4-30-14

     Heyo, Warriors! Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. I don't have access to my computer at home for a few weeks, so it's been a bit tricky for me to getting the blog posts done.

     In relation to writing, chapter five is done and edited. The excerpt with the flashbacks was unedited if I remember correctly. Anyways, chapter six is now underway. Raleigh is completely out of her element now, due to some spoiler heavy reasons I can't reveal. I can tell you that the main plot has started, though, and Ray is going to have her plate full. She's also been dragged from Minnesota to Texas. Talk about climate change!

     Anyways, I'll get 6 done as soon as possible. And then you guys will get an excerpt. (Pre-edits of course.)

     All my best,
            Katheryn

The Limestones - Why Don't We Just Dance

Hey, Warriors! Chapter four's been edited and chapter five's been sent off for editing and chapter six is under construction. I have an excerpt for you soon, but for now, here's a little video of some guys that came to my high school a couple weeks ago. They're an acapella group called The Limestones from St. Olaf's college. They have tryouts every year for new people to come in, and as far as I know, they don't have a limit on how many there can be. They are SO nice and over all a really cool group of guys. So here's a video from their fall concert. Evan (#3) is the lead vocalist here. Just felt like sharing this with y'all. The song reminds me of home. (Texas, if you didn't know.)

4-10-14 (And an excerpt)

             Morning, Warriors! Right, so, I didn't get my stuff edited by Diane O'Connell, but Mackenzie (Here's her blog) directed me to an editor named Mike Valentino who did a free trial for her. I've sent in the first four chapters (I'm working on four with Mackenzie as I type this) to him for a free sample. And as I work, here's another excerpt. Not sure if this is gonna stay in the book, but whatever. Chapter four is dark for Ray, as it concerns the deaths of her parents and brother, thus explaining how she got landed with her Aunt Victoria and her secrecy.

The streets were quiet. No one was out, walking or in cars. Most of the houses were dark, too, except for the occasional flickering of a living room TV.

As I approached the corner of Teal Lane and Birch Avenue, I came to a stop. Beside me were a small wicker wreath and a white cross leaning up against a stop sign. I smiled sadly. “Hi Mom, hi Dad,” my voice was barely a whisper, “It’s been a while, huh? Seven years tonight.”

I almost had the audacity to hope for a reply, but the dead can’t speak. And they don’t come back. It was harsh, but it was a truth forced upon me since their death when I was ten.

The night they died, I was in the car with them, coming home from a school dance. They were planning on getting a divorce, and were arguing over custody of Josh, my brother, when we were hit. A series of painful flashbacks rolled through my mind like a movie.

“Josh needs to stay with his sister!” my mother argued.

“A boy needs a father, Matilda, not a sister. Just like a girl needs a mother.” Dad retorted. I wanted to insert that any kid needed both parents.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and I shrank back into my seat. A warm hand gripped mine, and I looked up from my feet to see my older brother, Josh, smiling at me. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, “They’ll take care of us.”

He always knew what to say. He’d always taken care of me when mom and dad couldn’t. I smiled back.

Just then, bright lights distracted me. There, right in front of us, was a big truck.

On the wrong side of the road.

And it slammed into us.

People crowded Josh and I, all with cameras and flashing lights and microphones. They shoved them in our face, trying to get us to answer what happened the night of the wreck. Josh held my hand. He told the reporters to leave, but they wouldn’t. They wanted to know exactly what had happened, and why. Josh tensed as I watched him. He’d been different since the accident. More… broken.

Our aunt came out of the hospital behind us, shooing the swarm of bodies away. We were all tired and hurting, but she was still looking out for us. It was her job, now that mom and dad were gone. Josh let go of my hand and walked for her car. He hadn’t said a word since Aunt Victoria told us that mom and dad were gone. He’d barely even looked at me. Was it because I looked like our mom? Was I some kind of bad reminder of that night?

I sat down at the breakfast table, trying to get loose of sleep’s hold on me. Aunt Victoria sat a plate down in front of me, filled with bacon and pancakes and syrup. I smiled at her, and she smiled back. There it was again: the sad glint in everyone’s eyes lately. Josh had it. Aunt Victoria had it. Our grandparents had it. Did I?

“I’ll go get your brother,” Aunt Victoria said, walking upstairs.

Several moments passed when she was gone, then I heard a piercing scream. I rushed upstairs as fast as my tiny legs would carry me, only to have Aunt Victoria try to keep me out of my brother’s room. I couldn’t see much, but what I did get a glimpse of would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Josh’s room was painted red. Everywhere. Bits of what I assumed were bones were strewn across the room, along with some gushy looking pink material. A gun was on the floor, and Josh’s bloody arm was limp on his bed, hanging off of it a bit. There were three slits on his wrist.

Josh had killed himself.

            I was alone.

 I sighed and sat back on my legs, wondering if there was a way I could have prevented it. The dance was supposed to be a night for me to escape all the arguing and everything else that comes with divorce. I was supposed to be at a friend’s house after it, but she canceled. They weren’t supposed to pick me up. They weren’t supposed to be dead. And it was my fault. My friend had offered to at least get her mom to drive me home, but I called my parents instead. If I’d waited on her mom, the shipping truck would have been out of our neighborhood. If I’d waited, my parents would be alive. My brother would be alive. Everyone would be okay.

Movement to my right dragged me out of my thoughts. I squinted at it, hoping to see what it was. And once I could, my eyes went wide. It was a man in black. Even his face and hands were covered. And he was running at me. With a sword.

As you've hopefully noticed, chapter four is going to be fairly long in comparison to what the others have been. It mainly focuses on Raleigh's past, hence the series of flashbacks.

And again, I'm not sure how much of that will make it past editing. So don't expect it to be in the book. I think it's a decent idea, but others may not, so. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on this. 

Don't forget to follow the blog! Makes it easier to stay updated.

All my best,

Katheryn

Raleigh has been sent to an editor!

Warriors, you have no idea how excited I am.

Raleigh has been sent to an editor! (Well, the prologue through chapter four.)

But still. Write to Sell Your Book emailed me after I filled out this thing for a trial edit, and asked me to send in the first 5-10 pgs. So I did, after Googling her to make sure she's legit and not a scam. Turns out she's got like, 25 years under her belt as an editor for books and magazines.

Questions? Comments?
katherynhawkins97@gmail.com

All my best,
Katheryn

4-5-14

Hey, Warriors!

As of the second of this month, chapter four has been sent off to Mackenzie for editing.I haven't heard much from her as of late, so I'm not sure when I'll get it back to finish it up and print it and start on chapter five. That's a thing for me. I gotta have the previous chapter done and with me to work on the next one. Little details matter a lot to me and I don't wanna have to spend a lot of time going back and rewriting because of them. I'd rather get them set the first time and work on the main plot-line and subplots.

Also, I've recently put this blog on a website called StumbleUpon.com. The website is kinda like Pintrest in a way, but it's really nifty and totally worth checking out. Not to advertise crap, but the site's nifty. And I'm gonna go try and find some food.

All my best!
Katheryn