Time for an update….

I have been very busy lately with things outside of writing. My muse, being unhappy about this, has decided to punish me by going into hiding! I do not think I will ever complain again when she kidnaps me!

That being said, Destiny has stalled at 39k. I know where the story needs to go and what needs to happen next to get it there but without the muse's creativity… well, let me just say I feel like a sailboat on a calm sea waiting for a breeze.

In other news, my two FREE books on Smashwords are doing really well. Before There was Beer Pong, my drinking game book, is sitting just shy of 250 downloads and Coming Home is about ready to hit 300. I am sure these numbers will soar once they are added to the Premium Catalog which will place them on Amazon. You all know how I feel about Amazon but these are FREE so it really doesn't matter.

I need to wish a big happy 6th month anniversary to RiptidePublishing! If you haven't checked them out…. why not? They are well worth the click.

 Also, to celebrate Riptide's anniversary, my good friend Amara is throwing them a party! Head on over and check out all the goodies that they are giving away to celebrate!

That is about it for now… so, I will leave you with the awesome pic that was shared with me on Facebook!

Writing M/M

So, I often get asked, (as happened at a luau party on Sat. that I attended with my friend Eddie), "How do you know what to write when you write about guys?"

Now, this is a valid question. I mean, really… it's not like I am a guy and can actually experience the physicality of what I am writing, even if I am pansexual.  So, I answer the only way I can… honestly.

99% of my friends are gay men with the remaining 1% divided between gay and straight women. Anyone who knows me, will tell you that 'out-going' (along with brutally honest!) doesn't even begin to describe me! I ask questions… lots and lots of questions; the kinds that tend to make people stutter and blush. But I also read. A LOT.

You can look to the right to see some of the authors who I follow. In any genre, if you want to write it well, you need to read a lot of it to see what works. I am not talking plagiarism here, but if you ask any author who inspires them… it is usually authors of the genre they write in. So, I thought I would let you know about two books that I recently finished today by two of my fellow authors.

The first is Danger Games Vol. 1 by my friend A. D. 'Addy'Cooper. Danger Games is actually three of Addy's books: Killer Liaisons, Lethal Attraction, and Deadly Rendezvous. Addy's books always pull you in so you feel like you know the characters. They become real people to you, not just names on the pages that you are reading. If you want in-depth characters, as well as, plot, you should check out anything written by Addy!

I was in the mood for something kinky so I checked out my friend Evan J. Xavier's book Stepcest Taboo Bundle: All in the Family. Evans writing is different than Addy's but not in a bad way. Evan writes emotional, hot, steamy, kinky sex. However, reading his short stories is not like reading porn! If you want to know what it's like being a bottom, then definitely check out Evan's writing. Not all of Evan's writing is from a bottom perspective (he does write some top perspective fiction) but the majority is. Evan is not afraid to push the boundaries of what is considered to be acceptable in gay erotica...and for that, I love him!

Both of these authors write excellent short stories (which is something I am not good at) and I have a lot of respect for them in how they weave their characters into a plot in the short stories hey tell. So, if you're looking for to good authors who write excellent shorts and you want to know some of the stories I've read for research you should check out Addy and Evan!

Compartmentalizing...

Just a short note… I have to keep my New Year's resolution and all that.

I have decided to compartmentalize my life a bit, particularly on Facebook. So often, I receive friend requests from people that I don't really know or maybe have met at a convention or an appearance. I add these 'friends' and always suggest my fan page to them to 'Like.' 9 times out of 10 they do not :o( The result of this is that I get all of their Facebook posts and they get all of my personal posts. Not to mention that I miss much of what my family posts because the page is flooded! Now, I know what you are thinking…

Why don't she just block those people so she doesn't see their posts.  

While this is good in theory, rarely does it work out well. Oh, and did I mention that I still have hundreds of 'friends' from when I played all those damn addicting Facebook games? See, I started cleaning up my personal page but it took me almost an hour to 'unfriend' about 50 people. That is an hour I was NOT writing!

So, I have made a "new" personal page for my 'author-self' and am requesting that all networking connections (convention organizers, publishers, editors, fellow authors, etc.) and fans 'friend' this page. I know this is a huge pain in the ass but hopefully I won't lose anyone in the shuffle.

See, I am also affiliated with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and am the Chapter Coordinator for the Tampa Bay O.G.R.E.s so I really, really, need to keep all the hats I wear separate!

Now for a writing update…

I went to a friend's house in Old Town, FL aka Bumb Fucked Egypt to try and get back on track with Destiny. My friend lives so far out in the sticks that there is no cell service and his satellite internet is not hooked up yet. Not that that would matter much since he is a Mac user. BTW, what's with no right mouse button for a Mac????  Talk about fuckin' with a gal!

Anyway, his house is about three and half hours from me. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and left early on Saturday. While I was there, I wrote almost two full legal pads of novel for Destiny. On top of that, Thursday night a few new characters came to me that were not part of Zarkina's world.

 Chase & Chad were so persistent that they were drowning out Zarkina. So, to get them to shut the hell up, I spent Friday writing their story. By the time I left on Saturday, I had around 4k written. After spending Easter at my mother's in Spring Hill, I spent Monday transcribing their story and Tuesday adding more to it. It is currently sitting at around 9500 words. As most of you know, I do not write 'shorts.' However, I do believe their story will be a 'short'… short for me anyway and I will be offering it for FREE.

So, keep your eyes open for it. I'll let you know when it is available on Smashwords. Hopefully, I will get it finished today so I can get back to Destiny!

Oh, and if you have not 'friended' me on my new Facebook page, please do so!