Those of you who have been here before may remember our word count graph (we've had these since 2005). This is a thread that will let you sign up to be a part of the graph, so you can track your own word count against others from our region. Just post:

• a really brief, high level description of your story
• (optionally) a description of some aspect of your opening (e.g., where is it set? What do you expect to happen?) or of your main character (what will readers notice first about them?)

You can visit the NaNo Faces page (updated hourly).

Thanks!

--Tim

To start things off:

My novel this year (The House of Many Doors) is about a boy (Chase) who has grown up within this mystical House whose many doors lead to strange and perilous worlds. Chase wants very much to escape; previous attempts have ended badly. Now a girl appears (Thea), claiming to be his long lost sister. When she steals his magic key, he knows she doesn't realize her danger...

I am going to open with a Halloween scene. The House strongly encourages Chase to give out things to trick or treaters who come to one of its doors at Halloween each year. Some teenagers, thinking this House to be deserted and available for their mischief, force their way in...

Readers will, I think, notice how cautious and quiet Chase is.

Shadow Island

by Ajey

Unspecified Genre

After the newspaper assigns her to investigate Shadow Island rumors, reporter Isabella Saracen visits her aunt there, dispels the rumors, and decides to move there.

My novel opens with Isabella receiving strange letters and emails from her aunt, who lives on this mysterious island in the middle of the Indian Ocean (near the Seychelles, to be exact). She mentions it when she is in her office, with the result that her boss (the news director or editor) assigns her on a "working vacation" to see if some of the rumors that lots of people had been hearing about this island (and its inhabitants) were true.

Overbooked -- a woman decides to take the airline's offer to be bumped from her flight (mainly to get away from her obnoxious teenage daughter and horrible husband) and discovers herself while staying in Europe.

Opening is at an airport. But it's in Amsterdam. And after having the MC's POV, we see the family through the eyes of a flight attendant, who feels sorry for Candice and ensures she gets to stay at a great hotel--the same Hilton that John Lennon & Yoko Ono did their 'bed in for peace.'

Thanks for doing this, Tim.

Thanks to an extended session with a dictionary of Shakespeare quotations yesterday, I have a title at last - This Bleeding Piece of Earth. A high-ranking judge from one of the magic-wielding, central cities of the Empire and an enforcer for one of the minor aire of a minor city are thrown together in an investigation of the murder of a king's closest confidant.

Opening scene is the discovery of the body. In a culture where the penalty for murdering someone and then pretending you didn't do it is twice the penalty for murdering someone and then fessing up right away, this is a Big Goddamn Deal.

Reap It, Sister!

Emi is a junior-level Reaper in the city of Mictlan, in the Hereafter. When she makes a deal with the entity Chance to get out of a contract to kill the woman that was her fiancee while she was living in the old world, everything spirals downwards out of control. Locked into a series of debts with Chance and his lover, Fate, Emi must find a way out--even if it means going down to the prisonesque underbelly of Mictlan--Niflhel--to ask a wraith for assistance.

The Other Rhinebeck (tentatively titled)

Delphine, a young schoolteacher, has quit her job in New York City to look after a house in upstate New York left to her by her favorite aunt. The house turns out to have a demon portal in the basement and a gateway to another world/dimension in the cellar. When she passes through into 'the other Rhinebeck,' Delphine finds that magic and demons have seeped into this other dimension and are being exploited by a sorcerer who craves chaos and power. Delphine wants to help, but can she?

So This Is Christmas

Kris inherits his late granddad's toy factory which may or may not be Santa Claus' workshop at the North Pole. He doesn't believe it is, but everyone else working there does.

Opening scene is Kris looking out of an airplane window at the factory and being very unimpressed with what he sees.

