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.)
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
WIP Excerpt: The LHNB Story
Here's a small excerpt from my story that will be available as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" Event. Look for it this summer!
Excerpt:
Tor leaned on the worn wooden railing of the bridge and stared down into the dark, swirling water below. The wind carried the scent of burning leaves in from the fields beyond town, and the silver light of the nearly full moon danced like glitter cast upon the surface of the river.
He walked this way almost every night. On those nights that he felt the most alone, he would stop on the bridge to look down at the water and then gaze up at the stars and wonder why he hurt so much.
Deep inside, where no one could see and no one could touch, there was an emptiness that gnawed at his soul. An emptiness that had been there ever since he could remember.
As a child, he’d tried to fill the void with books and television and make-believe. As a teenager, he’d tried drugs, alcohol, and sex. All those things had passed the time and helped him forget for just a little while, but nothing he’d tried had ever come close to being able to fill that empty, aching darkness.
Every day it seemed to grow a little bit bigger and gnaw its way a little bit deeper into him. And every night as he stared up at the stars, he wondered when the void would grow big enough to consume him entirely, and what would be left when it had.
He’d searched all his life for something he had no name for. He was about ready to give up looking, because how did you fill a space that you couldn’t even see the shape of?
Excerpt:
Tor leaned on the worn wooden railing of the bridge and stared down into the dark, swirling water below. The wind carried the scent of burning leaves in from the fields beyond town, and the silver light of the nearly full moon danced like glitter cast upon the surface of the river.
He walked this way almost every night. On those nights that he felt the most alone, he would stop on the bridge to look down at the water and then gaze up at the stars and wonder why he hurt so much.
Deep inside, where no one could see and no one could touch, there was an emptiness that gnawed at his soul. An emptiness that had been there ever since he could remember.
As a child, he’d tried to fill the void with books and television and make-believe. As a teenager, he’d tried drugs, alcohol, and sex. All those things had passed the time and helped him forget for just a little while, but nothing he’d tried had ever come close to being able to fill that empty, aching darkness.
Every day it seemed to grow a little bit bigger and gnaw its way a little bit deeper into him. And every night as he stared up at the stars, he wondered when the void would grow big enough to consume him entirely, and what would be left when it had.
He’d searched all his life for something he had no name for. He was about ready to give up looking, because how did you fill a space that you couldn’t even see the shape of?
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
And For My Next Trick...
It has come to my attention that I have a one-track mind. Or, as Husband-Beast would say, I have a multi-track mind, but all the tracks run in the same general direction.
Here’s the thing: up until recently, I’ve not had time to focus on more than one project at a time. Now that I have more time, and am attempting to get something out there for real, I’m putting a lot more time into revising and editing, but I find that The Swamprat is unhappy with that.
This means I’m going to have to learn how to work on more than one thing at a time. So we’re going to give that a try and see what happens. (I suspect it will be Pandemonium on a Stick, but I’m trying really hard to reserve judgment at this point.) I’ve finished drafting the sci fi series (five books), and I’m moving into the revision/editing stage on book one (working title is Touch of Darkness). But I’m gnashing my teeth in Creative Frustration because I’m not actually writing anything. So I’m going to try to start drafting some fantasy stuff at the same time.
If that works out, I’m going to have a go at balancing on one flipper whilst bouncing a little red rubber ball on my head and playing a cheerful tune on my nose flute. Stick around—it’ll be fun.
Here’s the thing: up until recently, I’ve not had time to focus on more than one project at a time. Now that I have more time, and am attempting to get something out there for real, I’m putting a lot more time into revising and editing, but I find that The Swamprat is unhappy with that.
This means I’m going to have to learn how to work on more than one thing at a time. So we’re going to give that a try and see what happens. (I suspect it will be Pandemonium on a Stick, but I’m trying really hard to reserve judgment at this point.) I’ve finished drafting the sci fi series (five books), and I’m moving into the revision/editing stage on book one (working title is Touch of Darkness). But I’m gnashing my teeth in Creative Frustration because I’m not actually writing anything. So I’m going to try to start drafting some fantasy stuff at the same time.
If that works out, I’m going to have a go at balancing on one flipper whilst bouncing a little red rubber ball on my head and playing a cheerful tune on my nose flute. Stick around—it’ll be fun.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Love Has No Boundaries
As any of you who are members of Goodreads M/M Romance Group are probably aware, this year’s “Don’t Read in the Closet” event is called Love Has No Boundaries, and it’s going on right now. Story prompts were posted in mid-March, claiming of prompts by writers took a week or so, and now all the writers who have promised stories for the event have their heads down and are writing furiously.
I wasn’t planning to do this event this year... I was just going to sort of have a look at the prompts and see what sorts of stories would be coming out of this, and maybe watch the process and consider participating next year. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow, and all that. Except... there was a prompt that really grabbed me, and before I knew it, I had committed to writing it. (Yikes!)
Two weeks later, I had a 34,000 word novella drafted, and had a ton of fun doing it. And Husband Beast, who has no interest in reading M/M fiction, even pitched in and did a cover for me. This is kind of a big deal for me—it’s the first time in about ten years that I’ve sent anything out there into the world except for blog stuff, which, let’s face it, is really just me talking to myself and the people in my head.
Anyway, here's a sneak peek of the blurb and the cover art... and once the story is released (sometime this summer) I'll make it available here in The Swamp, either as a series of blog posts or (if I can figure out the Terrifying Tech Stuff) a download.
The Blurb:
Ashnavayarian is a god-like entity who lives in the leythe, the fluid confluence of space, time, and energy that permeates the universe and binds the worlds together. Ash has always considered the human worlds his playground, and has spent many human lifetimes manipulating the creatures for his own amusement. When his meddling leads to a terrible war, the echoes of which disturb the matrix of the leythe itself, Jhara, the Leythe-Mother, sentences him to live as a human in a war-torn world that Ash’s manipulations may yet destroy. There he will stay until he learns compassion for the human creatures he so casually toys with.
But cold, self-centered Ash is far more interested in escape than redemption. Furious at the way he has been trapped, he vows to break his exile by whatever means he can. The only problem is that Jhara has crippled his power over the leythe, leaving him only two choices: bow to her demands or find some other way to raise the power he needs to break his exile.
Tor MacAran has been alone all his life. He’s never belonged and he’s never been able to shake the feeling that something is missing. There’s a darkness in his soul, an emptiness that has haunted him as far back as he can remember. When an encounter with an old woman and an ancient book pulls him through the Void Between Worlds and dumps him at Ash’s feet, Tor thinks he’s found the answer to all his problems. Because not only is Ash the embodiment of every fantasy he’s ever had, but when the man touches him, the dark empty places inside him are filled with light, and for the first time in his life, Tor feels complete.
But all Ash sees in Tor is the answer to his own problem, for a hidden power slumbering deep within Tor may well be the catalyst Ash requires to effect his escape. But Ash risks far more than Jhara’s wrath in his bid for freedom—for both Tor’s life and the future of the world are endangered by his plans.
Acceptable losses, as far as Ash is concerned.
Or are they?
The Cover Art:
I wasn’t planning to do this event this year... I was just going to sort of have a look at the prompts and see what sorts of stories would be coming out of this, and maybe watch the process and consider participating next year. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow, and all that. Except... there was a prompt that really grabbed me, and before I knew it, I had committed to writing it. (Yikes!)
Two weeks later, I had a 34,000 word novella drafted, and had a ton of fun doing it. And Husband Beast, who has no interest in reading M/M fiction, even pitched in and did a cover for me. This is kind of a big deal for me—it’s the first time in about ten years that I’ve sent anything out there into the world except for blog stuff, which, let’s face it, is really just me talking to myself and the people in my head.
Anyway, here's a sneak peek of the blurb and the cover art... and once the story is released (sometime this summer) I'll make it available here in The Swamp, either as a series of blog posts or (if I can figure out the Terrifying Tech Stuff) a download.
The Blurb:
Ashnavayarian is a god-like entity who lives in the leythe, the fluid confluence of space, time, and energy that permeates the universe and binds the worlds together. Ash has always considered the human worlds his playground, and has spent many human lifetimes manipulating the creatures for his own amusement. When his meddling leads to a terrible war, the echoes of which disturb the matrix of the leythe itself, Jhara, the Leythe-Mother, sentences him to live as a human in a war-torn world that Ash’s manipulations may yet destroy. There he will stay until he learns compassion for the human creatures he so casually toys with.
