Katie Runyon

As some might know, I was sick about 2 weeks back. I took the few days of antibiotics that I was prescribed at the hospital and started feeling better. During that week when I was feeling miserable and could not concentrate on anything but the crapiness, I didn’t complete my chapter as I’ve been trying. And while the antibiotics made me feel a little better, they didn’t seem to completely cure me. Now, my health is regressing back to that period before the hospital visit. While I’m not to that stage just yet, it feels bad enough. (And let’s hope it doesn’t get that far.) So far, I have gotten little done in the way of writing. For the most part, I’ve been trying to keep my mind off of how I’m feeling. I want to write, I really do. I want to finish up this story and finally see the whole series finished. And I want to move on and work on others things as well. But there is also the lazy/procrastinator part of me that feels it is a good time to just lay back.

So is my crapiness just an excuse or am I justified in resting both my mind and body?

In my case, I feel it may be both. While it is probably true that my mind in its current state would not be able to concentrate long enough to create a study stream of genius, I might be able to squeeze a little something out eventually. It may not be the best, but it would be something. But I guess the question is: is something better than nothing in this case? Is it worth going through forcing myself to commit to it, even if I’ll have to change the little I did manage in the end? Should I listen to that little part of me that just wants to sleep the days away or perhaps escape into some TV or even a movie?

It is an awful thing being torn between whether to write or not. The urge is there, as it always is, but at this point it is like clouds obscuring the sun; just enough to light things up, but not enough to make you venture outside to lie in the sun.

One of the bad things about not writing because I’m feeling bad is feeling even worse because I’m not writing. What a dilemma. Either way I think I’m stuck–stuck feeling like poo.

It has almost been a week since my symptoms have begun sprouting back like weeds that were broken off instead of pulled out with roots and all.  I am glad I was able to finish the last chapter before things became worse. But I fear this week will be worthless when it comes to writing…or anything at all.

Don’t you just love when the need to write grips you-even at 4am when you should have been asleep hours ago? And you’re filled with excitement and enthusiasm? Your mind keeps churning away and you can’t even think about anything else? Well that was me last night. Besides the temporary high, something good might just have come out of it.

It might have all began around 11 last night, when I started getting the rest of my scene summary figured out so I could actually get chapter 7 of Legendary Race finished today. So the juices were flowing a little late anyway. Then when I finally shut off the TV and rolled over to sleep…as it sometimes does…my imagination got the best of me. I began writing things down, bits that might be included in my current story or even in another one down the road. The first bit read like this:

She saw a shadow emerge on the wall. The figure hunched over, reaching for her. She could feel it creeping ever closer.

Then my mind just jumped from here to there. I wrote down anything that came to me-never knowing when something might actually be worth remembering after I’ve had around 4 hours of sleep…It is a bit embarrassing, but I’ll include it for your enjoyment anyway. The little bits and random thoughts went something like this:

It seems my best ideas-or at least a constant flood of semi-coherent ones-come when everyone else is asleep and I’m awake in the dark with my imagination running wild.

Which I used for my Twitter/Facebook accounts this morning.

There are so many stories to tell, so how do you choose just one?

That, I still don’t have an answer to. And if anyone else does…kindly let me know!

I’ve never hated any of my characters-even the innately evil or insane ones. They may be flawed, but they are only human after all.

This probably stemmed from a question posed in the Have You Ever? thread in my forum which asked, “Have you ever killed off a character because you hated him/her?”.

Where is the honor in dying? If you want honor, find a way to pull your ass out of the fire and survive instead.

This is something that seems like one of my characters might say. It’s also something I’ve thought about from time to time.

If falling on ones sword is so honorable, why not show them [your enemy] honor by helping them fall on your sword instead?

A variant of the bit above.

But I also moved beyond these random, silly thoughts and onto something bigger….A possible new story idea!? It would be my first modern day story and probably more supernatural than fantasy.

Have you ever caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye? It bet you thought it was just your imagination, right? So did I. But now I know better. And soon, so will you.

