So far, I’ve written over 5,000 of the 30,000 words I am shooting for during Nanowrimo on my WIP, The Cursed Ruins. It’s the third book in my children’s fantasy adventure series, and the second is being edited so that I can publish it in December!

Here’s a chapter I wrote this week:

Chapter 2 – Christmastime

Two weeks later, the house was abuzz with activity. Their aunt Bertha was coming to visit for a few weeks and they had to rearrange their house to accommodate her. Mr. and Mrs. Wells brought Maurie’s bed into Janine’s room, which the girls would be sharing for the holidays. 

Then, they had to set up a cot in Maurie’s room and get some of her things out of the way. They vacuumed, cleaned, baked, and tidied until the house was immaculate and smelled of lovely gingerbread.

“Can’t we try some before she comes?” Bobby begged, peering at the cookies on the counter. They had cut out some gingerbread men and shortbread cookies and had to let them cool before they could decorate them.

“Not yet! They’re a special treat,” Mrs. Wells reminded him. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it. “She’s almost here!” 

Janine groaned, and Maurie nodded. She felt the same way. The children disliked aunt Bertha because she always told them they should do things differently and bossed them around. 

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Aunt Bertha barely waited for the door to be unlocked before she barged in, dumping snow on the doorstep. She took off her boots and dropped them onto the floor and then took off her large purple snowcoat. 

“Be a dear and hang this up,” she said to Janine, who was closest to her. Janine pursed her lips but complied. 

“Don’t just stand there,” Aunt Bertha reprimanded Maurie. “Give me a hug.”

Maurie stood as still as a statue but Mrs. Wells gave her a gentle push from behind and she knew she had to do it. She stepped forward and held her arms up and Aunt Bertha enveloped her in a crushing embrace. Maurie’s nostrils were filled with the scent of mothballs and potpourri. She did her best not to cough or gag. In fact, it was somewhat difficult to breathe until the hug was over.

“Now can we eat the cookies?” Bobby asked.

“Cookies? You shouldn’t be eating cookies,” Aunt Bertha said with a laugh. “Those must be for Santa. Little boys like you need to eat carrots and good things.”

“I do eat healthy things,” Bobby replied, nonplussed by his Aunt’s manner.

“Well, then, more for the adults!” She said.

Maurie’s face reddened slightly. She could feel herself growing irritated with Aunt Bertha already. She clenched one of her fists slightly. She wouldn’t let her ruin Christmas for them, she just wouldn’t. “We made the cookies for everyone,” she said, hoping this would settle things.

Aunt Bertha ignored Maurie’s comment and turned her attention to Bobby, who she gave an extra big hug to so that his eyes nearly bugged out. (970)

After Aunt Bertha was settled in, the children decorated the cookies with red, white, and green icing. 

“Can we bring some to Mrs. Goodwin?” Bobby asked. “She always shares her cookies with us.”

“Yes, but make sure you’re quick about it. There’s a blizzard coming in and it should be starting soon.” As soon as Mrs. Wells said that Maurie looked out the window and saw some white sparkling snowflakes start to fall.

“Let’s get bundled up!” Maurie cried out excitedly. It felt like quite the adventure to be racing against the blizzard to deliver some Christmas cookies.

The children packed up the cookies carefully, selecting some of the prettiest ones. “Careful! The icing isn’t dry yet,” Janine warned. 

Once the cookies were packed and the children were bundled, they set out down the street. The snow was falling quickly at that point and there must have been over an inch of it on the ground.

“Hurry!” Janine commanded as the snow began to pick up. A gust of wind blew some of it in their faces. 

They hurried onto my porch and pounded on my door. “Mrs. Goodwin, we’re here to give you some Christmas cookies!” Bobby shouted over the wind.

I opened my door and saw my three young snow-covered friends. “You look freezing!” I commented. “Step inside for a moment.”

The children crossed the threshold, bringing a load of snow with them. I laughed as it fell off them onto my floor. Bobby glanced up at me with an apologetic expression. “Oops.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “It will melt, and I’m sure Sally will enjoy licking it up.” I beckoned to my old, white furry Samoyed friend who was lying on her bed in the corner. She barked happily as if in agreement.

“Here’s the cookies,” Maurie said, handing them to me. “We hope you like them.”

“Merry Christmas!” Janine said. The children turned around as if they were about to leave. 

“Hold on,” I said. “I’ve got something for you three.”

They closed the door and waited patiently at the entryway while I went to find the three small gifts I had wrapped in green shiny paper the day before. 

“Here,” I said, handing them out. “A little something I thought of from the stories you told me.”

“Wow, thanks!” Bobby exclaimed. I took the cookies from them and set them on the counter. 

I narrowed my eyes at them suspiciously. “You haven’t had any more adventures lately, have you?”

The children shook their heads sadly. “Though I wonder,” said Maurie, “what Eridu is like at Christmastime.”

“Maybe Santa goes there, too,” Bobby said.

“Santa’s a legend,” Janine reminded Bobby.

“From what you told me, it sounds like the place where some legends are true,” I surmised.”Now take care as you head back. That storm is picking up.”

I opened the door and the children went back out into the cold. What happened next was rather unbelievable. One moment I saw them heading into the blizzard as snow whipped around wildly. The next moment it was as if they had vanished. I guessed it was an effect of the denseness of the storm at the time, but as I later found out, my three friends had been transported back to Eridu again. 

They didn’t know they were in Eridu at first, as there was a snowstorm there, in the area they had been transported to, as well. 

“Just a little further,” said Janine as they pressed onward. “I see a light.”

The children went towards the light and gasped. “Where did this come from?” Maurie asked. It was a giant structure of ancient design, and looked like the top half had mostly crumbled away. The whole thing was covered in a thick layer of snow and ice, but a lit doorway at its base looked inviting.

“Let’s go inside,” Bobby suggested. “I’m fr-rr-rr-eezing!” 

The children approached cautiously, unsure of where they were. They stepped inside and dusted themselves off. The light they had seen came from a torch, which was fixed to the wall. 

“Where is this place?” Janine wondered aloud.

Maurie looked at the walls and saw some markings that looked like a kind of writing. She recognized them as some they had seen the last time they were in Eridu. “Guys,” she said, pointing to her discovery. “I think I know where we are.”

How about you, fellow writers? How is your progress going and what are you working on?

Here’s a little more about my strategies and goals for Nanowrimo: