Happy Wednesday! The official results are in: both my kids made it into the cast of Big Fish (the winter school musical). Younger child is in the ensemble, and older child is playing the Fisherman. They were super excited that one of older child’s BFFs got a terrific part too. He deserves it!
My book launch last week was successful. A number of very nice reviews (thank you all so much, those of you who read and posted!) and a great tour. I had a couple of awesome interviews too. I’m happy with the results.
On to this week’s WIPpet. I’m setting aside Luke’s story and posting from Mack’s. I’m working on both projects, Tree of Life and Minuet, until one of them takes over so I can finish. I have several chapters completed for both projects, and both are going well at the moment. Hooray for chatty main characters!
Minuet is told in three parts, each from a different POV. This won’t be a book for everyone. It’s about a ménage à trois with Mack (bi/pansexual, aromantic cisgender guy), Amelia (bi cisgender woman), and Jomari (bi trans guy)*. While some people associate ménage with erotica, this actually has a lower heat level. I can thank a couple of my fellow WIPpeteers for encouraging me to go for it and not worry about others’ reactions to less overt sex.
WIPmath: 11/8/2017 = (1 + 1) x 8 = 16 sentences from the very beginning.
The first thing Mack Whitman did when Sage opened the door was aim a punch at his face.
He’d have landed it too, if Amelia hadn’t launched herself at him from behind and grabbed his arms just in time. He squirmed, but she didn’t let go. He angled his head to glare at her.
“You don’t want the cops involved,” she murmured.
He nodded, and she finally let go. Mack clenched his hands at his sides, still itching to have at Sage. Realistically, Sage probably could’ve taken him. Mack was five-foot-nine and might have weighed a hundred forty soaking wet. Sage wasn’t much taller, but he had a good thirty pounds on Mack, mostly muscle. He’d definitely been working out lately.
The look on his face made Mack’s rage meter climb again. Smug, taunting. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Mack wanted smack the expression off his face while calling him a dozen nasty names. The only thing stopping him was Amelia’s hand on his back.
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 Wrayburn for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
*A note about the terms I used: I think most people know what bisexual is, but here’s a brief primer on the other words.
Pansexual: generally means attracted to or open to people of all genders. Bisexual can be used similarly. The best distinction I saw was that bi usually emphasizes sexuality and pan usually emphasizes gender. They’re related terms (but don’t get me involved in the Tumblr-level bi vs. pan debates!).
Aromantic: someone who doesn’t experience romantic attraction (i.e., “falling in love”).
Cisgender: essentially the opposite of transgender; someone whose identity and birth-assigned gender line up.
It’s OK, Mack. I will hold him down for you. Damn, Amelia, stop being so sensible!
Yes, of course I came straight here as soon as I read ‘this WIPpet is from Minuet’ (or words to that effect). *swoons madly for Mack—what do you mean, that’s a 180 turn? Must be thinking of someone else…*
ROFL! Amelia could probably take Sage on in a fight, but she won’t. She has better ways of getting revenge.
It’s my personal mission to get people to like Mack. He hides behind that tough exterior, but he really is a good guy. Just have to convince him of that fact.
Mack is far from likable right now, but then again, neither is Sage. Glad they have Amelia to make some sense of whatever conflict is going on here.
And less erotic content always gets a thumbs up from me, as you know. You can do just about anything you want in a story and refrain from truly erotic content.
Yeah, Mack’s angry, but Amelia won’t let him do anything too foolish.
I learned a lot from reading Surrogate, which has so much sensuality without ever being explicit. And I’ve had the same experience reading many of Deb’s books. I’ve never enjoyed writing sex, aside from what’s in the Faithfully Yours series (which was done for a reason). I’m not even sure why I made the assumption it was necessary, but I’m done. I can accomplish the same things with fade-to-black, by implying, by creating a sexy and sensual atmosphere if needed. I decided to stop caring what other people think and stop trying to imitate a style I’m not that fond of.
Oh, Mack, please punch him, please. Okay, so Amelia is probably right. *sigh* I swear, I really am not a violent person. But, Sage has my rage meter climbing, too. And I can’t wait to read this. 😀
I was very tempted to let Mack have a go! But Amelia is the voice of reason, so I listened to her. 🙂
What is it about Sages? Yes, it’s my cat’s name, too, whom can be very sweet, yet he also bullies his sister, making her hiss, growl, yowl, while he pounces on her, trying to pull her fur out. (sighs)
Ha! Yeah, this Sage isn’t nice at all either. He’s a somewhat entitled, spoiled brat who bullies others to make himself feel better. I’m not sure if he’ll ever learn his lesson.
I think Sage absolutely deserves a punch!
Glad to hear that your new project will feature Mack as one of the MCs. Looking forward to reading more snippets from this one!
I also prefer less overt sex scenes. More room for imagination 🙂
😀 Mack can be a bit gruff, but he really cares about his friends.
Agreed about leaving it to the imagination! One of the edits I’m doing on Drumbeat is toning down all the sex scenes. I think they are all much better for it.