The Perils of Inspiration

Most of the time I love the way my brain works. The twists and turns, the way random conversations in my head will make me laugh for no reason. It's what makes me, me. It's why I create the stories I do. It's why I'm rarely bored. There's always some bad guy to thwart or battle to win in the stories I tell myself.

It's not so fun when my brain offers up a brilliant stroke of inspiration that if followed would require me to scrap a good portion of the work I've already crafted in Aileen 5. Nearly all of it, in fact.

I'm early enough in the process that this is doable. On the other hand, the last two books where I've tried to "fix" a beginning, I've screwed the book up more. It's left me in a bit of a quandary. I'm frozen in place until I make a decision one way or another.

Some people think writing a book is a straight shot from A to B. It can be. For most of my books, it largely is--but not always. Sometimes, it takes a few false starts and an odd tangent or two to find my way.

Decisions both large and small, especially at this stage, set the scene for the rest of the book. There's a reason my writing is slower at this stage; why I don't achieve the high word count I'm used to. I haven't built enough momentum for the story to carry itself forward. Making a wrong decision will make the middle and back half of the book torturous to write and lead to more extensive rewrites when it comes time to edit.

I don't quite know which direction I will go yet. Perhaps what I've already written can be re-purposed into a short story. Perhaps my brilliant idea only seems brilliant because I haven't started working with it yet. Only time will tell.

Secret Project Sneak Peak

I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm working on next. To start - Aileen 4 is due back from the editor at any moment. In the meantime, I've been working on a story that has taken up a lot of real estate in my head for the last few years. Don't know when I'll publish it since I plan at least three books in the series. I've been toying with the notion of publishing them back to back, but it could be a while since I want to write Dragon 4 and Broken Lands 4 before I write the second book.

Either way, I'm excited to be working on this project. Since it's Monday, I thought you guys might enjoy a sneak peak.

Standard Disclaimers Apply - This has not been fully edited and I may change it for the final product. Hope you guys enjoy.

Sneak Peak

The burnt out wreckage of the alien spaceship drifted in a halo of its own debris. Its end had been violent and full of fire and carnage. The scars of its last battle were still visible in the gaping wounds dotted throughout its carcass.

At least half of its body was missing, bits of it floating in a mass around it. What little remained intact was riddled with scorch marks as it tumbled slowly through space, the story of its end visible to all who neared.

Kira’s breath remained steady as she drifted closer to her target, the void of space pressing in all around her. The dead ship was just one of many in a debris field that spanned thousands of miles. A relic from a battle fought nearly twelve years ago, it was the perfect monetary opportunity for the very few who were brave and foolish enough to attempt salvaging it.

This particular ship was smack dab in the middle of the field, a priceless opportunity for those stupid enough to risk life and limb on it. Kira hoped the risk meant great reward. Most salvagers would keep to the edges of the debris field to avoid risk puncturing the outer hull of their ship.

“Stay alert, Kira. My calculations place the chances of a suit puncture at seventy six point four three percent,” a voice said over the comms.

“We’ve been over this, Jin. The upgrades to my suit mean I can withstand any debris smaller than my fist,” Kira responded. It wasn’t quite combat grade but it was better than anything her fellow salvagers might have. “The new radar we picked up will detect anything within ten meters.”

Jin sniffed, the sound insulted. “That thing is at most only ninety six percent accurate.”

Kira ignored the grumbling. Her friend had fought the radar’s purchase and had been a grumpy about its presence ever since. Kira didn’t care. The new radar would be a valuable tool, especially if they continued going after the more difficult ships that other salvagers were too afraid to attempt.

“We’ve been over this. The radar isn’t going to replace you. It simply frees you up to concentrate on more important tasks,” she told him in a soothing voice.

She flicked on the propulsion unit, grinning as the thrusters kicked online. She loved this feeling. The abrupt jolt that took her from drifting aimlessly to her being the guide and navigator.

She easily dodged the bigger pieces of debris as she wound her way closer to the misshapen hulk waiting for her.

“I still think we should have gone after the ship the Sweet sisters told us about. This one has disaster written all over it,” Jin groused.

“If we’d done that, we would have had to fight those same sisters off once we got through with the salvage. You know they like to snatch other people’s hard work,” Kira explained again. “Besides, I’m pretty sure this is warrior class. An elite or superior at the very least.”

“That makes me feel a lot better,” Jin said sarcastically. “It’s not like they don’t have a high mortality rate for salvagers.”

“This conversation is really boosting my confidence right now.” Kira’s voice was dry.

“It’s my job to notify you of the risk in any salvage operation.”

Yes and Jin was very scrupulous about doing his job. Even when you would prefer he didn’t. Like now, while she was drifting through the void, only a few thin layers between it and her.

Kira maneuvered around another set of space junk. Looked like a bulkhead, probably one of the reasons the lower half of the ship was gone.

