Writing

WIPpet Wednesday: Short and Sweet

Here we are, another Wednesday. I can’t believe it, but I actually blogged—three times! Okay, one was a cover reveal. Still, I got two other posts done between last week and this, so I’m pretty happy. The bad news is, that’s probably only because I’ve been procrastinating on my NaNoWriMo edits. I’m still in the Pit of Despair with The Machine turned up to 50.

Anyway, today’s WIPpet is short and sweet (and a tad naughty). This isn’t technically a WIP anymore, since I’ve submitted it, but I couldn’t leave you all hanging thinking poor Alex and Phin were over. Let’s just say “stuff happens” and they’ve…um…”made up.” Yeah, that’s it. (ReGi, I can hear you blushing.) I’ve left off the actual moment of reconciliation; you’ll just have to wait for the anthology to read it. Mwahaha!

WIPmath: 12 + 1 + 0 = 13 sentences.

As he buttoned his shirt, Phin said, “Have you eaten?” When Alex arched an eyebrow and snickered, Phin smacked his arm. “Dinner! Have you eaten dinner?”

“Nope,” Alex replied.

They reached the door, and Phin held Alex back with a hand on his arm. “Hey.”

“Hm?” Alex stopped and turned toward him.

Phin put a hand on the back of Alex’s neck and dragged him into a kiss. When he pulled back, he said, “I don’t say this nearly enough, but I love you.”

Alex smiled. “I know. I love you, too.”

Awww, these guys. In case you want to participate, this is the anthology I’ve submitted the story to. The call is open; please check out the link, read the guidelines, and send in your own work for inclusion.

Like what you read? Then you may enjoy the rest of the entries. Go, read, and leave some love; add your own if you’re so inclined. Just post a bit of your current work-in-progress, do some fancy math to make it fit the date, and link up with us. As always, thanks to K. L. Schwengel for connecting us. Happy writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Fifteen Minutes

Dating, Fiction, Writing

It’s Wednesday again! I’m doing well with NaNo, keeping up. I’m over 30k, right on track to finish in plenty of time. The only problem is getting my characters to cooperate. This story is not going at all the way I planned. My MC has more chemistry with his roommate than with his supposed love interest. I’m so tempted to write the other guy out of the story at this point. We’ll see. I’ll finish NaNo, give it some time to marinate, and decide in January when I go to edit.

Playing around with different styles–fantasy, family drama, etc.–has been fun. For this week’s story, I chose to write a YA. I don’t typically like first person present tense, but for YA, it often works. It makes it possible to be in the character’s life sort of in real time, living their moments.

I often draw on my life or that of people I’m close with to create realistic characters and situations. Although the specific events in the story are not things I’ve experienced in exactly that way, the feelings are and the questions are. AJ, the narrator, is struggling to understand his emerging feelings. He has some people in his life who are patient and some who are not. In this scene, a kid who’s been giving him unwanted attention takes advantage of AJ’s confusion. (There is nothing graphic, but if it bothers you to read about a boy kissing another boy, especially uninvited, then maybe skip this one.) As always, it’s in the store on this web site for 25 cents this week.

WIPmath: 9 from the 19 for 9 paragraphs.

After school on Monday, I’m on my way to meet up with Keira. I haven’t been able to get the thing with Luke out of my mind. There’s not much chance I’ll see him again, but that’s probably better. It’s the other stuff—the feelings I had—that bother me. I wondered if I should tell Keira. I decide I don’t need to, since it’s not like I want to break up with her or anything.

When I open the door to the art room, it’s Connor, not Keira, waiting for me. He has his project out on the table, but he’s not really working on it, and I can tell something’s up. I put my bag down and go to the project shelf to get my own, but I keep my eyes on Connor. He stands up and walks over to me.

“I saw,” he says.

I scrunch my nose. “Saw what?”

He’s in my personal space, and he’s moving so my back is to the wall between the door and the shelf. My palms start to sweat, and I want to get away from him. I try to slip sideways, but he puts his hand on the wall.

“I saw the way you looked at him.”

