Saturday, September 24, 2016

Rainbow Snippet Sept. 24

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

In this group you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag.


I would invite everyone to please come check out the Rainbow Snippets group, click on a link, read and comment on the writing available and get involved yourselves in this awesome exercise. The link to the group can be found HERE

This weeks snippet, last last weeks, is from Racing the Sky, currently in formatting (yey, we are finished with edits) and slated to be released through Wayward Ink later this fall. My dirt bike themed story with a bit of May/December romance, I fell in love with Nicky, Vic, River and Gray when they first popped into my head in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I hope in time some of you will come to love them too. This scene is from  after Nicky wrecks his bike.


They began packaging Nicky onto a backboard and gurney for the ride to the hospital. River kept hoping he’d at least give the crowd a thumbs up, but he was so still.
The next thing River knew, Terry was flat on his back in the dirt, with Vic looming over him.
“You son of a bitch!” Vic snarled.
“I didn’t mean for him to get hurt,” Terry pleaded.

“Yeah, ’cause you haven’t been ripping him to pieces for weeks! Well, good job, Terry. Congratulations, you won!”




Saturday, September 17, 2016

Sept. 17 Rainbow Snippet

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

In this group you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag.


I would invite everyone to please come check out the Rainbow Snippets group, click on a link, read and comment on the writing available and get involved yourselves in this awesome exercise. The link to the group can be found HERE

This weeks snippet, last last weeks, is from Racing the Sky, currently in formatting (yey, we are finished with edits) and slated to be released through Wayward Ink later this fall. My dirt bike themed story with a bit of May/December romance, I fell in love with Nicky, Vic, River and Gray when they first popped into my head in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I hope in time some of you will come to love them too. This scene is from the Nicky and Gray's first official date, out in the woods having a picnic dinner watching a meteor shower. 


“This is amazing,” Nicky whispered as five streaks raced overhead.
Gray propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at Nicky. “You are amazing. I still want to know more, you know. That little conversation we had last night wasn’t enough.”
“Then come to the races Saturday,” Nicky half asked, half pleaded. It would be amazing to have someone there cheering just for him.
“What time?”
“First heat starts at nine.”

Leaning in, Gray slid his fingers into Nicky’s hair. “I’ll be there,” he said low, before kissing him.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Rainbow Snippet Sept 10.

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

In this group you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag.


I would invite everyone to please come check out the Rainbow Snippets group, click on a link, read and comment on the writing available and get involved yourselves in this awesome exercise. The link to the group can be found HERE

This weeks snippet, last last weeks, is from Racing the Sky, currently in edits it's slated to be released through Wayward Ink later this fall. My dirt bike themed story with a bit of May/December romance, I fell in love with Nicky, Vic, River and Gray when they first popped into my head in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I hope in time some of you will come to love them too. This scene is from the first meeting between Nicky and Gray. 

Looking at the big man, who was watching him from the far end of the counter, Nicky gave a tense smile. “Could I, umm, have another slice of pie? Apple this time, please.”
The man laughed. “How about ice cream with that?”
“Sure. Maybe I’ll die of a sugar overdose.”
They were alone in the diner, save for the guy on the grill in the back.
“You know,” the man began, “there are some fun ways to burn off sugar, if you’re interested. I get off in an hour.”
Nicky shivered, partly in fear and partly in anticipation. He could say yes, easy. Hell, it wasn’t as if Terry had even waited for them to break up before he’d moved on to someone else. Still, Nicky had never been with anyone but Terry, and this was a stranger, even if he was friendly as hell.

“Think about it,” the guy said before he headed to the back.


Sunday, September 4, 2016

Mini Blog Tour – Age is Just a Number, a Wayward Ink Publishing Anthology


Mini Blog Tour – Age is Just a Number, a Wayward Ink Publishing Anthology
Title: Age is Just a Number
Authors: Eric Gober, Layla Dorine, Lily Velden, Dale Cameron Lowry, Eddy LeFey, Asta Idonea, Louise Lyons, Kassandra Lea, Carol Pedroso, Aimee Brissay
Genre: Gay, Romance, May/December Romance, LGBT
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Synopsis
There’s something to be said for life experience, a little gray at the temple…
And then there is the appeal of youth.
When it comes to what the heart wants, Age Is Just A Number.

