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I’m at that point where my plot is full of holes.  I have the beginning.  I know, of course, where they will end up.  And I have about four scenes in the middle.  I know what begins to bring them together.  But how they get from where they are to where they need to go?  THAT part right there is giving me some trouble.

Yesterday was kind of a mess.  Work was UTTERLY insane, just one thing after another after another.  There’s still more snow.  One of the cars was stuck in the driveway.  Just…Murphy’s Law seemed to be in full effect yesterday and I didn’t even spare my boys a thought.  And I feel sort of bereft about it.

But today is a new day.  Today there is no new snow falling and the forecast says there shouldn’t be any sneak attack snow.  I’m hoping.  I need to refocus and regroup.  I have much to write.  There are the flash fics for March demanding my attention.  And the new boys calling my name.  I’m working on an easy pattern for a scarf that should allow for my mind to wander and really plot without messing anything up. And my sister and I are talking about taking a weekend away, not going far, but just getting away and doing nothing and relaxing.  It’s something we both need, and a change of scenery might do me some good.  As long as the hotel has wifi, I’m good. 🙂

At any rate, I definitely have the winter blahs.  It’s not something that usually happens to me.  Because, let’s face it, where I live winter is a given.  And there’s nothing that can be done to stop the weather.  It is what it is. Usually, I take it in stride and deal with it, and don’t complain too much.  But it’s been way colder than normal for longer than normal, and the snow keeps happening, and it’s depressing.  I’m ready for spring.  I’m ready to be warm again.

But March is just around the corner, and it is my very favorite month.  The snow won’t completely end, but it’ll warm up some and it’s the beginning of spring.  With March, we’ll get a change, and that is what I need most of all.

But for now it’s off to the evil day job, and doing that to the best of my abilities before I come home and focus on the joys in my life; writing and reading and yarn.  And to hopefully produce something good, something worth your time and my effort.

Yesterday afternoon it sort of all crash down me.  The stress and the worry and the overwhelming…it all sort of screeched my brain to a halt.  It’s time to decompress a bit, relax, and just enjoy things that are other.  So I sat down with my yarn last night and finished up what I was working on.  It’s only one of four things (six really) that I’m working on at the moment, but that’s done.  And while I was knitting and watching TV, my brain was plotting.

It turns out I can’t really shut it off.

Really, I’m not surprised by that.  And I’ve often found the ability to let my mind wander in between the stitches.  Mind you, it wasn’t what I should have been plotting, my WIP, and was something else entirely, but it felt good just to think and knit.

I intend to do more of that this week.  Just knit and think.  Fortunately, my obligations are at a minimum right now so I can do that.  And tonight, when I sit down with the yarn, it will be with a mind focused on the current WIP–which doesn’t have a title, and only a vague plot at this point, and barely 1200 words.  But the Admiral is pulling for this story, and so am I, so I will give it my focus and see if I can’t get all my ducks in a row.  It’s on the verge of coming together.  It just needs more thought.

In the meantime, Will and Joshua will be back on Friday to give you another little snippet of their life.  The challenge from the Admiral has them in a bit of a sticky spot.  I hope you enjoy it!

So. In case you missed it, I released a little novella last week (buy links in the book page at the top).  And it was scary and exciting and overwhelming and awesome.

Some people have said some amazing things to me, and I appreciate that with my whole dang heart.  There’s been some positive feedback with is utterly astounding.  There’s been actual sales which blows my mind a little bit.  To be honest, I can’t put into words how appreciative and grateful I am.  So I’ll just say a great big fat thank you to any and all who helped to make the release amazing and who have supported me throughout it.  It’s not enough, that thank you, but it’s all I have.  Y’all are freaking amazing.

But in the midst of all that awesome, we’ve gotten a crapton of snow.  Not as much as some other parts of the country, and for that I am grateful, but enough to be annoying and upsetting and to remind me that at this point?  I’m done with winter.  I am so ready for spring.  And not to mention, while I was enjoying a release day, a chunk of ice fell off the house and broke the side mirror on my car.  So, you know, now I have to get that fixed.  But the snow and the car, and all the other little things, though annoying and irritating, I just remind myself it’s all fodder for the grist mill.  That’s the kind of stuff that inspires plot bunnies and makes me want to write.

