Good morning all!

I’m excited to report that it’s the start of a new year and the start of a new round of ROW80, as if you didn’t already know that. A few days ago, Sunday I think, I started writing a short story for submission. It wasn’t quite going how I had planned it, but someone said to turn it into something else and it flew off! I finished it quickly, had it edited and now it’s off to submission. I can’t believe it. And I’m still creeped out by what I wrote.

Right now, I’m in debates as to whether or not to continue the story in a sense. Adding in a new main character, but still continuing what has happened into a full-length novel. Meanwhile, I’m back to focusing on Grace through Redemption. So perhaps I’ll have a new crime novel to replace the series I’m about to finish.

While my cats going insane behind me on their kittynip filled cat tree, I’m going to do my ROW80 update and then WIPpet Wednesday.

ROW80

1. write 1667 words a day
   Monday – 2790
   Tuesday – 964
2. Blog posts each week: ROW80, WIPpet, Open When, and 1 extra post
   Got this so far. My one extra post this week is another Open When to make up for some I missed in November and December. I’m almost done making them up.
3. Audio: Record/Edit a chapter a week
   For my own sanity, I’m starting my weeks on Wednesday. So I haven’t done this one yet, but I have a whole week to get it done

I’m getting things accomplished which is the goal. I realized earlier this morning that I don’t have a day off this week, meaning I’m trying to juggle two extra days at work and all of this. I’m hoping it goes well over the weekend. We’ll see.

For those of you who were wondering what I was crocheting last round–here it is!

WIPpet Wednesday!

WIPpet Wednesday is this amazing thing where writers from around the world get together and post snippets from their WIP (Work in Progress). They make the snippet correlate to the date in some form or fashion. They link it here and then we go and read as many of the other posts as we can. Join in!

For this week I have an excerpt from Grace through Redemption. I finally started in on chapter 2, and had I not been counseling a family with the loss of a father and planning the funeral, I would have gotten at least 1/3 through the chapter and a lot more done.

So here we are. From the chapter Tricks and Pranks. 6 paragraphs because 7 – 1 = 6

Without talking to anyone on her way to the bakery, Grace grabbed a container of six donuts and beelined it for the checkout station. The cashier rung her up, nodding and trying to make small talk. Grace had no desire to even continue the conversation. She was just heading out the front doors when there was a commotion.

Two preteen boys were at the register, and the cashier who had been oh so nice to Grace was checking them out. Eight dozen cartons of eggs. Grace pursed her lips and raced out to her cruiser. Shoving the car into gear after starting the engine, she drove to the corner of the store and waited for the preteen troublemakers to exit.

She had barely gotten into position when the double doors slid open, revealing one boy in raggedy jeans and another in perfect ones. Grace bit her lip and tightened the muscles in her shoulders and neck as she craned her head to see which direction they went. Surprisingly, they didn’t even leave the parking lot.

That early in the morning, the vehicles parked were mostly employees. In fact, as Grace glanced at the clock to double check the time, she was surprised preteen boys were even awake at eight in the morning. They settled some of the eggs in their pockets of their baggy jeans, their hoodies and in their hands. The rest of the cartons sat unused on the cold cement.

Grace waited. As soon as the first egg flew, she was ready to pounce. Her foot tapped against the floor of the cruiser, and she kept her eyes locked on the two troublemakers as much as she could as they danced around and joked with each other. The one in torn jeans fake threw an egg, trying to get the other kid to throw one first. Grace cursed and shook her head. Stupid, she thought.

The kid in nice jeans raised his arm, and she smirked. She was close. But she wanted them both, not just the one. Holding her breath high in her chest, Grace stared at them. Her hand was poised over the mouthpiece of the radio at her shoulder, her ankle straight as she smashed her foot down on the brake, prepared to switch it to gas as soon as the first milky white egg flew from one of their fingers.

OH! And if you didn’t already know. Fellow WIPpeteer, A. M. Leibowitz and I were accepted into an anthology back in December and it’s just released. It’s a Valentine’s Day themed book filled with short stories about how love is a mess.

If anyone is interested in reading & reviewing it, let me know and I’ll email an ARC for it. If you’re interested in purchasing it, well then, here’s the link to Amazon!

Love is a Mess: A Supposed Crimes Anthology contains eight stories from eight authors on the topic of misfortune at Valentine’s Day. The topics range from the fun of the moment to the power of the eternal. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters star in their own love and lust stories–Erotic, playful, and thoughtful.

Viral Valentine by L. M. Perrin
Date Blind by Geonn Cannon
The Politician and the Pilot by Amber Kinsey
Bar Tryst by Rachael Orman
Quarter Life: Energy Feed by Adrian J. Smith
Property of Cupid by Eva Lefoy
Private Dance by A. M. Leibowitz
The Last Mitzvah by Michael DuPuy