Word Paint Blogfest

Today is my blogfest and I figured, why not enter using both my blogs. Here is my entry from Cinder Story, which I just finished writing. I'm not 100 percent sure it has enough word paint in it, because I struggle at that but I figured it would be more helpful to me to at least try. This way I have one post that is an edited, focused on setting the scene draft and a very recent one.

Link to other blog for blogfest details and other participants: http://dawnembers.blogspot.com

For this blogfest, I wanted to go back since I had to skip some sections for the Rain Blogfest. It is right after Jack has moved in to the little room but before he meets the women he'll really be working for. Very rough draft as usual. (I should find a picture or something that is a "rough draft warning" for these entries since they all are but new people will see it so have to mention it each time.)


A Cinder Story:

Standing back, after the last box had been removed, Jack sighed with relief. Moving in two days hadn't been easy, despite the limited space, but he was there and ready for the first official work day that would follow. He rested upon the bed to relax, taking in the fresh odor radiating from the new odor killer thing he'd found at on sale. It didn't smell of flowers or anything special, just clean. It was better to be safe and make sure nothing could cause the room to repulse anyone that might enter. Plus, the scent was far better than the lack of smell that had been the rooms existence before he moved in.

The whole room had been dull and empty. Even the smell of the room reflected that for it had the smell of nothing. Which is one thing he was grateful to change.

He couldn't change the wall, which still had a stark white paint layer that looked so empty it reminded him of why people would go insane in all white rooms. Truth is that he hated white as the wall colors but he couldn't do much in this case except be grateful for the furniture and his own belongings to end the monotony that rang of solitary depression.

Aside from being dull and empty, the walls seemed to be on the thin side. Jack had no plans of blasting his music to a disruptive level or doing anything inappropriate so no one would have issues with the sounds coming from his room but he still felt concern. Privacy had always been important to him and it seemed the personal phone calls would have to wait most days, along with everything else. At least the rooms surrounding him weren't other personal bedrooms. His was the only one set aside downstairs, much like some tucked away servants' quarters.

Relief and uncertainty swirled deep within his gut as he settled down for bed. Tomorrow was the big first day and he needed to get up early to prepare. At least, he brought in his own bedding and drifted to sleep under the warm familiarity of blue-green comfort.

Rainy Day

Late, I know. Sorry for having my entry be late for the blogfest but with the microobiology combined with a new job, I have been so tired. But here it is:

The blogfest is hosted by Christine H over at The Writer's Hole .
Basically, she wants rain! That is the main aspect for this blogfest and since it's pretty straightforward there isn't much to add about the blogfest.


Since the last blogfest was also one involving weather, I decided to skip ahead in the story a little bit. I wouldn't want to weather focused sections that close together in the overall story. So, this is Cinder Story after Jack has started the job, had a few issues with the stepdaughters of his boss and they have given him the nickname Cinder. It's not very long either and a bit rough.

Entry from Cinder Story:

Jack used to like rain. The refreshing way a good shower would drop the temperature on a hot summer day could improve his mood at the first sprinkling of liquid. Dark gray clouds had their own natural beauty that so few seemed to appreciate. Scents after a strong rainstorm was like heaven. Or... That's how it used to be when it rained but today has ruined that entirely.

Standing out in a downpour hadn't been his plan for the fifteen minutes, but when Alexa handed him her sparkling pink umbrella, he knew he couldn't refuse the job. She was angry at him already and a bad report to her stepfather would hinder the work he'd done so far.

So, he took the umbrella without a complaint, only taking one longing glance at the extra, blue one that remained in the close before following her outside. But he wasn't going to take the disregard without saying something. "You're so addicted to those things that you have to go out in a storm to get your fix?"

"Bite me." She didn't skip a beat with her response and proceeded to take her time lighting the slim, white cigarette.

His one sentence in, Jack stood holding the umbrella over her and let the rain drench him. At least the water kept the smoke from infusing into his clothing since she tended to exhale in his direction on purpose.