I’m in the post finishing a book slump right now, and the words are a bit like torture.  I’m still putting them on the page, knowing I can fix them later, but it’s hard work.  It seems like there’s a disconnect from my brain to my fingers, a block of some sort that is keeping the words from flowing.  I’m trying hard right now to work around it, so we’ll see what happens.  I’m working on it.

I’m going to end with another thank you, because really, I just can’t say it enough.  To everyone.  Thank you so very much.

Oh my goodness guys!  It’s here!  Pumpkin Rolls and Porn Sounds is out!  *squee*  I pretty much can’t even right now.

I think it’s a good thing I have the day off from work!

Okay, so a couple of things.  Today, I’m over at Thorny’s talking about confidence and my characters.  There’s an excerpt and a giveaway.  So pretty exciting and if you want, head over there and check it out.

Also, I’m spending the day with the DsP blog, having myself a little release party.  There’s all sorts of fun stuff going up there, another giveaway, and I’ll be posting throughout the day until 5 PM EST.

I’m overwhelmed and excited and so very grateful to all of you who have already bought it.  I really, really hope you enjoy it.  And I want to hear what you think of it…the good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly. Lay it on me, let me know.  I’d love to hear from you.  (Contact form is at the top)

Tune in Friday where the flash fic will feature Joshua and Will and you can see what happens next.  Don’t worry if you haven’t read the story yet, though, because it works just like the rest of my flashes, a snippet out of characters’ lives.

Thanks to everyone for giving me awesome support!  I appreciate it so much!

Buy Links: Dreamspinner/ ARe/ Amazon

Will Grant only attends the PFLAG meeting because his mother guilts him into it. But the instant he hears the night’s speaker, Will is glad he showed up. Joshua Rhinehardt is dynamic and engaging. Although Joshua isn’t physically Will’s type, Will can’t get the man out of his head.

Will’s unwavering acceptance helps Joshua see that when two people connect, physical appearance just might not matter at all.

Okay, so holy crap.  All of a sudden, there is less than a week away.  It’s, you know, a big deal to me, as it’s my very first standalone.  Next week, I’ll be visiting a couple of blogs to talk a little bit about the story.  I’ll post links.  Right now, you can preorder it directly from Dreamspinner or over at ARe.  It’ll be up on Amazon any day now, though it’s not there yet, and it will definitely be there on Wednesday, February 11th.

I get a serious attack of the nerves every time I think about it, but I’m also really very excited.  I even took the day off from the evil day job, because there’d be no way I could contain my excitement and actually focus.  Pretty smart of me huh?  🙂

Tomorrow’s flash fic is a revisit of some past characters, but the rest of the month, you’ll get to check in with Will and Joshua and see how their romance is progressing.  The Admiral gave me some good challenges to go along with them.  (and last night we hashed out March, so the good times will keep on coming with the flash fics)  Right now, I’ve only go three flash fic featuring these boys planned, but you never know if and when they’ll pop up again.

All right, so yeah, that’s the news and my entire focus at the moment.  Getting ready for these guys to be out in the world.  I really do hope you like them.

Blurb:

Will Grant only attends the PFLAG meeting because his mother guilts him into it. But the instant he hears the night’s speaker, Will is glad he showed up. Joshua Rhinehardt is dynamic and engaging. Although Joshua isn’t physically Will’s type, Will can’t get the man out of his head.

Joshua may be comfortable in his own skin, but it isn’t often men like Will are attracted to him, and he’s not comfortable changing for someone else. He wants to make a life with Will, but his own insecurities keep getting in the way.

Will’s unwavering acceptance helps Joshua see that when two people connect, physical appearance just might not matter at all.

Or perhaps it’s me that’s fickle.  When it comes to writing, I’m not entirely sure.  In other parts of my life, when I feel the need to bounce around to different things–and each thing is my new favorite–I know it’s me.  Perhaps, here, it’s a combination of both the muse and me being fickle.

