Hi everyone!  I just wanted to drop a note here to let people know that I'm while I'm not going to be using this format for my Nano novel this year, I will still be taking part in the competition.  Anyone who's interested in keeping tabs on my writing can follow me on my actual LJ (theorangemonkey ), or on twitter at www.twitter.com/theorangemonkey.  Happy novelling!

I am very pleased to announce that as of March 28, my first published novel, Synthesis, is available to the public in print form. Originally written as part of National Novel Writing Month in 2007, and serialized during the writing process on the popular blogging site livejournal.com, Synthesis is an urban fantasy novel about a young man named Isaac King who has to come to terms with the dark side of himself. The story finds itself peppered with various genres and elements, including superheroes, monkeys, pirates, and ninjas, as Isaac struggles to come to terms with his new reality.

Synthesis is available for purchase in print, as well as for free download from online retailer Lulu.com at http://stores.lulu.com/ryanharron. Both the print and electronic editions of the book are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Canada License. Readers are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work provided attribution is provided to the original author, Ryan Harron, and that any derivative work is used for non-commercial purposes. For more information about Synthesis and the author, please visit the official website for the book at http://ryanharron.googlepages.com/synthesis.

I would also like to remind everyone reading this that to keep up to date on all of my writing projects and everything, my primary blog is at http://theorangemonkey.livejournal.com. I've also created a group on facebook group for people interested in keeping up to date with my writing projects, including Haiku 365 and RH Balance. Join it at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5709228291!

Hi, I thought I would just add this note up here as a word of explanation who's coming a little late to the party.  This journal is a serialized novel called Synthesis, written by me as a part of National Novel Writing Month 2007.  As a result, it probably won't make too much sense if you read this like a normal journal, because the most recent parts of the story are at the top of the page! 
If you would like to read the story from the beginning, you can start here: http://shadownano.livejournal.com/813.html and pick it up from there.  Happy reading!

At the same time, Isaac both opened his eyes and gasped for air, startling Gen and causing her to jump back into a standing position. "Are you okay?" she asked after she did so.
"I'm going to be okay," Isaac said, rolling over onto his side and continuing to gasp for more air. "At least, I think I will be."
"Are you sure?" Gen asked, "I mean, maybe it'd be a good idea to get you to a hospital or something."
( Read more... )

"So, how have you been?" Gen nervously asked, leaning against Trevor's kitchen counter. In addition to the few words that she spoke, her body language spoke volumes, screaming out how uncomfortable she was to be left alone with him.

"I've been well," Trevor said, although his tone betrayed the confidence that he wanted to convey. "I've been spending a lot of time hanging out with Cassie lately. She's really cool."

"Oh yeah?" Gen said, not entirely convinced of Trevor's estimation of the woman. "Isaac said that they met up downtown, and that he didn't seem to think she was all that cool."

( Read more... )

"I'm here to talk to you, actually," Isaac said pointedly. "But I think it'd be best if we talked in private."

"Okay," Cassie said, "just let me throw some clothes on, okay? We can go out onto the balcony."

“So, does your message have something to do with what I'm seeing on my TV screen right now?” Gen asked as soon as Isaac answered the phone later that evening. 
“I think it probably does, if you're looking at what I think you're looking at,” Isaac admitted, reaching over And turning on the television.
The image of Cassie's ski hill filled the screen, the reporter's voice filled with a humour that contrasted sharply against the sense of dread that had filled Isaac when he had first seen it.
"So I take it the hypnosis you did with Dr. Van Dyne didn't really take, then?" Gen said dryly.

“So, are you going to tell me what that was all about, or are you just going to play coy about the whole thing?” Trevor asked Cassie in the morning, as they sat in the kitchenette and drank their morning coffee.

“What what was about?” Cassie response, as coyly as she could, a large smile working its way across her face as she spoke.

“Oh, come on, don't give me any of that,” Trevor said, staring at her intently . “You know exactly what I'm talking about.”