Skip Starbucks (not my writing but a good cause)

Okay. This will probably be the only time I will do something like this. If I didn't have the theme weeks I would even do a double post on both blogs.

I'm not going to post the entire story because the original one is much better than my retelling what is going on, so make sure to check out this blog: http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/

C.J. is in the process of adopting a little girl from China, but has run into complications due to changes made. International adoption isn't easy and what can already take a several months has not only taken longer but is going to cost even more. So, on her blog, C.J. is asking for donations to help with the unexpected added cost. Those who donate can get a prize, but that is such a minor detail with this.

The giveaway is called skip starbucks because they ask for as little as the amount of a coffee from starbucks, asking people to skip that one day and help instead. I don't go to starbucks on a regular basis because small town wyoming doesn't have any. There is a Barnes and Noble an hour away and that is it. So, for me it's just donate whatever because I want to donate.

Aside from gay rights, children are an important aspect in my life. I don't have any children, yet, but have considered adoption as an option in the future. I also have done a few years of research on China, the one child policy and international adoptions.  In fact, I wonder if ratifying the Hague Convention several years ago is a part of why the process and costs have changed. The goal of the convention was to put an international agreeance on adoption that focuses on keeping the children in the family first, the country second and puts international adoption last. The US and China were the last ones of the bigger countries to not only sign but ratify (and I don't know if the US has even). China did it almost at random the year the college policy debate had china as a topic with one option being about the one child policy, which has an influence on the number of children up for adoption. Thus, how I know about it. But I would almost guess the changes are part of their attempt to follow the order needed, since in the past international adoption was closer to first on the list.

While people may be aware of US citizens adopting Chinese babies (my professor for lit criticism adopted twins from China), it's not easy to do. There are strict requirements for married couples (have to be married), which includes making enough money by their standards and then going through all the red tape and everything else that goes with the actual adoption.

If you donate, great. If not, no problem. I gave my donation and hope that they get the amount they need.

Monday's Muse Angel Demon

Another Monday's Muse day has come upon us and this is one full of pictures. Today I'm going to show pictures for Angel//Demon (Vulnerable). The pictures were found on weheartit.com but there are more angel ones than demon because it's hard to find a "demon" picture that looks like a regular human. The couple pictures are the better ones. At the end I think I'll add youtube video of the theme song I've picked out by Secondhand Serenade.

First is the Angel only picks. His name is Elijah, which means "angel of innocence" but he wasn't innocent before becoming saved.

I don't have a cool, "I'm a demon" type picture for Lucas. He's not a high up demon, just a messenger, and looks very human-like. So, I'll just show the two images I found on the web site that works for the couple combined. The first is a sketch.

Aren't they cute?!


An even better picture is this one. There aren't any wings or the like, but I think it's a very good image of the couple. They live in detroit so it gets cold and there will be snow. Can you guess who is who in the picture? Who is the demon? Who is the angel? ;-)

If you need a hint, check out the interview with Lucas somewhere on this blog or the Meet the Character post from this novel.


And last, but not least, a youtube video. It's one of my favorite songs by Secondhand Serenade called Vulnerable. I think it's quite relevant to the angel who falls in love with a demon story, so it has become the novel's theme song.

Weather Blogfest

Oh the fun of writing about weather. Well, not so much. I rarely ever have weather mentioned in my stories, let alone done as a prominent feature as this blogfest requires. The only one I have done in the past is the one I wrote for the break the rules blogfest because I decided to start with weather, breaking the rule that way. It did turn out kinda cool but I wasn't sure how I'd get the weather factor into my new blog novel, Cinder Story. When I think of Cinderella type stories I don't really think about the weather. But I managed to scrape something together because I love blogfests and the more I take part in for this story, more of the novel will get written.


The Weather Blogfest is hosted by the bloggers at A Little Slice of Nothing.

