Outed...

So. Mother-in-Law. She visited last weekend and there we were, chatting away. I might have had a beer. And I might have said something about the LHNB story that would be out this summer. Well, Mother-in-Law knows I write, but she doesn’t know what I write. So she asked if she would be able to read it.

I shuffled my feet and prevaricated a bit. And it went something like this:

MIL: What’s it about?
Jaye: (realizing she should have kept her mouth firmly shut) Er... well. It’s a sort of a fantasy romance sort of thing.
MIL: Oh. I’ve read some fantasy before. I’d really like to read it.
Jaye: Er... well... um... it’s... um...
MIL: (frowns)
[camera pans to Husband Beast, who is standing behind MIL and listening with a highly amused expression on his face. He quirks one eyebrow as if to say, opened mouth and inserted boot again, didn’t you, dear?]
Jaye: (shuffles feet and ignores Husband Beast) Uh, well, look, Ma, the guys in my stories? They sort of have a lot of sex.
MIL: Well, that’s all right, dear. I’ve read Nora Roberts, and I really like her stories.
Jaye: (almost under her breath) With. Each. Other.
MIL: (deer-in-the-headlights look) ...
Jaye: (totally oblivious to the idea of quitting while she’s as ahead as she’s likely to get) And it’s um... kind of... explicit.
MIL: Really?
Jaye: Heh. Yeah.
MIL: Oh... so... you’d be right up there with that gay marriage thing, then.
Jaye: (Blinks.) Er. Yeah. Definitely on board with that. (Note that at this point, had I been Cunning and Clever, I could have taken advantage of this topic change and Distracted her. Alas. I am not Cunning. Or Clever, apparently.)
MIL: I’d still like to read it.
[camera pans back to Husband Beast, whose shoulders are shaking with laughter. His hand is clapped over his mouth to hold it in and his face is turning red.]
Jaye: (turning pale at the idea of having to explain the dubcon warning on the story) Um... well, actually... it isn’t coming out until this summer. I’ll... I’ll let you know, okay?
MIL: Great! I’ll be looking forward to it.
[camera catches the back end of Husband Beast as he bolts for the bathroom and locks himself in.]
MIL: (turning to look at the dust cloud Husband Beast has left in the wake of his hasty departure) Is he not feeling well?

Summer is a long way off, right? And she’ll probably forget between now and then.

And if she doesn’t, maybe I’ll have to write a very sweet fantasy romance just for her... (Except? I really don’t do sweet very well. More on that another time.)