Ok, I’m back! Where did I go, you ask? Nowhere, actually. I’m just a day late. No, I’m not pregnant, gosh you sound like my sister! I’m a day late in regards to my regular blogging schedule. What’s that? You didn’t know I had a blogging schedule? Dammit! I knew this would happen…Yes, generally I try to concoct a post every third day. Can I use the word concoct there, or does that word work better when referring to making potions and stuff? Anyway, sometimes I don’t get around to it until the fourth day. And other times, I miss several weeks, ie the entire month of February.
But alas, I have decided to quit my job and blog full time!
Just kidding. But I am going to post regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Yes, I know today is Thursday. This mission goes into effect next week…. Mark your calendars people!
One might assume I got loads of writing done since I wasn’t blogging? Ummm…I think I hear my mother-in-law calling me…
Okay, so I didn’t get much writing done. Didn’t finish Chapter 14. But I will definitely have it finished…soon. Rather ambiguous, I know. But in the meantime, let’s talk about what I already have written. A few posts ago, I outlined what’s happened so far in Chapter 1-5 (if you missed that, are new to JJE, or you just want to reminisce and/or bask in my awesomeness, click here). In Chapter 6, Officer Brighthouse meets with the Medical Examiner to discuss the condition of Lyla’s latest victim. Here’s a quick excerpt:
Officer Brighthouse reached the morgue, jogged past the front desk, Red Bull in hand, and took the steps two at a time to the third floor, where Dr DiCicco’s office was located. He tried his best to collect himself and contain his excitement and curiosity, before knocking on the thick, frosted glass door. When he heard LeeAnn’s voice from within, he slowly opened the door and entered, not sure what to expect from his visit.
LeeAnn was sitting cross-legged behind a large, gray, L-shaped, metal desk. The lifeless gray paint that covered the walls and ceiling was chipped and peeling. The windows bore the same thick frosting as the door, prohibiting the summer sunlight from shining through. The artificial, fluorescent lighting did the doctor’s face no justice, for she was rather attractive for an older woman. She had shoulder-length brown hair that was thick and shiny. Her big, round eyes were equally dark, and probably the softest part of her face. Her sharp bone structure was indicative of her Italian lineage and gave her a forbidding appearance. She reminded Brighthouse of an archetypical librarian or school teacher: especially today, with her hair pulled back and reading glasses perched on the tip of her nose. Just as she looked up to greet him, he interrupted her for the third time that day. “Okay LeeAnn, start with the prelim, and explain everything to me… like I’m a four-year-old.”
She gave him a queer look.
“Sorry, I was up watching Philadelphia before shift last night.” She continued to stare at him, so Brighthouse continued. “You know. Denzel Washington. Tom Hanks. Denzel is a lawyer defending Tom Hanks, who has AIDS. You had to have seen it, where –”
“Officer Brighthouse, if you’re done playing Siskel and Ebert, I have an autopsy report to review.”
“You’re right. Of course. I’m Sorry. It must be all the Red Bull. I gotta do something to get through these graveyard shifts.” He smiled hesitantly. “Anyway, please, continue.”
“The preliminary examination is basically an external examination. In the case of Alex Livanos –”
“Who?”
“That was his name. He did have a name, you know. Anyway, the prelim yielded no knew information, just like I told you over the phone. Based on the lack of rigor mortis and the victim’s un-fixed lividity, he died between midnight and 1am on Saturday. There were no visible bruises or marks of any kind. No trace elements, either.”
“Wait, you said, between, midnight and 1am?” Brighthouse took out a pen and a small notepad from his left breast pocket and began taking vigorous notes.
“That’s correct. Why? Is that significant?” LeeAnn peered up at him over her dark-rimmed reading glasses.
“Might be.”
journeyofjordannaeast 
Well done with your discipline. Are you opting straight for self-publishing, or are you going to try to publishing houses?
I am most likely going to self publish after the novel is extensively edited. I want to accrue reviews and ratings from readers before I try to shop it to a publishing house. I’m thinking that might be the wisest course of action, unless someone convinces me otherwise.