The Escape

 

She struggled to get to her feet. Her back was killing her and her knees were bleeding.

She squinted as she looked around. It was dark here, always so dark. She hadn't seen the sun in days. Everything here was so strange. She began to wonder how long she' been adrift.

She looked out over the purple sea to find that same moon that had followed her throughout the darkness.... #art #inspiration

~Kara Stefanowich

Love and War

 

He looked down at his hands. Closing his eyes tightly, he focused on the details of what he knew he had to do.

It was always a struggle. Being born into a world of war. Never having a family, never having friends, it made him crazy. What was it for if not for love or happiness?

He opened his eyes and looked through the fiery clouds beneath his feet. For peace, he thought. It was all for peace. ...

He used his sub angelic powers to see through the ash and smoke to the mortals millions of miles below.

What a waste of life. He glanced from place to place, from one end of the earth to the next. They're given everything they need to flourish and still they choose to self destruct. He clenched his fists and bowed his head in sadness....

 

~Kara Stefanowich

Forsaken

 

Even as his heart beats no more, he burns with ache of love lost. Not death nor hell can dig their claws so deep as this. His gray skin, already cold with decay is pummeled by tears from heaven. He is forsaken. He is not allowed.

The Old House

 

Blustery winds assaulted the shutters. They beat against the windows as if insisting they be let in. The glass clattering in the frame rang down the halls. The silence in between clatters sent chills through the rooms. Cobwebs floated in the air, dust stained the floors and shadows swayed on the walls, in a slow dance with darkness...

~Kara Stefanowich

The Unexpected

 

He rubbed his eyes and tried to pay attention to the road. He'd just finished another 10 hour shift and the dark, empty roads were starting to give him tunnel vision.

The rain had melted some of the snow onto the roads making them shine under the white headlights.

He squinted his eyes looking ahead. He thought....is that.... He sat forward looking hard through the windshield....

Suddenly the tires screamed as he gasped and slammed on the brakes! The car swerved, fishtailing across the yellow lines.

White knuckling the steering wheel, he nearly hyperventilated. His chest heaved quickly. His eyes were wide as dinner plates. As smoke poured from the brakes all around the car he couldn't speak, he couldn't move and he couldn't take his eyes away.

Without warning she dropped to the ground so heavily she bounced.

His heart stopped as he watched her land. His hands came off the steering wheel slowly and immediately began to tremble. He hoped they'd stop when they found the door handle but it only got worse.

She wasn't moving, but once he got out of the car he could hear something....a gurgle or whimper perhaps?

His knees could barely support his weight. He found that his hands weren't the only part of him trembling. His mouth was suddenly dry as a dead leaf hanging from a dead tree in October.

He took a step...then another. He tried desperately to get spit to form in his mouth. Should he get back in the car and drive like hell? Should he call for help? Who would believe him? They'd lock him up for hitting her!

He took another step. The moonlight glared through the midnight sky creating a dark blue hue that made shadows across the road.

She still wasn't moving. He took another step. Soon, he was several feet in front of his car. He swallowed hard and moved closer. She was facing away from him on her back. Her arms and legs outstretched and still.

He tried to crane his neck to see her face without walking around her. "Hey." He said waiting to see if she'd move. "You....you okay?" His voice trembled.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling began to shake the ground he stood on. He looked around frantically. Fog began to thicken. A sound came from the woman. He jumped and looked back at her to find her staring right back at him with the most horrified expression on her face.

A flash blinded the night and they were gone.

The car sat alone, engine running, headlights on, all alone in the dark misty night.

 

~Kara Stefanowich

About Kara Stefanowich-Freado

About Kara Stefanowich-Freado

How I prepare myself to write a book

Right now, I'm preparing to wrap myself into my latest book, TAG. It's a Suspenseful Thriller about a pair of serial killers who suddenly clash when one killer wants out of the game and his partner decides to keep him in by force.

In order to keep my mind fresh and entwined with the characters, I had to research serial killers. I've used one killer in specific to focus my psyche on, Ted Bundy. I keep a printed copy of his bio with his photo on it pinned to a cork board I have hanging in front on my laptop. Hanging next to that there is an image of a man in a snowy wooded setting. Another image of an old beaten shack in the woods in the winter also hangs on my board.

The idea is to get all kinds of photos and facts and surround myself with them while I'm writing the story. This way it gets difficult to become distracted or lose focus. I try to keep my mind sharp with the facts that I print out and hang up. I sometimes draw pictures of the way I see the characters in my mind and write brief facts about them underneath to keep me on track.

I also listen to music that strikes the mood of whatever I'm writing. If I'm working on a scary action scene, I might put in a fast paced metal CD, something to get my blood pumping. An angry song or collection of them. Thank goodness for ITunes. They make this task much easier. LOL!

If I'm writing a sexy love scene, I might listen to Paula Cole or George Michaels. Something like that.

I do my best to engulf myself in the story. And every story I write becomes more and more involved. The next one must always be better than the last one.