Hello all! It’s been 4 weeks since I’ve posted last! Insanity, I say! Well, I’m back and I’m ready to post. It’s also been awhile since I’ve written. Talking with my publisher last night has instilled in me the need to write yet again (although, it might have been instilled before then, but it’s going to happen now).

I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this, but I do have a writing goal per year. My goal is to publish 2-3 books a year, and thus far I’ve maintained that. But in 2015, I only have 1 book ready for publishing. Unfortunately, this means I need to get my ass in gear. Like seriously in gear.

So I have new goals. I did also drop off the ROW80 bandwagon, and it’s pretty much over for this round, so when the next round starts, I’ll be joining in that again. For now I have 3 goals until this end of the year.

1. Write 1 chapter of Quarter Life: Unbound every day. My goal was to write 1667 words (like fake NaNo) every day, but I think it’s just easier on my mind to do one chapter. The chapters in this novel are only about 2,000 words each anyway, so what’s a little more going to hurt? =P This will be finished just before NaNoWriMo.

2. Write a short story for submission to an anthology which is an introduction to Emma from the Quarter Life series. The story needs to be 8k-15k words, and guess what!? I already have the plot in my head.

3. During NaNoWriMo get at least 50k words written on Grace through Redemption, finish the novel if at all possible. If I don’t finish the novel during NaNo, then I’ll finish it during December and hopefully have it ready for publication late in 2015. If not, Unbound will be there for 2015 and I’ll have 2 novels for my goal!

I’m sharing my goals with you all so you can yell at me when I’m not working and hold me accountable.

As for WIPpet Wednesday, I’m finally getting to it, since I’m working on writing Unbound again and since I’ve finally made some good significant progress, I’m going to share from it. My math is simple today 30 short sentences. 24 +2 + 4 = 30

I wrote this yesterday morning in a writing sprint, and I’m absolutely in love with it. So here’s an excerpt from chapter 13 of Unbound. Emma has snuck out of the house, she isn’t sure if she’s going back due to something that happened, and she needs to get her “energy” fix. She’s trying to find her dealer. So here you go…the fantastical world Emma lives in come to life.

Heading down to the old part of town, Emma walked in the light rain. It drizzled on her face, soaking her sweatshirt and hair with the mist. She was drenched by the time she got to the bridge where she knew the troll lived.

Sneering, Emma slipped under the far end of it and leaned against the cement support. She took two deep breaths before turning around to face the carved troll and lifted her cheeks to his eyes.

“Hello, my friend,” she stated. She’d only come here once or twice before, but the troll would know what she needed to find.

The stone cracked and ground as it moved, the troll’s face becoming animated s it broke away the shield of the day. Emma didn’t gasp this time as she had the first. She didn’t turn and run. Instead, she stood her ground and waited.

“My friend,” he said, his voice deep. “Come to find some more elixir?”

“You know it! Do you know where he is this evening? It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him.”

“Indeed, it has,” the troll answered. “He has changed his hiding place.”

Emma nodded, wishing the troll would speak faster. It was as if everything was in slow motion with him to a point where she was near falling asleep sometimes while she waited for his answer.

“He is down by the market. Far side. Red cap, as always.”

Emma smiled and bowed her head slightly. “Anything you desire from him?”

“Oh no,” the troll smiled but it looked more like a grimace. “He brings me mine.”

“All right,” she said. Crawling up on the troll’s arms and body to his head, Emma patted his cheek before she pressed her lips to his rough, stoney skin. “Until next time, my friend.”

modeled after the troll under the Freemont Street Bridge in Seattle, Washington

Thanks for coming and reading! If you’re interested in participating in WIPpet, it’s pretty easy. Share an excerpt of your WIP (Work in Progress) and somehow make it correlate to the date. Then you go to this linky here and link it up with the others. Make sure you check some of the other writers out to show your support! Thanks to Kathi as always for hosting.