Monthly Archives: April 2016

April 30, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 4-30-2016

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

Tirza is still having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that Kel is female – and that she fell in love with her.

 

She wasn’t sure which was worse — the fact that Kel — a woman — had fallen in love with her and had pleasured her, or that she had fallen in love with Kel — and still loved her, even knowing that she was a woman.  And, even knowing that Kel was a woman, the memory of Kel’s lips and tongue sent heated shivers through her.

“Maresh, what do I do?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I – I don’t know.”  Tirza’s tone was pure misery.

“Do you hate Kel?”

“No.  No, I – I… I don’t hate Kel.”

“Do you love Kel?”

“I… I don’t know.  I know I don’t hate Kel but I’m so confused… How can I love Kel if she’s a woman?”

“The same way you loved her when you thought she was a man – with your heart.”

 

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April 29, 2016 · 2:36 AM

I Did It!

CNW_Winner_1500-1

Another Camp NaNoWriMo has come to an end, at least for me.  I verified at approximately 1:45 am on the 29th.

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win.

Why wasn’t it pretty?

Well, for one thing, I was lagging behind on word count most of the month, so at the end I was making a mad push for words and writing absolute drivel.

A large part of that is because I’m still fighting with a logic flaw in Book 6 and every time I think I’ve figured my way out of it something else crops up.

And sometime in the past few days it occurred to me that I was caring too much about Book 6, and it was keeping me from being free to just write goofy off the wall fun things, even though I know that those goofy off the wall fun things often end up creating really good ideas to move the story along and get you unstuck and…

But I just couldn’t seem to do that this time.  Maybe because the Academy of the Accord series has become too major of a part of my life over the last several years.  It deserves better attention than it gets during a NaNoWriMo session, especially one where I’m running behind all month.

Or maybe it was something else. I don’t know.  All I know is that I decided to take a break and step away from it for a bit and write something totally random and unplanned that I didn’t care about.  If nothing else it would pump up the word count and then I could go back to Book 6 when I was caught up.

But then a funny thing happened…

My totally without merit word orgy turned into something…

Well, I won’t say it turned into something worthwhile, because so far I don’t think it is.  But somehow the characters began to develop and a real plot bunny hopped out of the fiasco.

It’s not a bunny I plan to pursue, at least, not any time in the near future, but I started to really like the characters and a two sentence bit of conversation has spawned a potential contemporary tale and…

And this is now going to go into my “Novels I’m Ignoring” file (yes, I do have a file folder on my computer with that name) and I will turn my attention back to Book 6 of The Academy of the Accord and will work on it at a much slower pace. I want to be able to edit it by June, but that’s not carved in stone, and May should give me plenty of time to finish it.

Next month, though, is mostly going to be focused on finishing the revisions to Onyx Sun so I can get it released.  I’m hoping that it doesn’t take me all month because I’m not quite midway through entering changes to Book 4 of The Academy of the Accord and not quite that far in doing paper edits of Book 5, and I’d like to get both of those things done as well.

*sigh*

Looks like it’s back to work…

(At least until July Camp.)

 

 

 

 

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April 27, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #70 (4/27/2016)

Welcome to Wednesday Words!  Every Wednesday I will post some sort of prompt for a flash fiction piece.  The prompt will go live just after midnight Eastern time.

The prompt might be a picture, or it might be a list of things to include in a story, or maybe a phrase or a question or something from a “news of the weird” type thing, or a… who knows?

After that, it’s up to you.  But if you do use the prompt to write a bit of flash fiction (say, 500 words or so) I’d love to see what you came up with, so comment below with a link to where it is on your blog (or on WattPad or wherever).

(And a pingback to the post here where you found the prompt would be appreciated but isn’t necessary.)

Oh, and this isn’t a contest or anything.  It’s just a (hopefully) fun thing for all concerned.

And, hey, if it inspires more than 500 or so words, run with it!

This week’s prompt:

WW 4-27

(Click for larger image.)

(Found on FaceBook.)

And, as always, I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

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April 25, 2016 · 1:35 PM

5 Days, 15,828 Words

Left to go.

As of this moment I’m 7494 words below par.  At least I’m off for the next two days, and as I’m writing this I have two hours before I have to go to work.  I might see if I can at least get 500 words in before I leave but I doubt it will happen because I also have to finish this blog post, finish the Rainbow Snippets blog hop (I think I have 17 more to go) and format my flash fiction piece (“Paper Arrows”) for the contest and…

Yeah.

