Writing

Rainbow Snippets: A bit judgy

Happy Saturday! I’m really sorry I’ve been so bad about reading other snippets. I try not to participate on weeks I know I can’t make the rounds. I’ll try to do better this week.

Also, if you’re interested, there’s still time to enter the giveaway below to win a copy of something from my backlist. Maybe a good way to celebrate Bi Visibility Day, right?

I’m snipping again from Drumbeat, my nearly-new novel about a drummer, and Irish dancer, and their multi-faceted relationships.

The real story was that Cian had cornered Jamie at Brandon and Gemma’s engagement party and tried to rope him into conversation about his past work. Given the fact that there was a limited audience for it, there was only one way Cian could have known anything about it. He’d had an awful lot to say about Jamie’s character, something about why they hadn’t hired an actual deaf actor for the part. Jamie wouldn’t have minded discussing it somewhere other than in front of his friends, but Cian had sounded so arrogant, leaving no room for Jamie to explain anything. Cian didn’t get to jerk off while watching Jamie and then judge him for his part in it later, as though somehow Jamie had put the notion in his head to watch the web series or as if casting direction was even his call in the first place.

The trouble was, Jamie had kind of liked that about him.

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!

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WIPpet Wednesday: A little history

Books, Writing

Happy Wednesday! I’m posting quick before picking up Kid 1 from cross-country practice and Kid 2 from junior musical auditions. Life is about to get even busier.

I’m continuing to plug away at Minuet. I added a couple scenes and fleshed out a couple others. I really need to work on my time management skills, though. I have my paid jobs down to a science, but I didn’t really factor in writing. Back to the drawing board on that one, I think.

Here’s a bit more of Amelia’s conversation with her friends. She keeps telling me she has a plan for her part of the story, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

WIPmath: 9/19/2018 = 18 – 2 = 16 lines of dialog. (The first sentence is from last week for context.)

“What about you all?” Gemma turned to the others. “Straight or gay porn?”

Cassie waved her hand. “Hello, lesbian here. No, I do not want to watch guys getting it on.”

Laura bumped her shoulder. “I kind of like some of it, but I have to be in the right mood. Dicks are weirdly fascinating.”

“I avoid it like the plague,” Amelia put in.

“What? Why?” Gemma’s expression was incredulous. “I figured if any of us was into it, it’d be you.”

“I used to like it now and again, but then I accidentally stumbled on some with—” She cut herself off. Without knowing who was already aware of Jamie’s history, she didn’t want to reveal anything.

“Oh, you can’t leave us hanging!” Nia nudged her with her toe.

“I’ll bet I know.” Gemma smirked at her. “Tell them.”

Amelia groaned. “Fine. I accidentally saw some with Jamie in it.”

“Our Jamie?” Cassie squeaked.

“Who else? I really did not need to see it.”

“Jamie did porn?” Nia seemed confused.

“Yeah,” Marlie confirmed. “I’ve never watched, but Trevor said he was in a web series ages ago.”

“Why’s that such a big deal?” Nia asked Amelia.

“It’s weird is all. I don’t need to see my friends naked. Or not like that, anyway.”

“Not that I would tell him this, but”—Gemma leaned in—“Jamie’s pretty hot.”

“Oh, yeah.” Marlie grinned. “He’s a cutie.”

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!

600 Likes and a Giveaway!

Cool Stuff, Odds 'n' Ends, Writing

This week, I promised that if I made it to 600 page likes on Facebook, I’d do a giveaway and a new torso book cover. Thank you all so much for helping me get there! I’m so excited to announce this giveaway. Who doesn’t like free stuff?

Two lucky winners will each get to choose something from my backlist. You can see what’s available here on my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OIC158W

As for the torsos, my excellent kids suggested this time I do a Stephen King novel. So go vote in the poll on my page to see whether it’ll be Pennywise or a creature from The Mist who gets the official torso treatment. I’m still trying to decide how I feel about clown abs, to be honest.

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Rainbow Snippets: Drumbeat, Torsos, and Giveaways, oh my!

