Got this back last night and got excited and launched the pre-order for the book before posting it here, but here is the cover for Dissonance. (On the flip side, having the pre-order set means I have a very hard date I have to have the book done by since it has to be submitted several days prior ...
2023-02-22 15:59:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe next week dragged on. I was barely present at our shows on the weekend, but everyone, except Marco, understood. Monday was my emancipation hearing, and it would determine the course of the rest of my life.
Mr. Eaves didn’t seem worried when I met him at the family courthouse in Ashevi...
2023-02-22 05:21:20 +0000 UTC View PostMore days passed with no further news from either my parents or the reporter about the story on Cameron, who was on complete lockdown at home and not allowed to talk to anyone. So far, as far as I’d heard, he hadn’t been sent off to the alternative school, and was just cooling his heels. We d...
2023-02-21 18:43:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe hammer came down on Cameron just as quickly as I expected. The next day I got to school and everyone was talking about how both he and the newspaper’s editor, a senior, were expelled that morning as soon as they got to campus. The school resource officer even marched Cameron back out to his...
2023-02-20 15:27:13 +0000 UTC View PostTo my surprise, a full week passed without Dad pulling any more stunts. I had to borrow some money from Mrs. Phillips for gas, but after Chef paid us for the previous weekend and getting paid for gigs the next weekend, I had enough money that I could keep paying bills without asking Mrs. Philips ...
2023-02-18 06:26:35 +0000 UTC View PostMy first stop, once I pulled out of the bank parking lot, was to go see the band. This was going to take some time, even if Chef could pay us in cash, which meant no one was getting paid today. I also noticed my gas tank was low, which was a problem, because I had absolutely no money until I got ...
2023-02-15 17:44:26 +0000 UTC View Post“It is morning, Commander,” Sophus’s voice echoed in Ky’s mind.
Former Lieutenant Commander Ky, combat and test pilot for the first Terran Empire, opened his eyes. Sunlight was streaming in through the open window onto his face, which his enhanced eyes automatically filtere...
2023-02-11 21:13:46 +0000 UTC View PostI kept my eye on Linda, Eli, and Ronnie’s social media accounts, but nothing was posted by the time I had to go to school the next day. I know it was a little absurd to expect something overnight, but I was anxious, since I couldn’t think of anything else to do to keep us afloat until I got f...
2023-02-10 01:58:09 +0000 UTC View PostFor a couple of days, nothing happened with the emancipation and I heard nothing from Dad. If Mr. Eaves hadn’t confirmed that they had, in fact, been served, I would have started to doubt Dad even knew about it. It really wasn’t like him to sit back and let something just happen. My impulse c...
2023-02-07 03:12:13 +0000 UTC View PostAlthough there was no way Kat could have missed what was going on, what with living in the same house as me and the multiple private conversations I kept having with Mrs. Phillips, she hadn’t asked me about it yet. At first, I just wanted adult opinions and then I almost didn’t want to face w...
2023-02-03 16:43:41 +0000 UTC View PostSorry for the delay in posting. I got pretty sick this week and it slowed everything down.
After telling Mr. Eaves to file, my first step was to call Chef. He’d put this all in motion and was paying for everything, so he deserved to know.
After I explained eve...
2023-01-31 15:46:00 +0000 UTC View PostIt wasn’t our best set ever, but I got through it. The audience seemed to respond the same as always, but they were also used to us by now, so maybe that made it easier to ignore the lower energy level. Marco disappeared as soon as we finished, saying he was going to go start loading the van. I...
2023-01-26 19:11:34 +0000 UTC View PostApologies. The previous sent out version had the text from chapter 33. The post has been corrected with the actual chapter 34.
2023-01-24 01:22:26 +0000 UTC View PostApologizes, the original posted version of this was from the previous chapters. This is the corrected text.
I sat in the Phillips home, on their couch, waiting for the police. All Dad had to do was call the sheriff, and they would come pick me up. I might h...
2023-01-24 01:16:12 +0000 UTC View PostI saw Mr. Packer a couple times in the hall over the next few days, and I guess he did get the message, because the smile was gone and he was back to glowering at me. I hadn’t heard anything else from Mom, and surprisingly, nothing from Dad either. While I wasn’t exactly happy, I was willing ...
