NFL Draft Prediction

So the NFL Draft is in a few days. The Texans have the first pick, and they've announced that they absolutely have decided who they'll be taking. This leaves the team with the second pick, my Rams, in an interesting position.

There's a lot of speculating going on about this pick. It's basically down to two options...Draft Johnny Manziel/Jadaveon Clowney first or trade the pick away for Johnny Manziel, if he's still around, or Blake Bortles.

Personally, I think they'll be taking Johnny first. They need a quarterback. He's homegrown. He'll sell tickets. This leaves the Rams to take Clowney and make their defensive line even more terrifying than it already is.

So...Mr. Sterling.

The owner of the Clippers is a racist bigot. I'm just going to get that out there. He won't be an owner much longer, if NBA Commish, Adam Silver, gets his way. There are a lot of people out there saying that Sterling doesn't deserve everything that he got.

Lifetime NBA ban.
$2.5 million fine.
Forced to sell his franchise.

I'm here to tell you that those people are wrong. Sterling deserves all of this and more. There is no place in basketball or any professional sport for anyone who thinks similarly to Sterling or to spout that hateful rhetoric.

Weeks Later

It's been a few weeks since I last talked about my book. And by a few weeks, I mean most of the semester. I've done a pretty poor job of keeping up on this blog. Anyway, here's the update: I hit 90,000 words today, meaning I'm nine-tenths of the way finished with the first draft.

After this draft is over, I send it off to be edited and then I take those edits and make changes. Maybe by then it'll be good enough to publish. We'll see. I've started looking through agentquery.com recently. Hopefully something will come out of this.

 Keep you fingers crossed!

Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Wow. Where to start? I've been a fan of Sanderson for a while now, so I'm going to have to put biases aside to do this review. I love his Mistborn Trilogy and Steelheart was a great read. This is a whole other beast, though.

Sanderson has said in many interviews that he considers The Stormlight Archive (The ten-book series that The Way of Kings kicks off) his magnum-opus. His great work. He's been working on this story since he was in high school.

It shows.

Again, wow. The world that he created, called Roshar, is insanely imaginative. Just think of the ocean floor, minus all of the water. Unfortunately for the inhabitants, giant Hurricanes sweep across the landscape every few days. The ways that the plants and wildlife have adapted to these storms add so much depth to the book. It's amazing.

The story follows four major characters:

1. Szeth: A magic-wielding assassin. That's about all we know about him. He hates killing, but does it anyway. I love his sections.

2. Shallan: A studious girl with a dark secret, who's out to steal from one of the most powerful women in the kingdom. She's my least favorite of the four characters. Something about her just doesn't do it for me.

3. Dalinar: An aging general who many feel is losing his mind. He really picks up in the final third of the novel. I loved him by the end.

4. Kalladin: A surgeon turned soldier turned slave turned soldier. His character arc is one of the best I've ever read. Period. Kalladin rocketed himself into the upper echelon of my favorite fantasy characters of all time.

All in all, I give the story a 9 out of 10. Seriously, this book is great. As far as I'm concerned, Shallan's arc is the only downfall to the otherwise phenomenal story. There are nine more books to be released though, so hopefully she'll grow on me in the future.

Gorilla

The name of this post is only Gorilla because that's the name of the song on my Spotify right now, and I'm too lazy to be more creative than that.

Mostly, I just wanted to talk about how my book is going. For those of you that don't know, this is a fantasy novel that I'm working on. I'm not sure what sub-genre it would be classified under. Nerdy stuff, right? Oh well, you don't have to like it. That's why I'm talking about it here. Because I do. Really, I wish there was a silly font. Because I really do care if people like it or not. I'd like to sell this thing eventually.

I have about 70,000 words written for it right now. That's just about 145 single-spaced pages in word. Size 12, Times New Roman, standard stuff. It's a lot of writing and I'm pretty proud of what I've got so far. There's a sample chapter on this blog somewhere. If you do some digging, I'm sure you can find it. You're an intelligent human being. Besides, it isn't like there's a whole bunch of posts here. What is this? Number seven? Only one of them is a chapter of a novel.

Anywho, I'm shooting for about 100,000 words before I start editing it. That's almost the exact same length as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, for reference.

I'll start posting some more samples of my writing here, as well. I'd like to get some input into what anyone who reads this might think of it. Thanks for reading this mostly pointless post!