It is pretty straight forward. Those that are taking part in this blogfest have to post a scene or story that features weather. It can't be a minor detail because that is no fun because it's supposed to showcase the topic presented in the blogfest.

The snow isn't visible in the image but the lightning is so cool in this picture. It's from crystallinks.com originally and I love the circle part.

Rough Draft Warning! lol

Cinder Story: Snow/Lightning


Staring at the overflowing bookshelf for over half an hour didn't help make the moving process any easier for Jack. He struggled in picking out just the right books to put into the small box, which currently contained four already chosen ones. Although he didn't expect a lot of down time on the job, he didn't know for sure and having some books there might be useful some day but they had to be appropriate.

"Aren't you done with that box yet?" Eathan returned, handing him a bottle of water. He settling on a chair, indicating break time. "Why not bring movies? Or do you not have room in your cell for a tv?"

"I could bring a small one but don't think I will. Can watch tv on my days off." Jack tossed a few generic fiction books into the box, attempting to line them up so none of the pages would get damaged. he'd never been that into watching anyways and with the limit on the types of movies he'd be able to bring, it was much easier to not bring one at all. "Thanks for helping me with this. I owe you one."

"You owe me ten. This had to be the one random weekend that is has to snow for the entire month."

Shrugging, Jack stood, stretching his legs as a burning sensation radiated from each knee cap. Once he was used to standing again, he moved to the window in the room to peer outside. It had started to snow a few hours ago but they had been very small flakes. Now, the flakes appeared different. He couldn't distinguish one flake from the next as they seemed more like little balls of snow.

About to turn away from the natural scene, Jack stopped as a flash caught his eye. "Woah." He peered out again, looking both directions and every which way upward that he could manage with the small window.

"What?" Eathan stared at him, not getting up to go look.

He waited another minute before responding. Once another flash was visible he confirmed his thoughts and said, "there's lightning."

"No way." It was enough to get Eathan to join Jack at the window. "Is that possible? Snow with lightning?"

"Watch and see for yourself. I know I saw lightning."

It took another couple of minutes but soon another flash of electricity moved across the dull gray sky. The snow continued to fall but in the weird little balls instead of flakes making it the strangest weather Jack had ever seen. If he'd been the type to believe in omens and signs, he would have wondered what the weird weather meant for his new career. But he wasn't the type. Instead, he spent a few minutes watching in awe and then he settled back to packing. He had a lot to choose from and a limited space to fill. It wasn't going to be an easy task.

WIP Wednesday

The Non-Writing Part of Writing

By this I mean the aspects of writiing that help with a draft but are not actual drafts of the novels. This includes reading, research, outlines and worldbuilding. My writing proress is going slow but I have been taking notes on two different Shiny New Ideas. I send these notes to my alpha reader, aka my writing twin from writing.com, and she looks them over. I have yet to come up with an idea she doesn't like but some she likes way more that others. I have the story notes written for Steampunk idea but haven't shared those with Alpha. So, let's put the progress in individual paragraphs.


Steampunk Idea:
Notes done on general story line. Next step? World build, the first part being about developing the elemental fairies. One possible main character is a fae so it's important to have all the information on them figured out. I'm not going with the usual elements (earth, fire, air, water, spirit). Instead, as they seem more fitting for steampunk and the main character helped dictate this decision, the elements are wood, earth, fire, water and metal. I've never done worldbuilding before, so it's all new for me to do research and such before writing a first draft.


Border Bound:
Idea is down and approved by Alpha. I like this idea and it's a potential for when I'm done with Angel//Demon. It's a bit dystopianish, post-apocolyptic type with a slight horror element. I don't do horror well, or at least I don't think I do it well because I do not understand it. Will have to develop the monsters for this story, as I'm not sure what to use but I know it's not zombies, vampires, ghosts or demons. It's an animalistic type of monster that hunts humans. Much to develop but the storyline has good potential.