2023-01-21 05:40:29 +0000 UTC View PostWe had to beg off our Sunday show at the Blue Ridge. Even though I told him ahead of time this was a possibility, I apologized profusely to Chef. He was fine with it and Willie was good to play, but I felt bad whenever I had to miss an obligation.
We were all just too wiped out by all of th...
2023-01-18 03:28:57 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as we got in the car, Sydney and I passed out in the back seat. We’d both brought changes of clothes and changed in the school bathroom before leaving, since neither of us wanted to make the drive in what we wore to the dance.
When we finally got to my hotel, I felt kind of bad fo...
2023-01-15 03:17:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe only really big problem with Homecoming was my schedule. The dance was Friday night after the football game and I had to be in Nashville by eight in the morning Saturday to set up. We went on at ten, but the event organizers ask for music groups to be there two hours early to check in, so the...
2023-01-12 05:10:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe next Saturday morning, the sun wasn’t even up when my phone rang. I was exhausted, and almost buried my head under the pillow to ignore it, except I knew it was an important call. All week I’d been waking up at the crack of dawn to call into this or that radio station, listen to the DJs m...
2023-01-09 15:23:23 +0000 UTC View PostI started off Monday feeling at least a little less stressed. I still hadn’t talked to Mom, or even been back to the trailer, since I left to stay with the Phillips, but at least the manager stuff was cleared up. Considering everything else going on, that was probably just as important, since I...
2023-01-06 17:40:52 +0000 UTC View PostI just updated chapter 27. A pre-spell check version got loaded up accidentally. Please check patron itself for an at least somewhat corrected version. Sorry about that.
2023-01-03 04:51:22 +0000 UTC View PostSaturday my practice with Chef was moved to the early morning, before Chef needed to start getting food going for lunch. I’d tried to beg off completely, but apparently a date isn’t a good enough reason to skip training. Even though I wasn’t going to do any more competitions, both because I...
2023-01-03 02:29:06 +0000 UTC View PostWednesday, Sydney invited me to sit with them again. Her friends had started getting used to me, so the entire time wasn’t spent being grilled by them about my music and everything, which was a lot better. Mostly, I listened to them gossip about whatever was going on, who was wearing what, who ...
2022-12-31 05:27:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe show went well, although I could see Kat giving Sydney the cold shoulder every time her teammate tried to talk to her. At some point, I’d have to talk to Kat about that and figure out what was going on there, especially if things kept progressing in with Sydney in the direction I thought th...
2022-12-27 22:53:30 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Dad stormed out, Mom locked herself in their room, only mumbling sorry a few times as she left. Although the ending was different, this was how I remembered large parts of my childhood. Dad getting angry, drunk, or both, taking a few swings at one of us, and leaving for more drinking while ...
2022-12-24 16:23:56 +0000 UTC View PostWhile I had thought about her a few times, I hadn’t talked to Sydney since our impromptu lunch the previous Tuesday, which is why I was surprised when she intercepted me on the way to the lunch table Monday.
“Hey,” she said, stepping apparently out of nowhere in front of me.
“...
2022-12-20 19:00:50 +0000 UTC View PostTuesday I actually saw Coach Bryant, but thankfully I managed to get back around the corner before he saw me. It meant I had to go the long way around to get to class and I only just made it before the tardy bell, but that was preferable to dealing with him. At least Harry gave me a wide berth in...
2022-12-16 18:30:05 +0000 UTC View PostMonday, I was actually really nervous about going back to school. I had flashbacks to this day last year, where things had gone so wrong; but had led to meeting Hanna, then Chef, then everything else. In some ways, this was still going to be a first. Last year was my first day of school. This yea...
2022-12-12 23:51:31 +0000 UTC View PostI was right about the article not bringing a ton of turnout. There were a few new faces, and we were still packed both Friday and Saturday night, but there were less people than the previous weekend for our return show, which was to be expected. That had been a lot of people, friends or fans, who...
2022-12-10 05:48:48 +0000 UTC View PostThankfully, dad didn’t come back before mom got home from work that night. I didn’t know what happened to him, and honestly I didn’t really care that much.
“What were you thinking?” I said as soon as she walked through the door.
Not the best way to start this conversation, I...
2022-12-07 16:37:48 +0000 UTC View Post