Kelly Apple's Blog, page 38

NaNo Update: Week 4

Gonna be honest, I don’t really know what I wrote on last week. Since I finished all the things I had planned on finishing, I’ve been sort of playing around with a little of whatever catches my fancy. Snippets of things here, little scenes there. It’s a mad jumble, but I not unhappy with it. I mean, I wrote a shit-ton of stuff this month. What’s there to be unhappy about?

Stats:

Uhh…the bulk of my writing last week was on a new story that started out as just a scene I wanted to write down. The working title is (rather uncreatively) called Lexa and Jamie. I have a vague idea where I want to go with it, but I was easily distracted this past week and didn’t put nearly as much emphasis on my writing as the previous weeks. I want to say I have somewhere around 5K words on that as of now. The rest of my writing was that all over the place stuff that I can’t even quantify.

Good thing this month is almost over. I’m getting more scatterbrained by the day. *eyes the last few days warily* I’m still on track to break 70K for the month, though. We’ll see if I can maintain focus a little longer.

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Slice of Life – Ari, Monstrous Tales/Monstrous Matchmaker

I’ll freely admit that these Slice of Life stories have been fun to write. And, yeah, they’re unedited, so you might find some errors, but I’ve had a blast revisiting my characters and I don’t regret a thing.

Let’s close out the week with a peek into Ari’s head as she gears up for…I don’t know. Shopping. Some Black Friday shopping so she can grab a few things for her boo. Not that he needs anything, but Ari wants to shop and she’s going to shop, dammit!

“Cin will be here in fifteen minutes. I’ve got to grab my coat and get ready.” Ari poked Liam in the ribs in an attempt to get him to move off her. Her big, green lug muttered something under his breath and rolled reluctantly to the side.

“I don’t understand this tradition of shopping the day after stuffing yourself full of food,” he said into his pillow.

There was something adorable about his disgruntled mumbling that made Ari grin. “It’s a human thing, honeybunches. It lets me save money on all the treasures I absolutely have to buy as gifts.”

“I don’t understand this Christmas holiday you speak of either. If I wish to give you a gift, I would not wait until a specific day to do so.” He turned his face enough to look at her out of the corner of his eye. “Do you have need of anything I should give to you?”

He asked so reluctantly that Ari full-on started laughing. As she climbed out of their enormous bed to get dressed, she shook her head. “I’m good, hon. You don’t need to get me a thing.”

That was the gods-honest truth. Liam’s love had been the greatest gift anyone had ever given and she absolutely wouldn’t be greedy and wish for anything else. Absolutely not.

Although if she happened to see one of those single serve coffee makers, she just might pick one up for herself. From Liam, of course, because it was bad form to buy yourselves gifts this time of year, wasn’t it?

Liam still looked slightly aggrieved, but he watched her dress with the gleam she’d become so familiar with in his eye. Putting a little extra wiggle into it, Ari shimmied into a pair of skinny jeans to give her love something to remember her by.

“When will you be back?”

“Cin and I might grab some breakfast out. We won’t be gone too long, though.”

“I’ll miss you no matter how quickly you get back.”

Lordy, she loved this monster. He was her beloved and she was going to buy something epic for him. She had no idea what, but she sure as shit was going to scour those damn stores until she found something quintessentially Liam.

He might be a green, tentacled monster to most, but he was the love of her life and she’d do anything for him.

Who said monsters were hard to shop for, anyway? Just because he kept to himself and usually made everything he needed with his own two hands, she could do this.

Never Say Never was Ari’s motto and she was going to shop by it today.

Planting a loud, wet kiss on her honey’s cheek, Ari skipped out the living room to wait for Cin.

She had some shopping to do.

Whelp, that does it for these Slice of Life stories. I’ve enjoyed writing them and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them.

Until next time!

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Slice of Life – Drew, Stronghold

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers! While I’m off enjoying turkey and adult libations, you all get a new slice of life story.

