Editing Day 17 || New Year's Eve

   Today I edited 6 pages. The word count is 74,727. Not as many pages as I wanted to. It was harder to edit today than usual. I wanted to finished editing it before the end of the year but it will be more realistic by the end of the week.

   I went over part of the book of the aftermath of the murder of Catherine Brown. Eva ran off to the crypt where she used to live with her family. I found pictures of what I thought it looked like.

This what I though it would look like except for a spiral staircase leading down to a white marble floor.

There are indentations in the walls like these that were more like shelves but a similar shape like these ones so that vampires can lie down on it.

I'll continue editing tomorrow. Happy New Year! xxx :)

Editing Day 16

Day 16 Part 1:

   Today I finished editing the 2nd draft! :)
The word count is 74,720.

   The hunt started and the attacks started. People were dying but the Blacks were being defeated. Daniel was seriously injured and Eve was rescued from her crate. The Night Maeres were called in. Nobody knows who ordered the attack. This is what I think they look like.

   I won't tell you what happened at the end! Ha Ha! I started editing the 3rd draft.

I will add to the rest of the blog from here.

                                            ***

Day 16 Part 2:

   I edited 12 pages of the third draft. The word count is 74,727.
I made a few changes and it now reads smoother. When I was putting together Daniel's office, this came to mind. I thought it suited his job. He owns a ship building company. He's the main werewolf in the story.

It was something like this but with a crystal chandelier. I found the perfect office that I've described in the book but I couldn't find the picture again.

I'll leave it here for now.

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 15

   Today I edited 10 pages. I haven't finished editing it as I thought I would. Tomorrow is the day and I'll also start on the third draft. The word count is 74,593.

   I edited part of the book when the main characters found out who the murderer is. The Lord Mayor of London and Prime Minister is told about it and the discovery is spread all over social media. Troops are being rallied for the hunt and it is now only a few hours away from the hunt in Richmond Park.

   Most of the characters who were staying with The Sisters of the Moon have now moved into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to take the attention off the sisters. It wasn't too far from them and there's enough room for everyone.

   To be continued. Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 14

   Today I edited 26 pages. I proof read them and corrected various parts of them. I also clarified a couple of things. 

   I edited part of the book where I brought an actress and writer called Isabella Andreini, also known as Isabella Da Padova into the story. She was popular in her time and I brought her back as a vampire and love interest to Valentino Athens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Andreini


   Eva and Daniel asked Valentino to perform the Blood Vow. It binds them together forever and keeps them connected so that whatever happens to one of them, the other knows exactly what's happening. The Blood Vow creates a Celtic tattoo on the wrist depending on what it's used for. This is a Celtic love knot.

http://tattoos.lovetoknow.com/image/173185~celtic-tribal-heart-knot.jpg


   I'll finish editing the second draft by tomorrow and start on the third draft. I'm aiming to finish editing it before the end of the year.

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 13

   Today I edited 9 pages. The word count is 74550.
  
   I proof read these pages and corrected a few things that didn't make any sense.
I edited part of the book where Daniel - the werewolf - was challenged to go hunting by Austin Black the leader of the Black wolves. He has no choice but to go hunting at midnight at Richmond Park. He started making plans and feeding himself with raw meat to strengthen himself. They are all getting ready for a big fight scene.

   Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 12

   I edited 10 pages today. The total word count is 74, 529.

   I edited and proof read a really interesting part of the book. I went over a fight scene at the back of a crumbling B & B in Brighton.

I also edited a part of the book where the prime minister called Chaimberlain, arrived out of the blue to see Eve. She was still missing and her sisters went out to find her. He wouldn't leave, so her sister Mary slipped him some Valerian. He was knocked out and she managed to get rid of him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerian_(herb)


   I also made sense a part of the book where the sisters go out into the garden and perform magic. They have a 'cookbook' and use a sun dial to call on Magdalene, their long lost sister.
Afterwards, they all disappear into the corners of the flat. They have a stable of black Andalusian horses at the far end of the garden. Mary rides her horse Luna to Westminster Cathedral and attends mass. She continues to perform magic under her breath while candles flutter around her.

   I'll leave it here for now. Have a great Christmas Eve! xxx :)

Editing Day 11

   Today I edited 9 pages. The word count is 74,522.