Lauren is an18 year old girl, just finishing high school and thinking about going off to college. For as long as she can remember, she’s seen things out of the corner of her eye and felt as if something was there in the dark. Of course, Lauren dismisses it, thinking she’s either paranoid or her overactive imagination is to blame. But one day, she finds that it is all real. What Lauren has really been seeing is glimpses into another world as the veil between them thins. But now it has split open and creatures from the other side are slipping through. Being the only one who knows, she decides she must do something. But she is terrified and at first no one believes her. Until she finds out that she is not alone after all. There are some who know about the other world-who have seen what is happening. And with their help, Lauren will attempt to stop it before the veil is torn open for good and all the evil of the other realm is unleashed on Earth.

So, that is basically it…all I have. But it is something and possibly the next book on my plate after A Princely Betrayal (but I’ll only get to that one after I’ve finished Legendary Race). I think some of it may have been slightly influenced by this. It is a bit different of course, but it might have helped snap things together after reading through it earlier in the day.

So I don’t know…what do you think? Have you seen something like it before? Does the idea sound silly? It is a waste of my time?

A little over 2 weeks ago, my mother and brother drove over to the Delaware River. The last time we visited it, little black tadpoles clogged the shallow water edge. And when they went back, they were still there. So my mother scooped up a bunch and brought them back home. Of course, I took care of them (as I can’t seem to go for long without having some wild creature to take care of around here!). We had plenty of different fish foods left over from our fish owner days and used some of that to feed them. Every day, I used a turkey baster to suck out their poop floating on the bottom and added some fresh water. When they started growing their back legs, I transported them from their little container to the 5 gallon tank. I added a big green leaf from near the stream in our back yard, a large rock and a floaty popsicle stick or two.

A few days ago they started growing their front legs! And soon enough, we found one standing up on the rock all toadlet-like. So I made up our 10 gallon tank with the dirt my mother had used to for her tomato plants last year (the plants have been dead, so it’s not like she was using it!). I also added a rock, some clumps of moss, some tree parts and a little lid filled with water for their own underground swimming pool. Between the dirt and everything else, there are lots of different little bugs running around for them to attempt to eat.

By yesterday morning, we had 4 tiny toadlets in the 10 gallon tank and 2 more on the verge of being transferred out of the tadpole tank. The 4 before had no troubles climbing out of the water and onto the rock when they were ready. But these two didn’t seem to have the smarts for that (I think maybe they are males). So the one I placed on to the rock myself and he was smart enough and stayed. The other, no matter what I did, seemed to want to drown himself. I tried multiple times and finally I stuck him in his own little container with a center that bulged up out of the rim of water. I figured this way, he wouldn’t drown himself and he could just wait out the couple hours until it was time to transfer him.

Then, about 2 hours later, my brother says to me, “Did you put him in the tank?”. Of course, somehow he had gotten out of the container-even if he couldn’t seem to figure out how to get himself out of the water. We searched all over the desk for him, carefully picking things up and inspecting them. We even looked on the floor and the bottom of our shoes! Thankfully, my brother found him after moving some things underneath the desk and I decided the suicidal toadlet was going to be put in the tank for his own good.

At this time, there are 6 toadlets in the 10 gallon tank and 8 still in the tadpole tank. At least 3 have all 4 legs and will lose their tail and be ready for the “big boy” tank in the next 24 hours. Hopefully they will be smart enough to drag their butts out of the water and onto the rock this time.

My mom found a crap load of aphids this morning and I cut a piece off the plant-after flicking all the ants off first. I wrangled most of them toward the plant and now they are gathered around, having thanksgiving dinner. Watching the first one scramble over and grab a bite reminded me of my cat after a toy. They seem more like cats or dogs than toads. They will lift their back legs up and scratch at their little tale stub or wipe at their face. And their little head movements when something gets their attention can me hilarious and sometimes even creepy…especially when a whole bunch of them sitting together turn and stare at you like they did this morning.

I grabbed a few more pieces with aphids, since we’ll have a few more hungry mouths to feed soon enough. And the aphids are small and slow enough for them to begin on.