I know what he means, but I’m not going to acknowledge it. Connor’s scaring me. This doesn’t feel right. He leans in and presses against me. His breath is hot on my cheek. “I’m going to kiss you,” he says.

“N—”

He ignores me and crushes my mouth with his. Without stopping to see if I’m okay, he pushes his tongue into my mouth. I’m not really kissing him back, but he doesn’t seem to care. Everything is confusing for a few seconds while I try to process what’s happening. Some small part of me doesn’t hate it, and it’s taking a minute for that part to catch up to the rest of me. This isn’t how I wanted my first boy kiss to be. Connor stole something that should have been mine to give.

As always, thanks to K. L. Schwengel for hosting us. If you want to read the rest of the entries, visit this page for all the links. Be sure to leave some love on the entries you read. Happy writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Electricity

Fiction, Sex, Writing

Happy Wednesday, all! If you’re NaNo‘ing with me, how’s it going? I’m up to just under 19k words now. I’m aiming for 2k per day. I’ve been mostly on track with that, with the exception of a couple of days.

I’m not posting from my NaNo novel yet. I’d like to wait until December, when it becomes a matter of adding to what’s there and cleaning up what I already have. At the moment, it’s sort of a mess. If I can’t think what to put in a scene but know what needs to happen, I write lovely place holders like, “[Main character] does [series of foolish/sexy/sneaky/whatever things] and [argument/hot sex/revenge/whatever happens].” That’s not really fun to use for a WIPpet, entertaining though I’m sure it sounds.

Anyhow, today’s WIPpet is another snippet of an erotic short story. This story contains the following elements: Raging thunderstorm, stranded motorist, mysterious mansion, hot men, hot sex, and a surprise twist. I’m sure that even this heat level will make at least one or two of you blush, but I promise they still have their clothes on.

WIPmath: 14 for the year = 14 sentences.

Slowly, Trace raised his eyes. They were close, both breathing fast from the near miss—or possibly something else. The electric prickle vaulted up Trace’s spine, but this time he was certain it had nothing to do with the storm; he wondered if it ever had. Before he could over-think anything, he put his hand on the back of Angel’s neck. Willingly, Angel drew closer, and their lips met, merging and melting together.

Without warning, Angel backed Trace into the shelf, the kiss becoming more aggressive. Trace gave back as good as he got, and they pushed against each other, slamming into the shelf hard enough to cause books to tumble to the floor around them. The air crackled, and one of the windows banged open, allowing the cool wind to swirl past them. Both men ignored it in favor of exploring each other.

Trace slid his hand down to cup Angel’s ass, drawing his hips closer in the process. They ground against each other, and as Trace’s lips parted with an extended groan, Angel pushed his tongue inside. He tasted spicy, like cinnamon, and the combination of that and the intensity of their movement overloaded Trace’s senses. He whimpered into Angel’s mouth, torn between begging him to stop and urging him on but doing neither. Outside, tree branches tapped furiously on the windowpanes as the wind whipped wildly around the house, gusting in concert with Trace’s ragged breathing.

If you want to know what happens, you’ll have to read the rest of the story. It’s a “real” WIP this time in the sense that it won’t be up on this web site until later this afternoon, when the formatting and stuff is all completed. But you’ll be able to find it in the store then for 25 cents.

WIPpet Wednesday is made possible by the fantastic K. L. Schwengel. If you liked this snippet (or if you didn’t and want something more your style), check out the other links and show some love to my fellow authors. Happy writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Finders Keepers

Dating, Fiction, Writing

Happy Wednesday! A lot has happened since last week, including my novel being released on Saturday! I got my print copies yesterday, so I’m a happy author. You can find my book in the link on the right sidebar (or at the bottom, if you’re on mobile).

I started a new project for NaNoWriMo, and I’m about 8k in so far. I don’t have enough yet to start sharing it, so I’m going to share snippets of 4 short stories this month. It’s cheating a bit, since they’re all finished, but I’m counting them as WIPs because the first 3 are ones I might eventually want to write further, and the last one is part of an ongoing series.

