Minuet

Happy Wednesday! It’s been a rocky few days, but only a couple more before school is out for a week. Hoping everyone can hang in there for just a little while longer.

My older child is performing with a choir of high schoolers from around the county for the next 5 days. They’re singing with our local professional orchestra at their annual holiday pops concert. I’m looking forward to hearing them!

Meanwhile, I’ve gotten almost no work done on this manuscript, again. I really do need to finish it, and my goal was the end of the month. Hahaha! Um.

Anyway, here’s a bit that follows on from last week’s. Mack was talking himself out of having a drink (bad idea). Here, he’s talking himself into inviting some company for the night (better idea).

WIPmath: 12/19/2018 = (1 x 9) – (1 + 2) = 6 paragraphs

A warm body. That’s what he needed. It would’ve been plenty easy to head over to Grand Slam. Mack was reasonably confident his occasional hook-up, the Bio-Queen, was performing that night. She went by Candie Gram, and she was hot, funny as hell, and nowhere near as old as her stage name and makeup implied. They didn’t have sex while she was in drag.

He didn’t relish the long train ride, though, and he needed to stay away from anywhere he might be tempted to drink. Besides, he didn’t think Candie was who he had in mind. Everything with her was over a bit too fast, which was fine if that’s what he was chasing.

Tonight, he wanted someone to absorb his restless energy. Someone who wouldn’t be here and gone in less time than it would’ve taken Mack to just use his own hand. Someone like…

His gaze landed on the silver cross still sitting on his bedside table. He had to return it anyway; maybe he could make it worth both their while. If he was lucky, Jomari might spend the night again. Mack quickly shook that idea off. Just because he didn’t need to work the next morning didn’t mean Jomari had the day off. It was the middle of the week, and most people had jobs with more reasonable hours than Mack’s. Maybe Jomari wouldn’t want to come over at all.

Only one way to find out. Mack picked up the cross, which was setting on top of the paper Jomari had left with his number.

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 haven’t done a lot of writing in Minuet, but it’s okay. I’ve been reorganizing the chapter files. It’s time consuming, but it isn’t a big deal due to the way I write (that is, not in a straight line). I’ve missed Mack, Amelia, and the gang.

We’re heading into the last week before Christmas with a full plate. My kids both have concerts next week at school, and my older one is singing with our local professional orchestra along with many other teens from around the county. Should be fun!

I was super excited to see Minuet listed on the release schedule for next year. It’s due out in September, and my publisher wants it by the end of April. Plenty of time, but I still need to get cracking on it. I already know exactly how it ends.

In today’s snippet, Jamie is still away (for reasons that I won’t spoil, but anyone who has read Drumbeat will know). Mack hasn’t quite learned to balance his attachments or figure out where all the healthy lines are.

Content note: Mack’s a recovering alcoholic. He’s contemplating drinking again (nothing too heavy in this part) and recalling a moment with his (also alcoholic) mother.

WIPmath: 12/12/2018 = (1 x 2) + 1 + 2 = 5 paragraphs

Mack had the night off, and he was in a mood. The mood. The itch hit him forcefully in a way it hadn’t in a long time. Mack hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in over five years. Not that he hadn’t wanted to or come close in all that time. But he’d had Jamie then. Countless nights that first year, when Jamie and Amelia were there every time he gave in. And when he was finally sober, Jamie was there for him again.

Jamie wasn’t there now, and the combination of the gaping hole he’d left and Mack’s internal buzzing brought back a whole lot of buried desires. He wanted something to take the edge off. He hadn’t seen Amelia in days, he still missed Jamie, and he was keyed up.

At first, he tried funneling the feeling into writing a new song. The lyrics wouldn’t come, and he couldn’t settle down enough to focus. He bounced off the couch and wandered into the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of water. Standing by the sink, he paused. If he wanted, he could have something stronger. He could cave, and no one would know. 

A memory surfaced of his mother, standing in exactly the same position he was now. She was at the sink, not with a glass of water but with a carrot and a knife, making dinner. Singing. Probably already halfway to drunk. The knife slipped, and—

Mack’s hand shook, sloshing water over the edge of the glass. The cold splash woke him up. He remembered what Jamie had said before he left, about not wanting to become his mother. Mack understood. He gulped the water, the cool liquid sliding down his burning throat. It wasn’t enough, but he would have to live with that.

