Today’s progress on the west coast steampunk Victoriana book with zombies, air ships, toxic gas clouds, mad scientists, dead folk heroes, secret criminal societies, and Bonus! extended deleted scenes from the Civil War:

Project: The Boneshaker
New Words: 1702
Present Total Word Count: 48,448 words
Goal: 100,000 words by July 1





Things Accomplished in Fiction: Escaped from the subterranean tavern; out of frying pan, into fire. Briar continues to learn her way around this world, though her companions are reluctant to discuss certain points. The most intriguing mystery point so far seems to be a certain Dr. Minnericht, whose inventions make life easier inside the walls … but whose prices are increasingly steep and morally suspect.

Darling du Jour: “Willard lifted the lantern and Swakhammer adjusted the glass. Soon the whole tunnel was alight with a weak orange glow as wet as juice.”

Things Accomplished in Real Life: Finished Draft Zero of a freelance project; pinned down the finer points of another freelance project; unpacked from road trip; constructed the Great Road Trip post (which took longer than I’d care to admit); sorted receipts and paperwork for same; ran to the store for dishwasher detergent and deodorant.

Reason for Stopping: Tonight I want to attend the reading/signing of Mark Henry and Caitlin Kittredge over at the University Bookstore. Come on down at 7:00 p.m. and give ‘em a listen. I’ll be there; but first I need to freshen up, change clothes, track down my husband, see about supper, and more. So anyway, yeah. That’s why I’m stopping now.

Total Fiction Words Composed in 2008: 117,048

And in closing, here’s a kitty picture, just because I like this one: