Monday, August 18 --- 2,516 words

Tuesday, August 19 --- 8,600 words

Wednesday, August 20 --- 6,007 words

Thursday, August 21 ---  4,805 words

Friday, August 22 --- 3,208 words

Saturday, August 23 --- 10,128 words

Sunday, August 24 --- 6,103 words

TOTAL words for Week 18 --- 41,367 words

This week, I'm diving into the genre of young adult (YA) with a book called The Bruises of Grandma Summer. It's a subject near and dear to my heart because I have 3 daughters. Two would be considered the age range for YA, and I'm sure they'll be very upset if I don't get the details right. So, here goes:

The last summer before freshman year in high school, Madeline faces her biggest fear: having to grow up. She doesn’t want to choose a career path, although her younger sister already has her heart set on becoming a doctor. She likes to play games on Discord with her friends, talk and text on her phone, and slam the door in her little sister’s interfering face.
 
But when she gets into a whirlwind romance with a bully and has to cover up the bruises on her arms, no one seems to take notice except her grandmother. Madeline “runs away”—taking a long bus trip to her grandmother’s house, where she finds a sympathetic ear and the two get to spend the summer together.
 
But all isn’t right when they discover that summer her grandmother is diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Through being together, perhaps they can help each other through the toughest time of each of their lives.

This will be a deep and somewhat dark manuscript, so I hope I can make it through. See you on Sunday when I read an excerpt from this book. Have a great week!

I have to say that last week was a bit of a struggle (one reason why I'm a couple days late posting this). The main reason was because I was at the wonderful When Words Collide literary festival in Calgary from Thursday through Sunday - and there were a LOT of great things to see and do and people to speak with there. I don't regret going at all, but I do regret that I wasn't able to get a lot of sleep in between attending the conference and getting my word count in every day.

But... that's all she wrote, folks! Another book's in the bag, and here's an excerpt from The Space of Hearts:

In a minute, I'll tell you a bit more about the book for THIS week - I'm looking for some younger readers for my new one. Stay tuned!

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!