Yes I am still writing!

So I know I have been promising that I would get this darn second book finished but its been tough. I'm not going to whine or make excuses, it's just not finished yet. But I will give you a little something just to let you know that yes I am still writing!

This is part of the first chapter and Yes Ashia is still alive. I know some of you were worried that I killed her off but she is alive and well, full of secrets in fine dragon style. This is her attempt to reconnect with Ililsaya's aka Karah"s brother...yes I said brother.

“Come out mother, I know you are there.”

My voice bounced and grated of the rocks and I watched in silence as a dragon emerged from behind an edifice of rocks. She was small compared to most dragons but what she lacked in size she made up for in power, at least that is before she became mortal. Her golden, bronze and red scales where muted in the deep of night but I knew that when the light graced her body she was as beautiful as the dawn.
   She kept her head high as she approached me, with her twin platinum horns twisting together, pointing to the sky. They matched my horns but that was where the resemblance stopped. Ashia came to stand beside me and together we stared back out across the sea. When she chose to speak, it was mentally.
“Hello Ashny, it has been a long time”
 I kept my contempt in check as I tried to decide what she wanted. I faced my birth mother and stared into her eyes.
“Yes I suppose it has. Please don’t pretend that you care with your feeble mortal emotions. Say what you came to say and leave me be.”
Ashias golden eyes flared with magic but in the end, all she did was drop her head in shame. The display of mortal emotion was sickening and I was already losing interest in this reunion. Ashias voice once again invaded my mind.
“I know what I have done, you can never forgive me for, but that is not why I chose to find you. I can help you.”
 I snorted blowing steam into the chilly night air. My voice carried through the night and I didn’t care who heard me.
“Help me? How?  Last I checked it was you that needed help! You chose a mortal soul over your own flesh and blood. You abandoned me to the wrath of my father and let him take away what was most precious to all dragons…my magic! Now after all these centuries you want to help me? Why should I trust you or even care what you have to say?”
I managed to leap out of the way as my mother came at me teeth and claws flashing in the moonlight. I pulled my lips back in a snarl and prepared for the attack but it never came. Ashia regained her composure and I was disappointed to see her bury her natural dragon emotions. For a moment, I almost believed she was my mother again.
“What I did, I did to protect Ililsaya. You know this, and you also know that it was not my choice to loose everything that I was, including my memories of you. You may never understand but I’m not here to reopen old wounds. I have discovered something that you may be interested in.”
I faced my mother with hatred in my amber eyes.
“And what is that my dear mother?”
“I have found your magic essence…and I believe I know how to get it back.”

I'm going home

     For those of you who don't know me I was born and raised in a small town called Uxbridge. I grew up on a hobby farm with my parents and grandparents and of course my horses. It was awesome. Then I grew up met my wonderful husband and started a new life. I moved away from Uxbridge when I was 21 which was 17 years ago. At first it wasn't so bad. Ajax was a town really not much bigger than Uxbridge but it soon exploded with growth and now is a very heavily populated area. We used to have green space near us but now all you can see are houses and lately it has been weighing on me.
     Not too long ago my grandfather approached us and asked if we wanted to buy the farm where I grew up. He is 82 and he just wants to travel and he can't take care of the place the way it should be. Immediately I wanted to shout yes...OMG yes! but there was so much to consider. I was going to have to leave a home that had been mine for most of my adult life. I know it sounds like a no brainer but I suffer from anxiety and a change like that is very hard to swallow, almost impossible actually. I stayed awake at night thinking of the worse possible scenarios because hey that's just what I do. What if we couldn't afford it? What if Hannah hates her new school? What if I can't find a job? What if my husband ends up hating it there? And the list went on.
     Finally I sat down and just started looking through some old pictures and I saw what I needed to see. Horses. Unless you grew up with these wonderful creatures you really won't understand. Being around them gives me a sense a peace that I never knew I needed until I moved away from them. And that is what finally put doubts at bay. Yes I'm going to miss this house like crazy but home is where your heart is and mine is on that farm. So this summer we are heading to Uxbridge and I'm moving back to my family home where I grew up. I'm scared but also very happy. Its going to be a lot of work but in the end I can say that this is mine and my soul can breath in what its been craving for a long time.
     Well I guess it's back to work! We have a lot to do around here to get this house ready to sell and Easter is this weekend too. It will be our last big family get together here and I know I'm going to cry. But Thanksgiving is next and nothing compares to a beautiful fall day on the farm with friends and family!
Cheers
    

