At the Risk of Being Blunt...

I've been really thinkin'

And

I got nuthin' today.

Nil, nada, zip, zilch.

Can you say done tuckered out?

Yeah, well... curling up with this wouldn't hurt.

Okay, I guess I had something after all. Grin.

Friday Fun with Megan!!! Mancandy Time!!!

I'm at the Lori Foster Event hanging out with Kealie and some of my favorite authors. Because I'm feeling generous... here's a whole lotta man candy!!!
Enjoy!!!

NEWS!!!!

Yessir, that's right, I sold Permanent to Total-E-Bound. I'm psyched. Not sure when it will come out, but hey, I'm stoked. Feels good knowing it was good enough that an editor wanted it.

More details to come, but here's the blurb:

Sometimes love just ain’t enough...

River Cortland trusted the person he loved. His faith couldn’t protect him from the bitter sting of a cold-hearted Domme. If he’s going to learn to trust again, he’s got to deal with his past. His roommate and best friend, Tory, has seen the physical damage and hasn’t walked away. Can he deal with the emotional scars as well?

Tory McClellan wanted the carefree life...until one night with River changed everything. There’s more to the shy art teacher and Tory wants to know everything-how he tastes, the scent of his skin, the feel of his body as they make love. What terror lies behind River’s brown eyes? Better yet, how can Tory make the sadness go away and be in River’s live, permanently?

Contains flashbacks of a rape, m/m, anal sex, light bondage, spanking.

WhIPS

Had a few things on my mind. Won't get into all of them here. Not enough time and I'd hate to bore you with the wanderings in the old attic.

I'll talk about the WIP instead.

The WIP is still with the CP--which that's actually a good thing, since I heard from her and she thinks it's right on track (finally). I love my man stories and was ready to work on another. Now the above picture got my brain going. There's a scene in Permanent where River and Tory watch a BDSM scene. I thought, yanno, the guys involved could have their own story. Wouldn't that be fun? Yup, you guessed it. Brain switched into overdrive. Now there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything down.

What do you do when the brain goes at warp speed, but the rest of you is going normal pace?

Tell me so I can get a better handle on the muses. Boy, those men love to play.

Back to the WhIPs...I mean, WhIPS....Freudian slip...WIPS. There.

WIP and Stuff

I can't really build on what Mysti said yesterday because, well, she's right. Although I totally scored with the Han Solo line.

I posted this on my personal blog yesterday, but I thought it bore repeating.

Permanent went to anther CP. I dunno if I talked about the first one. This is in no means meant to be bashing. Please don't take it that way, but she really ribboned the story. "You're a nice person. I'm not. You're nice to your characters. I'm not."

Geesh.

But yanno, she's right. I am way too nice to my characters. Why? I guess because I don't want them really hurting or to come off as jerks. Guess Mom really made sure I remembered the 'do unto others as you'd have done to you' line.
"This is fine for gay fiction, but not romance with a R."

Ouch, but again, she's right. Tory was wayyyyyyyy tooooo nice and really wasn't reacting like a man would. Boy, do I feel dumb. I mean, I thought I was totally in these guys' heads. I guess I was, but not nearly deep enough.

We'll see what the second CP says, but now I'm wondering if the ending wasn't too easy. Ugh. I hate the uncertainty. And it only gets worse. If second CP thinks it's ready to send, then it gets a final polish...and then eeekkk.... the submissions process.

I need something stiff.

Boys?

Choices, Choices...

So I'm trying to decide where I want to send my submission. It's still waiting for a little more polish and such, but I'm wondering what pub is the right one for me, and for it.

Plus a little tiny part of me is scared to death to send it in. I had a good friend tell me, well, you never know until you send it. Go with your gut and just see what happens.

So why does this scare me? Because I've seen what another friend has been through. She had a sub she thought was spot on and it was rejected. Sure, it had been a resub, but it was still kicked out. Is it spot on? I thought so. I mean, I read it, was drawn in, and wanted to know what would happen.

Will people think that with mine?

I dunno.

Thoughts? The knees are a-quakin'. I'm open for suggestions, comments, advice, whatever you can throw at me (as long as it doesn't hit me in the head.)

Sending it Out into the World...What if...?

So...I've got this neat little WIP. I've worked and worked on it to make it shine. Well, shine in my opinion. It's time to get it out of my computer and get it into the hands of a CP.

Here's the scary part. Well, the first scary part. I've worked and worked on this short story. I love the characters and feel like they are not only a part of me, but a part of my family. I've heard some authors say their books are like their children. I wouldn't say Tory and River are my children, but rather some damn sexy men I got out of the closet.

I've known the sting of working on a story and polishing the diamond only to find it's a very clean turd. Blunt, but the truth. I hate working on something and finding out there is a huge plot hole or a gigantic TSTL moment or something in it. Drives me crazy.

So, I'm scared. I love Tory, but I'm uncertain that he doesn't come off a little too good to be true. It's possible, but will readers buy into his feelings. And then there's River. This guy has been put through the ringer at the hands of another person. I want to make sure the reader feels his feelings and can understand him. I want them to like both men.

(I'm shaking a little here.) So, out into the world it goes.

How do you deal with the stress? Ladies? I'm asking you, too. How do you cope and feel less twitchy when the work you've slaved over has gone out to be picked apart?

I'm game to know, so I can at least keep myself occupied. (Well, the boys have offered several creative suggestions, and I'm completely open to trying the suggestions, but that's neither here nor there.)

Resolutions....

So yesterday Mysti asked if anyone had any resolutions. I do. I want to have a story pubbed. I mean really pubbed.

I've got two going (Well three). One's M/M, one's M/F with BDSM elements, and one (a set of four eventually) with Kealie.

M/M one is done...not polished and not edited enough to send anywhere, but it's done.

So that's my resolution. To get at least one story pubbed this year. It's a goal I've got anyway, so why not make it a resolution and something I can hypothetically achieve. (Don't want to toot my own horn or undercut myself...that's the best on the fence I can come up with.)

Stop back tomorrow for our First Hottie of the New Year. Oh, and the poll for Best Hottie of 2010 is coming very soon. Promise.

MANLOVE!!!!

Got your attention? Good.

Kealie and I are indeed working hard on a story (a set, to be exact) and it's a little slow, but sheesh, that cross country trek takes a bit of time.

But since I can't just work on one thing at a time, I also have a manlove story I'm working on. Yup. River and Tory just won't leave me alone. Not really a huge problem. I'm rather fond of them, too.

But I gotta tell ya, without the boys for help, I'd be a little lost. True, love is love, no matter what the critter/person looks like, but (last time the boys checked) I'm not a guy. I've got all the right girlie parts (a little more in some places than others--that's life), so I know what a girl would like. But boys? Oy.

Good thing the boys are fountains of info. Good thing I have a wild imagination. :)

I don't have the slightest idea if the story will fly, but I'm having a great time chattering and dealing with River and Tory, so it's not a hardship to me.

But I've gotta go. Got to get back to writing. I've got a goal and I don't want to blow it.

er.....

bad pun....

Oh well. (I can hear Kealie snickering all the way over here.)

Ta!