[Masquerade Locked] LED-Light

[*Stephenie_Meyer]

Ladies and gentlemen: I'm proud to present the first five chapters of my new novel LED-light. Please tell me what you think: I can use feedback and good publicity, especially since they kicked me off fanfic.com.

LED-Light: an interactive novel
DRAFT

To my parents who gave me the precious gift of life.

I'm happiest when most away
I can bear my soul from its home of clay
On a windy night when the moon is bright
And the eye can wonder through worlds of light -
-Emily Brontë

CHAPTER 1: Invitation To The Dance
Luna was a shy and sweet girl, well-read and intelligent, just a tad clumsy. For the first time in her life she had been invited to a ball. She felt like Cinderella, in her unusually large dress with light make-up and her high hairstyle.

CHAPTER 2: Time
It was 7:30. Oh no, it was 8:30. Luna could remember when it was 7:30. It seemed like only an hour ago. But then it was an hour ago. She was running late! She hurried to the ball as fast as she could.

CHAPTER 3: The Ball
It wasn't long before Luna found herself at a quiet spot, chatting a little with two belles named Natasha and Stephenie. listening to the Beatles and watching the other guests. She spotted a handsome half-lion, half man. She was immediately intrigued by his beautiful eyes and his perfect abs.
"Who's that guy?"
"Oh that's Rakeesh. You wouldn't like him. He's not your type." Natasha said.
"He usually shies away from girls. Even from girls like me," said Stephenie.
"So you think I should give it a go?"
"You could always try," said Natasha.
"Oh yes!" said Stephenie. You will regret it if you don't!"

CHAPTER 4: The Approach
Backed up by the lovely Stephenie, Luna was ushered to Rakeesh. She became more and more hypnotized by his swirling eyes and deep growl. Stephenie whispered a pick-up line into her ear.
Luna mustered all her courage from her little toes and spoke to him.

"You dance so well," Luna said.
"I'm not dancing. My sweater is itchy," Rakeesh replied.

CHAPTER 5: The Dialog
Stephenie had quietly moved away. It was now up to Luna to make the next move, all by herself.
"Your manes are pretty."
"Hair gel."
"How's your book?"
"I'm not presently reading a book."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
"What's that you're holding then?"
"It's a fly swatter. I use that to swat nosy girls away."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[*Rakeesh]

Let me tell you one thing: this is much better than the other thing you wrote!

[*The Beatles]

PAUL: I thought it was marvelous!
JOHN: Much better than "Catcher in the Rye."
RINGO: I liked the part with us in.
GEORGE: It's tripe.

[*Hergard]

Du tegner lyder.

[*Stephenie_Meyer]

While I ponder what Hergard meant by "You represent sounds.", thank you Rakeesh and Beatles! I don't believe in perfection: only God is perfect. For us mortals there is always room for improvement.

I'll post the cover art soon, but for now, here's the second half of LED-light:

CHAPTER 6: Strategy
Luna gave him up for now. But Stephenie urged her to try it again, with a different battle plan.
Luna thought for ages, but she just couldn't think of a way to seduce Rakeesh. "Why, oh why am I a professional bumbling butterfingered buffoon?" she muttered to herself.

CHAPTER 7: A fresh start
After having fine-tuned her make-up in the bathroom and double-checked her hair to see it was still wrapped up neatly, Luna approached Rakeesh again.
"Nice music huh?" Luna said.
"It certainly beats listening to you." Rakeesh replied.

CHAPTER 8: The party ends
Luna waved goodbye to her new friends Stephenie and Natasha, dazed with all the impressions she had gotten that day. Exiting the building early felt like walking on a hot coal boulevard to her feet, but she couldn't face Rakeesh again just now.

CHAPTER 9: An unexpected meeting
The day after, Luna went back to school, slightly depressed. She'd missed the chance to pick up Mr Right. What a surprise it was to her when she helped herself to fried ant calves with bonsai leaf salad at the school cafeteria! Rakeesh went to the same school as she: eating the same food and no doubt having to listen to the same obnoxious teachers.

CHAPTER 10: Heart race
It came as a complete surprise when Luna noticed the perfectly tight six-pack appearing right next to her table. "May I join you?" a deep growling voice said. How could she refuse any man with those beautiful swirling eyes?

