Happy New Year

Sorry for the absence…It’s been a busy holiday season. But here we are, a new year and new goals and a fresh start with things so to speak.

First off..2021…my biggest writing goal going into the year was to do just that, to write. To put as many words to page as I possibly could and my over all goal was to hit 200,000 words. And I ended up hitting 258,810 total for the year. I didn’t think it was possible but I did it. Even twice last year writing 50,000 words in a given month. Over a number of projects, finishing up several. So going into the new year, I’m flipping my writing goal…it’s not about the number of words, though I really do hope to hit 100,000 words this year. The main goals. Editing and getting the second Howling Moon book published!

I’m hoping everyone had a happy and safe New Year and a blessed year to come!

Final NaNo Update

What is the final update for this years NaNoWriMo….I did it. Well obviously when I posted back on the 14th I was sitting at 45 k and ended up hitting 50 the next day. Didn’t stop writing there, currently sitting at 55k… I had no intention on actually slowing down but a small bit of dental emergency made it very hard to concentrate on writing. So I haven’t actually done much since the 18th… So glad I attacked this process the way I did this year. Or right now I’d be behind. And I’m not good at digging myself out of holes when it comes to writing.

Thoughts on this nano…I averaged over 3 k a day leading up to the 15th with more 5k days than I think I’ve ever had. I’m still writing a little bit every day but taking those days almost completely off derailed my momentum. The main thing right now is my goal for the year was 250,000 words and I’m about 4 k from that right now. So hopefully I’ll hit that before the end of November or at least this week and then I have to get back to editing.

You can expect at least a couple more posts this week. Working on some editing and closing the year out strong!

NaNo Update

It may only be the 14th day of NaNoWriMo… but today I hit 45,000 words…

Where I’m at in the story… I’m closing in on the climax which is so not what I envisioned when i started book 4. First of all, two characters that I introduced in this book are the primary characters besides Emily. And neither of them are Werewolves…. I’m not even sure how I want it to end and there is a very good chance when I come back to edit, it will change. A Lot. In fact I have a feeling that when it comes time to edit Howling Moon 4….i’ll be spending more time cussing myself for how quickly I wrote it and just how much detail I didn’t add in this draft. But hey…the most important thing for NaNo and the first draft…get it on page and then bleed all over it….

NaNoNoWriMo Update!

So I had said to myself I wasn’t going to do any more NaNoWriMo updates until I hit the midway point….

Well, tonight, I hit 26,000 words on day 9…that’s a record for me. I’m averaging almost 3k words a day, which is flipping crazy. Or at least I think it’s is for me.

The Story…

As often once I got out of my actual plotted chapters it hasn’t gone exactly where I was thinking it was. It’s still heading for the same ending just taking a very different route to get there. It’s not like book 1 – 3 of Howling Moon. I know as readers only book 1 is out… But book 4 seems to be leaning heavy on the dramatic ‘am I going crazy’ vibe more than anything. And at times I also feel like by the end of this book Emily may be closer to the killer she has always been afraid of becoming…

Howling Moon Sale

I’ve decided to keep Howling Moon on sale for Kindle until the end of the year! .99 Cents! So if you’re looking for something for the a reader this coming holiday season!!! 🙂 Click the link below. And even further below I’m posting links to the snippets from Howling Moon that I posted throughout October!!

One night would change her life forever. Emily Meyer’s life is blessed…until a mysterious animal attacks her one night in rural West Virginia. Now nothing is the same. She can’t eat. She can’t sleep. And her dreams are filled with terrifying nightmares that leave her exhausted and worried she’s losing her mind. Something is watching her every move. Now she’ll have to fight to survive…and to keep her humanity.

Snippet from Howling Moon!
Howling Moon 10/11 Snippet
“—I still heard it howl out in anger over a missed meal.”
Day Late

NaNoWriMo and other Ramblings

So my blog posts have fallen off for the month, I figured they would. Trying much harder to have a successful NaNo more than anything this month. It’s been so long since I had a successful NaNo that I’m throwing most of my free time in it. And as Day 4 comes to an end…I broke 13 k tonight. So really hoping I can keep this up until I break 50 k. I have no intention on stopping when I get there, as long as I’m writing like this I’m going to see how far I can take it.

