Options are confusing!

I haven't updated in awhile. I meant to last weekend and last weekend was crazy. As crazy as this entire week turned out. Which means I let my head get spun around too much to get much done. I have one of those weeks a few times a year. Thankfully, I can recover!

I can't even blame social media for my lack of accomplishments this week as I was mostly off those as well. Basically, I had a hermit week. I played Fallout 4 some, read more than I have lately, and caught up on housework. Somewhat. With two dogs and two kids it's never truly caught up.

Mostly I am fighting conflicting projects! I WANT to work on one and need to work on the other. I am being good and doing what needs doing, but it's no fun. ;) Not when the other characters keep popping up with new scenes I need to write NOW! Widowed Witch of the West is only about 20k from being done, but until I get this unnamed short story done I am not going to address the conflict between the handsome US Marshal and the cursing witch. And let's not forget the- oh, well, that's a secret. ;)

I should get back to work! On the short story.

Here's where I left off the last time I worked on WWotW. Now you see why I am anxious to get back to this first draft!

~~~

“Do you want to get dressed first?”

Oh, right. She was naked. Aoife looked down at herself and wondered if she should put something on. Then again, he’d seen her naked. They’d, well, she figured once a man had been inside her maybe being naked in front of him was not a big deal.

“Does it bother you? My being naked?” It only bothered her a little, but she wasn’t going to let him know. No, she was going to be a modern, independent widow.

Had she drawn the curtains in the entryway? And the kitchen shutters. Were they closed? Maybe she should put something on.

Looking back, peeking ahead

2015 gave me a lot. Here's a short list.

1. Fallout 4's Maccready. My current video game boyfriend. (I still love the previous ones, especially Baird from Gears of War.) No one who knows me is going to be surprised I especially love the funny, smart ass characters. I have always loved the funny, smart ass characters. Heck, I married one!

2. Poe Dameron. Have you seen The Force Awakens? Loved it! And Poe is my absolute favorite character. My kids asked who it would be and I told them to guess and they never did. Shawn, the beloved, did because he knows what I like.

3. The end of the Pennyroyal Green series by Julie Anne Long. Even though I absolutely loved the series. And I did. Do. That said, The Legend of Lyon Redmond was the way a series should end. (Also, sometimes, she responds to comments I make in response to her posts on fb. Do I sound too stalkery? Because, I swear am not, but I still squee when she does it.) 

4. Avon's FanLit contest. My first writing contest. I met great people through it. Helpful, awesome, supportive, talented people. Check out their pages on my Links page.

5. I submitted two different projects to two different publishers. Big step. 

6. Blog content. So much blog content! I'm glad I could do a little filling in so the first year of my blog was not empty. I still am not good at short stories, but I've had more practice and think I am getting better. It also gave me plenty of fodder (As if I needed more!) for new novels.

Here's to 2016 and what I'm going to do.

First, I've put Widowed Witch of the West on hold for a bit. I've lost the book somewhere and I write and then get stuck and then think I've sorted it out and write again, but it comes in fits and starts. So, I'm worried about pacing. And, I can't figure out where it's at or what I am doing. So, despite advice from a very talented writer friend of mine I am setting it aside undone. It is 3/4s done so I will be coming back to it. Just...not for a bit.

Instead, I've started a new project tentatively titled Fixing Broke. I had an idea this morning. I've written one chapter. I may wake up tomorrow or the next day and think it crap. Who knows? That's the fun of writing! (That is the fun, right?) 

Once this is done I'm going to either do a second project or dive into deep edits on something I finished, but want to fix. 

So, three novels this year. That's the plan. Maybe two. Depending on the route I go. 

Mad Baron's Doomed Daughter may bravely seek further rejection as well. Not right away. A month or two down the road. 

A couple of months from now I'll probably have a whole new idea about what I want to do this year. 

In the meantime, happy new year! 

Tags

• 2016 1
• Avon 1
