Well, first day, I didn’t make my goal of 1700 words on the new novel I began on 1 November,
A Sea of Green Unfolding,
the sequel to Express Desired, wherein
Aleksandra and Xavier are still reeling from the death of their first newborn child when they discover that they have lost Rancho de las Pulgas, their old Spanish land grant held by Xavier’s family for generations. An invitation from von Tempsky in New Zealand offers the escape they desire and draws the young couple to start a new life in the Coromandel goldfields. Challenges separate the pair as they journey to their destination, but they are finally reunited again in the turbulent wilderness of 1862 New Zealand—only to become immersed in the land wars between the European settlers and the local Maori, which have only just begun.
Yesterday, however, I nearly caught up. Today I will be caught up and pass day 3’s goal of 6100 words.
My favourite part of the writing so far (it’s the first draft, so please be kind…) :
She felt her heart could sink no further. Pushing aside the bedroll tied over her saddlebags, she pulled out a locket on a fine silver chain and clutched it to her heart before clasping it round her neck and letting it drop inside her neckline between her still-engorged breasts, the tears again falling swiftly as she looked west, up into the hills. A memory of her mother’s voice came unbidden…
‘I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help…’
She resolutely set her jaw and turned back to face the masts in the distance before her, one hand gripping the locket through her buckskin shirt and the other on the reins. The wharf at Redwood Creek was full of ships, she could see, even from this far away. The houses and buildings of Redwood City, the county seat of San Mateo County, clustered near the road leading to the embarcadero. Rough workers huts near the water’s edge emptied as the men trudged towards the wharves on the deepwater channel, nodding their heads to her as they headed for a day shifting timber, shingles, hay and wheat from laden wagons onto rafts, ships and barges headed for San Francisco and beyond. The smell of the tanneries turned her stomach as she rode past them and she put a hand over her mouth and nose, as if she could stop the smell. From the alley between the blacksmith shop and the shipbuilding yard, several men turned to stare at her and one whistled low under his breath, but she never glanced their way. The courthouse loomed on her left, the newly begun fire station beside it, but she barely saw them, her goal Dr.Tripp and Mr. Parkhurst’s road west into the mountains, heading for Arroyo Honda, and the coast. She’d never seen the ocean. Under the circumstances, it seemed like the thing to do.
Back to it. Just wanted to send out an update!
Have a great day, and to those of you doing NaNoWriMo,
GO FOR IT! SEE YOU AT THE FINISH!
Namaste,
Lizzi
PS, to those of you who have asked, Express Desired is with an agent in New Jersey. I hope to hear from her any day now whether or not she’s keen to run with it!
This is a photo we took in July 2013 of Clifton Flats, Utah. It’s one of the last remaining portions of the Pony Express Trail in Utah which still resembles it “back in the day”. It’s the fine line running toward you to the right on the photo. Thanks Patrick Hearty, for showing it to us!