I’ve decided to keep Howling Moon on sale until the end of the year at .99 cents! Check the link out to get it!

I’ve also drawn something for the first time since…well, first time in over five years. Very much inspired by Howling Moon!

Another thing. The other day I did a blog post all about Werewolf Movies and Media…and how I was probably going to feature them a lot in the coming year on my blog. I came to that decision after see just how much attention I was getting on Facebook from my Werewolf movie posts. And though I loved the traffic I was getting there I came to me that I couldn’t really feature as much werewolf contact here as I was wanting. It, in my opinion, would take from my writing…So, I started a 2nd blog to completely focus on all things Werewolves! I still intende on featuring some stuff like it here but mostly I’ll be doing little short reviews of movies, books and tv shows. Featuring art and news… And Short Stories. Even the thoughts of hosting a short story contest next Halloween. And may even be looking for contributors So check that out.

https://highdarkredmoon.wordpress.com/

NaNoWriMo Kickoff

My first day of NaNoWriMo is in the books….

As I’m about to call it a night, stopping the day with 2200 words written. Don’t really have any sort of insight into the story as of yet. No curves, etc. Just too early. I’m not going to update every day. Just happy to get the year kicked off with already more words than I wrote the past two years combined during NaNo.

Werewolf Movies

Don’t be the werewolf guy….

don’t be the werewolf guy….

don’t be the werewolf guy….

Well, sh*t…. I am.

It goes without saying, well to anyone who knows me just a little. I’m a fan of Werewolves. My favorite horror movies, heck, favorite horror anything. Just something about them has always fascinated me. Just looking at my works in progress folders….I have an assortment of werewolf related projects beyond just the Howling Moon series.

And if you’ve been following my author page on Facebook (hey, if you haven’t, there’s a link to it at the bottom of the page here). I’ve been posting about werewolf movies all month. Just random posts, no reviews, just trying to post one a day for the month. For the most part I’ve succeeded. I’ve also now realized, though I had no problem coming up with a list of movies I’d seen. It turns out, there a lot, I haven’t. So I’m thinking on a little project for 2022, just to keep my blog active. Doing at least a few werewolf blogs here and there. Movie, book, tv reviews. Even have a couple short stories I may post to the blog.

So I have a question, what is your favorite Werewolf movie???? Werewolf book, or even tv show!

Mine, hands down is Bad Moon! I even think it is one of the coolest posters out there!!! I need to read the book it is based off of, i’ve had it on my to read list for years.

Books…I honestly love the Mercedes Thompson books by Patricia Briggs. And well, the old 90’s Werewolf tv show!

So, yeah, you can expect a lot of werewolf related blogs to come in the next year!!

NaNoWriMo 2021 Prep

I believe the last time I successful completed NaNoWriMo was 2015, I’m sure I can go back and look at the site or my manuscripts and get a better idea when it was. It was a steampunk superhero novel that I haven’t looked at again since. In fact, before this year, it was the last time I successfully completed a rough draft on any project. I had made up my mind way back in January I was going to try it again this year. All the while I approached the year trying to put as many words to page as I possibly could during the year. And I’ve done quite well at the mad rush of writing.

I hadn’t quite decided what I was going to write this year. I’ve been on a fantasy kick since March where my writing is concerned. Dwarves, Orcs, and Elves….gladiators, giant tigers and a mad half Orc, half Ogre as strong as 10 men…. Oh and Magic. And truth is I had figured I would once again try an write the Wild Hunt novel that I’ve been scribbling on since really last years NaNo. But one night last week I decided it was a good time to stick to something familiar. Emily Meyer. And Werewolves….

So yeah, this years NaNoWriMo is going to be the fourth book in the Howling Moon series. I can’t spoil book two or three…but the fourth book finds Emily in a very dark place. A place she may not be able to claw her way out of and keep her humanity in the process…. Depression is a bitch but could you imagine going through it while being a Werewolf?

Be sure to give my blog a follow at bottom of the page. I’ll be positing some updates from my progress for this years NaNo during the coming month!! I’m not sure if there will be any snippets considering this is the fourth book in the series and book 2/3 aren’t out yet.