Minuet

Happy Wednesday! This week is much better than last, though it’s a good deal busier for the kids. Just a week and two days until opening night for BIG FISH.

In other news, a teeny bit of shameless bragging about my kids. My son was selected for All County mixed chorus, All County jazz band, and our town’s Honors Band. My daughter was recommended for a special academic program at their school. As much as I sometimes feel fed up with all the driving for a million activities, I couldn’t be more proud of all their success.

As for writing, I’ve gotten farther in Minuet than any of my other WIPs. It’s coming along nicely, roughly 1/4 finished. I’d have liked it to be more, but I’m cutting myself some slack. Also, if anyone has any ideas for making a character spill their secrets, let me know.

On to the WIPpet. The photo above is Amelia. I debated between her and another model when looking at stock photos, and I chose her for a few reasons. After reading an article last night about figure skaters and eating disorders, I’m even more glad I chose to create a character who is both athletic and fat. I’m tired of skinny people being the standard in pretty much the same way I’m tired of men being the default. Anyhow, here’s a mildly steamy snippet for Valentine’s Day.

WIPmath: 2/14/18 = 1 + 4 = 5 paragraphs

[Mack] followed [Amelia] up the stairs to her apartment, admiring the view from behind. He was more than ready to reconnect with her after the day he’d had. He wanted her in his arms, under him and on top of him and around him. It was the best way he knew to release all the built-up tension from his worry over Jamie and his anger at Sage. Amelia knew how to soothe him like no one else.

Inside, she only waited until he’d set his bag down and she’d put her purse on the table by the door. Years of practice and trust and mutual understanding meant she knew exactly what he needed. She put her arms around his neck and drew him into a long, heated kiss. Mack’s chest loosened.

He slid his hand to cup her soft, round ass. Amelia had a great physique. Unlike Mack, she was shapely and athletic, muscular under her full curves from her work as a personal trainer. She used every bit of her body to her advantage when she and Mack were together. After a few heated minutes of grinding against each other, Amelia led Mack into her bedroom.

Watching her strip down, Mack knew what he needed tonight. He had to have her inside him, taking care of him. They didn’t do it often, but he trusted her entirely to give him the release he craved. She drew Mack into another long, sensual kiss.

Mack put himself in Amelia’s capable hands, guiding her while submitting fully to her. This was exactly what he wanted, their lovemaking born from years of understanding and respect.

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! My 14-year-old is home with a bad cold today, so I’m plying him with soup, tea, and extra protein. His job is to rest. He says he feels okay, but he’s definitely not himself. Too quiet and mellow.

I haven’t done much writing for a while. On and off, but nothing consistent. It’s a combination of things, and it’s left me a bit out of love with writing. I have managed to get some words out in both Minuet and Tree of Life, but everything feels a bit stale and bland lately. I’m sure it doesn’t help that I’ve been having more health issues, and I’m still searching for a new primary care doctor. If you want to know why, you can read my last Rainbow Snippets post from Saturday.

On to the WIPpet. We’re still in the apartment Mack shares with Jamie, who is still sleeping off the effects of…[spoilers]. The picture above is what Marlie looks like in my head. (Also, it was one of the few stock photos of blond women that wasn’t of someone nearly falling out of her underwear.)

WIPmath: 2/7/2018 = 2 x 7 = 14 sentences

Marlie fixed him with her fierce gaze, and it said everything.

Mack nodded at her and ducked into his bedroom. He left the door open, and he could hear Amelia talking quietly with Marlie. He didn’t catch enough of it to know if she was filling Marlie in on the details of their visit with Sage, but he suspected not. He zipped his bag and brought it out to the living room.

Izzy looked up. “Thank you,” he said. “For what you did. He won’t say it, so I will.”

Eight months ago, Izzy had been there when Jamie left the asshole for good. He’d been the one on call, working at the time as an EMT. Izzy had thought Sage hit Jamie. He couldn’t have known that would be entirely unlike him. Sage mostly liked to leave the kind of marks no one could see.

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! We’re heading into one of our busiest months, with two concerts (mine) and three shows (the kids). After that, it’s business as usual until well into spring.

I worked some on Minuet this week, but I also worked on Tree of Life. Both projects are going a little slower than I’d like, but progress is steady. I hope to have one finished by spring.