Seeing a toad in such a small form-some the size of my pinky toenail-is amazing.

So far, my next chapter is not even started yet. Things always seem to get in the way. Now that I have my laptop back, I figured I’d be good to go…but that was a false hope. While it is now as up to speed as I can probably get it at the moment, it is not complete. Yesterday I spent about an hour trying to change the power supply on my desktop computer (don’t ask) only to completely break it. I have not had the will to change back to the old power supply to see if I can get it running again. There are things on there that would make my life a lot easier if I had them (like the bookmark to my admin page for my blog here that I just took quite a while trying to find). But I have my book files and the program to use them, though like I said, other things keep getting in the way.

For example, the stray cat outside. Not only have I been trying to take care of her, but she in return has been leaving us little gifts in the form of dead rodents at our doorstep. One day my brother found her carrying a mole and was able to save it before she could get it alone. Since it was young, we kept it and I have been taking care of it. Then, about 2 days ago we found a baby mouse on the porch, only a little bigger than my thumb nail. This one is a little more difficult to care for as it appears that the little bugger’s eyes are just opening. But of course I could hardly say no.

And as I write this, not for the first time, the stray cat outside is clawing at my window. Somehow the other night she found a way onto our porch roof that sits just below the bedroom windows on the second floor and thoroughly scared my little brother when she woke him up by scratching at his screen.

Oh how I seem to be a sucker for all animals great and small. (Which is a main reason why Kari can talk to them.)

I’m hoping that between my usual cooking and cleaning, taking care of my new animal friends, too much TV, and computer woes, I’ll find time to finish the next chapter this week.

And now I need to go get the cat off the roof before she breaks in through the window.

Since you all waited so patiently…I took more than a 2 month break. So next time, don’t wait so patiently! How am I supposed to get any work done otherwise?

My return is bittersweet. That is, it’s good…it’s bad…it’s right…it’s, well not wrong for writing could never be wrong, but you get the picture. I always like coming back to writing after breaking away from it but there just doesn’t seem to be enough time! Before I know it the day is gone and so is my chance to write, none the less everything else I need to do. Thankfully, I got some good writing days in this week and finished off chapter 3. I’m just not sure how long my luck will last. This time, I had a detailed summary of both scenes. The next chapter might be doable, but after that…

I am looking forward to this book and especially finishing this series (even if it may not be the final ending to the series). Likewise, I am looking forward to moving on to other things. After the last chapter is complete I plan to work on editing Foreseen and maybe even Ariel(my short story). It will be my first real editing and it seems both exhilarating and cringe worthy. On one hand I will be (hopefully) improving my work, getting it up to par with my writing now (which has improved I’ve been told…thank god!), but it will also be a bit distressing changing my firstborn. I almost just want to skip the edit because I’m afraid of changing it from what it is at present, as if I may disfigure it with my horrid attempts at improving it. But most likely not much of the base story will change; I don’t think I have the heart for that yet.

I have not thought anymore about the next book(s) I will be writing, even though I’m pretty sure what it will be. I haven’t even thought all that much about writing at all and this story in particular I want to keep out of my mind for now. When I’m finished, and maybe editing, I should have some time to plan it out. This probably means that, even though I will technically be working on my stories, I won’t be putting out any new stuff for a time. Which will sadden all of you greatly I’m sure!

First and foremost, Legendary Race is in my thoughts. There is still a lot to work out and hurdles to jump over. But I hope it is everything I want (and you expect!) and more.

Being my usual self, instead of writing or even planning, I’ve been working on other things. Mostly my site, which I usually enjoy tinkering with. I’ve added a few mods to the forum that do a lot of neat things, some games, updated my Books section with new pictures for each books since I’ve spent way too much time messing around with this neat site. So I haven’t just been staring off into space…But neither have I done any planning or writing. Part of me isn’t actually all that excited about writing. It might be because I’m thinking too much about the book I’m going to write after this, or it may just be that everything going on around here has made my brain a little frizzled. I want to work on it and finish it, I really do, but the motivation doesn’t seem to be there in large quantities at the moment. But I am going to try writing the first scene tomorrow. It should be short, but it will be important, as it introduces two new characters and sets off the whole chain of events that are to come really. Maybe once I get started, it will all come flooding back to me…?

