NaNo NoWri NoMo

I ended NaNoWriMo this year with about 13000 words.  That's really not even close to 50,000.  I have only myself to blame.  This year, I just couldn't find the groove or the want-to that would push my writing to the next level. 

I can only imagine what other writers go through when they set their hearts on something and fall well short of the goal.  For me, it is more than a bit heartbreaking.  On the upside, I have managed to start a story based on a song written by Steven Smith, sung by Eden's Edge, "Jesus Saves."  I am calling the story "Where Main and Maple Meet."  It's the story of three lives connected by memories of growing up in a little house "somewhere down the street, where Main and Maple meet.  A sign outside that just says 'Jesus Saves'."

Now, it's on to whatever life brings in the next phase of my writing journey.  Thanks for tagging along!

iBookstore Availability!

Thanks to my 8-year old daughter, I discovered that my debut novel, "Summer Breaks," is available through the iTunes bookstore!  I had applied for the book to be published through iBookstore via Lulu's publishing offering.  They (Lulu) were supposed to notify me when the approval came through.  I knew it would take 4-6 weeks to go through the process.  I waited.  And then I waited some more.  And, waited even longer.  I never heard anything back from Lulu, so I assumed my book had been declined for whatever reason.

Well, last night (Friday), my daughter was checking on various books and their availability.  She asked, "Is your book on here, Daddy?"  I told her I didn't think so, but that I had applied for it to be listed.  Not to be deterred by such trivial jibberish, she started typing, "Summer B"  She didn't have to type anything else.  Only one book showed up at that point: Summer Breaks.  My book!  Whoa! 

To top that off, it had actually been downloaded twice already!  Now, I have no idea when it went into the library of offerings, but the fact it was there and TWO people bought it is a great feeling!  Oh sure, it's not on par with, say, Stephen King or Barbara Kingsolver, but everyone has to start somewhere!

I don't know who bought the books, but I want to THANK YOU for your support and feedback on the novel!  Guess I better get to writing the follow-up!

A very late start

Inspiration comes from very strange places in very strange ways, sometimes.  I began the month excited about NaNoWriMo and getting the follow-up novel to "Summer Breaks" out there.  And then the wall hit me.  I couldn't write, didn't want to write, didn't even care to write. 

And then, I came home early from work, feeling sick.  I took some medication, took a nap, and woke up with a story in my heart.  It was time.  In my medicated state, still not feeling 100%,  I began typing.  I simply let the words travel where they wanted. 

I'd love to say that I churned out 10,000 words in one sitting, but that didn't happen.  I did manage to write about 2,000 words though.  Considering my very slow start, I count that as a blessing.  I still have a way to go to reach the 50,000 mark, but I think I've at least kicked a few bricks out of the writer's block wall.