Sadie Jay

I typed the last words of my first draft last night! It's always such a wonderful feeling, this whole "Hey, I finished something!" vibe that makes me happy. I've settled on Blind Ante for the title and I've spent this morning working on the body of the query letter. Now, to hit that 5-page synopsis. query: Jordan grinned as he laid his cards on the table. Full house against a trio of Aces. Now to collect his winnings and get the hell out this dark cave of a bar. 22 year-old Jordan Hatfield has been living out of his car since his dad caught him with his boyfriend three years ago and kicked him out, beat up and broken. He doubts the legitimacy of the deed that’s folded and tucked into the pocket over his heart, but he’s tired of the nomad life and the constant fear of being caught counting cards. He heads north, leaving New Orleans behind as he heads to southern Illinois , hoping his grifter self hasn’t in-turn been swindled. To his delight, what he fi...

It was a good week. Monday kicked off a little slow, but I stayed pretty steady for the rest of the week. My word count was 8298, bringing this manuscript to 44324 words. Which means I've passed my goal of 40K, taking my WIP from a novella into novel territory. I had hoped to finish today, but I think I'm down to the final chapters. If not tomorrow then hopefully Tuesday. After that, I need to draft a 5-page synopsis and a query letter. I have until the weekend to do that. Ah, self-made goals! I still have to decide on a title--Now. Added to that, I had the brilliant (?) idea to possibly, in the future, continue Jeb's story. So now I'm trying to think of a title that I can "add" to if it becomes a series. No pressure. Short excerpt, featuring Jeb, because I really rather liked him there at the end: Jordan studied the bubbles rising up in his beer mug. The frost on the sides was beginning to melt and drip down the side and he traced the paths with one fi...

I actually accomplished 6304 words this week, putting me at 36K. Considering my plan to make this a 40K novella, I think I'll probably go over. I wanted to be done by the end of this week, and maybe it'll still happen, but I really don't feel I can tie this up in 4000 or 5000 words. I'm actually excited to see where it goes. I think, in a way, I've enjoyed writing this one more than I have any of the others. Saturday I got to a scene I've seen in my head almost since the beginning and at first I wasn't getting anywhere and I was a bit nervous about it. It had to be right. I basically stared at the screen, typed a sentence or two, and then stared some more. But it hit that afternoon and got more intense than I'd realized it was going to be. Which makes me incredibly happy! This weeks excerpt:             Reese followed Jordan in and watched him take off his jacket. It was a bit odd, the way he eased it off as if his muscles were stiff, and ...

First order of business. I was never overly happy with the title Sleep Dream Silently Scream , at least not for this particular story. It was just a title I was playing with at the opening of the July CampNaNo and I used it, not really meaning to make it permanent. So I'm playing with some different ideas: Parking is Limited , Permit Parking Only, Blind Ante, Bluff Induce . If you have any ideas, put them in the comments. I'm looking for something having to do with parking (because Jordan lived out of his car for so long and doesn't want to go back to that) or something to do with Poker/Blackjack. Some titles are obvious and already used multiple times, titles like Ante Up,  and  Cashing Out . Hopefully, we'll discover something original. And now for the regular update: So, I had planned on doing word sprints over the weekend and getting my word count over 30K. The plan is still to hit around 40K and my hope is to finish the first draft in the next couple of weeks. U...

     The last week went well at 5931 words, bringing the current draft to 24660.  My word count goal for this MS is 40K, and I plan to have it done by the end of the month, which is very doable if I meet my 5K word goal each week. The problem with that? There are some submission calls going on right now that I'd like to enter, but I'm not ready. So now the question becomes, do I stick to my original plans: finish this MS, hit the edits for this and Embers and Flame , do some suggested edits to  When Silverfish Dance , and start the rewrites for Headphones ? Then start querying the collection at the first of the year? Or do I shuck all that, at least for the next few weeks, and jump in feet first? Argh! I'm so very confused on what to do next. this week's excerpt:             Reese froze in the bathroom doorway when he heard a moan. He waited, almost afraid of what would follow as he pictured Jeb coupled with Jordan on that small...