Everywhere I go I see, in the YA sector, people going, “NO MORE VAMPIRES!” and other words to that effect.
Every time I see that, though, I just want to yell back, “BUT MINE AREN’T IN HIGH SCHOOL!”
Delia’s over eighteen for a reason people. Just as Daniel looks about twenty-five.
Definitely not in high school, y’all.
Oh, and mine also have fangs. Coz the biting is the fun bit, right? I like my vampires grey and walking penetrative sex metaphors.
I start chapter four of Bones with Dinah lying on her bed reading and listening to music while Gregory sticks his hand through the door and waves it about in the hopes of catching her attention – as a ghost he can’t knock, and he does not know her well enough to simply walk through and say hello. Plus imagine the awkwardness if she was getting changed or something!
Anyway, just a bit of fun, plus a snippet of this WIP, can you guess what book it is Dinah is reading? 
On her lap was a book, read so many times every page was dog-eared and the words on the spine were barely visible under the many thick white creases. The book in question was comfort reading and her favorite in the series – it was not as fancy-free and youthful as the first two, nor was it as dark as the later ones. The right amount of darkness and light for Dinah, and with a bittersweet ending. Although sadly the little bit of hope that the ending had once contained was gone, thanks to having read the rest of the series, it was still nice to pretend that she was as free and flying high as the title character.
I have reached the 40 000 and 10 000 word marks for Lionheart and Bones respectively. Isn’t that awesome?
I think so!
Anyway, now that I have more than definitely reached the half-way point for Lionheart, and am about a sixth of the way through Bones I just need to be like the kitty below and reference Star Wars stay on target.
But in the meantime: Yippee!
While I’m not a fan of her music, part of Katy Perry’s tweet about the Kanye West/Taylor Swift VMA incident pretty much sums up the way I’m feeling about what I’m writing at the moment.
IT’S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN.
I’m stuck at a point on Lionheart (39k mark too… what the hell?) and so I’m taking a break from it before coming back. In the meantime I am working on my secondary WIP, Bones.
Bones was always going to be a sad book where life/fate/the universe pretty much takes all its frustrations on the two main characters but as the story progresses I’m finding new ways to torment Gregory in particular.
Every happy thing that ever happened while he was alive is now always sent back at him as a weapon now that he’s dead. Colour, sound, touch, being seen by humans… all the little things we take for granted every day are taken and twisted into things that hurt him.
Being a ghost is not a fun thing at all, as you can see. I’ve rendered him completely and utterly impotent in practically every way. And all for something that was in no way his fault beyond the fact that he existed.
Right now, though, I’m turning the best thing of his life into the worst thing of his death, and it hurts him more than anything else.
He remembered – and missed – Lillian at that moment most of all – her long curls, bright eyes and soft lips. He knew that her hair was blonde and her eyes blue, but as with green he could not quite remember what those colours were actually like. Just like how he knew her lips were soft, but not what softness felt like. That knowledge had gone with the way she felt in his arms and the way she said his name.
This is stuff that has to happen but it’s painful to write. If my betas’ reactions are any indication, it’s also painful to read. But I have to do it. As much as I hate to do it, I have to stomp all over Dinah, Gregory, her parents and everyone else over the course of the book. And although I have yet to cry, I am pretty sure it will happen at some point, as I keep on writing and stomping.
To bring you a very important youtube video.
In other news, I’m wading my way through some awkward scenes for Lionheart – they’re awkward because my brain wants to get to the awesome scenes but I know I have to do these scenes for context, world-building and to start peeling away at the backstory of a main character. Also, everyone needs a wash. Gross. So we’re going to be taking advantage of that.
Plus I am having fun having unintentional (but appropriate) subtext pointed out to me by my betas. 
Anyway, I’m at 39 000 words, so expect a “Yippee! Halfway there!” post very soon. In the meantime, some early form of celebration in the form of a new layout. The tag line is going to be my new motto to keep me motivated and positive.
As per usual, if there is something borked in the layout and I haven’t noticed, drop me a line so I can fix it right away.
This is the homepage of Catherine, a 22 year old New Zealander who writes novels, reviews books and designs websites.
