WIPpet Wednesday

WIPpet Wednesday: A Bi Week Snippet

Happy Wednesday! It’s overcast here, slightly cooler than it’s been the last several days. Later this afternoon, my kids will be auditioning for their school’s junior musical. Right now, I’m hanging out with my dog and making blog posts.

It’s Bisexual Awareness Week, so all my posts have been themed. I’ve written three flash fictions (read them here, here, and here), and my snippets have featured bi characters. Also, you can enter the giveaway below for your choice of anything in my backlist (excluding publishers’ multi-author anthologies).

Today, a bit more of Cian. Not only is he bi, but his relationships are what some people might call “it’s complicated.” He is the occasional partner of a family triad (a man and two women, plus their children). In this scene, he’s thinking about whether or not he wants to move a couple hours away to live with them. It’s made even more complicated by his newly developing relationship with Jamie.

WIPmath: 9/20/2017 = 20 – 17 = 3 paragraphs

Cian thought about Nell and the baby, due early in September. He could be there, living with them, just in time. It wouldn’t solve his problem of finding a day job or of reopening his studio or any number of other problems, but most of those weren’t going to be resolved by staying here, either.

The bathroom door opened, and Cian’s heart leapt. The other person he now had to consider emerged. Jamie was clad only in a t-shirt and his boxer briefs, looking sleep-rumpled but no less sexy for it. Cian had never had much in the way of specific preference. From Eric’s big, hairy frame to Skye’s fairly average curves to Nell’s willowy build, he liked all of it. He was sensual and sexual with a high drive, and not much turned him off if it was attached to someone he cared about. Jamie, though—he was something special.

Yet along with a flash of desire, Cian also had nagging regret and worry. They hadn’t even properly talked about—well, anything, if Cian were honest. Jamie wrapped his arms around his stomach and stood by the couch. Cian’s stomach dropped; Jamie was still so closed off. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

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!

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WIPpet Wednesday: How Long?

Books, Writing

Happy Wednesday! We survived the first days of school, first dance classes, and first music lessons. Tonight we go back to handbells and choir at church, and this Friday is my very first Irish dance class. I’m a little nervous, though my 14-year-old assures me I’ll be just fine. Easy for him to say! He’s been dancing since he was 3.

In other big news, my kids have auditions for their school’s junior show (grades 6-9): High School Musical. They’re so excited! The main stage show (grades 6-12) in February will be Big Fish.

On to the WIPpet. I’m following up on last week’s uh-oh with Jamie and the flowers he didn’t really want. This is immediately after he discovers who sent them. FYI, Mack is definitely not Jamie’s boyfriend/partner/date. He’s Jamie’s best friend. Warnings for some swears and for a “spoiler” of sorts (Jamie’s ex was never named until the end of the second book of the series.)

WIPmath: 5 paragraphs because there have been 5 full days of school so far.

“Hey.” Mack’s voice sounded funny, and Jamie wished the ringing in his ears would quit so he could hear properly. “Hey, Jamie. Breathe.”

Mack’s hand was on his neck, massaging. Jamie shuddered, his whole body seizing up. He shoved at Mack. Before he could stop himself, Jamie hurled the second bouquet across the room. The glass vase it was in shattered on the hardwood floor, and the pieces went everywhere.

“Fuck him!” Jamie repeated it over and over until the words didn’t make sense anymore. He fell onto his knees.

“Let me see.” Mack’s fingers closed around the card Jamie was still clutching. He pried it away. A few seconds later, he muttered, “That absolute asshole. How long has this been going on?”

What Mack had said was true; Sage was an asshole, but he was one with a remarkable ability to know what would go straight to Jamie’s heart. He had all the right words, every I miss you, baby and I’m no good without you and I swear I can’t go on. What scared Jamie wasn’t the thought that Sage would make good on his threats to hurt himself. It was how tempted Jamie was to go back to him. How many nights he still ached for Sage. Still wanted the familiarity, even if it came with all the pain.

WIPpet Wednesday: Cards and Flowers

Books, Fiction, Writing

Happy Wednesday! It’s the first day of school here, and my two are now off to 9th and 7th grades. It’s strange having the house so empty. I’m back to my regular work hours now, which is good news all around. Still, I miss the company.

I’m very nearly done with Drumbeat. Yeah, yeah…I’ve been saying that for weeks. I’m serious this time. With getting back to the school year schedule, I can be more efficient with my time. I should have it finished in the next couple of weeks.

Last time, I showed you Jamie’s piercings. This snippet is marginally related. For context, Jamie’s been sick with a head cold. Mrs. Phelps is their neighbor, previously known as Mrs. Crotchety.

WIPmath: 6 paragraphs for the 6th.

Jamie smiled. The note on the first bouquet wasn’t in an envelope, and Jamie saw Cian’s scrawling signature on the get-well card. He didn’t know whether Cian had sent two bouquets or if the second was from a fan. Not that the Creepy Crullers had that many, but a time or two had found them on the receiving end of nice things.

