Tag: Writing

Entr’acte Count-Down: 6 Days

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel NewsLeave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m celebrating the holiday today, and also counting down to my newest book, which will be out on December 1st. Entr’acte is a collection of bonus material connected to my Guardian of the Opera series. Plus, I’m putting out a paperback combining Entr’acte, The Confessions of Christine Daae, and Overture.

Today, I’m sharing a quote from a bonus scene included in Entr’acte. It was my favorite scene from a version of the story I wrote when I was 18, which didn’t make it back into the final form.  It wasn’t the right tone for the new version, but I think you’ll still enjoy reading about Erik and Meg ice-skating on the underground lake!

Look for Entr’acte and the combined collection on December 1 – and you can pre-order today!

Entr’acte Count-Down: 7 Days

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News2 Comments

My newest book is out on December 1st, and I’m counting down for the next week! Entr’acte is a collection of bonus material connected to my Guardian of the Opera series. Plus, I’m also putting out a paperback combining Entr’acte, The Confessions of Christine Daae, and Overture.

Today, I’m sharing a quote from one of the essays in Entr’acte. There was a lot of detail in the series about everything in Erik’s parlor, but the essay shares all the secret meaning and reasons behind everything there!

Look for Entr’acte and the combined collection on December 1 – and you can pre-order today!

NaNoWriMo Day 23: Exploring the Opera

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo2 Comments

I’m happy to report that I’m in a really good position for my 25,000 word goal this NaNo – in fact, I passed it on Sunday.  I had a really good writing day Sunday, with over 2,000 words, and that took me across the 25,000.  My new goal is to hit 35,000 by the end of the month, and I currently have a small cushion for that.  So that’s feeling good as we enter the last week of NaNoWriMo.

The story is going well too – I’m currently up to the night of September 3, 1939, several hours after war was declared.  Maggie stays late at the Opera working on a costume, and encounters Paul, who is photographing the building while it’s empty.  He convinces her to give him a guided tour, so some 25,000 words in we finally go exploring the parts of the Opera that the last series centered on, like the Grand Stair, the Grand Foyer, and the auditorium.  I got to bring in my favorite random trivia (not all the gold in the Grand Foyer is real!) and another reference to the Phantom when Paul asks about Box Five.

Today’s excerpt is from just as they’re about to end the tour, and encounter a twist that sends us into the next chapter…

When we reached the front doors, we encountered a new wrinkle in this day – or night, rather.  The doors were locked.

“I suppose they would lock the building so no one could get in,” Paul said slowly.  “I didn’t expect that a person couldn’t get out though.  There must be other doors – maybe something around the side…”

“They’re probably all locked,” I heard myself say.  “We probably can’t get out until they come to unlock in the morning.”

Chapter Twelve
September, 1939: Paris, France

Of course I could have got out.  Just like you can’t keep a Rouen out of the Opera Garnier, you can’t trap one of us inside of it either.  The police had tried to do that to my grandfather decades ago, and it never worked then.  I knew how to unlock almost any major door in the building, and I knew a variety of secret exits too.  I could have got a side door unlocked without Paul even realizing there was anything strange going on, so I didn’t have to worry about giving away too many secrets.

But in a sudden moment of possible madness, it occurred to me that I just might prefer to be locked into the Opera Garnier tonight.  With the right company.

NaNoWriMo Day 20: War Is (Almost) Declared

On By cherylmahoneyIn NaNoWriMo1 Comment

We’re two-thirds of the way through November now, somehow!  According to my plot outline, I’m a quarter of the way through my novel, which lines up with my goals pretty well.  I’m right around 22,000 words, and my first drafts tend to come in around 75-80,000, so that’s about right for a quarter of the way through the story.

I’m also in great shape for my goal to hit 25,000 words!  I expect to pass that in the next few days.  I’ve actually been holding pretty steady to land around 35,000 words, so that’s my new target – although we’ll see if Thanksgiving week is easier or more difficult for writing than normal weeks!

Meanwhile in the story, events are heating up in the world situation.  I’ve just got up to August 23, 1939, when the Nazis and the Soviets signed a non-aggression pact.  From my research, that seems to be when war between France and Germany became inevitable, although it wasn’t actually declared for about 10 days.  The romance moves along in parallel to the war situation, so that’s also beginning to pick up.  I’m righting something of the calm before the storm right now, with more excitement coming on September 3rd. Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Day 20: War Is (Almost) Declared” →

Excerpt from Plot Twists: The Island Come True

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News1 Comment

My main focus just now is on NaNoWriMo and my in-process draft for that – but at the other end of the writing journey, I have two short stories in an anthology that came out late October.  I shared an excerpt from one of them earlier, but thought it only fair to give a little attention to the other one too!

Plot Twists is a collection of short stories about people entering into the books they read.  I was honored to write the first story in the collection, about a boy entering into J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

Enjoy the excerpt below, and read the full story by getting your copy of Plot Twists here!

******

The Bookseller nodded once, and came out  from behind the counter.  “Not to worry.  Only the right people can come in here.  Now let’s see about finding you the right book.”

“I’m just looking,” Will mumbled again, because he didn’t want to admit he had no money to buy any book, but he also didn’t want her to toss him outside while Big Tom was still there.  How pathetic was it if he couldn’t even run away properly?

“I quite understand,” she said, and strode purposefully down one of the narrow aisles.  “Follow me, please.”

He trudged uncertainly behind her, eyes getting bigger as they walked through one twisting aisle and into another.  It was impossible to tell how big the store was.  All he could see was books.

“Did you have something in mind?” she asked.  “Pirates, perhaps?  Magic?  Romance?”

“Pirates,” he said quickly, cheeks turning hot.  Romance?  Definitely not.  He’d seen older kids making eyes at each other, but—no, pirates sounded much better.

“Heroics or something comforting?”

He wasn’t altogether sure what that meant.  “Um…either?”

“Something funny or educational?”

That was easy, at least.  “Funny,” he said firmly.

She turned suddenly and looked at him with a newly intense gaze.  “And, very important—do you want an escape?”

There was something about that gaze, about those eyes looking straight into his.  He wasn’t sure anyone had looked at him with that much attention since his mother had died.  Maybe that’s why he answered with the truth.  “More than anything.”

She nodded again.  “Then you are in the right shop.”