WIPpet

WIPpet Wednesday: Protective

Happy Wednesday! I sent my big kid to Washington, D.C. this morning for his 8th grade trip. I’m torn on how I feel right now. This is the farthest he’s been from home without us. I miss him, but I also know he’s having a great time. How do I know this? He keeps texting me to tell me things!

Today’s WIPpet is probably the last I’ll post from this short story. I think this should mainly clear up what’s going on with LR. I’m not sure what I’ll post from next, since I have several things I can go with. I suppose it depends on how the mood strikes me.

When we last left LR, Cat confessed he’s worried about David all the time (due to David’s health). Here, LR is trying to find a way to explain to Cat that she has a lot of the same feelings.

WIPmath: 4 paragraphs for the month (or 17 sentences for the year; you pick).

LR stroked his hair. “I’m sorry if what I said upset you.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t mean to.” He slid back down. “Back to what’s going on with you, though. What happened?”

LR resettled herself, taking time to think over her words. How could she tell Cat everything without making him feel like it was his fault? There was no one to blame but herself. Cat hadn’t placed such unreasonable expectations on her, yet she’d established them anyway in her efforts to be everything she thought she was supposed to be. The good daughter, the one who didn’t need anything. Perfect.

And then she’d done so many things to relieve the pressure she’d applied. Being terrified that her latest poor choice in a partner might have resulted in a baby no one wanted was the least of her concerns. She hadn’t known it would be so hard to be away from Cat. As always, protecting him was front and center—and there was no way to tell him that without doing more harm than good.

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Worries

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! My kids are home for the morning doing homework and reading. It’s state testing week, and we opted them out. So instead of writing in my WIPs, I’m reading and blogging.

I currently have four projects going: Two short stories, a flash fiction, and a novel. I’m trying to keep better track of my progress on those as well as on projects that are in the background to be worked on at a later time.

Today’s snippet is still from the short story about LR. Last week, she told Cat she’s not pregnant. This week, he tells her what’s wrong between him and David.

WIPmath: 3/29/17 = 2 + 9 = 11 paragraphs

“What?”

She groaned and turned over to bury her face in the pillow, immediately wishing she hadn’t when it made her a little seasick. “I’m not giving you a lesson on human anatomy right now, Cat.” She felt him shaking against her and knew he was laughing, even though he was obviously trying to be silent. “It’s not funny,” she snapped.

“It kind of is. I already know how things work. I did wonder, but I figured probably not.”

LR sat up, and Cat copied her movements. She crossed her arms. “Yeah, well, you and David don’t exactly have to worry about this crap.”

Cat’s expression turned stony, and LR wondered what she’d said to upset him. She put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off. They sat side by side in the dark, but all the warmth had leeched out with her comment. Something was definitely bothering Cat where David was concerned.

“What’s going on with you and David?” she asked.

Cat’s shoulder wiggled against hers. “Nothing. We’re fine.”

“You’re not, or you wouldn’t say it that way. You’d be running off at the mouth about life, the universe, and David’s awesomeness.”

There was a long silence, followed by Cat’s deep sigh. “I love him. That hasn’t changed. But…I don’t know. Sometimes I think the only reason it works between us is that we don’t have to explain anything to each other.”

“So you’re not sure you want to be with him?”

LR heard Cat’s swallow. “I do. It’s just…” He stopped and nestled closer to her, putting his head on her shoulder. “I’m worried about him. Like, all the time.”

WIPpet: Shorts part 3, Bedtime

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! My big news for the week is that I’m getting a new laptop. I’ve settled on the MacBook Air, which suits my needs perfectly. I need to go test it out in person before I make a final decision, so later this week, I’m off to brave the store and try it out. I’d already decided to go with a Mac when I knew I needed to replace my laptop, so I don’t have much to do for the transition except make sure I have access to all my passwords.

So far this week, no snow days. I’ve been catching up on all the things I couldn’t get to while everyone was home. My checklist for the week:

Beta read three chapters of a suspense/romance
New editing job, over halfway through
Reading two pre-release novels
Read one short story (it was…weird, but good)
Skimmed a freebie novel someone recommended and decided it was definitely not for me
Wrote roughly 3k on Drumbeat (the next Notes from Boston novel)
Wrote about 1k on a short story for submission
Revised LR’s story

It’s LR’s story that I’m continuing to share from today. I’m still not happy with it. I don’t know why, but I feel like she’s very difficult to write about. I understand where she’s coming from, but it’s hard to capture it. If I keep posting from it, I’ll eventually get around to what’s under the surface. But today’s snippet should at least help clear up what’s not going on.

