This is it, the end of RSW! I can’t even believe that it’s over!
I’m understanding that this year they are doing a “Manuscripts and Manicures” thing where you get a manicure in colors related to your WIP and post pictures? Sounds awesome, but I’ve been SWAMPED and have not been able to get it done. However, I
do have a stock photo I purchased a few years back for a project that does in fact remind me of one of my WIPs, Fireborn. —>
Okay, so onward with the reporting!
I did okay this go around. I took a few camping trips with hubby and that did not result in any big wordcount numbers, but did result in pictures! Also, I took on a few freelance editing jobs that made it tough to get any sort of groove going, and that’s totally okay. But that’s what happened. In some instances, I was just too busy to do something.
I also was adjusting to new medication for trigeminal neuralgia, and that impacted my ability to be productive.
So, enough with the whining! Here’s the final rundown:
How I did last week:
~Get to halfway point on editing job (page 175 or better!) DONE! Hit page 180 last night!
~Write something, anything, even small! DONE! Wrote a scene in Covenant last night. Don’t have a wordcount yet. It’s still on my iPad.
How I did overall:
~Finish Fireborn, my fantasy novella, episode #2 in my Reaper Girl Chronicles. NOT DONE. I haven’t finished the draft, but I’m within 10k or less of finishing, and I have A Plan for the rest! 
~Outline Ever Touched (Fey Touched book #3) in Hivemind. (I do not do much outlining at all, so this will be light. But I’d like something laid out to follow) DONE to the extent it could be done. It kind of fell by the wayside as other goals took priority, but it’s started and as I’ve mentioned, I don’t do total scene-by-scene outlines b/c I like a bit of mystery.
~10k or more on Covenant, my dark fantasy project (stealthily writing now) DONE! It’s around 11k or so.
~Continue to work on Survivor on Sundays (Survivor is a psychological horror novel I started waaaay back in 2004 and wrote it only on Sundays. Over the years, I got out of the habit — although I had finished the book — and wanted to try it again with the rewrite.) NOT DONE. This also fell a bit by the wayside between camping trips and editing jobs. I have been thinking about it a lot and I did begin a comprehensive re-outline for the rewrite. Soon, I’ll restart Survivor Sundays again. However, I did manage a couple of Sundays, just not a whole lot!
~Participate in Camp Nano July session/pick a project DONE! Covenant and Fireborn combined for a total of 10k which made my goal!
Non-writing goals:
~Create a name for Etsy shop (still noodling) DONE, although it’s nowhere near the one I want. Supposedly it can be changed.
~Find manual 35mm camera and see if it still works. If it does, shoot test roll. DONE on finding the camera, NOT DONE on test roll. Needed to buy a new camera body. Waiting for things to calm down so I can do the test roll.
~Read (2) books for review and post reviews by August 31 or sooner DONE #1, but not #2. It’s been read but not reviewed yet.
~Organize office NOT DONE but started!
For the excerpt, here’s part of what I wrote last on Fireborn:
“May I come in? It’s kinda cold out there.”
“Of course,” I said as I opened the door wider. Love watched the girl’s every moment. “Please have a seat on the couch. Can I get you anything to drink?”
Her eyes glistened with tears. “Water?”
“On its way,” Rick said. He left to get it.
I gestured for her to sit down, and once she was seated, she released a shuddering sigh, the kind you get when you’ve been crying for hours and you’re not sure you have anything left inside you. I was worried. I didn’t know her, but she’d been through something unpleasant.
I could relate.
“So…what’s going on?”
She squirmed. Clasped her hands together, then released them. Played with her long black hair. “It’s…it’s about the murders.”
“What do you mean?” Rick asked as he entered the room. He handed the water to the girl, who thanked him and drank it almost in one gulp.
“I know what’s been going on. Because I’ve been a part of it.”
“What?” I couldn’t even believe what I’d heard. I exchanged an incredulous look with Rick. “Are you saying…”
“I was part of the group that killed Samantha. I’m scared that I’ll be next.”
“How did you find us?” Rick asked, reaching for my hand.
“I had a vision,” the girl replied matter-of-factly. “I saw you and your husband. And your cat.” She glanced at Love, whose hackles went up. “She doesn’t like me, does she?”
“She’s a…very special kind of cat.” I went to Love and picked her up, holding her close to me. She was purring, but not out of content. She was afraid of this girl. “Let’s start from the beginning. Who are you and how did you come to have a vision about us?”
The girl swallowed hard, eyeing Love warily. “Cats don’t like me, for some odd reason. I’m a witch. I practice black magic, and I know you’re not entirely human.” She looked at Love. “And she’s not from this world.”
“Name. Please?” Rick prompted. He’d paled. No one had ever discovered who we were. Or were so blunt as to tell us so.
“I don’t know what to say.”
She smiled, looking all innocent. A black witch? Hellfire. “My name is Mercy.”
“How appropriate,” Rick muttered. “So…you saw us in a vision. Why?”
Mercy shrugged. “Because you are connected to the murders.”
“And what murders are you referring to?” I asked. Just in case this wasn’t about our case. Hey, it was possible.
“The ones that appear to be suicides.” Mercy stood, set her glass of water down, and wandered to the wall where we’d hung our wedding pictures and pictures of Love. She glanced at us over her shoulder. “As I said, I was part of the group. And Samantha wants revenge on us all. The first two were in the group, too. And there’s a fourth, but I’m not as interested in helping him. He’s a douche.” She lifted her hand and traced a path down the frame of one picture. “You two will be very happy. You’re truly matched.” She turned back to us, and her eyes seemed…deeper. More piercing. “You will have a child together and she will be very powerful.”
My stomach twisted. I’d never even considered getting pregnant. “Oh?”
“Leliel…pregnant?” Apparently, Rick thought the same. Or so I hoped.
Mercy nodded. “A female born in this world but with Reaper blood.” She went back to the couch, but didn’t sit. “I’m here to stop my own murder. And…I guess Tom’s.” She shrugged. “It would be the right thing to do.”
I felt nauseous with the knowledge that we were talking to one of the people who’d committed this horrific crime. “But why, Mercy? Why kill someone?”
“She was being a bitch.” Mercy sat. “She…had been cheating on Freddie for like, ever – “
“But that’s no reason to murder someone, burn them to death!” Rick cried.
“There’s more. You’re aware we’re into the occult, right?”
Rick and I nodded together. Horror filled me, filled every cell. I was afraid at what came next. No, make that terrified.
“Well, she cast a spell on him,” Mercy said, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “She called it the ‘failure spell.’” Air quotes. “Meaning, everything he’d ever do he would fail at – tests, winning girls over, his goals…everything. Forever.”
“Surely not literally forever, right?” Rick asked. He was sweating.
Mercy nodded. “Yes. Forever. That’s the other thing. It was supposed to give him a form of immortality. But not the good kind. The worst kind imaginable.”
I did not want to know. I did not want to know.
“Explain?”
“Rick,” I hissed. “Really?”
“Curiosity,” Rick whispered.
“Hellfire.”
“Let’s just say that he’d age normally but with no youth. That can be…really bad.”
I’d heard of punishments handed out by His Highness like this. The person would literally turn to dust in time, and the question was always if that dust was still conscious…bile came up my throat, and I made a beeline for the bathroom.
“Is she pregnant?” I heard Mercy ask. “Because that is one of the symptoms.”
Is Leliel pregnant? And is Mercy telling the truth? Stay tuned!
Well, this has been so much fun, and thank you all for the encouragement and cheering and the kind words! Good luck with your future endeavors.
Weaver of Words 