Now I've gone and done it.....

Anyone notice the new badge over on the right hand side of my blog? Yup, it's official. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. Am I insane? I haven't even finished my Camp NaNoWriMo novel first draft. EEEK!

My initial plan had been to finish "Not a Whisper", my camp novel, by the end of Sept, edit it in Oct/Nov and publish in early December. Well, writing slowed down a LOT in September and October isn't doing much better. Too much life sticking its nose into my life.

So, rather than rebel and do an EditNaNo, which I considered doing, I'm going to take my short story, Lost and Found  and try a contemporary romance using that as the prequel. I have had quite a few folks asking me to do that so I figured NaNoWriMo is the time to tackle it. I may not win, I may end up with a novella instead of a novel but it's the journey that's important. Right?

For those that are interested, here is an excerpt from my short story Lost and Found [only .99 at Amazon]:

The tears increased and Nancy “What’s wrong, Sarah?” Nancy grabbed Sarah’s arms, “What is it?” 

“It’s Brian. He went to help Mr. Jacobs at the church and he should have been home over two hours ago. I tried calling 911 but there isn’t one.” She slumped down into the rocker. “I should never have moved back here.” The tears increased and Nancy grabbed a dish towel from the kitchen counter.

“Don’t say that. We’re all glad to have you back home.” 

“I thought we’d be safe here and I wouldn’t have to worry. Brian doesn’t know anything about the country. He doesn’t know how to protect himself out here. He could have been attacked by a grizzly. Or fallen into the pond and drowned.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Nancy tried to look angry. “Sarah, you’re overreacting. We don’t have grizzlies out here and that pond is only two feet deep. Calm down. We’ll find him.” 

“But he doesn’t know anyone here. He hasn’t made any friends yet. He says all the kids make fun of him because he’d rather sit at the computer than play sports." She absentmindedly wiped her nose with the towel. “Something bad has happened to him and it’s all my fault!” 

A deep voice cut through her sniffling. “Excuse me ma’am. I have to agree with Nancy. You are overreacting but that just shows you’re a good mother.” Sarah looked up slowly – up and up and up. The man standing beside Nancy was at least 6’ 6’’. When she reached the top she noticed he was wearing a hat, one like state policemen wear.

“I’m sorry, Sarah. I forgot to introduce you,” Nancy apologized. “Sarah, this is Carl Pierce our new sheriff. He’s only been in town for two months so I thought you two would have something in common.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew it was the wrong thing to say. Sarah burst into tears again, accompanied by heaving sobs. 

Nancy reached over and hugged her. “Sarah, calm down. Let’s look at this objectively. There’s got to be an explanation. Tell us again what Brian said.”

Sniffling and snuffling, Sarah tried to remember. “He said he was going to help Mr. Jacobs at the church. He was so excited and I was busy so I really didn’t get any details. I just remember telling him to be careful crossing the highway and to be home by five for dinner.” She looked at the clock – seven-thirty.

When Carl put his hand on her shoulder, she looked up into the most beautiful green eyes, more striking than any she had ever seen on anyone – man or woman. They went perfectly with his sandy colored hair and deep tan. She scolded herself. Stop it, your son is missing and you’re thinking about how good looking Carl is? You’re acting like a city hussy. You left that life behind, remember? She squirmed in her chair and sat up a little straighter.

“We’ll find him, ma’am. Boys will be boys.”

“Not my Brian! You don’t understand-” 

Carl interrupted. “What I understand is your son is late coming home and we’re going to find him.” He turned and headed out the kitchen door leaving them both startled.

“Isn’t he the greatest?” whispered Nancy. “He’s not only gorgeous, he’s nice to everyone AND he’s single.” 

“Nancy!” Sarah blushed. “All I can think about is Brian. If something has happened to him, it’s my fault. He didn’t want to move here. He loved the city, riding the buses, visiting the museums and the library. Out here there aren't any buses. We don’t even have cable.”

The title for the new book is currently "Home Again" but if anyone comes up with a better suggestion, I'm wide open to ideas.