-Chad

Part 2: Hail to the King

 A teaser for the next crossover fight will be at the end of this post.

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Loki spun his scepter idly between the fingers of his right hand. From the depths of his viewing pool, he had been watching his older brother kill the mightiest of Midgaard's defenders. The thought made him smile. Had Loki himself not done the same to Asgaard's finest? Heimdall, Sif. Odin himself. 

Odin, the Great Pretender, had given way to Loki, The All-Father.

Loki and his army of Ice Giants had taken the Asgaardians unawares. Tensions between the two realms had been high for generations, but a peace treaty had been in place to keep all-out war at bay. Loki spat on the treaty and spat on the peace talks. Now he was King. 

Thor hadn't been pleased, of course. There was little that could have been done about that. Loki had allowed him to keep his beloved hammer and, more importantly, his life and his freedom. He'd owed his brother that, at least. Of course, he'd also owed him the banishment that followed.

Thor had traveled to each of the other realms, looking to enlist help for an army to reclaim his  former home. He'd been shut down at every turn. No one wanted to help the fallen son of Asgaard. The thought made Loki smile like nothing else. Thor had even thought that the Earthlings would help him. 

When Midgaard turned him down, something in his brain broke. He turned into the same kind of conqueror that he had condemned Loki for being. 

Earth's heroes hadn't taken well to Thor's demands for subjugation. But they had underestimated his wrath. Loki had watched with morbid fascination has his brother tore through some of  the greatest powers in the universe like a scythe through corn. 

And now, this enigma...this young boy who was obviously much more than he seemed. He was giving Thor more problems than even their Superman had. 

Loki steepled his fingers in front of his chin and smirked into the viewing pool. 

"Let the games begin."

            Shazam pummeled Thor with everything that he had. Charges of electricity vibrated along his arm into his fist and he struck the invader, the murderer, in the face and chest and ribs and stomach. This monster had killed Billy Batson's friends. He had killed nearly every member of the Justice League. He had threatened the lives and freedom of billions. Shazam was all that was left between Thor and his eventual domination of Earth. He would stop at nothing to make sure that his reign would never have the chance to start. His eyes clouded over as waves of rage flowed through him, strengthening every punch.

            Then a hammer cracked along his jawline. His head punding, Shazam fell from the sky. He spun like a top, freewheeling and tumbling from their arena in the sky. He smashed into the concrete streets of Metropolis, sending dust and debris high into the air. Billy lifted his arms to the outside of the small crater that he had created and went to pull himself up. He wasn't fast enough. Thor shot from the sky, hammer first, and plowed into his midsection.

            The crater erupted, deepening even further. Pain blossomed in Shazam's chest and expanded to his entire body. Thor hit him again and again and again with his hammer. Blood streamed from his nose, his head, and his broken lips. Ribs were surely broken. Shazam lifted his right leg and kicked out at the Asgaardian, catching him in the stomach and sending him out of the crater and back onto the street.
           
            He felt gingerly at his ribs while he had at least a few seconds of respite. He could heal them, of course, by shouting the Wizard's name and becoming Billy again. His powers would be gone for precious seconds, though, if he did that. Thor would tear him apart. Maybe literally. No, The Big Red Cheese would have tough this one out. The others had done the same, it was the least he could do.

            A voice called from above, "Mortal! Do you surrender yet, mortal? You've fought well! Kneel before me now and I will let you serve me in my great cause!"

            Shazam sat up. He was too far down to see Thor and he was sure that he couldn't be seen either. He wanted to speak up, to say something witty. He didn't get the chance. The tyrant was too busy talking himself up.

            "Do you see, humans?" Shazam clenched his fists and began charging whatever electricity he could into them. "Your last hero put up an entertaining defense, but it was not enough. I have beaten them all. Your armies and your navies all belong to me now. We mill march on Asgaard and take back what is rightfully mine!"

            Shazam could hear boos and screams coming from above him. Thor wouldn't let that go on for long before he started making examples of the dissenters. Pushing the pain in his chest aside, Shazam flew into the air and did a quick turn to find Thor. The two of them were staring each other in the eyes, both floating just above the heads of the assembled crowds.

