Back to Work with a New Focus - 3

I'm editing again and I'm happy - not so happy with the interruptions and distractions, but it's an improvement on the last few months.

I'm used to words flowing, making me happy to sit at the computer. This is strange to me, but it IS improving and I'm feeling better for it.

I have a few goals this year and to do that, I have to focus my mind more and until something goes wrong, you tend to take that kind of thing for granted. Writing is like any discipline, you have to work at it to make it stronger and/or improve it.

I have a way to go before I'll be capable of sitting down for hours on end, weaving stories like I did when I was writing Deadlier Than The Male but with that goal in mind, I've made a start.

These are the covers of my three Wolf Series novels

Part 1
Part 2

The photos are all my own and some may be a little off-topic and random, so bear that in mind (and read the descriptions).

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Cont...

Mindful of recent events – a spate of vicious, bloody and violent attacks on lone women – her breath hitched in her throat. The mistake of walking alone at such a late hour, she realised, could prove costly. Weighing up the slender risk of attack against the dent her pride would take if she asked for a colleague to escort her had always seemed acceptable - until the moment she realised she was being followed.

#SteemFest Amsterdam

Since the fright in the alley, there had been no more suspicious noises but she knew she had pressed her luck too far; the last mistake she’d ever make.

Her composure shattered, almost startled into a run at the slightest sound – perhaps a dry leaf skittering across concrete - she prevented panic by sheer force of will. She glanced behind ever more frequently and knew her outward appearance of self-confidence had diminished. She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to shake herself out of the anxiety. She stood with her back to one of the massive ancient brick archways that made up the viaduct running high above the town. Looking up and around, giving herself a moment of clarity to dilute the panic, she realised there was nowhere for anyone to conceal themselves and she took back some of the confidence she had lost.

A real brain taken at Body Works Museum in Amsterdam when we attended #SteemFest

After the mental shake-down, she managed to set off once more and concentrated on keeping her footfalls even and confident - the woman knew the value of appearance. More often than not, a person walking tall, in an assertive manner, is passed over in favour of an easier victim.

However, there were no others to be passed over for. There would be a victim, and there was only one choice.

She paused again when she approached the side of The Swan pub. Before her lay a wide-open carpark separating her from the alleyway leading to where she had left her car, earlier. She stood at the side of the building, taking one last look around; making as sure as she could that no one followed.

Look closely, there's a duck in the picture. She was trying to help her duckling cross a busy road and I jumped out of the car to help her across safely. Just down that path, there's a lake, so I guess they'd be safe.

She made mental calculations. Thirty metres to the alley, another twenty metres of high walls on both sides – an almost inaccessible alley, and in retrospect, another bad choice - only at the other end would she reach the safety of her vehicle.

Fifty metres to safety. Half a minute’s walk.

She muttered to herself. "I should have let someone drive me around. Sod that! I shouldn't have parked down here in the first place!"

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Here's what I started with...

Cont...

In light of recent events – a spate of vicious attacks on women - walking alone at this time of night, she realised, could have been a mistake. She knew the risks she took, but she had always weighed them up and found them acceptable - until now, when she knew that she was being followed.

There had been no more suspicious noises but she knew. This could be the time that she had stretched her luck too far; this could well be her last mistake.

Her composure was shaken, she was almost startled into a run at the slightest sound – perhaps a dry leaf skittering across concrete - only preventing panic by sheer force of will. She was glancing behind ever more frequently and knew that her demeanour had altered. She tried to shake herself out of the anxiety and to do that she stood with her back to one of the massive ancient brick archways which made up the viaduct that ran high above the town. It was further down the line of the same railway system that she had walked under a few minutes before. There was nowhere for anyone to conceal themselves and that realisation gave her back some of the confidence that she had lost.

After the mental shake-down, she managed to keep her footfalls even and confident - the woman knew the value of appearance. More often than not, a person that walked tall and in an assertive manner would be passed over in favour of an easier victim.

Tonight however, there were no others to be passed over for. If there was to be a victim in this place, then there was only one choice.

She paused again when she approached the side of The Swan pub. There was only a wide-open car park separating her from the alleyway leading to where she had left her car earlier. She stood at the side of the building taking one last look around; making as sure as she could that no one was following. Only thirty metres left to the alley, which was another twenty metres of high walls on both sides – a very isolated alley and in retrospect, another bad choice - only at the other end would she reach the safety of her vehicle. She muttered to herself. "I should have let someone drive me around. Sod that! I shouldn't have parked down here in the first place!"

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Part 4