I'm currently attending the When Words Collide literary convention in Calgary, Alberta, which has been a wonderful few days of hanging out with my fellow writers. Because of this, I'm going to wait until I'm back home to record the excerpt I usually read on Sundays. The book is coming along nicely - in between panels, I've been running back to my hotel room to write. LOL. I've gotta fit in the words however I can!

I'll update my progress tomorrow and read a bit from my latest book draft then. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend too!

Monday, August 12 --- 4,701 words

Tuesday, August 13 --- 7,801 words

Wednesday, August 14 --- 6,986 words

Thursday, August 15 ---  7,955 words

Friday, August 16 --- 4,212 words

Saturday, August 17 --- 4,504 words

Sunday, August 18 --- 3,998 words

TOTAL words for Week 17 --- 40,157 words

I'm back in brand new territory this week with my next book, which is steampunk romance. I can't recall ever writing in this genre, especially not for a book-length project. My new novel is called The Space of Hearts, and here's what it's about:

In the height of nineteenth-century England, women aren’t allowed into the mens-only club of the Astronomer’s Society. Victoria Morsworth’s father was a member and passed on his love of the stars to his daughter before his death. So, while scientists are almost certain space is a vacuum, Victoria wants to prove it, thereby ensuring her a spot as the first woman inducted into the Society.
 
To succeed in her task, she sets out to build a steam-powered spacecraft, aided by her hired mechanic. Gilbert Williams is both complimentary of Victoria’s pluck and worried about her destination. When things get romantic, she offers him a deal—she’ll marry him after they return from space. That alone is enough motivation for him to help her, and quickly.
 
But word leaks out about their mission, and it sets off a space race—will Victoria, even with her head start, still be first? If not, she’ll lose the distinction necessary for joining the coveted society to follow in her father’s footsteps, and perhaps also lose the love of her life. Will she find success before it’s too late?

This will be a rollickin' good adventure! See you on Sunday when I read an excerpt from my new book. Have a great week!

And the last laugh will be had by me, since I'm racing toward the ending for my new cozy mystery novel Death & Drawing for the Absolute Beginner. I've crossed the 40k finish line but I still have a bit more to write to finish up the story, so I'll keep working on it tonight.

Here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

Next week, I'm going to switch gears and head into brand new territory in terms of genre. It'll be a rollickin' fun adventure, so stay tuned tomorrow!

​Monday, August 5 --- 4,933 words

Tuesday, August 6 --- 5,924 words

Wednesday, August 7 --- 7,704 words

Thursday, August 8 ---  6,117 words

Friday, August 9 --- 5,554 words

Saturday, August 10 --- 6,033 words

Sunday, August 11 --- 6,126 words

TOTAL words for Week 16 --- 42,391 words

I'm about to tackle something new. COMPLETELY new. It's a genre I don't think I've ever written before, at least not in long form - cozy mystery.

​I enjoy reading cozies, so it's a wonder that I've never written one before. But I'm happy to tackle this one, but with a twist. Here's what my new book, Death & Drawing for the Absolute Beginner, is all about:

Emaline is on top of the world. She’s a college student doing a summer internship with one of the top-ranked cartoonists in Seattle, having beat out a hundred other candidates to get the position.

Although set up through the cartoonist’s publisher, the internship takes place at Jack Wilson’s home office. The first week is especially tough, as the old guy is definitely from a different generation and not really respectful of a young and up-and-coming female artist. After a weekend complaining to her friends and family, Monday rolls around and Emaline walks into the studio to find Jack dead.

He made quite a point that she’s the only one with the key to his office, and there’s no evidence of a break-in… When she tells the police, they make no bones about her being their main person of interest. Now, she has to uncover who, what, and why before she ends up the target too. As she continues in her hunt, she eventually realizes the clues to solving the mystery are in the comics themselves.

I mentioned this will be a multimedia project before it's done - I'm hoping to hire a graphic artist to create some comics to add to the book. Know of any good artists who'd love to be a part of this project? Leave a note in the comments. Thanks!

Have a great week, and see you on Sunday when I read an excerpt. This should be a lot of fun!

Week 15 has come to a resounding close, and a bit earlier in the evening too (usually, I'm writing right up until the deadline). However, I'm glad to have given Malik a fighting chance in my new novel Graphic. But I must say that psychological horror is quite exhausting to write. Hopefully, not as tiring to read!

Here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

I enjoy writing horror, but I must say that I find it hard to maintain that momentum for a long period of time over the course of a book. I think I only have one more horror-based book in my genre list, and that's a comedic horror, which will be fun to write. But I might be wrong about what I have left to do - there are a lot of subgenres that I'm writing, so I might revisit horror again... but only after a break.

Next week, I'm going to tackle something COMPLETELY new for me. It's a genre that I don't know if I've ever written, actually. So, stay tuned... it'll be a fun challenge!

Monday, July 29 --- 2,438 words

Tuesday, July 30 --- 7,066 words

Wednesday, July 31 --- 6,764 words

Thursday, August 1 ---  5,015 words

Friday, August 2 --- 3,711 words

Saturday, August 3 --- 8,422 words

Sunday, August 4 --- 7,759 words

TOTAL words for Week 15 --- 41,175 words

This week was a late start to writing my new novel, but I've finally put some words on the page. It's called Graphic and it's a psychological horror. Here's what it's all about:

Malik is a freelance website designer in his senior year in high school, and he’s well on his way to building his own successful company when he graduates. However, he gets a client who’s more than he bargained for—someone who wants him to post explicit, gory photos on a new website. He’s fine with it until the police show up at his door and tell him he’s been posting photos of actual murders that have been taking place in town. He’s shocked and had no idea that they weren’t just CG.
 
But then the photos start to become recognizable people he knows: the barista he gets his coffee from, a teacher in his school. With no explanation—and, unfortunately, no electronic trail, since everything gets wiped as soon as he receives it—he’s the main suspect of the police.
 
As the pressure dials up and the murders get closer to home, the clues the killer is leaving him are all pointing in one direction. Malik is in a race against the clock to discover the killer’s identity—because it’s only a matter of time until the next photo is of him.

Okay, I've got some catch-up to do today, so I'm off to write. I'll be back on Sunday to read an excerpt from my new novel - have a great week!

The title of this post sounds like I killed the book, LOL. And I did! Week 14 is in the bag - I just wasn't able to post my usual Sunday excerpt video last night because I was away from home. I got back home this afternoon and read my excerpt from last week. Here it is:

I just want to add that I found the timing of my book pretty coincidental with the big fire in Jasper, Alberta - it wasn't intentional, since it's the third book of a trilogy and I started writing the trilogy three weeks ago. The Jasper fire has been a story that's resonated with a number of residents of Alberta, as well as others who've visited Jasper as a tourist destination. My heart goes out to all the residents of the town.