And I want pizza.

I might have to order one for work today. Anything to help get through the shift.

Oh.  And chocolate.  I’m definitely going to need chocolate.

It’s my Friday, and I am burned out this week.  I just have no energy left and nothing left to give but I’m pushing through, and, as a writer, making mental notes of how it feels for potential future use in a novel.

(“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.” – Eugene Ionesco)

So, since not much (if any) writing is going to be done today, I’d better focus tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s plans:

Get up early and vote (Pennsylvania Primaries are tomorrow) – unless, of course, I do manage to stay up all night in which case it will be “get dressed and go vote.”

Come home, change clothes, clean the rat cage.

Catch up on social media.

Write.

Wash the cage shelves, clean the bathtub, do laundry.

Write.

(I should probably put “eat” in there somewhere…)

If I don’t get any writing done today I’ll be 9161 words below par when midnight hits.

Two 5K days would fix that but not give me much of a comfort zone, which means I’d need to do almost 2k a day for the rest of the month.

I love NaNoWriMo, but I’m going to be very glad when this month is over…

 

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April 24, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet April 24, 2016

 

Picking up from last week’s post.  Senzu brought Wellhym a knife and they were discussing its uses.

 

Wellhym laid his sword on the ground next to the knife.  “Look at it,” he said softly, “and tell me what you see.”

She slowly lowered her gaze from his blue eyes to the two objects on the ground, studying them intently for a long moment, then looked up at him. “It’s just a big knife,” she said, staring at the sword again.

“Are you afraid of knives?”

“No. They’re just tools. You use them to cut things.”  She looked up at him. “So a sword is just a tool?”

He nodded.  “Just a tool.   And like anything else, it can be used to help or to hurt. And the best way to not get hurt with something is to practice with it.  And that is all that Kordelm and I were doing.”

She stared at the two blades for a moment longer.  “It’s awfully big,” she said finally.  “Maybe you two should practice some more.”

“You heard the lady,” Marsden said, laughing. Reaching forward he pulled her onto his lap, holding her as Wellhym picked up his sword and backed up, saluting her with it. 

“Kord? I haven’t tired you out yet, have I?”

Kordelm snorted.  “I can outlast you any day.”

 

Want to read more snippets from some really great authors?
Check out Sunday Snippets on Face Book.

 

 

 

 

 

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April 23, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 4-23-2016

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Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

Picking up from last week – Maresh has just told Tirza that Kel is female.

 

Maresh watched the confusion in Tirza’s eyes, her heart aching at the lost look in them, and she reached out and pulled Tirza to her, holding her tightly.  “It’s all right,” she soothed.  “She is still Kel. She hasn’t changed.”

“But I… I wanted… I hoped…”

“You wanted to spend the rest of your life with Kel.”

“Yes. If… if he wanted me.  But now…”

“But now?”  Maresh stroked Tirza’s hair. “Kel still wants you, Tirza.  She is deeply in love with you.”

“But we can’t… we’re both women.”

“You can still travel together, be together.  You can still love each other.”

 

 

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April 22, 2016 · 2:09 AM

Countdown

Well, Camp is almost over and  I’m still behind and only have two more days off.  I think I see an all nighter in my not too distant future.

On a brighter note, the story is picking up steam and getting easier to write; hopefully I’ll not only reach 50K by the end of the month but finish the story as well – which will mean that the entire Academy of the Accord series will be finished. (Well, first drafts, anyhow.)  I really never thought the day would come, and now that it’s almost here I don’t want it to be.  I want to keep writing this forever.

On a less bright note, this thing is going to be a disaster to revise and edit. I know I say that a lot, but there shouldn’t be a 10,000 word prologue, and I should get to the main action a lot sooner than 43K into the book. (Not to mention deciding what to untangle from Book 5.)

I seem to be having trouble writing on my days off; I can churn out words a lot faster on work days, for some reason.  (And for the same “some reason” I always seem to be on a roll just when I have to quit to go get dressed for work.)

Actually, I’m hoping that works in my favor: counting today there are nine days left in the month and I work seven of them and have 18,221 words to go.

And eight more poems.

And two more blog posts.