   I edited an important part of the book where two plots happened at the same time. I clarified certain parts of it and proof read it. I also added something to one of the plots which will make sense to one of the plots later on in the book. It needs a bit more work and I'll probably get back to it on the third draft.

   In one of the plots, one of the albino werewolves gets kidnapped by a gang of black werewolves. They are the Blacks. She is called Eve and is the leader of The Sisters of The Moon or The Cravens.

   I may have hinted that she had a past with Austin Black, the leader of the Blacks. The plot thickens.

   Eva, the vampire who was killed and was resurrected is now back to being a vampire. I won't tell you how! :)

Here's a hint!

To be continued tomorrow!

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 10

   Today I edited 8 pages. The word count is 74, 464.

   I did the usual things while editing; proof reading, adding or removing sentences and making sense of a plot. Nothing interesting has happened.

   I'm going to share with you that the Mayor of London in the book is called Lord Shadworth.
He used to be John Shadworth, Lord Mayor of London. He was a real person whom I've turned into a vampire in my book and kept the name. I couldn't find a picture of him. I described him in my book as tall with a small beer belly and greying hair.

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/shadworth-john-1430


   It's fun to use a real person and turn him or her into a creature. I'll leave it here for now.
Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 9

   Today I edited 10 pages. The word count is 74, 463.
I really enjoyed editing today. I went over a part of the book that covered a character called Daniel. He's a werewolf. He was put in prison for the murder of Catherine Brown and was stabbed multiple times by a prisoner. He escaped from the hospital he was in and went in search of evidence of who the killer could be. Daniel finds a couple of things that could reveal who the murderer is. I'm not going to say what they are or else it will ruin the plot. :)
He wore a black masquerade mask when he was stealing something from the police station. I'm still not going to say what it is. Here is a picture of what I imagined the mask would look like.

   I also edited a scene when he was with his girlfriend Eva. She's a vampire. They were at it in the library. ( YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! ) Haha! She revealed that a character called Nightingale

( also a vampire ) said something to her the last time they met, which was exactly the same thing that the guy that stabbed him in prison said.

The phrase is Fiat Voluntas Tua. Which means Thy Will Be Done.

I sorted out this plot and went onto another one.

I'll leave it here for tonight.

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 8

   Today I edited 18 pages. Word count 74392.
I didn't do any editing or blog on Friday or Saturday. So far I've edited and blogged for a whole week straight. There are about 100 pages to go until I finish the first round of editing. My goal is to finish editing it before the New Year. I'm really looking forward to it.

   On Friday, I watched Star Wars The Force Awakes. It was EPIC! I'm not going to give anything away, so if you haven't watched it Go and watch it!

   On Saturday, I went on my work's Christmas dinner. It was alright and we were in all in various degrees of drunkenness.

   I'm really starting to feel festive and can't wait to be off for Christmas and work more on my book.
I'll end the blog here.

   Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 7

   Today I edited 10 pages. The word count is 74,411.

   I went over the dead vampire's resurrection and the albino werewolves who looked after her when she arrived at their doorstep. Her name is Eva. They look after London and know exactly what goes on. They each have different skills and roles. I gave them Christian names on purpose. They are also witches. It just seemed ironic and I liked the clashing imagery.
They are called Eve, Mary, Agatha, Justine, Lucy, Cecelia and Magdalene. Magdalene was on a soul searching journey, like a walkabout and was not with them for most of the story.

   Dead bodies were showing up on Brighton Beach and a curfew was set at 9PM.

   I really enjoyed editing a fight scene in Oxford where a man nicknamed God ( also known as Dr Godfrey ) had changed into a monster after being attacked by MOTH. He's the same creature that I mentioned in yesterday's blog. He stood up to his lab partner, Ace, who nearly killed him. Sandy also works in the experimental lab with them. He was attacked by MOTH and also changed into a monster. However, he tricked God into making him drink his blood until he was on the brink of death. When he recovered, he was back to his human self.

   The albino werewolves each have a streak of colour in their white fur to distinguish them from each other. I called them The Sisters of the Moon after Fleetwood Mac's song Sisters of the Moon. The song sounded like werewolves meeting under moonlight.

   This picture reminds me of the Seven Sisters of the Moon.

Will continue blogging again tomorrow.

   Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 6

   Today I edited 12 pages. The word count is 74,418.
I really enjoyed going over a chapter where one of the main characters was shot dead by a mercury tipped bullet - the only way to kill a vampire. She was an ancient vampire and turned into something else when the Sisters of the Moon, also known as The Cravens, prayed for her resurrection in Westminster Cathedral. I also really enjoyed editing part of her death and transformation. This all happened on top of the Campanile Bell Tower that's part of Westminster Cathedral.

  

   Here it is. I'll add an excerpt of the chapter. This is when she is dying and transforming at the same time.

  

   "The drumming rose softly into the snow. It vibrated throughout my body. It was familiar and strange at the same time. I wanted to be with the wilderness, with the dusk, with the moon. It pulled at my heart strings. Shivers ran down my spine, waking me from my slumber. My eyes fluttered but they were too heavy to open. My left leg twitched sending spasms up and down my legs. Warmth spread from the core of my body out to the rest of my body. Pain shot through my fingertips and toes. My stomach spasmed and I felt nauseous. Warm breath blew into me repeatedly. I chocked as it hit my frozen lungs. My stomach heaved and I vomited black sticky blood. It burnt at the back of my throat and tasted bitter on my tongue. I wretched again until there was nothing more but bile. Blackness closed in on me like a grey cloud on a rainy day. My body felt heavy. I felt rooted to the floor. The fire that continued to lick down my spine spread through to my bones, knees, elbows, shoulders, hips, hands and feet. It was agony.

   The itchy pins and needles on my back spread out across the rest of my backbone and spine, all the way down to my tail bone. I felt like I was about to be split in half. A moan escaped me and turned into a cry. I squeezed my eyes together wanting desperately to go back to that cold place I’ve always known. A hot band of steel squeezed my chest and ribs. I couldn’t breathe. I gave up struggling against it and let go. It felt like the sky fell down on me and bounced me back up into the snowy torrent of black sky and deep space."

   While editing, I made sure what I wrote was in past tense. It was fun straightening out a scene where a human had changed into a monster like MOTH. He is half human and half spider, and was experimented on in a lab in Oxford before escaping on a coach bus to Brighton. I'm starting to feel really good about the main plots in the book, though I'm sure there's more work to be done on the rest of them.

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 5

   Today I edited 14 pages. I did the usual; correcting spelling, weird sentences and straightening out a plot. I did something that took a little longer but was fun to make sense of.
 
   I made sense of a car chase scene which was fun to write. When I first wrote it, I thought that it made perfect sense. It didn't so I had a good look at Google maps and picked out the streets that were part of the chase scene. I named them clearly while re-planning the U turns and the emotions involved. I find it really fun to add cool cars in my book. The car that was chasing a couple of the characters in a taxi was a Jaguar F type coupe.

   Yesterday I mentioned that I was going to tell you more about this character who drinks dark rum and smokes Cohiba Siglo Cigars. His name is Harry Lonan Gallagher and he looks after Brighton but is also a very dangerous vampire. He is 440 lb and wears three piece pinstripe suits. I found something interesting about rum which I've added in his speech. There's a type of rum called the Duppy Share. The name is taken from dark Caribbean ghosts -the Duppy spirits- who take the best share of the rum that's left aging in old oak barrels, from Island to Island. Hence, the Duppy Share.

http://london.tastefestivals.com/whats-on/the-duppy-share-presents-the-spirit-social/
   Here's what Harry says to the man in his office:

   “How long are you going to wait?” Screamed the man.

   “When the ghosts have their share of the rum and the smoke cocoons me.” His voice floated dangerously.

   I hope this one was an interesting one.

   Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 4

   Today I edited 5 pages. My lowest so far. Something happened that was really annoying. When I got back from work, I accidentally fell asleep which turned into the World's Longest Nap. I don't nap, I really don't. I was really annoyed with myself. I was planning on doing a lot of editing.
The word count is 74, 344.

   I found some interesting info on rum that's hilarious. There's a character that loves to drink dark rum and smokes a Cohiba Siglo Cigar. It's a short one today. I'll write more about that tomorrow.

Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 3

   Today I edited 23 pages. Not as many pages as I'd hoped to do. I straightened out a couple of smaller plots and clarified them. The word count so far is 74,316.

