One. Hundred. Thousand.

.
I've made a breakthrough.

Last year, this same day, my work-in-progress, A Time to Die, was at a measly 39,000 words. Today, I wrote the word that broke the barrier of 100,000 words.

To put this in perspective, an average Christian novel runs around 90,000 words. A "long-ish" novel (according to Marcher Lord Press) ranges around 165,000 words. The estimated length of my novel, A Time to Die, is around 125,000. I'm in the home stretch! 

 

I've realized that most of my novel-explanation comes via word-of-mouth. In celebration of the 100,000 word mark, I will do what I should have done a while ago: post a description. As is every tiny word in my novel, even the descriptions are a work-in-progress. There's no telling what will change once I actually cross the finish line. As for now, here is a short summary of A Time to Die with a little clip from the actual story:

Description

One risk. One death. Two people.

In the year 2147, the United States of the East (USE) lives by the Clocks--an old invention that changed the world's view of life, death, and God. These Clocks tick down each person's days, hours, and minutes in blood-red numbers. Some sit on windowsills, some ride in pockets, and some are intentionally smashed. But death is no longer a surprise.

When one person might spend his or her last day with friends and family, another may pretend it's no different than any other day. Only Radicals are exiled across the Wall--a mile-high stone structure encircling the Earth. No one knows what's on the other side, but the rumors speak of death, insanity, and ruin.

The Clock in Parvin Blackwater's bedroom ticks away a life, but that life may not be hers; it could be her twin brother's. Due to an accident kept secret at birth, she doesn't know which one of them will die in 364 days--and neither does the government. When Parvin is betrayed by the only person outside of her family who knows her secret, she's forced across the Wall. Exiled. 

But the world follows her story as she prays she'll survive where only the dead have walked before. She must fight long enough to return to her family and bid goodbye to her brother as one of their lives reaches the inevitable line of zeroes.

Story Clip

The steel door slides shut like a cigar-cutter, slicing away my last beam of familiar light. I barely maintain my footing. The echo of light fades from my pupils, taking with it the outline of my outstretched hand. My heart pounds so hard it's bound to leave bruises.

I turn back around, gasping. Everything ahead is new--pitch black and unexplored. I swallow hard and a lump of ice hits my stomach. Packed dirt scrapes under my boots as I force my feet to carry me forward. Hands outstretched like Christ on the cross, my fingers run along the crude parallel rock walls. A pink glow appears ahead--symbolic of old sayings portraying death as the "light at the end of the tunnel". With foot over leaden foot, I walk to my death--deep breath, chin high, and a perfected look of defiance.