He accepted the flowers, and Mrs. Phelps winked at him as she stumped away with her cane. Jamie shook his head and opened the door. He set the flowers on the counter and took the note from the first one. Cian said he hoped Jamie felt better, and he was looking forward to their planned date that night.

Before Jamie could open the second card, Mack came out of the bathroom, wiping his freshly-shaved face with a towel. “What’s all that?”

“Cian sent them.” Jamie grinned in spite of himself.

“Nice.” Mack thwacked Jamie’s ass with the towel on his way past. He tossed it onto the back of a chair and started unloading the grocery bags.

Mack had his head in the fridge and therefore didn’t see Jamie’s reaction when he opened the second card. For a moment, Jamie thought he might collapse right there on the kitchen floor. He gripped the counter, trying—and failing—to take steady breaths.

WIPpet Wednesday: Pierced

Books, Writing

Happy Wednesday! I’m posting this, and then I’ll read the others in between running around all day to get ready for vacation. So much to do, so little time!

Believe it or not, I’m near the end of writing Drumbeat. Just a few more chapters and some minor reworking of some scenes, and then it’s off to beta readers. At least the first part, anyway, while I clean up the second half. It’s hard not to let myself get distracted by Shiny New, which is now outlined and waiting patiently until I finish this one. For the handful of folks who read An Act of Devotion, the new project (Tree of Life) is about AJ’s friend Luke. But it’s 100% not a romance, not even if you squint. I do promise a happy ending, though.

Everyone wanted to know about Jamie’s piercings, so here it is. Fair warning, the snippet is long. Jamie’s body jewelry includes a few intimate places, which are obviously only visible to Cian because they’re…well. (For those who missed previous snippets, Cian is deaf but wears hearing aids. He’s not lip-reading here.)

WIPmath: 8/30/17 = 8 x (3 + 0) – (1 + 7) = 16 paragraphs

Tell me about all these, Cian signed, then touched the row of hoops in Jamie’s left ear and then the bar over his eyebrow. “What do you do with them when you’re at work?”

“I trade out my usual for ones that are less obvious. They let me keep them because I don’t work in the kitchen.”

It made sense. Cian leaned in and kissed each of Jamie’s angel bites and then his lips. “I love these. How did you decide to get them?”

Jamie didn’t answer for a moment. Eventually he sat up. “I have one piercing for every break-up.” He smiled and tugged one earlobe. “My first. Got them when my high school boyfriend broke my heart.” Jamie laughed. “He didn’t want me, but suddenly I had all these girls all over me.”

Cian laughed too. Lucky you!

Jamie nudged him with his toe, but he was still smiling. “Then this one.” He fiddled with the eyebrow bar. “I dated that guy for two weeks before we figured out it was never going to work.”

“Why not?” Cian wanted to know.

“We were on set together. He was a cameraman. The way he tells it, he was into me emotionally, but anything past kissing and he couldn’t do it. He was so upset, not wanting to hurt me. Last I knew, he’d gotten engaged to one of my costars.”

“Maybe you opened his mind,” Cian suggested.

“Maybe,” Jamie agreed. He shrugged and moved on to touching the hoops. “All the rest—” He wouldn’t meet Cian’s gaze for a moment, and Cian saw the way his eyes shimmered. “They’re all from the same guy, except this one.” He touched the daith. “It’s new, and I’m not sure it was really a break-up. We weren’t official.”

“The same guy?” Cian blinked. That was a lot of breaking up.

“He hated them. I would get one done and tell myself it was the last time. We’d be apart for a week, two at most, and then he’d grovel, or I’d call and beg.”

It clicked. “The one I saw you with at the engagement party.”

“Yes.” Jamie closed his eyes briefly when his finger came to rest on the pubic studs. “When he saw these, he stopped us mid-sex. Wouldn’t touch me for two weeks after that.” He swallowed visibly and flicked his PA. “He told me if I ever got this one, I’d never see him again. I waited a month after our last split, and then I got it. I had to be sure he was never coming back.”

“Did it work?”

Jamie took a while before he answered. He looked like there was a lot there, hiding just below the surface. At last he said, “I haven’t seen him in more than six months.”

WIPpet Wednesday: Unexpected meeting

Books, Fiction, New Love, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! One week until we go pick up the kids’ schedules at school. Two weeks until school starts. I’ll have a high schooler for real! Also, lessons, classes, the school play…whew. I’m officially signed up to start taking the adult beginner Irish dance class at my son’s studio. I’m nervous! Child #2 has decided to continue her voice lessons, which her teacher will do via FaceTime. How cool is that?

Still plugging away at Drumbeat, now more than 2/3 done. I’ve also outlined and started plotting for my next novel. I’m usually a mix of pantser/plotter, but this one is going to need much more structure. I’m moving away from more romantic-themed novels to general fiction. The next one is a road trip/re-told fairy tale type story, though I hope it’ll be less cliched than it sounds. Ha!

