Nightsong

Rainbow Snippets: A break-up

Happy Saturday! I’m counting down the weeks until my next release, the final installment of my Notes from Boston series. It’s down to about 7 weeks now!

With that in mind, I’ve been snipping from the previous books to introduce everyone to the main characters of the series. It’s funny, this definitely didn’t go the direction I was imagining. I’d had it all outlined at the beginning, but the stories refused to go the way I’d planned. So overall, this is a very bisexual, polyamorous series.

Except for the one I’m snipping from today.

Nightsong (book 2) is the only one with a monogamous couple at its center. I had to search for an appropriate snippet that wouldn’t give too much away. This is a journey about self-acceptance and facing serious health issues and two people learning to rely on each other through that.

But first, one of the MCs needs to break up with someone who isn’t so good for him.

“I wasn’t thinking this had to be some forever thing.” Rocco shook Nate’s hand off and went back to buttoning.

“Maybe you weren’t, but that’s what I need to be able to hope for when I’m seeing someone.” He paused and waited to feel angry or sad. Instead, he was disappointed, and only in himself for not seeing it sooner. “You’re not ready for anything else, which is fine. Maybe if I were in love with you, I could wait, but I’m not. One day, you’ll find someone who is willing. It just won’t be me.”

Rocco sat down on the edge of the bed, and Nate joined him. “So, where does this leave us?”

“Hopefully parting on better terms than in high school. I do wish you well.” Nate kissed his cheek.

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!

Rainbow Snippets: A Duet

Writing

Happy Saturday! We’re back from vacation, and I’m ready to get down to Camp NaNo. I’m working on the next Notes from Boston novel, Drumbeat. This is Jamie’s story, and…well. I have a feeling, after some recent conversations, that it may not be to everyone’s liking. But it’s the story Jamie wants me to tell, so I will.

My new collection of short stories, Leaps of Faith, is coming out July 12. These are set in the same context as Passing on Faith, and you can pre-order here. I’ll snip from that in the coming weeks. Today’s snippet is the last one from Nightsong. Here, Nate has just fanboyed all over Izzy, but Nate has a more pressing problem—the man who was supposed to sing with him is too sick to show up. Izzy’s about to make him an offer. (In case anyone isn’t familiar, “I’ll Cover You” is from Rent. This novel has numerous references to musical theater and opera.)

Izzy pursed his lips. “You weren’t planning to sing ‘I’ll Cover You,’ by any chance?”

Nate shook his head, but he blushed. “No…well, we would have if anyone had asked for an encore. Why?”

Izzy rose to his feet and drew himself up to his full height, though he still had to angle up a bit to look Nate in the eye. He gestured down at himself then to his beard. “I couldn’t pull off Angel, that’s why.”

The laugh bubbling out of Nate made Izzy a little weak-kneed.

Rainbow Snippets: Fan crush

Books, Fiction, New Love, Writing

Happy Saturday! As of tomorrow, I’m officially on vacation for a week! That means I get to do absolutely no work. I’ll be going through my reading list and enjoying some new purchases in between hanging out with my kids, spouse, and his family. Going to be fantastic!

Today’s snippet is still from Nightsong. I figure I’ll post this and maybe one more before retiring it. I have a new collection of short stories coming out July 12, Leaps of Faith, which you can pre-order here. I’ll snip from that in the coming weeks.

Last week, Nate (aka the “gorgeous baritone”) showed up for his part in a charity performance. Izzy, who is currently in his drag persona, TaTa Latke, is about to meet him. They’ve both been fan-crushing on each other without knowing it. This is in Izzy’s POV.

Baritone turned toward him, and his mouth fell open. He closed it, opened it again, and then stood there. He finally shook himself and said, “You-you’re TaTa Latke. Oh, my god.”

It was Izzy’s turn to gape like a fish. The man he’d been thinking of as “his” baritone looked a bit awestruck himself. Izzy scrambled to recover. “Yes, that’s me. And you are…?”