GeniusNorm SNI:
Doesn't have a title yet and the climax is lacking but I've almost finished the initial notes for this story idea. It's one of few ideas that didn't come from a dream. I like the idea but the execution will be different. One person main character, which is nice because a few of my new ideas have two people who could be the main character. The society will need work for this and I may need to do a little worldbuilding. But for now it will stay in the developing idea stage.

Monday's Muse GLBT

(Yeah. Had a posting issue, it was supposed to go out Monday but ended up on Sunday and didn't fix as planned. So, it's posted early.)

Today is happy rainbow day and the joy of male/male. I write glbt (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) stories. Most of them are gay males with an occasional lesbian and trans/intersex character in the mix. So, glbt symbols are an inspiration to my writing, and to myself.

Minor Warning: If you don't like male/male or female/female kissing, then don't look here. Nothing inappropriate is shown, it's not erotic, so I think it's perfectly fine to post here for anyone to see. Enjoy! *winks*

 Not much to say. Let's get to the rainbow-tastic pictures.

Change Blogfest

The Change Blogfest is held by Elizabeth Mueller in order to celebrate a change a friend is going through, Sangu. Check out the link to see the other entries in this blogfest.

The goal is to write about a change. It can be anything. The way the character changes at the end of the story, during the middle, from an argument or something like that. Or it can be a change like moving, graduating, getting a hair cut. There are so many different options available.

I went with a change the character is going to have to make. It's not a personal growth type of change but it connects well with the first entry where Jack announced his new job. Also, I had to skip a section in the middle because it was going to be too long but it helps to have the first bit of information before reading about the change request. It's also a first draft, as all the Cinder Story entries will be since I have other writing to focus on instead of editing and rewriting for every blogfest.

My entry of sorts from Cinder Story:

Jack pulled up to the towering home of his new boss. Parking his regular civic in the guest parking spot made him feel self conscious of how noticeable it was that it didn't belong there. Even the paint job seemed dingy in comparison to the shining, brand new convertibles and other nicer vehicles in the family member spots. Each of them had their own car and a personally decorated sign designating who the spot belonged to. Two of them sparkled in the sunlight from different glitters and fake gems with pink undertones so bright even he felt nauseated just looking at the color.

With a few minutes of deep breathing, he entered through a side door as he had been instructed to do. The layout of the house was easy to figure out from the notes he'd been given and soon he found his way to the home office of Daniel Mann, business tycoon extraordinaire.

The office was simple, designed to get work done with minimal distractions and yet it was intimidating. Mr. Mann stood when Jack entered, giving a curt greeting before indicating for him to sit in a chair located on the other side of the desk.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mann." Jack shook his hand, keeping the grip strong while hoping it didn't come off as clammy.

"Please, call me Mr. Daniel. I like the sound of it more than the last name."

(Cut to get to the point for the blogfest. Job description stuff with questions and explanations. Jack is nervous but does his best to display confidence in his abilities to handle the tough job being laid out before him.)

"This here," Mr. Daniel opened a door, exposing a rather dull room with only a bed and a desk as furniture. "This is your room. If you have a big place right now, I'd suggest either moving or subletting it out for awhile because you'll need to be here 6 to 7 days a week with a few holiday exceptions. And those holidays aren't guaranteed."

"Okay." It was hard for Jack to keep the apprehension from his voice. He almost would rather have awoken at 4 am and came to the house than move to the barren room. But if that's what the job required he'd have to make the change no matter how he felt about it. The end result would be worth the hassle.

As if he could sense the trepidation, Mr. Daniel asked, "Is moving going to be a problem?"

Jack had to shake his head at once and try to make sure he wasn't sounding ungrateful or disinterested because that would hurt his overall evaluations. "No. It's no problem at all. I'm sure I can find something to do with my place while I'm here."

"Good." He nodded an acceptance of the answer and then continued with more instructions. "I'd prefer you didn't decorate, especially no nails in the walls. This is a home but also your work place, so try to keep it as professional as possible. I don't mind if you have casual clothes and in fact, if you enjoy working out then by all means have gym clothes here and use the home gym. Someone needs to get some use out of it and I don't have the time."

