Started My Next Book: The Awakening

The beginning of this draft goes a little something like this:

Chapter 1:  The Awakening in Pittsburgh

            Alexander Cobarrubias sat against the wall of his dark apartment, cradling a near-empty bottle of Bacardi. He fidgeted with his wedding band, rotating the ring, and took another swig. It was almost 6a.m., and his phone had been vibrating for the last thirty minutes; he knew it wasn’t the hospital paging him because he had three more days of leave left. Leave, he pondered on that word, but stopped as the phone irritated him into sobriety. It was his mother, no doubt, with her sixth sense, constantly checking in on him. At one point, she had offered to stay with him, but he had refused. I’m a grown assed-man he had thought when she asked, but politely declined. She was always hovering over him, even though he was 35. Yet he worried she would tell him, and Alexander didn’t want him to see this, an empty husk of a man, an epic failure, unable to protect those he loved most. He swallowed the rest of the contents in one punishing drink, and turned off the phone.

Sounds good for a draft, right? 

This morning, I'm going to take a leap of faith and grow a pair of balls.  I'm going to ask for an extra beta reader from a writing group that is more serious and active than other groups I belong to.  I don't have an editor anymore, and parted amicably, but hopefully, I will be able to find a couple of reliable people to read my work. Yes, I will quid pro quo that shit.  Ideally, I would love to trade copy editing.  That's it folks!  I'm going for it.

Yesterday, I also went to the local library and dropped off my bookmarkers.  I also found out the library does review self-published books to put on the shelf, and I am going to submit a copy of La Bruja del Barrio Loco. Now, I haven't been to the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago in a long time, so this will be a treat.  If you  have never visited, it is a wonderful library with a great kid's section.  They also have a gorgeous top floor where they host events.  Anyway, I will keep you posted on how that endeavor goes.

That is all for today, sadly, I got up at 5a.m. to write a little bit because I have to grade these amazing diagnostics.  I have such a fine group of students this semester!  I know I always think highly of my students, but this group is truly awesome.  Their writing says so.

O.K., have a fantastic writing day!  #Resist!

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