Feeling Cut Off

Skype not working and writing friends' web is down. Feeling a little 'out there'; a little alone. The writing goes on. Today I wrote at home, McDonald's and Caribou Coffee, but I came out from behind my laptop to see the world for a while, too.

I spent some time with a friend and writing mentor and we had a good time, talking and drinking coffee and laughing. I miss spending time with her and sometimes it's hard to connect, but she's an inspiration and a dear friend.

I made time to cuddle with Holly, my cat. Since moving my laptop from a lap desk to a real desk, she's been missing our game of "race to the chair," and squeezing between the arm of the chair and my leg to cuddle while I try to write. So today, I spent an hour with my cat on my lap and my Kindle in my hand. I still managed to get over 2000 words in today. I haven't posted on Sapphica Books or my Facebook NaNo page yet; I need to remind myself to do that before collapsing in bed.

Now my kitty is snoring in my chair and my fingers are still tap-tapping at my keyboard. When will I stop?

When the words run out.

NaNo Progress

A knock on the door, Finally! He opened the office door and found Rickard on his doorstep…alone.

“Idiot!” He grabbed Rickard by the arm and jerked him into his office. “Where are they?”

Rickard reached inside his jacket and shook his head. He pulled out a nine millimeter Glock with a silencer.

“You don’t have to worry about them any longer.”

*****

Whoa! another 'Ohh nooo' moment!

 3270 words today; 24367 total word count. 

I didn't make my weekend goal of 25,000, but got very close. I will close the gap tomorrow, then start a new week ready to go. Halfway in; I've never gotten this far in NaNo in the four years previously that I participated. Having a writing buddy, and friends who I know are writing too has been very motivating. 

Good night, all. Have a great day tomorrow.

Good writing is when...

You know it's good writing when you make yourself say, "Oh, nooo."

2007 words today
17073 words/month

http://nanowrimo.org/participants/cerrulis/novels/branded-868660

Borderland

If you've been following my friends, Kate and Valerie, you know something awesome is on its way. Borderland by Kate and Valerie Genet is about to be released tomorrow, November 3rd. That magic number has been dancing in my head as well as NaNo's 1,667 and 50,000. Finally, it's only hours away.

Find Borderland here. It is going to be amazing.

Just Behind You, Marlie!

Marlie and I are off to a great start this first day of NaNoWriMo. You can check my progress here,
or here. It's a good number for me, and I've still got some working time tonight.

I'm rewarding myself with a little AMC action. Yes it's Sunday night, you know where I'll be. :P

Sleep tight.

11/01/15 Deanne Kearns

New Excerpt, 11/1/15

The State Patrol cruiser stopped behind Mayson’s vehicle and the officer got out, walking to the edge of the road, sweeping his flashlight beam before him.

He looked into the ditch at the wrecked car, but didn’t go down. He seemed to be scanning the banks and bottom of the ditch rather than the car.

He was a big man with broad, square shoulders and muscular arms that challenged the seams of his uniform. His nametag read ‘Davis’. As Mayson watched him, shadows flickered on his face to the time of the traffic light and the cruiser’s strobes.

Something cold slipped down her spine, as unexpected as it was sudden. He had switched his attention to her, and now his face was almost completely in shadow.

“Careful…careful…”

A picture flashed through Mayson’s mind; a terrified woman with bloody face and hands. She held her hands up, palms out, pleading…

The voice and the vision collided in Mayson’s head and she staggered, nearly tumbling into the ditch.

The trooper caught her, snatching her upper arm before she tumbled back down into the ditch. There was nothing solicitous about his grip. His large hand almost completely encircled her bicep, and she knew she’d have bruises.

Mayson’s phone rang. Startled, she fumbled in her pocket, aware that the trooper was starting to pull her away from the ditch… and away from her SUV. She finally grabbed the cell phone, tapped the answer button and put it to her ear.

“May?”

“Lori.” The hand on her arm let go. That and Lori’s voice gave her sudden relief that chased the coldness from her body.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, the State Patrol is here—” Mayson broke off as she turned to look at the trooper.

He was gone.

NaNoWriMo 2015

Countdown

National Novel Writing Month begins in two days; November 1st! I have a project planned and its synopsis ready.
This year I'm going to win; I will finish a 50,000-word (at least) novel and have a draft to start out with for Branded, my NaNoWriMo project.
 Marlie Harris has agreed to be my writing buddy and we will be Skyping, posting on Sapphica Books' FB page and sapphicabooks.net. Keep an eye on our progress as we post our word count at least twice a week.
And while they have not signed up for NaNo this year, Kate and Valerie Genet will be hard at work at Book Two of the Millennium Trilogy. We'll all four of us be cheering each other on!
Wish us luck as we start counting on November 1st.

A brief excerpt from "Branded," this year's NaNoWriMo project, 2015

In her agony, she became aware of a psychic pain as devastating as her physical pain. Instinctively, she reached out, all inhibitions torn away by her own distress. She reached out to find the source; she reached out to comfort.

 An impression of family; small and happy. An accident; a drunk driver…a little boy, barely learning to walk. A name pushing through the growing haze; Mayson. A woman, lying lifeless in the driver’s seat.... Mayson's whole world gone.

She reached for Mayson’s pain; her guilt and sorrow; and took it on herself. She brought it in and shared the burden. She felt a spear going through her heart.

Is this what loss feels like?

Coupled with her own injuries and this unfamiliar outpouring of grief, she did the only thing left; she let her conscious mind go. As she went, she whispered.
You’re not alone

A synopsis of this year's National Novel Writing Month project.

Branded

Aidenn Connall has wakened in a hospital, unable to remember what happened, where she is and where she's been…or who she is. The first days are spent in a haze of pain and confusion. Voices and images begin to dominate her conscious and unconscious hours. They are explained away as brain trauma from an accident. But the visions are more real to her than the life-supporting machinery and doctors and nurses surrounding her.

Soon the caregivers around her begin to distance themselves from a patient they are convinced is unhinged. But she knows she is painfully sane. Something in Aidenn’s memory is trying to claw its way out, and it becomes more demanding every day.

Mayson Denning comes across a horrible accident in the small hours of the morning, finding the driver half-dead, trapped in a twisted coffin of steel. As a nurse, it’s her duty to stop and give aid. The moment she touches the victim, she hears a voice she is convinced belongs to the driver and sees visions of terrible events. They plague her as she continues her care of Aidenn who has been delivered to the trauma center where she works.

Mayson also questions Aidenn's sanity, but  becomes aware of shadows and plots that are coalescing around her and Aidenn.

It becomes plain there is a connection woven between Mayson and Aidenn from the moment they find each other by the side of the road. Together, they must piece together the shattered remnants of Aidenn’s memory and learn the meanings of the visions they are suffering, before a dark plan overtakes them.