An open window

This is an image of one of my beautiful horses. If you look closely you can see the sky and trees! It was taken by a friend of mine and it inspired me to write. Horses have been a passion of mine since I was a child and I wish everyone respected them as much as I do. Enjoy!

An Open Window

 

When you look into my eyes tell me, what do you see?

Do you see what is only on the surface, or can you see deeper?

Can you see the sky and the clouds?

Can you see the trees?

I was born under that sky, like so many of us before me.

We once ran wild and free, until one day we became a part of you.

Do you see our history, do you see our paths?

We are courageous and brave, so we came when you asked.

We eased your burdens, and became your friends and yes sometimes your slaves.

We helped fight in your wars, costing many lives.

My heart breaks at what we lost on both our sides.

We were there when you rebuilt, and when you chose to leave.

We travelled with you across great seas to lands we had never seen.

We started over and helped you shape that too.

We pulled your buggies and carts, sped to doctors when your children were sick,

worked your fields even when you were too tired and needed to sit.

Many years passed and what we did seemed to fade,

our ultimate price seemed to have been paid.

We got to rest and some of us were forgotten,

we didn't understand but we knew you would return.

When you did, it was mostly for fun,

we were glad our fighting days were done.

I wish I could tell you how I feel, and show you what I have seen.

I wish you knew what flows through our souls.

Horses and humans have been together for a long time,

We began this journey together and that will be how it ends.

I am happy I am yours but understand you are mine as well.

We all chose to be with you, if your hearts are true.

So tell me is that what you see when you look into my eyes?

I know that it is, otherwise I wouldn't be here,

and you would just be looking out an open window.

 

 

 Cindy Lyle



The end.... just for a little while!

Hey everyone! I first of all wanted to thank everyone who voted for me during the public voting stage of the RONE awards. I didn't make it to the final round but it was still pretty awesome to be nominated! Thank you so much for your support, I wouldn't have made it this far without you! So with that being said I hope I don't disappoint some of you with what I am about to write.

I have been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching and I 've come to the conclusion that I'm going to take a break from the novel world for a little while. Please understand that I'm not quitting or giving up because I have worked too hard for that! I just have other things happening that I want to focus on more. I'm currently about 3/4 finished with the second book of the Creation chronicle but you will have to wait a little longer than I planned to read it. I know for some of you its been a long time coming but circumstances and just life in general are getting in my way. I'm finding it's causing me quite a bit of stress and it's time for me to walk away for a little while.

So I will make you all a promise. I am going to finish this series and I am going to publish it, its just going to take longer than I wanted. I'm not going to give you date because I honestly don't know, but it will get done, I promise! I wish you all luck with your current and future works in progress! Believe in yourself, work hard and stay positive. Have an amazing summer and I'll talk to you soon.

Cheers

The Dragon Within is nominated for a RONE Award!!!!

Hi!! Look what The Dragon Within got! I'm so excited. Public voting for my category starts April 14th to the 20th at InD'Tale magazine. At the end of the six weeks, the books with the highest number of votes will become finalists and proceed to the professional judging round which will determine the RONÉ Award winner of “Best Indie or Small Published book of 2013.”  The awards will be presented at the gala RONÉ awards ceremony and event July 11th at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.  in conjunction with the huge RNConvention. 
http://indtale.com/2014-rone-awards-week-six this is the link you can follow to cast your vote.

