Tuesday, August 13, 2013

WIPpet Wednesday: I'm Back

     Well, I'm back. Sort of. My wrists have been giving me a really hard time lately. I took a few weeks off just about all things computer. Not very fun when you're in the midst of editing a book you hoped to launch in November. Half a month later, I'm back at the computer (for short spurts at a time). I haven't even opened my file for Not Alone since my wrists flared up. But when typing for thirty minutes elevates the temperature around your forearms a good three or four degrees compared to the rest of your skin, it's time to give yourself a break no matter how much you dislike the idea.

     The good news is that taking time off Not Alone gave me a chance to focus a little more on some marketing details for The Beloved Daughter. And even if Not Alone might not be launched this fall, the audiobook for The Beloved Daughter should be. I signed up with ACX and connected with a producer who's won 3 Audie awards and has narrated over 40 books on Audible, most of them in the Christian fiction genre. Match made in heaven? Sure, I'll go that far.

     As for WIPs, I hoped to be knee-deep in Not Alone edits by now, but such isn't the case. Fortunately, book 2 in my children's series, Solar-Powered History, is with the publisher and we're waiting on illustrations, so I'm not completely WIPless. Here are the first 14 sentences from What Hurricane?, the second book in My Solar-Powered History.

***

"What are you reading?” I asked my little brother O’Malley. It was snowing outside. O’Malley was sitting on the couch drinking some hot cocoa. His nose, like often, was buried in a book.

“The Tempest,” O’Malley answered. Now, you might think it would be a little strange for a five-year-old boy to be reading Shakespeare. I mean, Dad says even a lot of adults have a hard time understanding Shakespeare’s plays. But O’Malley’s not your typical kindergartner. What other kid do you know who’s published his own poetry collection?

Anyway, on this particular day O’Malley was reading "The Tempest." O’Malley liked Shakespeare so much he was actually dressed in Shakespearean style. He had leggings, short beige pants, and a loose white shirt. Meanwhile, my middle brother Benson was practicing the piccolo solo from Stars and Stripes Forever on his tuba, and Dad was in the garage working on parts for the solar-powered history machine.

***

     Yup, just a typical day in the Otis home.

***

Blog Love: Thanks for K. L. Schwengel at myrandommuse.wordpress.com for hosting the Wednesday WIPpet blog hop!

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8 comments:

  1. I'm intrigued by a 5 yr old who can read Shakespeare. Interesting. You've done well to establish the scene and create an image for readers.

    If you don't mind minor suggestions, I think most of your uses of 'was' can be replaced with the past tense use of the verb vs. a gerund combination. For example "was snowing" could just be snowed, "was sitting" to sat.

    I feel like the protagonist is amazed by the abilities of those around him/her. Is he/she more ordinary? I'm curious to know more. :)

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  2. I'm trying this again, because this morning when I did it from work, it wouldn't take. Now, let's see, what pithy comment did I have? *scratches head* Really, that was nine hours ago. I'm lucky I remembered to come back. ;P

    I certainly wouldn't fit into that family. Sounds a bit like a brain trust. Hee, hee.

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  3. Like Jae, I get a sense of the narrator feeling kind of "out of the family norm".... though having a son who was reading A.A. Milne's books at two, I know it is more a matter of passion than not. I also suspect that a large amount of Shakespeare's underlying story and innuendo probably is going past O'Malley even with his love of the works. That's part, after all, that makes a story great for all ages... the fact that we can reread it and find something new over and over again....

    Sorry to hear about the wrist pain. Fallon was commenting on Twitter about that today too. And I still have issues after the break...

    Not a good year for wrists, I guess. :-( >>HUGS<<

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  4. I like the sound of O'Malley. There's a danger of making a kid like him come across as precocious and annoying, but I didn't get that from him, I think because he's just so chill about it when he says, "The Tempest" and it's par for the course for your narrator to run into his brother reading Shakespeare.

    I hope the wrist pain clears up soon. No fun!

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  5. *giggle, giggle* Piccolo solo on a tuba. *giggle, giggle, giggle*


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  6. This is great Alana. You've set the scene vividly. I like the description of what O'Malley is wearing, relating to what he's reading. Interesting kid.

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  7. I love the randomness of this scene with the brothers doing their own thing (Shakespeare and Star Wars!) and of course Dad tinkering away with the solar-powered history machine. A well-drawn and descriptive scene.

    Exciting news about The Beloved Daughter audio book too!

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  8. Alana,

    I, too, was enchanted by the piccolo part on the tuba.

    And this sounds a lot like our unschooling home, where a seemingly random and definitely dizzying array of activities can be taking place just about anytime, day or night.

    This has, more than once, involved the wee-hours development of time machines, teleporters, and the "macing that makes Pokemon real".

    Just a few hours ago, I was walking up the hallway, and suddenly stopped and said to myself, "That's IT! The BEAR's the conflict!". (ummm, well, it made sense at the time!).

    I think I am in love with O'Malley, and he might like that so many of my WIPs have Shakespearean titles...and, if he likes more modern stuff, he might want to read Chameleon's Dish, which is set in Shakespearean England.

    I can't wait to read more! =D

    Sending strong and powerful thoughts to your wrists. =)

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