Day 15 of NaNoWriMo, and I wrote 2k words. That actually feels good, and they flowed well.

I’m at a very tense moment in the story - Fred believes that Mark is most likely dead. (I will relieve that tension soon enough, and then they’ll move into rescue and finally showdown mode.)

I’m also almost ready to commission the cover. Looked up the designer, and she’s still there and taking orders. Unfortunately, I need to write a description for the book to go on the back cover. At least I know what I want on the front.

And don’t laugh, but I also need to decide how Fred and Mark actually look. I have a sense of them, but no visual. Fred has German ancestors, so brunette and “normal”, but I might give Mark some PoC ancestors for a change. I don’t think he’s Black, I never got that vibe, but at least something. I’ll tell the designer, and she’ll do something great with it.

Have some Fred. (Alex is in Wolf shape.)

These goons had killed Mark. I had to face that brutal fact, because Luka had admitted that those were their orders.

The rage I felt at that thought was frightening. Right now, I was ready to tear out their throats with my bare hands. If they had killed Mark, they did not deserve to live. And I would find Frank next and do the same to him.

I heard a car pull into the yard and hissed. I also heard Alex’s nails click on the floor as he jumped to his feet.

“Sit,” Luka whispered, and I hid a laugh.

Alex would definitely not listen to his former friend.

Car doors slammed, shoes crunched on wet gravel.

Someone laughed, and the fury inside me burned even stronger.

Day 16 of NaNoWriMo and I wrote 2412 words. Suddenly got on a roll.

I’m also getting closer to the end of the story. Still need to figure out the big showdown - I have a feeling the villain will not survive the end of the story, although murder is a tricky thing in Germany. Maybe they’ll disappear him in a clever way…

I’m feeling better, at least about writing. Still haven’t ordered the cover, the snag is getting the description written. But today was an office day, and they always steal quite a bit of energy. Plus my night was rudely interrupted and lack of sleep makes me stupid.

Have some Wolf fun (Alex is in Wolf shape):

Luka scrambled onto the bench in the back, and Alex jumped in with him. Moments later, we were off, the goon driving fast, but not erratically. Maybe he had bought into our plan.

Nobody was inclined to talk much. Alex gave a growl or two, and I assumed that Luka had tried to touch him once again.

“Your dog doesn’t like me,” he eventually said.

“No”, I answered simply, and Alex huffed.

“I like dogs,” Luka went on, sounding a little miffed.

“This is not your average dog,” I said, doing my best to hide my smile. Luka had no idea, and I wouldn’t enlighten him just yet.

Day 11 of NaNoWriMo, and I’m back on track. Wrote 2k words today.

Yes, it was hard. I’m tired - didn’t get much sleep last night, I blame Jocelyn Drake - and yesterday was a hard day, which means today should have been a recovery day. And I did take it easy for most of the day.

And then I dove into the Wolves tonight and ran with another bit for Alex (who had a really good day, after all), and ended it with Mark noticing something suspicious…

Take a look:

I did another round downstairs, just to stay awake and alert. This time, I moved the curtain of the backdoor just a little and peered outside. Something moved at the end of the garden.

For a few breaths, I stood and watched, holding completely still. The human eye, just like a wolf’s, is better at discerning movement than shapes.

Well. Maybe it had just been a bird or something. Or a rabbit. My mouth watered at the thought of a rabbit, and I knew my Wolf was riled up a little by tonight’s events.

Just as I was turning away, I caught movement again.

This was not good, and I needed to check it out.

Day 14 of NaNoWriMo, and I got nothing.

Yesterday was probably too big of a push. Getting up very early today might have added to it all. I’m also realizing I’m not putting enough of the German Christmas traditions into the story, which means heavier editing than I like.

And I even have my first buyer for the story if I get it out fast. bangs head against desk

Brain is this mix of stress, anxiety, anger and frustration. Because this month is the absolute worst in book sales in over a year. I haven’t sold a single book on Amazon (but I have almost 200 free downloads, yay). Sold a couple on Google Play Store. All of this despite a paid promo early this month.