(The voting can also be found under the “Fun Stuff” tab on the homepage of the InD’tale website.)

 

I will post reminders closer to the date and I hope you will take the time and vote for me!

Talk to you all soon!!!

 

Cheers!

Happy Valentines Day and other news

Hey Everyone! I hope your day is going fantastic! If you celebrate Valentines day I hope you are spending time with the ones you love. You should be doing that everyday anyway but today for some reason gets special attention. I really love the idea of this day but I wish that everyone would devote more days to love and peace than just once a year. Love is one of the most important emotions we have and we don't nurture nearly enough.

Anyway on to other news! I will be part of daughters school Literacy night this coming Feb. 20TH, which is my b-day! I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm also nervous. This will be my first public speaking event as an author and it's giving me nightmares. If any of you are in the neighbourhood here is the link for the invite http://whoozin.com/W67-96W-XAPX . I would love to see you there.

Also this month I'm featured on Fantascize.com. Here are the links for my interview and their FB page.  http://bit.ly/1ehmioN https://www.facebook.com/fantasyscifi . I would love for you to check it out and give it share!

Finally I'm almost done the second instalment of The Creation Chronicles. I know it's taken me a long time and I'm sorry but republishing The Dragon Within took up a lot of my time. So don't worry I promise The Dragon Calls should be in your hands sometime in the summer.

So I guess that's it, short and sweet! Please stay tuned for more updates and enjoy this wonderful day filled with love and life. Enjoy it and never take it for granted.

Cheers!

Christmas, my favorite time of year!

Sorry for the silence lately, but I really suck at blogging! I think its mostly because I don't think anyone will find what I have to say is interesting and the fact that I don't want to bombard you with annoying promotion for my book.(The Creation Chronicles book one The Dragon Within) Hahaha.
So what better thing to talk about than my favorite holiday, Christmas!
     No matter what religion you are or what you believe, this time of year holds magic for everyone. It's a time of year when people give more freely, enjoy the wonder they see in their children's eyes, and experience the love that we all have in our hearts. I know this holiday season causes a lot of stress for people. The fear of not providing a happy Christmas for their families can be very overshadowing. But I think that if we all learned that age old saying that "its better to give than to receive" perhaps we would all be a little less worried. Sometimes the simplest of gestures is enough to make someone's Christmas magical.
     I remember when I was a kid my most fond and vivid memory had nothing to do with gifts, it was putting up the tree. My parents had these scented ornaments that had a unique smell that I loved. I can't remember what it was called but as soon as I smelled it I knew it was Christmas. I loved throwing that cheap tinsel all over the tree until it looked like a shaggy silver dog, and I remember when my mom made us pick it all back off to save it for next year! I remember all the times my bother and I would wake up insanely early and snuck out to get our stockings. We would always sit in my room or his and excitedly go through what Santa brought. When we were down we would quietly hang them back up and try and go back to sleep, but we never could quite fit everything back in the way it was, so we almost always got caught! You know I honestly don't remember any specific gift that I got a Christmas. All the things I do remember are the times I spent with my family. It's not what material thing you receive at Christmas that's important, it's the gift that someone gives your heart that you should cherish and hold on to.
    Now I know that when I was a kid hearing all of this would have went right over my head because lets face it when you are a kid life lessons don't apply to you yet. It is getting harder and harder these days to try and teach our children these things. There are so many distractions like, cell phones, tablets, video games, and computers. Our kids are always looking for the next best thing and we give it to them. I think we forget to stop and take a breath and realize that we are forgetting to teach our kids about what's most important about this time of year and that is to give. Not just the gift of toys or money, but the gift of love and perhaps even just their time. I know that spending time with my daughter is a priceless gift and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
     This Christmas while you are worrying about what to get everyone stop and listen to your heart. Your brain gets assaulted everyday and frankly needs a break sometimes. Do what your heart tells you and chances are the gift you give will be the best one of all.
Merry Christmas!!!