had somehow managed to get a call out to my son. The landline in the kitchen still worked, and I was able to dial and talk without any part of it trying to merge with me. He had picked up on the third ring.

“Mom, where are you!” He sounded panicked.

“Bea and Richard’s,” I choked out. “They’re both… they both…”

I could barely speak. The sobs threatened to overtake me again every time I opened my mouth.

“Mom?” His voice was calmer now, but no less concerned. “Mom, what happened? Why are you at Aunt Bea’s house?”

“David, I just need you to pick me up. Okay? I’ll be sitting outside. I just need… please come and get me. Okay?” I spoke quickly, knowing that if I took too long, I would break down on the phone. I couldn’t cry again. I didn’t have the energy.

He promised to be right there.

I left the kitchen and made my way to the front porch. Slowly I lowered myself onto the cement steps. I sat there, my mind feeling empty and my body feeling weak. Only one thought kept repeating in my head, over and over again.

This is just the beginning.

Was I really ready to fight this fight? Could I? I had no idea. All I knew was that I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t let what happened to Bea and Richard happen to me, or to my son.

I had to fight. 

To Be Continued in... 

Eye See You: Mutation

Rituals pt. 26

The flame didn’t dissipate. Instead, it spread, catching onto the wooden beams, and the wooden ceiling above us.

“This isn’t good.” I glanced around. The other vipers were either dead, or mostly dead. It was just me, and the burning building. “What do I do now?”

“Run,” was all Juktha said. Her voice boomed through my skull, and I instantly took off.

The basement was growing hot around me, and the fire was spreading quickly. I hoped the others hand made their way outside, because the last thing I needed was for one of them to come crashing through the already badly damaged floor.

I made it to the stairs, taking them two at a time, the fire lapping at my heels as I moved. Then I was upstairs. I turned, heading towards the front door, but found that the floor between the basement door and the front door was now engulfed in flames.

Shit, I thought to myself. What now?

“The window!” Juktha’s voice rang in my ears again.

I turned my head, and without thinking, I dove just as the rolling ball of green flame burst through the basement door and engulfed the entire room I had just been standing in.

The glass burst around me, and I could feel the heat of the explosion behind me. Then I was crashing into the ground, tucking into a roll, and praying that I didn’t break my neck. When I stopped rolling, and the world stopped spinning, I opened my eyes.

Missy, Alana and Doug were looking down at me.

They were smiling. 

Eye See You: Mother's Day pt. 11

I reached down, pulling the wire from my ankle, and with a fierce tug, yanked it from Richard’s body. It writhed and wriggled in my palm, the electricity slowly fading from it now that it was separated from its power source. I gripped harder, and in seconds it went limp.

I grabbed the tall reading lamp next to the bed and raised it over my head. Sometime in my brain had snapped, and I was running on complete fear. I raised the base of the lamp over my head, the metal of the lamp glinting in the dim light that came in through the drawn windows, and I swung.

The base of the lamp collided with Richard’s grotesque, rotting skull. The weight of the blow instantly collapsed his face, sending a cloud of rotted bone dust into the air. I swung again, the lamp slamming into his open chest cavity, crushing whatever electronics had invaded his body. I swung again and again, my mind stuck in a violent loop.

That thing, that Virus, had stolen so much from me, and I was not going to sit back and let it take my life, too. It had to pay.

When my energy finally gave out, I dropped the lamp to the floor. It hit the hard wood with a clatter. I stood over the bed, panting. My eyes took in the damage I had done. Richard looked barely human. His already rotten body had been reduced to piles of thin, leather skin, blackened blood and bone dust.

I fell to my knees and I began to cry.