Heart of Fire and Ice: Kokkoroh's Story

A fanfic from the world ofAvatar: the Last Airbender, Kokkoroh's Story is about a bi-racial Firebender, raised in the Water Tribe, who sets out for Republic City to find his place in the world. He will make some friends, and accompany themto their bending practices, though he will not reveal that he himself is a bender. However, when given the option, he will begin calling himself Lee of the Fire Nation, and will lie to keep up the faade. But how long will he be able to live this double life, and what will happen when his secret is revealed?

Threat Assessment

Like any A-List actress, Alessandra Vargas has her fans and her stalkers. As she quickly learns, it is the latter that can become a nuisance and a threat. But after enlisting the assistance of top Executive Protection specialist Richard Williamson. Alessandra's hopes of a return to a normal celeb life are back. If only for a short time.

I will be opening with the arrival of Alessandra at a hotel, from the view of a stalker who smells her before he can even catch a glimpse of her, and is overwhelmed by her presence....how they meet in person is mere minutes away...

Max, fresh out of a federal prison, is made an offer she can't refuse: help track down a ring of spies attempting to steal a security protocol, or face returning to prison. Andy and Alexei, fresh off of their triumphant unmasking of corruption in high places, are made an offer they can't refuse: steal a high level security protocol for their bosses, or face a one way trip to Siberia. Matt is just trying to find out who kidnapped his wife, and why.

Opening scene is roughly going to be Max being diverted as she prepares to be released.

Sign me up to that graph please Tim!

My story will be collected incidences that happen to real music majors all strung together and fictionlized to be the last year of a Violinist's undergrad.

I needed something easy, fast and something I could find inspiration just by sitting at school and listening to people.

Opening scene will be the morning of fall orchestra auditions and the mind games people try to play.

Please sign me up for the graph!

Still searching for a title.

In the future, the earth's climate has destabilized, throwing everything into chaos. Over 70% of the earth's population has been wiped out. Those who are left must rally together to create communities that can provide for their residents. Immediately new governments spring up complete with protocolstocontrol those living inside, while extractingthe raw and developed materials from people beyond their borderto support them. Carefully orchestrated lies leave one man on his own in a hostile zone that will completely redefine his reality and all the beliefs he's ever held dear. Can he find his way back to his family and his faith without losing it all?

It opens in a bloody,muddy ditch in the acid rain...

In my book, The Infinity Schism, an ordinary woman looking to find herself instead gets lost in a conflict across galaxies, through multiple realities, and on every side of a battle between good and evil. The Infinity Schism is a humorous fantasy/science fiction novel and the planned fourth novel of my Infinity Test series, which I started in early Nanos. Can I be added to the graph?

Title: Inside Out

The Sorceress

Set in 1959 to 1960, preteen April discovers her perfect Halloween costume, a beautiful, mysterious, sorceress. A series of coincidences has her girlfriends believing she really has "the power." April knows she's just faking it. She doesn't know, however, if the enigmatic new neighbor is a witch as some gossips say.

Opening lines:

I hated being a witch. I had to be one for three years. The fourth year, when I was in sixth grade, the year before everything happened, I transformed into a beautiful sorceress.

The Dark Quarantine

A preternatural darkness fell over The City one night decades ago, starting in one district. Everyone who was out in that darkness disappeared and never resurfaced. The darkness began spreading to other districts, and The City eventually instituted a curfew. As the darkness continued to spread, someone somewhere in the government decided that quarantine was the only option. So they walled off the world's most populous city, including all 20 million inhabitants who were not allowed to leave. The quarantine was thorough and absolute, leaving no method of contacting (or being contacted by) the outside world. Since no one in The City will talk about what's happening, an aspiring reporter in her senior year of high school decides to investigate the history of The City, the darkness, and the quarantine. She uncovers hidden stories from throughout the years, but her investigations ultimately lead to her being outside after curfew...

The opening scene will be adapted from a scene I wrote for the wonderful Writer's Voice workshop run by our very own NewMexicoKid. =) The scene features a man and a young girl fleeing from an oncoming wave of blackness that's devouring the city. The girl trips and falls, and the man turns to face the darkness to protect her.

