Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Stepping Into Enemy Territory

On January 3, 2016December 18, 2015 By Stephanie IngramIn Weekend Writing Warriors3 Comments

HAPPY 2016!

Here’s to hoping your new year is off to a great start and only gets better from here. Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? I’m not really one for resolutions but I do intend this post to be the first of an entire year’s worth of contributions to the Weekend Writing Warriors, a fun blog hop where a gathering of authors share 8 to 10 sentences of a current work-in-progress. Check the link at http://www.wewriwa.com for the full list of participants.

2016 will be a year of writing so it should be a great year for sharing!

At the end of December I shared a couple of snippets from Rise of Angerroots, a story I hope to finish soon. Max had just discovered his fiancee was alive but when he confronted her, he was surprised to find that she didn’t remember him. Today’s snippet moves to Sarah’s point of view (Max’s fiancee). She is lost in a world that stopped making sense and meeting with her new neighbor, Nathanial, to discuss strange animal attacks. Nathanial seems to have information that the authorities are lacking. It doesn’t hurt that she’s incredibly attracted to him. 😉

Sarah tried to suppress the feelings that madness would overtake her mind if she did not see Nathanial again. Her heart pounded in her chest as she knocked lightly against the oak door. She did not have to wait long before it opened it. When she met his dark lustful eyes, she lost her courage and with it, the ability to speak.

“Come in,” he said, “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again.”

Her body trembled as she entered the dimly lit entryway. She was overcome with the sensation of walking into enemy territory. It was absurd, she thought, trying to shake off the unnatural fear.

“I hope I haven’t come too late,” she said softly as she followed him to the living room.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to reading your thoughts on this snippet so please feel free to share them. Be sure to check out the other authors on the official page and enjoy the rest of your Sunday. See you next week!

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Do I Know You?

On December 20, 2015December 17, 2015 By Stephanie IngramIn Weekend Writing Warriors32 Comments

Merry Christmas! Are you ready for Santa? I wish all of you a very happy holiday filled with love and happiness. Wherever you are and however you plan to spend the day, I hope it exceeds your expectations.

But first, welcome to my contribution to the Weekend Writing Warriors, a weekly blog hop where a gathering of authors post 8 to 10 sentences of a current work-in-progress. You can find the complete list of participating authors at http://www.wewrima.com as well as the instructions on how to join in next week’s hop if you so desire.

Last week I shared a snippet from Rise of the Angerroots, a story that I hope to finish early in the new year. It’s been one of my favorites to write and I’m looking forward to sharing it. Max had just discovered that his fiancee is still alive and he knows where she’s hiding. This week we jump ahead a little to the point when finally he comes face to face with her again. Their reunion isn’t what he is expecting.

“Do I know you?” she said at last, breaking the awkward silence that hung between them.

His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. Was she making a joke? He searched her eyes for some sign of recognition but there did not appear to be any.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as his mind raced and his heart pounded, “I thought you were someone else.”

“That’s okay.”

And just like that, she turned her attention back to the task at hand. All of the years that had passed between them had been erased. A pain clenched his stomach as though someone had punched him hard in the gut. He hadn’t been one to believe in second chances but now he wondered.

As always, thank you for reading and I look forward to your thoughts. I won’t be participating in next week’s hop so I will see you again in January!

Fellow authors, I am planning to open up my blog for interviews and book spotlights in the new year. If you would like to reserve a spot, send me an email at ingramsl (at) gmail (dot) com. Please feel free!

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – The Quest to Find Her

On December 13, 2015December 11, 2015 By Stephanie IngramIn Weekend Writing Warriors52 Comments

Welcome to my contribution to Weekend Writing Warriors! During this awesome blog hop many wonderfully talented authors share 8 to 10 sentences from a current work-in-progress. For the official list of participating authors, visit http://www.wewriwa.com and feel free to sign up for next week’s list! This is a friendly bunch.

I’m scratching my head this week as I decide what I will share. I admit, my writing has slowed considerably since entering December. The closer we get to Christmas, the busier I am with pretty much everything else. Most of my writing projects have hit a standstill. However, since I still have a few projects in various stages of completion, I am eager to continue sharing my weekly snippets. It’s just a matter of deciding which one!