   I did some research on Swedish royalty because I was trying to figure out what one of the main character's maiden name is. It was really interesting. Maria Eleanora of Brandenberg looks very similar to her. Evangeline Brandenberg could have been Maria Eleanora of Brandenberg in a previous life time. She's a vampire with an interesting past. I think I'll explore that in my second book in the series.



Here's a picture of her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Eleonora_of_Brandenburg

   Her married name is Nightingale. She was married to a horrendous man because her father wanted to take a position in the Swedish royal treasury. She escaped on a warship pretending to be a sailor.
I'm not going to say any more!

   I will have more done tomorrow and can't wait to share some information about one of the other characters in the book.
Good Night! xxx :)

Editing Day 2

   Today I really enjoyed editing the manuscript and was looking forward to it all day. It was fun and I did about 11 pages.

   I corrected spelling mistakes, added descriptions and made paragraphs make sense. The total word count is 74, 149.

   I listened to an audio book called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, one of my favourite authors. It's a part of a series of books called The All Souls Trilogy.

   I have a long day of editing tomorrow and I can not wait! I'll also compose a list of agents that I'll be submitting my manuscript to and use the Writers and Artists book. In my next blog, I'll share what I found useful from it and add the list at the end of the blog.

   Good night! xx :)

Editing Day 1

   Today I went through all the grammar and spelling errors, and quickly corrected them. Starting with Chapter 1, I read the manuscript through line by line and edited any lines that sounded weird or didn't make sense. I don't know why, but I always laugh when I'm editing sex scenes. So childish. Haha!

   I edited the first 4 chapters while listening to a playlist of old and more recent songs. When I was writing, I usually listened to an audio book, unless I was sick of it. I corrected a few sentences that seemed odd and any spelling mistakes that were missed by the autocorrect. In total, I edited about 10 pages.

   I'm starting to feel more positive about it. I'll leave it here for now and continue again tomorrow. Good Night!

I Finished!

   Yesterday evening, I finished writing my book! I reached 74.065 words and it took me almost exactly 6 months from start to finish. I feel so good and about to start editing it. I honestly cannot wait to bring it into shape.
  
   Today's post is a short one but I've decided to blog every day about my editing and share with you what I have gone through, good and bad.

   You know what, right now I could really do with some chocolate. I've had enough chocolate today, so I'm not having anymore. Costa's hot chocolate is SO good! :) I'm so loving the penguin cups. I'll post my first editing blog later tonight.

Women Who Run With Wolves

"We are all filled with a longing for the wild. There are a few culturally sanctioned antidotes for this yearning. We were taught to feel shame for such a desire. We grew our hair long and used it to hide our feelings. But the shadow of Wild Woman still lurks behind us during our days and in our nights. No matter what we are, the shadow that trots behind us is definitely four-footed."

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes 

Cheyenne, Wyoming

   I came across the book Women Who Run With Wolves in an article years ago. It sounded really cool and I felt pulled to read it. I ordered it on Amazon and couldn't wait for it to arrive. As soon as it landed on my doorstep, I ripped the cardboard box open and started reading it. The quote in the forward resonated so much with me. There were times when I felt like a wolf and wanted to run as fast I could and not stop. I really felt a connection with wolves. Through the interpretation of story, she used psychology to explain how poetry and stories change the lives of people in a soulful, magical and unique way.

   One of my favourite parts of the book is the Introduction. It's called Singing Over The Bones.

It's one of the best  introductions I've read. I felt inspired and like she was talking to me. She talks about women and their relationship with nature, how similar women are to wolves and how they were treated as the times were changing. This is one of my favourite parts of the book and which I think still goes on to this day.

   "My own post-World War II generation grew up in a time when women were infantilized and treated as property. They were kept as fallow gardens ... but thankfully there was always wild seed which arrived on the wind. Though what they wrote was unauthorized, women blazed away anyway. Though what they painted went unrecognized, it fed the soul anyway. Women had to beg for the instruments and the spaces needed for their arts, and if none were forthcoming, they made space in trees, caves, woods, and closets.

   Dancing was barely tolerated, if at all, so they danced in the forest where no one could see them, or in the basement, or on the way out to empty the trash. Self-decoration caused suspicion. Joyful body or dress increased the danger of being harmed or sexually assaulted. The very clothes on one's shoulders could not be called one's own.

