Speaking of writing, I’m thrilled to announce that the end of Zerah’s sequel is in sight! So for those of you that have read the book and want to know what’s next… it’s coming! I’m about three-five chapters from the end. Then it’s on to Book 3.

But mostly, I’ve been focusing on the business of being a writer lately. I’ve been loyal to my blog posts over at Hollow Tree (and reading lots of great YA fantasy fiction!). I wrote up an interview which will be up on January 12th (I’ll give you the deets as we get closer). And I’ve been contacting review sites for Zerah’s Chosen. Today, I was thrilled to be the guest author at Literary Escapism, which I’ve mentioned here before. It’s such a great place and it feeds my fantasy hungers with information on new releases, happenings around the web, contests, and cover art. I highly suggest checking out Jackie’s site. You won’t be disappointed.

Ok, going to go relax. Tired from work today.

OH! And go congratulate us over at Tales from the Hollow Tree! We had out 100th post today! Sweet.

Talking about the new Star Trek movie at Hollow Tree today!

Did you see it? Did you enjoy it? I saw it for Zachary Quinto and ended up loving it!

Also, did some writing this past week and closed a few troublesome scenes on the WIP. Now its all about moving forward!

Can I finish my book by the New Year? Stay tuned to find out!

Your Heart Is Pink

In relationships, you like to play innocent – even though you aren’t. Each time you fall in love, it’s like falling for the first time.Your flirting style: Coy Your lucky first date: Picnic in the park Your dream lover: Is both caring and dominant What you bring to relationships: Romance

What Color Heart Do You Have?

In other news, I managed to write about 1500 words last night on my futuristic scifi romance last night. *happy dance* It’s at 35k+ right now.

I plan to do a bit  more tonight. But first I have to finish some cleaning up. I’ve been real sluggish this weekend. Exhausted and all. But, overall, I’ve gotten quite a bit accomplished.

Hope you’re all having a lovely Sunday!

I’ve reached 42k on my WIP. The little story that was really, in my mind, only going to be no more than 25-30k has taken on a life of its own. Why does that not surprise me? I have no concept of short when it comes to writing. It’s either a one parter/flash fiction type short, or it’s novella/category length. For some inexplicable reason I can’t do anywhere in between. Could it be because I talk too much?

When I talk I tend to babble. I’ve been eying my WIP carefully to make sure I’m not just babbling, taking up space for the heck of it. Honestly, it wasn’t supposed to meet any large word requirement. My publisher would have been happy with 20k. So I think it’s just the life of the story. It’s sprouted wings, so to speak, and wanted to be told this way. Who am I to argue? I only end up with a migraine when I argue with my characters.

These two in particular (my hero and heroine) are quite the pair. They make me laugh and shake my head at their antics. Just when I think they’ve outdone themselves, they do something even more ridiculous. It’s amusing, really, how they’ve completely taken over the pages. I like them far more than I imagined I could. The first few glimpses of them to my CPs seem to be positive as well, so that makes me feel good.

I had a dream last night that reminded me why I’m doing this, why I’m killing myself to make this happen. In my dream, my book was at my bookstore. And my co-workers had read it and were telling me they really enjoyed it. They were even recommending it to some of the shoppers. In the end, the feeling of holding it in my hands and having people tell me they really loved the character, in particular *this part and that part* made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Accomplished. It was a great dream.

My deadline for it is on Tuesday. New Year’s! I’m close. Really close. In fact, as of last night, I hit the climax. Now it’s a matter of putting them in a huge pickle and daring them to get out of it. And there’s this scene at a train station that I’m supposed to make happen, but I’ve yet to decide just how I’m going to do that. I’m going to scour Youtube for a few scenes from old movies and see just what an action scene in 1940-50 was supposed to look like.

So anyway, wish me luck guys. Cross those fingers and toes. I’m at the home stretch. I’m almost there. I just have to persevere a few more days. I’m emotionally and mentally exhausted. Wouldn’t it be great if I could finish the story BEFORE the deadline?! That’d be something else. lol Let me not get ahead of myself.

