Jack Poignet

I had already seen your comment before it disappeared. It it was greatly appreciated ❤️

It’s of course annoying when a server glitch destroys all likes and comments up to that point (and seriously impacts the story‘s statistics. My inner scientist died more than a little… ) but it’s also interesting to see how people‘s like differ the second time around… Of the first round of likes/emojis almost half were „angry“… and now you give way more „love“ to this chapter 🤫

The great stone hall was quiet, save for the crackle of the central hearth and the almost inaudible rustle of fabric as Rafael shifted in his carved Steward’s chair. The late afternoon sun cast golden rays through the high, narrow windows, painting the walls in hues of amber and grey. Two hours. That was the estimate. Two hours until the vampires started their assault. Rafael looked toward his daughter, a rare softness in his often stern gaze. Muriel stood beside him, her posture impeccable

I‘ve just noticed that… let‘s wait a while, there is some server work going on that does not seem to be finished yet… Maybe I should start writing something nice about the witches ? 🤫 Ah, I‘ve just read the message that an older backup had to be restore, damn, that ruins my statistics and I lose the comments for chapter 20

The black oak… Amélie’s last name is Chênier, which is very close to the French word for oak, chêne. Etienne’s last name is Noir, which is French for black. And because the child will be their « Light Bringer », I’ll call him Lucien (The same one often mentioned in my story Shadow’s Reach … which was my first attempt at writing and really needs a good editing and re-drafting 🤷‍♂️)

March 22nd, 1788. Afternoon. The afternoon brought with it not peace, but fresh waves of the city’s anguish. Sounds of hammering had begun—a sporadic, desperate noise as citizens tried to tear down what they couldn’t save, salvage what they could or board up broken windows. Word filtered in with neighbors who stopped by for water or a moment’s rest, their faces etched with exhaustion. It was young Jean-Pierre, a baker’s apprentice whose own shop was now a ruin, who brought the m

Thanks. I do have plans for this one. I‘m still very new to writing, so some editing/rewriting will need to happen and then I can continue this story… Remember, whatever I publish on here is just the very first draft, as I publish chapters as soon as I have put them down. For now, I‘ll finish BigPaws first, then edit it and publish it as my first book. I find your comments highly encouraging, so thanks a lot!

Mother screamed—a raw, animal sound, ripped from the depths of her, a sound stripped of all composure, all crown, all silken deceit. Her eyes, moments before blazing with interrogative fury, flew wide with disbelief and sudden, abject terror as her own spell—twisted, empowered, and spat back by the indomitable core of Ray’s inherent nature—slammed into her with the force of a battering ram. She staggered back, her body convulsing as if struck by lightning, hands clawing at her own throat, a desp

Historic fact seems to be that Governor Miró provided fast relief by providing shelter like tents, keeping order up without draconian measures and making sure there wasn‘t any price gouging… There‘s a second fire 1794. The order to build houses with bricks and tiles on roofs seems to only come after that second fire (it‘s not easy to find facts on the internet), but I‘ll let them build the new house solidly in this story.

I'm not sure how accurate of a description of New Orleans I can give you. A lot of the plots making up today's French quarter was actually still empty in 1788. The city's population was about 5000-5500 people. There were roughly 1100 built structures, 850 of which were destroyed in the fire. In parts, New Orleans back then looked like a pastoral village, especially a bit further away from the Place des Armes (Jackson Square). I'll base my descriptions mostly on maps found in The Collins C. Diboll Vieux Carré Digital survey ( vis.hnoc.org ) and on "Barthélemy Lafon in New Orleans 1792 - 1820" by Jay D. Edwards, Ina Fandrich, Gabriele Richardson, that I found on ResearchGate.net. Of course I'll include other historic facts/persons like Governor Miró found more easily elsewhere. I just hope I get it mostly correct. Please do correct me or give me better sources. Many things you can find for example on Wikipedia about the history of New Orleans are vague at best.

March 22nd, 1788. Morning. The first light of the new day was a cruel mockery, filtering grey and thin through the single small window of the borrowed room. It illuminated motes of dust dancing in the air – dust that carried the pervasive, acrid scent of a thousand smoldering pyres. Outside, the wounded city of New Orleans coughed its grief in the distant clang of a dropped tool, a half-heard shout, the pained squealing of a burned and lost pig that had escaped its enclosure. Am

@Darryl62 Hope you’re alright. This is the part where I absolutely should not joke that Australia’s ESC entry wasn’t THAT terrible … 🤷‍♂️ Be thankful that I did not actually come through with my threat to submit an entry myself (in the end my Italian friend who was supposed to fix the lyrics let me down, saying the country where I had planned to submit my fabulous 80s Italo-Disco entry had an unbeatable winner before their national selection even started (and my friend’s part of the jury) ) Oh well, maybe next year.

As a consolation, there'll be a new chapter of Light Bringer out on Sunday. Actually there's two in the pipeline and for some reason I now can't change the publishing date of the first to a sooner date... Oh, well, that's one way to force me into a proper one week publishing rhythm.

BTW. The next chapter might actually take a whole week to write... It's Eurovision time in the civilized world again, so I'm way too busy following that. What song could possibly win this year, hmmm? Somehow I have the urgent need to learn Swedish. Bara bada bastu...bastu...

Oh no, this is the third chapter in a row that made @Philippe angry 😱 Guess I should limit the screen-time of the witches or vampires 🤔 But as this is a romcom, I‘m afraid the honeymoon phase is almost over and the tragic part is about to hit us …

Please note that the spell just backfired... now, she'll tell what she knows. (Sorry, but that really needed to be put in a different chapter because oh, the things she'll say... )

The doors to the throne room opened before they even reached them, the heavy oak groaning a reluctant welcome. Rafael sat in his chair, flanked by two guards whose stillness mirrored his own. The surrounding air felt different – taut, charged, a barely contained explosion. His gaze swept from Gabriel’s taut shoulders to Ray’s wide, uncertain eyes, then snagged on the figure cloaked in shadows standing just behind them. The Steward’s breath hitched, a sharp, audible intake. Every line of his

I suspect it‘s not the server but has something to with all the ads and possible reroutings to get localised ads… Just thought I‘d let you know. Anyway, thanks for all the good work on here. I greatly appreciate this platform 🤗

Thanks a lot for commenting 🤗

The private dining room was quiet, golden with late morning sun. The long table bore the remains of a well-meant breakfast—tea, toast, a few bruised berries, and at least one untouched boiled egg that looked like it had been judging Gabriel all morning. He sat slouched in his chair, mug in hand, staring into the middle distance like a man who had seen things. Ray lounged beside him, barefoot and smug, with jam on his toast and absolutely no shame. Muriel had taken the seat opposit

Thanks. I've added a trigger warning to this chapter. I normally don't do that, but this might still be too real for some readers.

Massive Spoiler Alert! Do not read if you don't want to know.... She is pregnant, but the child will only be born at the end of this novella. The Child is Lucien Noir (as often mentioned in my “Shadow’s Reach” story). When I initially got stuck writing “Shadow’s Reach”, I added a prologue… which turned into a full 100k+ novel about Lucien Noir, ancestor to Jacques from Shadow’s Reach. That “prologue” novel also had a prologue… which now is going to be this novella. I took great pains not to give it a prologue itself Because Light Bringer covers a whole life, the novellas are split into “Before Birth” “Childhood”, “Teenager”, and “Adult / Death”. Each should contain a different story but all are connected. Each novella works as a separate story. Especially Teenager and Adult are quite fleshed out already

March 21, 1788 "Fire! On Chartres!" They heard the cry, sharp with terror, slicing through the early afternoon air. A dense, rapidly darkening column of smoke boiled skyward, thick and ominous against the pale blue over New Orleans. Even from this distance, a low, guttural roar began to reach them, the sound of a beast awakening. "Our home!" Amélie gasped, and they broke into a desperate run, shoving through the sudden bedlam erupting in the narrow, unpaved streets. Hearts pound

New Orleans, March 1788. In the roaring fires of the burning city, a boy is conceived. A child of magic, foretold to be too un-conforming, too powerful, threatening to overthrow the balance of power. Can his parents protect the unborn while rebuilding their home from the ashes? The historic background of "Shadow's Reach", split into four Novellas. This first novella spans the time from conception to birth of Lucien Noir and the construction of Maison Noir.

The next chapter will contain a bit of history / lore. That's always tricky to write in an entertaining way. I'm also not sure yet about other visitors that I might have to cut from the story, they really don't do much yet... But I promise the next chapter will be out next week. Monday or Thursday are my most likely days for publishing.