Looking Good

New cover! *pets it* This is the next thing you'll be seeing from me. It's about Dylan, Aaron's (from Collision Course)brother, the loud-mouthed one. The one with a touch of the doth protest too much. I really love the attitude and the eyes that the cover artist did for Dylan there in the foreground. It captures him perfectly. Look for Dylan and Mike to be getting on each other's nerves and turning each other's crank in August. It's available for preorder at Amazon. Now, I'm going back to guys with Bad Attitudes in Baltimore.

Juggling Multiple Mistresses

I don't know if I've said this before, but the best metaphor I've ever heard about the book you're writing and the next one is this: "The book you're writing is the wife. The one you wish you were writing is the mistress."

As you may have figured out from the title and my little intro, my writing brain is having a bit of trouble with focus. My time is still heavily devoted to the wife book, but I have three sweet little things tantalizing me with purred promises of how gooooood they will make things. How easy they will be to get into. How they'll do things for me she won't do. Umm. *shakes head* I may have gotten a little metaphorically carried away there. There's even a fourth and fifth one, winking in and out of my line of sight like the shimmer of a mirage. Yeah, carried away again.

I love my wife book. I do. I wouldn't have committed to it, to Dylan and Mike's story, if I didn't. I want to know how it works out. I love hanging with Dylan's sullen attack-first attitude and Mike's ability to make Dylan start to question that attitude. I love that Mike is so smoking hot Dylan can't help himself. Even talking about it makes me regret this time away from them—and get a little weak-kneed.

But damn. Those mistresses.

First, Joey and Aaron appear in the book and if one or the other of them aren't trying to take over every damned scene they're in, they want to tell me about things that don't have any place in this story. Then out of nowhere, this pile of hot-wrong angst downloads in my brain and then keeps popping up to make me put some flesh on those hot-wrong angsty bones. And the more I think about how excited I am about Eli's book coming out in December, the more I want to go back and play in Baltimore with another Bad book.

I've never tried to write two (and start thinking about a third) books at the same time, but I'm not sure I can fight temptation much longer. In the meantime—Yes, dear. I'll get right to it.

(Whispers: Book monogamy sucks.)

To those of you about to NaNo: I salute you. Best wishes with your new wife!

My Lost Time Is Your Gain (I Hope)

National Coming Out Day was yesterday and I got to thinking about a scene that won't make it into my work in progress, but I thought someone might like to see it. I'm thinking Joey and Aaron will give me a lot of deleted scenes for the director's cut. They've already insisted on the prologue. Guys? Not your book. Dylan's book, okay?


Aaron stared at the ceiling. The full-sized bed didn't give them much room, but Joey had rolled on his side, facing away. Annihilating the stress of the last couple hours in the heat and smell of his skin had been on Aaron's mind as he stripped for bed, but as soon as his head hit the pillow he realized he was too fucking tired to fuck. He hadn't been this exhausted since the kids were young.

So of course, Joey decided it was a great time for conversation. Hooking Aaron's leg with a foot, Joey dragged it between his legs. "How old were the twins when you came out to them?"

"I didn't."

Joey started to turn. Aaron wrapped both arms around Joey and pulled him in tight. Joey's hair slipped across Aaron's shoulder, balls resting heavy on Aaron's thigh, ass in tight against Aaron's belly. Sometimes cuddling Joey was an act of self-defense.

Since Aaron was too tired to fuck him, the fastest way to sleep was to answer his questions. "I asked their dad to do it."

"When did you tell him?"

"I think I kind of knew before he was in prison. We had a sort of talk about it one night, just before things got bad again."

"How old were they? How did they take it?"

"Fourteen. And about how you'd guess. Dylan made all kinds of jokes and started calling me a fag at least as often as he called me an asshole. Darryl was quiet. But I think it bothered him more."

With Joey's nod, his hair made a cool lick across Aaron's throat. He started to wonder how he could convince Joey to keep it chin length—and its usual warm blond.

"Yeah. I think that's probably why Dylan doesn't want Darryl to know he's gay."

"What?" Aaron couldn't remember moving, but he was out of the bed and staring down at Joey who rolled over to face him. "Dylan?"

"Shhh. You'll wake him up."

"No fucking way." Aaron whispered it.

"You caught that the other guy, Mike, the one who saved Darryl, was gay, right?"

"From the way he stared at my dick and your ass, yeah, I got that."