Alternate Routes

FinbarrMcG

What happens after you've found The Shortest Route to eliminate hunger, but it didn't quite all work out as smoothly as envisioned.

Opening is the main character stuck in traffic

The head of the Leopard
I will write about Trish, a 13 year old teenager. She thinks she has a boring life in a boring town with boring parents. But she wants to be wild.
Will her dream come true, when she finds out her mum is a former spy and her dad has secrets of his own? Will she be able to untangle all the strands before it is too late?

Into the Flame

After her brother stops Fractalis (Stone Song), Beryl expects her headaches and hallucinations to cease. When they increase, she seeks out Citrian, who is now a Stone, and is sent on a mission to the Arkosian desert to find the source of the problems--a living flame. Misinterpreting his intentions, she joins with the flame and begins a battle for both her body and her world.

The story opens with Beryl in the library of the great tree city of Sorbus, having an identity crisis.

Tired Dad - A fictionalized and humorous memoir of our family and raising triplet girls. Opens in the Dr. office when we first learn we are having triplets.

Please add me to the graph. Thanks for doing the graph again, Tim.

POET
Political intrigue and an expanding war loom over an arranged marriage of convenience between two very different households. The groom: a mute deformed since birth and an idealistic swordsman who has never tasted true battle. The bride: a proud foreign princess, raised in war and rumored to have survived multiple attempts on her life.

As the battlefield inches closer to the Capitol and traitors skulk in every shadow... the marriage of these dueling cultures, languages, tempers, and agendas could be just what the Nation needs to survive.

Wings of Flame

Phoenixica24

Sequel to my story from last year, 'Phoenix Spark'. Kila has made her decision...now she must live up to it.

Opening is her waking up to realize her world will never be the same again.

Title: Recipe for Messiah

Genre: Main stream fiction

Protagonist: Jack Conoboy

Antagonist: Patrick Maher

Patrick, a young but surprisingly seasoned political strategist, thinks he has found the holy grailofpolitical success and power. Since graduating from Notre Dame in the early nineties, Patrick has run campaigns for both parties. He served as chief of staff for a Democratic representative from Illinois, and a Republican Senator from Indiana. He is disillusioned by the debilitatinginfluence religious zealotry has on foreign affairs, as well as domestic policy making. His answer? If you can't beat 'um, join 'um. Instead of swimming up stream against religion and faith, Patrick decides to procure some of his own. But Christs, Allahs and Buddahs don't offer their services on Craig's List. You can't just create your own Messiah--or can you? He recruits the help of Jack Conoboy, his reluctant college roommate. Jack, a former altar-boy and former devout catholic,is a journalist is in Washington. With some cajoling, manipulating, and trickery, Patrick convinces Jack to be the press secretary for his new Robo-candidate--handsome, brilliant, empathetic, and possibly divinely sent. But as Patrick's plan starts to seem flawless and unstoppable, Jack asks the one chilling question Patrick doesn't have an answer for--what have we created?

The Sword Maker

General Ryuuka Koromune, the right hand of the Daimyo, has eyes for only one. Kentsukai is a serving girl at a sushi shop in Fujikabe, where she is known for her beauty and skill. But he desires neither of these traits. He desires her death, and the honor of ending her accursed family line. Kentsukai, is about to be ripped from her comfortable, humble life and thrust into the world of soldiers and assassins, a life most think she should willingly give up.

Fundamentally, Kentsukai is a coward. She is afraid of conflict, of war, of the Clans, the Ryuuka, and of her past. The easy thing for her to do would be to submit to the will of others, and die for the honor of the fallen Empire. But deep in her veins, her family's blood runs strong, and hidden. Who shall she honor the most?

The Recipe Box

Gemma & Jackson deal with the passing of Gemma's grandmother, who has left Gemma everything in her kitchen, including an old recipe box.