I do have the plot sorted out. I know what I’ll do for the minor antagonist, while the major antagonist will not escape unscathed. I just have to write it, and that’s where I fail.

Tomorrow is a new day. deep breath

Cover Reveal!

While I was out with my sister, enjoying an awesome day in the snow, my cover designer finalized the design, and now I’m sharing the cover with you.

I love Fred and Mark. Love how sweet they look, love the background and the fact that she incorporated one of my very own images in it (of the tower with the city gate in it).

Enjoy the Wolves!

Day 20 of NaNoWriMo, and I feel like I’m done. Didn’t write again.

I know what I need to do to finish the story: One more sweet chapter and the epilogue (which will be Christmas Eve). And then I need to go through the thing and sprinkle Christmas stuff all over it. Plus add more emotions and heartbreak just before the showdown.

It’s all very doable, but today I went and hibernated again… well, not quite. I sent out an invoice for my proofreading and added a video to my new FediChannel.

So it’s not a lost day at all.

Instead of a snippet, would you help me find a better name for the Villain? Can you pick a German name that you’d love to hate?

Day 12 of NaNoWriMo, and I failed. Wrote 60 words. You can read them all below.

Not sure what happened, to be honest. Just couldn’t wrap my mind around hurting Mark, although that usually isn’t a problem. I hope I feel sufficiently brutal tomorrow. (But tomorrow is also Newsletter Day, and I’ll see how much writing I have in me.)

Have Mark. Watch him make a colossal mistake:

I quietly opened the back door and slipped out, pulling it close behind me. The big flashlight I was carrying would work as a club in an emergency.

For a moment, I wondered if I should wake Fred, call her in for backup. I shook my head at myself, she was probably fast asleep and this was most likely nothing.

Day 13 of NaNoWriMo (yes, I’m posting this a tad late, because that day was… intense) and I wrote 1800 words. After writing a 1k blog post and setting up my newsletter. Yeah, that was… intense.

But I finally got mean and hurt Mark, and yes, that scene will probably need some more work to have more impact. I just didn’t feel especially cruel…

Have some… Mark snark.

“This is the end of the road for you,” [spoiler] said, wild satisfaction in his voice. Yes, that man was on a power trip.

I didn’t bother answering him. As long as I wasn’t dead, I’d keep fighting. Right now, that meant staying conscious.

Luka returned with two men in his wake. Yes, those were the owners of the body and beer odors. Another classic mistake of a wannabe drug lord, hiring stupid people. I was beginning to hope for an escape, if I could get my body to cooperate.

Guten Morgen.

Here’s the promised post with a snippet of what I wrote yesterday. (It is getting harder to find passages that do not contain spoilers… but I doubt that what I’m sharing is a huge spoiler, especially if you read my series.)

Writer Brain also ambushed me again at night, and I have another new series idea, this time Vampires with a twist. Not quite the never-ending series that the Shifters offer, but similar. A bit darker than my usual stuff, maybe, with a romance subplot and happy for now endings.

Yes, I have an ideas folder. I truly need to live a few hundred years to write all the books I want to write. (Does anyone know a friendly vampire or demigod who could grant me a nice extension of my lifetime?)

Have some Wolf:

It was a relief to have Mark sitting next to me. He still looked like hell and he carried himself as if in great pain, but he was alive and, well, going to be fine.

That kiss kept playing out in my memory.

I knew what it meant. Every Wolf girl did.

It was a surprise and yet it wasn’t.

Being with Mark had always been fun and easy. He treated me like an equal, he celebrated my successes and commiserated with me when I messed up. And I did the same for him.

Playing dog for him was just as much fun.

Day 18 of NaNoWriMo, and suddenly, the Wolf Novella is almost done. Wrote 1500 words today.

The showdown happened a lot faster than I expected, but Mark had no patience left, and the villain lost his nerves anyway.

Now I have one really sweet chapter left to write and decided that the Epilogue will be Christmas Eve. Looks like the story will clock in a little under 40k.