But cold, self-centered Ash is far more interested in escape than redemption. Furious at the way he has been trapped, he vows to break his exile by whatever means he can. The only problem is that Jhara has crippled his power over the leythe, leaving him only two choices: bow to her demands or find some other way to raise the power he needs to break his exile.
Tor MacAran has been alone all his life. He’s never belonged and he’s never been able to shake the feeling that something is missing. There’s a darkness in his soul, an emptiness that has haunted him as far back as he can remember. When an encounter with an old woman and an ancient book pulls him through the Void Between Worlds and dumps him at Ash’s feet, Tor thinks he’s found the answer to all his problems. Because not only is Ash the embodiment of every fantasy he’s ever had, but when the man touches him, the dark empty places inside him are filled with light, and for the first time in his life, Tor feels complete.
But all Ash sees in Tor is the answer to his own problem, for a hidden power slumbering deep within Tor may well be the catalyst Ash requires to effect his escape. But Ash risks far more than Jhara’s wrath in his bid for freedom—for both Tor’s life and the future of the world are endangered by his plans.
Acceptable losses, as far as Ash is concerned.
Or are they?
The Cover Art:
Thursday, April 11, 2013
When Characters Misbehave
I was all set to write this morning.
Except that there was snow to shovel so I could get the car out of the driveway in order to do the Mandatory Grocery Shopping. And there was the biweekly Scaling of Mt. Laundry, and the Cooking of Dinner. Oh, yeah, and the lifting of weights (boring), and the making of chai and baking of bread and untangling of the socks from the jeans (if they had any idea how much that pisses me off...)
And then, after chores and lunch and mandatory Morning Phone Call to Parents, then there was writing.
I figured I had a good four hours before I had the pick the kids up from anime club.
So I fired up Pyglet (the laptop. No, it isn't pink, but it's really cute, and constantly insists that it's a Very Small Animal), opened up Scrivener and grabbed my story, all ready to start.
Oh. Yeah. Sex scene today. That is where I left off yesterday, isn't it?
Okay, no problem—it's quiet, I got four hours, we'll just get this thing done.
So I yell at Nick and Vaya (main characters of book 5 of the series and the stars of said sex scene), "Okay, dudes, we got four hours, let's do this thing."
And they looked at me.
And I looked at them.
And they looked at each other.
And Nick shuffled his feet and batted those pretty green eyes at me and said, "Yeah, about that... we were thinking maybe we could just sit around and play cards instead?"
So, yeah. That’s about how that went.
And I didn’t even win at cards.
Except that there was snow to shovel so I could get the car out of the driveway in order to do the Mandatory Grocery Shopping. And there was the biweekly Scaling of Mt. Laundry, and the Cooking of Dinner. Oh, yeah, and the lifting of weights (boring), and the making of chai and baking of bread and untangling of the socks from the jeans (if they had any idea how much that pisses me off...)
And then, after chores and lunch and mandatory Morning Phone Call to Parents, then there was writing.
I figured I had a good four hours before I had the pick the kids up from anime club.
So I fired up Pyglet (the laptop. No, it isn't pink, but it's really cute, and constantly insists that it's a Very Small Animal), opened up Scrivener and grabbed my story, all ready to start.
Oh. Yeah. Sex scene today. That is where I left off yesterday, isn't it?
Okay, no problem—it's quiet, I got four hours, we'll just get this thing done.
So I yell at Nick and Vaya (main characters of book 5 of the series and the stars of said sex scene), "Okay, dudes, we got four hours, let's do this thing."
And they looked at me.
And I looked at them.
And they looked at each other.
And Nick shuffled his feet and batted those pretty green eyes at me and said, "Yeah, about that... we were thinking maybe we could just sit around and play cards instead?"
So, yeah. That’s about how that went.
And I didn’t even win at cards.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Not Quite What I Had in Mind...
I try not to make New Year's resolutions, because I always end up feeling like a total failure when I don't live up to them. I can still remember when I was a kid, every New Year's Eve, my dad would break all his cigarettes in half and announce that he was going to quit... and after two weeks of hell, he'd be back to smoking like a chimney.
