Day 10: 8,038 (3336 Book 3/120,421 Total)

Today's picture is a blue jay!

Welcome to book 3. It is science fiction and at the moment it's called Working for The Guild, but that will likely change later.

The western is 51,703 words long. I had trouble with it -- not a surprise. About the final 8,000 words is a 'One Year Later' story that really just has the same characters and more trouble. I'll have to wait and see what I think of the entire thing in a few months.

This book started out good. I have ideas for it, and I think I just figured something out about the antagonist. I'm looking forward to working on it.

Tomorrow. Tonight I'm gong to get this posted, post some thing for work, send a couple work-related emails -- and get some sleep!

Here is the opening to the new book:

Zerod frowned as he looked out through the spider web pattern across the permaglass window. It had taken a bad hit, but at least nothing had come through this far. Through the pattern of the glass he could see far worse. In the wing of the building that stretched out a hundred yards away, the metal stood in twisted piles, even the permaglass shattered or melted. No one in that part of the building had survived.

He'd read the report on the way in from Desmona Prime. He'd seen holos of the scene. It did not live up to the real thing.

Someone hated the Felisa Family.

That wasn't a real revelation. No group of people got as powerful as the Felisas without making enemies of all sorts. They were, after all, a company family, with their hands in far too much of the business in the (something) Fringe. Some said the fringe never would have survived without the Families who had come in and invested their fortunes -- and made fortunes in return.

Zerod liked to think that they would have managed anyway. Humans were industrious little animals. They figured out ways to survive against the odds. Granted, it would not have been quite as comfortable without the Four Families, but he wasn't sure comfort was worth the price sometimes.

But even for all that -- the Felisa Family was the least troublesome of the families. They did well, they didn't push for more, and they didn't act as though they ruled, either here on Catrina or on any of their other holdings.

Zerod had worked on company-owned worlds. He knew the difference.

Someone came up to the doorway behind him. Zerod had already put his hand on his belt as he turned, and was greeted by a face he knew, though only from reports. He hadn't expected to see Royce Felisa, but only because the younger of the Felisa sons was not supposed to be on-world. He had a bag in hand. Obviously he'd just come in with the shuttle -- the same one Zerod had taken, but Royce would not have been in the common room.

"You must be one of the new guards hired," Royce said, his eyes narrowing as he looked Zerod over.

"No," he said. Best to get this out of the way. He removed his hand from the dagger at his belt and saw Royce's eyes blink in surprise. "I am the new assassin."

"You can't be," Royce said with an emphatic shake of his head. "My father would never hire --"

He stopped at those words, reconsidered the situation, and the frown grew. Zerod had expected it. People from his Guild were not welcome anywhere, even when they were most needed.

"My grandfather hired you," Royce said, anger hardly concealed under his thin veneer of manners.