I can’t believe it is already December! NaNoWriMo was such a blast–even if it was a bit chaotic. I am happy to announce that I was successful in drafting over 50,000 words of my new novel “Justice”!
Below is a short sneak peek at the novel…but please remember it is a first, UNEDITED draft. I hope you enjoy it!
He was filthy. His pants were torn and tattered in many places with blood. His shirt was ripped open, barely hiding his form underneath. He was young, perhaps around her age, and he had such a desperation in his eyes.
His face had been darkened with mud, or bruising, she couldn’t tell. When the Peacekeeper pulled on the rope once again, he fell prone on the ground and cried out in a hoarse voice. Arra moved without thinking, going to step forward towards him when the boy met her eyes. Crin stopped her, pulling on her arm to keep her next to him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He whispered harshly to her. “Don’t interfere!”
“He’s being dragged through our town. That isn’t right!” Arra wanted to scream, but she knew she wouldn’t get through to Crin. “What could he have done to warrant such punishment?”
“I don’t know, but if he’s being punished by the Justice’s Peacekeepers, it must have been bad.” Crin seemed so sure of himself before he went to step away, pulling on her arm to guide her away. Arra wouldn’t let him sway her. Her feet planted firmly in the ground against his pull. In the back of her mind, she heard her father’s words from yesterday, “There are going to be many times in the future where you will have to sacrifice a part of yourself for the greater good of someone else…don’t rush into it unless you must.”
Now that NaNoWriMo has ended, it is time for me to turn my attention to my December projects. This month, I wanted to take a little break from my novels and focus on poetry and short stories. I write so many throughout the year and never do anything with them…NOT THIS YEAR!
This month I will be working on editing a few poems and short stories I already have drafted–as well as finding a place to submit them if I don’t publish them here on my blog. I’ll also be writing some special stories for special anthology submissions to Black Hare Press. I’m excited to get back to shorter stories and poems!
I don’t have many updates other than that! I hope all of you are staying healthy, safe, and warm! Until next time, Happy Reading!
~Shanna
Stories by Shanna Pikora 