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 |  Each snowflake, like each human being is unique. |
Editor's Picks 1. BaltSea 2. The Dragons of Light 3. Fairy Princess Celine and the Dragon 4. Honor among thieves 5. When Ends Meet 6. 7. 8. Science Fiction Short Story Contest 9. FSF Newsletter Heading 1 A Change of Season Heading 2 Equinoxes and solstices Hook Do you use the plot of the seasons in your stories? About This Newsletter The seasons pass in swift succession Spring gives in to summer, Summer acquiesces to autumn, Autumn submits to winter, Winter yields to spring, And the circle of the year is renewed. Letter From the Editor How do you use the seasons, and the change from one season to another, to enhance the plots of your stories? Each season, like plot of each story, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When we write or read a story, we notice its beginning, middle, and end. Not so with the seasons. We notice the beginning and the ending of a season, usually because of the end of one season is the beginning of the next. Spring begins on the vernal equinox, which occurs when the sun is shining straight down on the equator. When the equinoxes--vernal or autumnal--occur the day and the night are approximately of equal length. The vernal equinox is also the end of winter, just as the autumnal equinox is the end of summer. There is no pause, paragraph break, or chapter break between the seasons. The moment one season ends the next season begins. The solstices are the days when either the most or least sunlight reaches the lands not along the equator. Solstices comes from two Latin words, one means sun and the other means stands still. When the solstices occur the sun appears to stand still. These days are also the longest (summer solstice) and shortest (winter solstice) days of the year. Because the equinoxes and solstices are part of the natural cycle, many ancient societies and civilizations celebrated them as part of their religious services. The equinoxes and solstices were symbols for birth, death, and rebirth. As fantasy writers, we can use these days to enhance a plot or show a character's belief system. Have you used an equinox or a solstice in a story? If so, please submit it in the section at the bottom of this newsletter. Do you have anything to add to what I have said about the equinoxes or solstices? Please let me know. Editors Picks
Excerpt: I used my hand to keep the yellow fisherman hat on my head as I ran from the houses mudroom to my backyard workstation. Meredith's ornamental bushes, heavy with rain, brushed against my clothes, splattering water everywhere. The gathering darkness of twilight hid this week's graffiti on the door.
Excerpt: The Dragons of the Light have long existed. With the Sidhe*, we protected the Green Islands. The goddess Danu willed it so, dragons and fairies using their magic in concert.
Excerpt: Fairy Princess Celine loved living at Unicorn Island. There were always berries and plenty of food to eat. Fairies didn't require much food. Celine got a big surprise when she saw a giant egg lying in the forest. WHAT WAS THIS? She touched the big egg and it moved. She jumped back and laughed. It must be a dragon inside. She wondered why the egg wasn't in the cave above the cliff. Dragons didn't socialize with the fairies She decided to play in the waterfalls and ride the unicorns. Celine was just a kid herself. The other fairies and her didn't socialize. Celine was originally born in Ireland but she had been caught out in a bad storm and had ended up at Unicorn Island in England. Princess Fadera had welcomed her with open wings{instead of arms} and Celine loved how life was always perfect at the island. Fadera had made Celine a Princess Fairy and they ruled the small island together. They ruled over other fairies and unicorns. They were protected from the rest of the world. There was no evil here.
Excerpt: First mate Karney ran through the upper decks of the The Spiteful, away from the command deck. The hull breach alarms punched his ears, the low-oxygen sensors blinked white and blue, the ship’s AI repeated the Emergency Level 3 protocol in a loop. The dead, dying, and fearful were everywhere.
Excerpt: Herrick dozed in the cockpit of his Hawk. Words echoed into his mind, he couldn't be sure if he was still dreaming. He opened an eye. The dim white light of the distant star Megrez glared ahead through the window. He tried to shake off his drowsiness. I need to sleep, the scarred old pirate thought. Group, Activities, and Contests
Feedback "Fantasy Newsletter (February 20, 2019)"  Gentle Giantess's Rule  writes: Boy you guys have some crazy ideas. I love it.Paul  writes: A goldfish is a carp and they just never stop growing. I’ve seen carp over 7 feet long in 2 different places, one a reservoir in Pennsylvania and others in the deeper pool right below a dam in Oklahoma. I fished that pool and caught one 52 inches long which I released. They’re not good eating. They were not gold in color though, kind of a muddy grey. I’ve watched noodlers in Oklahoma pull 3 to 5 foot long ones from a mud bank. Noodlers are those really crazy turkeys who snorkel along mud banks until they find a hole then reach in with their hand and snatch out the fish. They truly are crazy. dragonwoman  writes: Thanks for including my UFO flash in this newsletter. |
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