As I have been freshly informed, both Wings to the Kingdom and Not Flesh Nor Feathers are now available on Kindle as ebooks. Huzzah and hurrah! I’m glad to know they finally landed, and now the folks who’ve demanded those books in this format can be appeased.
Many thanks to everyone who has shown interest, to those who may show interest in the future, and to YogaGrrl for the heads up.
Here’s today’s progress on the alternate-history battlefield adventure about a widowed nurse from a Confederate hospital aboard a west-bound train pulled by a Union war engine — now with military intrigue, steampunk Texas rangers, undead political separatists, murderous plots, bushwhackers, bandits, sabotage, and epic scenes of mayhem:
Project: Dreadnought
New Words: 5203 (a 2-day total, but 4K+ was written today.)
Present Total Word Count: 109,014 words
Goal: 135,000 words
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Managed day-job duties; did laundry; went to lunch with Caitlin; exchanged important writer business emails.
Other: I give up. There’s no way this book is going to come in under 135,000 words. My true guess is 140,000+ but I refuse to give in to the inevitable at this time. I still have 1-1/2 major scenes to write, plus the wind-down once our heroine reaches her destination. Oh well. Better too long than too short, and that’s a fact.
Revenge of Other: I also realized that I need to go back and write a short prologue, perhaps in the form of a news article. (For the sake of symmetry, I think a news article might be a good form for the info to take; after all, Boneshaker opens with a helpful expository chapter from a history book. A sort-of history book, that is. One that is in the process of being written by a character from the first chapter. So yeah. I think a news article. Perhaps.)
Reason for Stopping: It’s nearly 7:00 p.m. and I’m exhausted. I didn’t really get any work underway until well after lunch, and had to fit it around laundry … so I wore myself out late today. Yargh.
I got a little writing done today, though not as much as I would’ve preferred — only about 1200 words (which is better than nothing, but still). I ran into that old quandary of Failure To Plot This Far, and needed to take a few hours to sort out what happens next. I mean, I know what happens next, I’m just not sure how to … erm … get to what happens next. But I think I have it figured out now.
Anyway. After spending all morning doing day-job stuff and spending a bit after lunch doing writer stuff, I then wandered around for a little errand running (visited the bank and got laundry quarters; went to the drug store, yada yada yada), and nabbed myself a bit of bubble tea on Broadway (as you do). So as you can see, it’s been a MONSTER day of productivity (insert eyeroll here).
But speaking of monsters, this Friday I’ll be joining the crew at this fine event, doing my best to help the cause. You may ask, “What cause?” to which I will gleefully tell you that some local organizers are trying to break the world record for a zombie mob. I will be in the crowd, tricked out in my undead finery and trying to learn how to do the “Thriller” dance, for the sake of verisimilitude.
While I’m there, I’ll very likely hit up the reading/event with S.G. Browne (author of Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament). You’ll find him putting on a show at Fremont Place Books at 4:00 — which yes, puts this reading immediately before the Big Shamble. So come on out and join us! At present, we’ll have the entirety of Team Seattle present (I think), plus an assorted representation of the Cap Hill Crew and heaven knows who else (I think Mark Teppo might put in an appearance?).
And speaking of appearances, plans have finally firmed up for a big Team Seattle event in Salem, Oregon on July 18th. There, you can catch Richelle Mead, Mark Henry, Caitlin Kittredge, Kat Richardson, and yours truly — on that fine Saturday at Escape Fiction (3240 Triangle Dr SE), from noon to 2:00 p.m.
So if you’re in the neighborhood and game for a little bit of literary mayhem and whatnot, please, stop by. We’re always happy to talk to readers, book-buyers, and passers-by alike. Yes, well. We’re a chatty bunch. We often come accessorized with dirty jokes, prizes, schwag, and/or party favors — if that helps influence your decision …
Here’s today’s progress on the alternate-history battlefield adventure about a widowed nurse from a Confederate hospital aboard a west-bound train pulled by a Union war engine — now with military intrigue, steampunk Texas rangers, undead political separatists, murderous plots, bushwhackers, bandits, sabotage, and epic scenes of mayhem:
Project: Dreadnought
New Words: 3967 (pretty good!)
Present Total Word Count: 103,811 words
Goal: 120,000 words
Things Accomplished in Real Life: Performed day-job duties but was not very pleased with self - this project seems to be crawling, and I’m not sure why; went to Trader Joe’s and got some daytime lunch food and whatnot; cleaned kitchen except for the floor (which is the bit that needs it most, alas); not much else.
Other: I mentioned over on Twitter that I found nifty steampunk grocery totes at Trader Joe’s, and between Twitter, email, and facebook (where the tweets are cross-posted) I received almost forty demands that I post pictures. So here you go.
Bride of Other: Now to answer the other FAQs on this unlikely subject: (1). they cost $1.99 apiece and I bought two, hurrah, (2). I have no idea if this is a local thing or a chain-wide thing, sorry, (3). I am not interested in debating whether or not they are merely vintage or actually steampunk, because if the wacky flying machines and uptight corseted ladies licking plates is neither steamy nor punky enough for you, then we must lovingly agree to disagree.
Reason for Stopping: Husband will be home before terribly long, and I have some errands to run before he gets here. Besides, I reached the end of the chapter, banged out nearly 4000 words in about 2-1/2 hours, and I think that’s all my brain can manage today. [:: crashes now ::]