And one 300 word flash fiction piece.

And one more Sunday Snippet blog hop and one more Rainbow Snippet blog hop. (Well, two more Rainbow Snippet ones – I haven’t finished last Saturday’s yet.  Actually, I haven’t even started last Saturday’s yet. Guess what I’ll be doing before and after work today?)

Yeah… There is definitely an all nighter (or maybe two) in my not so distant future.

 

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April 20, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #69 (4/20/2016)

Welcome to Wednesday Words!  Every Wednesday I will post some sort of prompt for a flash fiction piece.  The prompt will go live just after midnight Eastern time.

The prompt might be a picture, or it might be a list of things to include in a story, or maybe a phrase or a question or something from a “news of the weird” type thing, or a… who knows?

After that, it’s up to you.  But if you do use the prompt to write a bit of flash fiction (say, 500 words or so) I’d love to see what you came up with, so comment below with a link to where it is on your blog (or on WattPad or wherever).

(And a pingback to the post here where you found the prompt would be appreciated but isn’t necessary.)

Oh, and this isn’t a contest or anything.  It’s just a (hopefully) fun thing for all concerned.

And, hey, if it inspires more than 500 or so words, run with it!

This week’s prompt:

 

a cabin in the woods
a locket
a statue

 

And, as always, I’d love to see what you come up with!

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April 18, 2016 · 2:05 AM

Planning Ahead

So, April Camp is just past the halfway point and I’m already thinking about July. (And November too, for that matter.  I think I may need an intervention.)

I saw a picture on Face Book the other day that I thought would make an awesome cover for Song and Stone (the sequel to Song and Sword) so I decided that that would be my project for July Camp.

(Before I can use the picture I’d have to track down the artist, so I may just use it to show a cover artist what sort of thing I’m looking for.)

But then yesterday I started thinking that I should use July Camp to finish Hedge House, or maybe Disturbed Magic (the novel I’m posting from for Rainbow Snippets), or any one of half a dozen other works in progress (*cough* The Other Mages trilogy *cough*) and save Song and Stone for November, since I traditionally use the Camps to finish – or try to finish – things that I’ve already started.

So now I’m undecided again.

And overwhelmed.  I always feel that way when I start looking at how many books are waiting to be finished. (I need to stop looking at the big picture and focus on one thing at a time, but that is much easier said than done.)

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday trying to organize a schedule for the rest of the year that takes into account two more NaNoWriMo months and still has me finishing the first round edits of The Academy of the Accord series by the end of December.  I think it might be doable.  Maybe.  Then I’ll have to worry about next year.

And I’ve only figured in stuff pertaining to The Academy of the Accord – first round paper editing, entering the changes in Word, and getting the concordance set up – I haven’t factored in writing at all.  Maybe I’ll try to figure out how to work that in later today.  (Maybe 500 words a day? But which project to work on first?)

And that flash fiction piece is still being a problem, mostly because nothing I come up with is short enough and all my ideas just add to the pile of plot bunnies having an orgy in the wings.

But my biggest problem? That would be the fact that I haven’t won the lottery yet so I still have to go to work.

Well, that, and I still haven’t found a way to avoid the need to sleep now and then.

 

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April 17, 2016 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet April 17, 2016

 

Senzu has returned with the knife Wellhym asked her to get.

 

“Now, tell me, what do you do with a knife?”  He laid it on the ground between them.

“You cut things.”

“What kinds of things?”

“Meat, and fruit, and vegetables, mostly.”

He nodded.  “Have you ever seen anyone accidentally cut themselves with a knife?”

She thought for a moment, then nodded. “They said some bad words.”

Marsden and Kordelm suddenly did not dare look at each other and Wellhym choked back a laugh. “I’m sure they did,” he replied.  “So you know that a knife can hurt someone.”

She nodded.

“Do you think someone could be killed with a knife?”

She studied the knife on the ground for a long moment, then nodded.  “They use them to kill pigs.  Bigger ones than this, though.”

Wellhym nodded.  “Now, I want to show you something.  Don’t be scared, all right?  I promise I’m not going to hurt you or anyone else who’s here.”

She nodded, but took a step back when he drew his sword. She bumped into Marsden and he put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

 

 

 

Want to read more snippets from some really great authors?
Check out Sunday Snippets on Face Book.

 

 

 

 

 

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