Another First Draft Done!

Photo courtesy of Unsplash, user Krisjanis Mezulis

News & Announcements:

I've been writing. At times, it's been sporadic, but I'm trying to keep my word count up most days.

I've just finished the first draft of Fallen: Drug War (Book 4), and I've included an excerpt from one of the chapters. I hope you like it.

Now that the Hubbs is back to work, I've been trying to get into a routine again. It's not easy! I got out of the habit of doing the grocery shopping and let him do it. Now I find myself trying to keep track of what we have, what we need, a tentative menu, etc.

I hope to plan a new short story to accompany these novels, but it will be for the website. Most likely, the main character will be Sam, but we'll see. It could just as easily be Zach. Or their sister, Kristiel. Not real sure yet, as I haven't come up with an idea for it yet. But I do want to write one, so we'll see what I can come up with. I'll probably start on that in August, but I'll start pre-planning before then. Once I've got it in the works, it will be easier to get on with it after I finish the novels.

I'm going to start revising and editing "Gabriel," too. Since it won't be my main focus for a while, I'll work it in as I have time. I'm not going to burn myself out trying to get it done quickly, but I want to have it posted sometime in August or September, so be watching for it.

In the meantime, happy reading!

Lois

Writing/Goals Progress:

Goal:

Finish writing the first draft of Fallen: Drug War (Book 4) and plan Fallen: Nemesis (Book 5) in time for Camp NaNoWriMo in July.

Progress:

May 24: 3,854
May 25: 2,715
May 26: 3,836
May 27: 0
May 28: 2,923
May 29: 3,563
May 30: 0
May 31: 0
Jun 1: 756
Jun 2: 1,404
Jun 3: 811
Jun 4: 891
Jun 5: 0
Jun 6: 0
Jun 7: 0
Jun 8: 4,101
Jun 9: 1,792
Jun 10: 2,705
Jun 11: 3,815
Jun 12: 2.467

Total: 35,633
Novel Total: 47,069



Excerpt from Fallen: Drug War (Book 4) -- Rough Draft:

"There’s so much I want to tell you,” [Zach] murmured. “But I can’t. You’d worry about  me. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“Why would I worry? You just saved me. You’re my hero.”

He smiled and kissed her. “If you’ll let me, I’ll always be your hero.”

“Why wouldn’t I let you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess, sometimes, I feel less than adequate.”

“You were more than adequate a few minutes ago. You said you didn’t know what  he was. He was a silvan[1].”

“I knew he was evil. I won’t go back down under for killing him. Killing his kind is  part of what I’m supposed to do.”

Andrea’s eyes stared off into space as she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.  “If you knew how often I wished for someone like you over the past few years, you’d truly  understand. When he called me, he said he was coming to see me. First thing I thought  was that I’d never see you again, because he’d force me to stop seeing you. I kind of  planned how I was going to do it. I didn’t want you getting hurt, so I was going to say something mean and make you hate me. It  would have hurt a lot, but at least you’d be safe.”

“You have no idea what I’m capable of, do you?” Zach asked, looking deep into her  eyes.

“I’m starting to get an idea,” she said, a tiny fragment of a smile coming to her lips.  “The point is, I was afraid, terrified, but no matter how strong my fear, my need to protect  you was greater.”

“I thought I was supposed to be the protector here,” Zach said with a little laugh.

“Yes, but you didn’t live with him. You weren’t the one tormented by him night  after night until you had no hope of even seeing your next birthday for the rages he’d fly  into. And they were frequent.”

“Do you trust me?” Zach asked.

“Yes, I trust you.”

“Then don’t try to protect me from scum like that, okay? I can handle myself. And  my biggest concern is your safety and well-being. If you’re in danger, tell me you’re in  danger. I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe. And another thing, I’d rather die  protecting you than to have you die by the hand of someone I know nothing about. I  mean, random acts of senseless violence, I get. I don’t like them, but I get that they happen.  But when you have some warning, you have to tell me so I can keep you safe, okay?  Promise me.”

“I promise.”

Zach lifted a hand and smoothed it along the hair at the side of her face. “Is there  anything else I should know about?”

“No. Frankie was it. I hated lying to you. I honestly didn’t know he’d be coming  back.”

“Then you got the call.”

“Yeah. That changed everything.”

