jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
...but I just realized the combined plot of Shadow of the Red Vixen and Shadow of Her Sins is basically the same as [livejournal.com profile] haikujaguar's most excellent The Blade to Your Hand. Except I took about 90 mores pages to finish it.

Facepalm.
jeriendhal: (Red Vixen)
Just a reminder: To celebrate the release of Shadow of Her Sins, part four of the Red Vixen Adventures, the previous titles Captive of the Red Vixen and Shadow of the Red Vixen are available at Amazon.com the week of 2/14 through 2/20 for the reduced price $1.99, a 34% savings off their regular price!
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Shadow of Her Sins, the latest story in my popular Red Vixen Adventures, is now available for purchase from Amazon.com for the low price of $2.99. In addition, the previous stories in the series, Captive of the Red Vixen and Shadow of the Red Vixen will be available for the discounted price of $1.99 for one week, starting Valentine's Day, February 14th.
jeriendhal: (Wazagan)
In the process of doing a final run through on the edits, and I'm wondering if I should add chapter titles. Previously in CotRV and SoftRV I put in one word titles, usually along a theme (CotRV went through the Stage of Grief for example). This time i didn't for whatever reason, and I'm debating whether I want to or not jsut stay consistent within the series.

Suggestions would be welcome. Summary of the salient plot details per chapter....

Chapter One: Ali wakes up from bad dreams, and very unexpectantly is reunited with her brother.

Chapter Two: Ali is very upset and confused about finding a brother. Who then arrests her

Chapter Three: Salli is very upset on Ali's behalf. Ali has a tracking beacon locked on her ankle.

Chapter Four: Lady Melanie is a bit of weasel when confronted about her responsibility for getting Ali into this mess. Ali investigates the theft of a truck and figures out it was pirates. Ali and Salli hug

Chapter Five: Ali reports things to the local law office. Then her brother finally convinces her that they're actually related thanks to one of her dollies that he'd kept all these years. Salli comforts her, and they finally make love.

Chapter Six: Ali wakes up the next morning very happy. They plan the raid on the pirate encampment, for whom Ali has remarkably little sympathy for.

Chapter Seven: The raid. Things go to pieces quickly as the colony is attacked while they're away. Ali returns to find Salli has been kidnapped by Bloody Margo.

Chapter Eight: Salli's POV. She meets Bloody Margo face to face for the first time. Ali arrives and revealsher Dread Past. Margo is finally captured.

Chapter Nine: THe rest of Ali's family arrives. She goes public with her relationship with Salli.

Chapter Ten: Ali's trial.
jeriendhal: (Red Vixen)
Summary: Good sales, though not as much as December. Best of all I finally finished the draft for Shadow of Her Sins, so I now can send it off to be beta read and massaged into a readable format.

Things to Do: Still need to write up some more For Your Safety stories to create an anthology or two. Now that SoHS is done I also want to work on Legacy of the Red Vixen again, probably starting with a page one rewrite.

After, more on Dragon Mom, Happily Ever After and Space Cinderella.



Sales Report:


Captive of the Red Vixen: 4 (2 UK)

Demon Eyes: 1

For Your Safety: 10 (1 UK)

Good Landing: 23 *

I Fought the Claw & the Claw Won: 6 (1 UK)

Mimsey’s Tale: 7 (1 CA)

Prisoners of War: 4 (1 IT)

Shadow of the Red Vixen: 3 (1 UK)

Teal's Bargain: 1

The Dragon's Companion: 5

Unexpected Diversions: 1


Total Paid Sales: 42
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
“Like I told you before, everything will be fine,” Lady Melanie told Ali and Salli, as their luggage was carried aboard the freighter. “Rolas and I will keep an eye on things here for you, while you travel back to Foxen Prime to get your eye replaced. After everything you've both been through I'd hope you would want to take time to relax.”

