Rainbow Snippets

Happy Saturday! I’m a little tired, having had a houseful of teenagers all of yesterday and overnight. Got everyone up, fed, and ready to leave by 8:20 to get half of them to rehearsal and the other half back home. Whew!

This week, I finished one WIP (it’s now with betas) and started another. I currently have two going, until I reach a stage with one of them where I need to just work on that. I’m also into my October reading list. Both this month and next are full, but I have room in December if anyone has some awesome lesbian fiction they want me to review.

My next novel, Keeping the Faith, releases Nov. 1. I have a blog tour going, but if you’re not part of that list and want to host me for that day, you can fill out the form.

Meanwhile, I’m still sharing snippets from various stories in Leaps of Faith. Last week, Cat was reciting his prayers using a rosary. I thought I’d post the, er, outcome of that here. A little background: I was part of a very restrictive and traumatizing religious community where queer sex was not only taboo but of the devil. One way I healed from that was to write specifically about the intertwining of sex and worship.

Micah rewarded him with three gasping grunts and a long, low groan. He gulped air audibly, and Cat hugged the edge himself, so close. He squeezed his eyes shut and placed his palm against the door. His whole body shuddered in anticipation; it wouldn’t take much. He couldn’t hold off, dropping his beads and sliding his hand down to where it would do more good. He’d overestimated how long he needed, shivering through release almost as soon as his fingers made contact.

When he recovered, he managed to murmur, “Thanks be to God.”

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!

Happy Saturday! For my friends and family honoring Yom Kippur, may your fast be easy.

In case you missed it, here is the new link to the Big Bi+ List. You can still add your name or books in the comments.

It’s one month and one day until my next novel releases. It’s the last part of the Faithfully Yours series. My anthology Leaps of Faith is also part of the series, a collection of short stories featuring different characters. It’s a companion work, not part of the main series.

I’m snipping from a different story in Leaps of Faith, “For Us and for Our Salvation.” (The title is taken from the Nicene Creed.) Here, Cat has a rather…unusual use for his rosary. It’s over the 6 sentences, but I think you’ll forgive me. For the non-Catholic: a “decade” is one section of the rosary. A “chaplet” is the full chain.

Cat drew air into his lungs slowly, centering himself to resume his recitations. He continued, not stopping this time, even when he heard Micah’s breathing grow louder and more unsteady with each new decade. They needed this, a way to reconnect without fear. Though his cheeks flamed and heat pooled low in his belly, Cat pressed on.

Between the fragrance of the incense, the tiny whimpers behind the door, and his own blossoming arousal, Cat was lightheaded by the time he reached the end of the first chaplet. He prayed, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.” Glancing up toward the ceiling, he wondered briefly what Jesus might make of this and decided he probably approved.

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!