“I imagine it did. But—we’re good, right? You’re okay with what I did? I mean, you  watched me kill a man, then cut off his head with a hunting knife.”

Andrea nodded and steadily gazed into his eyes. “I’m okay with what you did. He  should’ve been sent to Sheforat long ago anyway, right?”

“Yeah, he should have.”

She slid her hands up to his shoulders and entwined them at the back of his neck.  “Now, I wanna thank you for your amazing act of courage on my behalf. I’ll never forget  what you did for me, but even more than that, I’ll never forget why you did it.”

“Oh? And why’s that?” Zach asked, curious as to what she might say.

She gave him the warmest smile he’d ever received in his long life. “You love me.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

[1]Silvan: half mortal, half demon



And another excerpt, also from Fallen: Drug War (Book 4):


Special Meeting


Kanduyar, Indas


Zach got a call from Sandman. He almost didn’t answer it, but at the last minute, he  decided he’d better.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Get dressed. Put on your best outfit. I’m gonna introduce you to some of those  higher up in the organization.”

“Really?”

“Hey, you’re my golden boy. You didn’t think I wouldn’t reward you for all your  hard work, did you? You impress them, and you’ll really be in the money.”

“Okay. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’m on my way to pick you up.”

“I’ll be ready,” Zach said, and hung up.

He picked his best jeans, his best button up shirt, and a pair of boots he hadn’t yet  worn. He also slipped into his leather jacket, which he’d been saving for a time like this.

He surveyed himself in the mirror, pleased with himself. He’d impressed Sandman,  which had, in turn, opened the door for meeting people who were higher up. If he kept on  the track he’d been  on, he’d soon meet whomever was at the top, and then he could bring  them down.

He wanted it so much he could taste it. Sure, the money was good, but when he saw  the suffering of his people, it reminded him of what was most important.

And he’d come to a decision about the money. He was going to use it to get  Quabriel and Eremiel the help they needed to get off the drugs and start new lives. It was  the least he could do for getting Eremiel hooked and for keeping Quabriel’s addiction  going. He was as guilty as Sandman and all the others, even if his intention was to destroy  the organization in the end.

He grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out the front door. He locked up, then  stood waiting for a few minutes.

Sandman arrived in a long luxury vehicle, and when it stopped, a man got out and  opened the door for Zach.

Zach climbed in, and almost immediately had a glass of wine in hand.

On the way, Sandman caught Zach up to speed, telling him about the people he was  going to meet. Zach had a good memory, but everything was moving so fast, he was  finding it a bit hard to keep up, so he just went with the flow.

When they arrived, Sandman introduced him to a few people—the secretary, the  secretary’s assistant, a couple of dealers just arrived from out of town—then he showed  him to a room.

“I’ll be back in a couple minutes,” Sandman said. “Just need to let them know you’re  here and we can get started.”

“Okay,” Zach said, and he looked around. He was alone now.

In the center of the room stood a large oaken table. If he wasn’t mistaken, it had  been wrought by dwarven hands. The chairs surrounding the table were upholstered and  looked extremely comfortable. He decided to try one out.

No sooner did he seat himself when a beautiful young woman entered the room.

“Hi, Zach?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Zach said, about to get up.

“I’m Shelly. They’ll just be a few more minutes. I’ve been asked to come and see if  you’d like anything to eat or drink while you wait.”

“I wouldn’t mind a tequila,” Zach said with a smile.

“I’ll bring it in just a moment,” she said, and let herself out.

Zach stared at the walls and the art than hung there. Never one to sit for long  stretches, he got up and moved around the table so he could get a better look at the  painting. He was deep in studying it when Shelly returned.

“Here’s your drink, Zach,” she said, setting it on a coaster at the chair he’d just  vacated.

“Thank you,” he said, and he went back to sit.

For several minutes he sat there, alone and nursing his drink. He wondered what  was taking so long. Was there some special ceremony they wanted to do? Maybe they  wanted to promote him within the organization.

His drink was more than half finished when Zach started to feel slightly dizzy. It  wasn’t enough to make him feel sick, but it was enough to alarm him.

He stared at his drink, and that’s when it hit him.



Artwork:





















This could be Archan and two of his hell hounds. You can find the wallpaper here.



MEDIA


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This is an interesting test for finding your enneagram type.

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