Starting To Get Somewhere

This past week has been my most productive in months when it comes to my manuscript. I finished a chapter I had been hung up on for three months (well, except for a few lines of dialog, but that requires some research that I'm just not in the mood to do for the moment, but have left a reminder in red in the spot what needs to be done), started and finished another chapter, and now I'm about three pages into another. Most of this one will be a cut and paste job from a file I use to write possible future scenes that spontaneously pop up in my head and must get written down, even if I don't use them, into this chapter I'm working on. I have two scenes in this particular file that are going in there, and I hope to get this done today. They'll require a little tweaking, but most of the two scenes should stand as is. I have a lot of other future scenes written already for the second half of the book which will mostly just require gluing the scenes together with the scenes I still need to write, which I hope will speed the process up a notch.

I hope this spark keeps on going on, because at this pace I may end up close to my goal at having the first draft done by the end of the year. I was hoping it would be sooner, to work through the summer and have the first draft done by now so I can start the second draft, but it just didn't materialize. For some reason the summer brings me the writing blahs. Maybe it's the longer days, or the heat, or something. Who the hell knows? Usually it's because I'm busy in my gardens and have no time to write, and work is always busy and tiring in the summer. Work was still busy as ever, but I hardly stepped foot into my flower beds, and it shows, and I'm still in no mood to weed them. Anywhooy, autumn seems to recharge my writing spirit and so far it looks like I'm back in the game and most likely you'll start seeing more of these update posts. So, onto work on chapter 25, where my main character, Vlad (Țepeluș) Draculești explores his bi-curious side with a stable hand who he learns has a crush on him, and ends up saving him from the jaws of the vampiric-hellhound that never stops stalking him (Vlad).

Random black wolf picture.

An excerpt from the scene where Vlad and his stable hand, Miklós, discover each other's feelings toward one another (subject to future editing, of course):

“Truth is,” he [Miklós] sighed, and spoke softly, “truth is, when I look at you, I sometimes imagine what it would be like to be your lover. And then I tell myself it is a shameful way to think. We are men, I should not think such abominations. And you're married. So I think about Anna. But I know I can't be with her either. Lady Kamilla would not allow it. Not her healer. Besides, I don't think she wants me.”

“This is the truth you speak? You imagine me as your lover? In your dreams?” He was elated to know the rumors were true, yet somehow he wished they weren't.

“Sometimes. What will you have of me now, my lord?”

Vlad brought himself against Miklós's body, his warm breath grazing his cheek, “Only as much as you're willing to let me have.” He slid a hand about his waist. “Tell me,” he said, gazing into his moss green eyes, “how much will you allow me to have? Your hand? Your lips? Your neck? Tell me how much, and I won't take any more.”

Miklós swallowed hard, his hand sweaty in his. So nervous. Poor, poor man. Tell me to back away and we'll pretend none of this has happened. Just say it. Do us both a favor.

“My lord, you can have all of me,” he whispered.