“I’m approaching the main body,” Kira said, the banter of earlier falling away as her focus turned to the job.

“What do you see?”

“The control room looks to be intact. A few of the weapon chutes are still there.”

The main bridge would have been in the upper middle part of the ship, behind several bulk heads. She’d been right before. It was a Superior, definitely warrior class.

During the height of the war, it would have sent the human fleet scurrying. Nearly indestructible, it’s defensive and offensive capabilities were among the best their enemy, the tsavitee had. No doubt it’d been responsible for sending more than one of Earth’s ships to an early grave along with any unfortunates who were among the crew.

Size in space often had little impact on a ship’s capabilities. This one was considered midsize. Not quite a dreadnought. Next to her small form, it seemed massive.

She knew the specs for this ship, had studied them and others like it. The ship would have had a crew of about a hundred aboard when it was destroyed. A hundred of humanity’s enemies that went down with the ship in one of the bloodiest battles of a decades long war. 

Built from a dark metal, it nearly blended in with the black of space. Its shape was ominous and foreboding, the lines sharp and cutting. Kira didn’t know if that was because of her own perception and history or because it was essentially a graveyard.

“Any of the cannons look salvageable?”

Kira examined the ship. It was difficult since it continued to rotate along the same lines it would have when it died.

“No, they’re torn to bits. There are a few pieces here and there, the rest of the parts are likely floating around me,” she said.

“Do you think they’re worth salvaging?” he asked.

“Not on this ship. I’ll focus on the main body for now. We can mark the location and come back later for the rest.”

“Alright, I’m ready for you to begin your approach. Remember, these ships tend to have nasty defenses. Try not to trip them this time.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” she told him.

“You say that, and yet you always seem to find trouble.” His voice was tart. “I’m not coming to get you this time.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to. Just make sure to keep the Wanderer out of danger,” Kira said. Before he could respond, her voice turned businesslike. “Beginning my approach.”

“Your trajectory is good. You should reach the ship in four minutes and ten seconds,” he said.

Kira maneuvered closer, her heart rate remaining steady despite the danger. She’d only made it three meters when her proximity alert went off, the screen in her mask flashing red. She hit her thrusters, shooting left. A silver shape sailed past her.

Guess that meant the ship’s defenses were definitely intact. A grin took over her face.

When they did finally crack this nut, they were going to make a mint off it. Enough for that new food synthesizer that actually made food that tasted like food and not the chalky crap she was currently living off of.

“What was that?” Jin asked.

“Nothing,” she told him, her voice distracted.

The weapon chasing her through the wreckage looked like a long silvery ribbon. It looked and moved as if it was organic, darting around pieces of metal with a lithe sinuous glide as it followed Kira. It reminded her in many ways of Earth’s eels. She’d never seen one in person but she’d seen pictures in books and in video.

This thing moved in much the same way, as if it was swimming through space. If it caught her, it would wrap around her before yanking her apart. That was if it didn’t burn through her suit first.

“Is that a Strigmor Eel?” Jin’s outrage was clear even over the comms.

Kira didn’t bother denying it, too busy trying not to fly headfirst into any wreckage.

“How did you set off the ship’s defenses?” he cried.

“Little busy here,” Kira said. She shot down, the eel just missing her.

“Did you not cloak? I told you how important it was to cloak,” he wailed.

“I cloaked,” Kira said through gritted teeth. She veered to the ship. Maybe it wouldn’t follow her inside.

“Don’t go inside the ship. That’s a bad idea,” Jin lectured.

An instant later a second proximity alert went off, alerting Kira to another eel heading her way.

“Told you.” Jin’s voice was smug.

Kira ignored him, dipping down as she zig zagged at a breakneck speed through wreckage that would cut her to pieces if it impacted.

She rounded a piece of particularly large metal, the first eel right on her tail, the second peeling off to try to trap her from the other side. She flicked her eyes up and to the left, blinking twice to trigger her defensive flares. Hundreds of tiny lights, each one a metal ball bearing no bigger than a marble streaked out from her suit.

The eel flew into them, the balls attaching to its skin in a big clump. Seconds later they burst, splitting the eel in half.

Kira shot away from the wreckage, just in time for the second eel to come up from underneath. She darted through the deadly obstacle course, the eel no more than a few lengths behind her.

Her new suit with its upgrades was a blessing just then. It was its own miniature space craft, capable of the flexible maneuvering that a bigger craft would never have been able to do. She’d designed it to her specifications, sourced every piece of it. Now it was making all that time, effort and money worthwhile.

The view screen expanded and contracted as she searched through the wreckage for the perfect spot to take out the other eel.

There. Two long pieces of wreckage floated together, connected by a thin beam. That was perfect.
Kira veered for it, hitting her turbos and increasing her speed. The eel fell back, just slightly. Enough for her purposes.

She darted between the two sheets, brushing against one side and leaving several sticky charges on it before moving to the other side. This was done within seconds.

