Walking by Faith

Happy Wednesday! Can’t believe it’s already time for another snippet. I’ll do my best to get to everyone’s posts, but I’m still playing catch-up from the weekend. My 12yo was in his school’s production of The Lion King Jr., which you can read about here. It’s also launch week for my latest novel, An Act of Devotion. More on that at the end.

On to this week’s WIPpet. Last time, Ezra rescued Cat from Landon’s advances. This week…well, you’ll see.

WIPmath: 5/2016 = 5 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 6 = 14 paragraphs of dialog.

Landon leaned in. “We could find something else to do.”

“Such as?” Not that Cat didn’t have at least some idea where Landon was headed.

“Go somewhere quieter.” His smile was charming in a way which reminded Cat of a salesman.

Cat looked over at him and gave him a yeah, right look. “You skipped a few steps, I think.”

“Did I?” The way Landon was looking at him made Cat wish he could move several feet away without being rude.

“I don’t really know you.”

“Oh, are we playing that game, then?” Landon laughed; it wasn’t mocking, but there was an edge to it Cat didn’t like.

“What game? I’m sitting here people-watching.” The night was not turning out how Cat had hoped, and Landon wasn’t helping. Cat wished he would get the hint and go away.

“I like people-watching. Especially you.” Landon lowered his voice. “You’re very pretty, you know. And I like pretty men.” He reached out and touched Cat’s chin with his thumb.

Now Cat really did shift away. He stood up and faced Landon. “I’m going to go find my friends.”

He started to turn away, but Landon put a hand on his wrist. His grip was firm without squeezing, but he could easily have tightened it. Cat stayed put, waiting for Landon to say his piece.

“You should know something about me,” Landon said, his voice low and smooth but with a hint of bite.

“What’s that?” Cat’s heart thumped, and he tried to withdraw his hand, but Landon held fast.

“I always get what I want eventually.” He smiled again, accompanied with a wink.

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

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All week, I’m celebrating my own book launch by featuring guest posts, book reviews, promotions, and more. Keep reading, and check back every day this week to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

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You can also enter every Monday from now until June 20 on these blogs:

2-May: MM Good Book Reviews, Book Lovers 4Ever, My Fiction Nook, Happily Ever Chapter

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16-May: Prism Book Alliance, Elisa – My Reviews and Ramblings, The Novel Approach

23-May: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Three Books Over The Rainbow, Bonkers About Books

30-May: Full Moon Dreaming, Oh My Shelves, Unquietly Me

6-Jun: Alpha Book Club, Bayou Book Junkie

13-Jun: Molly Lolly, BFD Book Blog

20-Jun: Love Bytes, Sassygirl Books, Outrageous Heroes

Happy Wednesday! I’ll keep it short because I’m in the midst of a very busy couple of weeks. It’s final rehearsals for my older child’s school musical, and next week is the release of An Act of Devotion (that was Adam and AJ’s story, if anyone remembers them from way back when).

Straight on to the WIPpet, then. We last saw Cat refusing a drink. He’s about to refuse a different kind of fun this week. Cat’s lack of experience or context isn’t unusual for someone who has had a lifelong disability. So he often comes across as young for his age, and I hope I’ve captured a bit of that with the last two snippets.

WIPmath: 4 + 2 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 6 = 22 paragraphs, plus a bonus one because it didn’t make sense to cut either the first or last one.

Having gotten distracted enjoying the pretty men dancing together, Cat missed when a good-looking guy pulled up a stool next to him. He only registered it when the man said in his ear so he could be heard, “Hey, there.”

Cat nearly jumped a mile. He put a hand on his stomach—conscious of doing anything someone might comment on later—and waited until his heart rate slowed before he said, “Um, hey.”

“I’m Landon.” The guy stuck out his hand.

Taking it, Cat suppressed a giggle at the oddly formal gesture. It was nice, though. He’d seen how a few of the men were getting handsy even when asked to stop.

“I’m Cat.”

“Cat?” Landon laughed. “Interesting. So, you came with Preston’s…cousin, was it?”

“No, his boyfriend’s cousin. Oh!” Understanding dawned. “You’re Keith’s friend.”

“Yeah.” The man grinned. “Having fun?”

Cat shrugged. “I guess. I’m a little—”

“Overwhelmed?” Landon guessed. He nodded, not waiting for a response. “You’ll get used to it. You should go dance.”

“Um.” Cat’s face fell. “I probably shouldn’t, really.”

“No?”

“Not a good idea for me.” He hadn’t been going to tell a total stranger about his health, but he figured what the hell. Landon wasn’t exactly a stranger if he knew Ezra. “I have a medical…thing. Like, I could get hurt.”

“Not if someone’s protecting you, right?” Landon asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cat admitted. “Maybe—”

He was cut off by Ezra appearing at his elbow. “Hey, Landon.”

