Three chapters of Broken Trail completed for a total of 6601 words edited.  Now that the majority of the technical race details have been passed over, I was able to throw in a few thoughts and angst.  Lainey’s decided if she can finish the Iditarod, she can do anything—to include admitting her alcoholism to Ben Strauss and Scotch.  It terrifies and sickens her, but it’s something she has to get through.

The story is mostly from Lainey’s POV, but I’ve had requests to get more of Scotch’s POV into it.  At the very least, there are readers who’ve requested to see Scotch’s win at Nome.  That means at least two more scenes to write from scratch, one when Scotch wins the Iditarod, and one while she reflects and waits for Lainey’s arrival.

I’m way past the halfway point now. YAY!

Saw the next ep of Heroes this morning.  Convoluted, as always. Love it! Can’t wait for V to start next month! I think I saw that ABC.com has another Flash Forward ep available.  I’ll see that tonight after work.

Speaking of work…  Urgh.

Didn’t think I’d have any today.  The wife started school yesterday, and today is a long day for her.  That meant I could get LOTS of chores done in her absence!  LOL!  Surprised the hel out of me when everything I’d wanted to get done was complete before it was time to write! WOOT!

To that end, chapters thirty and thirty-one of Broken Trail are edited for a total of 6011 words.  Still mostly mechanics of the race, edited for wording and technical aspects mostly.  Pretty soon, Lainey’s going to be hitting the emotional low point that occurs to everyone on the Iditarod.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to insert more angst and foreshadowing there.

Spent most of yesterday evening on WoW (World of Warcraft.) Tried to go through a dungeon with some friends – the Sunken Temple at Swamp of Sorrows for those interested.  Unfortunately, I realized too late that an item I needed was still in the bank rather than my pack.  Ah, well.  We’ll give it another try next week.

Hi. My name is Redhawk, and I’m a WoW addict.

Time to fold the sheets washed earlier today, and get dressed for work.

Finished Broken Trails, Chapter Twenty-Nine. I backtracked to chapter twenty-seven to start, scanning over it.  From here on out, the novel’s mostly about the mechanics of the race—it’ll be difficult to toss in the foreshadowing of Lainey’s emotional issues.  I’ll probably have to read it from start to finish one more time, just to be sure I’m keeping the feel of the novel cohesive. Total wordcount today is 2602.

I also edited chapter thirty, and set up thirty-one for the next round.  I’m not counting it for today’s total for the reason listed above.  I need to have a go over it again, just to be sure.

Saw the season premiere of Heroes on NBC.com last night.  Ah, a carnival of real freaks!  Of course!  Funny how the guy running it – Robert Knepper – also acted in the Showtime series, Carnivale, huh?  LOL!

There’s an auction for Kim Pritekel on AUSXIP.com (click here.) I’ve added a signed copy of Warlord Metal and On Azrael’s Wings.  Go.  Bid.  The woman’s a good writer, and losing her eyesight would interfere with that talent.

Broken Trails, chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight are ready to go.  About 3100 words edited.  Lainey’s come to the conclusion that she is an alcoholic, though she’s yet to say the words aloud. I think that’ll wait until the end of the book—I can already envision the scene where Scotch’s mysterious past is finally out in the open, and Lainey decides to come clean as well.

Found a new band – Delain.  I like ‘em.  (What’s not to like with a hot redhead as a lead singer??)  I’ve been focusing a lot on metal bands with women vocalists.  I think Beautiful Sin is my favorite—the lead singer’s voice is gritty and rough, just the way I like it. (Take that comment any way you see fit.  )

Almost finished with Blood Debt by Tanya Huff.  Not certain what I’ll be reading next.   S.M. Stirling’s Conquistador seems to beckoning, but we’ll see.

