Shoulda Taken A Left Turn At Albuquerque

I got lost this week. But, you know how sometimes getting lost can lead you to a good place? That might've happened. Let me explain.

I have a series - four books plotted, the first being written. It's called "Fireheart." I put that aside to finish the first book of the Witches and Weres series, called "Immortal Blood." That's what my earlier-than-beta readers decided they wanted to see finished first. Fine. I went with that.

I mentioned in my last post that I got an idea for a short story, now called "Blood, Breath and Flame." I discovered this week that this short story takes place on the same planet, Rassa, that the Fireheart series takes place on. In fact, the protagonist, Jaelyn of Darislay, is the progenitrix of the family who turns out to be the rulers of Rassa, many generations down the line.

I also found out about a war that takes place sometime between Jaelyn and Alizaane (the heir of Rassa in Fireheart). It's fought against those with psychic ability and the temples that support them. Some survive, fleeing the centers of population where the temples are. They and their descendants become known as "the Scattered." In Fireheart, one of these turns out to be the hero. He's a trained assassin who comes to Alizaane's aid as her bodyguard.

Whew!

So, there was writing done. But not on the project I expected. I can't even say there was a lot of actual writing done, but there was a good deal of history and notes.

Other goals:

I'm getting to the gym later today. I plan on yoga and a desultory bout of basketball.

Grocery shopping today was good. I couldn't purchase as locally as I wanted to, but I managed to keep it in the United States. I kept to my goal and didn't buy the fresh peaches -- but I sure wanted to!

How's everyone else doing?

Scrabbling Up From the Abyss...

I'm pretty sure I won this latest argument with Death. I'm breathing a little bit better, and I'm not using quite as much Kleenex. Actually, it's Puff Plus with Lotion and Vicks. A product sent down from the gods, for sure. All in all, things could be on the upswing.

Pages, you ask? Well, I'm making a start. I should have written six pages since my last check-in. I've managed three. It's an improvement, and right now, I'll take anything I can get. I have written other pages, but they have to do with background of the werewolf clans and things relating to them. For instance, I discovered the burning of the Alexandrian Library was  deliberate act intended to destroy proof of the werewolves existence. The Egyptian clan was going to "come out," trusting to the protection of Anubis. The Etruscan/Roman clan wanted their secrets kept, even at the cost of important knowledge that would be lost forever. The Romans, as usual, won.

I figure that if I count background pages, it will be like vomiting exposition for the sake of page count. Cheating doesn't help, and besides, it's not cool. I just have to push on. Catching up is still my goal, so I'm still going to try to go above and beyond. My all-time best effort so far has given me 17 pages in three hours. However, that was typing, and a LOT of that was dialogue. I don't think that's standard production for me.

Maybe by the time this challenge is over, I'll have a better idea what my standard production is.

In the meantime, here's to killing, maiming, seduction, vengeance, twisted love, and inopportune furriness.

Have fun till Sunday, everyone!