79904
That’s the current word count.
At 185 pages it’s starting to get a little long in the tooth. At the same time, I decided I wanted to do this one right. Besides, the editing process will whittle some of it down.
In the meantime, I currently don’t see much which can be done without, but we’re finally coming to the end.
Here’s a chapter from the third and final part.
First, more about the series and this book.
Series Summary
The Blended Lives Chronicles is a speculative fantasy series that blends interplanetary politics, magick, prophecy, and resistance against oppression. At its heart is Lady Laya MoonWalker, a High Priestess, author, and advocate whose life’s work is dedicated to dismantling systems that divide beings by race, creed, ability, or perceived purity.
BOOK ONE: SIDES OF THE ORDER
*Description*
The cover is a deep, candy apple red, with the title, The Blended Lives Chronicles: Sides of the Order at the top in white text. At the bottom is the author’s name, Patty L. Fletcher, also typed in white. Above the author’s name and below the title of the book is a white skeleton key, taking up about 3/4 of the cover space.
In Book I, Sides of the Order, Laya, who lives and works on Planet Korponious, travels to Casimia as a respected journalist and spiritual leader, newly aligned with the Blended Lives Federation. What begins as a professional opportunity quickly becomes personal and perilous when she reunites with Derrick Gibbous, a member of the Order of the Night. As old bonds rekindle, hidden loyalties surface, and a violent conflict erupts between forces seeking unity and those driven by segregation and dark magick. Love, trust, and survival collide as Laya and Derrick commit themselves to a cause greater than either of them.
BOOK II A BATTLE OF CHOICES:
Words for Alt Text:
Book 2 square photo – A blood red background with white font. The title, The Blended Lives Chronicles sits on the top in smaller font. A Battle of Choices is in the center, with larger font, displaying this as the main focus. Patty L Fletcher is on the bottom right hand corner in medium font. The logo sits on the center.
The logo is a white skeleton key with its top key ring angled to the right and the bottom angled to the left. The key sits inside the space of a crescent moon, also in white, but with a thin black border. The crescent moon opening is angled down to the bottom right.
Book II, A Battle of Choices, deepens the conflict as prophecy comes into play. Laya must learn to wield her magick in unfamiliar and increasingly dangerous ways while facing enemies determined to “purify” the universe of those they deem unworthy. As the stakes rise, both Laya and Derrick are forced to confront moral dilemmas that test their beliefs, their love, and the cost of resistance.
The image shows a white, ornate vintage key positioned diagonally against a dark red background. Behind the key, there are two circles: one deep red, partially transparent and overlapping with a larger, lighter pink circle. The overall style is minimalist, with the key centralized and standing out due to its bright color contrasted against the solid, rich background and the softer circles behind it. The image evokes a sense of mystery or a symbolic theme.
In Book III, Chambers Between the Minds, the war of the Purified is fully underway. With Derrick forced into hiding and Laya nearing the birth of prophesied twins said to possess unprecedented power, the Order faces its most dangerous turning point yet. The story moves beyond the physical realm into the chambers between minds—a place where past, present, and future converge, and where outcomes are tested, rejected, and reshaped. Survival depends not only on strength, but on the willingness to confront truth, memory, and destiny itself.
Together, the series explores themes of unity versus division, the ethics of power, love forged under fire, and the necessity of choice in the face of authoritarian control.
From book II The Blended Lives Chronicles A Lady MoonWalker Series Chambers Between the Minds book Three The Final Showdown
`Part One – Negative V Positive
Chapter One: Lily Laughs a Lot Builds a Funhouse
Their decisions finally made, Lily was glad to be out of the Listening Circle for a while. Rather than tell the story under the influence of the Room of Illusion, they’d decided to live it out. Teresa had told the story with perfection. They’d been shown their position. Doubles and all. Now, each would make their own decisions about certain things when the time came.
For Lily, building a funhouse for the Summer Solstice was a wonderful thing to be doing, no matter the cause. Anything that might help deflect the negativity and darkness when the total eclipse filled the sky would be much needed, and laughter was something she knew how to create.
Standing at the front of the planning room, Lily cleared her throat.
“I’m very happy to have you all here as part of the building project for the Lily Laughs a Lot First Annual Funhouse. This funhouse will be designed with laughter in mind. Though everything looks lovely right now, we all know about the problems taking place around the Planetary Federation, and shelter from the darkness that could soon cover us all is paramount to our survival.
