WIP Wednesday
I cannot tell you how excited I am. This weekend I took some time off and sat down and finished my first novel Changeling. I was so excited I celebrated with a day of nothing but Vampire Diaries 
Of course now I'm back in "i hate it, it's awful, what have I unleashed?". Otherwise known as First Draft Syndrome. I know that's just panic and I just need to revise and edit (maybe farther into nano or after nano). But I figured it was worth sharing. :)
Rough Blurb*:
All nineteen year old Cassie Marshall has ever wanted was to find her place in the world.
When wakes up on her 19th birthday in a parallel dimension she feels she may have finally glimpsed her true purpose in life. She’s a changeling—a soul born into a human body, and she can pass through the Dreaming (where human dreams are created) and into the Otherworld. Now she has one year to decide whether to remain mortal or sever her ties and become an immortal Fae, standing guard over the dreams of sleeping mortals.
It’s an impossible choice. She has a family and friends, and a maybe boyfriend, Dom, on Earth, but the compelling and mysterious Fae Aleksander desperately wants her to become an immortal and join him in the Otherworld. But her choice won’t matter if the rumors are true. There is an Erlking, an elf twisted by thousands of years trapped in the mortal realm, finds her and devours her soul to steal her magic before she can make the choice at all.
*credit to the amazing Megan Thomason for penning most of that.
Excerpt:
I stripped off my clothes as I entered my room, a smile tugging at my lips as I thought about Dom’s smile and the feel of his warm lips on my cheek. Becca and Mikey had teased me the whole way home about it. She had been after me for years to start dating, determined that I should have more experience under my belt than that one awkward kiss after prom with Jeremy Woods, my even more awkward high school crush. I changed out of Becca’s clothes and slipped on a large maroon and white Chico Wildcats tee shirt, massaging my aching feet.
I was very happy with how my day had turned out after all. I climbed under my blue and white quilt and turned on the television, letting the reruns lull me to sleep. I closed my eyes, thinking about how grateful I was to have friends who cared about me, even if they were pushy and bossy. No girl could ask for more.
The sounds of waves lapping at a shore startled me. My eyes snapped open and I realized suddenly that I was no longer in my bed. I flexed my fingers and my toes, feeling the something course and gritty beneath them, the smell of salt and ocean filling my nostrils as I inhaled shakily. I sat up slowly, my heart racing as I struggled to remember how I had gotten to this place when only moments ago I had been warm and snug in my bed in a locked apartment hundreds of miles from any ocean. Maybe it had only seemed like moments ago? Had someone slipped something into my drink? I mentally recounted my evening before I discarded that theory. I had kept an eye on my drinks the whole time and never let anyone else near them. It was clubbing safety 101. Even if I hadn’t, Becca and I were fastidious about locking our doors and setting our alarms. No way could anyone have gotten into the apartment without waking me up first.
I glanced around trying to get my bearings, and found that I was sitting on what otherwise would have been a lovely beach. It was still nighttime and the moon was up, large and luminous in the sky, lighting everything until it was as bright as day. I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was about the moon that seemed so off. I breathed in sharply when I realized that it was far larger than I had ever seen it, filling the night sky. In the distance I could make out what looked to be a second moon and it startled me, and then comforted me when I realized what it meant. This was all just a dream after all.
I stood up slowly, my bare toes stretching and digging into the sand beneath me. My feet didn’t hurt anymore. I was wearing a long, gauzy white shift, the hem skimming the tops of my feet and leaving my arms bare. The air was warm and smelled of salt and sea, stirring my unbound hair and brushing it over my face. This place felt familiar to me and I wondered if I had dreamed of it before. Sometimes in my dreams I would feel a sense of déjà vu but this was much stronger than it had ever been before.
I started walking down the beach, my eyes feasting on the scenery around me and marveling at how beautiful it all was. The beach continued as far as I could see, curving to the right. The sand was fine and sparkling in the moonlight, water gently lapping at its edges. I couldn’t see anything in the distance but water and the two large moons. To my left was lush green grass leading to what appeared to be a thickly wooded forest with hills and what appeared to be snow covered mountains in the distance. The whole scene looked like something out of a fantasy painting, so unreal and yet so detailed and vivid at the same time.
I was so absorbed in my surroundings that it took a few moments to realize that I was not alone, and I stopped suddenly when I saw the figure standing a few yards away. I wondered how I had not noticed him until now. Had he even been there before now? Standing just outside the tree line was a young man dressed in white linen trousers and a loose white shirt, open at the neck and cuffs. He had shaggy hair, the color of summer wheat, curling haphazardly around ears that stuck out just a little and a narrow, angular face with high cheekbones, a straight roman nose and a strong square chin. The stranger smiled at me in a welcoming manner and began walking towards me as I eyed him warily.
As he drew closer, I could see he had wide set eyes, as vivid a green as my own, dancing with amusement and crinkling at the corners. I blinked and stared at him. Eyes exactly like mine. I had never seen eyes like mine before and I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
“Cassandra,” the strange man called his voice deep and melodic at the same time. My heart skipped a beat when I heard my name on his lips. “I am so glad you have finally come.” He walked towards me, all grace and easiness that reminded me of a cat, and I had to remind myself to breath, chiding myself for being nervous about a strange man in a dream.
“Do I know you?” I asked as he stopped in front of me, smiling down at me in a familiar manner. I frowned at him in return. He was taller than I was, my head not quite reaching his chin and I had to look up at him, resisting the urge to stretch onto my toes to get a better look at his eyes.
“Not yet,” he admitted, “But I have been waiting for you nonetheless. My name is Aleksander. I am your Caomhnóir.”
mind you that will probably change, like a lot, but I wanted to share a tiny piece of what I've been so fired up over for nearly two years. :D Now I can start nano with a clear mind!
