NaNoWriMo: Day 30 – Victory! (Or Not)

Well, the last day of NaNoWriMo has dawned, and this morning I wrote just over 1900 words to finish my NaNo 50k. Not to finish my novel, mind you – I still have maybe 10k words left to go on that front. Still, 50k words in a month is more than I’ve written in a long time, and it’s been brilliant to prove to myself I could do it.

I’m going to keep this post short, and lay the floor open to comments (I’ll post a more thorough follow up later in the week). Have you finished NaNoWriMo this year? Are you too far behind to catch up? How many words did you accomplish? Any word count is a victory over the zero you had at the start of the month, so share your counts and we’ll celebrate (or commiserate) together!

Sale! ‘Blood and Bone’ to Rogue Blades Entertainment

I’ve actually known about this for a while, but a combination of superstition (somehow I didn’t want to mention it until a contract was officially signed) and modesty prevented me from blogging about it. Well, no more!

Coming in May 2011, you can read my story ‘Blood and Bone’ in the eSsassins: Revenge anthology. Assassins! Magic! Violence! Revenge!

I thought I’d post the first couple of paragraphs, just to give you a taste.

The steps up to the Bone Hall were slick with ice, crusted in thick layers that couldn’t obscure the femurs and glassy scapulae beneath. Freya picked her way carefully, boot heels grinding into the ice. King Manfred could have had the flight cleared with a single command, but he preferred to see supplicants struggle with the ascent. Freya slammed her foot down on a patch of fresh snow. She wouldn’t give the King the pleasure of seeing her fall.

The two guards at the top, swaddled in wolf furs to keep out the cold, sniggered as Freya stumbled her way onto the treacherous top step. Without pause, she turned her slide into a strike, bringing a dagger up to the softly exposed throat of the rightmost guard and launching a throwing knife at the forehead of the other. It missed, purposefully, soaring past his head to shudder in the wooden doorframe.

“Laugh again and the next one won’t miss,” Freya growled.

Ok, that’s slightly more than two paragraphs, but I thought Freya probably deserved a few words. And to be honest, if I haven’t included her retort, she probably would have kicked my arse.

I really enjoyed this first outing for Freya. I’ve been writing about assassins for years, but it’s rare for a character to arrive so fully-formed in my head – and with such (metaphorical) balls. I’d love to write more about her, and to get a chance to explore her world. I’ll post again when the anthology reaches release date, at which point I hope everyone who’s read this will rush out (or at least reach for their mouse with appropriate haste) to buy it. I mean, you wouldn’t want to make Freya angry now, would you?

As an aside, whilst preparing this blog post, I followed a link to Black Gate’s announcement of the e-anthologies, which features my name. I found that tiny little mention incredibly satisfying. It’s entirely coincidental that my name’s in that particular list of course, but it’s still nice to see.