Often, when I finish one story, get it to the point where it’s ready to go, I have this period of mourning where I’m not ready to start something new because I’m just not ready to let go of what I just finished.  Last time that lasted for a good long while, and I just couldn’t settle into any new story.  I’d start something, get a couple thousand words, or ten thousand, and I’d just hit a wall.  It happened over and over again last year, and basically the second half of the year was terrible writing-wise.  I got very little accomplished and the muse kept sending me new ideas, and I was a mess.  Until finally there was one story that sparked and caught flame, and I managed to finish and entire novella.

But now it appears to be happening again.  Story done, I almost immediately jumped into something new, a plot that has been swimming around in my brain for a year or more.  I began to get it on the page, but I haven’t written a word on it in more than a week.  And there’s this other thing that’s going on in my brain too.  Two other things, if I’m honest.  And I alternate between “Oh!  I should write that!” and the first one I started.  It’s definitely tricky to get my brain to settle.  And I’m letting other responsibilities push my writing to the side instead of dutifully making time to write.

In two weeks and two days, my happy little novella Pumpkin Rolls and Porn Sounds releases, and it’s been a year since anything I’ve published has hit the shelves.  It’s exciting and scary, because of course I want people to like it. And I hope to go not as long between releases this time. But we shall see.  I’m not as prolific a writer as I expected to be.  See, before I was published, I was writing a lot more.  I didn’t have trouble getting words on the page.  But now it’s a different ball game, so to speak, and the pressure I put on myself is bigger than I expected.  I’m trying to be logical, or rather not entirely emotional, but it’s not an easy thing.  Everyone says “Just write.  Tell your story.  Put it on the page.”  And everyone is right.  But I don’t always find that I’m capable of it.  And that is frustrating.

Anyway!  In the meantime, while I struggle to put an entire story on the page, we have the flash fics and that will hopefully tide you over.  Three of the Fridays in February feature Joshua and Will, and while I don’t think you’ll have to have read Pumpkin Rolls and Porn Sounds in order for them to make sense, I’m certain it will help.  And yes, that was a shameless plug to please go buy my book on February 11th.  😀

Ta da!  Check out this amazing, beautiful cover courtesy of the amazing AngstyG!  Pumpkin Rolls and Porn Sounds releases February 11th.  I’m so thrilled, and I can’t wait for you to check out these boys because I just love them.

Here’s the Blurb:

Will Grant only attends the PFLAG meeting because his mother guilts him into it. But the instant he hears the night’s speaker, Will is glad he showed up. Joshua Rhinehardt is dynamic and engaging. Although Joshua isn’t physically Will’s type, Will can’t get the man out of his head.
 
Joshua may be comfortable in his own skin, but it isn’t often men like Will are attracted to him, and he’s not comfortable changing for someone else. He wants to make a life with Will, but his own insecurities keep getting in the way. 

Will’s unwavering acceptance helps Joshua see that when two people connect, physical appearance just might not matter at all.

And if you’re so inclined, you can preorder it here.

Okay, ,yeah, with a new year, you get the post about what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.  Truth is, I always do better when I write things down, and this way I have to hold myself at least a little bit accountable, right?

So, I’ve got a release next month! (watch this space for buy links and cover reveals and stuff ;)) And my goal is not to have a freaking melt down when it happens.  Right?  I’m really excited, and I can’t wait for you guys to meet Will and Joshua, but I’m completely nervous about it too.  This pair have a special place in my heart and they’ve been a year in the making, so I can’t wait for them to be out there.  It’s a short novella, and there’s a part of me that worries about that a bit.  But yeah, my goal is not to freak.

I have a more immediate goal of submitting my next story.  That never gets easier, it really doesn’t, so I have to work up to it a little bit.  You want to talk about a special place in my heart?  This story has one there, and it won’t ever leave.  I’m perfectly okay with that.  But yeah, I’ve got to do the final touches on it, and write the synopsis, and then pull up my big girl panties and send it in.  My goal is to do that within the next week.