She hit a hard reverse on her thrusters, gritting her teeth as the suit shook around her as it ground to a stop. She turned on her back and waited.

The eel didn’t disappoint, sailing into the small space, its body slithering toward her as it spotted her.

She smiled at it. “Hello, beautiful.”

She lifted her arm, lining up the shot as it prepared to dart after her. She fired, a blue light streaking toward the eel. It easily dodged, moving to the side as the light missed it.

Her smile widened. She kicked her thrusters back online, using them to send her rocketing away from the eel, her eyes locked on it.

The light hit the sticky charges. A force punched Kira in the chest, then the metal around the eel imploded, warping around it and killing it.

Kira continued her backwards glide.

“The eels have been neutralized,” she said.

“Good, now that you’re done playing, maybe you can get back to salvaging this ship. You only have a few hours of air left and it’ll take you nearly that long to get close again,” Jin said.

“Roger that,” Kira said.

Destruction's Ascent Deleted Scene

This past weekend I worked a little bit in Dragon 4. Every time I start a new book in a series, I always go back and reread the last one. There are a variety of reasons for that. Among them is that it helps me recapture the voice of my main character, and it reminds me of all the ideas that didn't quite make it into the last book. 

In doing that, I remembered a scene I deleted. I meant to share it after Destruction's Ascent came out but forgot (another reason I have to reread the last book--my memory is terrible).

I thought sharing that scene with you would be a nice way to start the week. It's an alternative version of how the group got to the Little Harbor Marketplace to meet Daisy.  Enjoy.

Deleted Scene

Tate waited in front of a large iron wrought gate and eyed the monstrosity it protected with a conflicted expression that edged towards distaste. While the house behind its barrier wasn’t really that hideous, it was the complete opposite of anything she’d planned to live in. It was huge and overdone, lacking any class while trying to make up for that lack by going as big and bold as it could. She knew the area was considered a place for the newly rich and as such lacked the elegant taste of the older sections of the city.

When the solicitor they’d enlisted to help them recommended it, they’d been hesitant but willing to try since it was in a more desirable section of the city. It was close to the hill leading to the Lower, but far enough away to be considered respectable among the crowd she was now expected to rub elbows with.

Though, if this was what they considered acceptable, she might need to rethink how much she wanted to blend. She much preferred her quarters at Colton’s Place over this. They were simple and sparse and easy to keep clean. This—this would be a nightmare to manage.

Two women walked up on her other side and Tate stepped back to let them precede her onto the property. The woman closer to her made a sound of recognition and stepped back. “Lady Fisher, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Tate blinked at the woman, recognition slow to come. After a long moment, she said, “Lady Spiritly, I could say the same.”

Roslyn was dressed simply, her clothes having seen better days and her hair pulled back off her face in a simple knot. She had a look in her eyes that hadn’t been there the last time Tate had seen her, shortly after she disowned her connection with her family. It was the kind of look that said she hadn’t had an easy time of it, that the world was a much less kind place than she had thought.

Roslyn looked discomforted. “It’s just Roslyn now.”

Tate didn’t know how to respond to that and looked at Roslyn’s companion, a woman with ash blond hair and a protective look on her face. “Ashwin, right?” Tate said.

Ashwin nodded and dipped a slight curtsy.

There was an awkward pause. Tate didn’t know how to speak to Roslyn, given their history. While Roslyn wasn’t at fault for much of what had gone before, she was forever associated with it in Tate’s memory. At the same time, Tate felt partially responsible for her fall from grace. It put her in an odd predicament.

“You’re looking at this place to rent?” Roslyn said, saving Tate from herself.

“Ah, yes.” Tate glanced back at the monstrosity and inwardly cringed. It hadn’t gotten any better in the time since they’d started talking.

Roslyn’s face turned thoughtful, some of her uneasiness from before fading. “That’s surprising. It would be wiser to buy. It’s more affordable than renting, and you won’t be limited to such interesting quarters.”

Tate didn’t want to admit she didn’t have the funds to buy a place outright. Not in the Upper at least. She might be drawing a regular stipend now that she was part of the dragon corps, but it would take time to accrue.

She nodded to show she was listening before switching the subject. “Are you in the area to look at rentals as well?”

Roslyn gave a strained smile and lifted her chin. “No, I’m actually here for a different purpose.”

Tate waited assuming she’d share, but another awkward pause ensued.

Before she could come up with some social nicety, the gate swung open and Dewdrop and Night stalked out. “Tate, thank the Saviors you’re here. That man is a flaming flibberidgit.”

The sound of rushed footsteps on the cobblestones came from behind the two as a man dressed in all purple wearing an absurd colored wig and a hat that looked like something out of a child’s fantasy rushed into view. “Lady Fisher, Lady Fisher, I really must protest my treatment at the hands of these two incompetents. This is really too much.”

