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I'm at 22,417 words out of an estimated 50,000 on Bloodborn. I just wrote about water sprites and werepuppies.

I have reached 19,508 words out of an estimated 50,000 on Bloodborn. That means I wrote around 2000 words today. Whooo! Maybe I can hit 2000 words/day.

I've written this much on Bloodborn: 17,464 words out of an estimated 50,000 for this first draft. Also, I snuck and read some of my friends' blogs today. I had neither the time nor the money for Gothic Girls, but it looks like it was a lot of fun and I feel uninvited to the party. Bah, humbug. Hopefully there will be a Gothic Girls 2.0 after I graduate in 2010 and/or my novels provide (lots and lots of) moolah. In the mean time, I'm going to avoid reading friends' blogs and keep writing.

I may have something new to blog about very soon. This will be a sneaking-back from my hiatus, since I will refrain from bombarding you guys with endless book teasers and worrisome nail-biting posts. Bloodborn calls. But anyway, keep your eyes peeled!

Letting you all know that I'm taking a hiatus from blogging while I try to finish a draft of Bloodborn this summer. Will try to keep in touch if I get important news, like a cover for Other, but other than that, I will be bowing out of the online world and staying offline. If you want to message me for any reason, feel free to do so via Livejournal or my website's contact form.See you all later!

The wolf swings his head low, staring directly at me with dark intelligent eyes. A wind ruffles the thick fur around his neck. He’s long-legged, rangy, with powerful jaws and a granite-gray pelt tipped with black.

“Dad,” I say in a strangled voice.

He glances at me, then follows my gaze out the window. His eyes spring into surprised circles. He bolts from the couch and into the garage, the door slamming behind him. I’m halfway on my feet by the time he’s back inside the kitchen, carrying his favorite shotgun, slipping rounds into the magazine with a silky clicking noise.

“Damn gick,” Dad mutters, as if he’s talking about nothing more than a pesky dog.

He racks the shotgun, and my heartbeat jumps at the cha-chink.

“Dad,” I say, but before I can say, “Be careful,” he’s out the door.

I glance out the living room window. The silver wolf pricks his ears. Our eyes meet, and then he turns tail and melts into the trees. I run outside right as a shotgun blast shatters the evening. Birds cry out and flutter skyward.

I stand beside Dad, breathing a lot harder than I should be. We stare into the forest.

Finally, Dad says, “Go back inside.” He racks the shotgun again.

I stare at the spent shell on the ground. “Where are you going?”

“The barn. Check on the cows.”

“Dad.”

“Inside. Now.”

I grab his elbow. “Don’t go out there alone.”

CONTEST #1 (Ends soon): Reviewer X is giving away a copy of Suzanne Collins's Catching Fire.

CONTEST #2 (Ends June 18): Win a signed copy of Generation Dead over at The Book Blogger.

CONTEST #3 (Ends June 3): Want to win a 9-book Penguin prize pack? Head over to Presenting Leonore.

CONTEST #4 (Ends June 17): Presenting Leonore is giving away Liar, Shiver, and Catching Fire.

CONTEST #5 (Ends June 15): The Shady Glade is also giving away Shiver.

CONTEST #6 (Ends June 15): Check out a chance to win Giving Up the Ghost, Shadowed Summer, and I Heart You, You Haunt Me over at Megan Crewe's blog.

Things I get to Google in the name of research:

-How to load a pump action shotgun.
-Most wanted fugitives.
-Aggravated battery.
-Hells Angels.
-Wolf photos.
-Hungry-Man TV dinners.

Yes, this will be going into Bloodborn, sequel to Other. Yes, I may be getting a little carried away.

Yup, that's me holding an ARC of Shiver, one of the three won by Team Raving Pen. And guess what... I just mailed it off, along with five other prize books: 4 copies of Lament and an ARC of Eyes Like Stars. Cost about $24 (!) in postage, even with it being media mail. Well, I guess that's karma, since I've won at least two dozen books over the past six months or so.

In other news, I keep coming up with new ideas for my novel-on-the-back-burner. I'm afraid I will have to keep it on the back burner, since Editor B may track me down and bludgeon me to death with edits if I fail to complete Bloodborn this summer. (waves and smiles winningly) Hi, Editor B! Don't pay any attention to the growing stack of research books...

Also, it is very hot in Olympia. 84 degrees F, currently, with 28% humidity. Blech. Washingtonians aren't designed for heat. At least not those from western Washington. I got baked hiking to the post office with 6 books and a backpack in tow. Now I'm going to sit inside with the blinds closed and hunch by my computer.

I jotted down a two-paragraph blurb for a book idea awhile back. I looked at it again a few days ago. And know I can't stop tinkering with it... it looks like there may be a new novel on the back burner while I finish Bloodborn this summer. 