As far as other things go, I have read the first 4 chapters of Rides a Dread Legion…I know its not a lot, but usually I am too tired to read much when I get in bed at night. And if I start reading during the day, I’ll probably keep at it until after the sun goes down and the day is over. Which isn’t a good idea at the moment, there is already not enough hours in a day.

Even though I might not be super excited, I hope that’s not how everyone feels. Too bad writing a book is a long process for me. I’d love to be able to dish a few out a year. Then again, I’d probably run out of material a lot sooner and have nothing left to do! Instead of having ideas, but having to wait a year before I can really pay them any attention.

December has come and gone and I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be. Most of the last month I spent being busy with other things or feeling like I was on my deathbed. Things have been hard, especially the last few weeks and I am just hoping that a new year will bring better times. As far as my progress, I still have not finished the second book I purchased…in fact, I haven’t even started it. I’ve also barely done any plotting or planning for Legendary Race. It doesn’t help that my shiny new book idea is trying to take precedence over this third book. For this reason, and others, I want to finish this book as soon as possible. There are so many different ideas I want to explore that things seem to take so long. But I have no choice but to be patient.

So, let’s talk about what I do know about Legendary Race. While things have taken a completely different direction than I expected when I began The Dark Within, which is a big part of why it’s more difficult to plan, the place I’m taking it hopefully won’t be too disappointing. Now Onisepla will seem even less of a bad guy with the new arrival of The Darkness. And what that means for his own plans, you will have to wait and see. The back story behind The Darkness and the Legendary Race are intertwined. Way back, I posted a spoilery bit on the forum in the Legendary Race section and while it is only a small part of a much larger story (and a bit outdated), it still pretty much holds true. Unfortunately, the things that I don’t know, that I still have to decide, are far greater than what I do know. But I have a decent grasp of the background for those two newcomers. And for those that like Onisepla, don’t fret, he will still play a major part in this book. In fact, we will learn a lot more about him and even meet someone important to him that has been watching him without Onisepla ever knowing.

Now, as for this untitled book that I will be working on after Legendary Race, most of what I posted earlier still holds true. Right now, it is mainly about two characters. The first is a prince, betrayed by someone close to him and forced from his own kingdom after his family is murdered. Of course he plans on doing whatever he has to in order to take back his throne and avenge his family’s murder. But while in hiding he meets a woman in a bit of a similar predicament. She is an elite fighter, and magic user, exiled from her people and left for dead. She wants revenge and will help him as long as he returns the favor after he regains his kingdom. Much of this may change, since that is how it seems to go, but that is the basics of what I know as of now. I’m trying not to think on it too much, wishing to devote my time to Legendary Race first, but sometimes it can’t be helped.

Well, I hope this year brings everyone health and happiness. And for those waiting for the Legendary Race, I’m hoping to start writing soon, so keep an eye out.

Well, we are already 6 days into December and I have more on my To Do list than I planned. A month that was supposed to be a simple, easy time away from projected release dates and the like, is turning into even more. I have my short story to write, which is still untitled and only consists of 3 paragraphs at the moment. Then there is planning for the third book, which is mainly unknown to me still and will have to wait until after I finish my short story.

Of course, this chaos would not be complete without even more going on inside my head, with bits and pieces for the possible next book I will be writing after this third book closes The Elementi Series (either on a temporary basis or more permanent). I had no idea where I would be going, but bits come to me out of nowhere these last few days and I try to write them down. If I will actually be using them for anything, I don’t know. Mostly, it is character information more than plot or story events. About a prince who is betrayed and his family killed, sending him fleeing from his kingdom, where he goes into hiding in order to live another day to work on taking back his crown. And a woman who is part of an elite group of warriors, or at least was before they kicked her out and left her for dead. This is still in very early development and I won’t be intentionally going any further with this until my mind is off the work I’m on now. But things will continue to blossom without much thought, I’m sure.

