ROW80 and a Weds WIPpet

I swear that spring is on the way. We still have snow around the edges here in Spokane, but I see buds on the trees and the birds are slowly coming back, though I've only seen red-winged blackbirds, crows, and a flock of wild turkeys. Here's my Weds progress report:

WRITING/BLOGGING: Over 750 words/day so far (plotting, research, planning, writing). Got two checks and another review for Rivers of Stone!  Rethinking my writing blog and have committed to a weekly post that will reach out to my readers. This Tuesday posted The Seventh Tapestry: Arthur's Seat, exploring settings around Edinburgh. That was fun!

OTHER: Did read other ROW80 writers/x4, so far. Goal to write more believable romance elements. Found two great resources: Jax Hunter's "Writing Romance: the Midpoint" (Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers) and a whole section, "The Love Issue" in Writer's Digest (Feb 2018).

Did some research. Two books useful: Eugene Soltes, Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White Collar Criminal (interesting case studies about how morality slips step-by-step), and Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo's Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art (lays out relationships between galleries, auction houses, donors, museums, and art crimes). Ian Rankin's series good for background but not quite my genre.

FOR THE COMING WEEK: More writing, more research, some blogging, more work on marketing plan with focus on upgrading/updating my Writing blog website.

And for the first time in a very long time, here's a snippet for WIPpet Wednesday, an excerpt from my very new wip, The Seventh Tapestry.

SCENE: Sandra's office at the Museum has been ransacked, and Thomas, a police officer liaison for the Art Crimes Unit in Edinburgh, assigned to her for the last several months stops by. Formula: 14 sentences (for the day) + 3 (for March) + 1 (for good luck) = 18 sentences.  

Thomas kept telling himself there's no reason to let her know that he liked her and that he wanted her to stay in Edinburgh. He couldn't stop watching her, trying not to stare as she picked over the papers strewn about on the floor in her office.

"Well," she said. "Are you going to help me or watch me work? I can't figure out why someone tossed my office. None of this makes any sense."

"I can get Alex for you."

Sandra shook her head. "If it's all right, you could just help me. Or just stand there. I'd rather not be alone."

He didn't blame her. He felt the same way. He didn't want to leave her alone, but he needed to find out what the team had on whoever broke into her office. He fell back on interrogation mode. "Do you normally lock the door?"

"Always." Sandra grimaced. 

Women's March, Edinburgh 2009 (Camp)

May you have a wonderful week. Persevere with what is closest to your heart.

Check out what other ROW80 writers are up to, either on the FACEBOOK group or our WEBSITE. Thank you, Eden Mabee and Shan Jeniah, for facilitating ROW80 so beautifully!

And why not check out the other WIPpet Wednesday entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Thank you, Emily Wrayburn.