Hello dearest readers! :-) Just wanted to do a bit of an update post today... since I feel like I've been doing nothing but book reviews these days!
My writing is not going as well as it could (should) be. But I have hopes that I'll find some quiet time to write today. Diamond Dark is currently at a count of 15,617 words. I keep getting ideas for it, but I usually end up just jotting down notes, since it all happens later on in the story!! Grr. I'm struggling with the whole, How is it going to measure up to the first book?? thing too. But... I have hope!
Here's some inspiration pictures (found on Pinterest) for the main characters of this story:
ARIANA
MIRABELLE
EAGLE
KARALEE
Hopefully those pique your interest! Perhaps they'll urge me to get back into the story too! ;-) In truth, I am happy to be once again with my dear characters from Book One, Silver Rose; and to be meeting some new ones as well! It's all grand fun, though a bit nerve-wracking at times. Ha!
Speaking of Silver Rose, editing is going well. After I started reading Silver Rose to some of my younger siblings, I felt the uncontainable urge to re-write the beginning. ...It was just, bad. So I did, and my editor was very gracious about it all! :-) I'm so thrilled to see this story coming together so beautifully!! I really need to start thinking seriously about the cover. EEP! I just can't wait to share Karalee and the others' stories with you all! :-) :-)
Here's a short, unedited snippet:
Don’t panic!
Karalee turned in a full, dizzying circle. All around her a looming, gray
forest stretched as far as the eye could see. Her heart picked up its beat
until it was fluttering wildly against her chest. This feels too much like— Karalee
squeezed her eyes shut, cutting off the thought. No. Don’t think about it. She
breathed in deeply and turned in a slower circle. Yes, she was in a gray
forest. Lidepia had vanished into thin air. Something strange was definitely
going on.
The crack of a stick sounded a few yards
away.
Karalee’s skin prickled. She peered into
the dark foliage, but couldn’t make out anything threatening in that direction.
Another crack.
Everything is fine— Wait, was that a
shadow looming behind the bushes? A scream caught in Karalee’s throat. She
started running before anything else could happen. Her heart thundered in her
ears, chest constricting painfully.
Ghostly footsteps echoed behind each
frantic, fleeing step she took.
“King Adonai!” she gasped, reaching out to
slap aside gray branches in her way, “I don’t know what to do!”
A huge, fallen tree seemed to appear out
of nowhere in the middle of her path. She lifted her skirt and pushed off the
ground with her feet, leaping over it at the last moment.
Gray fled past her vision. Heavy breathing
seemed to sound all around her.
Karalee.
Karalee did scream then. Her stricken
voice echoed over the forest.
In the next moment, she ran head-on
into something solid, dark, and unmovable.
Another terrified scream pierced the air.
(From Silver Rose by Shantelle H.)
Reading. I'm about halfway through Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman, and I've been enjoying it so far. After I'm finished that book, I'm so excited to get back in King's Warrior by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt, which I briefly started. Lovely books.
Ooh, and while we're on the subject of novels, I should mention a FREE book! Waltz into the Waves by Sarah Holman is a kindle freebie for the next few days!! :-)
Forgot to add this the first time around. I re-organized my bookshelf recently, doing it according to date. What fun!! I totally fell in love with this new system! :-) Of course, the fantasy just have their own special section, and the self-help type books...
My lovely bookshelf. Sometimes I could just look at it and sigh for hours... ;D
Some of the books didn't have dates, so I'm not sure if I have them all in exactly the right order. But I did my best. And its surprising how many books actually do have dates!
First and second shelves...
Second and third...
And last. That my American Girl Felicity doll that I got at nine-years-old... thence came my love of the colonial/Revolutionary War era!! :-)
Hey!! I recently got a twitter account: @shantellemary! I've been told its good to be on all those social media sites, to kind of get your name out there and all. So I went ahead and signed up for twitter... even though I had pretty much no idea what it was. Haha. I think I've learned a bit since then, ;-) :-)
Well, I think that's all for updates today. I hope everyone has a good book in hand, :-), and that all the other things of life are going considerably well.
Blessings! <3
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30
Sometimes reading aloud is what it takes to make me realize that a change is needed, too! :-) Enjoyed seeing your inspiration pictures... Have you thought about just going ahead and writing the later-on bits as you get the ideas and then going back to fill it in? Happy writing in the week ahead!
ReplyDeleteI know! You hear it aloud, and are like, "Oh dear, this sounds horrible!" :-p :-)
DeleteThanks! It's always fun to find pictures that just kind of help your imagination.
I have thought about doing that... but sometimes my ideas change so much; I haven't dared attempt it yet. Have you tried that before? I suppose that might really help when writer's block hits!!
