Some Kind of Wonderful Awards is going on and I have two challenge responses up on the nominations page (which makes me 2 for 2, might I add) - The Eleventh Annual Hide Or Die Summer Challenge and After The Rain Has Fallen. Considering the former has about forty more reviews than the latter, I'm thinking I know what people will be leaning towards.
I've decided to update everybody on all my stories, in terms of where I'm at mentally with them because I'm cool like that (but really, I'm just so freaking happy to be done and screwing around on the internet freely, doing whatever I damn well please), so here's a big ol' update for you all:
The Harris Family Tree:
The good news: I'm about half way through the sequel to Hide or Die. The bad news: road block. I'm still trying to decide where I want it to go exactly. Or more like, how I want it to get there. I'm basically doing the same thing I did with Hide or Die - I wrote a whole bunch, and then suddenly got about half way and ran out of steam, sat on it for a couple of months, and then came back with a vengeance. So this'll finish itself eventually, but until then I'm not going to force it too much.
According to the poll I have up on my Fictionpress profile, the majority of you (41%) want to hear about Greg next. Which doesn't surprise me at all. So I will probably write about him next. I have some ideas, but there's no telling where these could go. Mark is going to get his own story, definitely - that was something I'd already been decided on from the get-go; I'm also pretty sure there's another Harris cousin that will make an appearance (no, she won't be related to Charlie; yes, I said 'she'), and Erin might get more spotlight through that. But I'm still brainstorming all of this, so let me know what you think.
I am still going with the idea that every one of these stories is going to be a challenge response, though, so if there's a specific one somebody wants to see done or thinks it'll go really well with one of the characters, let me know - I'm always open to suggestions.
The Prince of the Hours:
This is the sequel to After The Rain Has Fallen, which I think I've mentioned briefly a couple of times (there was that one scrapped beginning, too). It's going to be about ten chapters or so, and each chapter is going to be set in a specific city and will probably be about the same length as After The Rain, give or take a few hundred words. I'm going to alternate POVs every chapter, as well, so Xenia can get her two cents in this time around. However, I won't be posting any of this until it's done... I've got plenty of things to update as it is, so while I have started writing in this, it isn't a priority right now - no need to divide my focus even more.
The Ghost Stone:
For some reason chapters have been flying out of this one lately. Partly because my muse kicked in here, and partly because I'm also at a place in the story where I know exactly what's going on and how it all goes down. The main plot, as many of you noted, has also come to the surface and so we'll be seeing a lot more of that, as well as lot more insight into the city and the history of the school through the ghosts Vesper sees. I'm not as serious about this as I am with Diamonds and Dust so while after this writing streak runs out, there might be a brief period where I do some more brainstorming and readjust, but I won't ever be going back halfway through the story to revise.
While it might disappoint some of you, Vesper and Guy are never going to hook up. Ever. That was never my plan, although I can't say that I'm surprised a couple of you were really angling for that. Guy is pretty much fantastic anyway you look at it, and I want to see him get some lovin' just as much as the rest of you. But romantically speaking, it won't be from Vesper. She's rather busy dealing with a certain other delicious man right now.
Diamonds and Dust:
Oh, my baby. My poor little baby. I've left you all alone. *sniff*
....ahem. Right. So. I'm free again to give this the focus it deserves, so hopefully I will get the last part of Chapter Eleven out soon, and then revision can begin. I had some pretty crazy ideas in mind for this, but I'm going to try and tone them down and keep it to a bare minimum for now - if it gets too far away from the original it'll be too much work and I'll end up having to take it all down, and I do not want to do that. I'm just not ready to sit down and rewrite it completely. So this time around, most of the changes will be towards the beginning. I will probably repost the chapters it affects, and if/when I do, I will let you know which ones those are.
Other ideas:
Yes, there are more. Yes, I'm insane. But I can't help it. I do have some self control, however, so I will exert it here. I'm not going to start another story until at least one of the above is done. One-shots don't count - these, actually, are a huge help because it let's me take a break and focus on something little and fun while my brain hacks away at the others in the background. So here's a brief breakdown of what else is currently stirring in the pot.
1. "You Can't Go Back" is not the title of it, but it's the general feeling, so: they say that you can't go back, but what if it wasn't your choice to make? This story would be a kind of fantasy-adventure and would be strictly from the male protagonist's point of view. There will be some romance, of course, but with this one I really want to get back into my fantasy roots and delve a little more into action and fighting.
Prior left his old life - and everything in it - behind him for good. He wanted a fresh start, a new life as a simple man working on a farm, earning his living like any other normal man might. But he's never been normal, and some thing simply refuse to stay in the past. When the Sword Masters start dying, it's clear that something has to be done. And as much as he doesn't want to get back into it, Prior knows that he can't just stay idly by and watch the rest of his old friends die. So go back he will. He just hopes it doesn't lead him to his death.
2. I have an idea for a one-shot between a nameless couple who have a rather odd relationship. This one would take place in the modern age, I think, and both characters will probably lead fairly shady lives. The entire story is more or less a confrontation between the two. I haven't decided much more than that, though this wouldn't be a challenge response. I'm still playing around with it.
3. Aoen (names may be subject to change) lives with her father and her little sister in a small, rural town, miles and miles away from the large capital city of the kingdom and the social politics of the court. While her father works as a blacksmith, she keeps house, looks after her sister, and does few odd jobs in town when she can to help with the finances. Like her father, she has no interest in politics and isn't concerned with much that doesn't have to do with her family, her garden, and their day-to-day existence. They don't exactly live easy, comfortable lifestyles, but Aoen loves her home and her family and is satisfied with her lot.
And then one day her father brings home an injured, unconscious soldier. And not just any soldier - his uniform, tattered and covered in blood and dirt as it is, marks him as one of the kingdom's elite. Aoen knows a little healing magic, and combined with the knowledge of herbs and medicines she inherited from her late mother, is able to stabilize the young man. He sleeps a lot, and heals slowly under she and her father's watchful eyes. He won't talk about how he came to them but devours any news about the kingdom that his hosts usually pass over. It's clear he remembers the event; what isn't clear is why he won't write the guard and inform them of his whereabouts, or why he's so interested in her father and what he does. Aoen can't help but think the healing guard is more trouble than he's worth, and can't help but look forward to the day when he leaves them for the capital, never to return again.
She didn't expect to go with him.
I think it's obvious at this point I'm a fan of mysterious pasts. lol
So, that's what's going on in my itty bitty head right now. Comments? Questions? Cookies? Send them over!
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