What do these seemingly disparate things have in common? I learned something about each this week! Let’s start with the book. Normally, I’d feature this on WANA Wednesday, but I only have one book, and I’m lazy, so…

A couple of weeks ago, real-life writing friends C.D. Hersh released their debut urban fantasy, The Promised One. In the wrong hands, the Turning Stone ring is a powerful weapon for evil. So, when homicide detective Alexi Jordan discovers her uncle has been murdered and his magic ring stolen, she is forced to use her shape-shifting powers to catch the killer. By doing so, she risks the two most important things in her life–her badge and the man she loves.

Rhys Temple always knew that his cop partner, and would-be-girlfriend, Alexi Jordan had a few secrets. He considers that part of her charm. But when she changes into a man, he doesn’t find that as charming. He’ll keep her secret to keep her safe, but he’s not certain he can keep up a relationship–professional or personal.

I am reading The Promised One now, and really enjoying it! What’s especially cool is that it isn’t your typical creature-shapeshifter–in this book, people shift into other people. Very cool, with so many opportunities for things to get interesting! More info on their blog at http://cdhersh.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/book-release-birthday/

So, one thing I learned this week is that it’s still possible to put a new twist on something that’s been done and done and done – in this case, the shapeshifter romance. Other things I learned are:

Another thing I learned is that changing the spark plugs on a ’99 Firebird is a major pain! They are almost impossible to get to. I know this, because my husband was attempting to do this on my old car, that our daughter now drives, and needed my smaller hands to help. We did it, but it wasn’t easy–he even ended up drilling a hole through the wheel well to get an extension socket wrench through to get to the most difficult one!

Third, I learned that six people can be invited to witness an execution in Ohio. Three by the condemned, and three by the victim’s family. Maybe this is obvious to folks who watch a lot of news–I found it in the process of doing research for my work-in-progress.

And finally, I’m finding that I don’t need to outline exhaustively to start writing–in fact, this is one excuse I use to procrastinate. I knew this before, but this awesome blog post by Dean Wesley Smith reminded me. If you’re a writer and you haven’t read it, go there. Really. This is the best blog post I’ve read all year! So I didn’t write up the 25 scene cards I’d noted in last week’s ROW80 goals–just made a few more notes, and started writing instead. Nothing major, just 250 words, but hey, it’s a start! Here are the rest of the details:

• Do the Character Pre-plan Exercise for my antagonist – Done!
• Work on outline–create 25 cards – not done, but still counting this as a win. See above.

I also started back in on fitness, now that I can walk on the treadmill for more than five minutes without having to stop to cough. Got four workouts in last week! I also picked up some more research materials at the library. I have a bunch of stuff going on this weekend which will require a good bit of prep time, so going easy on the goals this week. So here’s the plan:

• Skim/read the smaller of the two research books
• 1500 words on new ms
• 4 workouts

What about you–what new things have you learned this week? Read any good books lately? If you’re doing ROW80, or just working toward some goals, how are you doing? Let us know in the comments–I’d love to hear from you!

Jennette Marie Powell writes stories about ordinary people in ordinary places, who do extraordinary things and learn that those ordinary places are anything but. In her Saturn Society novels, unwilling time travelers do what they must to make things right... and change more than they expect. You can find her books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, and more.