Hi everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. It started out nerve-racking, but by Saturday it looked up, when the American election finally was called in favor of Joe Biden. That’s worth celebrating and me and my husband did even if we’re not Americans.
But I was going to talk about writing, and not politics. This month, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo, and the goal is to write 50 000 words in November. Earlier years, I’ve participated in Camp NaNoWriMo which happens twice a year: in April and July. The difference is that in Camp you can choose your own word count goal, and don’t have to aim for 50K if you don’t want to. I’ve always felt that 50K, approximately 1667 words/day, in a month is an unattainable goal for me, so I’ve never signed up for it. But in July, when I wasn’t even going to participate in Camp NaNo but got talked into it (and set a low goal of 5000 because I was studying at university and didn’t think I’d have the time to write at all) I accidentally wrote over 50 000 words. Accidentally, you wonder? Yeah, that was when I started my morning writing habit and finished three stories in July. So I thought Why not try “real” NaNoWriMo this year?
And so far so good. I’m ahead, and the NaNo website has calculated that I “only” need to write 1534 words/day (instead of 1667) to finish on November 30. My total word count as I write this blog post is 18062 words, so 3000 words ahead of where I should be to avoid falling behind.
I’m currently writing a short story (it won’t be over 15000 words) and I’m on the last chapter. The problem is that I can’t make the last chapter work. I wrote 750 words on it yesterday that I scrapped this morning because I was unhappy with them. And this morning I wrote 1800 new words for my last chapter, and I’m not really sure I like them either. These might be redeemable, though, the ones yesterday weren’t. I’ll think on it until tomorrow and then decide.
My Meet Cute Chronicles that I wrote about in my last writing update – and by the way, I settled on it for a subtitle, so thanks to you who weighed in 😍 – are moving forward. They Met in the Library is submitted to JMS Books and will be published on January 13. They Met in the Park is with beta readers, and They Met in the Woods only needs one last read-through before it’s ready for betas.
Wanna read the blurb?
Adrian, book-lover extraordinaire, adores his job at the small community library. He gets to share his passion with other people and help them with all book-related questions and issues. When a big, hulking man walks into the library, looking terrified, Adrian’s skills are tested in a completely different way.
Manne’s relationship with books is uneasy, to say the least. He’s dyslexic and events in his past have made him fearful of books and turned libraries into his worst nightmare. But when the quirky, bowtie-wearing librarian steps in to help, the experience turns positive.
Their banter is easy and their chemistry instant. But can an accidental meeting turn into something more? Can someone who has trouble reading ever fit into the life of a man whose passion is the written word?
I also have some very good news: my story Always You made it to this year’s Top Ten Gay Romance anthology! Yaaaay, that makes me so happy. As usual, JMS Books bundle together their top ten selling short stories from the year, and I’m thrilled you guys loved Thom and Lee so much they are featured in the anthology. It’ll be released on December 30 and is already available for pre-order on JMS website. I’ll post the link below.
2020 Top Ten Gay Romance brings together the best-selling short stories published by JMS Books that year.
From first love to true love, from submission to sensual, from heat to sweet and everything in between, the couples in these stories are sure to keep you turning the pages as you fall in love with them.
With stories by Kris T. Bethke, Ofelia Gränd, Nell Iris, Shawn Lane, Marco May, J.L. Merrow, Amanda Meuwissen, K.S. Murphy, Elizabeth Noble, and K.L. Noone, this head-over-heels collection goes beyond bedtime reading. Whether happily ever after or happy for now, there’s an ending for everyone in here!
It’s the fourth year in a row one of my stories have been included in the top ten anthology and that makes me so happy I’m doing a butt wiggle in my office chair as I write this. And if you haven’t read the anthologies from 2017-2019, now’s the perfect time to buy them: use the one time coupon code NeedMoreBooks that gives you 50% off one purchase (valid through November 14) and you’ll be albe to buy 40 (yes, you read that right, FORTY) stories super-duper cheap. It’s a bargain! So clickety-click the links below, and don’t forget to add the coupon code when you check out!
Buy links
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020
Nell Iris 