Why Hello There, February. How You Doin’?

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016Leave a comment

Love is in the air…. or maybe it’s sweat mixed with tears? I don’t know. Either way, it’s February and the first draft of Rise of the Angerroots is complete. (Can I get a whoop, whoop?) I won’t lie to you, it’s a mess, but then, aren’t all first drafts? During the month of February I will be dedicated to pulling it all apart and fitting it all back together again. Rewrites. Yay. Can you hear my enthusiasm? I’m kicking myself for not using scrivener software for this one.

All kidding. aside, I am excited about it, really. It’s been a while since I have written something from start to finish that I feel actually has potential to become a good story. Yes, I completed NaNoWriMo back in November but that one … well, let’s just say it won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon.

Plans for the next book are already underway and I’m eager to get plotting. My time will be split between the rewrites for Angeroots and starting the novella that will set the stage for the entire series. While each book will stand alone, I thought it would be fun to dive a little deeper into the world I created and see what happens. With a bit of luck, we’re looking at a May release date.

In the month of January, I wrote 48,543 total words. Heck, that’s like nearly finishing NaNoWriMo in January! I accepted the challenge of writing at least 1,000 words per day (or 365,000 words for the year) and I’m holding myself accountable to that. I’ll keep you posted on my progress at the start of each month.

The NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge is also underway. I received my first round assignment on January 23rd – to write a story of no more than 2,500 words using an immigration officer and a séance in the suspense genre. I submitted my story on Friday so now I wait with fingers crossed. There are so many participants in this challenge, I don’t expect to win, but I do hope to be one of the top 5 in my group to advance to round 2 in March. If I do, I will share my short story, Point of Entry, on my blog. If I don’t … Well, I will take into consideration the feedback I receive from the judges and try to make it better. Then perhaps I will share it. 🙂 Either way, I’ll share the contest results in a future post.

Remember ‘The Ghosts in my Attic’ last April? That was my theme for the 2015 A to Z Blog Challenge. I didn’t manage to complete the 2015 challenge but I’ve signed up for 2016 and this year I’m in it to win it. I’m still up in the air over a theme, however. Any suggestions? All your ideas are welcome. As much fun as it would be to revisit those ghosts, I kind of feel like that might be cheating. You know, been there, done that. I would love to find something as equally unique though. Hmmm…

Anyway, have a cup of hot chocolate to celebrate the beginning of a new month, keep warm, and stay tuned for more. Until we meet again… un beso.

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Love at First Punch

January 31, 2016January 29, 201639 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend Writing Warriors, where a great group of authors come together to share 8 to 10 sentences of a work-in-progress. For more information and a list of the participants, check out http://www.wewriwa.com

Over the past several weeks I have shared snippets from Rise of the Angerroots as I finish my first draft. I am happy to announce that I am finally finished. Yippee! February is going to be a busy month of rewrites and edits so I am going to take a break from posting snippets from this story and switch over to something else for a while, just not entirely sure what.

In the meantime, here is my last offering until the story undergoes a clean up. Sarah is regaining her memory. Here she remembers meeting Nathanial for the first time. Love at first punch?

He nodded toward the lifeless creature. “I saved you from that. It would have killed you.”

Despite her reluctance to admit that she may be in the wrong, she glanced toward it and back at the man pinning her to the ground. “So, what is your point?”

“Where I come from, if someone helps us, we don’t try to kill them.”

He let go of her slowly and she sat up rubbing her wrists. She thought about lunging for him again but there didn’t seem to be much point unless she wanted to land flat on her back again.

“My name is Nathanial,” he said reaching out to shake her hand.

“Sarah.”

I look forward to your thoughts. Enjoy your Sunday and see you next week!

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – There Will Be Blood

January 24, 2016January 22, 201611 Comments

Greetings and Happy Sunday! It’s my new favorite day of the week because today I gather with my fellow authors to participate in Weekend Writing Warriors as we each share 8 to 10 sentences of a current work-in-progress.

For more details on the blog hop or to click the links of the other participating authors, visit http://www.wewriwa.com – I highly recommend you do!

This month I have been sharing snippets from Rise of the Angerroots and I am happy to report that my rough draft is nearly finished! Looks like February will be a fun-filled month of rewrites. Oh my!

Sarah can’t remember her past. When she kisses Max, bits of her memory return, except unfortunately for Max, it is the desire for another man she remembers. Last week when she confronted Nathanial, her next door neighbor, and the object of her true desires, he held back from kissing her. This week, our two men ‘meet’…

“You have a lot of nerve coming here,” Max said. He waited for the first blow, which he was sure would come and when it did, he would use it as his excuse to strike the man down once and for all. He didn’t really need a reason but for Sarah’s sake, he would offer one.

