First Goal Met!

Finally! I made it to 20K on Cut Shot! Not sure why 20K is a milestone for me, but once I hit that mark, I feel like the story has a solid foundation, that now I just need to work towards the end. Even though it's not the half-way point, it's set enough that I know what I'm working with and I what I need to continue. Which doesn't mean that the story I have outlined in my head won't change a dozen times before I type the last sentence!

I'm really not too sure why this book is taking so long. I know that part of it was vacation, as I'd mentioned before. But I think part was just getting back into "creative mode". Between editing Embers and Flame and Blind Anti, and then going straight to the Headphones rewrites, there was too long of a gap--a good six months, I think. I'm not letting that happen again.  

But...I took a week-long break to write a short story to submit for an anthology. It came together easily and I had fun writing it. It felt like getting my mojo back! I'll post here if it gets accepted. 

So, then, back to Jeb and Ian. This week went well, or at least better. Like I said, I made my goal for the week and introduced Mitch. His physical presence in the book is only going to be for a chapter or two. Because he's the cornerstone of why Jeb acts the way he does, I felt it was important to introduce him to the readers, let him be more than Jeb's flashbacks or dreams. I'd momentarily considered him hanging around and causing all kinds of problems, but in the end, it doesn't seem necessary, and it not really where I want the story to go. So, without further ado, meet Mitch:

Excerpt from Chapter 8:

“Hey, babe, you’re looking good.”

The words whispered into his ear gave Jeb chills, and not in a good way. It wasn’t that he’d forgotten that Mitch would be here, but he’d been so preoccupied with seeing Ian that he’d not prepared himself for being in the same room as the man. And yet there he was, standing behind him, over him, brushing up against him. It was a casual gesture, one that wouldn’t warrant a second look from anyone else in the room, but a cold wash ran down Jeb’s back. There was a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach and his mouth went dry. The world narrowed down, blurring around him.

The spell was broken when Mitch stepped back a half-step and Jeb was able to pull oxygen into his lungs again. He turned to face his first lover, studying him from head to toe. He hadn’t changed much. He was a little thicker in the waist but his tall frame handled the extra weight well. His former light-blond hair was white but it looked more like salon-white than natural aging-white. There were a few lines around his icy-blue eyes, but that same cocky expression twisted his lips in an arrogant smile, the kind that said he knew he was good looking and expected those around him to notice. He truly was extraordinary.

And he made Jeb’s blood run cold.