Okay, so November was so crazy, that I barely had the time to update over on LiveJournal, let alone here.

The quick and dirty review of NaNo'07 is simply this: 50,122 WORDS FTW! (50,086 by the count of MS Word, but seriously, a 30-word discrepancy is hardly worthy of note )


For those who want to read about the insanity in all its literary glory, feel free to click here.

I'm trying to edit the beast down to something possibly publish-worthy. I'm also trying to keep the spirit of the story alive by picking up new music and dungeon tiles now, so that by the time November comes 'round again, my Protagonist and I will be ready to get the second half of her tale written.

I'll keep you posted!

Yes, I'm still around. Have no fear :)

Yes, it's that time of year again. Literary Insanity, ahoy!

Yes, come November I will be attempting the daily update thing again.

For anyone who will be attempting NaNo'07, I'm in charge of October Warm-Ups elsewhere and I invite you to come participate!

See you guys around!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Okay, I didn't win NaNo this year, but the whole month wasn't a complete failure. As they say, even if you write a hundred words all month, that's still a hundred words more than the folks that didn't write anything.

That being said, I came out of November with a total of 17, 250 words and a half-completed story. My week away in New Brunswick did a number on my word count, and those days that I fell short of the 1,667 word goal didn't help much, either.

But! There is always next year, and I plan to see if I can complete this one in the meantime. For those folks that are interested in reading those 17,250 words, I will gladly throw them up on a website and provide a link.

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My Christmas cards have been sent! Squeaked them under the deadline, I hope, so keep an eye on your mailboxes.

If you know you weren't on my list, and would still like to be and don't mind getting a card late, then please email me (it's in my journal profile) and I'll send one out as soon as I get a chance.

Hey guys!

I have no NaNo update for you yet, as I'm still trying to get back on track after getting home from my trip.

However! Tis the season for Christmas Card sending and I'm currently compiling my list!

If you would like to get a Christmas Card from me, please email me with your snail-mail address and I'll send you one!

My email address is listed in my profile: http://rogue_leader.bravejournal.com/profile.php

And the first five (5) folks to email me their info will get a postcard from my trip to New Brunswick, too.

Take care you guys, and I hope all my American friends had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday!

For those of you wondering where my NaNo updates went, I forgot to mention that I was flying out to New Brunswick for a week, which means my novel writing/updates is suspended until I get back.

Of course, now I've just realized that my website has been suspended for some reason, and I need to figure out why. It seems I'm within my bandwidth and all, so I'm not sure.

I'll probably wait until I get back before I pursue this, since I won't be able to keep on top of it properly.

The joys of things happening while you're away *wry*

See you guys when I get back!

So, while everyone seems to make huge advances in word counts over the weekends, I seem to have been absent the day that particular talent was being handed out. Saturday was an unforgivable 118 words, and Sunday was a paltry 355.

Yesterday was not so bad, considering that it was Monday, but seriously, the muses need to stop being so verbose 20 minutes before I have to pack up for work! They make me late!

*grumbles*

Oh, and if anyone's interested in reading the entire, unedited draft, let me know and I'll look into uploading it somewhere.

Day 13 Totals

Day 13:

Overall:

Excerpt From Today's Session:

Derek was shaken awake violently by Mal. The expression on the old soldier's face melted the fatigue away faster than the strongest cup of caf ever could.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked, pulling his boots on.

"We need t move. A patrol is coming."

With Mal and Zoë's help, Derek roused the rest of the Starlight Elite, sending the injured on ahead with Simon while the rest took down the camp. Zoë, in the middle of dousing the remains of the fire, said, "We should try and lead them on, destroy the trail and make a new one."

Derek nodded. He turned to the rest of his crew and called for attention. "Okay, people. Brianna and Bryce, I want you to lead everyone towards the village. Try your hardest to catch up with Doctor Tam and have your rear-guard muss up the trail. Mal, Zoë and I will head them off and make sure that they don't follow. Last thing we need is for them to ID us and storm the village."

The group gave a collective assent, and Derek turned to Mal and Zoë. "Let's do this thing..."

***

All pilots were trained in commando skills, on the off-chance that they ended up being shot-down and needed to infiltrate enemy territory in order to survive long enough for extraction, so Derek wasn't new to the deception that he and his companion were trying to pull off.

What he wasn't prepared for was actually seeing his adversary up close and personal. The three of them had made decent headway into the forest on a course that was parallel to the village before turning and heading for the fringe again. They hoped that by making it look like their quarry had gotten turned around and made it back into the mountains, the scouting party would be thrown off the trail.

As they were doubling back to rejoin the others, Zoë waved the men down. They didn't have time to climb the trees, so they faded into the foliage and prayed that they were well hidden. From his hiding spot, Derek couldn't help but peek at the patrol as it headed past.

Well, here's hoping I make a huge effort this weekend because Wednesday is when I head off for my trip.

*flails*

And yes the silly fandom pups took over my story. *quietly seethes*

Day 9 & 10 Totals

Day 9:

Day 10:

Overall:

Excerpt From Yesterday's Session:

Cassidy had no idea when she fell asleep, but when she awoke, things had not changed. She was still in that room and moving still hurt. The woman who had greeted her previously had come and gone several times, as the pilot had drifted in and out of consciousness and Cassidy had no inclination to ask her name. The less she knew, the better, in her opinion.

Rubbing a hand over her eyes lazily and yawning, she was aware of a different presence in the room this time. She smiled weakly as she opened her eyes.