Ali shouldered her carryall, watching with a smile on her face as Lady Melanie talked to them A week after her trial had concluded, they were finally ready to head back to the homeworld, Salli to get her cybernetic eye replaced, and Ali to meet the rest of her family, which to her surprise she found herself looking forward to. Aunt Razi and the rest of the family horde hadn't seemed to care about her crimes when they had been revealed, being more concerned with her avoiding prison, when they weren't berating poor Lu for getting her arrested in the first place.

Salli, now wearing a sporty eye patch over her empty socket, shook her head. “I fully intend to relax, once I've got binocular vision again. I just don't want you changing anything. The colony's development plan was very carefully thought out, thank you, by the best consultants I could hire.”

“You know perfectly well that if I tried, Rolas would start glowering at me. I'll respect your planning,” Lady Melanie said with a laugh. “Where do you think you'll go once you get your eye fixed?” a few days at my parent's home. As our domain's countess, I'm going ask her to marry Ali and I.”

Lady Melanie beamed, and she hugged them both. “Oh, that's wonderful! I'll get started planning the wedding for you when you return with the Countess.”

“That won't be necessary. We're going to do it right at home, in a little civil ceremony.”

Lady Melanie's jaw dropped open. “You can't do that!”

Salli's eyebrow arched. “Oh, why not?”

“It's a wedding. You should do it properly! With a dress, and a party, and a ceremony... and... and... you can't do while I'm, I mean Rolas, is stuck here!”

“I already had one fancy wedding, that was enough,” Salli said firmly. “I'll send you a vid.”

“What about you, Ali?” she demanded.

“I'm fine with it,” Ali said, her smile widening into a grin. “I'm not big on frills.”

“But!”

Goodbye, Melanie,” Salli said. They both gave Lady Melanie a wave as the freighter's cargo doors shut, cutting off further protests.

Ali shook her head, as they turned and headed up the gangway to the passenger quarters. “That was cruel, Salli.”

“She'll get over it. Besides, I actually do want to have a bit of ceremony when we return, it'll help to mark the opening of Greenholme to permanent colonists.”

“Oh, good idea!” Ali paused, thinking. “Um, when were you planning to tell her that?”

“After we arrive at Foxen Prime. Until then, she can just stew.”

They reached their quarters, and Ali pulled out her hand scanner, going over the walls, bunks and dresser to ascertain there were no bugs or bombs.

“You don't have to do that. I might have tweaked Melanie's tail a bit, but I doubt she'll sabotage our quarters,” Salli told her.

Ali snapped her scanner shut. “My job.” She rose on her tip toes to kiss Salli's nose. “I'll always watch over you.”

“I know.” Salli's expression darkened slightly. “You're all right with marrying me, aren't you?”

Ali cocked her head, wondering where this was going. “Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?”

Salli rubbed her nose nervously. “I don't want you to feel like I'm tying you down. It's bad enough that you're joined to the hip with me anyway with that damnable sentence.”

“I'm all right with it,” Ali reassured her.

“I'm not. Perhaps in a year or two when things have had a chance to calm down, we can bring the matter to court again, and see if we can have it rescinded due on good behavior.”

“Maybe.” Ali took her gently by the shoulders and sat her on the bed. “Look, I love you. I want to marry you, okay?”

“All right, I'm sorry.” Salli lay back on her bunk, looking up at the ceiling. “So what do you do on a freighter with no real passenger amenities for a week anyway?”

Ali unbuckled her gun belt and set it on the table, and then began undoing the buttons of her waistcoat, her smile returning. “Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something.”
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Note: Finally. Just need to write a short epilogue and I think I'll have this finished by the end of the weekend.

* * *

The signal from Stellar Justice cut off, the judges disappeared, and suddenly the courtroom was buzzing as Aunt Razi and the rest of Ali's family let out loud whoops of joy, and Lady Melanie collapsed into her husband's arms sobbing. Leaving Ali to be hugged hard by Salli as she stood stunned.

“Wait, what just happened?” Ali demanded, regaining her voice. “Did I just get sentenced to do what I would have been doing anyway if they'd let me go free?”

“I believe so, yes,” Salli said, laughing and crying at the same time. “Clever of them, don't you think?”

