Checking In Unofficially

I didn't sign up for the current round of the ROW80 challenge. I've still be writing this summer, but decided to lay off the blogging for a while. The brain has been too zapped by daily thunderstorms and heat to eek too much out of it lately.

I'm about 30K into Eaters: Destination, the final novella in the zombie trilogy. The third one has definitely been the most challenging one to write, since all loose ends have to be wrapped up. There's definitely a little more character development of Cheryl and Aidan in this one...and the dangers are just as frequent. I should have my rough draft done and a cover within a few weeks.

I read in AMC's Walking Dead newsletter that they were going to be showing a preview during the Breaking Bad show tonight. I don't usually watch that show, so I forgot about it for most of today. As luck would have it, I remembered this evening and just happened to turn on the t.v. just twenty seconds before the promo aired. Note to self: you can kill zombies with a very large rock. Too bad Cheryl and Aidan won't have any of those out in the Arizona desert...

I have a new author to add to my list of favorites. I recently finished reading Ronald Malfi's Snow on my Kindle and was really impressed. The action & suspense were nonstop, and the descriptions were darkly beautiful. What more could you ask for in a horror/sci-fi thriller? Reading about a chilling snow-filled tale was perfect in the middle of July.

Speaking of dark things, if you are into paranormal romance, check out Lauralynn Elliot's Dark Relic: Vampires' Curse, the first in the Libby Fox series of novellas.

Strange Word Flows

This weekend, I cranked out over 8,000 words on a new nonfiction project in just two sittings (probably my most prolific writing spree yet), but I'm only up another 300 words on my current novella. I guess you can't always tell what's going to flow, and what's not. Tonight, I'm going to put a little more metal to the fiction pedal. (Read: butt plastered to fit ball and fingers to keyboard until bedtime.) The stormy weather will help get me into that dark mood for zombie tales.

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Check-in and Haunted Collector

I am about 1100 words up since Sunday check-in. Writing a creepy dream sequence tonight for Eaters: Destination.

I delayed my writing this evening to watch Haunted Collector on Syfy. I really like this show. Unlike Ghost Hunters (which I like too), they edit to focus more on the paranormal events (which are always attributed to some object in the dwelling). Tonight's episode was great. I'm not spooked easily, but I got a chill when one of the investigators was in a bathroom stall at a bar and saw the shadow of feet moving on the other side (though no one else was in there with her, and no actual feet could be seen). The shadow came and stopped right in front of the stall door as if it was waiting for her to come out, or watching her through the door. The bar owner had reported the same thing happening to her many times. The investigators eventually attributed the haunting (which also included events like a fireplace lighting itself, gas burners on the stove turning on, and beer taps flowing by themselves) to a Japanese dynamite blaster that they found in the attic (which may or may not have been involved in an explosion of methane gas in a mine that killed 7 people). Of course, the chief inspector got to take it away add to his collection. How many of us would be brave enough to hang out in his haunted museum with so many objects that have supposedly triggered paranormal activity? As a believer, I'm not sure I could do it. I prefer my fictional supernatural world and vicariously learning about real or 'real' events from the safety of my easy chair with the remote in hand.

ROW 80 Check-In

I'm baaaack. I had a LOVELY vacation recently. Lots of sun, water, sand, and some seriously needed R&R with DH. So much for the pasty goth skin for this month. No worries--it takes serious effort to keep a tan on me. I come from a very long line of pasty mushroom-skinned Europeans. In the winter, if I was any paler, I'd be translucent.

I am definitely behind on my goal of 500 words/day. This is also due to a couple of nasty migraines again this week. The last one nearly put me in the hospital. I sympathize will all fellow sufferers. It's pain with a capital 'P' and the most misery you can imagine.  I'm only up to about 15.5 k on Eaters: Destination. I will finish it this summer, but I'd rather take my time and make it the best I can, instead of just cranking it out to get it out quicker. Since a good chunk of this story is set in Arizona, I'll also need to do some research to get my geography and climate right. So, I guess my goal is still 500 words/day...but I know I'll be sporadic about it. Some nights I'll do 1,000 and some, none at all (depending on my busy schedule and migraine attacks). Ever wonder what it would feel like to have a zombie eating your brain? I think I know...

Better Late...

Is it Monday already? I got the 1-2-3 punch from a migraine again last night, so I am late checking in for ROW80. Since last check-in I've done 500, 200, 600, and 900 words/night.
 Thank you, Lauralynn for the very nice post on life's curve balls and finding ways to anticipate them and get around them. (I can almost picture you on the writer's field...pom poms in hand. The fans in the stadium waving their pens and laptops!) It's so wonderful to have the support when friends and family members don't always "get" what all this obsession about writing is about. Honey...I'm not ignoring you...I'm not being a hermit (well, sometimes I am)...I'm actually WORKING when I'm up here typing. It's a passion. It's what I do. I can't not do it. Also...when I have my nose in a book...that's RESEARCH. Very important stuff...yes...even when it's the latest Stephen King novel...or yesterday's newspaper. So, this brings up the question...does your spouse and/or family support your writing? I'm not saying that mine doesn't, but I don't think they understand that stories have to simmer in the juice of quiet and solitude. In a busy, crazy house with lots of activity, it's often hard to carve that time out. Thus...I write at such late hours most of the time.

Wuz Up Blogspot??? and Scary Gary

Blogspot has apparently been having some technical difficulties. I was unable to log in at all yesterday, and the night before that I could not add a comment. Obviously, I got in tonight, but the login was still a little odd. Yesterday, I found a tech site where a lot of Blogspot users listed the same problems. Whatever happened, I hope it's permanently fixed.

So...here's my late check-in for ROW80. Monday - 1427 words. Tuesday - 643 words. Wednesday -  500 words. Cheryl and Aidan are cruising into new trouble in Eaters: Destination.

I only read the comics in the paper each day for 'Scary Gary'. This week in monsterland, it's all about ZOMBIES.

Never Count Your Chickens...

A late check-in:
Yesterday, I sat down to write early and mentioned on Lauralynn's blog that I was going to get a good word count in. Mother Nature must have heard me and said "Oh, really?", because a few minutes after that the gloomy skies parted into brilliant sunshine and my family and neighbors beckoned me outside. 'Just a few minutes' suddenly turned into dinner, dishes, and a migraine. Tonight, it's been a long 12+ hour day after work and a family event to attend. Whew! Sometimes, I don't like checking in and just listing my excuses. There is good news though. I'm about 10K into Eaters: Destination, and I've written about 1300 words since last check in. I'm working on it each night as I can...