Minuet

Happy first Wednesday of the new year! It sure is quiet around my house, with everyone back to work and school. I’m back to it as well, already going through a couple editing jobs and continuing with my various manuscripts.

I have three projects for this year and no idea which will be done first. Minuet is going well; the writing is much smoother than it was for Drumbeat. I’m researching stuff for Tree of Life. I have some upcoming news on that one, but for now it’s Top Secret. Stay tuned! And I have an old NaNoWriMo project I need to get into better shape.

Today, I’m still in Minuet, since it’s the one with the most written in it. Mack and Amelia have left Sage’s apartment and are on their way back to Mack’s. (The above picture is indeed a sage plant.)

WIPmath: 1/3/2018 = 3 paragraphs

They’d taken the T to Sage’s apartment, and the next train didn’t leave for nearly an hour. That gave Mack and Amelia time to sit in South Station with a couple cups of decaf in front of them. Mack didn’t touch his; he was still too worked up from their confrontation with Sage.

He would’ve like to say he didn’t see it coming, couldn’t have predicted it, didn’t know Sage was capable. Except he had known. Sage had been obsessed with Jamie from day one.

Mack warned him off, but Sage ignored that advice and latched onto Jamie, even after they all knew the truth about his past. It was Sage’s personal mission to get his attention. When he wanted to, Sage could turn the charm up to a hundred. Took two more years before Jamie finally cracked. Two years in which Mack wished he’d been able to somehow convince Jamie not to do it.

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!

Happy Wednesday! I’m officially on vacation this week, mostly spending time with my family, Netflix, and some new books. My son has been trying to get me to play Minecraft with him for years, and I finally caved. I’m terrible at it (got eaten by a zombie yesterday), but it’s fun. I felt less bad about being eaten after my kid set the woodland mansion on fire. (Any of you who play or whose kids play will know what that means. I only barely do!)

I’m not writing much this week. I finished cleaning up my manuscript for Drumbeat, and I’ll be sending it back to my publisher by Friday after I’ve gone over it one last time. I never got around to writing a Christmas story this year, and I’m a bit bummed about that. The truth is, it’s been hard to find a lot of motivation lately, though I won’t bore you with the details.

On to this week’s WIPpet. This is the last bit of the first scene in Minuet. Amelia and Jamie finally collaborated to clue me in about what Sage’s big secret is that Amelia knows. When she’s finally able to come clean with it, Sage will have to face facts, and Jamie will finally be free of him for good. But I’m not telling just yet.

(The picture at the top of this post is pretty much how Mack looks in my head. Mack dyes his hair black, and his tats are different, but it’s pretty close.)

WIPmath: None, as this is the last WIPpet of 2017 and the last snippet of this scene as well.

She’d held onto hope that Sage might change or get help or something, but what he’d done to Jamie made it clear it would never happen. Tonight might have been the first time she realized what Mack had known for years.

“Why?” she asked. “Why did Jamie put up with him for so long?” She looked up at Mack, and now her hurt and anger showed. “Why did we?”

“We did it for Jamie’s sake.”

He pulled her close again. There was no guarantee Sage would leave Jamie alone, but Mack suspected he wasn’t going to keep trying now that Mr. Muscles was about to discover all his carefully constructed lies.

“Come on,” Mack murmured. “That was intense. We should check on Jamie and then maybe go over to yours for a while, hm?”

“Yeah.” Amelia wiped her eyes. “I’d like that.”

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!

Happy Wednesday! We’re getting down to the last bit before vacation. I’m taking some time away from working to enjoy the holiday with my family. It’s surprisingly relaxed this week, despite having spent two days baking cookies. My older kid already had his winter concert, and my younger one has hers tomorrow. Tonight, we’re rehearsing for the Christmas Eve service.

I’m still snipping from the beginning of Minuet. I’ll be able to stick with this one for a while, as I’m steadily making progress. In this snippet, Mack reveals a crucial bit of history. Amelia says she’s keeping mum about her dirt on Sage until I get to writing in her POV. She drives a hard bargain.

WIPmath: 20 sentences for the 20th.

Outside, they leaned against the building. Amelia was shaking, and Mack reached for her. He felt her heaving breaths as she tried to calm down. Mack was grateful every day that he could count on her. If he’d gone to Sage’s apartment alone, he’d either be unconscious or sitting in the back of a cop car.

“You okay?” he asked.

She pulled back to look at him. “Yeah. You?”

“Fine, now.” He exhaled forcefully. “More than I can say for Jamie.”

“God.” Amelia shook her head. “Sage is the very worst. What the hell happened to him?”

“He’s always been this way. Ever since I’ve known him.”

Amelia bit her lip. Mack regretted saying it. She had a soft spot for him, or she’d had one when they were kids.

