Google, Neptune, Houseparty Wrapup and JC Martin's Great Contest

Your and my favourite plus sign, Google, asks What Do You Love? A new way to search when you're looking for videos or maps or blogs or... instead of real research.

For instance, you could look up Neptune, which just completed its first orbit since it was discovered in 1846. If you lived there, you'd be celebrating your first birthday!


All houseparty all the time around here, I know. But it ties into A Round of Words in 80 Days, this time.

Not only was Ron Wodaski's Mall at the End of Time an amazing, exciting, unexpected location to hang out in (I churned out 39,180 words and some of it was backstory that's directly usable in the wip), this month marks the first anniversary of the Cherry Hill, Georgia houseparty, hosted by Zan Marie.

Which means... one year since I rediscovered my love of writing romance, one year since Rosa's affair with Lord Rochester, and one year since I started writing Rosa's story in earnest. Now I'm *gasp* 20 pages away from finishing the latest round of edits on Out of the Water. We're on Lesson Two in Barbara Rogan's fabulous Revising Fiction Workshop and, so far, I'm on track to begin querying in the autumn. I hope!

J. C. Martin, who's just released Stories for Sendai, has a blogiversary! With a great contest, to boot.

"Write a story (or a personal account) that begins with the phrase: "A lot can happen in a year…"

The catch? It must be a drabble, i.e. exactly 100 words long, no more, no less. The starter phrase will not be included in your word count."

Here's mine, based on Rosa in Out of the Water:

A lot can happen in a year.

Last spring I was a child, following my parents across the mountains. And then I fell down the cliffside. I'd never made choices on my own before, but I've grown, and believe I've actually made the right decisions in the past few months, especially in the man I married. When my father returned and questioned my choice, that's when I was the most stubborn, and he came around. Now my husband and I are leaving the city and I have no idea where we're headed. Though there's the two of us now. I like sharing the decision-making with this man.

Starting my reread of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tonight!

Comments

Trisha said…
You know why I love THIS entry in particular? It has a picture of my favourite planet, Neptune!
Nadja Notariani said…
Querying in the fall.....fabulous, Deniz! That one-hundred word challenge of yours is smart, too. ~Nadja
Carol Riggs said…
Good job with the EXACT wording and writing of a drabble! It's difficult! And Ooo, have fun rereading HP!!
Jill W. said…
Holy cow -- near 40,000 words! Unreal. Major kudos! [g]

Liked your drabble too!

Didn't I read somewhere on the forum that you said OotW really took off once you decided it was a romance?

I admit I've only gotten through the first HP book and maybe part of the second. Or maybe I got through 1 & 2 and stopped midway through #3? I hardly remember. Really ought to read 'em.
Zan Marie said…
Thanks for the link to Cherry Hill! I will never forget that wild combination of contemporary, historical, fantasy, and time travel that unfolded in my favorite, mythical Georgia town.

The Mall house party was wild, too. I wrote 14,000 words, and though that's less than you did, I'm happy with the new character I discovered.

Have fun with Harry tonight. ; )
Cate Morgan said…
Looks as though you're having tremendous progress--well done, and good luck the rest of the week! :o)

Love love LOVE that pic of Neptune!
Beth said…
Congratulations on your progress! Sounds like your writing is coming along fabulously well.
Lovely picture of Neptune. It looks so peaceful. If only our years lasted that long...then I'd never age. I'd be one when I died lol.
J.L. Campbell said…
Seems like you're making some waves on the writing front.
Golden Eagle said…
Congratulations on your writing progress! :)

Interesting drabble.
Vicki Tremper said…
Congrats on your wip progress!

As a New Yorker, born and bred, I have to disagree with you about Montreal bagels. But we had a great meal at St. Viateur Bagels(and a great visit to your city).
Shari said…
Sounds like OotW is rocking right along! I like using workshops myself, they are always beneficial, even if not quite in the way expected. I have only read one drabble to date, I may have to try one myself!

Have fun with your edits!!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Trisha! Mine's Pluto. Yes, Pluto :-)

Thanks Nadja and Carol!

Yup, Jill, it was at Cherry Hill that I rediscovered my love of romance. And Rosa took it from there :-)

Thank *you* Zan Marie. I shudder to think where Rosa would be if she hadn't visited Cherry Hill last summer.

Thank you Cate, Beth, Michael, Joy, and Eagle!

All right, Vicki, I'll concede you New York. Especially cos I love NYC.

Thanks Shari! I like my book having an acronym - makes it seem a little more real :-)
J.C. Martin said…
Hey Deniz! Thanks so much for participating! This is just a quick note to say that I’ve been by to read your entry! Drop by my blog on July 26th for the announcement of my shortlisted entries!