“Oh boy,” Tate turned to face the trio as they approached rapidly. Roslyn and Ashwin looked intrigued by the proceedings.

The man stopped beside the gate, resting one hand against it as he caught his breath. He withdrew a lilac handkerchief and pressed it against his mouth as he glared at Tate’s friends.

“When you asked me to help you in this matter, I thought I would gain a certain cachet assisting the only female dragon to live through the bonding.” His voice was light and effeminate, making it hard to take him seriously. Dewdrop snickered, hiding his laugh when Tate sent him a quelling glance.

“That still holds true, Pepper,” Tate said, trying to sooth the man’s ruffled feathers. It was obvious something had happened and she had no doubt the instigators were standing next to her with innocent expressions on their faces. Dewdrop looked amused while Night seemed irate, his eyes narrowed as his tail thumped the ground at her feet.

She hoped Pepper didn’t try to get close to her feline friend. The mood he was in, he was liable to try sharpening his claws on the other man.

Pepper straightened, looking down his nose at her as he flapped his handkerchief at Dewdrop and Night. “I simply cannot continue as I have been. If I am to continue to work with you, your servant and pet will need to be kept in line. It would be best if they were excluded from the process entirely.”

Tate took a deep breath, counseling herself to patience. Pepper was one of the few willing to take her and her ragtag band on. He had connections none of them had. Losing his help would put her in a bind unless she planned to be homeless in a few short weeks.

“I have told you before—Dewdrop and Night are not servants, nor are they pets. They are valued members of my household. Family, if you prefer. I’ve asked you to treat them as such.” On this, she wouldn’t budge.

He squawked and huffed. Tate waited him out, knowing it might take a few minutes. They’d had this exact conversation twice before. She turned her attention to the other two.

“What happened?” She gave them a hard look, letting them know she wasn’t in the mood for games.

Dewdrop jerked his thumb at Pepper. “He showed us to the servant quarters in the basement and told us the rooms there were too good for the likes of a guttersnipe and animal but if ‘Lady Fisher insisted on collecting strays, this would be at least passing respectable.’” Dewdrop’s voice adopted a high sound as he mocked Peppers voice. It was a spot-on imitation and Tate struggled to keep her amusement contained. He needed no further encouragement.

“I don’t sound like that,” Pepper hissed.

“And?” She knew that wasn’t the end of it.

Night’s whiskers twitched, pointing forward. We showed him what a pet and guttersnipe were capable of.

That couldn’t be good. “And how exactly did you do that?”

Dewdrop shrugged. “Called him an ass. Then Night jumped on top of one of the ugly chandeliers.”

“That was a hundred-year-old crystal balleski. They don’t make them like that anymore.” Pepper’s voice was outraged.

“For good reason,” Dewdrop muttered.

Roslyn smothered a laugh. Her face was smooth and blank when Tate looked back at her. She would have thought she’d imagined the sound if not for the faintest trace of amusement around her eyes.

“What am I going to tell the owners?” Pepper asked, his voice aggrieved. “This is a disaster.”

She eyed the other man. “There’s no reason to tell them anything. It’s a chandelier and I doubt Night left any marks on it.”

“There are pawprints all over the house,” Pepper accused in a shrill voice.

“You should be thanking him for dusting,” Dewdrop stated. “That chandelier was filthy.”

There was a snort behind Tate. Ashwin looked outright amused and Roslyn looked like she was losing the battle.

Pepper made an inarticulate sound of rage and threw his handkerchief at the ground at Dewdrop’s feet. They all looked at the crumpled purple square.

“I’ve had it. I won’t work with a thief and animal any longer. Either you get rid of them or I quit,” Pepper declared.

Tate scratched her neck, her gaze going past him to stare at the house. “I guess our association is at an end then.”

Pepper gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing as his face turned nearly the same shade as his coat. “Well, then.” He jerked hard on his coat, straightening it. “Your companions speak to your upbringing, my lady. I’d think long and hard who you spend time with.” He minced past Tate.

She let him go. There were a lot of things she could say back to him, but she thought it best to let him have the final words. His pride had already taken enough of a beating.

“Bye, you insufferable prick,” Dewdrop waved at his back. “Don’t come back now.”

Good riddance, Night declared when he was out of sight.

Tate sighed and gave them both a disappointed look. “That could have gone better.”

Dewdrop shrugged. “It was bound to happen at some point. The stick was shoved too far up his ass to make this work.”

“Now, what are we going to do about a house?” Tate complained. “He was the only one willing to work with us given our reputation.”

She could feel a headache brewing.

“Roslyn can help,” Ashwin said, stepping forward, her eyes determined. “She’ll do it for half what you were going to pay him.”

Roslyn looked startled at her friend’s words, her eyes widening as she found herself the sudden center of attention.

“Her connections are just as good and she knows the city,” Ashwin said.