Books, Writing

Happy Saturday! I spent my morning watching my son and his team run their second cross-country meet. I’m not a runner myself, but I love watching these events. Everyone cheers for everyone, regardless of what school they’re from, and it’s exciting to watch the kids finish, especially if they achieve a personal best time.

Meanwhile, I’m nearly up to 600 likes on my Facebook author page. When I hit 600, I’m doing a giveaway. Two people will win a copy of any book from my backlist. Also, I will celebrate by making an Official Torso-ified Cover of a Stephen King novel. Be sure to like my page and vote in the poll if you’d like to see this happen. (For those not in the know, a fellow author, C.H. Clepitt, and I decided everything can be improved with a naked torso. We made covers and new blurbs for lots of classic literature.)

I’m snipping again from Drumbeat, my recent release. We met Jamie last week, and now it’s time to meet Cian through Jamie’s eyes.

The dance and the costumes had an ethereal quality which evoked images of woods and the fair folk. The dancers all had on some kind of green makeup which caught the light and shimmered. Cian’s midnight-black hair was slicked back, and he had a green mask covering the top half of his face. That was just about all he had covered, aside from a small, tight pair of green shorts. He wasn’t tall and reedy like some dancers. He was shorter, muscular and broad rather than slim—almost stocky. He made faeries seem powerful and majestic rather than prim and delicate.

WIPpet Wednesday: Which kind?

Books, Writing

Happy Wednesday! Squeaking in late because it’s been a super busy, intense day. The school year schedule is definitely in full swing.

I haven’t written much in the last week. I added a bit to Minuet, but not much else. I really need to figure out a better system because I’m already getting behind on tasks.

Anyway, this snippet is still in the same chapter I’ve been posting from. Trust me, I’m working up to something. There aren’t spoilers in this section, or not directly. But there is ultimately a point to this conversation.

WIPmath: 9/12/2018 = 11 paragraphs of dialog because I used up the bonus one last week. And also it’s late and I can’t math.

“I take it you never read smut or watched porn, either,” Amelia said.

“No, I did.” Marlie blushed again. “I read a ton of fan fiction. No porn.”

“None?” Now even Nia’s eyebrows rose.

“I’ve seen it now. I don’t like it that much. I don’t know. All those skinny women with big boobs, and the noises they make!” Marlie did a fantastic impression of the breathy, high-pitched sounds, which sent a fit of giggles around the room.

“You ever try watching the gay ones?” Gemma asked.

“Oh, hell no,” Marlie replied. “I live with men who are having sex together. I don’t want to watch them, and I don’t want to watch anyone who reminds me of them. It feels…inappropriate, like I’d be intruding on something intimate for them.”

“Would it be?” Amelia asked. She and Mack had only occasionally invited in a third, but both watching and participating was intense and sexy.

Marlie shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve asked them, but they’re private people. Everything is separate. Their relationship with each other, and their relationships with Nia and me.” She swallowed visibly. “And Trevor’s relationship with Jamie.”

Amelia studied her for a moment in the quiet that followed. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to them about how you’re feeling.”

“Maybe,” Marlie agreed, her cheeks turning pink once more.

“What about you all?” Gemma turned to the others. “Straight or gay porn?”

Author Interview: Emanuel Andrei Cosutchi

Writing

About the Book

Title: The restoration (Series #)

Author: Emanuel Andrei Cosutchi

Length: 103 pages

Category: Science fiction, time travel, short story

Purchase Link

Amazon

Synopsis

A reptilian species uses time travel as a weapon to enslave other civilizations. An android is not content about the present, so she’s trying to alter the past.

Interview

Today I’m pleased to have Emanuel Andrei Cosutchi on the blog to talk about life, writing, and speculative fiction. Welcome! First off, tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello and thanks for having me. To begin, my name is Emanuel Andrei Cosutchi, friends call me Andrew. I was born in August ’77 therefore I chose my nickname ACE977. I do NOT use a pen name.

I can totally respect that. I chose to use a name that was once legally mine rather than a pen name. It’s mine, I want to own it!

So, where are you from?