“My son Jerod and I have drawn up the plans. Each of you is responsible for putting together a section. When each section is ready, we’ll connect them. We must not dillydally. We have little time before this will be needed. You all have your work schedules, and as much as I hate to say it, anyone caught not performing up to task will be sent for punishment. We are at war, everyone, and what we’re doing here is serious business.”
Clapping her hands, she demanded in a cheer filled voice which rang throughout the hall, “Now! Get to work.”
The room exploded into motion.
Fairies darted away in sparkling clouds, their wings humming as they began creating enormous bouncy houses. With waves of their hands, shimmering walls puffed into being, followed by glittering tunnels that twisted, dipped, and curled beneath glowing arches. Inside the tunnels, laughing fireflies dashed and darted in every direction, blinking gold and silver as pixies raced after them, shrieking with delight while they tested every turn.
Nearby, teams of elves went to work building slides that curved, looped, and dropped into enormous padded pits. Others constructed monkey bars of every shape and size, some stretching high overhead and others winding close to the ground. Elves scrambled across them as they worked, calling instructions and laughing whenever one lost a grip and landed with a harmless bounce below.
Farther across the room, the clowns had taken charge of the mazes.
Bright walls rose beneath their hands, twisting and turning into passageways made for chasing, hiding, doubling back, and getting wonderfully lost. Some paths ended in secret doors. Others opened into rooms filled with mirrors, silly sounds, unexpected bursts of bubbles, or floors that wiggled beneath the feet.
And at the end of every challenge waited a prize.
There were baskets of sweets, sparkling toys, ribbons, bells, tiny enchanted creatures, and mysterious wrapped packages that giggled when shaken.
Lily stood listening to the hammering, squealing, bouncing, buzzing, and laughter filling the room.
Yes.
These were prizes sure to make even the grumpiest soul smile.
And when the darkness came, they were going to need every smile they could get.
Leaving everyone to their work, Lily began making her way through the growing funhouse.
She moved slowly, trailing her fingers along walls and railings, listening to the hammering, laughter, fluttering wings, and shouted instructions around her.
At the entrance to one of the glittering tunnels, she stopped.
Reaching into a pocket, Lily drew out the plans she and Jerod had made. She ran her fingertips over the raised markings until she found the one she wanted, then reached for the tunnel wall.
Her palm settled against it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a faint pulse of power stirred beneath her hand.
Lily tilted her head.
There it was.
Another pulse answered hers, faint and distant, but unmistakable.
She smiled.
With a small movement of her fingers, Lily set the portal into place and moved on.
At the bottom of a twisting slide, she checked the plans again, found the proper marking, and rested her fingertips against the railing.
A pulse met her touch.
This time Lily laughed softly.
“Right where you’re supposed to be.”
Behind her, an elf came sailing down the slide and landed with a tremendous bounce.
“Again!” he shouted.
Lily laughed and continued on.
She wandered through the clowns’ twisting mazes, ducked beneath monkey bars, and bounced her way across one particularly tricksy stretch of floor.
Here and there, she stopped.
Checked the plans.
Found the place.
Touched it.
Waited.
Each time, somewhere beyond the noise and laughter of the funhouse, magick from another space in time answered hers.
And each time, Lily quietly set another portal into place before moving on to see what wonderful Joyful Journeys her crew had created next.
When she’d finished her tour of the funhouse and was assured that all was as it should be, Lily made her way back into her inner office, checked the wards on the circle and settling onto the large glittering globe she began her daily journal entry. Not only did Lily need to chronicle everything which had taken place over the last 48-hours to keep Randall, Frank, Marcus, Laya, Terrance, Wolverine, and Teresa in the loop. She also must chronicle for herself how all which had taken place affected her.
Lily knew she must practice her own teachings. After all, these teachings had mostly always been around. They’d only gotten lost underneath all the noise. It was her job to make certain they were revealed and placed into the brightest of light. Never to be darkened again. A big task to be sure, but one she tackled with great excitement and joy.
“It is an honor my granddaughter to be gifted with these gifts. You will one day be a brightly shining fairy with much to offer these worlds in which we live.”
Even after all these years, the voice of her grandmother made Lily shiver with joy. She would complete her task and she with Laya, Wolverine and Teresa set their part of the worlds back to right. The men had their tasks and she must not interfere. But as she sprinkled a gentle helping of glittering fairy dust over the pictures of Randall, Marcus, Frank and Terrance she also knew giving a generous helping of light and love was in order, rules or not.
As the glittery sparks of light found their marks, a soft sweet laughter ringing with silvery bells passed Lily’s lips.
