A Not-So-Productive Day In The Life Of….
Some days are always better than others,
but when you have a young family, two jobs and a house that needs a clean from
time to time, writing often rates a poor ranking way down on the priority list.
On the rare occasion I do get a day to
myself to write and be creative it is most often when all inspiration decides
to take a road trip.
My day usually starts off about 5am when I’m
woken from a dream involving Daryl Dixon in leather. My youngest daughter has woken
up. It’s still dark and if I look out the window the stars are still out. It’s
just not right. I pull the blankets up
and pretend I can’t hear her.
But the screaming becomes too loud to
ignore.
The screaming and invariable stomping
around the house wakes up my eldest daughter and she gets up and also starts
running riot. This usually results in both daughters standing at my bedside by
6am poking me in the face.
Meanwhile, their father sleeps peacefully
beside me.
I drag myself from bed, boil my dressing
gown and slip on the kettle. Or is it the other way round, it’s too early to
tell the difference.
For the next hour there is screaming,
crying, food throwing, more crying (me), a lot of tantrums (again, me) and
eventually, somehow, they get to school with their Dad.
I stand in the tornado ripped living room
in silence and thank the gods for peace. I spend a little bit of time putting
the house back up the right way, shower and then its time to write!
Twenty minutes later, I’m still staring at
a blank screen. Maybe food will help so I eat a banana, then back to more blank
screen staring. I decide to listen to
some inspirational music that might give me an idea where my characters are and
why they have deserted me.
More coffee required.
I’ve written 8 words… 8. Only another 69,992 to go. Maybe more food will help so I eat some Thai
leftovers.
Then a trickle of an idea comes to me and I
start writing. Words come out even though half of them don’t make sense, but I
write them anyway. There is always the editing process to fix it!
15 minutes later it’s time to go and pick
up my daughters from school and day care and I’ve managed a measly 200 words.
Oh well, there’s always tomorrow!
***
OF BLOOD & Snow
(Erlanis
Chronicles, 2)
by
Danielle Belwater
Paranormal/Suspense/Romance/Teen
Evernight
Teen Publishing/63K
Blood is thicker than water, or so
the story goes…
As
fast as Cora can run, there is no escaping the blood that ties her to an
ancient, evil past.
Amongst the
bitter cold and driving snow, Nate must find a way to protect the love of his
life, before the darkness falls and Cora is lost to him forever.
14+ due to adult situations
Excerpt:
Why? Why did
I need to go home? Other than for shelter, no one needed me there. Nate was all
I had left. He was my reason for breathing and now the sole reason I got up
every morning. The thought of harm coming to Nate made my heart hammer in my
chest even harder. I jammed my hands deep into my coat pockets and focused on
letting oxygen flow into my lungs.
In a single
moment of clarity, I knew. I mean, I knew I loved Nate; that was without
question. But if I didn’t have him in my life, it would be nothing but vacuous
space.
I brushed
snow off the fallen tree trunk and sat down. My thinking tree. Nate and I came
here often to sit and talk, read, or watch the day simply pass us by. I piled
up handful after handful of snow, heaping them on top of each other until a
small avalanche rolled off the log and into a heap on the ground.
You are
the key.
I leapt off
the log landing two feet together, crushing the peak of snow beneath my shoes.
“Who’s
there?” I shoved my fists into my hips and squared my shoulders. If there was
someone there, they didn’t know who they were messing with.
The rustling
of leaves came from above and a sprinkling of disturbed snow flittered down in
front of my face. The flapping of beating wings and the call of a solitary bird
echoed overhead. I caught sight of white feathers tipped with black before they
disappeared above the trees and out of sight.
“Is anyone
there?” I called out again, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t get a response.
The softness
of the voice rolled around my head as I lingered amongst the tall trees on my
way back home.
I am the
key. The answer is within my blood. What did that mean?
About the Author:
Danielle Belwater adores the concept
of true love and that everyone has their Prince Charming or Snow White out
there somewhere, even if they have to fight demons, ghosts, and wizards to find
it.
Danielle
has been having a love affair with words since she was young and in primary
school, writing some rather imaginative tales. This love has followed her into
adulthood.
She lives
in rural South Australia with her husband, young daughters and way too many
animals to mention. She spends most of her time dreaming up characters,
stories, ghostly tales, and watching Firefly re-runs. She also cooks
the odd meal for her family to avoid them looking like skeletons at official
author functions!
Danielle
is passionate about reading and her interests include pretty much anything with
words from rolling four volume epics to the daily newspaper.
Giveaway:
$20 Amazon Gift Card
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