WIPmath: 3/22 = (3 x 2) + 2 = 8 paragraphs.

LR’s door creaked open, and she opened her eyes. She’d left a beside lamp on, knowing Cat would sneak in like they used to do when they were younger. It amused her. Their parents wouldn’t think it was strange, and it wasn’t as though they had a bedtime they were breaking. Cat probably should have been getting sleep, since he had to work in the morning, but LR wasn’t going to tell him that. He would be annoyed with her, and then they wouldn’t talk.

He peeked in, and she looked up. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey. Can I come over there?”

“How do you know I won’t make you sick?”

Cat rolled his eyes. “If you were really sick, I’d have known already.”

That was a fair point. LR motioned for him to join her. A moment later, Cat’s cold toes were on her leg. She squirmed, and he giggled. Deciding not to shove him out of the bed, she pulled the covers up over both of them and snuggled down.

“Why are you really home?” he asked. He certainly didn’t waste any time.

LR thought about lying to him the way she’d half-lied to Mom, but it would save time if she told Cat the truth. “My life right now is kind of a mess. I couldn’t go away because I have too much work to do, and it’s stressing me out like you wouldn’t believe.” She sighed. “I seriously thought I was pregnant, but I’m not.”

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts part 3, Dinner

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! Excuse my cranky mood. In the last week, we’ve had 4 days off from school, a wind storm, and a giant snowstorm. I’m used to spending most of my day alone and having plenty of time to work. Only one out of the last 7 days has been a work day for me, and I’m going bananas.

Meanwhile, I did at least get some things accomplished. I finished going over the print proof for Nightsong, which is out in May. Confession: I hate going back over my novels before release. There are so many things I’m second-guessing, especially in this one because there’s a sensitive subject involved. And of course, I’m flipping out that the several reviewers who have taken it will hate it. I’m not popular with a particular type of reader, and I always worry those sorts will take my books because I know I can’t meet their expectations. (It’s happened before.) Anyway, I need to stop doing this to myself.

I also have gorgeous new cover art for Keeping the Faith and a November release date for that one. The short story I’ve been pulling from is in a collection I plan to release self-pubbed over the summer, hopefully July, currently titled Leaps of Faith.

Now for the WIPpet. Remember, LR has been trying to figure out how to tell her family something. She’s stalling, even though deep down she knows it will be all right. Here, she acknowledges Cat’s not going to let it go, but he may be hiding something of his own.

WIPmath: 3/15 = 3 + (1 x 5) = 8 paragraphs, mostly dialog.

Mom put a steaming bowl in front of her along with a spoon. LR picked up the spoon and hesitated. Despite her earlier misgivings, the soup smelled good, and her stomach rumbled. She supposed if it made her sick later, at least she might feel better in the moment. Cat had made himself something else. He couldn’t tolerate spicy foods at all. He sat down across from LR and began eating as well.

“Why aren’t you with David?” LR asked.

“He’s working all weekend.”

She frowned. “I thought he switched to the clinic to avoid the weird hours.”

“No,” Cat corrected her. “He switched because hospital work is too hard on him since the stroke.” Like Cat, David had hemophilia, and he’d had a mini-stroke the previous summer.

“Oh. They’re open on weekends?”

“He’s putting in some volunteer hours at the women’s center. So I’m going to help Dad with a few things while I’m home, and I’ll do my usual time at the cafe.”

LR wanted to ask if everything was okay between them. It seemed to her that Cat could’ve gone to David’s apartment after working hours. She dropped it. If Cat wanted to tell her anything, he would include it in their late-night talk after their parents had turned in.

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, part 2 – Soup & a giveaway

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! First the big news: I just re-released my short story, Pink in the Mirror, which was formerly published with Torquere. If you like the 1950s, drag racing, and women who love women, you might enjoy it. Here’s my blog post about it with the fabulous (and very pink!) cover as well as all the purchase links.

Since today is International Women’s Day, I’m going to give one copy of Pink in the Mirror to a random commenter (comments left here and on other social media are all included). If you don’t want to be entered for that, just say so in your comment. If you do, then make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

On to the WIPpet. I’m currently posting from my anthology-in-progress. These are all stories set in the same world as Cat, Micah, & co. They are not primarily romance, and not all of them are LGBTQIA-themed. I’m sticking with LR again this week. She’s emerged from her nap, but she’s not ready to talk about what’s on her mind yet. First, dinner with her family.