Landon backed off from Cat. “Keith’s cousin, is it?”

“Yeah.” Ezra turned his attention to Cat. “Want to go upstairs, have a look from there?”

He didn’t wait for Cat’s reply, tugging him from his seat and leading him up the stairs. Cat followed, his brief conversation with Landon left behind him until they reached the top of the stairs. It was quieter up there, fewer people. Cat almost felt like he could breathe again.

“Thanks,” he said to Ezra, not having realized he needed to be away.

“Sure,” Ezra said. He fidgeted a little. “Listen, I’m sorry I butted in there, but Keith told me I should.”

“Why?” Cat furrowed his brow.

“He said to me, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t let your friend talk to Landon.’ I have no idea why not, but I get the feeling Landon’s kind of a player, you know?”

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! It’s officially Performance Season in our household. The concert on Saturday was fantastic. We performed a few familiar pieces, such as two of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and Ravel’s Bolero. But by far this is my favorite piece we played, though I’d never heard it before we started rehearsing (it’s long but worth it):

 

As for the WIPpet, I’m sticking with Cat for now because even though I’ve started working on Nightsong, the sequel to Anthem, I don’t have enough yet to start posting. Cat will be in edits for the foreseeable future, though, so no worries.

Last time, we left Cat having entered the bar, a little overwhelmed by it all. This snippet jumps ahead a little. Warning for the f-bomb, if that’s the sort of thing that makes you uncomfortable.

WIPmath: 4/20 = 4 + 20 = 24 sentences.

Ezra had disappeared, and Cat looked around for him. After a short while, he popped back up with two others in tow and multiple drinks between them which he set on the table. He pushed a glass toward Cat.

“Happy birthday!” he yelled in Cat’s ear.

Cat flinched then looked down at his drink. It didn’t look like a soda. He sniffed. Definitely alcoholic. He turned to Ezra and glared at him. “I can’t have this.”

“Sure you can! It’s your day, and you’re covered for it.”

“No,” Cat said, trying to hold back his annoyance at both Ezra and himself. “I can’t have any alcohol. It fucks with my body.”

Bryce rolled his eyes. “Just for once, play along. You don’t have to get drunk.”

Cat didn’t want to explain all his stomach problems or his need to be clear-headed at all times. He knew the beer in and of itself wasn’t a big deal. Unlike sex, his doctor had been very clear on a number of other things, and Cat hadn’t been too embarrassed to ask about the ones he wasn’t. His refusal to drink had more to do with some of his other chronic problems than his hemophilia, and he had no interest in reminding them he’d be spending the rest of his night in the bathroom.

“I said no,” Cat told Bryce firmly. “But you guys go ahead and enjoy.”

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

I can’t even recall what all happened in the last 2 weeks that I couldn’t post, but I’m back now. It’s performance season once again (this pretty much never ends…it just cycles through a few times a year). My concert on Saturday is the first, then the school musical, three school concerts, two recitals, and one competition.

I’ve just finished polishing a short story to submit to a new-to-me publisher for an anthology, and I’m sketching a flash fiction for another anthology. Meanwhile, I’m continuing edits on Cat’s story and finally getting back to writing the second in my Notes from Boston series. Whew!

This week’s snippet of Cat is later the same day as the last one. If you’ve forgotten (I know I had), Cat was post-first-time with his boyfriend and in need of his meds (but had to dodge his sister and her minions). No worries, he got what he needed. Now he’s off with his friends to celebrate his birthday by sneaking into a 21+ bar.

WIPmath: 4/13 = 4 + (3 – 1) = 6 paragraphs

There was a line outside the club. Cat balanced on the balls of his feet to peer over Zee’s shoulder. There was no way they would get in; they were by far the youngest people in line, at least from what Cat could see. He knew he didn’t even look like he was out of high school himself. They did have the fake IDs courtesy of Ezra’s cousin, but that didn’t mean much. Cat bounced a little with nerves.

“Will you cut it out?” Zee hissed, turning around. “You’re making us look like we don’t belong here.”

“Well, we kind of don’t,” Cat said. “These guys are a lot older than we are.”

Ezra elbowed him in the back. “Keith’s got us covered. His boyfriend Preston is at the door, and he said he and their friend Landon will meet us inside.”

Cat nodded, too full of nerves and excitement to say anything in response. When they reached the front of the line, he held his breath through the guys handing over their cards. He fumbled his way through passing his to the man Ezra had referred to as Preston. The man barely looked at it then gave Ezra a wink and sent them inside. Cat let the air out of his lungs and followed the others.

It was dim inside and more crowded than Cat had been expecting. He looked around, trying to figure out what the decor meant. There were neon palm trees and other tropical decorations, but there were also what looked like miles and miles of fishing net strung with rainbow lights. Were they going for a pirate theme? The idea made him giggle-snort, and he covered his mouth before the others heard. Bryce was always on him about that kind of thing anyway, being too girly. Cat composed himself and lowered his hand, still puzzling over the bar’s theme.

