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Revision Xibalba

Yes, I’m still slowly grinding away on the project that will not end.  I lost Friday night thanks to a lovely visit with Aunt BB and Uncle J — it’s always nice to see them.  Just hard on my writing schedule.  Saturday we had 3 hours in the car, and I actually got quite a bit done, but then I slept in really late on Sunday and visited with my Beloved Sis all afternoon.  We had a blast, baked cookies, made a Cherry-Diet-Coke Chocolate Cake, and realized we have exactly the same black Sketchers in the exact same size…but we didn’t write! 

I didn’t get up quite as early as I needed today, but I finally managed to finish up one section this morning and another (short) one tonight.  NSR is just shy of 90K (88,965).  According to my spreadsheet, I only have 5-6 sections, depending on how the resolution of two major story threads ends up.  That’s it!  Yet it feels like miles and miles away.

We’re hoping to do a mini-vacation trip for the monsters this weekend (they’re on Spring Break), so it would be most excellent if I could finish the revision and reward myself with the books I’ve been promising myself on the drive to St. Louis.  I also have first-pass edits to complete on Dear Sir, I’m Yours, so that might be wishful thinking to get both of them done before Friday.

We’ll see what I can manage.

Snippet:

In the center, a black stone rose up from the floor, sticky and wet.  A living, beating heart oozing fresh blood sat on top of the stone.

One Death gestured grandly.  “Behold the caged heart, some of our greatest magic.  Only the heart of a king can last so long, except possibly…”  His head turned slowly, his glowing red eyes latching on to her.  “A cursed priest’s who cannot die.”

She shuddered at the thought of Ruin’s heart ripped from his chest, magicked into beating for the Xibalban Lords’ pleasure.  They must gain a great deal of power from the constant beating of the heart and its fresh flow of blood.

“The greatest wonder is that we need do nothing to keep it beating.  Only the king’s great emotion keeps his heart caged and alive:  his love, hatred, and fierce desire for revenge.  Ah, such sweet, delicious emotions.  I’d forgotten what human emotion felt like until he came into our hands.  He’s given us much to savor.”

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