This is it! We are now officially in the final week of #NaNoWriMo2014. I am so close to the end I can taste it. My word count stands at just short of 38,000, and I am determined to succeed with this year's challenge. My story is a good one. In fact, I might go so far as to say it could even be a future bestseller... but that all depends on me finishing it and making it presentable for publishing.
And so, I leave you with a short and sweet update. I have had a long and difficult month. My right wrist is encased in a white support bandage due to a severe flare up of RSI. I have been juggling full time motherhood of two young children. I have close family members with mental health problems that have required attention during recent weeks. And I am beginning to plan for Christmas, which involves making cards and doing the gift shopping.
Phew! I think I need a holiday... but first, I have another 12,000 words to write. Happy Winning, fellow Nanoers!
Vampire writer of fantasy books for adults, werewolf fiction and LGBT fantasy books. Polyamory rules in my world!
Showing posts with label My #NaNoWriMo2014 novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My #NaNoWriMo2014 novel. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Friday, 14 November 2014
My #NaNoWriMo2014 Vampire Hunter Novel
Hey folks! How you doin'? Can you tell I am excited? Well I am! I just reached the halfway point on my #NaNoWriMo manuscript, and a day ahead of schedule. Hooray! Not bad considering I was 10,000 words short just 24 hours ago. It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it... Anyway, because I feel very excited about this particular novel, I would like to share an excerpt with you. The story is about Hannah Oakley, a former vampire hunter turned wife and mother. She returns to work covertly to hunt down the vampire that almost killed her in a previous career. This is an excerpt from the very beginning of the novel (unedited, I might add!)...
Staring into the darkness, I held my breath and raised my gun, forcing my body to remain calm and still. She was out there, my target, the vampire I was supposed to destroy. She had eluded me for long enough. I had to end it. But I didn’t. I could hear movement, but it wasn’t her. She was too clever, to strong, too determined. There was a draft blowing through the cracked window to my left, and I felt the cold air whipping across my face. It stung where the vampire had hit me. My skin was stiff with dried blood, and sticky with more as it oozed from my wounds. I was beginning to lose consciousness. No, I could not give in. If I collapsed now then she would win. She would kill me. I was not ready to die.
With a terrifying scream the vampire leaped out of the darkness, hit me again, and I flew backwards, landing with a heavy thud on the concrete floor. It stunned me momentarily, and I panicked when I lost my gun. I tried to reach for the silver knife sheathed on my left leg, but I was too slow, groggy with the pain and shock from my wounds. The vampire crouched over me, her silver eyes glowing in the dark. It was those eyes that had been my undoing. That and my inexplicable attraction to this woman when I first met her. It was no good. I was fading fast, gasping for breath and fighting to stay alive. My body could take no more abuse.
“I could end this now, Hannah,” the vampire said, “All it takes is one more kiss.”
She reached out a slender finger and lightly stroked my face. I flinched and tried to move away but I couldn’t. I saw her fangs gleaming in the moonlight that streamed through the broken window. My nose wrinkled as it detected a smell of damp mixed with the cold, dead stench of vampire power. Just one more kiss. It would be so easy. She would kiss me, just like she always did, and the world would simply melt away. We would be alone, wrapped in each other’s arms, for eternity. My head lolled back, exposing my bleeding neck, and she moved closer, hovering above me as she savoured the moment. I closed my eyes.
“Mummy,”
The vampire was kissing me…
“Mummy! Where are you?”
My eyes snapped open. The room spun. Blinking rapidly, I looked around. I was in the kitchen, standing by the worktop, idly stirring a mug of tea that was beginning to cool. It had happened again. The flashbacks were more frequent, and now it seemed they were lasting for longer. Shaking my head, I stepped away from the worktop and turned towards the door.
“I’m in here, sweetheart,” I called out in a voice that shook very slightly.
“Mummy,” my daughter called.
Staring into the darkness, I held my breath and raised my gun, forcing my body to remain calm and still. She was out there, my target, the vampire I was supposed to destroy. She had eluded me for long enough. I had to end it. But I didn’t. I could hear movement, but it wasn’t her. She was too clever, to strong, too determined. There was a draft blowing through the cracked window to my left, and I felt the cold air whipping across my face. It stung where the vampire had hit me. My skin was stiff with dried blood, and sticky with more as it oozed from my wounds. I was beginning to lose consciousness. No, I could not give in. If I collapsed now then she would win. She would kill me. I was not ready to die.
With a terrifying scream the vampire leaped out of the darkness, hit me again, and I flew backwards, landing with a heavy thud on the concrete floor. It stunned me momentarily, and I panicked when I lost my gun. I tried to reach for the silver knife sheathed on my left leg, but I was too slow, groggy with the pain and shock from my wounds. The vampire crouched over me, her silver eyes glowing in the dark. It was those eyes that had been my undoing. That and my inexplicable attraction to this woman when I first met her. It was no good. I was fading fast, gasping for breath and fighting to stay alive. My body could take no more abuse.
“I could end this now, Hannah,” the vampire said, “All it takes is one more kiss.”
She reached out a slender finger and lightly stroked my face. I flinched and tried to move away but I couldn’t. I saw her fangs gleaming in the moonlight that streamed through the broken window. My nose wrinkled as it detected a smell of damp mixed with the cold, dead stench of vampire power. Just one more kiss. It would be so easy. She would kiss me, just like she always did, and the world would simply melt away. We would be alone, wrapped in each other’s arms, for eternity. My head lolled back, exposing my bleeding neck, and she moved closer, hovering above me as she savoured the moment. I closed my eyes.
“Mummy,”
The vampire was kissing me…
“Mummy! Where are you?”
My eyes snapped open. The room spun. Blinking rapidly, I looked around. I was in the kitchen, standing by the worktop, idly stirring a mug of tea that was beginning to cool. It had happened again. The flashbacks were more frequent, and now it seemed they were lasting for longer. Shaking my head, I stepped away from the worktop and turned towards the door.
“I’m in here, sweetheart,” I called out in a voice that shook very slightly.
“Mummy,” my daughter called.
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