2011 in Review

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Looking back on 2011, here’s what I’ve done:

January: First pass edits on Through the Fire, started Erik’s Tale

March: first pass edits on Air Pirates

April/May: second pass on Through the Fire

May: Finished Erik’s Tale, started Taming the Darkness

August: Finished Taming the Darkness

September: second pass edits on Air Pirates, first pass edits on Erik’s Tale

October: Finished second draft of Erik’s Tale and sent to beta readers

November: started and finished Not My Apocalypse

December: work on final draft of Through the Fire

Total words written: 150,123

Three first drafts finished (2 novels, 1 novella)

Books put up for sale: none

Six Sentence Sunday, Dec 11 (Not My Apocalypse)

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Here Alex speaks with the goddess Hel:

“I heard you were a brave one, but I wanted to see for myself. A parent does not always breed true, and the child can be quite different.”

Oh, how I fucking hoped that was true. “Lucifer is my father but that doesn’t mean I’m like him.”

“You have the same boldness.”

“But I’m not an asshole.”

You can find links to other excerpts here: Six Sentence Sunday.

Six Sentence Sunday, Dec 4 (Not My Apocalypse)

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I won my 5th straight NaNoWriMo with this crazy romp of a story. In this six, Alex fights with his father (the devil):

He hit me so hard I heard my ears ringing and I tasted blood in my mouth. “You will obey me, no matter how many times I have to beat it into you.”

“Cause that’s worked so well before.” It hurt to talk through my busted mouth, but it was worth it. He growled and I kicked out at him again, trying to aim higher. I missed his balls but I connected with his hip.

Six Sentence Sunday, Nov 27 (Not My Apocalypse)

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When Fenrir came into sight I felt like I wanted to go find somewhere to hide. He was bigger than Skoll and he looked nastier. He looked like he was having a hell of a good time tearing shit up and showed no signs of slowing down. I held Excalibur tighter and Odin’s son said, “Come on!”

I shoved the fear down and we ran at the huge wolf. He stopped smashing the building he was standing in the middle of and looked down at us.

Guys, this book is so. Much. Fun.

Six Sentence Sunday, Nov 20 (Not My Apocalypse)

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Not My Apocalypse doesn’t stick to one pantheon:

“We did not give you Excalibur. Excalibur gave herself to you,” the Morrigan said.

“I should have bought her dinner first,” I muttered to myself. Odin’s son still heard me and he laughed even harder. To the Morrigan I said, “So then I shouldn’t thank you for giving me a weapon that can fight off Fenrir, huh?”

She gave me a crooked, crafty smile.

If you want to see a longer excerpt, I have one up on the NaNoWriMo site: Not My Apocalypse excerpt

As always, you can find other participants over at Six Sentence Sunday.

Six Sentence Sunday, Nov 13 (Not My Apocalypse)

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Today I’m very likely still on the 28-hour write in tour my local NaNoWriMo group does. That or catching a few hours of sleep before heading back. Here’s another taste of my NaNo novel:

I desperately held on to the cold.

“Alex, please,” Ken said, and he sounded scared.

Mom grabbed me again, this time with both hands, and she shook me. “Stop it right now!” She shook me until I opened my eyes.

It was snowing in the dining room.

If you want to see a longer excerpt, I have one up on the NaNoWriMo site: Not My Apocalypse excerpt

As always, you can find other participants over at Six Sentence Sunday.

Six Sentence Sunday, Nov 6 (Not My Apocalypse)

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November has arrived, and with it NaNoWriMo. I’m already several thousand words into my new novel Not My Apocalypse, so here’s your first taste:

Ever since then I’ve thought about my own anger, and my stomach twists into a little ball at the thought that I’m like my dad. No question where I got all the anger and rebelliousness from. But there’s one big difference between us, and it’s the thing that makes me feel better about myself. Satan is so angry and he hates Jehovah so much that he’s willing to bring down all of creation with him. Nothing matters but getting his revenge. I’ve got a list of fucking issues a mile long, but I’m not going to make everyone and everything suffer for it.

For links to other snippets by participating authors, check out Six Sentence Sunday.

Six Sentence Sunday, Oct 30 (Taming the Darkness)

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In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d share something with gore and monsters.

Victor’s growl rose in pitch until it was almost a yelp, but he didn’t lose his grip. With his other hand he reached back and punched through the alt’s chest. A wet crunch echoed off the walls and Claire’s mouth fell open as she watched Victor yank his hand back full of bright red guts. The alt twitched, making a bubbling, gasping noise. Victor stared down at his opponent until the creature stopped moving, then he let out a victorious howl.

Claire couldn’t help a little shiver.

Other snippets from other authors available at Six Sentence Sunday. Happy Halloween!

Six Sentence Sunday, Oct 16 (Erik’s Tale)

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Erik’s tale is off with my beta readers. I wonder what they’ll think of this crazy little book that possessed me for months.

Erik took a breath and drew the first wailing note. He played like he always did: like a man possessed. Music possessed him, as it always had and always would. And while it possessed him, it enchanted those around him. He had used it to deceive Christine, to ensnare her mind and her voice. Now he played it to entertain, to brighten the life of a kind old woman, and perhaps, in a way, even to thank M. Daae.
You can find links to other participants at Six Sentence Sunday.