October 31, 2019
I haven’t posted in a few days because I was literally COMPELLED to write in all my spare time. **source of compulsion amorphous and unknown, moving on…** Also, today is October Deadline, of course. I got a questionably sane amount of extra task work done (at work). I also survived the invasion of my home by a mystery rhino virus. (Weirdest viral name ever.)
WIP Words Written
It’s Done! Working Title: Heritage.
The story of the a handful of people whose lives are impacted by the unexpected resurgence of a technology from the past. Halee is an archaeologist who loves delving into the mysteries of how people lived long ago. She creates vignettes in which to display her best guesses about those lives to the world. When she gains access to a multimedia archive of real stories of real people showing the raw truth of the past, she becomes a conduit through which the past is brought into the future. Josh is an average guy with an average dog, content to roam the wild woods of his family estate. When he stumbles upon a time capsule holding the power of the past, he takes up a mantel of responsibility to ensure that power stays out of the hands of those who might abuse it. Waylon is a loving husband and father. When an ancient power and technology threaten his ability to care for and provide for his family and home, his pride and strength are shattered. Now he must decide how to move forward when his purpose and meaning in life are gone. Heritage is the story of how normal people respond when the foundation of the world they live in is shaken.
The final word count for the first draft came out to: 158,813. That’s right. I have to cut at least a third of this book to make it qualified to be queried. I did in fact take a day to do a brief Developmental Edit Outline in the process of wrapping up the action crash finale. Ok … so that is done. *shoves entire project into a big cardboard box, adds starter cobwebs, puts on lid and pushes to the corner end of the tippy top shelf of my life*
TOMORROW! NaNoWriMo 2019 officially begins. Some of the writing compulsion I experienced was three new fabulous story ideas that invaded my mind. I pitched all three to my husband and he latched on to one that he thought sounded really enjoyable and I roughed out the basic plot arc and decided it was going to be easy enough to write that I could do it for NaNo. So that’s happening.
Working Title (new WIP): Beldam and Tom
Tom Roebuck is ready, finally, to receive his undergraduate diploma and move from pre-med to medical student. When he is told that he doesn’t have the grades to even apply to the programs he is interested in, he seeks out and is offered an eleventh hour chance to make the grade. Tom must spend one year as a live-in nurse for a study participant with a rare and horrible genetic illness. Paloma Beldam is an art dealer and purchaser who suffers from an illness which gives her the appearance and constitution of an elderly woman. She agreed to participate in a study of her disease because fighting it is what you are supposed to do. In her mind and heart, the disease has already won. Over the course of the year the two spend together, both will learn to care about something other than themselves and to spend their energy on the things that really matter most to them.
What do you guys think?
I am hoping that both will be ready for revision and edits by the beginning of December and then January and February can be devoted to query for these two books. I gotta be honest. I am psyched guys. What could go wrong!?
Twitter seems to have become slightly schizophrenic on my feed this week. In the middle of a whimsical list of writing and publishing special people posting fun things and random dogs being adorable, sudden some usually boring and quiet government person or press person will have Tweeted some kind of angry zinger. A long list of shock and awe responses to something the Trump-barrassment Tweeted, did or said, will suddenly break for the latest news on my favorite book series being adapted as a tv show. It can be confusing. At least I can take heart that it isn’t an endless list of Trump-ness.
Foster Kitten!
I got a teeny tiny foster kitten. She is so little; smaller than a hot dog bun. And she weighs about as much as a hot dog bun too. She has an eye infection and a fractured back leg. I named her Aweemawhey (as in the lion sleeps tonight) and I am pretty sure she is the most adorable sweet baby in the world. :p
The Day Job
So, I was up too late to think straight last night and I forgot to double check the volume setting on my alarms. Yep. I was 2 hrs late getting to the office on deadline day. Luckily, that is about the time the average person gets to the office so no one really noticed. Having my work done in advance most of the time generally helps too.
Tomorrow starts a brand new opportunity to be incredibly good at my job! (>.>)
Ɛ|3 Amy
Ubriel Bryne Books 