Thank you, Alicia! I hope your writing goes well too! :-)
I have a Felicity doll, too! Your bookshelf looks so lovely and full and organized. The shelves of mine are awkwardly short in height, so I have several stacks of too-tall books, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteDo you plan to write a review of Dauntless? I just added it to my to-read list and would love to know what you think of it!
Best wishes with your writing and editing (if the snippet is any indication, your books sound amazing)!
Hey, that's neat! Yay for colonial, Patriot girl! :-)
DeleteAw, that's too bad. :-( My shelves can be adjusted and moved to wherever I want, so it's really nice. But yeah, as you said, it's rather full! So I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I acquire some more books... Get another bookshelf I guess, :-D
Yes! I will hopefully be getting a review up for Dauntless within the next few days! :-) Hope its helpful!
Thank you so much, Serena! :-) :-) You have encouraged me!! :-)
Loved this update post! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI hope Diamond Dark will go well for you... 15k words is an awesome start! :)
I'm the same about getting ideas for later in the story... I generally will make notes about those parts. But, on occasion, I do write what I call "snippets" for later in the story, if they're just really strong in my mind and I HAVE to write them. Generally, by the time my story catches up to that part, the snippet doesn't quite fit and requires a good deal of tweaking; sometimes it doesn't fit at all. But I haven't yet regretted writing snippets for later, because I just love getting them down while the scene is fresh in my mind. :) It just depends how you write, though. I know some people who can ONLY write in order, and others who write all out of order and sew it together later. So... whatever works for you! :) But perhaps you should try writing one of those scenes for later, to see if it's for you...? *shrug*
Ooh! I love those pictures of the characters! I especially want to meet Ariana now! o.o
I finished reading through the rewritten chapters! I like the added details! :D I shall go through those chapters my second time and then send you thoughts on that section. ^_^
Eep, even the idea of the word "cover" as relating to Silver Rose is making me tingle with excitement! :D
AAAAAHHH I LOVE YOUR SHELVES. I'm the same way, I can just stare at my books forever. ^_^ Reorganizing books is the funnest thing! :D
(Wow that was a long comment. o.o I HOPE YOU WILL FEEL BETTER! *HUGS*)
Your long comments always warm my heart, Deborah, <3 :-)
DeleteI wrote a bit more on Diamond Dark, and am feeling like I'm getting back into it... feeling better about it too. Just have to keep writing... I can always revise later, right?! :-)
I actually will do the "snippet" thing too. Like this conversation or short scene just emblazes itself on my mind, and I quickly write it down. (Some are from like, the end of the book, haha!) But yes, usually I do end up fixing and changing them a bit once I get to them. That's why I'd hesitate to write a whole section that comes later on in the book! But yeah... if I keep struggling to write where I'm at, maybe I will have to try something new!
:-) Glad you liked the pictures! I hope you will be intrigued by Ariana and Mirabelle when you meet them!!
Great!!! I'm excited to hear what you have to say/see your edits!! :-)
:D I hope I can live up to your excitement!! Haha. I've been scheming in my spare time over how the cover should look and all, and how I'm going to make it... Yikes. Big process. I better find some "professionals" to help!
It is!! I was kind of laughing when I wrote that line about staring at my bookshelf... I'm glad to know someone can relate!!! :D :-) It is just too fun!
*Hugs back*!! Thanks, Deborah!! You've brightened my day, :-)
Yay for getting back into Diamond Dark! :D Yes, keep writing!
DeleteAh, that makes sense... I've never written LARGE sections of a book that comes later... If you do try it, I'll be interested to hear how that works for you! :) Otherwise, best of luck in getting into the "current" part of your story! :)
I'm sure I'll be verrrry intrigued by them! :D
*salutes* I'm hard at work on it!! :)
Yay scheming! I wish you well in your cover-journey! Let me know if I can help. ^_^
I seriously will sit and stare at my shelf for minutes at a time. :P I just love my books. XD And I forgot to mention--my bookcases are exactly the same kind as yours!! :O
Well I'm glad I could brighten your day, because you ALWAYS brighten mine! ^_^ *MORE HUGS* Still praying for you! <3
I shall endeavor to!! :-) Okay, I'll let you know how it goes if I ever try it! Thanks!
DeleteHopefully!! :-)
Haha, okay, that's good! Hope its all going well! :-)
Thank you, I will!! Right now I've been doing some different scheming... scheming to publish my short story based on Cinderella. So I've been trying to figure out a cover for that... my sister drew a pretty picture that we're trying to covert into a cover!! :-)
Me too!! :-D Books are just amazing... and they look so incredibly beautiful all stacked on bookshelves! :-) Really? Oh, that's funny! And cool, :-D
Aw, thanks! That's good to know!! :-) *More hugs back*!! :-) And thanks for praying!! It means a lot!