Storms in the Distance, Calm in the Climb

From farewell windows to the climb toward 60,000 words

Author

Anna Kuyper Bellettiere
September 21, 2025

🌤 Today’s Weather in Illinois

This morning rests under cloudy skies at 76°F (25°C), with warmth pushing near 80°F by mid-afternoon. Evening brings a chance of thunderstorms around 6 PM, before cooling steadily into the mid-60s overnight. A day of shifting moods — cloud, brightness, tension, and rest.

That rhythm feels close to my writing life right now. Some weeks rush like storm surges; others unfold quietly, each word a measured step upward. Both carry me forward.

✍️ Word Count Update

  • Starting point (Sept 14): 57,787 words

  • Today’s final count (Sept 20): 59,280 words

  • Progress this week: +1,493 words

  • Distance to 60,000 milestone: 720 words left

Last Saturday was a storm surge — more than 7,000 words poured out in a rush. This week was gentler, like today’s weather: cloudy skies holding steady, warmth pushing through, storms on the horizon. A rhythm of brightness and tension, but never losing its forward pull.

I’m now just steps from the 60,000-word base camp, the checkpoint I set as proof of endurance and persistence. Next week, I’ll plant the flag there — and from that height, the summit of 80,000–100,000 will finally come into view.

📖 Marie Kelly & Clara Hayes Farewell Window

One week from now, I’ll be unpublishing The Inextinguishable Marie Kelly and The Resistance Chronicles: The Awakening of Clara Hayes. For this last stretch, they remain available for $0.99 on Amazon.

Why close this window? Because these books were my first trail markers — raw, imperfect, but proof that I could finish something, survive the storm, and find rhythm again. They are not the summit, only the first climb.

If you’d like to read them in this form, this version, this moment — now is the time. When they return, it will be in a new shape, sharper in craft and truer to where I’m headed next.

The Rhythm Forward

Every storm, every calm, every return of brightness is part of the climb. And the rhythm is this: I can write great. I do write great. And I’m not done yet.

—A.L. Bellettiere