The story opens with Jackson deciding whether or not he should mow the grandmother's lawn, because he doesn't trust her kids enough to do anything for her. [I didn't expect him to be so jealous and angry, but he is grieving.]

Final Variation

Time travel, alternate realities, sacrifice, betrayal, redemption, hope.

It begins where last year's novel ended, with the main character's dead body hitting the floor.

Scarsville

This is YA/MG book about a teen girl and her little brother moving to a small town where they are the first new residents her schoolmates have ever seen. All the kids in the town are of very similar ages and have no memories of ever leaving town. She is dying to find out who these kids are, why none of them look anything like their parents, and why all of their parents have all suffered serious injuries that have left them with missing limbs and wicked scars (hence the name Scarsville).

This is my first year doing Nano, although I signed up two years ago. I'm excited to follow through with participating this year! I finished my first draft of another related book this summer, which was a huge accomplishment for someone who has many books started but never finished.

Transcendental - A Journey of the Spirit

A person's journey to ordained ministry, from youth to adulthood.

Haven't written the opening yet. I'm loving the way Scrivener lets me work different places on the timeline.

The USS Providence, one of Starfleet's newest science vessels, is launched to explore beyond the borders in the Beta Quadrant. But the border worlds they must first traverse past are hiding secrets that few have dared to even uncover.

The opening is set at fleet yards where the vessel is finishing construction. While planned to be launched under a different name, the Captain overseeing construction makes a last minute change to the vessel's registry and assigns the name Providence. Weeks later, the crew is assembling and settling in for their assignment.

Hi I am continuing my sci fi saga again this year.

Dave AKA TRRDEDEAN

I'd love to say what my story is about. Unfortunately, I don't actually know yet. I know there's a girl named Annie who leaves home and goes to some far-away school that her sister Lucy bartered her way into, except that Lucy couldn't go because she got sick and couldn't travel. So Annie goes instead. And then... I don't know! Hopefully something happens, and hopefully it takes about 50,000 words to do so. We'll see how the month goes!

Just came up with the story as I woke up this morning. Wrote a little before work, hope to knock more out tonight and thru the extended weekend (with the extra hour we get!)

-Keith

6th year in NaNoWriMo

Finding Yankee

"Exodus"

KeithCochran

Science Fiction - set initially on Earth.

My main character will be a wild pilot who takes some important rich people off the planet after a big asteroid hit. They will be heading towardCassiopeia. That's about it so far.

Wolf Weather : Various characters compete for dominance in a world still discovering its potential for magic.

Opening: A deadly accident in a snowstorm leaves a wolf dead and two trainee death-priests on the run.

That's a neat graph--I'd love to be added on :)

Good and Bad Forces conspire to aquire five powerful keys to reality.

A magical desert adventure YA/kids story. Started out ass Tories I've been telling my kids as bedtime stories, now I'm writing them down.

Basically, two sisters travel the world to find allies to help fight the evil person who nearly destroyed their kingdom.

I'd love to be included in the word count chart!

Happy Writing

Cici

Squiddish reporting for duty.

• "a really brief, high level description of your story"
• Originally I was editing a previous NaNo novel... and while that still may happen, at 2AM on November first I was struck with muse and worked my way 3,000 words into a short story. We'll see what happens. WATCH OUT, WORLD, SQUID IS PANTSING IT.

I am intrigued!

Sudden mental image of a squid wearing pants. Could be a hit cartoon series.

Nearly forgot to do this!

Description:An Arthurian legend story (set in the world created by BBC's Merlin), but an alternate world in which each person is marked with a soulmate upon coming of age.

Opening: Uther and Igraine's first secret meeting upon finding out they are soulmates.

Still looking for a title, but I am writing a YA story about a group of students attending a unique Japanese school for the traditional arts. In this case, the traditional arts include not just tea ceremony and ikebana, but things like demon hunting and how to be a daimyo.

Just moved to the area and glad to be part of such a supportive writing community!