...a third of the prize books for Team Raving Pen! Yup, that means an ARC of Shiver and four signed copies of Lament (although one of these, mysteriously, seems to be lacking a signature. Hmmm.) Of course I had to sample Shiver, and I, uh, ended up reading 268 pages in one sitting. I've read a lot of werewolf books before, but never one quite like this. You know, it reminds me of the wintry opposite to Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate. Will let you know my (spoiler-free) thoughts after I finish it. Then I will be mailing out the prize books to the lucky members of Team Raving Pen who had their names drawn, and send Shiver to the next person on the list.

Haven't done a Teaser Tuesday in awhile. Here's a snippet from Other, which I'm currently revising to add more richness to the description:

“This is way too public,” I say.

Tavian smiles. “Let’s go somewhere private. Somewhere we can be ourselves.”

A flock of fluttering whirls inside my stomach. “What do you mean?”

He tilts his head down and arches an eyebrow. “I think you know, Gwen.”

“Okay.” Before my confidence can fail me, I stand. “Let’s go.”

We leave the mowed lawn of Wilding Park behind and wade hand-in-hand through a sea of grass higher than our heads.

“I like this,” I say.

“Perfect for hide-and-seek,” Tavian says, and I’m not sure if he’s joking or not.

We swim deeper into the grass, startled birds peeping in our wake. Through the greenery, I glimpse slivers of the water. Poplars ruffle stiffly in the breeze. I drink the cool liquor of river-scented air, then stumble and drag us both down.

 “Sorry!” I say.

He laughs. “Klutz.”

We sink into the grass, tangled together. I test the feel of his body against mine. My skin heats as he stares into my eyes. Tavian looks… beautiful. The blue-black sheen of his hair, the line of his jaw, the way his eyelashes shadow his cheeks. His hands cradle my hips. Our lips meet again. We kiss for a long, long time. My pooka side paces inside me, but I’m not sure it’s eager to emerge.

Well! There was a bit of a mix-up with the Eyes Like Stars ARC giveaway. Apparently a few names got left out of the drawing by accident, gobbled up by the internet somewhere along the way. One of the previous winners graciously donated her ARC back into the prize pool to give everyone a fair chance. Also, just to even everything out, goadingthepen will pre-order Eyes Like Stars for the second name drawn this time around.

And for the curious: yes, I programmed this number generator myself, in Python. No, it's not particularly impressive. It took only about 10 minutes of fiddling this morning, including the time it took me to check the online documentation to determine why my print statements were acting funky (they released a new version of Python, and changed print into a function, which beats me). Okay! Here's the second run...


( The code, with the updated list of people (feel free to double check)... )

We have not one but two ARCs of Eyes Like Stars for two lucky members of Team Raving Pen, since the lovely Lisa Schroeder offered to add her ARC to the mix. Another lovely Lisa, the author of Eyes Like Stars, Lisa Mantchev, offered to throw in a theater prize package, too. That will be going to the first winner.

Edited to add: Lisa Mantchev just let me know that she will be giving both winners a theater prize package. Thanks, Lisa!

Since I couldn't procure a camcorder to make a vlog, I did the next best thing: wrote a little program in Python that randomly generates the two winners. Here's the output:


( If you're curious, here's the code )

Hey! Looks like there's another word meter thingie in existence online. (Well, of course. I was just too lazy to look.) Today I wrote over 1400 words on a revolting essay for class. Revolting because I wasn't working on my novel, and instead was actually learning. (Eww.) But now I can actually watch my word meter for Bloodborn creep toward 50,000 words.

 

10584 / 50000 words. 21% done!

I'm copying this entry from Sheri (goadingthepen) just to make sure no members of Team Raving Pen miss it.

I think I got everyone via LJ message and such but if I missed you somehow and you are on Team Raving Pen here is the prize info:
Congrats Team Raving Pen!

Can you believe we won with 79 Team Members? Wow! Talk about kicking it into high gear.
Now it's time for the prizes, Yay!

Here is what I need you to do.

1. If you are interested in sharing the ARC of Shiver please send me your name and address no later than Wednesday.

There are 3 ARCS to share. We will put all interested names into a hat. The first third of the names drawn will pass around ARC #1.
Name #1 will receive the ARC read it and then put it promptly in the mail to the next address on the list. The last person on the address list will keep the ARC.
The same will go for ARC #2 and #3.
If you are not willing to mail the ARC after reading it, please don't put your name on the list.

2. If you are intersted in receiving the ARC and Theatre Package of Eyes Like Stars, please say: Yes I am interested in EYES LIKE STARS.

(This will go to one lucky winner.)

3. If you are interested in receiving one of the 8 signed copies of Lament please say: Yes I am interested in LAMENT.

(These will be mailed out to 8 lucky winners!)

4. If you are interested in getting the 5 page critiqe from Maggie, please visit the contest results here: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/107610.html
(Everyone gets this but you must email her today and let her know you are interested!)

I know that some of you already have these prizes and just kicked in to help out, HUGE THANKS TO YOU! And of course to EVERYONE who made this contest so much fun.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Sheri

Please send replies to: goadingthepen at gmail dot com No later than Wednesday. THANKS AGAIN!

We won with 78 members! O_O 

Woo! My story, "Princess Tuvstarr and the Fishpond," was a runner up in the Merry Sisters of Fate contest.