Buy Links
Don’t miss the limited time discounted prices on publishers’ and all major retailer sites!
Stories Included
TWENTY LIGHT YEARS BETWEEN US
Eric Gober
An alien encounter...
An unfortunate misstep...
A lightning fast journey through space...
The laws of physics are about to wreak havoc on Walt and Michael’s May-December love.
ALL ROADS LEAD WITHIN
Layla Dorine
When James spotted Rogue, a young man for whom wandering is like breathing, half-dozing on the hood of his car, he never expected that warning him about the dangers of sleeping out in the open would lead to a weekly visitor at his door.
NORTH PASTURE
Lily Velden
Upon the death of his grandfather, up and coming Fantasy author, Thomas, returns home.
A place he left four years earlier to get over his unrequited love for Sam Fletcher, his older, straight, and very much married neighbor.
Thomas soon discovers, however, that things are much changed with Sam…
AMERICAN MASTER BAKER
Dale Cameron Lowry
Baking is a way of life for Joey, a young pastry chef vying for first place in the popular reality show American Master Bakers.
But the judges have been showing favoritism to Terence, an aggravatingly attractive older man with more experience under his belt.
When the competition gets hot, so do the two men. Can a relationship that started in hatred end in love?
ALPHA AND OMEGA: THE CLAIMING
Eddy LeFey
A young Omega shifter meets a much older Alpha.
Will Elliot let Issac help him be who he is too afraid to be?
STAND AND DELIVER
Asta Idonea
Necessity has forced former soldier Captain Keen to assume the occupation of gentleman highwayman. His fortunes take a turn, however, the night he stops the Marquis de Beaumont's coach and gets more than he bargained for when he utters the words "Stand and deliver!"
LOST AND FOUND
Louise Lyons
The loss of his best friend leads Phil to find love.
TRAIL TO LOVE
Kassandra Lea
There's only one thing Kit Conley likes more than horses and that's Roman Meadery.
But will the elite rider ever notice him?
CRUISING WITH LOVE
Carol Pedroso
Gus is under the thumb of a controlling father. Can meeting his mate give him a reason to make a break for freedom?
Nelson is twice Gus’ age, and very protective of what is his.
What will happen when Gus’ father tries to split them up? And what surprises does Nelson have up his sleeve?
NEAR MISS
Aimee Brissay
A few seconds, that's all it takes to make a difference between life and death.
Between killing someone and stopping on time.
But is it enough to turn yourself around when you've hit bottom?
Or to make you recognize something good when you have it?
Book Trailer


Excerpt
AMERICAN MASTER BAKER Dale Cameron Lowry
Joey hated Terence with a passion. He hated his perfect puff pastries, his melt-in-your mouth mille-feuilles, the way he arranged lebkuchen on a platter, and his baritone voice barking “yes, chef” and “no, chef” loud enough to be heard over twelve roaring stand mixers. He hated Terence’s salt-and-pepper hair, prettier than white buttercream dusted with silver sugar, and how Terence saw nothing wrong with strolling naked between bedroom and bathroom at the contestants’ dorm, his nuts hanging low beneath his meaty cock, swinging shling-shlong, shling-shlong with every stride.
Terence had become the bane of Joey’s existence from that first day on the set of American Master Bakers. There’d been fifty contestants then, each presenting their signature bake for a chance at being on the full season. Within the four-hour time limit, Terence had somehow managed to bake and decorate a three-tier wedding cake with a different sponge in each layer, two custard fillings, and three jams from scratch. That alone would have made him a shoo-in, but then he’d decorated its flawless ganache with handcrafted fondant lovebirds that looked like the real thing.
“Well, Terence, we might as well skip the whole season and give you the bakers’ crown now!” had been the judges’ assessment.
Fucking show-off.
Giveaway
Prize:  $10 WIP Gift Card


Saturday, September 3, 2016

Rainbow Snippet Sept 3

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).

In this group you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag.


