A Beautiful Place

Last things first?

Apparently the answer to that is “yes,” as my mighty 311 word effort yesterday went entirely to the final scene in Twisted Intent.

Working backwards isn’t usually my style but maybe there’s something strange and wonderful in the fictional Oklahoma air that turns endings into beginnings?... Hmm, what a beautiful place for a writer to roam.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

...And Make the Door Red

Well, the bloody thing finally has a beginning.

I am truly appalling at writing opening lines/scenes/chapters of a novel. Oh, I have no problem picturing the perfect entry for readers into my storyline but getting it down satisfactorily on paper is another thing entirely.

So, it is with great relief, and with 17k words of the tale in the rearview mirror, that I can announce that my newest romance has its stoop, its front door (red, of course) and its welcoming little foyer.

Somebody, pop me some champagne!

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

Post-note: True, you have to squint to make this orange door appear truly red, but I adored the picture and just had to go for it. Apologies for my rose-colored glasses.

Ted

Shall I begin with a bang or a whimper?

While I’ve been yanking weeds out of unforgiving clay soil this week, this question has been buzzing around my head. It’s not a new question. Over the course of writing my dozen or so novels, this simple query has become quite familiar.

In fact, nowadays, I just call him Ted.

Ted always shows up about 10k words into a new book. It doesn’t matter if I’ve got an outline all worked out already or if I’m still free-wheeling the story, Ted shows up at this point and demands a reconsidered answer.

Three out of four times, I answer, “With a bang!” But since I like to throw my readers a curve here and there, I occasionally surprise the heck out of Ted and answer “Let’s go with a whimper.”

Ted is here.

He’s demanding an answer for my new m/m romance The Clockwise Heart.

Yeah, well, the boy’s just going to have to hold his horses. This girl’s got wild violets to yank.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

The Flagrant

*with penitent pout firmly in place, drops a bright yellow flag at my own feet*

A flagrant foul of the daily blogger’s code was committed yesterday, and I was the fouler. Not only did I not post, I did not post for any good reason, i.e….

1.) Tornadoes were not corkscrewing down from the late spring skies. (True story. April 2011, to be exact.)

2.) Electricity was not lost due to the poorly planned antics of mating squirrels. (Ridiculous but true. North Alabama, 2015.)

3.) Rollercoasters were not ridden in reckless abandon. (Guilty pleas in Septembers of both 2013 and 2014.)

No, there’s not a single sound excuse I can give for my failure to blog yesterday.

I am sorry.

*picks flag up and stuffs it back into a pocket, as it will no doubt be used again*

Tomorrow, June 1^st, the final push to the end of The Hushing Days begins.

Thirty days.

25K words.

I’ll see you there.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe, the Flagrant