Day was weird. I did quite a few chores while waiting for our janitor. He never came, and I hate that. I would have liked to go on a long walk… I also had a lovely chat with my sister and then a Zoom with a friend. Good for the soul.

Have some Wolves:

It took ages for the police to sort through everything. Fred was an absolute star and handled all the officials with skill and calm. Alex and I got away with pretending to be dogs, and none of the police even questioned our presence. One of them even patted my head and praised me for defending Maria. I wagged my tail for her, but we spent most of the time lazing around in the kitchen.

Day 21 of NaNoWriMo (not making the full 50k, no chance).

But I wrote the final chapter, which is a bedscene, basically, just skipping the actual deed. The Epilogue will be Christmas Eve, with the presents and everything.

And I’m stuck on presents? Who gets what? I need presents for Mark, Fred, Alex, Maria (Alex’ mom) and Luka (Alex’ friend).

Ideas? Please help me out!

Day… never mind. NaNo is basically done.

Didn’t write today, but I survived the office day, an unexpected change of plans, had a loooong and very good phone call with an old friend and former colleague and found an awesome new review for West Flows on Amazon DE.

In addition, I got a preview of the cover for A Wolf’s Christmas and it’s already looking amazing. It needs a tweak or two, and then it’ll be brilliant. I’ll probably show it off in a couple of days.

I have most of the Christmas presents sorted. Yes, there will be two ugly Christmas Sweaters. I just had to… chocolate, maple syrup, and possibly a book (still have to figure out which one).

Even so, let me hear your brilliant ideas about more presents!

(Oh, and I just got my nephew to send me pics of Frankfurt Airport so I can get the Christmas deco right. That will make the editing so much more fun!)

Have today’s sunrise in lieu of a snippet.

Not sure what happened to the day.

I ended up writing about 500 words for a prequel for a new vampire series Writer Brain keeps pushing at me. I hope I can keep it to a short novella. Title is “Penumbra”. Yes, it makes sense.

I read a comfort book or two, played Spider Solitaire, cooked food (need to improve my sauce-fu) and kind of lost myself.

Let me share the beginning of “Penumbra”. (My character kept surprising me, such fun!):

It was raining.

Of course, it was raining. This was bloody New York, after all, and at this time of the year, it was just as likely to snow as it was to rain.

Leander flipped up the collar of his coat for a little more protection before stepping out from under the eaves and onto the sidewalk. He walked fast, with the stride of a man who knew exactly where he was going and why.

In truth, he was just trying to put distance between himself and the body. Discovering it had been a little shock, but he’d grabbed what he had been sent to find and hurried to get away, leaving no trace of his presence.

Leander kept walking, keeping his stride, slipping out of the neighborhood, making sure to shake any tail, ignoring the rain. Something had not been right, something was bothering him, and it wasn’t the body.

It certainly wasn’t the first one he had seen, and more than likely also wasn’t the last. At least this time, there hadn’t been much blood. It was always easier without the blood. Something about that always made his stomach queasy. Not that he would admit that to anyone. He was a damn P.I., and he was good at what he did. Nobody needed to know about his reaction to blood.

Not a lot of writing - I do need to think about the next chapter of the Penumbra Prequel. There is a side character I need to develop more. (And knowing me, that side char might well become a main char in a sequel.)

On the other hand, I did edit (clean up) about half of the Wolf story. Added footnotes for the German sentences and marked them as German (I hope that will help with the audiobook).

Nothing new from the cover designer yet. I hope I can do a cover reveal tomorrow or Wednesday. Still planning to release on Thursday, but Friday would also be just fine.

So no snippet today, sorry. But help me find a good place to share my Penumbra work… would appreciate pointers.

I did it!

I just wrote The End under the Epilogue of the Wolves, after a thorough edit.

Tomorrow, I’ll do a final, final read-through and plonk the file into Atticus. Tomorrow evening, I’ll have the epub and the print PDF, and can tell my cover designer about the page numbers.

I saw the final cover just now, and it looks awesome! I hope can find the time to do a quick cover reveal. Will upload to all stores on Thursday.

I’ve done this so many times. And yet, it’s still exciting!