   It was a time when parents who abused their children were simply called "strict," when the spiritual lacerations of profoundly exploited women were referred to as "nervous breakdowns," when girls and women who were tightly girdled, tightly reined, and tightly muzzled were called "nice," and those other females who managed to slip the collar for a moment or two of life were branded "bad." ... "

   There are many more parts of the book that I could quote, but the whole book is totally real and fascinating. Some of the stories in the book are:

   1. La Loba ( Wolf Woman )

   2. Bluebeard

   3. The Doll in Her Pocket: Vasalisa the Wise

   4. La Mariposa, Butterfly Woman

   5. The Withered Trees

      Dr Estes uses stories as medicine. It really does feel like medicine. Whenever I feel that I need some soul or to re-connect myself, I pick up the book. I'll leave you with one more quote from the afterword.

   "Whenever a fairy tale is told, it becomes night. No matter where the dwelling, no matter the time, no matter the season, the telling of tales causes a starry sky and a white moon to creep from the eaves and hover over the heads of the listeners. Sometimes, by the end of the tale, the chamber is filled with daybreak, other times a star shard is left behind, sometimes a ragged thread of storm sky. And whatever is left behind is the bounty to work with, to use toward the soul-making ..."

-Clarrisa Pinkola Estes 

  

Crash and Burn

   I was working on an epic fight scene when I stopped midway during a dialogue between the good guy and the bad guy. I couldn't think of a word to say to the other character. This has never happened to me before.
  
   In June, I set myself a challenge of writing 30 pages in 20 days. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. For the first few days, it was great. It pushed me to write in a different way and to look at the new characters as if they were part of the story from the beginning. Some days were harder than others. Some days I didn't want to write because my wrist was hurting. Other days I'd stay up till 3am so I could put in those 30 pages. It was the most fun I'd had. Sometimes, I would stop myself from writing a scene because it seemed outrages. I wrote it anyway. It was outrages, mad and sometimes erotic.

   During that time, I just let loose and went wild. At work, my friends would ask me what I wrote the day before. They would be fascinated and wanted to know more. Nothing was going to stop me. Not the lack of sleep, not a sore wrist or shoulder ( I wrote it by hand ) or being lost in the plot. The period after that challenge, things weren't the same. I still wrote a lot, but not as much as I used to write.

   Earlier this year, I went to a book signing. It was for Deborah Harkness's third book The Book Of Life in the All Souls trilogy. She's a professor at the University of South Carolina. She teaches History and the History of Science. Someone from the audience asked her about writer's block and she said that she forces herself to not write for a week. By the end of the week she can't wait to write.

http://deborahharkness.com/about-deborah/
   I tried not to write for a week but it didn't work. So I'm setting myself another challenge to see of it will work. Starting from today, I will be writing 30 pages till the end of the week. For the next five days, forgive me if I'm grumpy or can't stop talking about the story.

Shadows

   When I was growing up, I thought the only way I could express myself was through painting, drawing or poetry. It blinded me from using writing fiction as another way to tell you about my dreams, fears and ambitions.

  

   Nightmares turn into monsters. Sunny days transform into misty grey sunsets. Traumas turn into stories with vampires, werewolves and ghosts. It's therapeutic and inspiring. Ideas run through my head 24/7 100 miles an hour. It keeps me awake, it inspires me and it haunts me. I love every bit of it.

   Authors who made me look at my shadows are Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, C. S. Lewis and JK Rowling. There are many authors out there that have written stories that have shaken me to the core. When I look at my shadows, they disappear like smoke in a mirror.

   Some days it's hard to look at my shadows. Some days it's too difficult to look at the smoke in the mirror, to turn the light on or even to open my eyes to the possibility that these shadows might not be real. Some days they are so real that they turn into that monster that hurt me when I was 9, or that bigger monster that hurt even more when I was 14 till I was 16. Sometimes that monster goes back into time becoming something closer and more related to me that it's hard to think that he ever did what he did to me. But when I write, I can do whatever I can do to those monsters, and that's the best feeling in the world.

  

   I have no regrets in becoming a fantasy writer. I know that some people think that fiction does not bring value to the world. They are so mistaken. Fiction has a big role.

Here's a link to what Neil Gaiman says about fiction: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/24/neil-gaiman-face-facts-need-fiction