A Game of Fire

steelstringgirl

Global and national level governmental organizations have become useless, and crime runs rampant, especially in the most dangerous city in the world-Chicago. This is what happens when one man gets fed up with it all.

The opening begins with our main character, Alex Reeder, sitting, feeling useless, in his apartment.

I would like to be in.

Eldritch

A novel about a detective who uncovers a world-altering scheme and must team up with his least favorite partner and the team pet dragon to stop it.

I'm writing up a storm, fast and furious,my fingers spark and smoulder,as they touch the keyboard. 911 is on speed dial, just in case. In fact, my novel pivots around thunderstorms, but in a science-fiction, paranormal way. The story takes place in Miami Beach, where thunderstorms are common.

My opening scene is in an old, eccentric man's apartment. Rumors about him are being spread. The young and the old are trying to get along and things are just starting to heat up.

My working title is Faith and Dust

It's a paranormal adventure book

Basically an archaeologist finds and ancient manuscript describing how to find Melchizedek, a man from the book of Genesis and Hebrews. He is immortal and put on earth to keep evil from overtaking mankind. Spencer, my main character, learns he has been captured and evil is winning.

Temp title: An Unexpected Find

Romance novel set in early 1800s in England. Hope to finish the story by writingthe last 50K words to add to the almost 36K I currently have. The story begins with Christina, one of the main characters, riding up to her home to attend a meeting with her father. He has returned briefly to announce a decision which will change her life.

Please add me to the graph!

My book is calledRacing Hearts.

Someone wants Sami Gentiledead. Rebellious and reckless, Sami Gentile is the hottest female race car driver on her uncles racing team. All she wants to do is win races, make money and have fun. Her uncle Royce wants to keep her safe. Someone is sending her death threats. Royce hires the one person Sami has never been able to get over. Grayson Finch just spent the better part of a decade in Special Forces. After getting hurt, he is forced to retire and starts his own security company. Royce hires him as Samis own personal bodyguard.

Would love to get in on the graph. I am at 4,438 words!

My story is as yet untitled, though that didn't stop me from giving it a working title. It's called My Super Fantastic Mystery Surprise Rebel Novel. It's historical fantasy set in the American West. If anyone knows a lot about 1870s Kansas, American Indian nations of that area, and/or military operations dealing with Indians and is willing to share their expertise, please, please nanomail or email (brennan.cm@gmail.com) me!

This year I'm picking up where I left off last year. I ended up with 70K+ words, including a decent ending (for a first draft.) In fact, I liked last year's novel a lot, but when I went back to revise it, I realized it was missing some important scenes/information. I'm writing that stuff this year. If I finish writing all the missing bits and I still need words, I'll start on the sequel.

A brother and sister are entrusted with the fate of the earth...but nobody remembered to tell them! 2 unlikely heroes must learn to work together and face their own demons before they can embrace their destiny, and the universe is counting on them.

HI! My name is Mark and this is my second NaNoWriMo.I am writing a fantasy tentatively titled "The Resurrectionists" (or is it "The Resurrectors" ?)

My Mom's a Zombie

This is a sort of fanfic that takes place in Georgia, location of the Walking Dead. This is basically a zombie story told from the point of view of a 12 year old girl named Maggie. Maggie is small for her age, but is always trying to act tough and tomboyish. She will be put to the test in this Zombie Apocalypse.

Working Title:Get the Lesson

I know... I am late this year, but I am really starting tonight.

Is there life after divorce? Absolutely! Follow the twists and turns asHazel Baines moves fromdiscovery to divorce court and backto her oldlife as an independent woman. But wait? What if she finds a way to stop hating Adamand just moves on? What if the hardest part is forgiving herself for abandoning her own dreams.

