Minuet

Happy Wednesday! I missed last week due to not feeling well (again). That is sadly my “new normal,” but I’m working on strategies for managing bad days and making the most of good ones. I’m back to the rheumatologist next week, probably to close things out with her—there’s nothing she can really do for me at this point.

Anyway, Minuet is finally off like a rocket. I have almost half of it in a file ready for my beta readers. I organized this book slightly differently this time, and I’m tidying up the rest of the second main section. While they work on the first two parts, I’ll get the next two ready. And then it’ll be off to the publisher!

Today’s snippet is from a different section than I’ve been posting. I shared this privately with a few people, but I’m putting it here now. I don’t think it’s necessarily spoilers. Mack’s done something…not great, and Amelia and Jamie have confronted him about it. They’re all owning a whole bunch of secrets they’ve kept from each other. Here’s Jamie’s.

WIPmath: 3/27/2019 = (2 + 7) – 3 = 6 paragraphs

Jamie swiped at his eyes, smudging his makeup. “You know how he finally got me?”

Mack looked up at him. “How?”

“He bought me a winter coat.” Jamie laughed without humor. “A fucking jacket. Not even anything precious or special or fancy. I needed a new one, and I wouldn’t ask Brandon’s family. He told me no one should be without one, and he took me shopping. The whole time, I kept expecting he would do what he always did—flatter me, tell me how hot I’d look in the clothes we passed in the store along the way. I wondered if there were gonna be strings attached, like I’d have to agree to go out with him. But the only thing he did was buy the coat. He said it was shit, what happened to me, and he told me no one deserved that.” Jamie sniffled. “You know, he never once asked for the money back. A week later, when I got my next paycheck, I told him I’d give him a little at a time until I’d paid it off. He refused, and he stopped asking me out too. Instead, he would pull me aside, check in with me and ask if I was doing okay, if I needed anything. That spring, we were packing up my drums, and…” Jamie was outright crying now, mascara-streaked tears running down his cheeks. “I saw him differently, this side of him he never showed anyone else. I…stopped him. And I kissed him. We ended up getting off in the back of the recording studio while everyone else was loading my drums into Mack’s van.”

Amelia exchanged a glance with Mack and saw he was as surprised as she was. The whole time, she’d thought Sage wore Jamie down until he said yes. Judging from Mack’s raised eyebrows, he’d thought the same.

“I had no idea,” Mack confirmed. “I’m sorry.”

Jamie drew his wrist across his eyes then looked at it in disgust where he’d smeared his eyeliner. “He knew exactly what he was doing. It was never about me or what I needed. He was manipulating the whole thing. You weren’t wrong to try keeping him from me. You just did it in the wrongest, most fucked up way possible.”

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!

Happy Wednesday! I’ve been able to get some writing done, and Minuet is finally taking off. I’m excited to be working on it now, especially with the deadline coming up.

I’m snipping again from the same chapter I’ve been on for a few weeks, but I’ll probably switch it up soon. I’ve gotten a good chunk done, and I’m now several chapters ahead of this scene.

Amelia and Jomari are still at dinner together. She’s not one to ignore it if there’s a problem, and she can tell there’s more going on than Jomari’s let on.

WIPmath: 3/13/2019 = 3 x 1 x 3 = 9 paragraphs.

Now the big things were out of the way, Jomari picked up his sandwich. Amelia tested her soup, which was cool enough not to burn her mouth. Something still felt off, and she could tell Jomari wasn’t paying much attention to his food. She reached out her free hand and put it on his.

“Tell me for real,” she said. “How are you doing?”

He set his sandwich on the plate and picked at the crust. “I still don’t have a doctor.” He looked up at her. “I’ve been out of my prescription since the end of July.”

Not long, then, but still a problem. Jomari was a casualty of The Lighthouse closing. He’d been going there, and he was supposed to have been referred before aging out of their program—which he’d done over the summer. But The Lighthouse had closed before then, and he’d been one of the few on the waiting list who hadn’t been referred.

“So, no leads on a good primary?”

Jomari withdrew his hand from hers. “No. The problem is, Dr. Joyce knew me. Now not only do I have to find a doctor, but I have to deal with proving again that yes, I really do need to be on T, and yes, I really do need ongoing care specifically fit for me.” He glared at the sandwich instead of meeting Amelia’s gaze.

“I could ask around, if you want,” Amelia offered. “I know a few people who might help out.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure.” She chuckled. “I was about to try to explain to you this really complicated friend circle I’ve got going on these days, thanks to Mack, but it could take a while.”

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!

Happy Wednesday! It’s cold and snowy here (still, again…I’m not sure which).

It’s been a rough several days. Our dog has been seriously ill, to the point he’s been hospitalized since Monday night. We found out yesterday it’s Addison’s disease. Basically, his adrenal glands don’t function. He’ll be on meds the rest of his life, but he should make a full recovery and be back to his bouncy self within a few weeks or a month. Apparently, he’s been such a sweetheart for the staff. They all adore him. When we visited yesterday, the tech wrapped him in a blanket and baby-carried him out of the visiting room. He looked back at us like, “Ha, ha. Look how pampered I am.” He’s such a diva, even when sick!