Dewdrop gave them a skeptical look. “Has she ever rented a house for someone before?”

Ashwin hesitated, her expression torn.

Roslyn met Tate’s gaze with a poised expression. “I have. I used to find places for visiting friends of my father when they came into the city. I’ve also made travel arrangements on their behalf as well. It was an expected function as the daughter of a noble house. He thought it would be good training for the future.”

What she didn’t say was that future was now gone. When she’d disavowed her house, she’d broken with any privilege or power that might have been hers simply because of the name she carried.

“That might work,” Tate said. If she could find them a place, it would make things a lot easier on Tate.

“I would just need to know your requirements,” Roslyn said, her voice soft and unsure.

“Tate, a word,” Dewdrop said as he eyed Roslyn with suspicion. She sighed as he gestured her towards the gate.

“What is it?”

“You can’t just accept help from some stranger on the street,” Dewdrop said.

“Why not?” Tate didn’t see what difference it made. “Roslyn isn’t exactly a stranger either.”

“She might as well be,” Dewdrop returned. “Her father had us kidnapped. She’s probably just like him.”

“That’s overstating things a bit,” Tate said. “Besides, who are we to judge someone by what their family has done?”

He looked away, his expression chastened.

Night watched the two of them, his ears flicking. I don’t see how this is any different than how she met either of us. I vote let the woman try. Done with the conversation, he ambled off.

Tate waited, knowing if she pushed he’d shut down.

Dewdrop threw up his hands. “Fine. I know when I’m out voted. Trust the Lady.” He put a derisive twist on the word ‘lady’. He’d made his feelings on the nobility obvious on more than one occasion. She was starting to think there was history there and made a note to ask him about it later when he wasn’t already worked up. “See how far that gets you.”

He stuffed his hands in his pocket and shuffled after Night. To Roslyn, he said, “Don’t think this means we trust you. Cause we don’t.”

Her face turned dismayed as he stalked past her.

Tate gave her a stiff smile. “As you can see, you’ve got the job.”

A smile grew on her face, at odds with the normal austere expression she showed the world. Ashwin clapped and touched Roslyn on the shoulder in support.

“You won’t regret this,” Roslyn told Tate.

“I certainly hope not,” she replied. It wasn’t like she had a lot of options at this point anyway.

“When are you hoping to move in by?” Roslyn asked, visibly gaining control of herself.

“Well, we’ve been told we need to be out of our current apartments by the end of the month. So, some time before then.”

Roslyn looked taken aback. “That’s in two weeks.”

“Yup.”

The news seemed to take some of the happiness out of her sails. Even Ashwin stared at Tate like she had two heads.

“Is there a problem with that deadline?” Tate asked.

Roslyn shook her head, the motion emphatic. “No, no. No problem. I’ll do it.”

Tate gave her a sharp smile, wondering if she was regretting volunteering yet. “You can send word to Colton’s Place when you have something for me to see.”

Tate gave the two of them an abrupt nod before setting off after her friends. The two of them would leave her behind in a hot minute if she took much longer. Her stomach grumbled letting her know it was long past lunch time. Scratch that, she’d leave them behind if she didn’t get some food into her pronto.

“Come on. Let’s go get some food,” Tate told Dewdrop and Night when she caught up to them.

“We’ve already ate.”

Tate gave him a considering look. Seemed someone wasn’t quite over their sulking yet.

“We can go to that meat pie seller in the Little Market,” Tate said with a sly smile. “The one next to the flower cart.”

Dewdrop twitched, his hands dropping to his sides. He tried to play it cool. “I suppose if you pay for us, there’s no harm eating a second meal.”

Tate smirked, knowing she had him. “It’s settled then. We’ll head to the Lower for food.”

Dewdrop came to a stop realizing how she’d played him. Night huffed, his version of a laugh as he sauntered by him.

“You won’t always get your way, you know,” Dewdrop shouted after them.

“Give it up, kid. I’m just cagier than you,” Tate said over her shoulder. He grumbled as he trailed in their wake.

The ARC of Goodness

EDIT: We have met the limit. Thanks to everyone who volunteered. If you missed it this time around, keep your eye out next time.

The ARC has come once again. Thirty copies just waiting for a new home on someone's eReader. For those waiting to get your greedy little paws on the latest adventure of Shea and Fallon ahead of the release date, please keep reading.

Wayfarer's Keep, book 3 of the Broken Lands Series will be out on September 5. I've just put it up for preorder on all of the distributors except for Amazon so it should be live soon. The preorder for Amazon will go up later this month. I'll get you guys the links as they come available.

That means I'm finally ready to release the ARC to several lucky people. I'm going to do this the same way I did it last time. This method seemed to work well, and same rules apply. It will be first come, first serve. Once there are no more slots, that will be the end and there will be no more copies given.

Below is a link. Click on it and fill out the form. Once you've finished and submitted your email, you'll receive an email from me containing the link to download. The first thirty people to respond will receive a copy.

