Final word count: 50,084

This story is by no means finished. Not even ‘first draft finished’. It’s either going to be super long, or a trilogy of novels. When the first draft is finished, I’ll see what makes more sense, and if there’s potential spots to break it up into a trilogy.

But I do know if it ends up that way, all three will be finished before the first one is released, and that’s probably a couple of years away.

Participating in NaNoWriMo also allowed me to add to my word count goal for the year, so that I’m only 430 words away from calling it done.

Now, I’m going to clean off my white board and plan for next year’s writing.

Okay, I’m actually waiting on the coffee to brew, after having ranted on Twitter about how ugly the new Trailblazer body style is (check for the 2012/2013 model – UGH. It looks like a minivan/stationwagon bastard child).

For thus far in November, I have finished Arcane Solutions, which took another 6,287 words and brought it to a total of 70,291. It’s been sent off to a few beta readers. Also, I’ve written 27,080 words on my untitled NaNo novel.

One hand: YAY! One project finished and over 33k written!

On the other hand: BOO! What a sucky word count. I wrote something like 82k in 26 days for a prior NaNoWriMo.

I have 22,290 words to go in order to reach the 50k goal, and 3 days left to do it in. Have to work Wednesday, the last day.

That’s 7,640 words per day. I’d say ‘piece of cake’, but it would probably end up biting me in the ass.

Anyhoo, I’m off to write because the coffee’s ready for drinking. I’ll update again this evening!

Wish me luck!

***Untitled Post-apocalyptic supernatural western***

Cade reined his horse alongside hers the next morning, once the group had cleared the gate. “You look like hell.”

“Some man thought it’d be a good idea to share a couple of bottles with me last night.” She rubbed her forehead, wishing Breeze’s hangover remedy would begin taking effect.

“Head’s a bit sore, huh?” He spoke louder than normal, and grinned when she flinched. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

Giving him a dark glare, she muttered, “Learn to.”

“You,” he leaned and tapped her nose. “Should learn never to match drinks with a Guardian.”

“Go away before I turn you into a toad.”

Cade straightened, eyeing her warily. “You can’t really do that.” An evil looking grin appeared on her face. “Can you?”

Yes, there is suckage. I’ll beat it into shape with my beta readers and editor sometime next year.

***Untitled Post-apocalyptic supernatural western***

The walk back to the gate was silent. Aware of her sideways glances, he walked her to the Temple and hugged her. “Good night.”

“Sleep well.” Nisha watched him walk away with a thoughtful expression. Entering the house, she found Ember waiting in the main room. Looking up from her book, the other witch studied her for a few seconds.

“You told him.”’

“Yes. He won’t say anything.” She forced a confidence that wasn’t present.

“I hope you’re right. Have you decided how to approach Trevor yet?”

“Do I really need to? He hasn’t breathed a word in twenty-eight years.”

Closing the book, Ember set it aside. “You were gone, and before that, you were completely in his power. He had no reason to fear you. Now, you’re back, healthy, and one of us. Trevor Simin is a danger to you, Nisha. To you, and all those who share your caste.”

“He saved me. From the vampires who took my mother, and from death. Over and over again. If he were truly a danger, he would’ve long ago told someone about me.” She’d argued the same point successfully over the years, keeping the ruling class of Sisters from sending an assassin to call on Trevor.

Ember stood, shaking her head. “Things would be safer if he were dead.”

Barely a second later, the witch’s head thudded against a wooden wall, Nisha’s hand at her throat. Silver eyes glared into hers from inches away, and fangs showed when the hybrid spoke. “No matter the blood that runs through my veins, Trevor Simin is my father. If you harm him, I’ll hunt you.”

“Do we mean so little to you?” Ember’s voice was strained. The question earned space, as the other let go, stepping back.

“No, but he doesn’t deserve death when he’s done nothing to earn it. If he decides to tell anyone, it’s my right to handle the matter.” Nisha drew a deep breath, closing her eyes. Slowly expelling it, she brought herself under control. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Sister. The Guardian I can understand, and you’re probably right that he’ll hold silent. But a man that mistreats an ill little girl cannot, in my opinion, be trusted.” Touching her throat, Ember eased away from the wall. “Especially if he causes you to lose control and attack those who care the most about you.”

Guilt made Nisha look away. “I’m sorry. Just leave him alone, all right? I’ll speak to him soon, and then, I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

“For your sake, I’ll pray he never intends to tell.” Ember left the main room. Letting a few minutes pass, the hybrid went to her own room, where sleep failed to arrive for hours.

Sort of went off track after we’d gotten the beginning into the file, and started writing (actually typing) to fill in some blanks. Still, I think I’ve managed a few thousand words today!

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning, and yes, it sucks. Of course it sucks, it’s first draft. Heh. ;P

Note: I had to use an image for the infinity symbol. D’oh!

***Untitled Post-apocalyptic supernatural western***

The moon’s brightness turned trees to blackened skeletons. Nisha glanced at each she rode past, ghosts of childhood rising.

Don’t forget me.

I won’t. Promise.

A smile appeared. She wondered if he remembered the promise, or her for that matter. Twenty years was a long time. Spotting a particular tree, Nisha rode closer before halting the two horses. She dismounted, dropping the reins to ground tie the bay gelding.

A few steps, and she was under the needled boughs, fingers searching the trunk. They encountered carved lines lower than she remembered. Nisha squatted to inspect them.

CK   NS. Not an old scar overgrown by bark, but carefully tended, re-carved yearly, if she was any judge. Smiling again, she touched the infinity symbol while rising. He hadn’t forgotten her.