• CopperSilver 3
• Dec16 20
• Dec17 2
• December 32
• Fallout 1
• FanLit 1
• Gaming 1
• General 5
• Mad Baron 7
• NaNoWriMo 3
• Querying 1
• Reawakening Sabina 1
• Sanguine Road 1
• Shawn Carpenter 1
• She Who Storms 3
• Short Story 61
• Siren's Call 1
• TW 1
• WWotW 7
• characters 1
• current 2
• dogs 1
• excerpt 12
• goals 2
• movies 1
• random 5
• thoughts 7
• writing 23

My December Project

What am I doing this December? I'm taking a holiday! I want to focus on other stuff so all other projects are on hold. I'll finish Widowed Witch of the West in January. I'll work on assorted editing for projects in January as well.

For December I'm going to do something fun. I had a ball writing my short stories in October. Along that vein, I am going to be doing some free writing here, on my blog.

Every day between now and December 31st I am writing a chapter of an ongoing story. It will cover one event, in one year, of the lives of my characters. I have no idea what sort of backdrop this story will take place in front of right now. That will develop. It's a love story and it begins when the two characters, Jory and Marcelina are five years old. I'm thinking 500-1000 words a day. 

As with the short stories, I am writing and posting in a day so minimal edits will be done. If you want to follow the whole thing check back every day!

Tags

• 2016 1
• Avon 1
• CopperSilver 3
• Dec16 20
• Dec17 2
• December 32
• Fallout 1
• FanLit 1
• Gaming 1
• General 5
• Mad Baron 7
• NaNoWriMo 3
• Querying 1
• Reawakening Sabina 1
• Sanguine Road 1
• Shawn Carpenter 1
• She Who Storms 3
• Short Story 61
• Siren's Call 1
• TW 1
• WWotW 7
• characters 1
• current 2
• dogs 1
• excerpt 12
• goals 2
• movies 1
• random 5
• thoughts 7
• writing 23

Obligatory Fallout 4 Post About Romancing My Companion

Yes, I won Nano. No, the novel is not finished. So, I lost. In my head. Because usually I write the entire thing. Still, I am close. 

Yes, this is entirely the fault of Fallout 4. Which I resisted like the dickens until I hit that 50k and then I surrendered. Since then, I've played a lot and been reading all kinds of posts about the best companions and how to romance them and etc. You get a special perk when you reach the highest level of affinity. If they are romancable, you can do it then.

Not all companions can be in a relationship with you. 

I love Dogmeat. He is my boy! What a good dog! Who's a good dog? Dogmeat! Seriously, I love my dog. However, I hit a point where I wanted a companion who can range attack. Dogmeat, who loves you unconditionally no matter what, like a dog, does not shoot guns.

So, I brought out Preston Garvey. I like him. But, as has been said, he's basically a paladin. I am NOT good enough for him. He's always, you can do better, don't steal that, quit shooting! Also, I cannot romance someone named Preston. That is my brother's name. It feels weird. So, the weird and the dislike of lockpicking let me know that Olivia, my sole survivor, would never settle down to roam the Commonwealth with him.

Then, Olivia met the love of her post apocalyptic life. She was in Good Neighbor. A charming place. In the bar she met MacCready, RJ MacCready and it was, if not love at first sight, an excellent match! He's a mercenary. She bought his gun. MacCready is NOT the obligatory merc as someone had the nerve to call him!

No, MacCready had BACKSTORY. Backstory that tied into Fallout 3. Yes, yes, he did. His backstory also had some similarities with poor Olivia. Most importantly? He liked when locks were picked and  Nuka Quantums were stolen from people who clearly did not need them the way I did!  As they traveled, they grew closer. Eventually the whole of his story was learned and, soon after, they were smitten with each other. 

At one point, when checking up on the relationship he said (paraphrasing) "I'm happy to spend the rest of my life walking this earth with you." The man is swoonworthy! And looks damn fine in his militia hat. He mentioned once he wanted one. So, I procured one for him. He also jokes about not messing with Olivia when she's in power armor. A secure man. SWOON!

So, yea, now they roam the Commonwealth kicking ass and taking names. And stealing NQs and sometimes plates. He doesn't think it's worth the time stealing junk, but junk is needed in the settlement. He deals with the eccentricities of his one time employer. 

In my head I am writing out their lives together. Because, well, I always want a happy ending and these two crazy kids deserve one! After all, he got out of politics and she was a Popsicle once. If anyone deserves happiness it's these two. 