3847 words written and edited on Broken Trails.  Chapter Twenty-Seven is complete.  Queuing up Chapter Twenty-Eight for tomorrow.  It’s now February at the Fuller Kennels, with lots of work to do for the race coming in March.  Lainey’s also beginning to come to terms with the idea that she’s an alcoholic.  I think I’ll add a new scene next, one where she speaks with the kennel’s handler, Miguel.  He’s a supporting character that hasn’t had a lot of weight throughout the novel, but I’ve made him a recovering alcoholic—time for Lainey to approach someone who understands what’s going on with her.

Working on the last of the Blood Books by Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.  I like the series, but I can put the book down pretty easy.  Not sure why.  It’s not boring, and the writing’s good.  The verbal play between the characters is hilarious… Yet I find myself needing to take a break from the book.  Weird.

Finished watching the third season of ‘Deadwood.’  It ended rather abruptly.  I guess they’d hoped to continue on, and it got canceled.  Too bad. I’d love to follow along more, though they’d lose some of the rough and tumble of the place with the coming of government into the territory.  (And Bullock losing the sheriff’s seat opens up a whole ‘nother can o’ worms…)  It could be similar to the reasons I don’t write a sequel to Tiopa Ki Lakota – I don’t want to see my characters on a reservation, or the sickness and oppression they’ll receive from growing contact with the whites.

I watched ‘Flash Forward’ on ABC.go.com yesterday.  Now I have to get the book! I’ll be following this one for sure.

Saw the season premiere of ‘Mercy’ this morning on NBC.com. Kate Mulgrew as the drunken mother was fun.  (Gods, I love that woman’s voice!  LOL!  “Gin Ricky!”)  She’s a supporting character, so I’m debating whether or not to watch the show on a regular basis.  I like the set up and all, and the characters are interesting as hel, but I’ve never been much for the medical dramas. I guess if I remember to watch it next week, that’ll be an indicator of interest, huh?

Well, off to feed cats, make lunch, and do chores before work. Have a great day, y’all!

New words!  WOOT!  1262 wordcount for a new scene in Chapter Twenty-Five of Broken Trails, wherein Lainey’s first qualification run (the Kuskokwim 300) is detailed. She eats snow. Not by choice.  LOL!

Started editing the next scene of that chapter, as well. Not finished yet. I need to show more of the residual awkwardness between Lainey and Thom Fuller, the result of Lainey’s drinking binge the previous month. I’ll continue on Saturday. (Tonight is Poison Night – arthritis meds – and I’m going to be worthless on Friday.  Friday will be my official day off of writing from here on out, I think.)

I’ve been reading the Blood Books by Tanya Huff lately.  Working on number four – Blood Pact.  I like them better than the television show they inspired.  (Was it True Blood? Don’t remember.)  Saw the first episode of that series and, while it followed the book quite well, I didn’t get into the characters or the sense of anticipation.  The book covers several days, so I think the loss came from cramming so much material into the one or two hour block required for TV.

Last night after work, I did some editing on my website.  I discovered that while there was a link to a short story called ‘Dancing,’ it had never been uploaded to the site.  The information page for On Azrael’s Wings also had the wrong excerpt (it showed Castle Walls, instead,) so I changed that, as well.

Chapter Twenty-Five of Broken Trails has been edited / rewritten.  2121 words.  Set up the next chapter for tomorrow.  I’ll have to write part of it from scratch, as one of my beta readers reminded me to show, not tell.  The current manuscript has Lainey arriving at Fuller Kennels after her first qualifying run; it doesn’t show her actually doing the run.

Another 1160 words written today on Broken Trails (a.k.a. Iditarod.)  Over the hump of Lainey’s fall off the wagon!  WOOT!

The majority of the rest should be an easy edit, though I believe I had requests for people to see Lainey’s qualification runs.  I’ll end up writing those races as I go, and shoveling in the various angst-ridden subplots as I go.  The only other major writings will be Scotch’s winning of the race, and Lainey’s banquet speech, I think.

After years of searching, I finally decided on a title for the Iditarod novel.  I now christen thee… Broken Trails!  WOOT!

Now that the summer from Hel is over with, I’ve been working on said novel.  Today I achieved 1392 words!  It’s been a long time since that’s happened, lemme tell ya.  Here’s hoping the lull is over.