NaNo and Emily Ann Benedict

First off, the sweet Emily Ann Benedict has a free Christmas e-book out and it doesn't sound like your typical Christmas story. Santa Claus is not a person, but a secret organization? Fun! You can check it out here. 

NaNo didn't go quite as I had planned. I knew it would be tight getting 50k words in this month because I wouldn't get to start writing until the 8th. But the first time I did NaNoWriMo back in 2008, I wrote the book in  two and a half weeks. Granted, it was a book I'd been mulling over for probably ten years before I actually wrote it. While that story changed dramatically, I knew the characters so well that the story came easily. With this one, I might have had ten days of planning before I started. And by planning, I don't mean plotting. That was spent world building and determining how the magic would work. I didn't plot this time. *gasp* It's been SO fun!

Long story short, I did manage to win. Just barely!

Culture Shock:

It's about a girl who, when she comes of age, begins having memories and flashbacks that belong to an ancient ancestor. She confides this to the man she's been in love with since childhood only to discover he has them, too. The fun begins when they realize that the tasks their ancestors have given them are contradictory. Ael is to protect the key to the bridges between worlds while Xendar must find the key and avenge his ancestor to rid himself of the excruciating pain that accompanies his ancestral memories.