Short Story 2

Daniel had been running for almost half an hour now. He knew he had lost them, but he wanted to be thorough with his escape. As he slowed down to a stop, he realised that he had no idea where he had ended up. An abandoned alleyway. Where was he? Daniel checked his digital G-Shock watch. It was six o'clock. How would he find his way home? And and even if he knew the way, how would he get back without being seen? As Daniel attempted to retrace his steps, he heard a series of soft footsteps pass him by. The immediate thought came into his head that kidnappers were closing in on him. He shook the thought off as paranioa. But something still wasn't right. Daniel continued down the dark road and saw nothing farmiliar. He was lost. In the corner of his eye he swore he saw something move. His dad had always told him to be careful around areas like this and trust your instincts. Daniel proceeded down the road quickly. He didn't care where he was going, he just wanted to get away from these kidnappers. As Daniel noticed more noises and movement getting closer, he began to panic. He managed to find an old broken chair leg next to a rubbish bin. This was all he had to defend himself with. As a man dressed in blue denom jeans, a black leather jacket and a burglar mask emerged from the shadows, he ran at Daniel. In an instinctive act, Daniel brought the chair leg down on the kidnapper's head as hard as he could. He was out cold. But when three more of them came out and went straight for Daniel, he was defenceless. He managed to hold one of them off for a few seconds but then the other two grabbed his arms. Daniel tried to kick free, but he had no chance. One of the kidnappers picked up the chair leg that Daniel had once wielded and smacked him hard across the temple. Daniel was out cold like the first criminal. As Daniel woke, he saw that he had been strapped to a large chair. He could tell that the men had done this to someone else on the same chair to judge by the bloodstains. But then he realised the bloodstains were fresh. He then also noticed the bleeding on his right arm and nose. These men had no mercy. As they began to interrogate him, Daniel didn't listen. The only thing he was focussed on was getting the hell out of there. And so far his chances of escape didn't seem very high. He had to cooperate. It was his only choice, his only chance of getting out. Or possibly his only chance of survival. He had no idea what these men would do to him if he refused they're orders.

This is a picture for a brief story I wrote from the perspective of a boy named John's sister

I can't look back on December 12th, 2003 without crying. I knew that John was hurting, but I never thought he would take his own life. It was about five o'clock in the evening. Our stepdad was drunk again. He beat John every night and mum did nothing about it. But this time, John couldn't take it anymore. He ran out the door with tears in his eyes. I followed after him. I looked for what I though was about an hour before I spotted him. In the one place he had feared his whole life. I knew he didn't see falling as something to be feared anymore. But more of an escape from the unbearable pain he was forced to endure. I ran through the bushes to stop him. Bit as I arrived, There was no longer anyone standing on the edge of the cave. I felt like going down with him, but I knew he would never have wanted to be the cause of my death. I walked home and said nothing to mum. I cried all night and sleep didn't come. Now every night I have the same dream. The dream of John emerging from that abyss and returning home. But as I awaken, the realisation strikes me, John was gone, and he wasn't coming back. It is now December 12th, 2008. The fifth year after John's death. This is the last thing I will write ever. I am going to see John.

Think About Your Reading Experiences

I generally read in bed, before I go to sleep. It helps relax me but if I am reading a book that I really enjoy and hooked on, usually when I stop reading, I will realise that I had been reading for sometimes over an hour. I am quite a fast reader when I really get into a book.
I enjoy reading a variety of authors, usually depending on the genre of books they write. I have been recommended books by teachers in the past and my parents like to see me reading. My favourite book series to date (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod) was put to my attention when I was given the first book in the series for my birthday lasy year. I have recommended books to family members and they have given positive feedback most of the time. This year I have been generally reading the author Heather Brewer (The author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod and The Slayer Chronicles) because I have been hooked on the series she writes.

What's in a title?

I think that the author made quite a good choice in creating the title. As it is similiar to the previous series and it is intreguing. The title 'The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill' if the reader has not read the previous series it would make them wonder thing like: "What is a slayer?" or "What are they a slayer of?" Elements like this is an effective way to draw the reader in and make them want to read the book and find the answers to their questions.

The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill

This is just a point about the book that I think deserves acknowledgement. The author of this book has done a very good job of explaining both sides of the story, from the characters Vlad (from The Chronicles of Vladidmir Tod) and Joss (from The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill). The original perspective was that of Vladidmit Tod's in the series which Joss appeared in from the secong book onwards, but it only gave brief detail of the story behind Joss' life. Now that 'The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill has been released it presents the story with events before 'The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod' and some of the same events occur from Joss' perspective. It also explains Joss' life and how came to be the character he is.

The 'Blurb' on the back cover

The blurb on 'The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill' is quite well done. It starts with an attention grabbing sentence: "Joss McMillan's perfect life crashes down the night he witnesses his sister's murder - at the hands of a vampire." This immediatly grabbed my attention as when I read the previous series, I always wanted to know the story behind the character Joss McMillan. Now that this series has been made, it explains everything about Joss' life that were never uncovered before. Even to someone who hasn't read the previous series, I strongly believe that very sentence has the potential to cause the reader to pick up this book and begin reading. After I had finished reading the book, I felt that the blurb did an excellent job of briefly recounting the main aspects of the story without revealing too much vital information.

The Design of the Novel's Cover

The main element of the front cover of my current novel (The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill) is that it is very similiar to the previous series (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod). The front cover of the previous series originally drew my attention and appealed to me because of how different it was to other book covers that I have seen. Its style is quite unnusual yet intreguing. One of the unnusual elements of the front cover was its colour scheme. It mainly had no colour, it is in black and white. I haven't seen many other books with this style of cover. Also, the pictures and writing on the front cover are interesting. There was a farmiliar symbol on the front cover of this book which appeared on the front covers of the previous series. Also the wy the title is displayed. It is written on the character on the front cover's shirt. Those are just some things on the front cover of 'The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill' which appealed to me.

Current Novel - The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer

The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill is a new series written by the author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. It surrounds Joss McMillan, a vampire slayer who appears in the previous series (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod) and the story is retold in his perspective. It also reveals things about Joss' life that were never told in the previous series. It has a similiar cover style to the other series and they are both very appealing. They feature the main character in no colour and usually have a phrase which draws the readers in, such as in The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill, the phrase is: 'Life is killer on the other side of the stake.' I highly recommend this book to readers who are fans of supernatural/ thriller books. So if you're interested, grab The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod or The Slayer Chronicles!