I would invite everyone to please come check out the Rainbow Snippets group, click on a link, read and comment on the writing available and get involved yourselves in this awesome exercise. The link to the group can be found HERE

This weeks snippet is from Racing the Sky, currently in edits it's slated to be released through Wayward Ink later this fall. My dirt bike themed story with a bit of May/December romance, I fell in love with Nicky, Vic, River and Gray when they first popped into my head in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I hope in time some of you will come to love them too. 

The hardest part of it all was Vic was glad Terry was gone. Selfish as it might be, without Terry around he and Nicky could hang out more, maybe climb some boulders and hike the trails outside of town. Vic loved being up in the mountains, but Terry had almost never wanted to go, and when he had he’d complained or derailed the trip somehow. He’d always wanted to be the center of attention, especially back in high school, and Nicky had never seemed to care.

Easy going, wild child Nicky, with his long, blondish-brown hair, piercing green eyes, and infectious enthusiasm, had been the one Vic had been drawn to; though Nicky scared him at times. He took too many chances and tended to jump headlong into things. At times he could be downright reckless, and Terry had always seemed to egg him on. There had been times when Vic had longed to pull Nicky back, hold him tight, and wrestle him to the ground to keep him from harm, but that would have been like cutting off a bird’s wings, and Nicky, damn he loved to fly.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Road tripping, tailgate picnics, Photography, poetry and flash fiction

Though not officially fall, September 1st always ushers in the season for me. Not only is my youngest back in school, my oldest is buried beneath the assignments in his college classes leaving me mercifully free to pursue some of the things I love. Giddy with excitement, I packed a camera bag and a picnic lunch and headed out on a road trip, eager to explore one of the many trails I hadn't visited in over a year.

All would have gone according to plan if not for the mosquitoes who were still tenaciously clinging to their hold on life before Iowa gets cold enough to kill them. God I long for snow. I got pretty bitten up on my journey, but it was worth it to finally have the chance to get back into the woods. So much of the inspiration for my stories and poems comes from these walks and the fallen logs and grassy mounds are plentiful enough to provide me a wide variety of places to sit and writing when the mood hits.

Of course to get out to many of them I rely on Jake. He's my 1989 Chevy Silvarado. Tall enough off the ground that a short girl like me has to hop up into the drivers seat, but it keeps the underside from scraping on the gravel even when we hit some pretty rough potholes getting in and out of the woods.


As you'll notice int he image below, I'm not a fan of the fancy paved walking trails, I don't like to be out where the bikes can go and the ladies with the strollers wander with children who's laughter or screams scar away the birds. I love taking photographs of nature, particularly the animals when I can get close enough, but that requires a lot of silence and patience, and places where the people aren't. This, my paths look more like deer trails because that's what they are. But in those thick canopies of trees I can find peace and solitude. Sometimes the trails and the back roads are the only places silent enough to hear the many voices in my head without competition from ringing phones and inquisitive people. 


The best photo I've ever taken out on this particular trail, was of a barreled owl sitting high up in a naked tree top in January. If not for the time of year I'd never have seen it in the early morning light, but it was beautiful and proud and I'll always cherish that moment of looking through the lens and capturing it. While I didn't encounter anything to incredible on this particular walk, it did allow me the opportunity to challenge my fear of spiders when i came across this beautiful orb weaver working on its nest. 


The first section of the trail winds its way towards the creek, I love searching for unique rocks and even fossils here though I've not found a fossil yet. Some of the other creeks in the area have produced bison teeth and even the teeth of american camel and cave bears and I keep hoping to discover something interesting in this one, besides some of the pieces of quartz and Iowa geodes I've picked up. I've amassed so many rocks over the years that in the spring I plan to incorporate some of them into the landscaping of my garden, building little walls and boundaries to keep the weed wacker at bay. 

One of my favorite spring and fall pastimes is mushroom hunting, I usually carry a guide with me and some containers to store any edibles I find. With all of the rain we've had recently I should have expected to come across several varieties, and I did. These I simply took pictures of, without the color guide I forgot to bring, I couldn't remember which were which, a shame really, as I found a bunch on my walk. 



