September Book Update

Oh, hey...happy Wednesday! I'm a day late because, well, I totally thought yesterday was Monday 😅 School started yesterday, hubby went back to work yesterday...to me, it was Monday. Now we're back to the chaos that is the school year. Yesterday went okay, but today was a different story. My daughter was already late for school, but it was my fault, not hers. First, I got her morning bus stop wrong. I checked it a week or two ago, but forgot to check the night before. When I looked at it, I read it as being in the same place it always was. Turns out, they put it down the street. And when I first looked at her bus info, she was being picked up at 8:57 (we're like, 3 minutes from the school). I was expecting the bus to be a little late anyway, while they're getting everything sorted out...

Looked at the bus info AGAIN, only to see the pickup time had been changed to 8:53. So anyway, that's how my day started...

Now that school is back in session, I'm ready to get back into writing/editing more regularly, and work harder on content creation for this blog, plus social media accounts. I also need to get off my butt more (not to mention eat healthier), since writing is such a sedentary job. I also need to harvest my garden and preserve everything. And clean my house. And help my kid with her homework... Lol!

That's enough ranting- on to the updates!

Rescue

I've been picking away at editing Rescue. I started out using The Story Grid's method for going through it, but really, I need to rewrite the book first. There are so many new twists and things that need to be worked in, and things need to be reordered. I think it will actually be less work to just rewrite first.

I also have a tentative cover designed. It's a DIY job on Canva. The experts all say do NOT DIY your cover...but the experts haven't seen my account. I definitely have lots of things to tweak, but I really, REALLY like the feel of it. Once I'm a little more sure, I'll post a sneak peek of it on the blog. I want to have Rescue published in time for my birthday at the end of November. Since this is the first book I'm 100% sure I WILL be publishing, I have no idea if this is a reasonable timeline or not lol, but I'm going to try! I have several chapters rewritten already, and my plan is to do at least one per day. So far, I'm up to chapter six (I haven't worked too hard on it the last few weeks tbh).

New Projects

I have several ideas for the next project, and once I decide on one, I'll be working on brainstorming and outlining. I'm going to attempt working on two projects at once (editing Rescue and starting a new first draft of something else). I thought about doing a grown-up version of a story a wrote in grade eight, and actually had a pretty good chunk of it outlined, but I've decided to wait on that one. I've really been pushing my "ranchy romance" brand, because that is what I'll mainly be writing, and this idea doesn't "fit". But that's okay. I have several other ideas to pick from that are "ranchy romances". Once I pick one, I'll share it with you here or on social media.

I'm also thinking about creating some different planners for writers- novel planners, series planners, social media content planners etc. I'm not sure how far I'll get with that lol- it seems like I always have a zillion new ideas every September, and usually they fizzle out after a few weeks when I realize I have a lot more things I want to do than actual time...

Social Media

It's a love-hate thing. I don't mind it, and I really enjoy being able to connect with other people who like the things I do (horses, books, romance...romance books with horses- and hot cowboys- in them!). What I hate is the feeling of shouting into the void. This month, I'm going to put a little more effort into Instagram, since that's where I get the most interaction. I hated the platform at first, but now that I'm getting more used to it, I'm starting to enjoy it more. I'll keep checking in on the other platforms I use, but I want to see what happens if I put a little more time into IG right now.

I've been a little MIA on social media the last couple weeks- after being OBSESSED with creating content for all the platforms, I got burnt out from it. Which is exactly what I knew would happen, lol. I'm starting to be able to think of things to post again- hopefully I'll think of things that people are interested in reading!

Those are this month's updates! The new & improved (I hope) version of chapter two is below. It's not a whole lot different than the first version- but chapter three will be!

Chapter Two

Pounding on her apartment door woke Paige for the second time in just a few hours.

“Paige! Hey, are you home? Let me in!” It was her sister, Jess.

Paige opened one eye, the left one that wasn’t smooshed against the floor. Her head spun like she’d been drinking all night, and it took several seconds to realize she was lying on her kitchen floor. The morning light streaming in the window pierced her open eyeball, making her head thump and ache. For a moment, she wondered if she’d gotten blackout drunk and passed out on the floor- although she hadn’t done that since that one time when she was eighteen…

And why wasn’t Stephen stomping to the door and telling Jess to get lost? He’d be pissed at being woken so early-

She remembered the note on the table.

She wasn’t hungover.

She was devastated. And Stephen wasn’t here. He was with Lesley.

Jess was here, though. Paige groaned and wondered if she could pretend to not be home, but she supposed her sister had already seen her car in the parking lot. Plus, she knew Jess would just keep banging on the door until she pissed off the neighbors.

Except for the ones next door. She remembered Tracy’s visit, too.

“I hear you moaning and groaning in there!” Jess called.

“Just a minute!” Paige replied. Her voice hurt her own head. She reached for the chair beside her to pull herself up with. She could barely move- sleeping on the floor at her age was not conducive to standing up on her own in the morning. Pain flared in her back when she tried to straighten, so she stayed hunched over. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror next to her door. She looked exactly as much like an old hag as she felt.

As she started for the door, the note on the table caught her eye again.

It’s fucking weird how you think you can talk to animals. Grow up.

Her stomach lurched, but she made it to the door to unlock it and let Jess in.

“The fuck happened to you?” Jess demanded, tactful as ever. “You get hit by a goddam truck?”

“Stephen left.” Paige’s voice cracked.