Today’s story is already available in the bookstore on this site for 25 cents. It’s called Finders Keepers. Casey is raising his five-year-old nephew, and Brook is the new guy at work. Casey hasn’t been exactly honest with Brook, figuring they were just having a weekend thing while Casey’s parents have their grandson. Brook figures it out.

WIPmath: There are 460 words. 5 (for the day) – 1 (from the month) = 4; 5 + 1 = 6; slap them together for 46 and multiply by 10 because I can. How’s that for convoluted?

Casey told Brook to help himself to anything in the fridge or to watch television while he cleaned up. He reveled in the feel of the water on his sensitive skin, taking his time to wash. When he finally emerged from the bathroom, his need for food had returned, and he imagined Brook felt the same way. Rubbing his hair with a towel, he made for the living room where he saw Brook standing by the TV, back to Casey.

“Hey,” Casey said from under the towel. “Thought we might order—”

He stopped short as Brook turned around, the copy of Aladdin in his hand. Brook’s expression was neutral, and Casey couldn’t tell what was behind it. He held his breath.

“Thought we might order dinner? Maybe watch your favorite movie?” Brook kept an even tone, but there was something darker underneath it.

Trying to diffuse the situation, Casey nodded at the movie. “You like that one? If not, I probably have Beauty and the Beast somewhere.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brook asked.

“Tell you what?”

“Don’t play ignorant. You have a kid.” Brook waved the DVD.

“Maybe I just like Disney movies.” Casey dropped the towel at his feet and crossed his arms.

“I don’t think so. The stomach bug you had—and no one else at the office did, but all my cousin’s kids got at school. The wooden bus today at the shop—I saw you eying it. You’d have bought it if it were for someone else. And your waitress—she almost spilled your secret last night.” Brook stepped closer. “Is this why you didn’t want to go out last week?”

“I didn’t know how you would react,” Casey admitted. “My ex didn’t want to stick around.”

“So it’s true. You’re a dad.”

“Not exactly.” Casey flopped onto the couch and put his head in his hands. “It’s complicated.”

“Try me,” Brook said through gritted teeth.

Casey peered up at him. “It’s my sister’s son, okay? She named me guardian. He’s been with me since October.” He closed his eyes against the rush of grief.

WIPpet Wednesday bloomed from the imagination of K. L. Schwengel, so go show her some love. Then go read the other entries here and add your own. Happy writing!

Thursday Q&A: Cast of Characters

Fiction, Writing

Today’s question comes from my spouse. A couple of weeks ago he asked,

Who would you pick to play your characters in a movie?

For the most part, I don’t have a strong opinion. I believe anyone at all could play them. I mean, clearly I’d like to keep the ages intact—my teenagers need to be played by teenagers, my kids by kids. Ideally, the main characters would also stay their “real” ages. The three point-of-view characters are all in their mid-thirties, and it honestly doesn’t make sense to have them suddenly be much younger or older.

Although I use some physical descriptions on which casting could be based, I don’t think it’s necessary to keep strictly to it. None of them have anything as distinctive as, say, Harry Potter, so it honestly doesn’t matter. Phin, as written, is white and sandy-blond. But would it really matter if he was played by a swarthy Italian guy? Nope. The dialogue referencing his looks is unimportant to the basic story and could be changed or eliminated.

My one rule is that I don’t tolerate white-washing. Since Vic is biracial, he’d better not be played by a white dude. Josue and Oscar are Dominican, so same thing there. I don’t object to casting the other way around, though—white characters don’t really need to be white, in my opinion. Changing their race or ethnicity does absolutely nothing to hurt the story, as long as it’s handled well and doesn’t end up being tokenism. I know there’s this thing where The Powers That Be have used Complex Mathematical Equations to conclude making white characters be anything but white would hurt the appeal. They can shove it, for all I care.

Anyway, back to the subject. I really do have an opinion on Phin and Alex, despite my flexibility. Please, someone else tell me you find this as…er…appealing as I do:

Ryan Gosling & Matt Bomer

Fangirl sigh. I would pay full price evening admission to see those two lock lips. Yes? Funnily enough, I learned recently that they are, in fact, doing a movie together. Not as lovers, unfortunately. Dear Movie Gods: Please, please, please make that happen. I don’t care how you do it. You will make people everywhere swoon.

