Two Chapters in the Books, and a Goodreads Giveaway Update
Yesterday was great, because I got back into full-on writing mode with Rubbed Out. I took all of my research materials, headed to the San Laurio Coffeehouse (great atmosphere, great views, great coffee, and great prices – support local!), and over the next three hours I wrote the first two chapters of Rubbed Out.
Because I have not yet splurged on a MacBook, my most coveted next possession, I wrote the pages longhand. I wrote Flesh Wound that way, and afterwards swore I would never write another book longhand. Well, here I am doing it with Rubbed Out, so I guess as long as I've got the right pen it's okay. Interestingly, Jackie Collins writes all of her books longhand, and she's sold over 400,000,000 copies. So maybe writing longhand isn't a bad thing.
Anyway, I came home, typed up the pages, and handed them to my best and most crucial reader, my wife. Her verdict: "Great! Keep going!" My biggest question for her is always, "Do you want to know what happens next? Do you want to keep reading?" If those answers are "Yes", then the work has passed it's biggest test.
Chapters 1 and 2 of Rubbed Out focus on the main protagonist, Ae-Cha Kam, a 22 year old South Korean woman who has accepted a job as a "hostess" in a nightclub in Koreatown in Los Angeles based on a newspaper ad in a local Korean newspaper back in Seoul. She has her reasons for taking such a dramatic chance, and her employers have assured her there will be no "touching or sex" involved in the position. There are establishments in Korea where "hostesses" are required to move to that second round of activity if they do not sell enough drinks. Things are different in California, Ae-Cha is assured, so she boards her first airplane and flies 24 hours from Incheon, South Korea to Tijuana, Mexico. In Chapters 1 and 2, she crosses the border into the United States. Illegally. And she finds out about the 'illegal' part just hours before having to do it.
Chapters 1 and 2 total about 2,100 words for those of you keeping score at home. Today, I'm going to write Chapter 3. This chapter will be about Max, and involve a character from Flesh Wound, Ethan, who is Ae-Cha's cousin. Ethan finds out Ae-Cha is in the United States, and he immediately suspects she has fallen prey to the human trafficking that is so prevalent between Korea and the U.S. Ethan hires Max to find Ae-Cha in Chapter 3.
In other news, I continue to be amazed at Goodreads.com! The Giveaway for 10 copies of Flesh Wound is now in its fifth day, and 467 people have entered thus far! I think that is great! That is almost 500 people who didn't know Flesh Wound existed less than one week ago. The Giveaway closes on October 15, so there are still 9 days left. I hope this pace of entries continues, that would be awesome! Maybe those who don't win a copy will decide to buy one. :)
Have a terrific Wednesday! Thanks for reading my blog! I'm off to write — Jon
