WIPpet

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!

Happy Wednesday! I’m deep in the midst of a whole bunch of editing this week. I already did final edits on a novella and first-round edits on a novel, both back from publishers. I have a paid gig that I’m really excited about and enjoying (it’s not every day I get to work with an author who is quickly becoming a favorite writer and client, so I count myself really fortunate). Finally, I have 2 chapters and a short story to beta read.

I’m also reading, reading, reading this week. I have 3 books due for reviews next week, but I just picked up BrewGirl by Eliza David as my treat to myself (she had me at “a feminist falls for a chauvinist”). It’s funny, smart, and exactly what I needed.

On to this week’s WIPpet. Last week, Bryce gave Cat an unexpected semi-public kiss. I’ve skipped over what follows, but I’m fairly sure you can work it out from this week’s snippet. It was about as awkward as you might imagine. Note: Cat and Bryce are both 19. The mention of Bryce’s parents is about Bryce not being out to them, not about their age. Warning for swearing.

WIPmath: (3 x 9) – (1 + 6) = 20 sentences

Cat withdrew, causing Bryce to wince and grunt, and they lay next to each other, panting. After a couple of minutes, Bryce looked over at Cat. A look of alarm crossed his face, and he sat up.

“What’s wrong?” Cat asked, thinking maybe Bryce had heard his parents’ cars.

“Cat…” Bryce’s eyes crinkled with worry. “You’re all red.”

Cat laughed. “Yeah, of course I am. We just had sex. That’s supposed to happen. Even I know that.”

Bryce shook his head. “No. Look at yourself.” His voice trembled.

When he looked down, Cat gasped. His pale brown freckles were mingled in with pinprick red spots, all over his chest and down his belly. “Shit.”

Having sex must have caused a few surface blood vessels to burst. It wouldn’t kill him, but he needed to get home for his meds as soon as possible. Whether it was from the heat or the strain of sex, he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter anyway.

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!

It’s been about 6 weeks since my last WIPpet. I promised I would get back to it, and then I didn’t. A big reason is wanting to do the other WIPpeteers justice. If I can’t take the time to read them all, then I won’t post one because I don’t feel it’s a fair trade. Doing that once in a while is okay, but I knew with several editing projects and a book launch (yesterday!) it would be nearly impossible. I hope today marks the start of getting back to joining the fun!

Speaking of the book launch, Trevor and Andre are finally live. Anthem is now on Amazon! So far, it’s gotten some good attention. I did a cover reveal a couple of weeks ago and then a virtual book blast. I still like to admire the cover; the artist did such a nice job with what I asked for.

On to this week’s WIP. Believe it or not, I’m still editing Cat’s story. I’m working on three other WIPs, but I’m not quite ready to post bits of them. The first is a short story I’m submitting to an anthology. I’m actually writing women this time! The second is the next book in the Notes from Boston series, and the third is a sequel to Passing on Faith (Walking by Faith is a prequel). Only the short story is actually in the writing stage—the others are still in research/planning mode.

When we last saw Cat, he was upset over an argument with Micah and remembering something from his past. WbF is primarily a prequel with a few flash-forwards to PoF. This is from the opening scene of the earlier time period. Cat is a 19yo college student.

WIPmath: 3/2 = 3 + 2 = 5 sentences

When Cat stepped onto the porch, Bryce tangled his fingers with Cat’s. He dragged Cat into his personal space, giving him a light kiss on the mouth. Sure, they’d kissed before, but never anything out where someone walking by could see. It was always just messing around in their rooms—nothing serious. Cat jerked back, startled.

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!