They had help coming up with the idea. )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
The morning dawn was bright, the sky clear and promising.

Ali's stomach felt like lead.

She could feel the eyes of her family, of Lady Melanie, of the colonists whom she'd come to know, all staring at her as they shuffled into the courtroom. All of her secrets were out now. How many of them hated her, or worse, pitied her, instead of her victims?

The screen came to life, and the judges appeared. At the bailiffs call the room rose in respect, then sat again. The Chief Justice's eyes fell up Ali, and she felt as if they were boring into her soul. If there was any clue as to her fate within them she could not see.

The Chief Justice cleared his throat and asked formally, “Before we pass sentence upon you, Alinadar Blacksailor, do you have any final statement you wish to make to the court?”

“Yes, Honored Justice,” Ali replied. She spared one glance at Salli, stealing a last squeeze of her paw, before standing. “In some cultures I'm told, the surviving family members of a murder victim are permitted to make statements to the court, to let the judges know exactly what was taken from them, what hurt they have in their heart. I'm enough of a coward to be grateful that is not the case in Stellar Court. Not that they don't deserve a voice, to speak for their dead, but because...” Ali faltered, then continued. “If I had to see them, to listen to them, they would have been denied their right to see justice done. Because I would have been cowardly enough to take my own life, rather than having names, and stories, and lives attached to my victims.

“If any of those survivors are listening, watching today, all I can say is that I'm sorry. I know that isn't enough, that isn't going to bring back your lost ones. But that's all I can do now. That and accept the judgment that I am given. I won't ask for forgiveness though, because I know I don't deserve any.” Ali lowered her head briefly, pulling in a deep breath to compose herself. “All right, I'm ready.”

The Judgement )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Note: Short bit today. A horrible part of me wants to end the story here and make readers wait until Legacy to see how the trial worked out...

* * *

Ali found it hard to get to sleep the night before her sentencing. She and Salli had made love again, and for a time she'd distracted herself guiding Salli into taking the lead. The subsequent waves of pleasure were bittersweet, with them both knowing it could be the last time. Late in the night, as she lay curled against her beloved, Ali rubbed nervously at the rough fur around her neck, wishing for a comforting weight that wasn't there.

“Ali,” Salli murmured into the nape of her neck, “you need to sleep, or you'll be an utter wreck in the morning. Do you need one of my pills?”

“No,” Ali answered. “I just... it's stupid, sorry.”

“If it's bothering you, it's not stupid,” Salli said, rising up onto one elbow. “What do you need?”

Ali sighed. “I wore the Red Vixen's collar for so long, I'm used to the weight. Sometimes the feel of it helped me sleep at night, when the nightmares came.”

Salli was quiet for a moment, long enough for Ali to worry she'd offended her in some way. Finally the noblevixen said resignedly, “Remind me to add insomnia to the list of sins I'm building against my sister-in-law.” The she slid out of bed, padding over the dresser and a slightly charred jewelry box that had been rescued from the fire at the Governor's Mansion. From it she drew out a heavy silver choker, which she gave to Ali. “Will this help, you think?”

“Yes, thank you.” Ali set the clasp behind her neck, feeling the comforting weight around her throat. They snuggled together again, Salli spooning behind her, the noblevixen's arms wrapping around her waist.

As she drifted into slumber, she heard Salli murmur in her sleep, “No chains.”

* * *

To Be Concluded (really this time)
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Meanwhile the evaluator's goal, as they explained to Ali, was to see if it could be proven that she was not in a sensible state of mind at the time she committed her crimes. Which meant she had to answer a lot of questions, for hours on end.

“I know what I did. Why do I have to keep explaining it to him?” Ali had demanded to Salli.

“Are his questions upsetting you?” she asked.

“Yes. No. I mean, it's not the questions themselves. I know what I did, and that it was wrong. It's just...”

“What?”

“I hate the damned look on his face. Like I was a victim, not the people I hurt!”

“Ali...” The look on Salli's own face seemed to indicate she wanted to say more, but instead she merely gathered Ali up in her arms and held her tight.