This time, we’re visiting the Stronghold series. I like to refer to these books as my zombie apocalypse love story. And, yes, the final book will eventually make it out into the world. It just needs woooorrrrrk. Lots of work. What can I say, guys? Last books are hard for me to write. Saying goodbye isn’t easy and I want to do it right.

Anywho. I’m taking some liberties with the time frame for this story because I’m pretty sure the group won’t have an opportunity to even THINK about Thanksgiving the first year they’re on the run. Just… go with it. Please. Because I really want to write this.

Slice of Life – Bas, Demonkind Chronicles

Did you like Jenny’s thankful list yesterday? Here’s a secret for you: I have a another set of books planned in that world. It might take a while before you see them, but Jenny, Evan, and the gang will return again. *fist pump*

But let’s talk about today’s Slice of Life story, shall we? Bas, the badass demon who loves his broken werewolf mate something fierce, is on tap. As it turns out, he’s a little befuddled by the Thanksgiving traditions, but he’s willing to try them out if it makes his lady happy.

Bas read over the written instructions Jazz had left him before dragging Evie and Arix out on some mysterious errand. He might find Evie’s sister to be annoyingly blunt at times, but she’d made Evie light up when she suggested starting a Thanksgiving tradition in their new home.

She might be irritating, but she made Evie happy and that was what mattered to Bas.

Her instructions, however, were pure gibberish.

Roast the turkey.

What in the seven hells was a turkey?

Make stuffing and mashed potatoes.

He knew what potatoes were, but stuffing was a new one. And mashing the potatoes stymied him. What was the purpose of mashing them? They were perfectly good fried up. He’d baked one for Evie recently after she’d shyly asked him to, but the taste had been bland to him.

Scratching his head, he looked at the last item on the list.

Bake pumpkin pie — TRY TO FIND WHIPPED CREAM TO GO WITH THE PIE!!!

Apparently the whipped cream was important seeing as how it warranted three exclamation points.

If Evie hadn’t been looking forward to this meal, Bas would chuck Jazz’s list in the bin and make something else. Instead, he went over the verbal instructions Jazz had flung at him as she dragged the others out the door.

“The bird has to be juicy on the inside, but crisp outside. Don’t get fancy. Just cook it and move on.”

So the turkey was a bird. Fine. Arix had caught a brace of water fowl yesterday. He’d use one of those. Maybe two, seeing as they were on the smaller side.

She’d actually explained what stuffing was and he understood the concept of mashing the potatoes, he just didn’t see much point.

Now what had she said about the pie? “Do not fuck this up, Bas. I’m looking forward to some goddamn pie.”

Well, that wasn’t very helpful.

Scowling, he dug through a cabinet he hadn’t been in since his release from the magical prison he’d been held in on the mortal plane. His old housekeeper had left him a sheath of recipes for the next person he hired into her position. Bas had never hired anyone, but he vaguely recalled her making pies on occasion.

Ah, yes. Squat root pies.

All things considered, it was the best he could do.

As he worked on putting this new tradition together, he wondered if his Evie would like it. He hoped so.

His little werewolf deserved so much more than she’d been given. If he could keep the happy light in her eyes for another day, all the cursing and growling he was doing at the potatoes would be worth it.

Hell, Evie was worth any amount of effort.

His scowl fading, Bas worked on creating a meal she’d enjoy.

There you have it. One slightly grumpy demon trying to make a new tradition for his lady.

Until tomorrow!

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Slice of Life – Jenny Reynolds, Anderson High Wolves

Howdy, everyone! With Thanksgiving in the US coming up this week, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the characters from old series to see what they’re thankful for. First up: Jenny Reynolds, everybody’s favorite accidental murderer from the Anderson High Wolves series.

Enjoy this Slice of Life: Thanksgiving Edition

 

Evan’s mom thinks I should make a list of all the things I’m thankful for.

Jenny stared at the line she’d just written and grimaced. Geez. This wasn’t a five paragraph essay. No one was going to read the stupid thing but her. For an introduction, that was awkward and clunky and downright embarrassing.

Crumpling up the paper, Jenny tossed it in the trash and sat staring at the blank sheet in front of her.

