The Chosen: Chapters 21 & 22 Are Finished

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

As I mentioned in my last post, I've changed the title of Harlequin to The Chosen. I've finished chapter's 21 and 22, and have started chapter 23. Unless something changes, it looks like there will be a total of 25 chapters with an Afterward as well.

Below, I've included a list of all the chapter titles up through chapter 23. I should finish the first draft of the book sometime in January and publish it in February or early March.

Even though The Chosen is Book II of the Rooms' Series, it will be able to be read as a stand-alone novel. You won't have to read Rooms to read The Chosen.


Chapter Titles

1. The Tower
2. The Reboot Ceremony
3. The Ship
4. Loon's Story
5. The Favor
6. The Club
7. Reunion
8. The Pulse-Signal
9. Stealth
10. M-78
11. Data Mining
12. Espionage
13. Rage and Remembrance
14. Recon
15. The Circle
16. Glide-Trains
17. The Gathering Storm
18. In the Dark
19. The Razor's Edge
20. The Insurgence
21. Paradox or Possibilities
22. The Maelstrom
23. Rewind

THE CHOSEN Update - Book II of the ROOMS Series

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

I completed the 13th chapter of THE CHOSEN today. The title is "Rage and Remembrance." It wasn't as easy to figure out the title for this chapter as it has been for the other 12, but in the end, I like what I chose.

It's a long chapter, a little over 5,000 words, and it was a very intense one to write. It took a lot out of me. The story and the characters are becoming more and more real to me the further I get into the book, and when their emotions and experiences are strong, mine are as well.

Also, the book is about 45,000 words now. That's almost 15,000 more words in 13 chapters of THE CHOSEN than was in Rooms at the same point. Really all that means, I think, is that I'm putting a lot more detail into the stories that I'm writing and enjoying it more as well.

And...I'd like to mention that as of today, I'm up to 27 countries where my blog is being read. I added two more today - Macau and Ireland. Welcome!



Here are the titles of the first 13 chapters of THE CHOSEN.

1. The Tower
2. The Reboot Ceremony
3. The Ship
4. Loon's Story
5. The Favor
6. The Club
7. Reunion
8. The Pulse-Signal
9. Stealth
10. M-78
11. Data Mining
12. Espionage
13. Rage and Remembrance

And... for fun, check out the Popular Posts section on the right side of my blog to discover the posts that have had the most hits over the past 7 days. -------------------------------------------------->

Quotes from BEATRICE & Descriptive Paragraphs from THE CHOSEN

Below I've placed three quotes from Beatrice for you to enjoy. Each of them is from a different chapter in the book.

Chapter 3 Quote

“It had been at least two months since I’d seen Mother and spoken to her, and I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to talk with her about that last year we’d lived in our mansion. Just as with me, I knew that her memories were fragmented, and whenever Fiona or I would try to talk to her about it, a dark cloud seemed to surround us. Mother would simply refuse to discuss it. But this time…this time it had to be different. This was something that needed to come out. I knew none of us could ever be happy or content in our lives until we’d faced it. We had to discover together what had happened, and if we could, maybe then we could finally put it all behind us.”

Chapter 7 Quote

“The time had flown by. She had written and scribbled note after note, and more and more pieces had clicked into place. Her eyes were red and tired, and the clock in the room had just struck 4:00 in the morning. Desperately needing sleep, she blew out the candle and reached for the blanket that Kirsty had left for her before going to bed. She then put down her pen, stretched out on the crumpled, leather couch and turned out the light on the end table. She slept, surrounded by papers, old tomes of history and the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock against the wall behind her.”

Chapter 24 Quote

“I attempted to reach out and touch something solid that I could push against. I had no sense of up or down or movement. I couldn’t feel or hear or smell, but I could see, not in the usual way, but in insignificant bursts that came sporadically as my eyelids opened and closed and opened and closed.  Within those small, fractured moments, I could see that I was surrounded and trapped in a dense, cinnamon-stained vapor that swirled into oblivion. I couldn’t remember how I’d entered that hell, and I had no memory of it ending.”

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

I've started working on the difficult chapter 4. I think I have the title finalized now and have planned more for chapter 5.

• The Tower
• The Reboot Ceremony
• The Ship
• Loon's Story

Here are two descriptive paragraphs from two different chapters of THE CHOSEN.

Chapter 3 Description

"Months and months had passed. She was deeper than normal in her dream cycle, with small red, blue and yellow lights blinking on the console and her slow breath clouding the transparent cover of the sleep chamber. A cap covered her shaved head and was designed to keep her brain functioning optimally during stasis. She was clothed in a breathable skin-tight suit that maintained her body temperature at the correct level, pulsed to stimulate her muscles and carried the fluids and food into her bloodstream necessary for being inactive for such a long period of time. Her light brown eyebrows and lashes lay quietly on her pale, frosted skin. The only noticeable movement was her slow heartbeat bumping up against her chest – the only sound was her monitor, constantly checking and recording her life signs. Out...In…Out…In… Slow and steady. Her breath kept pace with her moderated heartbeat. Out…In…Out…In… Her life hung on a thread in the dark, ready to awake and start anew."