WIPmath: 3/8 = 3 + 8 = 11 paragraphs, mostly dialog.

LR crept out of her room. The headache wasn’t gone, but it was better than it had been. She descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. Cat had a paper in hand, and Dad was looking it over and humming, nodding his approval. Maybe a song Cat had written. Mom was heating something on the stove. All three looked up when LR cleared her throat.

“LR!” Mom exclaimed, leaving the pot on the stove and coming over. “I thought you were going away with friends.”

“I, uh, wasn’t feeling up to it.”

Mom put a hand on her forehead. “You’re awfully pale, but you don’t feel warm.”

LR sniffled for effect. “Maybe just a cold or something. I have a headache,” she added, hoping it would make her story more plausible.

Nodding, Mom said, “Better to get rest, then. It’s not a lot of fun to travel while sick, and you risk sharing germs.”

“Right.”

“You want something to eat? I’m heating up the leftover sausage soup from last night.”

LR’s stomach lurched at the thought of putting anything, especially spicy soup, in it. “No, thanks.”

She wanted to go back to bed. No one would have objected. But Cat was eying her, and not in a way that made her think he merely felt bad for her. His expression clearly said, we’ll talk later. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to keep anything from him.

Sliding into a seat at the table, she said, “I changed my mind. Soup sounds good.”

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, Part 1

Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! Sorry I missed last week. It was the kids’ school production of “Barnum.” I’d never seen it, although I’d heard a couple of the songs before. What a fantastic show. The kids did a great job. If we’re friends on FB, you can look at my timeline to see photos.

I finished Keeping the Faith, and it’s been beta-read and edited. It’s officially no longer a WIP, and as soon as I’ve written a blurb, it’ll be off to my publisher. I’m hoping for a November 1 release, same as the previous two books in the series.

This week, I started on a new story, but I don’t have enough written to share yet. In fact, I have several WIPs outlined but not written. I do have quite a bit done on some short stories set in Cat’s world, though. The plan is to wrap those up to self-publish over the summer. That’s what I’m sharing from today.

This story is tentatively called “Blessing Cup.” (For anyone who didn’t know, all the story and chapter titles have religious tone/themes/origins.) In the snippet, we get to see inside LR’s head for a change. In Walking by Faith, I alluded to her having some secrets she hadn’t even shared with Cat. Here, she’s revealing a little of one of them. This takes place roughly eight months after the end of WbF.

WIPmath: No math. New month, new story.

Home at last. A week of nothing outside of a paper to write and a couple of tests to study for. LR breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the front door. Fortunately, no one else seemed to be home, which meant she could temporarily let down her guard.

She dropped her bags by the stairwell and ducked into the bathroom. Inside, she rooted through the medicine cabinet until she located the Tylenol. She eyed a bottle of Cat’s meds, but she had no idea what effect a stronger medication would have on her. He would notice it was missing anyway, even if she thought taking his meds was a good idea in the first place. He counted them religiously.

It was stupid of her to entertain the idea, but her head hurt so much she couldn’t concentrate on a better plan. She took two of the Tylenol and swallowed them with a bit of water from the tap. Then she sat down on the toilet and put her head in her hands, shaking.

Everything was her own fault. If not for a number of things over the past couple of months, she would be on her way to enjoying spring break with her friends. They’d invited her, but not only did she not feel well enough to go, she had something more pressing to take care of. It meant staying home and working out a way to tell either Mom and Dad or Cat, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

She listed her options. Telling Dad by himself was out, but mostly because it was embarrassing. He was probably the one who would be most helpful, but it made LR feel awkward. Telling Mom was possibly safe enough, but she would take over. Not that she wouldn’t let LR make her own decisions—Mom wasn’t like that. In fact, LR wasn’t sure why she hadn’t called Mom already. She’d shown in every way that she would be there for LR no matter what, the same way she’d been there for Cat.

That was a special case, though. No one expected Cat to be ready to take care of things after what had happened to him. If he fell apart and wouldn’t talk to them for months, it was understandable. It wasn’t his fault. LR had no excuse. Everything she’d done had been of her own free will.

She hauled herself up on shaky legs and went upstairs to lie down. A good nap would hopefully cure her headache, and then maybe she could think more clearly about what to do.

WIPpet Wednesday: Protective

WIPpet Wednesday: Worries

WIPpet: Shorts part 3, Bedtime

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts part 3, Dinner

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, part 2 – Soup & a giveaway

WIPpet Wednesday: Shorts, Part 1

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