            Thor cracked a smile and spread his arms in what was obviously meant to be a welcoming gesture. "Ah, human," he said. "You've accepted my offer, then!" It wasn't a question. "Good. Now, tell these peasants that their only salvation will come from their own bent knees."

            Shazam released the pent up power in one of his fists and threw a bolt of lightning at the invader, striking him across the face. He was knocked backward, turning with the blow to avoid the full force of the attack. When his head snapped back to Shazam, his eyes were hard and cold. The cocky offers of peace were gone.

            "You will regret that, mortal."

            Thor charged at him then, raising his hammer over his head with both hands. Shazam met him halfway, with a diving kick to the midsection. The two collided with the force of a train wreck, sending shockwaves of sound and air in all directions. Thor doubled over, holding his gut, his face trying to mask the pain that his body felt. Shazam lashed out with his other hand, releasing his second lightning bolt. This one caught the Asgaardian in the chest and for a moment, he was completely illuminated. He fell to the ground this time, landing amongst the masses of people below. Some turned and ran from him. Others began kicking and punching at Thor's fallen form.

            Thor shot to his feet, knocking back everyone within arm's reach. They fell hard and didn't stand. "ENOUGH!"

            He buckled his hammer to his belt and catapulted himself at Shazam. He moved more quickly that anyone Shazam had ever seen before. Even faster than Superman. Before he could react, Thor had grabbed him by the face with one massive hand. He squeezed hard and flew, dragging Shazam through the air behind him. They hit a skyscraper quickly, with Shazam's head leading the charge. Glass, concrete, and steel shattered beneath his skull. Still gripping his head, Thor flew to the side, shattering every window pane and wall in reach with Shazam's cut and bleeding face.

            Their charge stopped inside of an office building. Shazam couldn't tell if it was occupied or not. There were too many lights flashing before his eyes and he was trying too hard to stay conscious. If he passed out now, he knew, he would die. And Thor would take over. Thor let go of him. Billy dropped to all fours, feeling less like a hero now than he ever had before. He had to get up. He had to defend the people of Earth. Superman would have wanted him to take up the mantle of Earth's defender.

            Thor kicked him in the ribs, sending him sprawling across the floor and through cubicle walls. There was no screaming. The office must have been abandoned. Shazam coughed, staining the pale carpet with blood. He moved to collect himself, to stand up.

            He was stopped by a boot to the face.

            To be continued...
______________________________________________________________

Well, there's part 2. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave comments or to read anything else that I've posted here.

As far as the teaser goes, the next crossover showdown will be....

Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there.

So I wrote this for a friend. And I don't have anything new to put up here, since I've been in the middle of packing and moving back to school over  the last few days. So I'm going to post this. Read and enjoy. Or hate it. Whatever. Just read it. :D

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            "Is she dead?"

            He nodded, water dripping from the tip of his long nose and the ends of his grey-streaked mane of hair. He didn't look sad or angry. There was no remorse. Just the hints of pooled red at his feet that marked where he'd bled her.

            "What was her name?"

            His mouth hardly moved. "Averly."

            Trent folded his arms and looked at the small body laying in the rain. She looked peaceful. Xander had done a good job. He hadn't left a mark on her. She had dark hair. The rain had made it black. Trent knelt at her side and brushed the sopping strands away from her face. Trent was jealous of the big man. He'd learned her name. Something that he hadn't been able to do.

            She was smiling.

            "You didn't know her? You two seemed so close."

            Trent frowned. Her family wouldn't see her again, neither would her friends. Selfishly, Trent realized that he would never get to speak with her again. Only once for that brief few minutes in the morning.

            Kneeling there, he looked at her more closely. Up close, she was much less perfect than she'd seemed that morning. There was no sunrise reflecting off of her hair. The rain had washed away the little makeup that she had worn. Eyeliner and mascara ran down her face and down the side of her head, leaving tear tracks on her dimpled cheeks.

            "Not really," he responded. "I saw her on the train earlier. Ran into her again here. Didn't think you'd just...you know."

            Xander nodded again. "Seemed like you knew her better than that. Thought you were working with her."

            Trent answered angrily, "Does she look like someone who I work with? Damnit, she's what? Twenty?"

            "So are you."

            "You knew what I meant. I only work with older Lookers. I don't want to her into our world. I didn't want to sacrifice someone like her."

