The Whole Line Up *UPDATED*

    Is this not the most adorable dog evah?? LOL! Happy Wednesday folks! What an amazing week of rest it’s been. J   This is a sort of update on my writing progress. Plus, I’m going to give you a peek at all the books I’m working on.
    Stepping outside my regular blog topics of what’s on the nightstand and such, this is more of an informational post than the normal musings for those just joining us here on the blog.  To our new visitors from Cyprus, Lithuania, Ireland, Hong Kong and Japan, WELCOME! Thanks for dropping by and I hope you come back to visit again real soon.

    As of October 19, 2011 at 1:46 a.m. the third draft of Unwilling is now complete! *cheers, confetti, balloons and nerve pills all around*The entire  UNWILLING series is now taking a much more solid shape.  Book number one, UNWILLING, is a complete third draft. The first draft of UNWILLING added up to 169,643 words and trust me I bled every word on the keyboard. Then, after my first edit, the second version of the manuscript rang in at 132,000-ish. This most recent draft now sits in at 99,000 and some change.  I thought there for a while the re-writing might make me yank myself bald headed. But heavens be praised, since correcting a major kink I’d missed, the story works much better. To help move the story closer to becoming a reality I can share, I started the editing process. Totally not my favorite thing about writing unfortunately. Hubs is helping out with typo checks this time and sniffing out all the "dudes don't do this" spots. LOL! My male characters should be exceptionally well rounded and packed with testosterone once he's done. I'm really looking forward to sharing this story with everyone really soon so keep your fingers crossed that progress is swift and productive.    

    Book Two, tentatively known as UNLOVED, sits tucked away in its completed rough draft form in a binder on my desk. This first draft is 126,855 words and 19 chapters respectively. Why is it just sitting there you ask? Because it’s patiently wiling away the hours until I finish working on Unwilling. There’s even a nice taut rubber band around it to deter me from messing with it.
    I promised myself that I’d leave it alone until Unwilling's re-write is complete, hence the rubber band. Now that the draft for Unwilling is done, Unloved will be my go-to break from the editing process which saps my juices considerably.

    Book Three, the last in this series, is as yet unnamed. I’ll tell you what; this puppy has put me in a pickle more than a few times during the plotting process. Right now it comes up to only 7,522 words and 4 chapters. Considering the work still before me on the first two, this is pretty good.

*Now for a few things you haven’t heard about*

    Book Four

(Are you sensing an organization theme yet?) This book stands right now at 32,730 words and 11 chapters. The story is classified as a mystery. It’s been a great learning experience to try my hand at traditional mystery since the previous series is Paranormal Romance with only elements of mystery. I’m enjoying the research and creation of these characters because they’re all very complex. Lots of seedy history and disaster in the pasts of these folks is giving birth to a juicy, twisty story line.

    Book Five

A Dystopian, this story only sits at 728 words and one chapter so far. The reason you ask? Because of the friggin’ research involved in this booger, that’s why. World building, fact checking, historical research… good grief, you name it and this story has it. I love the characters and the setting but they are incredibly complex and deserve a complete focus to be done right. The fact that they’re all both beautiful and horrible in a million ways is one of my favorite things. At this point, I consider this manuscript something I use to tickle my creative funny bone when it goes limp. My crazy dreams are often the elements that end up it Book Five’s plot chart. Needless to say, I don’t expect to finish this manuscript in 2011.

    Book Six

A YA thriller, Book Six stands at 7,561 words and 4 chapters. There’s a “little” convention I plan on taking Book Six to in 2012 called Thriller Fest so I’m focusing on tight plot lines for it instead of cramming in a bunch of words that will have to be weeded later. There’s a time constraint on this story with Thriller Fest being July 2012 so I want the drafts to be few and near perfect in the structure department. On the up side, I literally itch to work on it! I’m so in love with its particularly dark elements. Give me a story that yanks me along with thrills and chills and I’m heaven. J    

    Book Seven

This manuscript has become my go-to writing place to relieve stress and find a laugh. I’m overjoyed with its progress so far. With a word count of 16, 989 and 15 chapters I can easily tell you the story is the most relaxing and fun one I’ve worked on yet. The characters have high drama but the laughs are also prolific. If I had to stick it with a tag pin, right now I’d call it Chick-lit. I expect it to become a complete draft before Christmas and be sent on its way to editing. I’d tell you more but its top secret!

    So there you have it. Those are all the projects I’m working on right now. I hope this makes you curious and excited to read them all.  I’m off to cram some words on the page so I’ll catch you folks later.  *Lets go of rope and drops into the writer’s cave*

Till Then,
Katie 

Number Two's Big Day

    Hey y'all! Betcha thought I'd abandoned you again right? Nope. Not me. I'm here for the duration. I have to say though that this summer’s activity agenda proved daunting for even an over-planner like me. 47 hours behind the wheel in June and July had me raising the white flag very quickly. Throw in two active boys and there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. What that all means is my writing schedule and blogging went the way of the Dodo for the summer. Good news though, school started Thursday!! Woohoo!!

    A little bit of business first of course. A big ole blog welcome to new followers and the two most recent countries collected on the blog, #34 Ghana and #35 Pakistan. Thanks so much for visiting and please drop by again soon.  

    Most of our activities this summer were focused on fun but on July 23^rd I had the privilege of attending Number Two's wedding. For those of you new to the blog, Number Two is the second half of the two coolest nieces in the world. And what a gorgeous affair it was! The Sister in Law did a spectacular planning job and the finished product was a scene straight out of Southern Living.

    Most people when they go to a wedding, or really any event, focus on the action, the decorations, the music and yada, yada, yada. For me, I couldn't take my eyes off The New Mr. and Mrs. Number Two. I swear it looked like that boy could eat her up with just his eyes. And what a banquet it would've been because Number Two was a satin swathed vision of beauty, as you can see from the photos.

    As a proud Auntie, sitting on my little white chair with the salty air blowing in my face, I did my best to absorb every expression, every smile and each flick of the eyes that passed between them. But since I’m also a writer, I made a study of their expressions and stored that information away. Vows of love and commitment, words full of promise passed between them all while tears of joy flowed. Both their faces seemed back lit with a soft humming light of love. You might think it's weird to watch people that way. As a writer, witnessing such pure and radiant emotions is better than winning the manuscript lottery.

    Writers dig around in their own brains for new ways to express love, passion, pain etc. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to come up with a new way to express my characters feelings over and over again and keep it fresh. To bear witness to such a bounty of different emotions filled my creative tank to overflowing and my heart with happiness for Number Two.   

    Most of all, because Number Two holds such a special place in my heart I couldn't be more overjoyed that she's found a love like that. It's rare these days. So if you have someone who drinks you in with his/her eyes, savor it. Roll that feeling around on your tongue like a sweet candy then let the love soak into your soul. More importantly, treasure it. Hold your love close and thank the person who holds your heart for that gift.

To quote one of my favorite movies:

"Love is a many splendid thing, love lifts you up, all you need is love." Moulin Rouge

    This afternoon I’ll be sitting in my office with a big fan blowing on me and writing a very inspired love scene thanks to the newlyweds. It’s too hot in the south to go outside. So take inspiration from the new Mr. and Mrs. Number Two. Turn the AC down and snuggle with the one you love.

Till Then,

Katie