The Writing Fairies Have Come Back! :D

Hello friends! :)

I've been gone a long time.  A lot of things have happened.  A lot still is happening.  Last weekend was probably one of the most eventful and crazy times of my life.  I was supposed to go to the ren-faire here in central Illinois, and I had been working to finish two dresses, one for me and one for a friend.  I stayed up all night the night before to finish, and was so proud of my work!  But then, as I was driving to pick up one of my friends for the fair, I fell asleep behind the wheel, woke up too late to stop in time, ran a stop sign, jumped a curb, and flew into the ditch.  No other cars were involved, thank God!  But I was pretty banged up afterward, and now I'm in need of a car yet again (the one I had apparently can't be fixed... I'm still hoping, but things don't look too wonderful for it).  Also, the EMT's had to cut my ren-dress a bit as I was being taken to the hospital, so now I have to fix that too. lol!  Oh the troubles of life!  I'm just very thankful to be alive!

Also, I'm moving!  That's something exciting at least. Lots of interesting stuff to go through and pack, and at least half of it I forgot that I owned. lol!  I'm moving an hour away to Peoria Illinois, where I will be staying with an older lady and her family.  I've known her for most of my life, and feel really comfortable and safe staying there.  She has an economy apartment on the second floor of her house which I will be renting, and she's pretty much letting me have full reign on decorating.  I can't WAIT to post pictures of how it will look once everything is in it's place!  It will be absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! :D

In other news, MY WRITING FAIRIES HAVE COME BACK!!!  It's been a long time since they've visited me, and my books have shown the strain.  But now, I've written almost 3k extra words in SOTD in the last two weeks alone (which may not seem like a lot to anyone else, but which is a definite improvement from the dead standstill the book was at before), AND I've started brainstorming and outlining for a possible 20k novella to be entered in a contest come the end of December.  I'm thinking the novella will probably be my Nano piece this year.  It's the first year since 2009 that I'll be working on a brand new story during Nanowrimo, and not trying to add words to SOTD.  I think the new writing project will be rather refreshing, and good practice.  My writing has been rusty lately and awkward, and this may be just what I need to get back to where I used to be when it came to working on my novel. :)

I thought maybe it would be nice to post a little bit about this new writing endeavor here on the blog.  It's been absolutely AGES since I've tried to write anything new.  I hope I can remember how to do it. lol!

The requirement for the contest is that the piece be a new take on the Cinderella fairy-tale.  I've always wanted to rewrite a fairy-tale!  I have plans to one day rewrite the story of the six swans, or maybe the story of the Snow Queen, but I haven't gotten that far yet.  However, I saw this contest as an opportunity to flex my skills and see what I could come up with. :)

My entry will be titled, "The Cinder-Beast".  It's going to mix elements of "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast," and there will be a few other twists as well.  Here's a quick summary of what I'm working on so far.

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Prince Markayle is the very last of the royal line of Aendor, heir to the throne of Tevaun, and a fugitve.  Forced to flee for his life from the evil dragon that has overrun his kingdom, Markayle is now known as the Cinder-Beast because of the Dragon's curse which renders anything he touches to fall away in cinders.  Along with this curse comes another: three long pale scars from dragon claws which completely disfigure the right side of his face and make him look like a monster.  The only reason he survived the encounter was because the fae took pity on him and healed his wounds.  Now, gifted with enchanted gloves that guard objects from his touch and a mask that hides his disfigurements from others, Markayle has set out on a journey to find a way to break his curse, banish the dragon from his kingdom, and reclaim his throne.

Marcella is a servant in the palace of Emroin.  Her job is to serve the princess Anaiya, but when Anaiya is kidnapped by an evil dragon from the north, suspicions are cast on Marcella and she is tried and banished.  Forced to wander the forests of Emroin alone, Marcella comes across a strange man in a mask and gloves.  He calls himself Kayle, and doesn't talk much.  He will not say why he wears his mask, and he will not take off his gloves.  He is searching for someone... a woman whom he was told could cure a mortal ailment he possesses which he gained from a dragon.  In him, Marcella finds her hope, and they set out to rescue Anaiya together.

But Kayle isn't everything Marcella thinks he is...

Niether is Anaiya,

And there's a secret about Marcella that she herself doesn't even know.

Only the Fae have all the answers, and they want their Changeling back.

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So there you have it!  That's the working blurb for my new project, "The Cinder-Beast".  Please let me know what you think.  I'm having a lot of fun working on figuring out all the little details for it.  One of these days I'll have to find pictures of the characters to post.  I want to start working on a map too at some point.  I almost forgot how much fun new writing projects can be. :D