            Xander tilted his head, confused. "Someone like her?"

            "Innocent."

            Xander nodded. He didn't look at all concerned. Then again, he'd always been too dumb to think about his actions after he'd gone through with them. Xander was a Hunter. One of the best. The best. He'd screwed up now, though.

            "You know what has to happen now, right, Xander?"

            He shook his head. Of course he didn't.

            "You killed someone without a contract on them. Someone who wasn't associated with anyone with a contract on them...someone not associated with me." The big man was nodding slowly. "You took an innocent life, Xander. You owe a guilty one."

            Comprehension dawned on his broad features. "I only know two guilty ones, though, Trent. Brad's so far away, though...can we get to him before they find me?"

            Trent shook his head and moved his long, wet hair out of his eyes. The Windy City name didn't do Chicago justice. Rainy was better. Cold. Dead. Averly was almost smiling. One corner of her lips was lifted. It looked like she was in the middle of a nice dream.

            "You killed her quickly, at least? There wasn't any pain?"

            Xander shook his head. "No, no, no pain. Stopped her heart from across the park. It was fast." He paused. "What about Brad?"

            "We can't get to Brad. He's in Europe. The other Lookers will find out about Averly in the morning. They'll have found you by noon."

            He looked distraught. "They can't find me. They'll hurt me. They'll take you back."

            Trent smiled. "They won't hurt you, buddy. But you're going to have to trade me for the girl."

            "Trade you?"

            Trent tried to keep the shake out of his voice. It was hard. "You're gonna have to kill me, big guy. I'll bring her back."

            The big man shook his head vehemently. "No, no, no I can't do that. I'm supposed to take care of you. Your dad said--"

            "I know what Dad said. This is more important."

            "But..."

            "Hey!" Trent hated raising his voice to Xander. Sometimes it was the only way to get through to him, though. "Dad left. He's gone. And if we don't do this, they're going to get you. You don't want that, do you?"

            Xander shook his head again. He would go through with it. Now Trent just had to convince himself.

            To be fair, you shouldn't even be here. Mom traded herself to bring you back from the other side. You've done some good with the extra time. The least you can do is let this innocent girl come back and be with her friends and family again.

            Besides, maybe they'll let you look in on her now and again. And on Xander. He was good at his job, sure, but somebody had to take care of the big lummox.

            He tossed his jacket off and stood up, planting his feet by the girl, Averly's, head. Trent's hands were shaking so hard that he could feel the tremble in his legs. He'd committed to this, though. Next off was his shirt. The wet fabric stuck to his pale skin, but he eventually got it pried off. His tattoos, down the back of his arms and his back, swirls and arches and symbols of black and gray, glowed faintly in the light of the crescent moon.

            Xander was ready before Trent was. His hand was outstretched, the crosshair-shaped rune on his hand staring Trent in the face. He smiled.

            "Go ahead, big guy. Make it quick."

            The crosshair touched his forehead and everything went black.

            When Trent opened his eyes, he was standing on a grassy hill, surrounded by flowers. There was a lot of green and yellow. Some whites and blues. He smiled. He'd nearly made it.

            "Where did you come from?"

            He spun behind him and saw her. Smiling, just like she had been on the train that morning. Trent shrugged. "The same place you did."

            She nodded, recollection coming over her petite features. He smiled at her.

            "You're from the train?" Trent nodded.

            "Do you know where we are?" He nodded again.

            Averly smiled again. "Good! It's nice here, but it isn't home. I can't quite...I don't know how I got here. Part of me wants to just lie here forever, but I think I would miss home, you know?"

            "Yeah," Trent said. "I know exactly what you mean. It isn't so bad here. But home is better, believe me."

            "You've been here before? Do you know how to get back home, then?"

            Trent pointed behind Averly, over her shoulder. "Just turn around and go back."

            "It's that easy?" She giggled and swiped a lock of hair behind her ear. Her black hair was reflecting the light of the sun again.

            "It's that easy."

            She smiled and waved, then turned on her heel and started walking. Trent watched her for a second, not sure what he would see when she made it. Maybe nothing. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

            "Aren't you coming?"

            "No," he said. "I think I'm going to stay for a little while."

            "Oh, ok. I guess I'll see you around then. Will you be able to make it home alone?"

            "Yeah," he said.

            "I know where I'm going."