"Hey, Doc. How long was I out?"

The man smiled as he looked up from the notations he was making in his book. "You've been in and out of consciousness for four days. It's just the after-effects of the sedative I gave you."

"You gave me a sedative?"

"Yes, in the water you drank."

Cassidy groaned. "Sneaky, Doc. Real sneaky." She pushed herself up onto her elbows. "How's it looking?"

"Better. You still have a ways to go, but if things keep progressing the way they are, you'll be attempting to stand in a few days."

Cassidy fell back. "Ugh! I don't have a few days, Doc. I really don't." She sighed and decided that Leawyn's life was more important than staying concealed. "My friend is quite possibly dying. If I don't get supplies back to our camp soon, things are going to get ugly."

She looked at the doctor, who was regarding her curiously. "Your friend is fine, and he is already in town. With the local authorities, remember?" He walked to Cassidy's side and sat down, placing a hand on her forehead. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? No headaches?"

Cassidy swatted his hand away angrily. "Of course I'm fine, you idiot. Listen to me. Colin, the guy you have locked up, is a member of my crew. The rest of them are about a day's walk from here, up in the mountains..."

Excerpt From Today's Session:

Doctor Tam went willingly, rolling up his sleeves as he went. "What injuries did she sustain?"

Arianna had materialized beside them as soon as the word spread about the doctor. She answered Simon as soon as she saw the blank look on Derek's face. "She has multiple lacerations to the upper torso, extreme blood loss from when we pulled her from the fighter and into the caves and blunt trauma to the head. She's feverish and mostly incoherent when she's conscious, which isn't often."

Simon nodded as the girl spoke. He knelt next to Leawyn and looked her over. "Have your people ready to go as soon as possible," he told Derek, who was hovering over his shoulder, watching as the doctor pulled a bottle and a needle out of his med pack. Derek was still staring as the doc filled the needle, and Simon had to look up at him sternly and add, "You need to go, now and get people packed up."

Arianna came to the rescue and she took Derek by the arm and tugged him away. "Doc's right, Derek. We need to get moving. These caves aren't working for us anymore."

Derek followed Arianna reluctantly, leaving Leawyn in Simon's care.

***

They were ready to go inside of an hour. It seemed that Mal and Zoe had had a lot of experience in packing up a rudimentary camp and moving troops across long distances. Derek suspected they had served in the military in some capacity, but seeing as how he had never heard of them, he had to assume that the conflict in which they had gained their experience was not the same one plaguing the Clesia system.

He made a mental note to sit them down and ask as soon as the squad was relocated. Right now he concentrated on getting his people to a better place, taking up rear-guard while Colin led at point with Mal and Zoe. Simon helped Arianna carry the stretcher bearing Leawyn, while others helped Rhiannon, Bentley, and Tara walk through the mountains.

A half-a-day's walk took the better part of the entire day, and they were at the fringe of the forest by night-fall. The doctor was the one who called a halt.

"As much as I would like to get these people to safety, we can't keep pushing them. Not in this state," he said to Mal, Zoe and Derek softly. "However, we're only another half-day away from the village, and I'd like to take the injured girl on a head. The faster she gets into proper lodging, the better."

The three turned to look at Derek, who was shaking his head. "No. No, Leawyn stays with us. The only way she goes ahead is if I go with her, and I'm not leaving the rest of my people behind."

Okay, my characters are having problems coming to a consensus on what race their enemies actually are. I have never had any reason to divulge this information to my readers because the Teron race has been enshrouded with secrecy and no one has seen them. However, my NaNo project has my dear characters in a position where they are quite possibly going to learn more about this thorn in their collective side than they have before, and that includes what the damned beings look like.

So, when I asked them, I got a disjointed chorus of different answers. Please help them pick one:

Uhhhhhh, no. This entry isn't backdated. Why do you ask?

Day Eight Totals

Daily:

Overall:

Excerpt From Today's Session:

"Huh," she voiced, sinking back down onto the mattress, those words giving her serious cause to think. She stared up at the ceiling blankly. The doctor watched her closely, bracing himself in case she tried to bolt again. Finally, she asked, "What about my companion. Where is he?"

"He's being held by the local authorities." He watched as the woman's eyes closed in resignation. "The knock to the head he took is nothing to be worried about and he's doing fine. ...Are you-"

"I'm fine," Cassidy said weakly cutting off his question. This was bad. They had been captured by the enemy and had no way to alert the others. "I just wanna be alone, doc, if that's all right with you?"

He nodded. "Okay. If you need anything, just ask one of the ladies. They'll fetch it for you."

Cassidy nodded and she felt the bed shift under her as the doctor got up. The door shut near silently behind him and his footsteps receded, leaving the injured pilot alone with her thoughts.

A tear slipped down her cheek. I'm sorry Leawyn. I've failed you...

***

Commander Leawyn Brock of the Starlight Elite glanced down at her sensor board and smiled. They were on time and on course for the mission. She flipped a couple of switches, and glanced at the crimson light bouncing off of Thian. The rings around the planet looked ominous, but Leawyn's sensors indicated that nothing save the rocks and debris were awaiting them in the tangled mass.

"Okay, Elite, form up for the approach, but stay loose. Sensors indicate all-clear, but you never know." With a gentle push, she moved the flight-stick and her craft banked in a sedate curve. She didn't have to look to know that her people were falling in behind her. "Once we break atmo, your orders are to break off and buzz the planet. Get all the data you can. We're running silent from my mark. Three, two, one...mark."