So, I had a headache earlier today.  Well, I THOUGHT I had a headache.

What I actually had was a novel trying to burst through my forehead, sort of like Athena coming through Zeus’ brain.  Because once I started jotting notes down for this novel, the headache went away.  And then, when I got to the studio, I managed 2k in 2 hours on the first chapter.

Yes, the first chapter.  It doesn’t want an outline.  It says it doesn’t need one, and I’m afraid I might agree.  So Pendragon and Secrets have been shuffled to the side, and I have a new book.  I’m a little afraid of what might be happening, but I’m going to enjoy the ride.

This is a magical realism tale, sort of a bastard child of Carter’s Cove and the Dark Horseman world.  It’s not as fluffy as Molly’s world, but it’s not as dark as Nikki’s.  I’m enjoying finding out about it.  So here is the first of many metrics, I hope.

Starting count: 0

Ending count: 2075

Beginning sentence:

“No, Reese, I’m fine, really.”

Ending sentence:

“Besides, I think we might be running low on cat food,” Abby said out loud, and chuckled at Timothy’s horrified look.  “Okay, okay, we’ll go get food!”

Darling:

She wandered down the broken fieldstone path to the old stone bench that some former owner had planted under what might have once have been a well-groomed apple tree. Now, the tree was sprawling and gnarled, covered in the remains of blossoms that smelled of sweet decay and sent pale flower petals up into the air with every breeze, and it curled around the bench like a lover. The bench itself was bathed in sunlight, and sitting in the middle of it was a very large long-haired black cat that was snoring.