Today’s snippet puts Cian and Jamie in the same place at the same time. Jack the bartender is a creation of my son’s, and my son wrote the dialog between him and Jamie. Charity Bang-Bang (the drag queen) was the name I got from one of those “this would be your drag queen name” quizzes. Haha! Quick poll for next week: More of just Cian, more of just Jamie, or the story of how Jamie got his piercings? Let me know in the comments.

WIPmath: 8/23/2017 = 23 (for the day) + 2 (for the number of weeks until school) = 25 sentences

Cian stepped inside just as Brunhilda the Great, the emcee, finished introducing someone called Sister Charity Bang-Bang. She didn’t quite look like any of the nuns Cian had ever known. He might have enjoyed attending his parish school if there had been a bit more crossover.

He slid onto a bar stool, paying no attention to anything except Sister Charity and her swaying hips. It was much quieter over here, away from the stage. The gentle tap on his shoulder brought him out of his trance. Denver, the bar manager, smiled and asked what she could get for him.

“Rum and Coke, please.”

He watched her for a moment, but then his gaze traveled past her to Jack, her second in command for the night. Only one stool separated Cian from the man Jack was talking to, and when Cian saw who it was, he froze, watching them converse.

“Just a Diet Coke,” Jamie said.

“You want it with a flavor shot?”

“What do you have?”

Jack grinned. “Anything you want. I can do chocolate, vanilla, lime…I wouldn’t recommend the banana, though.” He grimaced, and Jamie laughed.

“Tried that one yourself, huh? Thanks for the heads up. I’ll have the lime.”

Still not drinking alcohol, Cian noted. It wasn’t a big thing, but he supposed it struck him as unexpected for some reason. It didn’t seem like part of Jamie’s overall persona. Then again, Jamie couldn’t really hide the shine of sweet innocence even underneath all those piercings and black clothes.

WIPpet Wednesday: Nightmare

Books, Fiction, Other Relationships, Writing

Happy Wednesday! Last week until yet another summer camp, and this time I’ll be volunteering. So I may take breather next week. Meanwhile, my older child just turned 14! Younger child turns 12 on Sunday. They just had their physicals, and both are nearly done growing. Estimated height for older child: 6’2″. Estimated for younger: 5’2″. They find this hilarious and awesome.

On to the WIPpet. Sigh…this novel is going to destroy me. I’ve been feeling conflicted about my genre and my place in it for a long time, which I don’t think is helping. It’s a long story, probably a whole separate blog post. I’ve talked to a few friends, but I’m no closer to a real solution aside from “finish what I’ve agreed to write and then move on.” Well, yes, but that doesn’t solve the problem of having to write it. This novel is exactly why I prefer writing single POV, but…genre expectations plus the precedent I’ve already set for the series. ‘Nother sigh.

Anyway…this is from the same chapter as the last snippet of Drumbeat. Jamie has woken from a nightmare about running away from his mother’s abusive boyfriend. I’ve mentioned before that Jamie grew up couch-surfing homeless and ended up on-the-street homeless at 15. This is not because he’s gay. I wanted a different narrative from the common “kicked out for being LGBT.” Not that it doesn’t happen, but it’s not the only reason, y’know?

WIPmath: 8/9/2017 = 8 + 9 + 7 = 24 sentences

It happened sometimes, the nightmares of getting away from—what number boyfriend was it again? More than five, less than ten. Jamie had lost count. He was the only one who ever hit Mama. They’d planned their escape for weeks, and even so, he’d nearly caught them. Jamie was lucky he got out with only a black eye and a few bruised ribs.

He’d looked for Mama for ages after that, but no one would tell him where she’d gone. She’d been too afraid to tell him her whole plan just in case something slipped. Months of searching for her, then searching for his father. Surviving any way he could until he got to the Lighthouse, so sick he could hardly stand and afraid it was more than just the flu. He was damn lucky it wasn’t.

Only Sage knew all of it. He was there many nights when Jamie woke, drenched in sweat from re-living the terror of that time. He knew and didn’t judge, just held Jamie until he stopped shaking. Sage wasn’t the same kind of monster. He’d never hit Jamie, no matter what the others thought he was capable of. If he’d ever beaten him, Jamie would’ve been out the door sooner. Or so he liked to think.

That kind of violence wasn’t Sage’s way. Everything he did was softer, gentler. The kind of thing that lulls a person into feeling secure. Even when he touched Jamie in ways that made him uncomfortable, it was always that same tenderness, almost a vulnerability. All fake. Jamie had nightmares about that too.

WIPpet Wednesday: A Bi Week Snippet

WIPpet Wednesday: How Long?

WIPpet Wednesday: Cards and Flowers

WIPpet Wednesday: Pierced

WIPpet Wednesday: Unexpected meeting

WIPpet Wednesday: Nightmare

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