NaNoWriMo Time!

NaNoWriMo has started.  For those who have never heard of it, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  In the month of November writers all over the world take up the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  This year I gave myself the challenge to write the first two books in the Stone House series, a series I thought of in March of this year.  Below is a picture idea for the cover along with a summary and an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book.

Kate Galbraith and Stone House

Summary

Kate Galbraith's parents are both dead.  She alone is in charge of her two-year-old baby brother Jacob under the guardianship of their great uncle.  But how will she protect her brother when she finds out her great uncle is their most dangerous enemy?

After coming back from a walk on a dark, rainy day, Kate finds her great uncle and several other men in the house, talking in ominous tones about her and her little brother.  As she eavesdrops, she finds out they have already taken Jacob, and now they are coming after her.  Why?  What do they want with her?  Why did they take her brother?  But there is no time for questions as Kate races out of the house without even a coat against the coming winter cold.

As she begins her journey of escape toward the massive mountain of San Martine that stands behind Stone House like a shield, she doesn't know that she has been inside of her home for the last time in many years.  She's about to find out that the kidnapping of her baby brother is part of something much bigger than she is.

Excerpt from Chapter 2

     Kate ran until she felt like she was going to fall over from exhaustion.  Her lungs burned and the lacerations on her cheeks and hands from the branches that whipped her stung.  The cold air sapped her of the little strength she had left.  Within moments the dogs’ barks grew closer.  Kate pushed herself onward, not knowing how her legs were still able to obey her.  The ground beneath her continued to slope upward with every step.  Each breath came harder and more painful.  She was running for what felt like hours, even though it had been barely an hour since she had left the house.  Her feet were beginning to sink into snow now, leaving an obvious trail for her pursuers.  She ran faster and faster, but the faster she ran the faster they seemed to gain on her.  She broke out onto a small clearing in the wood, the black trees standing out starkly against the white snow, the gray clouds blocking out any light from the sun.  The rain still fell making each step slick and treacherous.

    As she ran out into the clearing, she rethought her path and figured it might be better to stay among the trees, but when she turned to go back, the dogs had broken into the clearing already.  She had nowhere to turn but straight forward.  Finally Kate’s tired legs gave out and tripped over a large rock.  She went down face first into the snow.  The dogs reached her in two bounds.  She held her breath, waiting for them to sink their teeth into her flesh.

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