Movember & Nanowrimo Book Excerpt

There are a couple things going on during the month of November.

The first is what is known as Movember, which is a drive to raise money for men’s health research. People don’t often think about cancer in men, and that is sad. Movember hopes to change that and the face of men’s health, so for the month of Movember I have shaved my face and will be growing a mustache to raise awareness and money for the cause. You can learn more about this and donate via My Movember Page. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second is Nanowrimo. Also during this month I will be attemptimg to write a 50,000 word novel. So far it has been a good experience and I am happy with the progress and the output so far. I am 6163 words into the project and well on track, looking to be over 7,000 words by the end of the night – above the goal for the day.

The short synopses is: “ugly is everywhere. ugly is around the street corner, on the faces of passersby. ugly is in the “beautiful”. true beauty is never where you want to find it…true beauty…the beauty that matters is always found in the cracks”

Here is a chapter from the book about a dog which will be central to the story as it progresses:

                                                                                 Bones

The sausage was tormenting her.

It hung there on the other side of the glass – linked one-by-one – and swung freely every time the rotating fan moved to the right.

Bones sat on her hindquarters, sweat bubbling under her greying fur – once a lustrous white coat – as humans sauntered past her on the sidewalk. Every so often one of the humans would toss a piece of hot dog or candy, and Bones would accept it gracefully, but then her attention would return to the sausages.

Those lovely links of meat.

She’d had one once. That is when her obsession with the butcher shop window started. Bones had been the “neighborhood dog” as long as she could remember – and for those who know a thing or two about dogs, as long as she could remember is not so long a time – but her fur had not yet begun to grey. It was cool outside and wet – the city was always wet – and people were bustling about hanging lights from windows and signs. The mood was nice and people were smiling. People didn’t smile very much. In fact, Bones had been pretty well fed in the past week or so and she was beginning to fatten up a little.

As she lay in front of a building on that cool morning dreaming whatever it is dogs dream about that makes them bark low and deep in their sleep she woke to the sound of the bells that rung every time the door to the butcher shop was opened. Bones enjoyed resting there because the smells would waft through her nose every time the bells would sound. The result would be her drifting off to sleep and then startled awake again minutes later. Most dogs, and surely people, would get annoyed by the process, but to Bones it was like a little nose-treat. She heard the normal sounds of footsteps that were common after the bells, only this time they seemed to be coming closer, followed by a soft whistle.

Bones opened her eyes and craned her neck, peering through tired eyes in the general direction of the sound. Legs – covered in jeans – stood too close to not be there intentionally.

“Hey pup, want a little something?” it was a human man, youngish in appearance with a soft smile. He kept repeating something over and over, as if he expected the dog to understand. Then he held out his hand, offering her a link of meat. Bones took the offering and woofed it down quickly. It was delicious. She quickly sat up and licked the human’s hand, removing any juices that remained.

“Oh, you like it?” More words, then the human turned and ran into the shop. Bones watched him talking to the guy that was always inside – all rolls of flesh under a white apron covered in blood. The guy turn and remove another of the delicious meat from the links in the window and hand it to the youngish human. He human smiled. The guy smiled. The human ran back through the door, sounding those bells and bent down to Bones, letting her eat the second sausage, petting her head while she chewed and licked away the juices.

And then he turned and left. Bones never saw him again, but the sausages remained in the window. Sometimes there were lots and sometimes there were little, but they were always there – looking moist and delicious.

So Bones waited. She waited there by the shop, staring through the window, willing the youngish human to return, or the sausage to fly through the window. People came and went; some of them nice, offering little bits of bread or cheese, and some of them not-so-nice, offering harsh voices and the occasional shoe. But the sausage was always there, and of all the things that came and went in the dog’s mind – and nothing in a dog’s mind stays for very long – the taste of those sausages would just not leave.

So bones waited.

She waited for the youngish human…or any human…to offer the kindness that could only be found in ground up, linked meat.

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Anyway, it’s going to be a busy month, but I am definitely looking forward to the challenges.