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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

A Spy and a Lady

I officially started my file for Starcaster book 2, A Spy and a Lady. In it, I took advantage of something that I had changed in book 1 after all my beta readers read it--Mr. Layfett didn't die after all. I figured he could be useful. So I made him disappear, instead. I don't leave it a mystery long in book 2.

I have 30 or 40 pages in my head, so I'll go ahead and get that down. After that, if it keeps on flowing, I'll keep on writing. I'm more hopeful about this novel than the last one, so I may just go ahead and write at least one sequel.

Here's about 300 words. It starts with Tory talking to Lucy, who is Sgt. Crandall's granddaughter. Sgt. Crandall is the owner of a pub on Tory's street. A mysterious gentleman just tried to talk to Tory, but she brushed him off in order to protect her reputation in front of a gossipy neighbor.
"I don't know," I said to [Lucy]. "But he obviously wanted to talk to me."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

"Discreetly, yes. Please tell your grandfather to tell him that I'll meet him in the history section of the bookshop."

"But the stranger is standing right there with him."

"Whisper it in his ear."

Lucy did so and came back inside. Shortly afterward, the Tarquillan gentleman departed.

I tarried twenty minutes before I followed. I couldn't make my visit much shorter than usual without making it stand out in the minds of my fellow patrons.

I entered the bookshop. As I walked in, I noticed that Sgt. Crandall had followed me and he now lingered outside. This didn't really surprise me and I appreciated the backup.

"Hello, Betsy," I said to the young woman at the counter. Her husband was the owner.

She gestured for me to come up close. "There's a man back there," she whispered. "A stranger."

Needless to say, strangers didn't often appear on our street. "Well, if he tries anything, I'll scream," I said with a wink, only half kidding.

She giggled.

I wandered through the fiction section, eventually ending up across from the history section. The bookshop wound and twisted behind the shop beside it, so we were out of sight of the cashier.

"Miss Lawrence?" he asked.

"You'd better talk fast," I said. "My neighbors can be somewhat protective."

"I represent a group of dissidents within Tarquil who wishes to make contact with the Alden intelligence community."

This was not what I expected. "You're not after asylum?"

"No. I intend to go back to Tarquil as soon as possible."

"How did you know about me?"

"Messer Luc Layfett said that you could be trusted."
I have this great scene in mind where Miss Young, Tory's mentor, feels that she must interfere in Tory's love life in order to protect her reputation. I can't wait to write it.

10 comments:

  1. I think it's great that you can visualize ahead like that. Sometimes I feel like all of my ideas come out of my fingers.

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  2. Thanks! It hasn't stopped. I now have a complete synopsis.

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  3. It's so fun to have scenes justt pop into your mind like that!

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  4. {Smile} That's an interesting twist. {SMILE}

    Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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  5. Oh YEA!!! You already have a fan base so a happy reader waits!

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  6. Thanks Lisa and Anne! I've been writing this thing on my Neo for three nights now. And I have four blissful days of long weekend ahead of me! I think I'll shoot for 10,000 words!

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  7. Good luck! {SMILE}

    I'm particularly impressed with your goal of 10,000 words in a weekend. I have trouble completing any story that's longer than that, never mind never mind doing so in a handful of days. {SMILE}

    Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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  8. I'm halfway there, and just a day into my long weekend. I'm trying to just skip my way past any writing block scenes, and leave placeholders behind me so I can go back and write them later.

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  9. That's real progress. {impressed look} Congratulations! {REALLY BIG GRIN}

    Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

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