Good Luck!

Gateway to ARC

The End Has Spoken

Omg, it's done. My hands and wrists hurt from the flurry of words, my brain feels like a cooked noodle, and I plan to curl up into a ball on the couch for the next few days while not moving an inch, but it's done. Broken Lands 3 Draft 1 has a The End on it. Still a long ways to go, but the hard part is done.

For all those who've emailed me in the last week and a half while I've been consumed with the end of this book, I have finally responded to your emails. I apologize for taking so long, but I'm apparently incapable of concentrating on anything besides my book when I'm close to the end.

Whew, I still can't believe I'm done. Time to go give myself a break.

Library Visit

Recently, I've been stricken with the need to reread some old favorites. I lay some of that blame on the recommendations many of you made on Facebook about your favorite books. It reminded me of how many great books I've read through the years, which meant I needed to dive back into those stories so I could enjoy them all over again.

Hence a late night visit to my library's online site to check out some ebooks. Imagine my surprise when I find out that they have no record of either of my library cards. (Ohio has set up our libraries so that the ebooks are available to anyone with a library card to a participating library, which is pretty much all of them.)

It had been so long since I went to the library that they let both cards expire, which meant I couldn't check anything out until I'd physically visited a branch and signed up for a new card. There was a time in my life when I rarely went more than two to three days without visiting its hallowed halls. Now, it's been so long that I don't even know how long my card was inactive for.

Part of that is because life got so crazy while I was in the military what with basic, followed by more training before deploying overseas. It meant visiting the library or even a bookstore was no longer as easy as it once was. It was a luxury I could only indulge in rarely.

For me, the ebook revolution came at the perfect time and allowed me devour my favorite addiction even while waiting for a black hawk helicopter to carry me to my next mission or the next base I was staying at. It meant I could have hundreds or thousands of books at my finger tips. No more picking which book to take with me or being bored midway through an airplane trip because I'd finished all of my reading material.

That, plus the easily affordable price of many indies now means a majority of my reading is done by buying books on Amazon. It made me forget how walking into a library is like visiting a well loved friend- one I haven't seen in far too long. It was such a welcome feeling that I ended up checking out four books, despite planning on getting them through the ebook library. Here's hoping that I remember to return these.

I love the smell of books. Don't you?

Something I Probably Shouldn't Share

I know I'm supposed to be concentrating on marketing for Dragon 3, but I couldn't resist sharing a small snippet of the current WIP. I think it's the first time I've been mostly happy with an opening sentence.

Small disclaimer: As always this is not a guarantee of the final product and there is every possibility that the below might not make it into the final draft.

P3

Pain blossomed along Shea’s side. She sucked in a sharp breath and gritted her teeth. She could already tell from the throbbing that a bruise was forming.

Beta Reading

EDIT: Thank you, everyone, for volunteering. All the slots are filled at present. The good news for those who weren't able to do it this time. Dragon 3 is the next one on my plate, so you can volunteer when it is ready for this stage :-)

Aileen 3 has reached the beta read stage. Some of you have been so good as to reach out and ask how you can get on the list to serve as a beta reader for me so I thought I'd open this up for others who might be interested.

Here's how you can volunteer: Private message me through my Facebook page or email me at info@tawhiteauthor.com asking to be a beta reader and committing to the guidelines posted below. I can't guarantee I'll choose you as there has been more interest in this in the past, but I will put you on a list and rotate you in when I can.

Beta Guidelines:

This part of the process for me takes place before I send the manuscript to the editor. That means the copy is a little rough still. I'm not looking for intense grammar editing. I'm more focused on comments on the story- pace, structure, characters, things that don't make sense, does anything make you want to throw the book across the room. That kind of stuff. I will outline these questions in more detail for those who participate.

The other thing I ask is for people to send it back to me in the time allotted - usually two weeks.

I also ask that you agree not to share the story with anyone or upload it to any sites. I know for most of you that would never cross your mind, but I need to say it anyway.

Also, be aware that I may not use your suggestions as my opinion trumps everyone else's. Sometimes you ask questions that I want asked or a suggestion goes against what I'm trying to accomplish.

One note: Beta reading is not for everyone. For instance, I don't beta read for people because I like getting caught up in the story and not paying attention to the things that irk me. For that reason, I'm vaguely considering doing advance reader copies that would take place at the end of the process and would require less thinking on the reader's part. For that piece, I'd ask for a review in return.

If you're interested, let me know. If you're not, I hope you enjoy the book when it comes out.

Saturday Morning Editing

Today is going to be a day for editing and writing. I lost last weekend and part of the week because I went down to Nashville to view the full eclipse. After all, what kind of science fiction/fantasy writer would I be if I didn't stop to take the time to enjoy the wonders this world holds? Answer - not a very good one.

