552 more words today in novel-in-progress T'aint.  Many of those were notes, so I'm cheating a bit with that word count.  There's a nut at the core of this story that I haven't cracked yet.  There's something I need to make the workings come alive and start swinging and ticking around each other.  I'll get there.  I'll try to expand those notes into actual prose tomorrow.  This is still in draft, but here's another snippet;

The hoodoothing's skin looked all reptilian and bumpy now, its mouth too long and toothy.  It leaned its face in so close to me that I could have stuck my tongue out and licked its gator hide.  "Why don't you have it over with and be done, Redbone?  Tell me your name."

I whimpered, tried to pull my head away, but it still had me by the hair.  Yellow gator eyes, cold and heartless, peered deeply into my own.  We hung there a long minute.  "Is it Priscilla?" it asked, its voice oozing.  I tried to shake my head no.  "You don't have to answer out loud, chickling.  I'll know when I've found your true name."  It looked lazily around the room, glanced briefly towards the kitchen from which Kathy was still making desperate washing sounds.  "Heart of my heart, is your precious name Cindy?  No, not that either, I see."  With a pondering look, it drummed the scaly fingers of one hand on my shoulder.  "Let me see, let me see...is it Ifeoma?  No?  Sadly, that's my three for now.  You see how mannerly I am, not pestering you with questions.  You could stand to take a lesson."  It let my lock of hair spring back.  "And have it your way," it said, almost happily.  "I will get your name from you eventually.  I'm learning more about you every second, more dirty laundry than you would care to be washing in public for the neighbours all to gawk at."