Of course now I'm back in "i hate it, it's awful, what have I unleashed?". Otherwise known as First Draft Syndrome. I know that's just panic and I just need to revise and edit (maybe farther into nano or after nano). But I figured it was worth sharing. :)Rough Blurb*:
All nineteen year old Cassie Marshall has ever wanted was to find her place in the world.
When wakes up on her 19th birthday in a parallel dimension she feels she may have finally glimpsed her true purpose in life. She’s a changeling—a soul born into a human body, and she can pass through the Dreaming (where human dreams are created) and into the Otherworld. Now she has one year to decide whether to remain mortal or sever her ties and become an immortal Fae, standing guard over the dreams of sleeping mortals.
It’s an impossible choice. She has a family and friends, and a maybe boyfriend, Dom, on Earth, but the compelling and mysterious Fae Aleksander desperately wants her to become an immortal and join him in the Otherworld. But her choice won’t matter if the rumors are true. There is an Erlking, an elf twisted by thousands of years trapped in the mortal realm, finds her and devours her soul to steal her magic before she can make the choice at all.
*credit to the amazing Megan Thomason for penning most of that.
Excerpt:
I stripped off my clothes as I entered my room, a smile tugging at my lips as I thought about Dom’s smile and the feel of his warm lips on my cheek. Becca and Mikey had teased me the whole way home about it. She had been after me for years to start dating, determined that I should have more experience under my belt than that one awkward kiss after prom with Jeremy Woods, my even more awkward high school crush. I changed out of Becca’s clothes and slipped on a large maroon and white Chico Wildcats tee shirt, massaging my aching feet.
I was very happy with how my day had turned out after all. I climbed under my blue and white quilt and turned on the television, letting the reruns lull me to sleep. I closed my eyes, thinking about how grateful I was to have friends who cared about me, even if they were pushy and bossy. No girl could ask for more.
The sounds of waves lapping at a shore startled me. My eyes snapped open and I realized suddenly that I was no longer in my bed. I flexed my fingers and my toes, feeling the something course and gritty beneath them, the smell of salt and ocean filling my nostrils as I inhaled shakily. I sat up slowly, my heart racing as I struggled to remember how I had gotten to this place when only moments ago I had been warm and snug in my bed in a locked apartment hundreds of miles from any ocean. Maybe it had only seemed like moments ago? Had someone slipped something into my drink? I mentally recounted my evening before I discarded that theory. I had kept an eye on my drinks the whole time and never let anyone else near them. It was clubbing safety 101. Even if I hadn’t, Becca and I were fastidious about locking our doors and setting our alarms. No way could anyone have gotten into the apartment without waking me up first.
I glanced around trying to get my bearings, and found that I was sitting on what otherwise would have been a lovely beach. It was still nighttime and the moon was up, large and luminous in the sky, lighting everything until it was as bright as day. I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was about the moon that seemed so off. I breathed in sharply when I realized that it was far larger than I had ever seen it, filling the night sky. In the distance I could make out what looked to be a second moon and it startled me, and then comforted me when I realized what it meant. This was all just a dream after all.
I stood up slowly, my bare toes stretching and digging into the sand beneath me. My feet didn’t hurt anymore. I was wearing a long, gauzy white shift, the hem skimming the tops of my feet and leaving my arms bare. The air was warm and smelled of salt and sea, stirring my unbound hair and brushing it over my face. This place felt familiar to me and I wondered if I had dreamed of it before. Sometimes in my dreams I would feel a sense of déjà vu but this was much stronger than it had ever been before.
I started walking down the beach, my eyes feasting on the scenery around me and marveling at how beautiful it all was. The beach continued as far as I could see, curving to the right. The sand was fine and sparkling in the moonlight, water gently lapping at its edges. I couldn’t see anything in the distance but water and the two large moons. To my left was lush green grass leading to what appeared to be a thickly wooded forest with hills and what appeared to be snow covered mountains in the distance. The whole scene looked like something out of a fantasy painting, so unreal and yet so detailed and vivid at the same time.
I was so absorbed in my surroundings that it took a few moments to realize that I was not alone, and I stopped suddenly when I saw the figure standing a few yards away. I wondered how I had not noticed him until now. Had he even been there before now? Standing just outside the tree line was a young man dressed in white linen trousers and a loose white shirt, open at the neck and cuffs. He had shaggy hair, the color of summer wheat, curling haphazardly around ears that stuck out just a little and a narrow, angular face with high cheekbones, a straight roman nose and a strong square chin. The stranger smiled at me in a welcoming manner and began walking towards me as I eyed him warily.
As he drew closer, I could see he had wide set eyes, as vivid a green as my own, dancing with amusement and crinkling at the corners. I blinked and stared at him. Eyes exactly like mine. I had never seen eyes like mine before and I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
“Cassandra,” the strange man called his voice deep and melodic at the same time. My heart skipped a beat when I heard my name on his lips. “I am so glad you have finally come.” He walked towards me, all grace and easiness that reminded me of a cat, and I had to remind myself to breath, chiding myself for being nervous about a strange man in a dream.
“Do I know you?” I asked as he stopped in front of me, smiling down at me in a familiar manner. I frowned at him in return. He was taller than I was, my head not quite reaching his chin and I had to look up at him, resisting the urge to stretch onto my toes to get a better look at his eyes.
“Not yet,” he admitted, “But I have been waiting for you nonetheless. My name is Aleksander. I am your Caomhnóir.”
mind you that will probably change, like a lot, but I wanted to share a tiny piece of what I've been so fired up over for nearly two years. :D Now I can start nano with a clear mind!
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