I love taking photos of insects, too, Macrophotography has been something I've been exploring for the past year now, and I was kicking myself a little for not having packed the macro lens. Still, spotting this small snail making his way up the leaf was pretty cool, and though I couldn't capture him in the same details as I would have with the macro lens, the shot still came out pretty descent for the type of lighting out in the woods. 


At this point, it was lunch time and after all the walking I'd done I was pretty hungry, so I set up my Turkey sandwich with its cranberry bread wheat bread on the tailgate, along with some green seedless grapes, sparkling cranberry juice and half and apple fritter, and listened to the sounds of the woods while I pigged out. In the process, I also wrote a poem, inspired by the experiences of the day. In it I hope I was able to convey a sense of what I feel when I'm out there.


Sunburned leaves fall as loudly as rain in autumn forests
where birdsong trills high above the meandering path
sunlight shimmers off dew speckled spider webs
the lonely orb weaver engaged in an intricate dance of silk and wind
prairie grass rustles, waves
the gentle rhythm section of this cacophony of sound
I recline in the bed of my pickup, sky gazing, cloud watching
mellow and cool beneath the flowing winds
reminiscent of the creek water surging around the rocks
marking the end of the path, which like these seasons, never lasts
we shed the years the way snakes shed their skins,
discard memories and discord in piles of translucent scales 
the closer we get to becoming ourselves
the closer we get to whole int he ground
dying from the moment we were born
we wasted time with fake plastic smiles and unrealistic expectations
becoming the shadows of those who were shadows of others
an unbending cycle unless we break it
shatter the molds, cast aside doubting embers
embrace the brilliant orange, reds and golds of our vibrant selves
wear them proudly through the winters of our lives

My Iowa is a place of farms and fields, tradition and beauty. Below are just a few images of the drive back into town. 






 In closing, I'd like to leave you with the opening scene to something that doesn't know what it wants to be yet. Inspired by the time I spent in New York City, something tells me another road trip is going to be in order to flesh this one out a bit. 

Sometimes it’s safer to cling to the shadows. In the dark of night I can maneuver around the city without drawing any attention to myself. A good thing too, since looking at me tends to make people uncomfortable. Who could blame them, right, I mean it’s one thing to know that shapeshifters and were-creatures existed in the world, but it was another thing to see what happens to one who spent too much time in their animal form and could never, ever shift all the way back again.

My eyes were easy enough to hide if I wished to bother with them, contacts could cover the kitty cat yellow with ease. The thick black strands of my long hair easy cover my rounded, fluffy ears, though they are extra sensitive and I actually hate to have my hair laid over them. Maybe a good dentist could have fixed my fangs, but it wasn’t as if I smiled often, so I didn’t see the point, besides, they were essential for hunting, and every now and again I met a guy who got off on being bitten. I’m always extra cautious though, I know what kind of damage my fangs and claws can do. We can’t turn anyone, you have to be born like us to be Were-kin, but we can fuck you up in a heartbeat if we set our minds to it.

Claws in bed can be pretty fun too, with just the right partner. A broad back that didn’t mind being marked up a little, a strong, muscular chest to tease with one sharp, pointed digit….

Damn. It had been awhile since I’ve gotten laid and it was starting to show. Finding someone who wasn’t turned off by my other more difficult to hide features, however, was quite a chore. Glancing down at my large, misshapen feet that more closely resembled elongated paws, I wrinkled my nose, another feature that was decidedly non-human in its appearance. I was standing in a puddle of gritty muck, which meant I’d be scrubbing them in the shower later to be certain I’d gotten every foul bit of city filth off before I crawled into bed.  

I hated being dirty, but then, that was a trait shared by most cats. At least my kind had evolved beyond licking ourselves to clean away the filth. I shuddered at the thought and picked my way more carefully along the ground. If there was anything better than ice water to kill the urge to fornicate, it was the thought of how many germs had to be swimming around in the puddles beneath my feet.

With a snarl, I turned my attention to the fire escapes, looked for the nearest route to the rooftops and quickly scaled the side of an old brownstone to perch on the ledge of a five story building. It gave me a better view of the streets and the cars streaking past. It also gave me a better view of my destination.