Other than that, it’s same-old, same-old around here. I wrote a review of one of the best books of poetry I’ve ever read. You can check it out here.

And I’ve added a tiny bit to Minuet. I really need to motor on it. I figured out that a huge part of my problem had to do with some feedback that wasn’t really critical of my work but was really more about me than the book itself. I don’t think the person intended harm, but it still hurt.

On to the WIPpet. This follows from last week. They wrap up one discussion and move on to another. Jomari has a favor to ask of Amelia.

WIPmath: 3/6/2019 = 19 = 9 – 1 = 8 paragraphs.

Amelia reached out and put her hand on his. “Mack and I are best friends. Yeah, we have sex sometimes, but that’s the relationship we’ve always had. We’re all adults, and obviously we’re capable of having a grown-up discussion about it. Unless there’s a problem on your end we need to talk about, I’m good.” She was, really, even if she needed a minute to process this. She and Mack had never hooked up with the same person before, that she knew of.

Jomari shook his head. “I’m okay. Just figured it was better to do what you said, have a grown-up discussion.”

“And we did. So, tell me about how your day went?”

“Well…that would be the other reason I asked you here.”

“Oh?”

“You know how I’m in this Irish folk band? Um…see…we lost our flute player, and…” He bit his lip, and Amelia thought it was both adorable and hot. He’d had no hesitation when it came to making her toes curl and her back arch, but he could barely ask her to do him a favor with the band.

“You’d like me to fill in until you find a replacement?”

“Um. Yes?” He turned on a charming grin, and she giggled.

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!

Happy Wednesday! I’m trying to get back to doing these. My doctor and I are still working on figuring out my health issues. I’m following up with the rheumatologist in about a month, and then with my doctor after that. He has a long-term plan for getting me a proper diagnosis. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to finally have someone who is listening and problem-solving rather than slapping me with a diagnosis before digging deeper.

I’m still (very slowly) working on Minuet. I did manage to write a short story for Valentine’s Day, which you can read here.

Today’s snippet follows from last time, a little farther on in Amelia and Jomari’s date. He speaks first here, and he’s about to tell her something.

WIPmath: 2/27/2019 = 27 = 2 + 7 = 9 paragraphs.

“So…I’m thinking you want to know why I asked you to meet up.”

Amelia had been, but she played it cool. “We haven’t had a lot of time to talk since summer.”

He chuckled and leaned in to whisper, “You mean since we spent the night screwing like bunnies?”

“That too.”

“You should know that I, uh, went home with Mack the other night. Your friend.”

“I know who Mack is!” Amelia laughed, covering—she hoped—her surprise. Though now she thought about it, was it really so shocking? The guys had gone out to see Cian at the bar. Jomari was Cian’s fiddler and his friend. Jamie was away, and Mack had been lonely. She couldn’t be sure whose idea it was, but it did make some sense they’d try to set Mack up. Of course, they probably didn’t know it wouldn’t go anywhere but the bedroom.

“It’s not weird for you?” Jomari still hadn’t touched his sandwich, and now he fidgeted with his cup.

“Not really. I don’t think our one night together gives me some kind of claim on you, does it?”

“Well, no, I guess not.” Was that disappointment in his voice?

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!

Happy Wednesday! Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t posted since before Christmas.

It’s been a rough start to the new year, but hopefully things are on track now. I’ve had a couple big editing jobs, so writing time has been hit or miss. Mostly miss. But I’m still making progress. I haven’t decided what my writing goals are this year. I know I won’t be able to finish more than a couple projects, so it’s likely to be Minuet and hopefully a novella.

Speaking of Minuet, here’s another snippet. Mack’s decision to invite company over might have been originally to get his mind off his troubles, but it’s looking like it might work out okay. Edited to remove some spoiler-y stuff. Warning for language.

WIPmath: 1/9/2019 = 1 + 9 = 10 short paragraphs

An hour and a half later, Jomari rolled off Mack, panting, his light bronze skin glistening with sweat. Mack stretched then placed his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes, wanting to imprint every detail into his brain. God, Jomari was a stud.

“Hey.”

The soft word made Mack open one eye to squint at Jomari. He could’ve done without any talking. Why ruin the moment? All he wanted was to bask in it, not have a conversation. Especially not the one he suspected was on the horizon.

“Hm?” He intentionally made it sound sleepier than he felt in hopes of deferring some mushy nonsense about where their relationship was going.

“What are we doing here?”

Oh, God. And there it was. “I dunno,” Mack mumbled. He sighed and rolled to face Jomari. “Dozing off after a spectacular fuck? At least, I was trying to.”

To Mack’s surprise, Jomari laughed. “No, I meant whether we’re planning to go again or if I should leave.”

Now Mack’s eyes popped wide open. He propped himself on his elbow. “Gotta admit, that’s not what I was expecting.”

“I realized that as soon as I said it. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain.” Jomari snickered. “Sorry. Anyway, about my question…”

“You can stay.” Mack hid his relief behind a chuckle at Jomari’s raised eyebrow. It would’ve been too hard to explain his need for company; he didn’t think they were that close friends yet.

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!