I prefer to make goals for the year. So one of this year's goals was to whittle down my virtual pile of To-Be-Read books on my Kindle. I joined Goodreads last year, and noticed that the M/M Romance Group had a challenge/game posted called Whips and Kisses, which is sort of like Snakes and Ladders (or Chutes and Ladders for those of you who didn't grow up immersed in Brit culture). You roll a die, you move your marker, and whatever space you land on is the title of a list. You go to the list and pick out a book and read it. I thought this would be a great idea, because it's a lot easier to pick from, say ten or twelve books, than it is to pick from several hundred.
Well, being the organizational demon that I am, I had to go through and look at all the lists and decide if I even had enough books to attempt it.
This turned out to be a huge mistake. I kept clicking on intriguing covers and titles, reading reviews, and before I knew it, I'd added a couple of dozen books to my To-Be-Read pile.
Hmm. Not off to a great start, here...
I prefer to make goals for the year. So one of this year's goals was to whittle down my virtual pile of To-Be-Read books on my Kindle. I joined Goodreads last year, and noticed that the M/M Romance Group had a challenge/game posted called Whips and Kisses, which is sort of like Snakes and Ladders (or Chutes and Ladders for those of you who didn't grow up immersed in Brit culture). You roll a die, you move your marker, and whatever space you land on is the title of a list. You go to the list and pick out a book and read it. I thought this would be a great idea, because it's a lot easier to pick from, say ten or twelve books, than it is to pick from several hundred.
Well, being the organizational demon that I am, I had to go through and look at all the lists and decide if I even had enough books to attempt it.
This turned out to be a huge mistake. I kept clicking on intriguing covers and titles, reading reviews, and before I knew it, I'd added a couple of dozen books to my To-Be-Read pile.
Hmm. Not off to a great start, here...
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Creative Procrastination
So it's been two weeks that I've had people in my office. Playing video games. Munching candy. Talking to (at) me while I'm trying to work. Arguing over whose turn it is to play Xbox... and whose turn it isn't to do dishes.
Okay, actually? It's more like three weeks, if you count the week before xmas, when Husband Beast decided to "work from home" (read: perch in my office) three out of the five work days I thought I would have to write.
So I'm sort of really needing some quiet time to get down to business.
Today I finally got them all out the door. And it was quiet. And there was no After-Vacation Cleanup like there was yesterday. And I could write. Except that when I sat down to write, I discovered that I had a pressing need to:
1. Change the beds.
2. Do the associated laundry.
3. Go to the grocery store to buy stuff that I don't need until Thursday.
4. Wind all the yarn for the Offensively Long Rainbow Stocking Cap I am planning to knit.
5. Go to the yarn shop and buy a set of knitting needles that I am realistically not going to need for three weeks.
6. Chat with the yarn shop owner about how I really should be writing.
7. Get a batch of bagels started even though I don't actually need them yet.
8. Dither over lunch (I hate lunch—can't I just drink chai lattes all day and have dinner?)
9. Consider cleaning and organizing every closet in the house.
If I can actually justify writing today, it's going to be a miracle.
Okay, actually? It's more like three weeks, if you count the week before xmas, when Husband Beast decided to "work from home" (read: perch in my office) three out of the five work days I thought I would have to write.
So I'm sort of really needing some quiet time to get down to business.
Today I finally got them all out the door. And it was quiet. And there was no After-Vacation Cleanup like there was yesterday. And I could write. Except that when I sat down to write, I discovered that I had a pressing need to:
1. Change the beds.
2. Do the associated laundry.
3. Go to the grocery store to buy stuff that I don't need until Thursday.
4. Wind all the yarn for the Offensively Long Rainbow Stocking Cap I am planning to knit.
5. Go to the yarn shop and buy a set of knitting needles that I am realistically not going to need for three weeks.
6. Chat with the yarn shop owner about how I really should be writing.
7. Get a batch of bagels started even though I don't actually need them yet.
8. Dither over lunch (I hate lunch—can't I just drink chai lattes all day and have dinner?)
9. Consider cleaning and organizing every closet in the house.
If I can actually justify writing today, it's going to be a miracle.
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