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! The picture above has nothing to do with today’s WIPpet. I made it the other day as a joke because of all the pumpkin spice stuff I see everywhere right now. Also, I needed a bit of humor.

I’m really struggling to write these days. There doesn’t seem to be a solid reason for it. I wouldn’t call it “writer’s block.” More like lack of motivation, though I couldn’t say what’s caused it. I’ll have an occasional day where I write 1-2k words, and then nothing for days or even weeks. It’s frustrating, and I wish I knew how to get my voice back.

I don’t know…I’ve felt this way a lot in the last year. I finally managed to finish Jamie’s story (which released in September), but that was the only one for this year, aside from my novella. Even last year, I had two novels, a collection of short stories (most of which were new), and one stand-alone short. I have two projects that need to be finished, but it’s like I just can’t connect with the characters anymore. I don’t even find myself daydreaming about them, which is really unusual for me.

Anyway, here is a snippet I wrote a while ago from Minuet. Amelia’s day job is as a personal trainer. Here, she’s doing a bit of a favor for a friend.

WIPmath: 10 paragraphs for the 10th.

Amelia waved Cian over as soon as she spotted him. He grinned at her cheerfully, but the teenage girl with him looked like she would rather be anywhere else. Amelia had her work cut out for her. Fortunately, she had plenty of experience with sullen clients.

“Hey,” she greeted them when they stopped in front of her.

“This is Cadence,” Cian said. “My sister.”

“Right, yes. You mentioned. And she had an injury, right?”

Cian motioned to his hearing aids. “Can we talk somewhere quieter?”

“Sure.”

Amelia led them into one of the small rooms lined with mats. Some days, it was used for tiny tots classes, but it was empty at the moment. She turned to face Cian and Cadence.

“Okay, Cadence, why don’t we spare your brother from having to be the middle man here. Tell me what you’re looking for.”

Cadence eyed Cian, who nodded at her with a distinct air of you’d-better-tell-her. With a sigh that sounded half exasperated and half grateful, she looked away from him. “I hurt my knee a few months ago and had to have surgery. I did all the physical therapy and stuff, but I want to get back to dancing.”

“I think we can work with that.”

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 missed reading everyone’s stuff last week because life got busy. We were dealing with cross-country meets, dance class arrangements, auditions for the middle school musical, and both kids being sick with that nasty cold going around. Hopefully things have evened out now!

The writing is going slowly. I don’t know what my block is on writing this, aside from busy schedule and general burn-out. But I’m making some progress on each of my WIPs each week, so I can’t really complain.

I’m still snipping from the same part of Minuet again. This is still the women talking, and they’ve turned their attention to discussing Jamie’s history of being an adult film actor. Amelia is explaining why it’s so uncomfortable for her.

WIPmath: 9/26/2018 = 26 – 9 = 17 paragraphs, mostly dialog.

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

“You guys!” Amelia buried her face in her hands. “This is super embarrassing. I’ve known Jamie since we were fifteen. Also, he’s extremely very gay, so back off!”

The others were laughing, and eventually Amelia joined in. She hadn’t meant to see Jamie’s videos at all, but Mack had watched the series, and she’d caught some of it a time or two. Jamie and Mack had never been into each other, but Amelia could see why Mack enjoyed it. That in itself was enough to make her feel awkward.

“Was it really that bad?” Gemma asked.

Bad? No. Jamie was skilled. “Uh…”

“Now you have to tell us, or we’ll go looking for it ourselves,” Nia prodded.

“Oh, my God.”

“Spill it, sister.”

Amelia sighed. “It was this web series that was more like erotic romance. But part of the selling point for Jamie is that he’s, uh, very…blessed.”

“Meaning…?”

“He has a giant dong, okay? Like, massive. Probably painful.”

“Oh. Oh, God.” Cassie broke out in fits of laughter. “I’ll bet that makes things real interesting with his boyfriend.”

Laura laughed so hard she flopped over. “I’ve heard short guys often make up for it in other ways. Guess that rumor might be true.”

Something occurred to Amelia and she gasped. “Wait, you guys aren’t going to hassle Jamie about this, are you?”

Collectively, the entire rest of the group stared at Amelia. When they’d recovered, Gemma spoke first. “No, of course not. Why would we do that?”

“It’s happened before.” Amelia hesitated. “He’s had people do crotch checks on him and stuff. I guess people feel entitled to his body because they’ve seen it naked.”

“That’s horrifying,” Laura said.

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 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!