Online v IRL

Despite my chosen hermit lifestyle, I enjoy being around people. It's fun to talk and listen to other people talk and then tell them goodbye and return to my air conditioned hermit cave. I especially like the talking part. I love to talk. Loud talking as I share stupid jokes and stories about how I was tormented as a child is a thing I love above all others.

Seriously, do not ask about the slide incident. I was so viciously wronged on that day I still have not forgiven family members. You know who you are. Wait, do ask, because I love to tell the story! It's hilarious. No, it's not.

Shawn, the beloved man who puts up with me, once told someone I have a book of grudges. He's correct. He can get furious and then get over it, but I remember always. I don't DO anything about these wrongs, but I do remember them! More stories to tell, after all. With much emotion and gnashing of teeth do I love to tell these stories.

In person.

Online, I do prefer to be quiet. I join groups on Facebook and follow people on Twitter and even have this blog. None of which I actually talk on much. I like to read what people say and occasionally read what other people say out loud to my husband. Especially funny tweets as he has only recently taken up FB reading with any regularity and still never visits his twitter page.

Considering my current hermit status in real life I think it would be a boon to switch these up. I would rather avoid people IRL as I so rarely come in contact with people outside the family. If I lived in a bigger town with more options for delivery of items I might never step foot outside. Then I could be funny and interesting and, well, louder online. Where I feel I should be louder because people should find me interesting so when I publish a book they want to see what that interesting person wrote!

Alas, I think I am a hopeless cause. Which is sad considering I met my husband on the internet. Back before that was a socially acceptable thing. It's a funny story. If we ever met I would love to tell it to you.

Tags

• 2016 1
• Avon 1
• CopperSilver 3
• Dec16 20
• Dec17 2
• December 32
• Fallout 1
• FanLit 1
• Gaming 1
• General 5
• Mad Baron 7
• NaNoWriMo 3
• Querying 1
• Reawakening Sabina 1
• Sanguine Road 1
• Shawn Carpenter 1
• She Who Storms 3
• Short Story 61
• Siren's Call 1
• TW 1
• WWotW 7
• characters 1
• current 2
• dogs 1
• excerpt 12
• goals 2
• movies 1
• random 5
• thoughts 7
• writing 23

A Duke to Remember

Pre-orders are up for the winning chapters of Avon FanLit. You can find it here: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062458957/a-duke-to-remember

All of the winners are super talented. You should pre-order this and you should watch all of these ladies as great things are ahead for them, I am sure!

And stay tuned for some changes on the website!

On minor discomfort and misbehaving characters

I spent the weekend thinking I should write, but a disgusting headache most of Saturday stole my will to do anything but whine and be sad for myself. So, I said I should at least do a blog post, but I couldn't be bothered as I was busy wishing I felt better.

Sunday came and I felt better, but was busy doing all the things I did not do on Saturday.

Today I am better. I've managed to write about 1000 words on the Mad Baron's Doomed Daughter. My characters are frustrating me and I have a feeling a lot of what I've written lately will require cutting. Surely this constant back and forth will resolve itself. In the meantime I will let them meander a bit knowing I can take a figurative red pen to them later. They are all like nervous dogs being tossed into a new pack.

I was looking over my first novel, written three years ago, and how sad. Sad. The whole series will be getting a rewrite. Which means I have about 400k words to redo. Although not this year. This year is already full, but next year I'd like to make time for that as well as new writing.

There also needs to be time made to work on the website. I want to do more with it, but every time I think of it there's something else to do. I should plan my time better. Even typing the words is to laugh. Myself and time management go way back. There's a bitter feud between us and there can be no winner.

Here we go!

This blog is where I'll post longer thoughts and ideas. I'll also post a few excerpts from my existing and WIP projects. That's a lot of words to pull stuff from. Hopefully some of them are even good.