Time of a check-in! I’ve completed three manuscripts and they are now with my editor for the first official edit. “The Bear, the Witch and the Web” and “Hunter Moon and the Red Wolf” complete the Live Oak Tales, the contemporary fantasy/paranormal series I have that is part of the larger Bennett Bay collection. I’ve also sent off the manuscript for “Return to Cooter Crossing,” a stand alone story in the Bennett Bay world.
Category: WIP
Comments about the stuff in my head trying to get out.
WIP Excerpt: Return to Cooter Crossing
I haven’t done an excerpt in a while. Here’s a scene I did today toward the end of the story.
The set up: JJ and Aidan are the two main characters. JJ is about five years younger than Aidan and he had a real crush on Aidan when they were kids. Aidan had no clue. They are starting to get together now after Aidan has returned from a long absence. Aidan’s parents have been fostering the two son’s of Aidan’s boyfriend from high school who recently passed away. Earlier in the day, the little boys had asked Aidan if he’d be their new daddy. He was trying to talk to JJ about this. Other stuff happened and interrupted the conversation. They stop by JJ’s Aunt’s house on the way home. (She raised him after his folks passed.) Note: This is a raw, unedited draft. There is strong adult language.
“Dark Love” Sample; Update on WIP
Well November is over! I don’t remember much of it, but I’m 66.5K words into a WIP, so I haven’t noticed much. Had the day off today and wanted to get a good chunk of the climax chapter in the can. Didn’t happen.
Not ready to call it block, I think it is a bit of writer’s fatigue. The old brain is just tired. And I think this part of the story needs to cook a little longer. I know what needs to happen, but I don’t know how to say it yet. That’s the way I write, like a cat stalking a mouse. I watch it, study it, look at it from a different angle and then I pounce. Right now, the little sucker is over in the corner munching on cheese.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with this story. Although I’m still surprised at the supernatural elements in it. I never imagined I’d be writing stories about cute Gypsy boy witches and fairies, but there you go. You know, once you go dragon, you can end up anywhere.
Update: NaNo Cover and Blurb
For a thirty-year old, Dieter knew too much about loss and now he had lost one more time. Wolfgang, the great-uncle that raised him and his brother, was dead. When they went to shut the old family farm down, they found a mysterious box. His brother tossed it aside as trash. Innes, his friend, warned him that is was a dark and powerful object. No one knew what was really inside. No one could predict what he would find: family and his dark love.
“Dark Love,” a paranormal story with romance and mature themes, is a work in progress by Stephen del Mar and is part of the Stories from Bennett Bay collection.
Well I swore I wouldn’t do NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. I was actually listing the reasons in my head as I found myself filling out the form online late in the evening on November first. One of the reasons I didn’t want to do it, is I’m still trying to finish up the novel from last year. I really like that story and the characters in it are pretty core to my Bennett Bay series. Well the non-paranormal characters that live by the Bay. I’ve been cranking out some shorts that for some reason have been exploring the apparent spooky and funky side of the area. Yeah, apparently there are ghost, vodou practitioners, dragons, witches, and fairies out there in the swamp. Something the Chamber of Commerce will not be including in their material! So I really want to finish Return to Cooter Crossing, but all the shorts I’ve published kept pushing it out of the way.
“Slay Me,” said the dragon. WIP posted on Wattpad
So I had this wacky idea about a dragon leather/S&M bar, ’cause you know dragons just have to be into that kind of thing, and in walks this totally twink of a college boy. But he is really a Dragon Slayer. And you know, what if being “slayed” had a whole other meaning? I’m posting the first draft on Wattpad as I get the scenes done. It’s just a short story and I should have it done soon. I hope you enjoy my little poke at the whole leather thing. God I miss the 1980s. Click to read. Post a comment and let me know what you think!
Thanks,
Stephen