8,193 words
I’ve tossed out the original idea for Cured and am starting fresh. I mentioned earlier that we have more vampires, more stakings and yes, maybe a love story this time around. After the challenge of writing Only Superstition, I’m back on the vampires again. I posted a snippet at the Camp NaNoWriMo page.
I sat on the sofa amidst the ashes when her bodyguards returned with a rail thin dark haired boy wearing a dark robe. His hair was a mess of curls and he looked like he had been drinking heavily. They shoved him away and looked around for the woman,
“Where is she?”
“She’s here…well actually she’s everywhere now.” The two guards looked at one another unsure how to react to what had happened,
“This is going to be a problem,” said the less bulked up bodyguard when he picked up his phone then looked at me once more, “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Oh, I’m allowed to leave whenever I want. That’s the idea of being a free agent – I’m not contracted by anyone to do my job.” I got to my feet and dusted off my dress. It never occurred to me that one monster could be made of so much ash. I still had my stake in hand when I pushed my way through them and headed for the door on the far side of the room. I could hear them on their phones going over the events that had led to the couple’s attack.
I am trying not to allow any distractions but I’ve already heard a few things that make me think I might be checking out somewhere near the end of the month to visit New Orleans. This only means that I have to write like there’s no tomorrow.
Some things I haven’t mentioned in awhile…Falling to Pieces is still being worked on. Although I feel like writing about zombies right now feels a little strange so it’s something I will pick up later this summer. Maybe for the next camp in August? I know…I know…don’t look so shocked - if I could pull off two stories in a summer, I’d fall over myself.
DL
Post with 1 note
Cured
Last Fall I had started working on a third installment to my vampire series. It went better than I expected but I fell short of the 50k word goal by the end of November. I’ve always said that Thanksgiving week is the toughest for NaNoWriMo. I suspect that the people that are not involved in the baking and cooking could sail through this week but if there is a trick - I haven’t learned it well enough. (Note: I did complete in 2009 but that was because we went out to dinner that year).
So, here we are working on Cured. Once again we’re following another line of vampire slayers and I will be bringing back Rent and Octavius along with a few new vampires. This is not so much a book about them but a rivalry amongst the families of slayers all fighting to stay in the favor of the Elders we talked about in Staked. I did have to do a small rewrite but the story is still true to it’s original idea with a few changes. I had mentioned before that when I wrote Cut there was a darkness to it that I felt was just a huge letdown to the reader. That’s the way Cured started out but I think I’ve managed to turn it around into a positive message.
For those wondering how I’ve been doing personally - it’s still slow going. I have to admit that I didn’t want to write at the beginning since I still had pain from the optic neuritis. I’m learning to live with my MS and keeping good spirits. I have to admit that the one thing that has brought me lots of joy is being able to write once again. And of course I want to get in as much as possible to share with everyone.
DL
Quote reblogged from the october wheel with 4 notes
The first thing you notice about New Orleans are the burying grounds - the cemeteries - and they’re a cold proposition, one of the best things there are here. Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres- palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women and men who have sinned and who’ve died and are now living in tombs. The past doesn’t pass away so quickly here.
You could be dead for a long time.
Source: philcody
Post with 1 note
We’ve been on a hiatus from writing…
In fact if you will remember that I mentioned a short while ago that life had been intruding with writing and getting things done. (There has been a lot going on). I had wanted to follow-up after the KDP Select promotion with good news but that did not happen.
From March 29 - April 3, I was in the hospital. I went to bed on the 23rd and awoke the following morning with vision loss in my left eye. After a series of optometrist and specialist visits…I ended up at the ER. There was a fear that I might have something going on that could prove to be more dangerous than an eye infection. And yes, it turned out that I have multiple sclerosis.
I’ve shared this news with friends and some family. I struggled with the idea that I didn’t want to be “the writer with that issue.” Someone said today that I’m a really proud person and sometimes I like to give the impression that I’m stronger than I look. The truth is that I have not let it beat me down. I have it, now let’s learn to live with it.
I’ve said it a few times already but just be aware that I will rarely post on the issue and only wanted to keep everyone that follows updated on what is going on and why we are delayed with Only Superstition. I do want to say that you will be getting a really beautiful story soon.
And yes, it is a small struggle to type when I still have not regained my complete vision but I cannot stop and am thankful for autocorrect. I still have one good eye and am able to type so there is one small success there.
Staked: Kindle Free Edition →
As promised, we started the promotion for the week on Staked today. This is the follow-up to Cut. We see our favorites battle it out in Los Angeles and meet a vampire slayer and a pre-teen vampire Queen that has a pretty sick sense of humor.
You can still download, Cut for the price of $3.99 (it is free for Amazon Prime members).
Packing & Moving…
When I got to the desert nearly two years ago, I had two things in mind: travel more and finish working on Staked. I completed Staked maybe a month after getting to the desert all the while trying to get acclimated to my surroundings. I had grown up not too far away from where I live now but it wasn’t how I remembered.
Now, it’s time to pack and move on. No, not too far away but still if a moving truck is involved - it’s a move. Funny that I now can look at places I’ve lived and can say “yes, that’s where I lived when I finished that book.” It’s a strange feeling but a good one.
Only Superstition is in a final edit - some things were not working so I went back and reworked them. The story is reading better and I’m finally happy with the outcome. For awhile there it was in a very dark way and I was worried that I would have to shelve it forever. It’s already been reworked from the initial story over ten years ago.
The promotion for Cut is still going strong. It should be ending in the next few days. If you haven’t downloaded your copy for the Kindle reader - take a moment and grab it.
DL
cut: a novel (free download) →
I joined KDP Select last month and this week we’re doing a promotion for my book, Cut. It is a free download, take a minute if you haven’t purchased a copy to download it to you kindle device (amazon has the rights currently so it is not available for the nook).
ps: The promotion runs through the week and on Friday there is another promotion coming up for Staked.
Quick update!
After using KDP Select for about a month - we went ahead with a promotion. You can download Cut for Free on a kindle device this week. I believe Staked is slated for the following week.
It’s been slightly interesting this last month. Only Superstition is on the second round of edits and I feel like the story is finally making some sense. For awhile I tried forcing the idea that the dead don’t have a real frame of time but it was confusing.
It doesn’t help that a few things in “real life” have been interfering and taking more of my energy. There was a family matter to deal with as well as the new house search - which has been a small nightmare in itself.
I’m hoping that I can get back on track with my writing/editing schedule shortly. Until then, if you have downloaded Cut to read, take a moment to download it this week.
DL
Page 1 of 7