“Nate Kingsley. Oh, my god,” he repeated. “I can’t believe I’m standing here talking to you.”

Rainbow Snippets: Gorgeous Baritone

Books, Fiction, New Love, Writing

Happy Saturday! It’s officially summer vacation. Yay! I had my moment of sentimentality at my older child finishing middle school. I can hardly believe I’ll have a high schooler in the fall. He’ll be at the same building (it’s grades 6-12), but there’s still something about it that feels like a big deal.

Today’s snippet is still from Nightsong, but I think I’ve teased everyone enough. Time for Izzy and Nate to meet. Well, sort of—this is the setup. They’re both performing in a fundraiser at their favorite LGBTQ+ bar, Grand Slam. Izzy’s a drag queen, and this is in his POV. The others mentioned here are: Brunhilde the Great (the emcee), Nate (the “gorgeous baritone”), and his roommates, Jamie (the “tiny wisp”) and Mack (“a lot of tattoos”).

There was a bit of fumbling and several exchanges of “excuse me” in the doorway while Brunhilde exited and three other people came in. Izzy sucked in a breath when he saw them. One was the gorgeous baritone he’d seen the last time he performed as TaTa. Up close, the man appeared considerably younger than Izzy had thought when watching him from the stage. The second was a tiny wisp of a man so attractive it almost set Izzy’s teeth on edge. He wasn’t really Izzy’s type, but he had the polished shine of someone who could have been paid for his good looks. Behind them traipsed a third man with dark hair and a lot of tattoos.

Rainbow Snippets: Shove it, Dad

Books, Fiction, Writing

Happy Saturday! Or really, almost Sunday. I’m only now posting because most of my day was spent attending my older child’s Irish dance recital. For those of you following along at home, yes, my kids do a lot of performing arts. Mainly my son, who is in more things that you can shake a stick at (mostly at school). I think we’re done now, though. School gets out in a few days.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day in the US. I have a complicated relationship with “parent days” as well as with my remaining parent. My snippet is still from Nightsong, and in this scene, Nate is talking to his parents. They are not terrible people, but they are the sort of folks who had a specific plan for Nate’s life—and he didn’t follow it.

“Shove it, Dad. You were just as bad. Neither of you listened to what I wanted. Even when I started studying opera—at your request, not mine—you thought it meant at the very least I’d be performing at Carnegie or the Met, right? Not some tiny little company made up of the sorts of gay people you’d like to pretend don’t exist. Be queer but not too queer. And for sure, don’t do anything that might spoil your brother’s reputation.”

Rainbow Snippets: Under the Weather, part 2

Books, Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Saturday! It’s recital weekend part 1. Dress rehearsals today, then the big shows tomorrow. Tap, jazz, ballet, and hip hop. It’s a long and exhausting weekend, but the shows are always wonderful. Their dance studio does a good job with these shows. There’s a group of littles (maybe age 6-7?) all dressed up as villains and doing a tap dance to Despicable Me. So cute and fun. My 11yo’s class is dancing to Super Mario Brothers. It’s adorable.

And now for this week’s snippet. Last week, Nate was out with Rocco the Jerk. This week, he’s…well. You’ll see. And yes, it’s relevant.

The minute Nate opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong. The gritty, sandy feel when he blinked; the headache spreading down from his forehead; the fire under his skin. He was positive he had a fever, though he didn’t own a thermometer to check. It wasn’t surprising he’d picked up a bug, since he’d already sent multiple cast members home with illnesses. Working in close proximity made fertile ground for passing things around. He’d been feeling tired and a little off for a couple of days already. Still, he’d hoped he was wrong and he would escape the germs or at least meet them in weaker form. Apparently, no such luck.

Rainbow Snippets: A break-up

Rainbow Snippets: A Duet

Rainbow Snippets: Fan crush

Rainbow Snippets: Gorgeous Baritone

Rainbow Snippets: Shove it, Dad

Rainbow Snippets: Under the Weather, part 2

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