The Trial )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Second pass with clean inks. I love the look on Lu's face and his uniform design.

jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Courtesy of Naziha Zahed as usual. She's having a bit of trouble with Lu's posing there, but expcts to have it firmed up next go round.

jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Notes: This post was supposed to be the final entry in Ali's story, but it's going on longer than I'd anticipated. Aunt Razi and Co. are refusing to stay in the background.

Next time: The Trial

Things got better for a time, before they got worse. )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Notes: I'm not entirely happy with this scene. It took several days to write and is extremely disjointed, dealing with too many plot points and not enough emotional reaction. But it is what it is, at least until I can look at it more closely and revise it into something better.

* * *

After calling up a pair of ground vans to carry Aunt Razi and company to the medical center, Ali went with Lady Melanie and Lord Rolas the housing unit. They found Salli sitting back in a padded recliner in the living room, her eye socket cleaned and covered in gauze, and arguing with Lu.

“The colony is in crisis,” she told him sharply, as Ali and the others entered. “You cannot expect me to just sit here while my people need me!”

Lu ran his paw over his head fur. “Look, you just got out of the medical center and you're half-stoned on painkillers. You need to lie back and rest. Ali is taking care of everything.”

“Ali needs me as well, especially now. She's already stressed out enough thanks to you.”

Lord Rolas coughed to announce them, then said, “She seems to be doing all right so far, all things considered.”

Salli broke off from her argument, looking up at them in surprise. “Rolas, Melanie, what are you doing here?”

Making an offer Ali easily refuses )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
The Final Chapter is being dragged out a bit longer than I'd anticipated, mostly because I'd realized that Ali's remaining family would charge over to the colony to see her, once they realized she was alive. Apparently energy and enthusiasm runs in the genes. I think I may end up having the majority of them be involved in public safety somehow, like Lu and Aunt Razi, which Pirate Ali would find disconcerting. Not to mention having a gaggle of nieces and nephews who think Ali the Pirate is a really neat idea, and how in the Mother's Name is she going to correct that notion without crushing them? I think she'll settle for telling some (highly edited) stories from her time with the Red Vixen, with a addendum that if they ever think turning pirate is a good idea, she'll sic Uncle Lu on them.

Also a handmade card is going reduce her to tears. :)
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
Ali held on tight to Salli's paw when the medics finally arrived, easing the noblevixen onto a back board and setting a cervical collar around her neck when she described being kicked in the chest and knocked over by Lady Margo. It turned out that had left her with a hairline crack in her breastbone and a mild concussion, and medics treated her very carefully after that, mindful of post-stunner complications. Her brother and the Marine lieutenant were both for taking Salli up into orbit to be treated in the destroyer's sickbay, but the noblevixen was having none of that, especially after bullying a headcount of the colony's casualties out of them. Eighteen colonists had died, most of them caught in the crossfire in the defense of the Governor's Mansion, with two score more suffering injuries of various severity.

Family Matters )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
“Told me what?” Salli demanded.

“I did tell you, but you didn't think too hard about what it meant, milady,” Ali said. “You remember how I told you because I was small, I was sent through the ducts on ships we attacked ,to find all the secret, hidden spaces?”

“I remember.” Salli's voice was hoarse now from acid and dread.

“Clan ships, the freighters manned by families, have always had a very secure place in the center. It's where they kept their most valuable, most vulnerable things.”

Ali's Confession )
jeriendhal: (Alinadar)
There was a chime at Margo's belt, and she pulled out her com, snapping, “Lady Margo!” She listened for a moment then replied, “Very well. Make sure the perimeter is secure. I don't want any surprises sneaking up on us.” She let up her foot from Salli's chest, grabbing the metal chair and hauling it back upright. “You're lucky, looks like my ride is here.”

Salli heard the whine of thrusters as what sounded like a ship landed right outside in the central courtyard. There was a long silence, and the door at the front of the hall opened, admitting a small foxen figure, Ali.

Ali's Betrayal )

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