Nathanial appeared calm but Max knew his enemy well enough to sense the tension that boiled under the surface.

“You want to kill me so do it,” Nathanial said.

Max lashed out before he had the opportunity to censor himself. The punch caught Nathanial square in the jaw, knocking his head back and sending a smattering of blood onto the leaves surrounding them. Max brought back his fist to strike another blow but caught himself in midair. Nathanial hadn’t even brought up his hands to block him.

“I have no reason to fight you.” Nathanial said, regaining his composure and rubbing his jaw.

That’s it! Not a lot of love between this pair. I hope you enjoyed my snippet and I look forward to your comments. Have a happy Sunday! See you next week. 🙂

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Will You Kiss Me?

January 17, 2016January 15, 201625 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend Writing Warriors Blog Hop where several authors join together to share 8 to 10 sentences of their current work-in-progress. Check out http://www.wewriwa.com for links to all the participating authors as well as details to sign up for next week, if you’re interested in joining the fun.

It feels like only yesterday we were getting ready to ring in the new year and here we are already halfway through January. I seem to be suffering from a bit of the post-holiday winter blahs but I made a commitment to write 365,000 words in 2016 and so far, I’m sticking to it.

I am happy to report, as a matter of fact, that I have enjoyed some very productive writing days. I added another 16,214 words to my work-in-progress (Rise of the Angerroots) this week and so far, I don’t hate it. (Give me time.) My first draft has reached the 50K mark and I’m heading into the climax. While I’m not entirely sure where it will all end up, I’m reminding myself it’s only a first draft and there is plenty of time for refinement later on. I’m excited to begin the rewrite phase and stick all the pieces together.

So with that being said, let’s jump into my 10-sentence snippet…

Last week things heated up between Sarah and Max but the moment was broken when bits of Sarah’s memory rekindled a forgotten relationship with Nathanial. Sarah wants to know if Nathanial still feels the same but clearly, Nathanial doesn’t want to join her walk down memory lane. The following snippet takes place after she’s helped clean and bandage some mysterious wounds he has come home with.

There was so little space between them that she could almost feel his exhale against her face. She willed her body to close the distance just a fraction until her nose was almost touching his chin as she tipped her head to study his eyes. She heard the gasp in his throat before he regained his composure but whether it was a response to the pain that coursed through his body or her proximity, she couldn’t be sure.

“Nathanial, look at me.”

He broke away to grab a bottle of pills, popped the top, and downed several.

“Should you be taking so many of those at once?” she said in alarm, their moment forgotten.

“Stay away from me, Sarah, for your own good.”

She felt chills course through her body. How dare he make assumptions.

“Don’t worry, I intend to,” she said, trying not to let the hurt bleed through her words, “But for the record, a simple thank you would have sufficed.”

I look forward to your thoughts. See you next week!

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Kisses and Blunders

January 10, 2016January 8, 201639 Comments

It’s that time again! Last week I made the unfortunate mistake of scheduling a post for the Weekend Writing Warriors Blog Hop but never adding my name to the official list. Oops! Don’t I feel silly? If you missed that post and would like to catch up, you can find it HERE.

Otherwise, onward and upward! The Weekend Writing Warriors are a group of several authors who come together on Sunday to share 8 to 10 sentences of a current work-in-progress. For the list of participants and details on how you can join in next week’s hop if you so desire, follow this link: http://www.wewriwa.com

I have been sharing snippets of Rise of the Angerroots, a story that I desperately hope to finish before spring. So far, I’ve been making great progress toward reaching that goal and I am eager to share with you a glimpse of my effort.

Max had mixed feelings about discovering his betrothed (Sarah) is still alive but when he confronts her, he realizes she doesn’t remember him. This gives him new hope – and new problems. As they get to know each other all over, bits of her memory return and it isn’t Max she has on her mind. Poor guy. And just when everything seemed to be going so well between them, too… What will he do?

She closed her eyes and gave in to it, her body responding with heat and desire, her head unable to process anything except the feel of his lips moving against hers and the touch of his hands sliding down her back. He grasped her firmly as their bodies melded together.

Overwhelmed, Sarah put her palms against his chest as though she wanted to push him away but when the flood of memories came back to her, she resisted. She tipped her head as Max planted kisses along her neck. His left hand moved to cup her breast, teasing the nipple through her blouse.

“Nathanial,” she whispered, lost to the sensation that made her body tremble and her mind come to life.

Suddenly he stopped and let go, putting distance between them.

She looked up at Max in shock. With eyes open, she realized the man she’d seen in her memory hadn’t been the man she’d been kissing.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her body still shaking, “I don’t know…”

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share your thoughts. I look forward to reading them. See you next week…

Stephanie Ingram

Tag: Angerroots