Happy Wednesday! I’m so excited because on Friday, my publisher has a new anthology out and I, along with some of my favorite fellow writers, have a story in it. I have two guest posts this week and three next week, so stay tuned to read what other authors have to say about participating in the collection.
Other than that, my big news is that I finished the draft of Anthem. It’s still a WIP since it needs my usual three rounds of edits, but it’s done! I’ve already started a new project. I’m now sold on the idea of outlining. The new project is moving much faster than I anticipated as a result, and I have about 10k done (I had the first couple chapters done already from before but left it to write Anthem).
Since it’s still my primary WIP, I’m sticking with Anthem for now. I’m back to Trevor’s POV because the rest of Andre’s chapter was all spoilers. Trevor is feeling down and settling in for a dull New Year’s Eve without friend or lover. The band name here was my dear husband’s suggestion. I liked it, so it stuck.
WIPmath: 4 + 29 = 33 + one bonus = 34 sentences.
Mack and Jamie’s band, the Creepy Crullers—who even knew what that name meant—were playing a New Year’s Eve gig. They’d left hours earlier. Nate had also taken off. One of his castmates from his latest opera was having a party, and although Nate had offered to bring him along, Trevor had declined. Instead, he was sitting alone in the apartment, trying not to dwell on the fight he’d had with Marlie after Christmas which had resulted in her not calling him since. He could have gone into the city for First Night festivities, but it wasn’t a lot of fun alone, and he wasn’t in the mood. Even moping was too much effort.
Trevor flipped on the television, ordered takeout, and popped the top off a beer, settling in to watch whatever mindless thing he could find. Nate surprised him by breezing in around ten. Trevor sat up from his half-doze on the couch. He’d had one too many beers, and he felt slightly sloshy when he propped himself up. By Nate’s unsteady gait, he wasn’t in much better a position.
“Have fun?” Trevor asked, yawning.
“Was okay.” Nate’s words slurred a little. He held up a bottle of champagne. “Brought this home, though.”
Trevor groaned. “I’ve had plenty.” He waved his hand at the beer bottles littered on the floor around the coffee table, and he nearly knocked over the mostly full one still sitting there.
“Me too,” Nate agreed. He stepped further into the room and plopped down next to Trevor, slinging his arm over Trevor’s shoulders. “Why are you home alone?”
“Didn’t feel like going anywhere.” Trevor asked, shifting so he was angled toward Nate.
“You still thinking about Marlie?” Nate’s eyes crinkled and he furrowed his brow. “Geez. What did you guys fight about this time?”
Trevor grunted. “I’m not even sure. Her parents are pissed that I haven’t asked her to marry me yet. Why’d you leave the party so early?”
Nate dropped his arm and stretched so his six-foot-two-inch frame was sprawled over most of the couch. “Asshole who came with someone caught his date hitting on me, tried to punch me. It got ugly.”
And there you have it. If you liked this, feel free to jump in and add your own. Just post a bit of your work in progress, tie it to the date, and link up here. Don’t forget to read the other entries. Many thanks to K. L. Schwengel for giving us room to roam. Happy reading and writing!
Awww. Poor Nate. Getting punched for getting hit on. And Poor Trevor, feeling all lonely and up in the air with his relationship with Marlie. I understand the desire to sit in front of the TV and let it suck out his brains for a bit. I do that when I’m stressed. TV’s are very convenient for that.
Maybe it’s just because I’m still in the Family Fun Magazine stage of parenting, but… Creepy Crullers made me think of cutesy Halloween treats. I first pictured, um, colorful clothes and an audience of four year olds… and maybe single moms. Not hatin’ on your hubby’s creativity. Just sayin’. 😛 😉 🙂 Your husband has quite the gift for entertaining alliteration.
Well, anyone going after Nate will find it ends badly. He’s big, and he’s an opera singer, so he has a big voice, too. 🙂
I think the band name came up because I’m so awful at naming things that I asked my family to name the band. We were on a trip, and my husband suggested it because of a menu item. The kids loved it, of course. I can’t decide if the name is staying. It’s charmingly bad. I have an unnamed character in this novel who I chose to keep as simply The Boyfriend, and it’s a running joke that no one likes him enough to learn his real name. (In fairness, he is a complete jackass; he will get a name in a later part of this series, right before he gets dumped on his scrawny backside.)
LOL Poor The Boyfriend. Or, maybe I should say poor everyone around him…
I like to hope he’s redeemable, but yeah, don’t feel too sorry for him. LOL!
Dancing pastries come to mind….
And the fact that I once got in trouble with a Bajoran woman because her Klingon boyfriend liked me when I was an Orion Slave Girl….
Oh, ummm…that’s another story..*ahem*.
I think these two can do a lot worse than to enjoy the couch and the time alone… 😉
They won’t end up alone. The upcoming “situation” sets the rest of the story in motion. I was so torn on whether these guys were meant to get the happily ever after, but they’re much better off as friends. Unfortunately, Nate gets Trevor in over his head and then provides no help at all getting him out.
The New Year can be spent well when it’s just two friends sharing each other’s time too. I hope Nate and Trevor don’t let their alcohol-induced hazes keep them from going out and finding some festivities to enjoy.
Hooray on finishing Anthem!
My husband referred to my writing Anthem as “doing battle.” It honestly was. But here I am, with a whole draft.
No worries, Nate and Trevor are on their way to have some fun. Boston is a great place to be on New Year’s.
Yikes, doesn’t sound like a good night for either of them!
I always felt sad for my friends whose serious boyfriends took a longer time than expected to propose, but I guess it would also stink to be the guy and feel so much pressure.
Well, it’s really her parents doing the pressuring. It can be hard when one half of a couple drags on making a commitment, but it’s just as bad when neither one wants to but they both feel like it’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s more or less what’s happening here.
Charmingly Bad would be another charmingly bad band name.
Ah, so good that Nate came back early, even if the reason wasn’t particularly fun. It would have been a sad puppy moment if Trevor had to spend NYE alone. I mean, happens all the time in real life, but real life has lots of sad puppy moments and that’s one of the reasons I read books. Ahem. I digress. Good snippet! I love a good buddy scene, no matter which direction it goes in, generally speaking.