So who's in the mood for some music?

It's now April second, and I'm sure there are a few intrigued souls out there who are now wondering, "Where the hell is the singing?  The bongos?  The unabashed, falling-on-your-knees worship of the winner?

Honestly, it's going to take a little while for this to happen...or for a winner to be chosen.

The last 40 days have been quite interesting - which, if you ascribe the the old Chinese parable, isn't necessarily a good thing.  Mercedes and I have had massive sickness and personal trauma, suffered from exhaustion and walleye from staring at a glowing monitor for much too long.  Writing 2500 words a day for 40 days definitely seems doable when you start out, but when life intercedes, things can get dicey.  And not all of us are as prolific as Amanda Hocking.  Woe is us.

But before anyone goes and thinks I'm starting a pity party, I'm not.  All I'm trying to say is that because of these outside (and inside) stresses, the fine Mercedes and I have decided to push our Gauntlet deadline back to May 1st.  But that, my friends, is final.  There will be no more extensions after that.

Now, there will be one (self-imposed) revision to the rules, however.  Due to the extension, the fact that I've made some FANTASTIC progress, and the reality that I don't have to deal with the added stress of a child growing inside me and the complications that can arise from that, I now have to not only complete the full manuscript, but also a pair of edits.  In other words, if Silas isn't in the hands of my betas come May 1st, I lose.

As for Mercedes...I'm not holding her to anything but getting her novel and essays finished.  If she wants to add more stress to the mix, it's all up to her.  Personally, I think she has enough to deal with.  But in all honesty, she probably thinks the same thing about me.  Check up on her blog, A Broken Laptop, if you want to hear what she has to say about it.

So there you go, folks.  I know it's disappointing that you have to wait another 30 days for the satisfaction of observing out utter embarrassment, but hey, we gots to do what we gots to do.
 
 
That's right, fair readers!  After much deliberation with my writerly cohorts in the IAM and Kindleboarders, I've finally come up with a couple solid titles for the 3rd book.  I feel they definitely capture the feel of the story, the dark and sinister places it goes.  To say I'm happy with them - and relieved I've at least got an idea now - would be an understatement.

So what are these titles, you ask?  Well here they are.

1 - SPRING IS FOR SAVAGES

2 - THE SAVAGE SPRING

So I'm just curious what all you who live in my hard drive think of these.  Which would you choose?   Do you think I need to work on it some more?  Right now I'm leaning towards #2, but that can change.  Please, feel free to let me know.

Also, I took a break from my updates for The Gauntlet this past weekend.  I'll be sure to have a new update posted this coming Sunday, however.

Peace!

RJD
 
 
Okay, here's the latest update.  I spent a good time of this week horribly sick, so it took some major cramming over the last two days to try and catch up at least a little bit.  So here's the progress:

Start: 1996 words.

2/27 - 22,137 words.

3/6 - 42,186 words.

Words written this week - 20,049

Words still to be written - 57,814

Still quite a haul, but the story's really rounding into shape now, and as long as I don't get sick again (fingers crossed), I should be able to make major headway this coming week.

Boo-ya, Mercedes!  I'm an unstoppable machine!  You should be vrey, vrey scared right now!

See you next week.

RJD
 
 
So here we are, everyone.  This is the official one-week mark since the start of the contest between Mercedes and myself.  Here are the numbers as they stand this moment:

Start: 1996 words.

2/27 - 22,137 words.

Words this week - 20,141

Words to go - 77,863

Well, that was a good start.  My initial goal was 25k last week, so I fell a bit short.  That just means I'm going to have to kick it into overdrive this week.

Time will tell.   Off to write now.

RJD
 
 
So here it is.  My official first day of the competition between Mercedes Yardley and myself.  Every Sunday I will be posting an update as to my progress with Silas, the book I must complete by April 1st.  So here it is...

Words written - 1996

@ Words needed for completion - 100,000

Words to go - 98,004

What a haul!  See you next week with more updates.