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!

Happy Wednesday! Today’s picture has nothing to do with my snippet. It’s my daughter’s latest drawing.

It’s been a busy few weeks with all the holiday performances. My concerts last weekend went well, as did my older child’s recital a couple days ago. Both kids have school concerts next week, and they’re both working on music for the Christmas Eve service at church. Here is a link to the video from Monday night’s recital. I’m having a Proud Mom moment.

Today’s snippet is still from Minuet and follows right on from last week. Amelia has just called Mr. Muscles over to have a chat.

WIPmath: 12/13/2017 = (1 + 2) + (1 x 3) = 6 paragraphs

“You,” she said. “Are you his boyfriend, his personal trainer, or just a fuck toy?”

The man’s eyes popped. “Uh…”

“Good answer,” Amelia told him. “Listen, Sage here has kind of a problem with leaving his ex alone. Do us a favor and make sure he does the right thing, hm?”

Mr. Muscles looked sideways at Sage. “O-okay.”

Amelia reached up and patted his cheek. “You seem like a decent guy.” She pulled a paper and pen out of her purse and scrawled something on it. Handing it to Mr. Muscles, she said, “Here. My number, just in case you need some help enforcing the no-contacting-your-ex rule.” She turned back to Sage. “You think long and hard”—she giggled; Mr. Muscles snorted—“about what I said. And stay the hell away from Jamie.”

She whirled around, grabbed Mack’s hand, and yanked. Too startled to do anything else, Mack followed her. He heard the click of the door and angry voices on the other side. With a quick glance back, Amelia took off down the stairs.

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!

Happy Wednesday! I’m finally feeling festive. Still don’t have our tree up, but the kids are preparing some holiday music, and I have a concert this weekend. Should be fun!

I’m slowing down in writing Minuet because Drumbeat is back from my publisher with some suggested edits. These weren’t demands; I asked for some suggestions because I felt the story was lacking. My publisher, being a fabulous human being, gave me great feedback. So instead of simply messing with it and getting more dissatisfied, I now have targeted things to work on. (I’m weird…this is my favorite part.)

I’m still sharing from Minuet, though, and this follows right from last week’s. Amelia asked if Sage was clear on the whole “leave Jamie alone” thing. Amelia still hasn’t shared the dirt she has on Sage, but she’s not above implementing the first part of her plan.

WIPmath: 12/6/2017 = (2-1) + 6 = 7 paragraphs, mostly dialog.

Sage swallowed visibly. “Fine. You have my word, I won’t contact Jamie again.”

“Oh, hell, no. Not good enough,” Mack said.

Amelia smiled meanly. “Get your new man out here.”

“What? No!”

Too late. The beefcake who had spoken from the other room emerged, looked at the doorway, and raised an eyebrow. “Sage, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, baby. I’ll just be a sec.”

Amelia beckoned Mr. Muscles with one finger. Obediently, he came over. Well-trained puppy.

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!

Happy Wednesday! I think the dust has settled from the school musical and vacation. Life is back to normal, whatever that means.

I made a decision this week to stop accepting requests for book reviews. I’ll still review stuff I’m reading, but it’s felt a lot lately like one more thing I can’t quite manage or keep up with. If you’re interested in reading about why, I posted yesterday.

Meanwhile, I’m still working on Mack’s story. Amelia hasn’t shared with me whatever dirt she has on Sage, but I guess she’ll talk when I’m writing in her POV. I’m taking a different approach with this novel. Instead of alternating POV, it’s divided into sections, each in a different POV (Mack’s, Amelia’s, and Jomari’s—I haven’t introduced him yet).

Sticking with the scene I’ve been posting from, last time, I ended with this:

Sage laughed. He eyed her up and down, making Mack’s blood boil. “Oh, sweetie. What are you going to do if I don’t?”

This week, Amelia makes herself perfectly clear to Sage.

WIPmath: 11/29/2017 = 2 x 9 = 18 sentences

“Not a damn thing. But Jamie’s got friends now, see, and they’re not as nice as I am. You ever see his buddy Nate?” She raised her hand as high as she could reach. “He’s ’bout six-five and built like a football player.”

Mack wisely didn’t laugh. Nate was hardly the type to take anyone out. He was intimidating on first sight, though. Amelia had exaggerated by a couple inches, but Nate was a giant compared to Jamie.

“You do anything, and I’ll call the cops myself.” Sage tried to stare Amelia down.

“Not saying he’ll put a hand on you,” she replied. Still calm, still focused. “I’m saying we know what you’re capable of. You’ll hurt Jamie and then claim you never touched him. And I’m saying you’re gonna regret that. You’re not the only one who knows things that may or may not be used against you. Are we clear?”

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!