“Go in peace, light and love.”
Rising from her work, Lily stretched, made one last flight around the room, and then in a flurry of golden light shifted for home.
Chapter Two: Mysterious Mazes and Haunted Hideaways
While Lily Laughs a Lot and her crew built the Solstice funhouse on the Casimia Heights fairway, Billy Ray put his head together with Miss Maisie and the kids to finish the mysterious mazes and haunted hideaways for Samhain.
They wanted a ghoulish, grim, giggling-gross, scary-screaming good time for everyone who dared enter. But beneath all the tricks, treats, shrieks, and laughter lay a much more serious purpose. Every portal hidden within the attractions had to work without fail when the time came to engage the two worlds.
Billy Ray put two fingers to his lips and gave a piercing whistle.
Plans were handed out, children scattered, and the place exploded into a fury of activity.
Hammers banged. Saws rasped. Boards crashed into place.
At one end of the grounds, a group of children dragged crooked wooden walls together, creating narrow passages that twisted, doubled back, and ended in unexpected dead ends. Others stretched thick ropes of fake cobweb from wall to wall, tangling rubber spiders, dangling bones, and blinking red eyes among the sticky strands.
Near the entrance to one haunted hideaway, Miss Maisie stood directing a pair of cackling witches as they hung a hideous corpse upside down over the doorway.
“More to the left,” she called.
The corpse swung around and smacked one of the witches in the face.
She shrieked.
The children howled with laughter.
“Perfect,” Miss Maisie declared. “This is exactly what is needed for this town to heal. Laughter in the face of horror.
Farther along, lids began banging open and shut on coffins while skeletons popped upright, clattering their jaws and waving bony hands at anyone passing too close.
From somewhere inside one unfinished maze came a tremendous roar, followed by a child screaming, “It ate my arm!”
Another voice yelled, “Give it back!”
A moment later, both dissolved into helpless giggles.
Billy Ray shook his head and kept walking. He had to work hard at pushing thoughts of Laya from his mind. She would’ve enjoyed this haunted house filled with witchy tricksy treats as much as he and these kids.
Cauldrons bubbled with foul-smelling green goo. Severed hands crawled across tables. Ghosts moaned from behind hidden walls while goblins crouched beneath trapdoors, waiting to grab unsuspecting ankles.
Somewhere ahead, something wet SPLAT!
“Gross!” someone screamed.
“Do it again!”
Billy Ray grinned.
Ghoulish and grim, giggling and gross.
Exactly as Samhain ought to be.
But as he moved deeper into the maze, running his fingers along the rough wooden walls, his smile faded.
Hidden among the monsters, coffins, ghosts, and tricks were the portals.
Those were no game.
At each one, Billy Ray stopped. He checked its position against the plans, placed his hand against the concealed opening, and felt for the faint pulse of power beneath his palm.
One.
Then another.
And another.
Behind him, Miss Maisie called for more cobwebs while the children shrieked and laughed, building their haunted world.
Billy Ray closed his eyes and concentrated.
When the time came, these passages would have to do much more than frighten people.
They would have to open.
And they would have to lead exactly where they were supposed to go. If even one of these should fail to open properly, or Goddess forbid open at the wrong time, worlds could collide in a bad way. Billy Ray was slowly coming to grips with the powers he held within. They’d been awakening at an alarming rate. Maisey and Mother Crone said he had no choice but to allow them to come forth else he could indeed be lost to the madness of powers not realized. He’d seen what that could do and didn’t want to repeat his family’s past and so it was with an excited mix of elation and trepidation that Billy Ray continued forward on his now chosen path.
To be continued.
Make sure to pick up the first two books in this series.
About the author
Patty L. Fletcher is a self-published author whose work blends speculative fantasy, magickal realism, and social commentary. Through The Blended Lives Chronicles, she explores themes of inclusion, disability awareness, spiritual power, and resistance to systems built on exclusion and fear. Her storytelling centers complex characters navigating love, prophecy, and moral choice within richly imagined worlds.
Fletcher is committed to accessible storytelling and inclusive narratives, both on and off the page. She is the creator of The Blended Lives Chronicles universe and continues to expand the series while engaging readers through independent publishing platforms including Amazon and Smashwords found at the links below.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Patty-L.-Fletcher/author/B00Q9I7RWG?
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/PattyFletcher
Also find her blogging along with fellow bloggers and friends at:
Social Media:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8431191.Patricia_L_Fletcher
Admittedly not on Goodreads enough.