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! I’m pretty excited because I actually wrote real words this week. I have a short story project going for an open call, so I can’t share the details, but I’m pleased with the results so far.

Meanwhile, I just finished reading BrewGirl by Eliza David. I loved this book so much. It’s the first book in ages I’ve bought just for fun and not because someone asked me to review it. A good time was had by all, and it’s on the top of my favorites list.

On to the WIPpet for this week. In case you missed it, I’ve been posting bits from the novel-in-edits about Cat. I could write about him forever. Anyway, he’s now dealing with the uncomfortable reality that he can’t pretend his hemophilia doesn’t exist, not even for his birthday. Here, he’s gone home to get his meds after having sex for the first time with his sort-of boyfriend.

WIPmath: 3/23/2016 = 16 – (3 + 2 + 3) + 2 + 0 = 10 paragraphs

Less than twenty minutes later, Zee showed up in his parents’ car, and Cat and Bryce piled in. Their friend Ezra was already in the front seat. Once they got to Cat’s house, he tore inside and stopped short. LR was sitting on the couch, doing her homework. Two of her friends were sprawled on the floor, engaged in the same activity. She looked up when he came in.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Mom said you were going to be at Zee’s house with the guys tonight.”

“So that’s why you have them here.” He pointed to the other girls.

“Well, yeah. We’re finishing up some stuff and then we were supposed to have the whole house to ourselves.” She glared at him.

He rolled his eyes. “Only you would do homework on a Friday, Libertee.” He emphasized her real name to annoy her, and he was rewarded with her scowl. “I came to get some stuff I forgot.” He stomped up the stairs to his room.

Now what was he supposed to do? If he stayed long enough to take his meds, LR would know and tell their parents, or she would ask him why. Maybe he could do it back at Zee’s house. He snarled, thinking what a pain sex was and how maybe he wouldn’t ever do it again if it was going to be this much trouble.

That stopped him in his tracks. No, it had felt incredibly good, and if he had the chance, he would do it over and over. He grabbed the pills he took to boost the effect of his infusions and swallowed them hastily with a bit of water from the bottle he kept on his night stand. He shoved everything else into his bag and ran down the stairs. Calling a goodbye to his sister and her friends, he blew through the door and slammed it on his way out, barely registering the girls’ protests behind him. He leaped into Zee’s car.

“Drive,” he said.

“Did you infuse?” Bryce asked, confused.

“No. Had to dodge The Sister and her minions. I’ll do it at Zee’s house.”

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

What started as a relatively quiet week ended up with plenty of excitement. I just had a novella published through MLR Press, What Once Was Lost. About a year and a half ago, when my first novel came out, I wrote several short stories which I put up on my blog as part of launch week. WWOL is a stand-alone, but it’s actually a sequel to one of the shorts.

Meanwhile, my May release, An Act of Devotion, which you may remember from past WIPpets, is now available for pre-order.

On to this week’s WIPpet. As you might recall, last time we saw Cat, he was having a reaction of sorts to sex. This week, he’s dealing with it. (When Cat refers to school here, he means the community college where he and his boyfriend are taking classes. Cat’s father is a professor there.) For the very curious, Cat has hemophilia A (clotting factor VIII deficiency), severe form, which is the most common type. Sex is not a “dangerous” activity, but there are precautions people can take because breakage of small blood vessels is possible, as are other injuries. Most people nowadays use recombinant (basically genetically engineered) factor to infuse, but some, like Cat, have immune reactions to it and rely on donated plasma.

WIPmath: 3/16/16 = 16 – (1 + 6) = 9 paragraphs or 16 + (1 + 6) = 23 sentences.

Cat got up and began dragging his clothes back on.

“I gotta get home,” he said. “I need my meds.” He stumbled as he yanked up his jeans.

Bryce slid to the edge of the bed and swung his feet over. “Didn’t you bring them?”

“No,” Cat said quietly before pulling his shirt over his head. “We were at school. Dad has shit for me in his office.”

“But you brought your stuff to go to Zee’s.” Bryce’s expression reflected his bewilderment.

Cat turned around and stood by the door. He couldn’t explain to Bryce that it was just one night at Zee’s, and he’d wanted to pretend for a few hours he could leave the house and be normal for a change. It didn’t matter that his parents were a phone call away if anything happened or that he wasn’t likely to sustain life-threatening injuries from take-out Chinese food, birthday cake, and a few games of stripes and solids in Zee’s basement.

“I forgot,” he lied. “I have to go. My parents—”

“Are they home?” Bryce began putting himself back together.

“No, but they will be soon, and I don’t want them asking me why I need an infusion. Shit!”

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 Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!