While I loved seeing the eclipse and highly recommend anyone who hasn't seen one find a way to view it at least once in your life, it does mean I need to buckle down and get this book to the next stage. The next few days will be very work heavy. The good news is I'm pretty sure there is only one last scene I need to add/adjust then it's off to smoothing the rough spots in the story.

I decided I needed some inspiration this morning to help me focus. A trip to our local farmers market seems to have done the trick. A peaches and cream pastry from my favorite bread vendor, flowers to add a touch of whimsy and color, and coffee to keep me alert and focused for what's coming. Goodness knows I'm going to need that last one.

The Journey

I decided to take a short break from working on the ending for Pathfinder's 2 and write a quick blog post since I've been a little absent of late.

My real world job has had me a bit busy with traveling for work over the past couple days, but that doesn't mean I've stopped writing. Since I've traveled for work a lot more this year, it's meant more writing on the road or while waiting for a flight in an airport terminal. I've even cut evenings short to go back to the hotel to get a few thousand words in before bedtime. A writer's life never stops it seems.

Let's see. Below is a list of some of the places that I've visited while writing Shea and Fallon's story:

• A few thousand words written on multiple trips to Chicago
• 5000 words written on the trip too and from San Antonio
• 2000-4000 while driving to North Carolina
• 3000 during a two day trip to Pittsburgh
• A little less than 4,000 on the trip too and from Seattle
• 113,000 words written while home in Columbus, OH

Sometimes I take inspiration from the places I've visited. Either way, it's nice to get out of the house though it can be a bit distracting. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish Shea's story before I add to this list, but you never know. There might be a place or two added before I'm through. Wish me luck!

Shifting Seas Chapter Six

As promised, I'm posting Chapter Six of Shifting Seas a little early this week. I'll be channeling my inner Shea over the weekend as I set off on a 32 mile backpacking trip. 0_o There will be zero connection to internet or phone so if you message me a question, I will be MIA until Tuesday.

I'm still not quite sure how my family convinced me this would be fun. Silver lining though, I'll get some great experiences to draw from for the next Pathfinder book. I'm also looking forward to indulging my photography hobby with all the amazing scenery we'll get to enjoy.

Wish me happy trails and I hope you enjoy the next installment in Jost's adventure.

Shifting Seas - Chapter Six

Shifting Seas - Chapter Two

The next chapter of Shifting Seas is now up. 

Happy Reading!

Chapter Two

First Stage Complete

Whew. I did it. I've managed to finish outlining the plot for the next book. It only took running out of ink for my sharpy, using up the last of my note cards and covering my entire magnetic wall with those cards to do it.

I've got a map now. All that's left is to start writing. I'm starting to get excited for the new story. The ideas are buzzing around my head like busy little bees, and the characters are starting to come to life again. I love this part of the process. There are so many possibilities.

I'll let the plot simmer for a few days  to see if I want to change anything, but I've got a good feeling about the direction it's heading. This next book will feature Tate and her friends and will be released after the sequel to Shadow's Messenger. I'm hoping also to create a short story in her world featuring Jost to reintroduce readers to the gang as it's been awhile since I released the first book in the series. That's only if I have time though. So many books to write; so little time.

The Editing Process

I'm neck deep in the editing process and as any writer can tell you, it's a love/hate relationship. Love, because the hard part is over - writing. Hate, because now I have to take a good, long look at what I've created and decide what needs to stay, what needs to be cut and what needs to be reconfigured to make the story better. In some ways it's actually harder than the writing part.

The first round of editing is always kind of difficult for me because of how critical I have to be. When I write the first draft, I make a huge effort not to let my inner critic keep me from putting stuff on paper, otherwise I'd never get anything written. This part of the process requires me to give that inner critic free reign, to let her out and flex her muscles. She's a bit of a diva and tends to blow everything out of proportion, going off on tangents about how this scene doesn't make sense so I need to rewrite the whole book, or OMG this is terrible. Was I high when I wrote it?

Given how mentally and emotionally draining this part is, it's no wonder that I've been dreading the first round of edits. I've even paid bills to get out of having to edit and I hate paying bills. Sigh. Wish me luck. I'm off to tackle a few chapters before the end of the day.

First Draft Complete!!

I've finally, at long last, managed to complete the first draft of Shadow's Messenger's sequel. This one felt like it took a long time to write even though it wasn't actually that long. No where near as long as Pathfinder's Way's first draft. Perhaps its just my perception that is skewed since I already have four or five books planned after this one.

It's always a relief to finish the first draft. There is still so much work left to be done on a book, but for me the first draft is always the biggest hurdle to climb. Today I climbed that mountain and though I can already see several mountains in my near future, it is nice to take a mini break before I dive back into it.

Entering the End Game

This has been a productive and fun Fourth of July weekend for me. I took a four day weekend so that I would have a chance to enjoy myself even as I typed furiously away at the new book. I think I succeeded as I managed to write 16,000 words over the last four days. Sunday was really the only day where my internal whiner almost got the better of me. Otherwise I would have had 17,000.