CHAPTER 11: Another dialog
"Have you been going to this school for a long time? I've never seen you here before," Luna asked.
"No, I only decided to come in today because I saw you go here."
"No way! I thought you didn't like me!"
"I do. But I thought you didn't like me."
"Oh no I like you. But why would you like me? I'm plain and a little chubby."
"I like a woman who is well read and honest. To me you're the most beautiful girl in the world."

EPILOG
And so the two became an item, cherishing each other's presence, but never giving in to anything more than a kiss until they were wed. Even groping was out of the question.
In the next book we learn everything about Rakeesh's secret life. Why can he change school in a day's time? Why is his voice so growling? Why does he always stay indoors when the sun is shining?
-*S_M, for SierraHelpForums, 2011

[*The Beatles]

PAUL: Fantastic! A wonderful conclusion!
JOHN: Might I suggest another love interest in the second book? Perhaps she has to choose between Rakeesh and a handsome British rock star?
RINGO: Perhaps one who plays drums?
GEORGE: Bollocks. She'd better be off with a vampire. Less body glitter that way.

[*Stephenie_Meyer]

Thank you very much!

Here is the cover:

[*Cookie Monster]

There are no cookies

[*Luna Lovegood]

What a wonderful story, Stephenie! I've never been in a book before! Well, minus those seven wizard books about a dorky kid named Hairy Pooter. But as the main character! Ooh I'm in LOVE! *eyeballs Rakeesh knowingly*

I can just see the sequel now! "Luna has become so overjoyed with Rakeesh that she yearns to be one of his kind, Panthera sapiens. One day while toying around with a rare Animagus potion, she managed to turn herself into a half-girl/half-lion! Rawr!"

lunalion.jpg (37.78 KiB) Viewed 4955 times

[*The Beatles]

JOHN: You'd make a wonderful "mane" character in that.
GEORGE: I'd agree, but I'd be "lion."
PAUL: "Paws" for effect... absolutely fabulous.
RINGO: All these bad puns are hurting me "pride."

[*Luna Lovegood]

[*Stephenie_Meyer]

Oh what a gorgeous outfit! I doubt my publishers would let me get away with it, but it could make a great cover!

LED-light II: Waning Moon

To my future children.

O Fortuna velut luna
statu variabilis
semper crescis aut decrescis
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem
egestatem potestatem
dissolvit ut glaciem
sors immaniset inanis
rota tu volubilis
status malus vana salus
semper dissolubilis
obumbrata et velata
michi quoque niteris
nunc per ludum dorsum nudum
fero tui sceleris
sors salutis et virtutis
michi nunc contraria
est affectus et defectus
semper in angaria
hac in hora sine mora
corde pulsum tangite
quod per sortem sternit fortem
mecum omnes plangite
-O Fortuna, Carmina Burana

CHAPTER 1 Revelation
Luna and Rakeesh had been together for just a few weeks. They very much loved each moment of each other's company. Rakeesh knew he had to open up and come out of the closet, so to speak.
-Luna my dear, I have to tell you something.
-What is it, sweetheart?
-I'm a liontaur, half man, half lion.
-WHAT???
-Didn't you know?
-How dare you keep such secrets from me?
-They're mine to keep. Besides, it's not like it doesn't show. You brush my manes every morning!
-Yes, but they sparkle so much they look like diamonds.

CHAPTER 2 Break Up
Luna stopped answering the phone and pulled out the plug. She felt miserable: somewhere deep down she still loved him, but she was so angry he didn't tell her he was a different species. What was to happen if they would start out a life together? Luna decided on that ever painful decision to move on: she would have to find someone else.

CHAPTER 3 Courting
It was the next weekend of the Oktoberfest: there would be another ball with music, laughter, good food and the lushest singles on the planet. Stephenie had dragged Luna over to make her feel better. And she surely didn't regret it! There was a lovely chamber orchestra, the bar served stork calves in a rich snail eye sauce, and she managed to snatch a dance with Cookie Monster.
But the best moment of the night was when she made eye contact with the most beautiful blond she ever set eyes on. She overheard his name: Hergard.

