Hello everyone! I’m happy to announce that our hiatus has come to an end. We’ve hit some bumps, but we’re working to get back into our daily editing routine. It’s been hard to get back into the right mindset. Losing a pet as close to our hearts as Mina has been difficult to get over. But time has helped, and we want to get our novel moving again.
We’re currently working on chapters 7 and 8 of The Cabin Girl. We added a brand new chapter 3, we have a couple more new chapters planned, and we’re basically rewriting all the existing chapters to make them flow much better. After we finish this round of editing, it’ll be time for outside opinions.
Our release date has obviously been pushed. Right now, we’re just going to see how long it takes us to finish this round of editing. Then we can establish a more accurate release date goal.
For now, here’s a sneak peek from the brand new chapter!
Excerpt from The Cabin Girl
She learned she had what the sailors called seasickness. She hadn’t known such a thing existed. How could simply riding on a ship make someone violently ill? She had thrown up more this past week than she had all of her 21 years combined! Yesterday, she thought she was finally starting to feel better, only to have the sea retaliate with this rocky weather.
“Oh, cat, why did I get on this ship?” Cassia mumbled quietly to the orange feline flopped over her thigh. She sat on the deck with her back against a side wall, the ship’s railing above her head. A cold wind blew past, making her shiver as the air simply refused to calm down. She could seek warmth below deck, as she wasn’t busy with her tasks at the moment, but she was afraid to venture too far away from the ship’s side, should she suddenly need to lose her lunch.
Besides, the big scruffy cat was keeping her company. She petted him while he purred. He looked so relaxed, and she swore it looked like he had a smile on his face. She felt envious of him. He didn’t seem bothered by this horrible seasickness thing. He hadn’t a care in his furry little world.
“You got bones there keeping ya warm?” a male voice asked, as all the voices on the ship were male, all except hers.
Cassia lifted her head to see Remi. Of course it was Remi. He was the only one who cared to have any sort of normal conversation with her. She couldn’t bring herself to smile at him while her stomach lurched in her throat. What the hell was he even talking about? She wasn’t in any mood for nonsense.
“No, my bones aren’t keeping me warm,” she replied, confused at his strange attempt at being clever, an irritation in her words. “My skin and clothes aren’t doing much either.”
Remi laughed as if she had said something funny and that annoyed her. He didn’t seem to notice, keeping that amused grin. He always seemed to be grinning about something. His curly dark hair bumbled around his face with a fresh gust of wind. He didn’t have his fiddle with him, but she had seen him helping to set out some barrels on the deck. She wasn’t sure what they were doing with the barrels. Her nausea had overpowered her curiosity.
“I’m not talking about your bones, kid. I’m talking about that mongrel right there.” Remi lifted his foot and nudged the cat’s rear with his toe. “His name is Bones.”
Cassia looked down at the cat. Oh… Well now she felt stupid.
“I knew that…” she said, in a drawn out way that made it obvious she did not know that. Remi again laughed, and then he surprised her, dropping down to sit beside her.
Amber is half of the co-author duo that is Danica Avery. She lives in Maryland with her three furbabies. When she’s not being a crazy cat lady, or working on books, she enjoys playing video games, baking sweets, crocheting, and other artsy hobbies.