Anyway, besides that major distraction, I was also hoping to get some work done on my website and I am trying to help another with her novel (which I have been awfully remiss about working on). To add to all of that, I just ordered two books I’ve been looking forward to reading (The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind and Rides a Dread Legion by Raymond E. Feist) and was hoping I could get through those since my reading list has been a bit slim this year. All in all, with the toils of everyday life in the mix, I find myself both busy and distracted. Needless to say, there is not enough time in a day for me at the moment. And the promise to myself of a bit of relaxation without the pressure of time restrictions seems to be cracking under the weight. But then again, life seems a bit boring without my writing. I’ll just have to find the strength and motivation to get things done. So if anyone has some extras, I’d be happy to take it off their hands!

On our drive today, we saw an interesting sight. The Loch Ness monster (and baby Lock Ness if you look closely). Of course we were not in Scotland, nowhere near. Instead, we were driving along in PA and there they were, in a small lake a few yards away from the road. I decided to get a picture as we went by as proof. PA seems to hold a lot of oddities, but I’m sure many other places have theirs as well.

While riding in the car, I also was able to write up a quick summary for chapter 22 (which of course is the last chapter for The Dark Within). It is a very rough outline, but things usually come to me more as I write. I’m nervous about this chapter in particular, since I don’t want to mess it up. I want to write it as I have imagined for the last few months, but I feel as if I won’t be able to get it quite right. I guess if I don’t, there is always another chance when I edit.

Of course, this is all up to my computer. Thankfully it hasn’t seemed to give me a lot of trouble while I’m writing, just while I’m doing anything else. It restarts out of no where, locks up, blue screens, etc. And many times will do it over and over again in the span of a few minutes. This has led me to recently abandon it for a while in hopes it will behave after getting an hours break (and I won’t be on the verge of throwing it out the window). My cell phone has also taken up a bit of childish behavior by imitating my computer. I lose texts or don’t get them when I should, it freezes sometimes when I try and watch a video, every so often songs will pause for a few seconds in the middle of playing them, and so on. And of course my laptop has been broken for quite some time and in the hands of another, waiting for at least an attempt to be made at solving the dilemma. If you search back far enough in this blog, you will see it was not my fault. But I really hope it can eventually be fixed. *hint* *hint*

Time to go. Wish me luck this week. If I don’t post again before Thursday…Have A Happy Thanksgiving!

My title says it all, so here I am. Visited a beach along the Delaware River today, where we saw someone decked out in scuba gear. Turns out he was doing some underwater fishing. To each their own. While out and about, ended up in a field of all grass almost surrounded by trees and it just had this setting that I couldn’t ignore. So, as I walked through it and a scene unfolded in my mind, I typed it all down on my phone. Of course, it is bits and pieces and will most likely not be in TDW, but it might be useful in the next one.

I can’t wait to get back to writing tomorrow. The day seems utterly dull and boring without writing. Then again, come tomorrow, I will be procrastinating for as long as I can! I’m sure the utter joy and excitement of finishing TDW is partly to blame. Once you get into the swing of things, it is easier and easier. Of course, once I stop for the weekend (or longer) it becomes harder to get started again. Which leads me to the idea of continuing on when I finish a chapter, instead of breaking until Monday. I might be too much of a slacker for that though!

Thanksgiving is coming up, as I’m sure you all know. I just began making my list the other day so I know what I need to get the next time I go shopping. So far we only bought the foil pan for the turkey and a graham cracker crust for the pudding pie I’m making. Along with that, I might attempt my first homemade lemon meringue pie this year. We’ll see how much else I need to do though.

I don’t know if I can get use to this dark at 5pm thing. I’m wide awake and have nothing to do! And me being bored never amounts to anything but tomfoolery.  Even though I should probably be working on those notes for chapter 21…Guess I better get to it.