CHAPTER 4 The Dance
The stunning Hergard with the sweetest nose waved his hand over his head three times, and made a deep bow. Reaching for Luna's hand, it was clear he wanted to dance with her. Luna smiled, took his left hand and held up her dress with the other, while Hergard placed his other hand in the small of her back. As they moved graciously to the tune of "Pop goes the Weasel", Luna said:
-"You are the most beautiful being I've ever set eyes on. Where have you been all my life?"
-"Beklageligvis Jeg snakker ikke engelsk. Men stemmen din er som sangen til engelen babyer, svøpt i en kokong av cloud godteri."
Luna sighed. Here he was, his golden manes, no hair, curling over his exquisitely pointed ears... She drowned in his piercing blue eyes and was hoping he could swim. But conversation was going to be a right pain up the posterior.

CHAPTER 5 Full Moon Passes
Luna stared out of her bedroom window, watching the clouds move past the moon, hearing the owls say O RLY?, as she pondered her life. In her imagination she saw Rakeesh howling at the moon along with the wolves and wombats, his manes faintly glistening like starlight reflecting on a lake, his eyes like opals in a wooly casing... She erased the thought from her mind and tried to put Hergard in the same place. It didn't work. Yet.

[*Stephenie_Meyer]

CHAPTER 6: Brunch
Luna and Hergard decided to have a nice brunch picknick to celebrate the sun-filled day.
-"Du er enda penere enn været," Hergard said softly as the two feasted on salmon and peanutbutter sandwiches.
-"You have a moustache like two bluebirds," Luna said. Whether it was an adequate response or not, she didn't know.
-"Skal vi spise hval burgere av LED-lys i kveld?"
-"I feel like rusk with frankfurters," spoke Luna.
-"Øynene dine er som dolker venter på et mål..."
-"I spilled my latte today. Fortunately it didn't stain my dress: my i-Phone was in the way.

CHAPTER 7: Remorse
As Rakeesh thought back to his precious moments with Luna, he felt remorse gnawing at him like a pitbull eating grass. Days were spent crying violet tears. He couldn't comb his manes anymore because it reminded him too much of Luna. They clitted and often Rakeesh would stick his claws in and pull at them, to feel a less bitter pain than that of lost love. He couldn't live like this anymore. He decided to commit suicide by shaving off his manes.

CHAPTER 8: The Date
Hergard had asked Luna to accompany him to the third Oktoberfest ball, and Luna wanted to be as pretty as possible. She went to the seamstress to have her shoes embroidered and she went to the milliner to get a king-size train for her dress. And she went to the hairdresser to have her ears clipped.

CHAPTER 9: The Meeting
Rakeesh had told her what would happen if he'd cut off his manes. As soon as Luna saw Rakeesh, she stormed towards his chair.
-"Don't do it! I love you!" shouted Luna.
-"No you don't!" replied Rakeesh.
-"Oh it has been awfully rainy lately. Can you remember October being so dreary?" said the barber.
-"I do! I love you more than anything! Even chocolate!"
-"Even more than... Hergard?"
-"Would you like the partition in the middle, Sir?"
-"I can't bear thinking of him whenever I dream of you!"
-"Oh you're just saying that!"
-"How about those new chocolate/Twinkies donuts? I hear they taste great!"

CHAPTER 10: Action
"I can't let you do this to yourself," Luna said, and she pulled him out of his chair and dragged him away from the nauseating hairspray fumes.
-"You saved my life," Rakeesh said. "I love you!"
-"I love you more!" said Luna. The two embraced and kissed.

CHAPTER 11: Action
Since Luna didn't want to leave him alone that evening, she went to share Rakeesh's bedroom.
-"I'm not going to sleep with you. I want to stay a virgin until I'm married." said Luna.
-"What's a virgin?"

EPILOG
Luna taught Rakeesh the facts of life, and why it would be difficult for the two to start out. Rakeesh held her gently, and said: "Don't worry. There is no problem in this world that love can't cure."

-*S.M. for SierraHelpForums, 2011

[*The Beatles]

JOHN: Needs more Beatles.
RINGO: I'm not diggin' the new love interest.
PAUL: Go Team Rakeesh!