Hi all, sorry to not update for a while. Life seems to naturally get much busier for me in the fall, and I've been trying to squeeze out one more draft of Move before the holidays. Thank God, I finally managed to finish draft #4 last night. I tell you, I struggled with this one. I found out that both of my publishers now require a minimum 60,000 word count for mystery novels now, and the last draft of Move came in at a little under 50,000 words. I had to add over 10,000 words. It resulted in six new chapters and adding a lot of detail. I beleive the changes are well worth it and make it a much better novel, but this wasn't easy. I have done three read throughs to make the additions and make sure that everything is "plugged in" and fits together correctly. I'm happy with this draft, though. The plot is much stronger now and I feel the story benefitted from the additions. I hope to have a final draft of this done and submitted to one of my publishers by May 2013.

Oh NaNo participants, this is what you have to look forward to. Yes, writing that rough draft is the hardest (and most time consuming) part, but the rewrites can be a pain too. But don't worry about that now. Just get that draft out there and you can worry about editing hell in 2013.

I also managed to squeeze in a revision of Feathered Frenzy this morning too. That's a very short work - I actually call it a guide because it's more the length of a novellette (at 15,500 words). I'm going to self publish that one, so it will get done when it gets done. Maybe I'll have it ready in late winter or early spring 2013.

But for now, my current writing projects are caught up and I'm putting them on hold for the holidays. Life is just too busy now. We're doing a major housecleaning to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that season is always a whirlwind of activity. There's just too much to do and trying to squeeze in time for ongoing writing projects with family activities, social activities, and work is more stress than it's worth. So I've decided to just do promotion for my published works and blogging for the remainder of 2012, and I'll pick up my ongoing writing projects again in 2013.

In other news, Rick's term on council is drawing to a close. He and the other three members had nominees put forth to replace them next year, and the congregation will vote on them December 2. Rick has one more thing to follow up with on his committee and he's helping with the congregational meetings for the elections, but it's winding down. Only one more meeting in December and he turns in his office key and goes back to being a regular member of the congregation. I say yay. He's done a lot the past 3 years. We all have (meaning the fellow council members and their spouses). I wish the nominees luck and blessing as they take over the reigns.

You know I left my committees? I'm helping Rick with his through the end of his term, but I had to come off the other committee. They're planning ongoing activities on weekdays and I just can't do that with my work schedule, so I had to quit. It's too bad because I did enjoy being more active in church, but my writing is building up and my workload is increasing since one of my colleagues resigned to go work for another section in the agency. The good news is that she has a window office and I'm moving in it when she moves out in a couple of weeks. So for the first time in my almost 15 years of working full time, I'll have a window office. The bad news is, I'm also getting her Board - so there are more meetings I have to put on and disciplinary actions to deal with until a replacement is hired. *Groan* And we all know that can be a slow process. But I'll survive. If the Lord brings you to it, He'll bring you through it. It just meant that I had to quit my church committees. Too bad really, but hopefully I'll be able to help out with activities here and there in the future. There are a couple of things I really enjoy helping with like greeting and our free thrift day, and I'd really like to continue helping with those things.

So that's where it's at for now. Things are coming along and I'm happy for that. Thankfully, I have today off for Veteran's Day, so hopefully I'll be able to get even more in order and on track. I've already made great progress today, but now I need to log off to deal with other matters, like holiday shopping and housecleaning.

Thanks to all the Veteran's that fought and gave their  lives so we're free to live our crazy, hectic lives under the blessing of freedom. God bless all those who have served and continue to serve our country and to protect our freedom. We do appreciate you and pray for your safety and well being every day.

That's all today. Take care and have a great week.

Bye!

Hi everybody, I'm excited to announce that I officially started the rough draft of my next novel tonight! The working title for this book is Move, and wow, it's going to be a wild ride. I'd like to share bits and pieces of the manuscript here as I work on it because I'd really like to share the journey I take with this book. Because a book is journey for both writer and reader. Often the reader only experiences the final draft, but I'd like to share the entire ride with you.

Here's the prologue that I just wrote. Bear in mind that it's a very rough draft and, of course, subject to change:
 
Prologue

                 
“Please state your name for the record.”

                 
Cheyenne stared at the detective sitting across the table with suspicious  green eyes. “I thought this was an informal  interview.”

                 
Detective Claire Barnes fiddled with the microphone cord. “It is, but this old tape recorder can’t see you. Since we don’t have a video camera, I’ll ask you to humor me. Please state your name.”

“Cheyenne Wilkins,” she said, pushing a strand of dark brown hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. 
                 
“Cheyenne, were you in the building when the fire started?”
                 
Cheyenne clutched the coffee cup in her hand, digging a manicured finger into the styrophone. “No, I had left the office for the day an hour earlier.”
                 
“How did you know the building was on fire?” 
                  
“The alarm company called.”
                 
“Why would the alarm company call you?” Detective Barnes asked.
    
“I’m the business manager,” Cheyenne said. “I’m responsible for office operations and security.”
                 
Detective Barnes flipped through her notepad. “I understand that’s your duty, but my records say that Brett Goodard is the company president. Why wouldn’t he want to be designated as the primary contact for the alarm company?”
                 
“He lives in Knoxville. I’m only a few blocks away. I can get here much faster.”Cheyenne sipped her coffee and sat the cup down with a shaky hand. “He thought it would be best if somebody close by were designated for that. You know, so someone could be here quickly in case anything happened.”
                 
Detective Barnes stared at Cheyenne. “Why would he be concerned about that?”
             
Cheyenne looked away. “I don’t understand what the problem is. Doesn’t it make sense for the company president to designate somebody close by to keep an eye on things, especially if they have a long commute?”
                 
“I suppose so,” Detective Barnes said, closing her notebook. “Cheyenne, from our previous conversations I take it you’re a no-nonsense person, so I’m going to ask you straight. Is there anybody with your company that had a grudge against you?”
                 
Cheyenne’s blue eyes widened. “Me?”
                 
“Well, anybody with the company. Have you terminated anybody? Was anybody disgruntled? Were there any office politics that might have pushed somebody over the edge?”
                 
Cheyenne set her jaw. “Are you questioning the integrity of the company? We’ve never done anything wrong. Everything has always been above board and honest. We always act in the best interest of our employees.” She reached for the coffee cup but accidentally crushed it, spewing brown liquid over the steel table. “Crap!”she shouted. “Don’t you have any napkins around this office?”
                 
“Forget the coffee, just answer the question.”
                 
“No, this is a mess. We need to clean it up now.”
                 
“I don’t care about the coffee!” Detective Barnes said sternly. “I have two dead people, two missing people, one person nobody can  identify wandering around like a wraith, and an office on fire. I think asking if anybody has a grudge is perfectly sensible. So tell me, Cheyenne Wilkins, is there anybody that was pissed off enough to cause his domino effect of madness?”

Plenty of people talk. It's the ones that act who really cause the trouble.             
“Oh God,”Cheyenne said as tears welled in her eyes. 
                 
“What, Cheyenne?” Detective Barnes said. “Please, anything helps.”
                 
Tears rolled down Cheyenne’s pale cheeks. “I lied. I lied to the wrong person”
                 
“Who did you lie to?”
                 
“Ruby Josen.”
                 
Detective Barnes flipped through her notes and nodded. “I see. Ok Cheyenne, tell me the story. What did you lie to her about?”
                 
Cheyenne looked toward the ceiling, the tears in her eyes glinting in the harsh light of the lamp hanging over the table. “Everything. And now she’s doing something about it.”