Final stats for NaNo and a snippet

Sniff, sniff, NaNo will be over in an hour and a half.  It was wonderful, thrilling, and sometimes frustrating.  I’m ecstatic to have made 50k, but even more ecstatic that I got more.  4k and some change, to be exact.

I truly didn’t think it was in the cards for me this year — so much was wrong: my wrist, my job stress, my migraines…..and somehow it ended up okay.  I did type for the bulk of the month.  My wrist is fine.  Headaches are fine.  And I made it and then some.  I feel really good about this win.  Previous years, it was wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but this year is special because it seemed so unlikely.  But once I hit a groove, and buckled down and got the words, things fell into place.  The story is far from being done, but that’s okay. 

So here are my final stats:

Words: 54,017
Sanity level: 65%
Diet cokes consumed: 52
Things gone wrong in Hades: 11
Word wars: 88.3
Word wars with myself: 6

And…a snippet before I go: part of Johanna and Luke’s wedding in Hades.

Luke cleared his throat.  He was standing so close to me, not looking at me with desire – as I figured he might – but looking at me with love in his eyes, passion.  Smoldering.  I couldn’t remember if I ‘d ever been in love in my life, so I had no idea what it felt like, but this….this was something exciting.  My stomach fluttered, my heart raced, and I felt a little bit drunk.
   If this is how being drunk felt, of course.
   “Johanna, I wanted to do this right.”  His eyes flicked briefly to the Queen’s, and then came back to me.  “Would you do me the honor of being my soulmate?  Will you complete me?”
   “Ritual words,” the Queen whispered.  “He’s speaking the ritual words.”  She sounded in awe.
   Well, color me awed, too.  Color me red, because that’s what color I must have turned.  I didn’t want the attention.  But apparently, it was ritual.  And that had weight.  In both the Queen’s and my eyes.
   I glanced at the Queen.  “What am I supposed to say?  Per ritual?”
   The Queen gave me a smile of approval.  “Very good, child.  You say, ‘I accept the honor of being your soulmate.  I will complete you.’”
   As the words left my lips, I felt a flare of power, like a cool wind on my flesh. 
   “Let this ritual commence,” the Queen said, raising her hands out to her sides, her fingers pointing up.  More power flared.  It seemed to shimmer between Luke and I, not quite connecting us, but close.  The Queen’s eyes flared deep amber, and for a moment, she didn’t look like a person – she was a wolf with a pure white coat.  The vision faded, and she was herself again.  “Johanna and Luke, you have come to me to be joined: in body, mind, and in spirit.  This is a binding ritual.  You will be joined for eternity.”
   Luke took my hand and squeezed it.  I squeezed it back. 
   “I have asked you and you have accepted.”  She came to us, her hands still outspread.  “Do you, Luke, accept this binding?”
   Luke smiled.  “I would be honored to.”

And oh yeah…I might be doing NaNoFiMo (National Novel Finishing Month)  for December, but at a slower pace.