Last week I shared a bit of my zombie story. I suppose this week I will switch gears yet again and share a story that is a long time in the making, but of all the stories I’ve written, it’s so far one of my favorites. It’s currently titled Obdormio, Rise of the Angerroots.

As always, I thank you for taking the time to visit my page and reading my snippet. I would love to read your thoughts on what I’ve shared and I hope you’ll return again next week.

“You’re the only one left who can protect her,” the older man had told him.

At first Max didn’t want to believe it. It would have made the pain a little more tolerable knowing she was dead. He could finally lay the past to rest. Although her father had supplied very few details to help Max on this quest, he knew even then, it was a quest he couldn’t refuse. It was his duty as her betrothed to find her.

Even if she didn’t want to be found.

He looked back at the crumpled paper in his hands. After all this time, after all the lost sleep, the worrying, the waiting, finally, he held the evidence in his grasp that she was alive.

Be sure to return to http://www.wewriwa.com to read more snippets from my fellow authors. Enjoy your day!

Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Chocolate and a Break-Up

On December 6, 2015December 4, 2015 By Stephanie IngramIn Weekend Writing Warriors6 Comments

Happy Sunday! It’s the best day of the week because today my fellow writing warriors and I get to share eight to ten sentences from what we’ve been writing. Check out the official site at http://www.wewriwa.com and enjoy reading the various posts.

In November I shared weekly snippets from my NaNoWriMo novel, Blood Moon. Now that December is here and Blood Moon is undergoing extensive rewrites (ugh), I’m going to switch gears and share some bits of the story I was working on in October. The first draft isn’t quite finished but so far, it’s been a fun story to tell.

What could be worse than a break-up? Zombies…

Amy snatched the chocolate bars from my grip as if not even chocolate could put everything right in the world again.

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” I said with a sulk, “It’s not like this hasn’t been a long time coming. Edgar and I were never right for each other.”

“Edgar pushed you to face a side of yourself that you didn’t want to see.”

She stopped when she saw the look of horror in my eyes. It wasn’t in Amy’s nature to be so desperate and cruel. Why did she care so much if I broke up with Edgar or any other guy for that matter?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” she said. Then, much to my relief, she dropped the candy bars into my cart and shoved her hands deep into her pockets.

As always, I look forward to your feedback as I continue writing my story. Now, be sure to hop over to http://www.wewriwa.com and check out my fellow authors and I will see you again next week!

What’s Up, December 2015

On December 1, 2015November 30, 2015 By Stephanie IngramIn Uncategorized, WritingLeave a comment

First of all, congratulations to all my fellow writers who took the plunge into NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and came out winning on the other side. Whether you wrote 50,000 words or not, tackling the challenge is still something to be proud of and I hope you had fun along the way.

Obviously, NaNoWriMo is one of those challenges I can’t resist because 2015 marks my eight year signing on and my seventh year winning. I now have a 50,000 word “paranormal romance” currently titled Blood Moon. This mess, err, I mean book, will undergo extensive rewrites during the month of December and with a bit of luck, will be ready to submit to publishers sometime early in the new year.

My zombie story is on hold. It stands at just under 10,000 words. Hoping to jump back into that story as soon as the dust settles from my previous writing frenzy.

Rise of the Angerroots is also still waiting in the wings. I have high hopes to submit this one to the Amazon Scout Program in early 2016 and/or simply self-publish. More on that soon.

As the year ends, I look ahead to my goals for a new year of writing. I am happy to have settled into a regular routine and I am excited about having stories to share in the near future, both long and short.

For starters, I have entered the 2016 Short Story Writing Competition. Round one begins on January 22nd. This is my first time participating in this type of challenge and my stomach is in knots. Stay tuned for details on how you can cheer me on.

I also have a short story in the works for hopeful submission to a horror anthology. I will be carving out some time to get that finished and polished in the coming weeks. There are few other potential anthology submissions I have pegged with deadlines coming up throughout 2016. It’s my goal to submit to at least three of them by the end of 2016.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for fun in #1lineWed and the #DecWritingChallenge and keep your eyes on the blog for weekly snippets of my works-in-progress via Weekend Writing Warriors.

And… most of all, have a happy December! 🙂