Of Lanterns and Light

Well known throughout Ireland as a man who would con even his own priest, Jack O'Bannon has lived a life of lies and manipulation. When he dies of exposure to the elements, drunk and alone on the moors, Jack finds himself turned away at the gates of Heaven for his sinful lifestyle, and forbidden entry to Hell because of a trick he played on the Devil himself years before. Left to wander the earth without any place to take his final rest, Jack finally gets to witness firsthand the damage he left behind.

When he sees his son heading down the same road he walked, Jack is desperate to find a way to set him right. But without a physical form or a voice that the living can hear, the task is daunting. Can Jack set his son on the right path before he meets the same fate as his father, or will Jack prove himself once again a failure?

My opening scene is Jack watching his own funeral. It's a bit of a wake-up call for him.

P J J Walton

Working Title - Goblin Tales

Feeling like he will be trapped in the city of DirtMuck forever,a young goblin sets out on a quest to break a curse cast by an elven witch five thousand years earlier on his race. Learning the magical arts taught to him by Goothak, a legendary goblin mage, Grubble mustmaster hisskillsquickly to save his people. Armed with the Verendum, a magical staff, the journey to defeat Gerzma will be fraught with danger and hidden peril. Grubble's comedic band of companions join him on his journey, but can a little bit of magic and laughter keep the darkness at bay? For whenthedangers of the adventureincrease Grubble and his friends must find their courage anddiscover along the way who they truly are.

No title yet.

PBJ63010

I'm working on the continuation of last year's NaNo project.

It starts with the MC reminiscing about the day she got engaged and tells the story of her relationship and engagement.

Working Title: Pride & Prejudice in Space

Set on Mars in 2513, 16 year old Emily Brown has to take an Earth Studies class where they do a Full Immersion Reading of Pride and Prejudice to help students identify with classic literature. She thinks the exercise is pointless and doesn't understand why they need to learn about a book that is 700 years old or about a planet they no longer live on. But as she learns the story, she finds that it mirrors her own life and that maybe life on Mars isn't so different than the world of Elizabeth Bennett.

It starts with her answering a question for an Earth Studies test: Describe why Earth is now a desolate wasteland.

Tungurahua

A colonization missionis sent to claim a new harsh world only to find this is the second attempt;reclaiming a wild world proves much harder than expected.

Working Title: Gates

Fictitious members of Chicago Bearscompete to win games,earn their place in NFL history,corral marketing opportunities, notch their bedposts, and win the affection of the hottest broadcast sports babe in the Midwest, all without disappointing their mothers' expectations.

Clamshell Brainjelly

A group of ragtag individuals do odd jobs for the government that ends up saving the world in silly ways and thwarting a villain multiple times.

Joshua, a physics teacher at a mid-western college discovers a break between universes. The Void, as he calls it, is formless, but can support human life. Moving through the void he is invisible to people around him, but he can observe them. He can steal with impunity, commit murder, and act in a totally independent nature to life around him except that an eastern European mobboss had also discovered his secret and vows to eliminate Joshua to protect the secrets they both possess.

Hi,

Can I be added to the graph please. I'm starting a little late this year. :(

I participated last year. And I'd like to participate again.

I don't have a title yet.

But I'm thinking is a young adult - Romantic / Horror type story.

The idea just came to me the other day - So I have a lot of work out for me.

- Alex

Title: Howling At Nottingham

Horror & Supernatural

Robin comes home after years of fighting the crusades with Richard to find his father expelled from their ancestral home, and his betrothed engaged to marry someone else having presumed him dead. While living and hunting in Sherwood foresthe's bitten by a werewolf.

Title: Servitor of the Gods

SciFi

Opening scene: We find Volos leading the foot race during the "Trial of the Gods". He fulfillshis ambition to serve the gods but what he finds is his whole world is alie. Will he do anything to rectify the situation?

slrphebos

Am doingthe highly anticipated novel about what happened to Vaughan after book #2 in the series. This is how he falls in love all over again and how the one that is best for him has always been there and he just never really took a look.

