WIPpet Wednesday: Where are we?

Happy Wednesday! So much news to share today.

First, my YA novella, Year of the Guilty Soul, is now an audiobook! Finley Smith, the narrator, did an amazing job. She carefully researched and practiced the accents, so her voice sounds so much like mine did as a teenager. It’s amazing. I’m thrilled with how it turned out. If you’d like to listen and review, comment below and I’ll connect with you to give you a code. I have a limited number, so please don’t ask for one if you can’t review it.

I’m so excited to be back to writing. It’s NaNoWriMo, and my goal is to get about 3/4 of the way through Tree of Life. I already had quite a bit before starting NaNo, so 50k should get me close to the 3/4 mark. This novel is likely to be around 100k when all is said and done, once I finish and do edits for detail. Writing true literary fiction takes both more words and more time than the other genres I’ve been writing (mainly crossover lit/rom or just rom).

It feels great to have my writing magic back. For those who weren’t aware, I have fibromyalgia (and possibly at least one other autoimmune disorder; still doing testing to figure out what). I’ve had worsening chronic pain for about 6 years. My new doctor started me on meds, and holy cow. I haven’t felt this good in years. Pretty sure I underestimated my pain levels, and I now think that was contributing to my mental health and my inability to focus on writing.

Anyway, now I’m invested in working hard to finish Tree of Life. My amazing daughter is helping me design the cover! I asked her to draw me a Tree of Life. It’s a symbol in many religions, which fits with themes in this story. It also has personal meaning for me. In fact, the picture above is the mosaic my grandfather made which hangs at Temple Beth El in Allentown, PA. Below is a mock-up. The cover won’t look exactly like this; my daughter will have some input once she draws the tree, and she will choose the colors and the other elements. But it’ll be something similar to this.

Here’s this week’s snippet. We’re back in the present now with Luke, Connor, and Jax on the first leg of the road trip to take Jax to college. (Note: Jax is non-binary; they use neutral pronouns throughout. I have not specified Jax’s birth gender, though if you’ve read An Act of Devotion you might recall it.)

WIPmath: 11/7/2018 = (1 + 1) x 7 = 14 sentences.

Luke wakes with a start. He’s been dreaming again, something about the time his family was supposed to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. They never made it; fire and flood damage meant they had to stay and repair their house and property. They were never wealthy before that, but they were comfortable. Not after the storm.

With a stretch and a yawn, Luke rearranges himself in the back seat. Jax and Connor are talking quietly. Outside the window, there are only miles and miles of roadway. Luke wonders where they are. None of it is familiar; he’s never been this route.

Hours ago, Luke thinks, they drove through New Jersey and part of New York City. He wonders how close they are to Boston. Connor’s aunt and uncle, the ones selling him their RV, live in Salisbury. From there, Connor has the entire trip planned down to the detail.

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!