An update, a new Nano project, and a change of mind

The writing continues to be slow but steady. Last week I got 4600 new words written, despite lots of other stuff going on. We finally pulled the tomato plants in the garden — all but two, that is. Let’s see if we can still get fresh tomatoes in December. *g*

I also decided to participate in Nano again, even though none of my projects is long enough. I’m going to cheat and conflate them, my goal being to get the 50,000 words and at least two new novellas done. 🙂 First, I want to finish Facets of Glass. To that end, I deleted several thousand words of notes to myself, so that I would know how much I actually still have to write. I’m thinking now that it’s going to need about another 20,000 words.

My “official” Nano project will be An Airship for Elise. It was originally a short story, but the critiques pretty universally said it had to be longer. I’m thinking that, if I can finish it, Airship will give me the other 30,000 words I need to reach the wordage goal. If not, I will then also get started on Shards of Glass, the third book in the Glassmakers trilogy.

One of the reasons I’m doing Airship is because I found this amazing premade cover, and I had to have it:

Synopsis:

Elise Daimler wants nothing more than to be an engineer like her famous uncle, Gottlieb Daimler, the inventor of the motor car. But in 1888, German universities do not accept women as students.

At least Elise can work as an apprentice in her uncle’s workshop. And Uncle Gottlieb has a few strings he can pull.

Unfortunately, no one reckoned with the consequences …

BTW, over at Nano I’m specficrider, if you want to add me to your buddies. 🙂

On to WIPpet Wednesday! Dowager Princess Zilia is still alone with the magic mirror, which still refuses to speak to her. Nonetheless, she is beginning to have a change of mind about it, as you will see in this snippet (which has been edited for spoilers). I give you five paragraphs for the fifth day of the month:

The mirror listened, not interrupting, allowing her to air her thoughts.
“My son may be a fool, but I will not have him look the fool.”
In the mirror’s reflection, the glass apple on the sideboard caught a ray of sunlight, almost seeming to glow.
Zilia stared at the reflected image, glad she hadn’t hurled the apple away. Perhaps it still had a role to play.
She tapped her lips with one finger thoughtfully. “Perhaps if something unfortunate befell someone near to her — quite without any threats being made?” Zilia continued, still addressing the silent mirror — and her own reflection. There was something surprisingly helpful to conversing with herself through the magic mirror. She was speaking with the person she most trusted in the world, after all.

WIPpet Wednesday is the brain child of K. L. Schwengel. If you’d like to participate, post an excerpt from your WIP on your blog, something that relates to the date in some way. Then add your link here — where you can also read the other excerpts.

Arguing with a magic mirror for #WIPpet Wednesday

Last week, I got a surprising amount of wordage written, despite all the preparations for the launch of Island of Glass. (Thank you all very much for your help!) Anyway, the book is now published, I’ve gotten back into the swing of things regarding marketing my fiction, and last week I added a total of 6,000 words to various projects.

I’m still undecided whether I will try to do Nano this year. I have so many projects going right now, I don’t really want to abandon any of them. Well, I still have a couple of days to decide.

I also wanted to mention that with Halloween coming up, I’m going to be giving away my short story, “Misty and the Magic Pumpkin Knife” from Oct. 30 – Nov. 3 FREE on Amazon. So if you don’t have it yet, grab yourself a copy!

After that brief update, let’s continue on to WIPpet Wednesday. Dowager Princess Zilia has just dismissed the witch Vanna and is very irritated with the magic mirror for not performing for her as it did for the witch. For Oct. 29, I give you 7 short paragraphs for the day of the month (9-2):

She put the precious apple on a side table and drew a deep breath, then another, and another. She had the magic mirror, and she could call on Vanna’s services at any time. She did not need to control the magic herself — she had a monopoly on the purveyors of magic in Venice.
The only person she could truly trust was herself. She much preferred to have the reins in her own hands.
On the other hand, while a witch or an alchemist was perfectly capable of deception, what was the case with a magic mirror? Zilia had seen the mirror’s answers with her own eyes, after all, and they were quite clear.
The dowager princess turned back to the mirror. “So, Mirror, can you lie like the rest of us? Or must you always tell the truth?”
The mirror remained silent, the images it reflected unchanging.
Zilia began to pace her retiring room, forcing the mirror to follow her lead. “Perhaps I should return you to Vanna after all,” she said to the mirror. “Seeing as you are useless to me without her. But no, it is as I told the witch, I do not want anyone else accessing your magic at this time.”
The mirror followed her movements patiently.

Another mirror, just because it’s so pretty

WIPpet Wednesday is the brain child of K. L. Schwengel. If you’d like to participate, post an excerpt from your WIP on your blog, something that relates to the date in some way. Then add your link here — where you can also read the other excerpts.