Freedom: Day One

Did I mention that I was quitting my job? Well, yesterday was my last day. After two years of surprisingly physically demanding work with little to no confidence about the amount of hours I'd earn each week, it's finally time for a change.

So today is officially my first day of freedom! Yesterday after work nearly everyone I knew from our project came to celebrate with me at the bar. It was a brilliant evening, and I pretty much wanted to cry the entire way home afterwards. I love my (former) coworkers beyond measure. They are beautiful, wonderful people who made every day I spent with them better. No exaggeration. I couldn't have lasted at that job nearly as long without them. Thankfully, I only live an hour away so it's not impossible for me to see them again.

Plus they got me this awesome present: 

Foxes! They know me so well.

So what have I done with Day One?

Woke up late feeling surprisingly okay considering what I drank at the bar. Lounged around then went and got a huge breakfast with The Boy. Did some shopping because - haven't you heard? - the Frankenstorm is coming. (Yeah right.) We came home and watched some of a Harry Potter movie. Then I made dinner (hahahaha! yeah, I made ramen) and now he's playing D&D and I'm blogging.

Don't I have the best life EVER?

Well, it's about to get a lot better. There will be ongoing reports - unless Frankie, er, Sandy knocks the power out. Ciao, bellas!

Fight evil. Read books.

Gloomy weather today. I'm glad for it because it means I'm not currently staggering through the woods on little sleep and wondering when the day will be over. (Wow, that sounds weird if you don't know the context.) So I get to write all day! Good, because I haven't been doing as much of that lately as I'd like to be.

This week has sucked. Feeling physically horrible - though yesterday things turned around a bit. And Wednesday night in particular my brain decided to do that INTP typical torture itself thing. So I pulled out my typewriter and decided to use it to write in bed for awhile to figure out exactly what the hell my problem is. It didn't go great. I covered a lot of white space with words, but I don't think it really meant anything. I hate when that happens.

Today though, I am swimming through my fictional worlds with my muse at my side. I love it when he decides to grace me with his constant presence. So I thought I'd make a little update so you all could know what I'm working on.

Luca has trained with the Southern Sun Sages for as long as he can remember. Someday soon he hopes to become a full member of their order, pledging his life to the service of the ancient and eternal Sun God.

Kai is the oldest of seven brothers and sisters. Living on the edge of the Sun Lands, all her family has ever known is strife and the struggle to stay alive in a harsh landscape. With her parents and extended family tending to their failing farm, Kai does all she can to bring in food from hunting in the nearby forest - a place few dare to venture.

When Luca shares his vision of a young peasant woman, his masters reveal that his destiny is much different from that of the priest he hoped to become.

With her family's lives in the balance, the Sun Sages convince Kai to accompany Luca on a journey to the ruins of the Moon Kingdom. All they know is that they seek a grave... The grave of the Moon Goddess.

That would be the basic introduction of the YA fantasy I'm working on right now (The Grave of the Goddess - shocking title, I know). And here's a little summary of what I plan to do for NaNo - a chick lit novel called Solemn Vow: 

Melanie Fitzgerald is perfectly happy. And why shouldn't she be? She has a loving husband, plenty of friends, and a great blog. But when she strikes up a friendship with a one of her fellow bloggers, suddenly she's questioning things she thought she decided long ago. As the friendship moves toward something more, Melanie's perfect little world starts to crack.

I've got all kinds of characters for it so far, but not much in the way of a concrete plot. Of course, I've always been more of a "flying by the seat of my pants" NaNo-er, but I've also only won 3 out of the 7 times I've played this game, so..... No, this is my year! I'm gonna rock it out. I've even considered working on both this and Grave of the Goddess next month. I'm so embroiled in the fantasy right now, that I can't imagine it all just evaporating on the first. 

It's that time of year again!

It is definitely my favorite time of year. All of the trees are exploding with color. Fog and rain are normal weather. I can wear jackets and curl up in oversize sweaters and wear scarves again. Soup is back on the menu.

And all of the novelists on the Internet are gathering in one place.

I'm so happy that I got my writing mojo back before this season hit. Now I'm fully geared up for National Novel Writing Month (November!) in addition to writing a pretty little YA fantasy this month.

Anyway, just dropping by to say - NaNoWriMo 2012: do it up!