"Thank you." Jack watched Mr. Daniel, waiting for his cue to leave but instead was met with a serious gaze in return.

"To emphasize the professional, since that is such a broad term these days, I will add this." He said, his voice steady. "You're a man, and as a man I understand you may appreciate certain movies and magazines. I certainly wouldn't judge such but you need to keep anything you have that is of prurient interest somewhere else."

The undertone of the message was enough to bring a slight blush to Jack's face, and he couldn't help but dip his gaze to the floor as he responded. "I understand, Sir."

WIP Wednesday Decisions

Shiny Ideas & Decisions Made : Potential Novels

I have a few things that I want to discuss on today's WIP Wednesday. One is about the Shiny new ideas I've been getting, which has lead to some decision made. Part of those decisions have also brought me to the other topic: potential novels.  I have a post on my other blog that talks about how to handle shiny new ideas (SNI) but here I'm just going to mention the ones I've had recently.

Shiny Ideas & Decisions Made

The first SNI that I developed, Shiny Steampunk, was due to the blogpost where I was trying to decide which novel idea to write for blogfests. The more I thought about it, the more I grew to love the story. The actual idea isn't that new. It came from a dream that I had either early 2010 or late 2009. On my novel idea list it's number 51 of 58.

Second SNI is very new. Number 58 on the list but not from a dream. I got the idea with influence from reading about the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Thanks to Frankie Diane Mallis... yes I know two Frankies on blogger so the full name is necessary.) and from other thoughts. I started thinking about nerdy characters usually being abnormal and wondered what it'd be like if genius was the norm. Thus, the new new idea called NewShine Dystopian.

Now for the decisions. I was going to write Shiny as soon as I finished the first draft of Angel//Demon (only 50k to go). I've taken notes, writing down the entire story in general that I have from start to finish. Then I realized something. I've never done steampunk and the world I have is a bit complicated. Aside from normal reading in genre and all, there is something else I need to do before I can write a first draft. Something I've never done before. I need to world build. So, that is in the world-building phase now.

Then I realized since I don't really read mystery and the first draft of AAE is going really slow, maybe one chapter a month at most, something had to be done. I put it on the backburner. There isn't much regret either, even though I love the main character and his story, because it's the right decision for now.

Naturally, I can't just be writing 2 first drafts and 1 second draft. So, I pondered a couple ideas I wanted to write soon. It wasn't an easy choice but I decided to put real effort on the romance/erotica novella. I have been working on it for years technically, but by scene. Whenever an erotica contest on writing.com had a prompt that would work with the story, I would do a scene for it. I have just over 13,000 words done already.


Potential Novels

What I mean here is this.  I have a number of novels I want to write in the near future. I don't just mean 2010 either. Some of these will be in 2011 or even 2012 since first drafts won't get me too far if I want to publish anything. But I've decided to put a tiny list together of novels that I want to start writing first out of the 58 on the list so far.

- NaNoWriMo 2010 : Michael's Book (mutant) -
I planned this a few months ago. The main character and a few other mutants from this book are minor characters in Noah's book 1 and more involved in Noah's book 2(which isn't written). So, I think this might have to come before Noah's books and thus will write part of it in november since 50k isn't long enough.

- XXY : YA novel -
I'd really like to do this one before 2012. It's about a teen who was born intersexed (both male and female) but the parents didn't want to pick one because they were afraid they would choose the wrong one. The MC is supposed to make the decision eventually but is having a very hard time figuring it out. It's not fantasy at all, but still. I think it could be a good novel.

- NewShine Dystopian -
Right now, I need to just make some notes on the idea so I don't forget but I'm really liking this. I actually liked reading dystopian novels, though I didn't always know that's what I was reading. The society should be interesting in developing and the main character is new but he's going to be a good one. I like doing artistic/musical characters but don't have many at this point. It will be interesting to have one that has to keep those talents hidden. And it has the gay element but not as a theme or overall plot.