She returned to the horses, and gathered the bay’s reins. Prepared to mount, she froze as the sound of horses approaching came on the slight breeze. Night riders running in a group were seldom honest men.

She led the horses behind the tree and concealed herself closer to the road. Moonlight picked up a cloud of dust several moments before figures became distinct. A whispered spell revealed their natures to her: humans and vampires.

The spell spread further, finding more following. The second group lacked vampires. Nisha drew the sword sheathed at her back. It was what she’d been trained for.

Stepping out from behind the tree, Nisha walked the middle of the road. Head ducked, sword down, she heard the horses slowing. By the time they realize that she was alone, the second group would be joining the fight.

I’m sitting at an estimated 7350 words written, which means I’m about 7653 behind. Considering I’ve usually managed to hit 20-35k by now, that’s pretty disheartening.

The plan was that House Hunney would handle all the homeschooling duties, but since he’s a night owl, that’s not the way it’s worked out. He takes over once he wakes up, but that has meant an hour or two every day out of my ability to concentrate. Once he’s up, then he and the dogs have decided to pop into my office every 20 minutes or so.

I can’t concentrate with constant interruptions, y’all. I forget what I was about to write, spend several minutes racking my brain trying to remember, and not always successfully.

Day 7 was going to be ‘Write All Day’. HH went out of town the night before to be in place for a storm chase. The girl was given Monday off, so wouldn’t need me to check her work every 15 minutes or so.

Yeah, that worked out.

HH hit a deer on his way that night, so I was up until almost 4 am on the phone with him as we tried to figure out how to get his van back and put him within reach of a rental car. I woke up at 9:37 am, cranky and tired.

A package I’d cancelled the order of arrived, so I had to take it to the post office and have it returned to sender after an exchange of emails. Needed gas in my truck and had to make a run to the store for something. Had to go out to the barn to close it up after the equine dentist was finished.

HH called/texted a few times, so had to talk to him.

Day 7 was FAIL.

Day 8, I got smacked down by some horrendous cramps (if that’s TMI, sorry, but it’s what happened). I mean, SMACKED DOWN. Spent 7 hours curled around a heating pad. Crawled out of bed at 5 pm and went to feed horses, then ended up back in bed with my buddy, the heating pad, about 7 pm.

The second go-round was because of my back. It was killing me. I woke up several times, but didn’t rise and shine until almost 8 am this morning.

And today, Day 9, is a day job day. Sigh.

I’m not giving up, but damn, this has been a sucky month so far.

Hopefully, it’ll be finished before the end of the month. Bad news is that once that 50k goal is passed, I have to do some re-writes in order to finish it. So NaNo will end for me today, and I won’t be updating the word count on it on my profile there.

Plan is to have it as polished as I can get it and send it for editing. After that’s finished, I plan to format it, design the cover and publish it.

It’ll be my first NaNo novel to go through those steps! Woohoo!

The publishing part probably won’t happen until after the first of the year, so if you’ve been checking the excerpts out and like what you’ve seen, stay tuned for information about when, where and how much the cover price will be.

Excerpt:

 

“Look, just because the boss thinks…” I was interrupted.

“You really had both legs broken three weeks ago?” The shifter grinned when I began sputtering in reaction. “What was it? Oh, I remember: you were pushed off a roof.”

My face grew hot. “Shut up.”

“I’m curious. Why didn’t you use your telekinesis to…”

My turn to interrupt while whipping the car out into traffic. “It’s kind of hard to concentrate when you’re falling, okay?”

“How many stories was it?” Nick winced as I hit the brakes to keep from rear ending the car in front of us. Yanking the wheel, I passed it. “Can I drive?”

“Fifteen and no.” I’d been lucky my legs were all that had been broken, panicked as I’d been. “I wasn’t trying to use my telekinesis.”

“Watch it! Oh god.” I glanced at him, upper lip curling a bit at the sight of a shifter cowering in my passenger seat. Nick scowled. “Would you watch the damn road?”

“Wuss. I could drive blind-folded. Want to see?” A grin spread as panic bloomed over his face.

“No! There’s…shit! Can I please drive?”

“I already answered that question. It was a ‘no’. Your turn: any vampire enemies?”

“I’m a shifter, what do you think?” Nick grabbed the dash, still scowling.

“Names?” I persisted, making a sharp left that jerked him into the door. We were nearing an entry point for the underground city section known as the Barrows, so I began searching for a parking spot on the car-lined street.

“No one you need to worry about. Are we stopping? Because I think I need to throw up. Has anyone ever told you that your driving skills suck?”

“Yeah, and I’ll tell you what I told them: kiss my ass.” Spotting an open spot, I slowed down.

The shifter recovered quickly. “Ooh, can I?”

Gah.

More of an update tomorrow.

Writing has begun for the day, with not enough to mention yet. But I haz excerpt!

Nick shook his head. “Self defense classes? I guess that’ll be good if you get mugged. By humans.”

“My instructor’s an ex-Marine, dude.”

“Then he should be teaching you how to handle a gun. That would a lot more useful against vampires, Cordi.”

“Hey, did you not see me head butt that vamp? It totally worked. Go, Marines!”

He laughed. “You got lucky, Cordi.”

“Uh-uh. I did what Jeff taught me to: I surprised him.” The supernatural superiority complex was beginning to irritate the piss out of me.

Rolling his eyes, the shifter suddenly bent, grabbed my left ankle and dumped me on my ass. “Ow!”

“Surprise works both ways, Cordi,” he said, grinning down at me.

“Jerk.” I obviously needed a lot more instruction.