I hope you’re all having a great weekend!!!

P.S. Image in honor of Cora Zane’s HILARIOUS kitty shots. They always make me laugh.

I have a secret identity. By day, when crowned with the magical wreath of blue and white stars and a little plastic dragonfly I become the Winter Fairy. Curled ribbons become my long flowing blue hair. My eyes sparkle with snowflakes yet to fall. And my step become light sprints across the cafe floor.

Each word becomes a sudden unexpected song. When I run out of creative song ideas, I resort to Disney tunes. But not the kind everyone knows. No no. The random ones most people can’t remember. Like the theme Lady’s owners used to sing in Lady and the Tramp to their baby. Or the song Vanessa (Ursula the witch’s much sexier alter ego) sings into the mirror before her wedding to Eric. I have the uncanny gift of providing energy in the form of caffeinated beverages. They’re warm and comforting and come in a variety of seasonal flavors including Gingerbread, Peppermint and Toasted Marshmallow. This makes people happy. Which in turn makes me happy.

When I’m done with that alter ego, I become the smoky lounge singer. In this case, I’m preparing for a talent show I’m singing at tomorrow. Mentally, I have it all prepared. Two chairs, low lights, my guitarist beside me and me, singing really bluesy like the world might end tonight. Of course, it’ll be less perfect in reality. I’m exhausted. My voice is still shot from being sick. And I haven’t had as much time to practice as I’d like. But hey, a girl can dream, right?

Then, I get back to reality. Tonight, I came home hoping to write and instead, my eyes are already closing (even as I type this!). So that’s not going to work. However, last night I reread what I have of the WIP for my publisher and realized, much to my surprise, it makes sense! It’s quite fluid, really, considering I hardly remember even writing some of the scenes! That’s the magic of NaNo for you I suppose. Going back was a good idea however, to keep the consistency and character names all in tact. But I was surprised at how entertained I was somewhere near the middle. I’m a bit more than halfway now, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to wrap it all up. Which I’m very excited about. So, I did a bit of writing last night and broke 27k. Not bad.

I can sleep tonight knowing I’ve done all I set out to do today. Happy Friday to all!

On another random note, I’m exhausted and think I’m going to go down for a nap. Running on 2 hours of sleep, a long, hectic day with hubby which involved going out of town to meet some friends, and a book that’s gone unread. Happily, the reason I didn’t sleep was that I finished that annoying climax. At least it’s as good as it’ll get for a while. I was able to move on.

Current Word count: 63k+

WooT!

AHA! The truth comes out. Tell me, please, why are middles so hard? *sigh* I feel a nervous tick coming on every time I open the Word Doc. I know where it’s headed, but the very idea of being so close makes my palms sweaty. And ewww… its so not fun to write with sweaty palms.

I’m pushing forward. I miss my CPs who’ve both kind of been really busy lately. They always made me feel somewhat in control. But I’m pushing along. I’ll be ok. Right? RIGHT? *ahem* Sorry, didn’t mean to freak you out with my panic attack there.

Let’s go on to our DWQ, shall we? We’re on #6 I believe! Woohoo!! This one goes out to Cora Zane, who seems to be enjoying them!

Lord! when you sell a man a book you don’t sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue – you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night – there’s all heaven and earth in a book, a real book. ~Christopher Morley

This quote hit particularly close to home because I write fantasies and sci-fis mostly. Books in which you really do create a new heaven and earth, and have to make the reader believe it. Sure, they know it’s fake, but can they suspend reality long enough to find the love and friendship and humor in the book? Do they forget, even if only for a second, that these characters aren’t real? That’s a sign that you’ve created a good book.

Ok. I just got struck with an awesome idea for my WIP. Let me go. Strike while the iron’s hot, you know?

Today’s featured art by yanmei, @ deviantart.

Yea, maybe I should write a tribute to freaking opium. ?