Category Archives: nano

A Few Quick Updates

Posted on September 13, 2017 | Comments Off on A Few Quick Updates

As most of you probably saw already (since I’ve been mouthing off about it a lot), I had my gall bladder removed last week. My recovery is going well so far, with just a little achiness and tiredness. I hope to be back to 100% within a few weeks.

Writing-wise, I signed a contract last week with Dreamspinner Press for my first title in the Dreamspun Desires line. Teaching Ben, a student/teaching assistant romance, will be out early next year.

(Side note: I signed the contract the day of my surgery, despite all the warnings about not doing things like signing contracts within 24 hours of general anesthesia. I’m a rebel!)

Also, I found out just today that a panel submission for RT 2018 has been accepted, so looks like I’ll be in Reno after all!

And with Dragon Con 2017 behind me, I’ll be digging back into my WIP list. Hoping to finish book one of my baseball series in time to write book two for NaNo…

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Posted in conventions, nano, novel, rt, teaching ben

A New Month, A New Challenge (or Two)

Posted on November 2, 2015 | 1 comment

I’m making a stab at National Novel Writing Month this year. You might notice a little word count meter over in the right-hand margin. It’s tied directly to the NaNo website, so when I update my word count over there, it updates here, too.

I actually climbed out of bed early yesterday so I could hit the ground running. I had 2,021 words written before 10 a.m. (the extra hour to sleep helped). I’m trying to get up early every morning this week to keep the momentum going, but eventually my innate disdain for crawling out of bed will probably take over and I’ll be back to writing in the evenings.

I waffled back and forth on which book I’d work on this month, but the college boys won out. Out of Bounds is the first in a planned series set on a fictional college campus. It’s M/M, but the series will include M/F and F/F as well. This one is a roommates-to-lovers story about gymnastic teammates.

I am keeping the other book as a back-up plan if the first one stalls. That’s the story I’m developing for Dreamspinner’s Dreamspun Desires line, a category romance titled Dating the Dad Next Door. Yeah, that kind of gives away the basic plot there, doesn’t it?

There are a few things standing in my way for this NaNo. I have a book release later this month, so I have promo and blog posts to do for that (though I’m about halfway done with the blog posts already). There’s Thanksgiving, of course, and I don’t know what the plans are for that yet. And my mom is going to be having knee surgery at some point, which could throw a big monkey wrench into everything.

In the meantime, though, I’m going to type as fast as the words come. If I hit the 50k mark, great! If not, I’ll still have words that I didn’t have before. Progress is always a good thing.

To my fellow NaNoers, happy writing!

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Posted in nano

NaNo? Nope

Posted on October 31, 2014 | 1 comment

redpenimageFor the past four years, I’ve been an eager participant in National Novel Writing Month. My first time out, in 2009, I was a “winner” with 53,000 words on a fanfic writing project. In 2010, I wrote 63,000 words that ended up as my first novel, Sand & Water.

The past two years, I haven’t gotten very far at all. I’ve tried two different projects and made little progress on either one (though one of them ended up as Unfortunate Son, which releases in January 2015). I don’t think my failure to finish the last two years means I’m done with NaNo by any means, but this year, I decided to step off the treadmill, for several reasons.

Reason one is simple: I have a short story due at the end of November, so even if I did sign up, I’d have to go in as a “rebel” and work on something else along with that to get to the 50k marker. I also have releases coming up in December and January, so I’ll be working on getting things together for blog posts and such. Finding time to write 50,000 words just isn’t going to be on the table this time.

That’s not to say that I won’t be working on other writing projects. Book three of the Sons series is due at the end of March, so I’ll be getting started on that soon. I’ve also had a back-burner (excuse the pun) story centered around barbecue cooking competitions, so I’m going to go to a competition in November to do research (and eat some yummy, yummy barbecue, of course). Plus, I have an M/F novel idea I’d like to take a shot at, possibly to have ready to pitch at RWA in July.

(And then there’s the whole YA thing to consider. Nessa won’t stop poking me!)

So yeah, I have plenty to work on in November, and beyond. It’s just not going on the wall on the NaNo site. Maybe in 2015, my schedule will line up right again, and I can jump back in. But either way, I hope everyone who is doing NaNo next month has a great time with it. It’s hard work, but even when I haven’t been a winner, I’ve always had fun with it. 🙂

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Posted in nano, writing

Editing Lockdown

Posted on January 24, 2012 | 5 comments

I know I’ve been quieter than usual lately. I had two writing goals for January: finishing a set of commissioned short stories, and getting an older story revised and off to beta.

Goal #1 is complete, and goal #2 is nearly there. I put myself on editing lockdown over the weekend (no reading! no writing! just editing!) and ended up slashing and burning huge swaths of the story, from around 64k to 50k. The machete work is done, so now I have to fix a few spots and give it one last good edit before shipping it to beta. With a week left in the month, I should hit the deadline just fine. 🙂

After that? Well, I’m still still deciding. I have several WIPs to choose from:

  • The high school story that started as my 2011 NaNo project
  • The ghost story that was my other possible NaNo project
  • A trilogy based around the owners/employees of a GLBT bookstore
  • A disaster story (earthquakes and volcanoes! Wheee!)

And some others that I’ve got in the pipeline in various stages of completion.