Chapter 4 Description

"They walked further in silence. Their bare feet compacting the grains of sand and slapping against the damp surface; their senses taking in the warm air flowing over their skin, and the salt breeze and sea aromas floating up and surrounding them. The sounds of Sholar joined in as well, playing music in their ears, while the mighty ocean’s surf ebbed in and out, and the seabirds floated and soared in the magical sky with songs and shouts to each other. The day was glorious, and each of them was lost in their own musings…"

THE CHOSEN: Writing Descriptions

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

I've finished the first three chapters and have edited and cleaned them up.  Also, I've spent time preparing the details that I'd like to see in chapter four and five. Below are the titles of the first three chapters and a possible title for chapter 4.

• The Tower
• The Reboot Ceremony
• The Ship
• Loon - possible title

Descriptions

When and how to write descriptions is always an important question. I love writing them, and I think that I'm beginning to learn when its best to use them and different ways that they can be approached. I like to visualize the scene in my mind and then describe it in a unique way.

From THE CHOSEN, I chose one description that I'll share with you. It describes a woman named Gwen who is in sleep mode on a light-speed ship. She is the only human on board. The description sets the mood and provides the visual backdrop for a portion of chapter 3.

"Months and months had passed. She was deeper than normal in her dream cycle, with small red, blue and yellow lights blinking on the console and her slow breath clouding the transparent cover of the sleep chamber. A cap covered her shaved head and was designed to keep her brain functioning optimally during stasis. She was clothed in a breathable skin-tight suit that maintained her body temperature at the correct level, pulsed to stimulate her muscles and carried the fluids and food into her bloodstream necessary for being inactive for such a long period of time. Her light brown eyebrows and lashes lay quietly on her pale, frosted skin. The only noticeable movement was her slow heartbeat bumping up against her chest – the only sound was her monitor, constantly checking and recording her life signs. Out...In…Out…In… Slow and steady. Her breath kept pace with her moderated heartbeat. Out…In…Out…In… Her life hung on a thread in the dark, ready to awake and start anew."

New Novel Update: THE CHOSEN

Writing THE CHOSEN - Book II of the Rooms' Series

Cover Art By Greg Opalinski

Writing! Writing! Writing!

Wow! What a different experience this is. As I am working on THE CHOSEN, I'm remembering and thinking about Rooms and what I should include and expand on in this new book. It's a new and interesting puzzle.

One thing I do see happening is that I seem to be able to understand more clearly what types of details to include and which to leave out. I think I'm getting better at that. The reason this is so important is that by only including the details that are the most important, I can say more about them and not lose the excitement of the story or the interest of the reader.

Also, the chapters are taking me more time to write. I'm trying to make each one special and very focused on adding to the story. I'm learning. I rewrote chapter 3 four times. I was having trouble finding an angle to present what was happening in as interesting a way for the reader as possible. Finally, I had a dream and came up with the approach that I wanted to use. I like it...

In addition, I think I'm doing a better job of choosing the words that say exactly what I want to say, and I'm cutting out extraneous phrasing that doesn't add to the prose or to the story.

I just finished chapter 3 today, so the titles of the first three chapters are:

• The Tower
• The Reboot Ceremony
• The Ship

I'm very pleased with the first three chapters, and I've already written over 9000 words. I believe the reason for that is that I'm putting in more detail. So far, as I mentioned in my last post, I believe this is going to be my longest novel to date.

So... stay tuned, I'll share more as I progress. I'm excited about THE CHOSEN and the direction that it's headed.

ROOMS - Second major re-write completed

(Galaxia-y-Espacio-Exterior)

The second and final major re-write and edit of my book, Rooms, was completed today.  I can't believe it!

I've really loved going through it again, and I'm very excited about the book.  Writing the last five or six chapters was great fun.  I like the ending a lot!

Now, I'm going to leave it alone for a while, come back to it later and do the final read.  After that, I'll start working on trying to get it published.  What an experience!

Image of Galaxie above:

Galaxia-y-Espacio-Exterior. Digital Image. Http://www.artinaid.com. N.p., N.d. Web 16 Dec. 2013 

<http://www.artinaid.com/2013/04/earths-atmosphere-the-magnetosphere-and-outer-space/>.

Back To Work on ROOMS

(Trish Steele)

Still working on the second major re-write of Rooms.  I'm now up to chapter 24 of 31.  I'm finding that what I wrote most recently needs less work than the first 20 chapters or so.

When I finish going through the book this time, I really need to back away from it for a while during the holidays.  Then I'll be able to take a fresh look at it and go through it one more time, basically just reading it and making a few changes and edits.

I'm getting closer every day and hope to be ready to send it to a publisher in February of 2014.  I'm getting excited about completing it.

Image of Door:

Trish Steel [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Adult Science Fiction Novel: ROOMS

I'm working hard on my first longer novel.  The name for it will probably be Rooms, although that could change.  It's a science fiction novel.  I've worked on this book for several years, but, again, because I have more time right now, I've actually been able to finish the first draft and am working hard on the re-writes.  When those are completed, I'll then start working on trying to find a publisher for it.  Below, I've written a draft summary of the book.

Rooms' Summary

This book takes place about five-hundred years in the future.  Earth has been ruined by greed, power, wars and environmental degradation.  Some, but not all, of earth's people were able to escape the destruction and have settled on various moons, planets, and asteroids within the galaxy in structures known as lifeglobes.

Rooms have arisen on these lifeglobes, which are amazing holographic games, which many of the settlers play on their freedays and at night.  They play to forget.  They play to remember.  They play to bring meaning and some excitement to their lives.

It has been rumored that one particular Room on lifeglobe R-131 is incredible and many of the most elite players have immigrated there to have a chance to play it.  Very few will succeed, though, but those who do will experience more than they ever imagined.