I live in the European Union, Romania –you know the country of Dracula and the World Tennis Associations number 1 ranked, Simona Halep. I work as IT Engineer and I write in my spare time.

Neat-o! My family came to the U.S. from Romania at the turn of the last century.

Moving on, how and why did you chose your genre??

I started writing in August 2016 because I love the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genre and I wanted to share my stories with people. My goal is to become a professional writer and my dream is to have one of my books turned into a movie.

Ooh, I love fantasy and science fiction. Any upcoming projects?

I published a revised edition of my first Sci-Fi book, The restoration, in the summer of 2018. This book is available on all Amazon websites.

I am only couple chapters away and I will release a science fiction novel named SS Vagabond in the autumn of 2018.

Cool. I’ve listed the link above for anyone who’s interested. Anything else?

I finished the first three volumes of my space opera Starship “Apple of Discord” on November 11, 2017. Between the three they cover more than 1300 pages and 350k words. Now I am waiting for an answer from several publishing houses from the US, UK, Canada and European Union. It will take a while and I am not sure that those publishers will agree to publish my space opera, since am a debutant author. So, if you know any literary agents or publishers send them my way.

I hope someone out there has connections. What are you working on now?

I will continue to write more volumes on Starship “Apple of Discord”, because this saga isn’t finished yet. However, I plan to write other Sci-Fi and Fantasy books. I started already to write a Fantasy novel, and I hope to publish it until the X-Mass 2018.

Awesome! We’ll have to keep an eye out for it.

What do you wish people knew about your books or characters?

Here are some hook lines for my books.

The restoration:

A reptilian species uses time travel as a weapon to enslave other civilizations.

Starship “Apple of Discord”:

The Galaxy would not be the same, after the kidnapping of an alien crown princess.

SS Vagabond:

In a distant dystopian future, Captain Edward Turner is struggling to survive, transporting goods and passengers with his freighter, SS Vagabond. Eileen, the second in command and Edward’s lover, urges him to accept a risky yet lucrative mission to Mars.

Those all sound intriguing. Tell us more.

In Starship “Apple of Discord”, I created interesting alien species and cultures, and I describe alien worlds and alien technology. I depict space and ground battles in my action scenes. I used my knowledge of physics, mathematics, biology, genetics, history, geography, computer science, chemistry, astronomy and xenology, because I wanted to write a hard Sci-Fi space opera. Also, I invented genuine names for everything: planets, animals, plants, items, ships, characters etc. I made a database with all this information in order to keep track of them. The readers will not be bored with science facts and this huge dictionary, because the story line will flow easy and naturally. Also, I created some bits of alien languages. Since Starship “Apple of Discord” is a space opera, I populated it with villains and benevolent characters: aliens, warlords, dictators, traders, scientists, artisans, space pirates, colonists, travelers, soldiers, kings and princesses. I carefully carved out this Sci-Fi universe.

I dare to say that Starship “Apple of Discord”has all the ingredients for becoming a successful book and later a movie / movie series: love, war, mystery, fun and hope.

It definitely has my attention! I love when a story can fully immerse me in the world, and it sure sounds like that’s what we’ll be getting here.

Okay, time for word sprints. Plotter or pantser?

I create a short plot that will become the backbone of my story then I add characters and details on the fly.

What’s your favorite book?

My favorite Sci-Fi book is The Men in the Jungle by Norman Spinrad

My favorite Fantasy book series is Rune Swords by Clayton Emery and multiple authors

What’s one of your hobbies?

I listen to epic music when I write. I like Two Steps From Hell, Audiomachine, Lindsey Stirling & Peter Hollens, Hans Zimmer and Jan Chmelar.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and be sure to let us know when you have a new release.

About the Author

If you would like to contact author Emanuel Andrei Cosutchi, he would love to hear from you.

He will personally read and respond to all inquiries. You can reach him by email, website or social media.

Social Media

Website | Facebook

Rainbow Snippets: A bit judgy

WIPpet Wednesday: A little history

600 Likes and a Giveaway!

Rainbow Snippets: Drumbeat, Torsos, and Giveaways, oh my!

WIPpet Wednesday: Which kind?