- Epic Fantasy -
I have wanted to write this for a long long time. I had the start of the idea back in high school because epic/high fantasy was my favorite. I love elves and mages. Doesn't matter if it's ever publishable or not to me. It's something I love and want to write, but I've been a little uncertain as to my qualifications. Even without worry of publishing I still wondered if I could write the story well enough. It has a group of main characters, with two that are more prominent than the rest. I have a few scenes written so far but want to write the full first book.


There are many others, but these are the ones I'd like to write soon. I also need to take all the first drafts I have done, or get done, and do rewrites. Need to work on ones I will be able to rewrite, edit, etc and then send out. Because for some I do want to try and get them published.

Romance Blog Hop

Greetings blog hoppers. This is just a quick little post for the blog hop link and why I qualify for the romance topic.






I have both romance novel and other genres that incorporate some romance. The first 1st draft I'd ever finished was a romance/erotica during National Novel Writing Month 2008. I still haven't rewritten that novel but it's in the background to eventually be fixed. Instead of talking about the novels, though, for this introduction. I'm going to talk about some of the couples. Yes, they are all m/m.

Thomas & Kyle - they are for a romance/erotica novella and people like them. Well, I don't know about people but the ones that have read them. My "fan" loves to read about Thomas in particular but mostly his interactions with Kyle. Another that liked these too in particular really liked Kyle. What I like about this is that both were gay/bi males. Some don't believe women can write it well for men, but I seem to be doing okay.

Noah & Bastian - Noah is a mutant that controls energy. He is a main character in not only his series but the ones that combines with characters from the YA section. Bastian is his boyfriend, and he meets him at the very beginning of the book. They have many differences that begin to develop and they go through a lot in the first book.

Lucas & Elijah - from the paranormal romance. These two are very fun and it's a novel with both as the main characters. Both are the point of view characters. Lucas is a demon and Elijah is an angel. Lucas hates the cold and they're living in Detroit. Both are feeling vulnerable and find something they never thought they'd have with each other... love.

Enjoy the hop. Tomorrow is my WIP post and it's kinda long.

August Goals

While I have in the past posted my monthly writing goals on my other blog, I think that it's more appropriate to post them here from now on. Afterall, this is a blog about my works in progress and nothing else (with occasional exceptions).

My August Goals


1. At least 5 chapters on Tattle Tell (try to finish ASAP).
- I'd put finish by my birthday but that's slightly over half the book and while I can do 30+k in one month, I have to remember this isn't my only project and I'll have Microbiology with a lab to do as well. Plus my internship and maybe a job, maybe at the end of the month but that's a distant hope still.

2. 10k or so on Angel//Demon 
 - While I should put the other novels on the backburner, I just can't. Plus, I've told myself when I finish the first draft of this novel I can start writing Shiny (aka steampunk fantasy idea). And I really want to write my elemental fey helps human beat villain story.

3. Use WDC more besides writing in novels
- So, I've been on writing.com for 5 years now. But this past year my activity on the site has decreased. I've not gotten my contests judged, at all, like months late. I haven't taken part in contests, groups or discussions outside one or two. The only reason I really sign on is to post my novel work when I write in book items. It helps to have the online copies along with what's on my laptop. I used to review, a lot at the beginning of the year, and now nothing. My goal is to change that a little and maybe even get back into chat a few times (I blame twitter for me not going to chat).

4. Read 4 novels, at least
- Yeah, yeah, to write one needs to read but I haven't been very good at it. Last month I read Wings and The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I also started The Magicians and I'm still only half way. It's not a bad book either, just a little slow to read and I am distracted doing my own stuff. I have started Shiver. Hope to read that, Uglies, and at least two other books this month. I have so many to read it's ridiculous and at the end of the month I'll be getting Paranormalcy. Yay!


These are my goals for August.

What are your goals?