Happy Wednesday! Turns out that taking a break to read for fun was good for my creativity. I didn’t even bother reviewing, though I did rate the ones I finished. I’m working on another one, which I’ll hopefully finish by the end of the week.
In other news, I’m participating in a ghost hunt blog hop/giveaway with some fellow indie/small press authors. All the contest details are below this week’s WIPpet. You can also read my initial blog post from Monday and my list of great Halloween reads from yesterday.
The book I’m giving away for the ghost hunt is now a nominee in the Bisexual Book Awards: Year of the Guilty Soul, my semi-contemporary YA novella. Drumbeat is also a nominee in the Romance category. Keeping the Faith was a finalist last year, so maybe I’ve got a shot.
On to the WIPpet. I’m cheating a little for NaNoWriMo because I might end up working on two novels. I’m not sure yet. I’m going to try to finish at least one. Minuet is just past the 1/3 mark (yes, still; sigh). Tree of Life is at best 10% done. That one will end up being lengthy just because of the type of story.
I’m snipping again from Tree of Life because it’s what I currently have open. Most of it is present day, but this scene (the rest of last week’s) is Luke’s memories of his childhood.
WIPmath: 10/31/2018 = 3 + 1 = 4 paragraphs
Luke wandered away from the kitchen and up the stairs to get his camera from the bedroom he shared with the twins. The sound of the thunder followed him, so loud this time that the house shook a little. Still, there was no rain, only a ferocious wind that whipped the tree branches so they slapped against the house, making an eerie, high-pitched scratch when they brushed the window panes.
When Luke peeked into the master bedroom, Mama was zipping the suitcases shut. He left her to it. Packing today, making food tomorrow, and the day after that, they’d be on the road.
Luke crept down the stairs and went to stand on the porch. By now, the air was heavy with the scent of ozone, and the sky was dark as nighttime. A gust of wind made Luke’s shirt billow. Lightning struck somewhere close enough that Luke’s fine, straight hair stood nearly on end. He shuddered and lifted his camera, taking a picture of the clouds just as he heard the clap of thunder.
And then the rains came.
Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Wrayburn for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
Start here: www.cbvisions.weebly.com and look for a ghost somewhere on the website. 
They can be pretty sneaky, so you might have to click around and explore the authors’ sites to find them.
Find the ghost, get the letter and click to go through to the next clue. Each website/blog will have a ghost hidden somewhere. All you have to do is find them and collect all the letters.
Once you have the spooky phrase, post in the event and we’ll enter you into the grand prize draw to win 13 spooktacular eBooks.
Everyone who enters gets to choose a book prize but only one lucky hunter will go away with every eBook.
Here’s a list of all the books:
The Calling, by M.D. Neu
My Dream Woman, by C H Clepitt
The Artist: The Lives and Loves of Apollo Antonius Vidali, by Lyra Shanti
Death Is for the Living, by J C Steel
Miscalculated Risks, by Maria Riegger
Maybe, by E.M. Swift-Hook & Jane Jago
Curious Things, by Joanne Van Leerdam
Spooky Little Book of Verse, by Claire Buss
The Elixir Deception, by Margena Adams Holmes
The Great Village Bun Fight, by Debbie McGowan
Year of the Guilty Soul, by A.M. Leibowitz
Tales from the Underground (anthology), inc. “Professor Algernon Whitlock’s Exotic and Fabulous Grand Tour of the Underworld,” by Leo McBride
Good luck and happy ghost hunting!
Really like the description in this. Glad the reading break seemed to boost your creativity. And I’m doing the same thing for NaNo. I’m hoping to finish Still Burning & Nowhere to Run and at least make some good progress on my other two projects.
Yeah, I’ve missed reading just because I thought the book looked good. Too many years of reading stuff because I had to do a review. So far, no clunkers in the mix. 🙂
Your ghosts are hilarious. 😀
I love this scene with Luke and the storm. It’s so perfectly atmospheric and beautifully written.
Can’t believe I forgot it was Wednesday yesterday. :/
Thank you! I’m enjoying working on this. I wish I could get the entire thing to come out like this scene did, LOL. I’m going to try to muzzle my inner perfectionist and just get the thing written. I’ll worry about fixing stuff later.
Ooh, what cute ghosts! And a neat idea.
I think your plan to be a NaNoRebel is perfect. This idea that the project needs to always be “new” at the beginning of a NaNoWriMo never made sense to me. So you go for it and do what you need to do.
The story is what matters. Or the memories… of clouds, lightning and the coming rain. 🙂
I think I was a NaNo Rebel last time I participated, too. They used to not allow that, but now it’s fine as long as you don’t count the stuff you already wrote. That won’t be a problem. This novel is likely to be about twice as long anyway.
Great atmosphere you’ve set!
The description of the storm is beautiful. I can feel it, taste it, smell it, and see it.
I read this when you first posted, and tried to comment then, but it wouldn’t let me. Glad I made it back!
I love the description in this.