Readers I think will be able to relate to this story as how many of us have had a crush on someone only to find out that crush likes someone else better and then ends up in a happy relationship with them and not you? Been there done that. This is also the first book that finally shows what happens on the night the clan calls "the slaughter". That is eye opening and heartbreaking, but something I felt the series needed after all these years.

Death's Sacrifice

Peter had lived a great life, but even he knew it had been too short. Caught in an unfortunate accident, he finds himself in a room where a strange sounding priest informs Peter of his tragic demise. Faced with the unknown, Peter is given a choice: to continue on his path to death, or play a game for a chance to live. The consequences of this game are unknown, and Peter's not the only one playing. There are four others who have chosen to play and no one quite knows what exactly is at stake. But if they're all already dead, what's the worst that could happen?

I'm starting this novel with Peter trying to remember how he died while sitting alone in a big, empty room. He starts wondering where he is, if he's really dead and what sorts of things could be going on with those he loves if he really is dead.

Hello everyone! I'm writing a novel called "Beyond Beta" about a guy who goes to away to school - in space!

A girl grows up in suburbia with the obsession to create a rural life.

Title: Deadly Angels

Genre: Supernatural and Young Adult

Protagonist: Relin Quere

Summary:

The kingdom of Enid took away the rights of the supernatural beings after hundreds of years of living in peace. Supernaturals who's origins are unknown, a surprisingly large number of them, are looked down upon even more. Which is exactly what Relin Quere is. After escaping from imprisonment, she knows she should hide. But she also knows she should fight.

As her torn mind andheart claw furiously at her to choose a side, she witnesses events and meets interestingpeople that start to change her perspective on everything. On herself. Quickly, rumors of revolt start to slip through the stone walls of the no longer sturdy foundation that holds their whole government up right.

The real question is, are they just rumors?

After accepting a job as a counselor in an isolated university, recent college gradLiz begins to see signs that her personal demons may not be the only forces she's up against.

Readers will first notice Liz's penchant for writing exactly what she thinks (relentlessly) in each journal-style blog post.

Gentle Fiction - No title yet

NanoSue

A senior athlete meets a middle-aged couch potato. Each has something to teach the other.

Set at a fictional nature center (that has some resemblance to the Morton Arboretum)

Working Title; Shadow Hunter

The MC has never thought of herself as special. She certainly doesn't believe she has any special abilities. Then she is inexplicably pulled into a parallel world. On the surfaceit looks the same,but upon closer examination she finds that the differences are vast. Hereshe learns of the Shadows. They began as the benign shadows of the everyday world, but then theyevolved. Now they are powerful,eviland hungry and theyseek out individuals to manipulate and control in ways that create worldwide chaos. The MChas the ability to hunt and vanquish the Shadows. However, heronly interest is to return to her own world and continue leading a normal life. Until she finds out that the shadows are in her world, as well. And they are evolving. (Mwahaha! Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

This is my first stab at the sci-fi genre. In the past, all of my novels have beenmystery/suspense.

Six Feet Above

As the Cunningham family prepares to bury their matriarch, a secret emerges from the grave. Can they keep it together before the funeral in one week is anyone's guess.

My opening is the father going into a funeral home.

Subject: A group of teenage children have to save the world from going awry. But can they really do it?

Opener: MC is eating a sandwich on the school steps.

Welp, I'm doing it -- I'm starting NaNo eight days late because I finally got an idea (so I'll probably spend a good chunk of time in Danger Will Robinson territory).

The novel this year is tentatively called Do Not Crossand is a story of a world where a group of diseases known as paraviruses give both negative symptoms and positive abilities to those who contract them.

The opening is at the home of a couple, both of whom work(ed)for a large legal firm handling much of the patent issues surrounding medical research of the paraviruses.

Mangono

An island ruled by darkness, but blessed with a promise for the light to return again.

"Walk the Cat Back"--a boy has been turned into a cat and must find out how to turn back. Starts with a man in the 1700s using a spell to become immortal by turning into a cat.

Thanks!