Katy Towell's Childrin R Skary

Archive for October, 2011

Happy Halloween

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Just a little something for you on the best day of the year. Remember, the second half of 31 Days of Halloween resumes tomorrow (now that I'm finally all moved and settled)!

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31 Days will be continued!

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

I'm discovering my own limitations. This business of packing for a move, writing a second book, answering questions as to the whereabouts of Boy (it's coming! Hold your horses!), and trying to do a new installment of 31 Days of Halloween every day is proving somewhat impossible. And since there's a fixed deadline for the whole moving-to-another-part-of-town that's approaching  faster than a truck full of chickens toward two men carrying a glass pane at exactly the wrong time... I'm giving it my priority.

I will pick up Constance's misadventures on November 1st (or what I like to call Second October 1st). I will also post a little somethingsomething on Halloween (the real one). It probably won't be animated because that would take more time than I have, but there will be something.

Thanks for waiting!

A bit of Carousel for your ears

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

With my upcoming relocation, I haven't been as punctual with my 31 Days of Halloween episodes as I've been in previous years. Not to worry, though. I'm swiftly catching up! And while I do exactly that, here's a little something to occupy a few minutes of your time. Tim Jones and I have both recorded excerpts of Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow for your listening pleasure, whether you've read it yet or not. And if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?


From Chapter 1, read by me:



From Chapter 3, read by the excellent Mr. Jones:

The Truth About the Glass, Parts 14 & 15

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Just text for these while I catch up again!

Constance looked to her left. The goblins were a clever and handy bunch to have on one’s side. But if they turned on her, she’d be outnumbered. She looked to her right. The beast could be just as dangerous on his own, and maybe he really was just a monster after all. But if she kept a safe distance, she could possibly take him out before he got to her. If she couldn’t come up with a business proposition to entice him first.<br />
“All right, beasty,” she said aloud. “Prepare the guestroom. Constance is coming for dinner.” The question was… who was going to be on whose plate?Constance walked for hours, got turned around at least twice, and developed some highly unfashionable blisters on the sides of her feet, but she barely noticed. She had her loathing and vengeful spirit to fuel her. Well, she always had that, but now it had a goal. In a way, she was almost glad Agatha had tried to do her in. “You need to find purpose,” her father had told her many times in his life. Wise words, indeed. If only he were here to see them taken to heart! In fact, Constance was so focused on her purpose that she walked right through the gates of the Nameless Castle before she even realized where she was.

The Truth About the Glass, Part 13

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Constance disposed of her would-be shyster assassin through methods unfit for print and then considered her situation. So, her stepmother wanted her dead, did she? “We’ll just see about that,” Constance muttered to herself, secretly kicking herself for not doing away with the old bag first. “I was busy!” she said to whatever in the forest might be listening.  And, oh, such whatevers this forest hosted.  Constance walked a bit until she came to a very small clearing speared by two signs. One pointed to the left and said “BEWARE. THIS WAY LIES THE HUT OF THE SEVEN GOBLINS. PROCEED ONLY IF IT IS DEATH YOU SEEK! Contract mine laborers available. Inquire within.” The other sign pointed to the right. It was a bit harder to read on account of it being so old, but it seemed to say “4 miles to  --------  Castle.”  Constance had heard of the Nameless Castle in stories… a castle that once was home to a prince until the prince incurred the wrath of a witch. Some said the prince was devoured by an evil beast as punishment. Others said he became the beast. But a beast had claimed that castle, however it came to be there, and it had (so the legends said) made a wall of trespassers’ bones.  Constance thought for a moment. Anyone who knew about the seven goblins (and there weren’t many) knew they were a nasty lot who would just as soon cut your throat as look at you. But if they could be reasoned with. Bought even… might they not be useful to her? On the other hand, if the beast in the Nameless Castle really was a man, perhaps she could find a way to break his curse, and then he would be indebted to her.

And my question to you, dear readers, is which way should Constance go? Answer on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+!

The Truth About the Glass, Part 12

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Constance chose Option 3, which she had daintily hidden up her sleeve. And that was the end of that.

The Truth About the Glass, Part 11

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

But suspect is exactly what Constance did, especially once she found herself rather forcibly led not to the dry cleaners but to the dark, dark woods.   “Well, look what we have here!” she exclaimed cheerily. “What a perfect place to bury a henchbutler.”  You may have guessed, like Constance, that the butler was not a butler at all, but a hired assassin. The truth is, he wasn’t even that.  “Look, lady,” said the henchbutler, who sensed his target was onto half of his rouse but wasn’t sure which half, “I’m a business man. Some might say a cheatin’ businessman, but which would you prefer? A cheat or a killer? Your stepmother pays me to murder you and bring back your heart. You pay me not to murder you, I pick up a pig’s heart at the butcher’s, and you get lost until everything blows over.”  “And if I don’t pay you?” said Constance.  “Then I outsource the first job and we both lose. You more than me, of course,” said the henchbutler with a toothy grin.

The Truth About the Glass, Part 10

Monday, October 10th, 2011

“Oh, and Constance, darling,” she added sweetly, “I’m sending along the new butler I just hired. He’ll carry everything for you, so you needn’t suspect him of anything untoward.”

The Truth About the Glass, Part 9

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Unfortunately for Constance, her stepmother had decades on her in the Murderous Thoughts department.   “I have an errand for you,” she said one day.   “You’re always sending me on errands,” said Constance. “What am I? Your slave?”   Agatha smiled the way all wicked stepmothers smile.   “This is the last one. I promise,” she said in that sinister way that all wicked stepmothers say things.

The Truth About the Glass, Part 8

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

Constance, however, was thinking too.


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