Still, that's a pretty decent take and tells me I'm getting close to the end of the book. I usually am faced with an avalanche of words towards the end as opposed to the beginning when I have to fight to add even a sentence to the story. It's like all the things that I've been building up to over most of the book have finally hit critical mass and are begging to be released.

This is the part of writing that I love. Where the words practically write themselves and I'm just along for the ride.

I'm in my end game with approximately three scenes left to write. I'd hoped to finish by the weekend, but I don't think that will happen as I'm going camping this weekend. We'll see how much of the story I can crank out before Friday.

Despite all of my productivity, I still managed to do a couple of fun things this weekend such as go to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to see all the little baby animals. We managed to see Nora, the baby polar bear, six lion cubs and two tiger cubs. They all just melted my heart. I used to work in the admissions department, but I haven't been in years. It was fun seeing how things changed and how much had stayed the same.

Even with the threat of rain, I still managed to have a cookout and see fireworks. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!

Whole 30 and writing

I've been hearing a lot lately about this meal plan called Whole 30 that follows a strict set of rules which entail giving up alcohol, sugar (including artificial), grains and dairy. Just typing this makes me ask myself why I would want to do this. Sugar? Ok, I probably need to eat way less of it than I do, but the cravings are going to be a monster. Alcohol? It might affect my social life and make going to bars awkward for a while but totally doable. But grain? Dairy? That's a little tougher and requires me to overhaul a lot of what I eat. Dairy or grain is in almost every meal.

This will definitely be a challenge but oddly enough I'm kind of looking forward to it. There are supposed to be a lot of health benefits at the end that might make all this worth it. Today is Day 1 of the plan so we'll see how this works.

To top it all off, I started writing chapter one of the new book. Go me. Most of the day has been spent on meal prep for the week (because this plan requires intensive cooking) and finding time to write between chopping vegetables and fruit.

The first page of any book is always the most difficult for me. Before it is written, my story is full of infinite possibilities. Every written page begins to limit where the story can go based on where it has been. Settling on one beginning and one path is a challenge but one I have to meet head on each and every time I start writing a new book. This book is a sequel so the voice of the character is a little easier to nail down. I have so many ideas right now and can't wait to see which ones bear fruit.

Out Editing

This will be a short post. I'm in the final read through of Pathfinder's Way so I will be away from social media and the blog for a week or two. So close to the final touches that I can taste it!

Welcome To The New Year

I can't believe it, but 2016 is here and has been for ten days.Where did the last year go? Somehow it sped past and was gone before I realized it. To be fair, last year was incredibly busy on both the personal and writing front.  I had a lot to be grateful for last year. The biggest accomplishment on the writing side is that I finished not one, but two books (I finished the second book's first draft on Christmas Day).

Right now I'm in the process of putting final touches to the first before sending to a copy editor. I forgot how much extra work is involved when readying a book for publishing. After sending to the editor, I'll need to make any changes they suggest, then either design a cover or reach out to a graphic designer to do that part for me.

The part I hate the most, though, is drafting the blurb for the book. It's one of those jobs I would love to farm out to someone because I'm never quite satisfied with what I create. What it is about coming up with two to three paragraphs that creates such frustration, I don't know. Especially when I just got finished writing a full length novel. It's the part I dread the most. At this point I've rewritten this blurb at least four times. I'm still not happy with it :-|.

Sigh, time to stop whining and take another crack at it. Hopefully, I'll finish that part today.

Christmas is near o_o

It's the week of Christmas, and I am not ready. Not at all. My house is a disaster area. My decorations aren't up yet. My Christmas shopping is only half done. Usually, I'm a little more prepared than this but this month has been hectic and the holidays have managed to creep up on me faster than expected.

For instance, last week I was in Colorado partly for work and partly for pleasure. As a result, I lost a week to the madness. I managed to get some presents while there so it wasn't a complete bust in terms of Xmas preparation. As a side note: Denver is awesome. We went to the Denver Festivus, a beer festival, in an old hangar which doubled as a museum. They had all local beers and even I, who usually doesn't care for beer, found a few I like. We also went hiking at Red Rocks which has an amphitheater built into the side of the the rocks. Pictures are below if you're interested.

Now though, Christmas with all the impending madness is around the corner and I am slightly freaking out. In addition to the usual amount of family, I have friends in town so I will be pretty busy. This is both good and bad. Good because I get to hang out with some people I rarely see anymore. Bad because I am so close to being done with this book that I can practically taste it, and I just can't physically find the time to write the ending. Grr. I just need two days of steady writing time. Two! I think I could finish if I had just that much time, but I have so many impending plans that I don't know if  I'll swing it.

Wish me luck. For now, enjoy the photos while I try to carve some writing time into my schedule.