Happy Saturday! For my friends and family honoring Yom Kippur, may your fast be easy.
In case you missed it, here is the new link to the Big Bi+ List. You can still add your name or books in the comments.
It’s one month and one day until my next novel releases. It’s the last part of the Faithfully Yours series. My anthology Leaps of Faith is also part of the series, a collection of short stories featuring different characters. It’s a companion work, not part of the main series.
I’m snipping from a different story in Leaps of Faith, “For Us and for Our Salvation.” (The title is taken from the Nicene Creed.) Here, Cat has a rather…unusual use for his rosary. It’s over the 6 sentences, but I think you’ll forgive me. For the non-Catholic: a “decade” is one section of the rosary. A “chaplet” is the full chain.
Cat drew air into his lungs slowly, centering himself to resume his recitations. He continued, not stopping this time, even when he heard Micah’s breathing grow louder and more unsteady with each new decade. They needed this, a way to reconnect without fear. Though his cheeks flamed and heat pooled low in his belly, Cat pressed on.
Between the fragrance of the incense, the tiny whimpers behind the door, and his own blossoming arousal, Cat was lightheaded by the time he reached the end of the first chaplet. He prayed, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.” Glancing up toward the ceiling, he wondered briefly what Jesus might make of this and decided he probably approved.
Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!
I feel him lost in the ritual here – nice!
Thank you! 🙂
Unusual use, yes, but it’s so right for this moment between them. This is such a lovely scene – I went back and read it again. 🙂
Aw, thanks! This was one of my favorite things to write. It was supposed to be for an anthology that ended up canceled, so I was happy to have a use for it. Now the story has even more meaning, but I’ll save those details for another time.
Oh my–my Irish Catholic grammy would roll in her grave at this use of the rosary, but roll on, grammy–roll on 🙂
Beautiful, sensual snippet 🙂
Ha! The whole time I was writing this one, I kept waiting for the lightning bolt to strike me.
Thank you!
The descriptions really pulled me into the scene.
Thanks! I’m glad they worked. 🙂
Nice! Protestant boy here went to a Catholic school but I’d forgotten what a “decade” was!
We’re Lutherans, so things are pretty similar except we use different prayers. The Episcopal rosary calls them “weeks” instead, and there are fewer beads. My own rosary is technically Episcopal, but it was listed as Lutheran (it’s not, and it took me ages to figure out why it wasn’t right after I bought it—it’s handmade).
Oh, wow, this is taking me back to a lot of the Baroque churches I visited recently in a new and beautiful way…excellent snippet!
Awesome! I love those style churches. And I love revisiting religious rites and symbols in new ways. 🙂
I’ve read Leaps of Faith, and specifically read “For us and our Salvation” aloud for my Catholic wife… who adored it.
That makes me so happy! 😀 One of my loves in writing is combining the sacred with what some people view as being profane, blasphemous, or otherwise at odds with faith.
Mm, this was well done. I will never view the rosary in the same light ever again. 🙂
Heh, thanks! 😀
I just read this book in the last few days – really liked this scene 🙂
Thank you! I’m usually very hard on myself about my work, but this was one that I simply loved writing.
A great and unusually sensual snippet.
Thank you! 🙂
This was unusual and intriguing.
Thank you! I like to play around with that sort of thing. I came from a religious community that considered queer love to be against God’s will. And to be blunt, I like giving that idea the finger, including making same-sex intimacy directly into worship.
Intriguing scene! I’m glad Cat feels the approval. 🙂
Lovely snippet <3
Thanks!
Intriguing snippet.
Thank you!