Oh my word! Well, I had to go a day and a half without Internet. Which is like telling a junkie she has to quit cold turkey…let’s just say the DTs and the hallucinations were not the worst of it. And I was doing soo well!

I’d written 5 pages a day for three days in a row until the little incident happened. Stupid cable company. I had to wait for them to send out a repair guy, and none of my whining helped my cause. *sigh*

So, for two days I stayed away from the computer, because I kept hitting the send and receive button over and over, and so I just had to stay away from it. I’m going to knuckle down tonight and *fingers crossed* I’m going to hit my 5 page mark tonight. LOL. I’m not going to make any of my goals at this rate!!!

Oy, sheesh.

Hannah

Well, I spent the afternoon doing my first round of edits. They actually weren’t too bad. I love my editor! (Shout out to Sheri — hey woman!). It was only after I went through the edits though, that I decided the book needed a little more… LOL. So I spent the night adding bits here and there. (Sorry, Sheri :} — more work for an overworked editor).

I also had an epiphany. Well, okay, so not so grand a notion, but I’ve decided to try and write 5 pages a day. Put myself on a schedule, damn it! I suck with structure, but I’ll let you know how it goes. So far today, I’ve written a page, so only four more to go. LOL. I figure, most ebook novellas are 60-85 pages in length, and full length novels tend to run about 300-350 pages, so… if I write 5 pages a day, I could be writing two novellas a month (there abouts) or a full length MSS every two months.

Like I said, I’ll let you know how that works out for me. *grin* I thrive on chaos, and the whole plan seems just a little too orderly for my disorganized mind. I’m actually working on two different manuscripts right now. The second book for the Hannah Beckham series “Shift Work: Double Shift” and another novella for my alter ego Renee George. If all goes as planned, which is rarely does, I should have both of them done by Mid-February. I mean, shi-ite! How cool would that be? LMAO.

If I sound a little goofy, it’s because I’ve only had 1 1/2 hours of sleep, and I just finished watching the Presidential Inauguration. That was some spiffy speech let me tell you. Made me want to WORK! (I think that’s a good thing.)

Well, more later, swear to all that is good and chocolate. I’m going to try and write down my process as it moves along and develops. So, I hope you’ll stay tuned in.

XXOO,

Hannah

OMG, OMG, OMG!! I’m done, done, done. I feel like I’ve been liberated from Gitmo. LOL. Okay, so maybe it hasn’t been that bad, but I’ve been cranking out the pages over the last four days and my arms are sore, my eyes hurts, and I’ve had so much coffee you could probably grind me up for your own special brew.

Best thing though, I really like the way the book played out. I’m happy with the characters and their universe and all is right with the world. At least presently. I’ve sent the MSS to my editor, so who knows, in a couple of days I might be crying the woe-is-me blues. Any ways, just wanted to do a little celebration and let you know where I’m at.

XXOO,

Hannah

Dear diary,

I’ve been procrastinating something awful lately. I have a deadline in four days, and I’m only half way through my current book. Now, I’m not worried about getting it done, even if I have to set up the coffee pot next to me, keep a carton of cigs in the drawer, and glue the laptop to my, well, lap, I will get it done!

I’m feeling a little Scarlett O’Hara…”as God as my witness…” Ugh. I’m loving the storyline, loving the characters, my heroine totally kicks major ass, so I don’t know why I’m not done already!

Okay, I know why. Because I seem to be incapable of mass production unless someone has put a fire cracker under my ass. I’m a stress writer, pure and simple. The pressure of the deadline is like battery cables being attached to my ears and jump starting my brain.

The book I’m currently writing is called “Late Shift.” It was orignally going to be called “Night Shift” but that title was already taken. I’m good with Late Shift though, it works with my character.

Here’s a little bit about it:

Shift Work: Late Shift by Hannah Beckham

Darwinians speculate (due to fossil evidence) that the history of human evolution includes 18 distinct hominid groups. What they don’t know, and can’t know is that other biped species evolved as well. Some more human-looking than others, and they are everywhere. Some stay hidden, some coexist, while some hunt us down like prey animals for food and sport.

Trinity Statten has been raised to help even the odds. Her parents were tenth generation demon slayers, and until they died when she was sixteen, they’d raised Trini to do the same. As an adult, and with no familial support, she’s taken the mission as her own. Her unique ability to shift skin color like a chameleon is an invaluable tool in the fight against the monsters.

Since a one-night stand gone bad two months earlier, Trinity has been unable to control her natural camouflage. Any heightened emotion will trigger the shift. Her best-friend and roommate, Merlin Davitch, a molecular biologist, is working hard to figure out why her body is changing (and not in a 5th grade, here’s how you use a tampon and pad kind of way). Almost like family, she can’t lose Merl in her life, but if Trini can’t stop going into heat every time he’s near, she just might.

On top of that, suddenly the demons are tracking her on the streets and knocking on her door. The hunter is becoming the hunted. She seeks help from an unlikely alli, Newton Price, a telepath who works for the demons as an interpreter and mediator. His is buff and beautiful, with scars of his own, but he won’t stay out of her head. Literally and figuratively. She can’t stop wondering how good his body would feel wrapped around her own, and unfortunately, since Newton can read her mind, he knows exactly what she’s thinking.

If she doesn’t get her shifting ability, her raging hormones, and her life under control, she’s going to become demon bait. As the mystery unravels, she discovers more about her origins than she ever imagined.

–>Anyhow, that’s a rough, down and dirty, of the story. It’s coming out in February with Changeling Press. It will be part of a series “Shift Work.” Three books total have been contracted. So yeah! I’ll keep you apprised of my progress, and maybe we can do a happy dance on Thursday when I turn it into my editor.

XXOO,

Hannah