Evan’s mom had told her she needed to focus on the good and that making a list of everything she was thankful for might help her find her balance when the world got too loud around her.

Okay. A list. She could do a list.

Things I’m Thankful For, she wrote carefully.

She had no intention of listing things in any particular order, but the first entry should be special to her, she decided. Which meant either Evan or Taylor. Both of them held equal sway over her heart. Evan touched the romantic in her, whereas Taylor was her baby brother.

She’d killed to keep Taylor safe. Evan had stepped in and lent her his strength when she didn’t think she could take anymore.

They were both special to her, both beloved.

Screw this. She would bullet point the darn thing and not agonize over whether she put her boyfriend or her little brother first.

Underlining the title, she narrowed her eyes in concentration. The first two points were easy. The third slipped from her pen and made her laugh. The rest followed with surprising ease.

Once she’d finished, she sat back and took a deep breath. There. Done. And she did feel a measure of peace as she looked over all the good things in her life.

Evan’s mom had been right. Focusing on things she was thankful for took the sting out of the bad.

Smiling, Jenny left the paper on Evan’s desk and went downstairs to find her gorgeous man.

Things I’m Thankful For by Jenny Reynolds

Family (that means you, Evan. You’re mine now. You, me, and Tay are like the Three Musketeers. Nothing can separate us.)
Friends (Matty, if you’re reading this, I swear I tried to talk Lane out of baking that pie. If you read this after you’ve tried some, there are antacids in the medicine cabinet.)
(Mason, you might want to check Natalie’s phone for shirtless pictures of you. I’m not saying she’s showing them around or anything, but she’s awfully proud of the size of your biceps.)
Coffee
Having people to lean on
Not being afraid of the dark anymore
Evan’s kisses (Shut up, Matty. You and Lane kiss as much as Evan and I do.)
That bag of Dove Dark I’ve been hiding from Evan for the past week (Sorry, honey, but I wanted it to last longer than a night.)
Feeling safe

There you have it, the things Jenny is thankful for!

As for me, thank YOU for reading my books!

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NaNo update: Week 3

Yeah, so, fair warning, I’m kinda drunk on my accomplishments at the moment so this might end up rambling and unpunctuated. BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO CRAZY SHIT.

Just kidding about the crazy shit thing. But I did write a lot. In fact, I’ve written a lot this whole month. More than usual for me. It feels good. Really good. I should do this more often.

So….stats:

Echo (Forgotten Monsters #4) – 13,708 – completed (which means the entire series is DONE! YAY!)

The Time After Day in the Life short – 2186 (Foggy Days – Casey) – completed

Totally random thing on Sunday that might make no sense but I’m cool with that – 2236 (I took it easy on the writing this past weekend and read a few books that were piling up on the Kindle. SOMEONE REMIND ME TO DO A WHAT I’M READING POST BECAUSE OMG I’VE READ SOME GOOOOOOOD BOOKS LATELY!)

Anyway. I crossed the 50K word mark this week. Which is awesome and means I’ve hit my goal for the month. Seeing as how there’s still one more week to go, I need to figure out what I’m going to work on next. Because, you know, I’m not good with doing nothing.

OKAY. Let’s see what next week brings!

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NaNo Update: Week 2

Week 2 ended up being a crazy productive week for me writing-wise. I’m a couple days ahead for the month at this point, which is a good thing because if life happens to throw me for a loop at any point, I have a bit of a built in cushion.

Stats:

Possessed (working title) – 9,003 words for the week, 13,783 words total – completed

Dream (Forgotten Monsters #3) – 11,012 words – completed

Anderson High Wolves Day in the Life Short – 908 (Statistical Improbabilities – Jenny) – completed

Anderson High Wolves Day in the Life Short – 720 (Even Numbered Trek Films… – Evan) – completed

Grimwood Day in the Life Short – 629 (Home Is Where the Heart Is – Lucy) – completed

The Day in the Life snippets help keep me motivated by giving me something new to focus on when I hit a wall on one of the other books. They’re short and sweet and easy enough to write I don’t have to agonize over them. I’ve written quite a few now and I’m loving them.