Here’s a question for you: In Tree of Life, Luke is one of a dozen children, 10 of them named for books of the New Testament in the Bible (all but the 2 girls). There are 8 names that are common, 1 name that’s not common but isn’t strange, and 1 that’s…out there. My question isn’t so much whether I should use it (I’d love to—the name has a great meaning). It’s whether or not a “quiverful” family* would use it. So the question is do I use the name (Philemon, in case you wondered) or fudge it and use Roman instead?

*Quiverful = a religious movement based on the Bible verse “Children are like arrows; blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” It’s not merely refusing birth control; it’s intentionally having a large family because God said so. They’re typically ultra conservative in other ways too.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, here’s the WIPpet. Still in Minuet, and now Mack and Amelia are back at the apartment to check on Jamie.

WIPmath: 1/31/2018 = 1 + 3 + 1 = 5 paragraphs.

The first thing Marlie said when the door opened was, “He’s sleeping. Don’t wake him.”

Mack nodded. “We came to check, but we’re going back to Amelia’s.” He didn’t add that he thought Jamie would want some space. Marlie probably already knew that.

Izzy acknowledged Mack with a nod. He merely looked tired, but Cian was an absolute wreck. Mack had only met him briefly a handful of times, but he had the impression Cian was generally the sort to take things in stride. Now he looked awful. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he was curled in on himself. Mack wished he’d done something sooner, the minute he saw Jamie was heading for trouble.

“He needs more help than we can give him,” Marlie said.

For a minute, Mack thought she meant Cian, but then he realized she was still on the subject of Jamie. “I know,” he 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! It’s been weird here already, even though it’s still early. I woke with a horrible migraine and consequently tripped on the stairs coming down. Good thing I landed on my butt and only got a small bruise as a reward.

The rest of this week has been odd too. My poor kids had their school lock-in canceled for the storm we never got. But at least we got to go see a friend in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It’s neat taking the kids to see live theater now that they’ve been on stage—they both talked afterward about knowing how much goes into a production, even for a community theater. I’d forgotten how bizarre that show is, though. My younger child’s best quote: “This is so dated it’s timeless. I should hate it…I want to hate it…but I don’t!”

On to the WIPpet, still from Minuet and following directly from last week’s. Context: Jamie’s a bit of a mess, Mack and Amelia are about to take the commuter train back home, and Mack gets a text that doesn’t bode well. Content note for swearing. I didn’t feel that Mack would filter his language here, so I didn’t do it for him.

WIPmath: 1/17/2018 = 17 sentences

She didn’t mean that he’d wake up and see their friends, though that was probably true too. Jamie clung hard to Sage, even now, buying into his lies about who really cared about him. At some point, Jamie was going to have to learn how to be his whole, real self. Mack just wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that.

An incoming text startled Mack, and he took out his phone. Their friend Marlie. Jamie knows where you went.

“Fuck,” Mack muttered.

Amelia’s mouth dropped open, and she grabbed Mack’s arm. “Is Jamie—”

“He’s fine.” Mack stuffed his phone back in his pocket without answering the text. “That was Marlie. Someone, maybe her, told him what we were doing.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Right. He’s bound to be pissed as hell, if he’s in any shape to react.”

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 not at my best today. I had some dental work done yesterday (nothing major), but I’m still feeling a bit sore. Anything like that usually makes my fibro worse, so I’m having a low-key day while I recover.

I haven’t written much since last week. I did a bit of housekeeping, digging around in some old files. I also added a couple scenes to Minuet. I could write a whole blog post about this, but I realized that a big part of my lack of motivation is that I never envisioned being a career writer. I like writing (and getting paid to do it). But it’s not something I want to do as a means of paying the bills.

Anyway, despite that, I still do like working on my various projects. So here’s my snippet for the week, still from Minuet. We left Mack and Amelia sitting in South Station, waiting for the commuter train. Mack had some angry thoughts about Sage (and himself).

WIPmath: 1/10/2018 = 18 – (2 + 0) = 16 sentences

Amelia tapped Mack’s wrist. “You’re thinking too hard.”

Mack let her take his hand, but he looked away, staring at the long line at the McDonald’s counter. He wasn’t angry with her for trying so hard or for how much she’d once cared about Sage. She’d known him longer than either of them knew Mack. She hadn’t even questioned Mack when he’d called her to say he’d taken the day off and needed her to accompany him. He couldn’t ask her to do any more than she already had.

So he lied about what was on his mind. “I’m wondering if Jamie will be awake when we get back, that’s all.”

“You’re worried about him.” She gently turned Mack’s head so he was looking at her. How did she know him so well? “He will be okay. He’s with the others. I meant what I said. He’ll eventually realize he’s not alone anymore.”

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!