( Read more... )

The next morning, Isaac and Gen found themselves once again downtown, this time walking the aisles of an organic food store. "I would imagine that this would be the best place to find stuff for him," Isaac said half-heartedly as they walked through the store, looking for healthier food options for the sick little triceratops. “It's kind of weird,” Isaac said, half to Gen and half to himself, “but I'm more than willing to have myself eat nothing but ramen and grilled cheese every day, but for Trebuchet I want only the best!”.
( Read more... )

"Trust me, professor," Isaac said, "this is the one time that I think that that statement might not be the case. It's the kind of thing, though, that I'll be the first to admit sounds crazy, which is why you just need to come with me. Once you see what I'm talking about, you'll know that I'm on the up and up."

"Young man," Munroe said clearly, "I'll admit that you have me a little intrigued with your ranting, but really, I'm not going anywhere with you, so you might as well just say whatever it is you have to say."

"What if I was to tell you that, right now, I had a living triceratops in my bedroom?"

"Thanks for meeting up with me," Isaac said to Gen as they sat down in the restaurant, waiting for their pizza slices to come out of the oven.

"No problem," she said, "I don't really have anything planned tonight, and isn't this what friends are for, anyways? So, what seems to be the matter?" she asked, mockingly adopting the tone of a therapist as she did.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but ever since I went and saw that therapist, I've been feeling ... off," Isaac explained. "It's hard to really explain what it is, but it just feels like my emotions are kind of flat, if that makes any sense."

She nodded, unsure exactly of what to say in response. Luckily, the server behind the counter announced that their pizza was ready, giving her a few moments of respite.

( Read more... )

"That's absolutely amazing," Van Dyne said as he examined the robot in attentive detail. "How did you do this?"

"I'm not entirely sure of the mechanics," Isaac explained to him, "really, I Just think of it, and it appears."

"And you want to get rid of this ability?" Van Dyne asked. "Think about all of the good that you could do for humanity!"

"I don't think it would do too much good, doc. See, the things I make don't last - entropy gets a hold of them eventually, and breaks them back down to their component parts. Also, did you see that article in the paper? I don't want to be responsible for anything like that again."

They hopped over the turnstile of the subway station, and ran to the empty platform. "You're not expecting us to run down that subway tunnel, are you?" Isaac asked in a surprised voice as he saw Gen heading in that direction.

“Oh gods, no,” the girl replied. “I mean, we’d be fine for now – as soon as the TTC officials heard about your fight, I’m sure they closed the station off and evacuated it right away – the last thing that they would want would be a lawsuit coming from a giant lizard crashing through the roof of the station. But, at the same time, we don’t know when they’re going to start them back up, now that the beastie’s dead. So instead, we are going to make use of the magical world of service tunnels to get ourselves to another station without being seen.”

Gen took a step back from Isaac. The energy around him started to coalesce, and take solid form. Within a moment, Gen was amazed to find herself looking at a giant, robotic suit of armor, with Isaac encased within it.

The form was enormous, standing nearly thirty feet tall from Gen's quick estimate. It had an almost regal look to it, red and silver alloys of metal combining to mimic the rough outline of a human body, only blockier. Isaac sat seated within the head of the creation, ready to pilot its every move.

"What the hell is this?" Gen called out to him. The gleaming metal form responded by reaching down and picking Gen up, depositing her on its steel shoulders.

( Read more... )

Isaac froze momentarily in his feet, his hair starting to stand on edge as he heard another sick, sadistic sounding roar blanket the city streets.

"Uhm, okay, what the hell is that?" Gen asked as the other gathered civilians started to run.

"I have no idea," Isaac replied, although both of them knew, on some level, exactly what it was that they were looking at.

The beast leaned back on its haunches, lifting its head upp and letting out a roar that filled the sky. As it did, they were given a perfect opportunity to observe the creature in all its glory.