Other than that, it’s writing.  Of course.  Right?  There’s always a story going on in my head, and the next one is actually swimming around in there quite nicely.  Well, the beginning of it, of course.  I know, in explicit detail, how it starts.  Not quite sure, yet, how these boys get to their end.  I’ll work on that, though.  And we’ll see what happens.  But before I get to that, I have a WIP that’s a little less than half on the page, and that one is going to get my attention first.

And I need to be a little bit better, as always, about managing my time.  Because I get sucked into one thing, and the rest falls by the wayside.  And that’s never a good thing.  The yarn things I do help to keep me focused, so I have to make more time for that.  And always reading, my first love.  So there will be an attempt at a time budget again, and I’ll see if this time I can actually make it stick.

So that’s the goals for me!  Hope everyone has had a splendid New Year, and may this year bring you everything you want and need.  And if you’re the sort to make resolutions/goals, I wish you luck in sticking to them! 🙂

The short story/novella is finished.  Wait, let me rephrase.  The first draft is finished.  It needs work, of course.  They always do.  And I’m not entirely sure what it’s going to look like when all that work is done.  But for the inspiration, and the subject matter, alone, it has a special place in my heart.  Originally for a sub call, it’s at least 4k over the limit.  We’ll see how long it is once I’m done editing, fixing, and polishing.  But I’m letting them sit right now, and the real work will begin after Christmas.

There’s already new boys clamoring for attention in my head.  We’re starting to work on plot together.

There was an amusing incident last night when my challenger and I realized we were all off kilter with the flash fics.  But we got that sorted out, they are in the spreadsheet (which basically means they’re written in stone of course) and we’re working on them.  We’re far into January with them now.  Since we started this, it’s been wonderful to have fics written ahead of time, and I’m not scrambling the night before, trying to come up with something to write.  And I’m certainly having a hell of a fun time with the challenges that the Admiral gives me.  I’m still having a blast, and I love that.

And speaking of flash fics…

Pumpkin Rolls and Porn Sounds, my standalone novella, releases in February!  *Yay!*  I don’t have the exact day yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens.  There’s going to be a couple of fun promos going on there, and a good deal, if not all, of February’s flash fics will feature Joshua and Will.  That’ll be fun, right?  You’ll get to see more of them, maybe their continuing saga.  I really adore these boys, I do, and I’m really excited to bring them to you. Pretty soon, I’ll be sharing the adorable cover with you, done by the amazing AngstyG, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and I’m not sure how much I’ll be around in the coming week.  Flash fics will go up, of course, but let me take a moment here to wish everyone a happy, healthy, wonderful holiday season!  Enjoy it!  And may your 2015 dawn bright, shiny, and new!

I’ve been working on a novella over the last couple of weeks.  This one is inspired by a real life conversation and a sub call, and I’m enjoying the holy hell out of it.  It needs work, of course, but I’m almost done with that first draft.

Life has been getting in the way of completing it.  Lots of stuff going on.  Every time I think I’m going to get those last few thousand words on the page, something happens to interrupt me.  A snow storm and shoveling, or rescuing a cat from the cold and giving her a home (probably…still trying to find if she has owners), or just a really bad day when I’m not in the headspace to write the happily ever after.  And because it was originally for a sub call, it’s got a word limit.  There’s too much story left to tell to fit into that, but once I’ve got the story on the page, I’ll see if things need to be cut, or if instead it needs to be something bigger.  At any rate, it’s almost done, just a few scenes left to write, and my tentative goal is to finally finish it this week.

You know I’m a combination writer.  Loose plot accompanied by letting the story take over and go where it will.  When I started writing this one, I clearly knew the beginning and the end.  And a few small bits in the middle.  But as the story progressed, I clearly saw the whole thing, and I wrote my notes as such.  So I know with certainty what the meat is for the final four scenes.  I just need to get them on the page.

I’m anxious to get it done.  But I’m anxious about it being finished as well.  There’s going to be a great deal of work to polish and shape it, I know it, and the work is a bit intimidating.  But I love Ben and Zack, and I love their story.  So I will put in the work and see what the story looks like when I’m done.