WIPpet Wednesday: Faith of Our Fathers

Books, Fiction, New Love, Writing

Happy Wednesday! The pre-launch festivities for Lower Education are in full swing, and I’m loving all these wonderful guest posts, interviews, and cover reveals. If you missed it, go have a look at Friday’s fantastic short by Kate Sparkes. Her post was definitely a highlight, so be sure to check it out!

Today, I’m asking you all for a teensy favor. On Thursdays, I post a Q&A. This week, it’s all about my characters. I’m answering the question of who should play them in a movie (nope, no hints!). If any of you remember enough about Phin, Alex, and the gang, I’d love if you could comment here with something you wish you could ask them.

On to my WIPpet

I debated what I wanted to share, and this is the one I chose. There are so many things I want to keep secret, but at the same time, I want to share them all. This scene requires a little background. I (like Micah) came out of a fundamentalist/conservative evangelical religious background. It’s hard to leave that without being hurt, confused, and angry. Often, good people who have never experienced that pain simply don’t understand, while those who are hurt may lash out unfairly at people who weren’t part of the harm. That’s what’s going on here. Also, no, I’m not telling you what’s wrong with Cat. [evil grin] Warning for crude language.

WIPmath: 1 + 0 + 15 = 15 paragraphs.

Micah panicked. He’d thought he was years past dealing with anything he mentally referred to as “religious bullshit.” If Cat was only helping him in order to rack up another notch in his saved belt, Micah wanted to know. He quickly caught up and grabbed Cat’s arm. “Are you some kind if holier-than-thou religious nut?”

Cat’s face contorted with anger. “Is that what you think of me?” He jerked his arm free. “Well, good thing you have better people to spend time with.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to convert people, save us all from burning in hell for our sinful lifestyle?” He’d heard it a thousand times, and it still invoked an involuntary reaction.

“I don’t do that. You know what? Let’s just go.” Cat turned away again and continued walking.

“No.” Micah stood where he was and crossed his arms. “I deserve to know. It seemed to me like you were cool, but I’m not interested in learning how I can live a long, healthy life of celibacy. I’ve had that offer held out to me before. I didn’t take it then, and I won’t take it now.”

Cat had stopped walking, but he kept his back to Micah. He sounded tired when he repeated, “I don’t do that.”

“Fucking hell. Is that why you got so weird when I kissed you? You’re trying to be a good gay and stay away from cock?”

“No.”

“But you still believe all that church shit, right?” Micah folded his arms.

“Yeah, I do. But it’s not what you think.” He turned around slowly.

Micah growled. “I can’t get dragged back into that life. I left the church ages ago. It’s why I’m here. God—or whoever—screwed me over, and I don’t need someone telling me that Big Angry Sky Daddy has a plan for my life if only I believe. And stop being gay, of course.”

Cat recoiled. “Is that really what you think I believe?”

“I don’t know,” Micah admitted. “It’s what I learned in my house.” His voice was down to a harsh whisper when he said, “Your God hates us. I don’t know how you can still believe in all that crap.”

“That was never the God I believed in,” Cat said. There was hurt in his eyes, and he held his hands out, palms up. “I don’t know what God you’re talking about.”

Micah scoffed, “No wonder you still cling to religion. You don’t know what it’s like to grow up under that kind of control of everything you did.”

Cat’s face contorted. “No? You want to know about my shit childhood? Stop by. I’ll make you a whole pot of coffee and tell you what it’s like to live with a constant stream of hospitals, doctors, and overprotective parents.” He turned around again and yanked open the car door. “Congratulations. You’ve succeeded in getting rid of me. Find your own damn help on that house.”

WIPpet Wednesdays are hosted by the excellent K. L. Schwengel. If you enjoyed this, you’ll love reading the other entries and perhaps adding one of your own. Happy writing!

WIPpet Wednesday: Short and Sweet

WIPpet Wednesday: Fifteen Minutes

WIPpet Wednesday: Electricity

WIPpet Wednesday: Finders Keepers

Thursday Q&A: Cast of Characters

WIPpet Wednesday: Faith of Our Fathers

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