Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Rum, Boners, & Horny Protrusions - Yearly Goals Week 3

Tuesdays, here on the blog, are dedicated to holding myself accountable. Each week I going to toss out the facts and figures of my goals.
On this Tuesday, January 18th I weigh in at 281 pounds.

That is but a meager one pound loss from last week. I should be grateful I lost anything as I had my worst week yet willpower wise. I'd cold turkey quit Dr Pepper and soda, but Sailor Jerry and his harem of pin-up girls seduced me into a half dozen or so Rum and Cokes over the weekend.

My goal is to read 75 books this year.

I had a good week finishing two novels to bring my total to 3 on the year. I finished off the Jack London book titled, Smoke Bellew as well as Mark Spragg's latest, Bone Fire.  

Bone Fire is a follow up on Spragg's earlier novel An Unfinished Life. The first novel is one of my all-time favorites so I was eager to dive in. I wasn't though Bone Fire did not quit live up to the very high standard of its predecessor. Both are very much character books and they are honest looks at modern life in the West. I highly recommend you read both. Here are two lines from Bone Fire



She loved the odor of bars, especially in the summer. Damp, cool, and yeasty, like a sip of beer.



 

I sent zero queries this week.  Yeah, I know a big fat F on my report card for that one.

Speaking of failure I didn't so much as open the file on my bull semen story so that word count stays at 16,212 this week. But I continued editing and tweaking Waiting On The River for this years. Amazon contest. The contest open a week from today at 12:01 AM and I should be ready. I added a few new scenes to redirect the female protag's focus. Here is a snippet of that material.


Lindsay stood to the side and watched Blue hacksaw through the bony plate between the set of elk antlers. She stared as he cut his way through the skulls. Fine white powder of sawed bone drifted down and collected on the ground. She could have told him the truth then, but the jagged pieces of her past would sever their bond. And without Blue, her resolve would turn to dust. 


 
Two Line Tuesday is a blog feature started by the fabulous Women of Mystery. Click on over to their site for link to other writers sharing their work

8 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I had been expecting a quite weekend but then a lot of writing related things hit suddenly with deadlines so I spent large chunks of time at the computer.

Unknown said...

love the lines, Travis. And, like always, if you need a reader I'd love to read waiting on the river. I think I read the first 3 chapters once and was very intriqued, been waiting for the rest!

I like your goals for the year, too. I like reading the updates.

Being Beth said...

I seem to be on an every other day success rate on my goals. Every other week would work too -- so you're apparently right on schedule! Enjoyed the excerpt and hope you do well in the Amazon contest.

Old Kitty said...

Great lines!! A++++++!!!!
:-)
And well done you for keeping up with your goals!!!

Take care
x

Travis Erwin said...

Charles - Isn't that how it always goes. Least ways my plans never work out the way I imagined.

Karin - Thanks. Unless I buck the odds and win the contest or here from the handful of agents that still have the full MS, and have had for a VERY long time I plan to release it on my own later this year. I believe in it too much to let it languish on my hard drive forever.

Beth - Thanks for the well wishes.

Kitty - I hope to keep it up all year long.

Melissa Amateis said...

I've been working out for two weeks (haven't missed a session yet) plus watching what I eat and I haven't lost a thing (though the jeans feel slightly less tight...).

Cloudia said...

I too like the smell of bars sometimes. . .



Aloha Travis
Comfort Spiral

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Junosmom said...

My problem is that when I read (books), I don't write, cause I'd rather be reading. My husband stole my Kindle though so now I'm remembering why I always liked to read your blog!