Jess snorted and pushed past her into the kitchen, straight to the coffee maker.

“Is that all?” she asked, pulling the coffee can from the cupboard and measuring healthy scoops into the coffee maker.

“Sorry,” she added, looking up at Paige. “I would have grabbed coffee for us in town, but Brighton’s is closed today and fuck Dick’s Coffee Corner. They suck- no offense.”

“Oh, shit!” Paige said, looking at the stove clock. “I only have five minutes to get to work!”

At Dick’s Coffee Corner, which was in town- ten minutes away.

“I’ll call Dick and tell him you’re dead. Or halfway there, anyway. You sure look like it could be true. Did Stephen do this to you?”

“Do what?” Paige asked, running her hand through her hair. It got stuck halfway through in a giant mat that was still damp with what Paige hoped was just tears. But given how stuffed up her nose was, she doubted it.

“This,” Jess said, motioning at Paige with both hands. “You look like someone beat the shit out of you, and if that idiot did, we’re gonna have to stop at my house for my shotgun before we head over to Jake Langley’s…”

“What are you talking about?” Paige asked. Jake Langley wasn’t the last person she wanted to see, but he was pretty close to the bottom of the list, seeing as he was the older brother of the owner of the palomino in her nightmare.

Jess sighed.

“Why don’t you have a shower and wash the snot out of your hair. I’m not trying to be mean, Paige. I love you, but you look awful. You look like you got beat up, and if that asshole did it, we’ll be hiding his body after we see Jake.”

“Stephen didn’t do it. I-I had a breakdown after I saw his note when the police woke me up and three-thirty to tell me the neighbors were dead.”

“Oh, right, I was going to ask you about that police tape. Huh. Too bad, but I’m not that surprised. Anyway, go clean up-”

“Why are you going to Jake’s? And who do I have to go with you?”

“You go clean up. By the time you get back out here, I’ll have dealt with ol’ Dickhead and have the perfect cup of coffee waiting for you. Okay?” Before Paige could answer, her phone rang. Jess crossed the room and grabbed it off the counter. “I’ll deal with this idiot. You get in the shower,” she said.

Paige wondered which idiot was calling.

“She looks like she got hit by a motherfucking dump truck, so yeah, I’d say she’s pretty sick!” she heard Jess yell. “I mean, she didn’t even answer her phone. She must be pretty sick if she can’t even answer her own phone! So no, she’s not coming in today!”

Paige thanked God she didn’t have to deal with her boss right now. She didn’t have it in her to do it right now.

Paige stepped into the shower stall and turned on the water, wincing at the blast of ice water that hit her that quickly turned scalding hot before settling on lukewarm.

You’d think I’d have figured this out after sixteen years.

As she worked shampoo into the tangled mass of hair at the back of her head, wondered why Jess wanted her to go with her to see Jake. How could she be any help to Jess in this state? She pressed her forehead against the tile and let her tears mix

the shower water.

It’s really fucking weird you still think you can talk to animals. Get over it.

The p.s. on Stephen’s note kept playing in her brain.

I’d fucking LOVE to just get over it, Stephen!

She’d spent the last eighteen years trying to get over it, trying to pretend she couldn’t hear what animals were thinking so people would stop making fun of her.

Maybe YOU should get over it.

Paige stood under the shower until it was icy cold again and her upstairs neighbor stomped on his floor, angry that she’d used all the hot water. He was a jerk anyway- who always hogged the hot water. If Stephen didn’t.

She got out and wrapped herself in a towel and squeezed the water out of her hair. Then she went to the kitchen, where Jess sat at the table, an unlit cigarette in one hand and Paige’s favorite mug in the other. Paige’s phone was in front of her.

“I thought you quit,” Paige said.

“I did. That’s why it’s not lit,” Jess retorted. “I just like knowing it’s there while I have my coffee. It’s a habit.”

“So why not hold a pen or something instead?”

Jess pulled a Bic lighter out of her pocket and held the flame at the end of the cigarette. “Cuz a pen melts if I have an emergency and gotta light it.” She sucked in a drag. “Stephen’s a fucking idiot. You know that, right? You have to know that. I saw that note he left. Seriously, Lesley Davis? That’s who he left you for?”

Paige shrugged. “That’s what the note says.”

Jess banged a hand on the table. “Anyway, I told Dick you weren’t coming to work because I got here and found you practically dead. He said they were super swamped since Brighton’s is closed, but I guess that’s too fucking bad.”

Paige closed her eyes and groaned. She pulled out the chair across from her sister and sat down, trying to hold up her towel. She dropped her head to the table- but did it before she put her arms out to rest her head on, and she bounced her forehead off the Formica surface. The pain set off a new round of wracking sobs- which set off another round of the upstairs neighbor stomping angrily on his floor.

“Knock it off, asshole!” Jess yelled at the ceiling.

Then Jess’ hand was rubbing her back, just like she used to when they were kids and Paige had fallen off a horse she probably shouldn’t have been riding anyway and their mom was too busy with her flavor of the month to care.

“Aw, kiddo, I’m sorry,” she said, in about the same tone she used when she was talking to a skittish horse at the Brandt Family Horse Rescue. “Even if Stephen is an idiot, that don’t make it any easier. You know what will make you feel better?”

Paige peered up at her sister. “Going to bed and hiding?”

“No. Saving horses. Let’s get over to Jake’s and see what we can do for this one.”