Decisions, decisions…

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Posted in editing, goals, nano, works in progress, writing

I’m at Cup o’Porn Today

Posted on November 16, 2011 | Comments Off on I’m at Cup o’Porn Today

I’m whining for Wednesday over at Cup o’Porn today. Come on by and whine along! (And get a bonus NaNo snippet too!)

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Posted in guest blog, nano, real life, snippet

Coming Soon Titles, and a Freebie

Posted on November 15, 2011 | Comments Off on Coming Soon Titles, and a Freebie

My writing retreat weekend didn’t yield as many words as I would’ve liked, but I did more than double my NaNo word count, so that’s something. Plus, I had a great time and relaxed a lot, which I needed more than anything!

Update time: As I mentioned before, I’ll have two short stories out for the holidays. “Of Holiday Spirits, Wake-Up Calls, and Happily Ever Afters” will be part of Dreamspinner’s 2011 Advent Calendar set. Blurb:

How many chances does a man get before it’s too late? When Guy staggers home after a raucous Christmas Eve with his closest friends, he’s visited by a spirit who looks suspiciously like Teddy, the friend Guy’s secretly crushing on. Can Guy learn the lessons of the past—and make the right choices in the present—so his future will be less about one night and more about forever?

You can still preorder the full set through November 25 for $49.99. Starting December 1, you can buy the individual stories (mine will be $1.49) or get the whole set for $64.99.

The second story, “In From the Cold,” will be out December 22 from Silver Publishing. Blurb:

Jeff Young is starting a year-long sabbatical in rural north Georgia, but he arrives at the cabin he rented only to find the power’s out after an ice storm. Looking for a warm place to spend a night or two, Jeff meets Neal Owens, the owner of a rustic lodge, who sets him up in one of the unfinished bungalows. Their friendly conversation over dinner soon develops into a hot encounter between the sheets, but can their unexpected night together become something more?

Bonus: if you preorder any “coming soon” title on the Silver website now through next Monday (November 20), you’ll earn triple points on the purchase. Just $1.99 for mine!

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for something FREE to read, check out my short “Christening” (link to PDF file). This was originally offered as part of Dreamspinner’s Halloween Howl promotion. Enjoy!

And finally, for those who took me up on the offer for free swag, never fear, I’m getting those sent out this week! (I am notoriously slow at making it to post office.)

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Posted in 2011 25 Days of Christmas, 2011 advent calendar, in from the cold, nano, short story, silver publishing

NaNo Goes on the Road: Folly Beach

Posted on November 12, 2011 | Comments Off on NaNo Goes on the Road: Folly Beach

I’m spending the long weekend (through Monday) in a rental house at Folly Beach, South Carolina. It is gorgeous here, with an ocean view from the front porch and a marsh view from the back deck. I’m here with another writer friend, and we spent part of today in Charleston, where I’d never been before. It reminds me so much of New Orleans! I was expecting it to feel more like Savannah.

My goal for the weekend may not be feasible, but I’m doing the best I can to hit 25,000 words. I’d like to write that many just this weekend, but the more I can do, the better, because I’m wayyyyyyyyyyyyy behind on word count.

My boys are cooperating at the moment, so I’m going to get back to it. Hope your weekend is going as well as mine is! 🙂

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Posted in nano, writing

Annnnd They’re Off!

Posted on November 1, 2011 | 2 comments

It’s November 1, and that means the clock is ticking on National Novel Writing Month. I’ll be participating for the third year; year one was a fanfic project, but last year’s story became Sand & Water. Hoping for the same kind of luck this time around!

My story is currently titled Under the Lights. Working blurb: High school football stars Josh and Derrick have been best friends for years when their feelings take a turn for the romantic, but their budding relationship is complicated by an on-the-field injury, small-town homophobia, and family secrets. Can they successfully navigate the obstacle course of their senior year together, or will circumstances tear them apart before they can even get started?

I’ll get a word count meter up and running once I actually have some words to count. 😉

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Posted in nano

Excerpt from Sand & Water

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 1 comment

Sand & Water, which comes out on Monday, is my first published novel. I’ve always been much more of a short story writer, but a couple years ago, I decided to give National Novel Writing Month a try. I don’t know why the structure works for me, but it does. The first year, I wrote 53,000 words on a fanfiction project, and last year, I wrote 63,000 on Sand & Water. I finished the first draft a month later. My plan for this year is to finish at least one book of a trilogy I’ve been developing.

In this excerpt, John who’s, a widower raising his young daughter, takes her to the park, where he meets Bryan. The two men strike up a friendship, but it won’t be long until it develops into more. Enjoy. 🙂

 

Continue reading →

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Posted in coming soon, excerpt, fiction, m/m, nano, novel, release date, sand & water

>And… done!

Posted on January 2, 2011 | Comments Off on >And… done!

>This morning I finished the first draft of my first novel (originally my NaNo project). I still have a long way to go, of course, but it’s such a relief to have finished the story! Plus it gave me something to mark off my “bucket list.” (Writing a novel is separate on that list from getting said novel published, because I’m a bit of a smart-aleck, if you haven’t figured that out already.)

I’m working on a second draft now and heading full-tilt into the revisions phase, but I’ll be taking some time to work on other projects, too. Switching gears is always a bit of a challenge!

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Posted in adult, nano, novel, works in progress, writing