Here’s to another good writing week!

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Cover love

I’m excited whenever covers I made are released into the wild. This time, perennial favorite Jodi Redford had 2 books in the Kinky Chronicles needing some cover love. Kinky Curves is available now and Double Dirty will be available later this year. Jodi is the queen of dirty talkin’ dudes (in my opinion, at least) and I have SUCH FUN making covers for her naughty characters and the filthy shenanigans they get into.

Kinky Curves (Kinky Chronicles #5)

Charlie Cross is the reigning queen of dirty talk. As a phone sex operator, she’s fielded every kink and fetish in the book. Nothing fazes her. Okay, not entirely true. There’s one client who’s gotten under her skin. Grady. He’s dangerously close to peeling back the layers she’s worked so hard to keep hidden. And the last thing she needs is for him to discover the truth—how completely imperfect she is.

Grady The Grinder Montana. With a name like that he must be a stripper, right? Guilty as charged. He’s damn good at it, too. Forget moves like Jagger, his make the Benjamins rain. Women scream his name every night. On stage or in bed, the result’s the same. Not one damn bit of it matters, though. The only real thing in his life is Charlie. With her, he’s only Grady. The Grinder doesn’t exist. Their relationship is uncomplicated, liberating, and…perfect.

Until the day their worlds crash together. No illusions. No safety nets. Just two damaged, dirty, perfectly imperfect people about to fall hard. Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it’s messy and real. And exactly what you need.

Double Dirty (Kinky Chronicles #6)

(Blurb coming soon!)

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NaNo update

I’m pleased to say that I’m on track after week 1 of NaNoWriMo. I’ve finished book 2 in the Forgotten Monsters series (YAY!) and started on a little, unplanned story because I needed something to write on before starting book 3.

Stats:

Deep (Forgotten Monsters #2) – 7,337 words (completed)

Grimwood Day in the Life short story – 774 words (completed)

Possessed (working title) – 4,759 (as of Sunday night)

I’m not sure how long Possessed will end up (I actually wasn’t planning on it being even this long, but sometimes a story starts writing itself and you just go with it), but Forgotten Monsters #3 is on my docket (so to speak) as soon as it’s finished.

*gears up for another week of writing* Okay! Let’s do this!

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What I’m reading (2nd Edition)

It’s another addition of What I’m Reading. Because, you know, I read a lot and sharing book recs is FUN!

First off, for paranormal romance fans, I HIGHLY recommend Ann Aguirre’s Ars Numina series. Book 1, The Leopard King is ammmmazing. Two shapeshifters with plenty of baggage figuring things out on the cusp of peace talks with the various other tribes in the land. There’s danger and heartache and plenty of sexy times. The world building rocked and all the characters shine. Every single one. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I can’t wait for book 2. SERIOUSLY.

 

On the sexy sci-fi front, I picked up Celia Kyle’s (writing as Erin Tate) Not So Little Green Man and I’m really, really hoping we get to see some of the characters again. A certain someone needs to redeem himself after his actions and I’m ALL IN to watch it happen. Bonus: Hunky alien leader who gets all het up when he lays eyes on his intended. I seriously adore when strong men go non-verbal over their ladies. Throw in a strong mating drive and a determined human woman and I’m smitten.

 

Also in the sexy sci-fi vein, Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians continues to blow me away. I’m almost caught up with the series (one book left!) and I’m both sad and excited about that. I mean, WHAT WILL I READ ONCE I KNOCK OUT THAT LAST BOOK?!?!

Anyway. Sexy blue aliens who want nothing more than to lavish their special lady friends with lovin’? Yasssss. Barbarian’s Taming brings some big changes (not to mention the potential for big danger) to the alien tribe and their human honeys. I am CRAZY invested in this series and can’t wait to see what direction Ruby Dixon takes things in next.

 

Bonus: I have the Taming the Vampire anthology on tap. 30 stories by 30 authors. I’m super excited to revisit several of the worlds I’ve come to know and love.

Here’s to good reading in November!

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