"Something's going on between him and Dylan." Joey pulled Aaron back down onto the bed and tucked himself around Aaron's back.

Aaron's head was back on the pillow, but sleep had gotten a hell of a lot farther away.

That Old Familiar Feeling

For some reason, either blogger or my computer will not let me paste my post here, so I invite you to follow the title link, since I can't even copy and paste the link in here. It willt take you to my live journal. I apologize for it being late due to this evil technology spell that has consumed my entire month of September.

Winners!! (And a little something under the tree from Joey and Aaron)

First of all the winners:

Yes, Monday, my tree is purple. Contact me with your email for the gift certificate.

But...Stormcloude, I wanted teal when I first set up housekeeping! And I'd really love to see a bronze tree. If I ever have a house big enough for three trees, I'd like one in cranberry and cream. We have a smaller tree that's all Disney-themed ornaments.

And Nate is the name I drew from the hat for the free story download. And well-deserved, confessing to the Smurfs' album. Ouch. Contact me with what you want. Any story I have out.

Jambrea, thanks for the compliments on An Improper Holiday.


Most of all I loved reading all those traditions and I think that Joey and Aaron from Collision Course might be setting one up for their future Christmases right now. Want to see?



Joey was the most selfish person in the world. He realized this on Christmas Eve Eve, or as most people would call it, December 23. He realized it when he stood in front of a display in Pleasure's Treasures, a sickening twist in his gut reminding him that he still hadn't found anything to buy his boyfriend for Christmas.

With time now easily measured in hours, Joey was desperate, hence the trip to a sex toy shop. The cute guy in the Santa hat and matching micro shorts had been nothing but helpful, if a little touchy feely, and Joey still kept finding gifts for himself. That leather number for Aaron to wear? Strictly something that would make Joey's eyes bulge as he dropped to his knees. The plus size string of anal beads the clerk had shown him? Again, much more pleasure for Joey than Aaron. Flavored condoms? Thank God they didn't need those anymore.

He'd had his family done by Thanksgiving, had no trouble picking out stuff for the kids, much to Aaron's relief. But Aaron? How could Joey be so clueless about what would make his own boyfriend happy? Sheree, Dylan and Darryl had all pronounced Aaron easy to buy for. An action movie, an X-box game, even clothes. But Joey knew that wasn't the answer. He'd considered Aaron's first love, caffeine, but even one of those specialty one-cup pots was out of the question. Not because of price but because Aaron never drank just one cup of coffee. Joey moved down the list to the Ducati. He'd even gone so far as to call Mark—who was still a little pissed—to get a suggestion about what Joey could give Aaron for his bike.

After first sneering at the European name, the best Mark could come up with was a gift certificate to a garage that specialized in Ducs. A gift certificate. Joey might as well hand Aaron cash. There had to be something special, something that would make Aaron's eyes heat up, that smile break slow on his lips and his voice get deep as he said, "Thanks, Joey."

The clerk unhooked the paddle Joey had been running his fingers over. Joey slapped it against his palm. Big sting, nice heat. His ass tightened. But again, that would be a present for Joey, not for Aaron. The door chimed and the clerk turned away to greet a new customer. Joey tested the flexibility of the paddle, felt the light warmth from where it had smacked his skin. So maybe Santa could put this in Joey's stocking. He was a selfish bastard, and he still didn't have anything to give Aaron.

A voice purred in Joey's ear. "Mmmm. Nice. But I like my hand better."

Joey jumped and turned around. "Aaron. You're supposed to be at work."

"Saw your puke green car out front. Hennie's got the truck running, and I've got my radio." Aaron waved it.

Aaron's paramedic uniform was an ugly dark blue polyester, but it was the first thing Joey had ever seen him in and he had a soft spot for it. He flicked a finger against the name badge. Aaron snatched the paddle from his hand and swung it so that it swished in the air.

"You told me you were done. Last minute shopping? Someone on your list I should know about?"

Joey's gaze fixed on the leather in Aaron's hand. One side had metal studs set in it. Jesus. His cock filled at the thought of Aaron using that on bare skin.

Aaron tapped the paddle lightly against the seat of Joey's jeans. "Joey. Question. Answer."

"Uh. No."

Aaron holstered his radio and tapped the paddle against his finger tips. He gave Joey that slow smile, and his gut got as warm and tight as his cock.

What the hell. "Aaron, what do you want for Christmas?"

"Nothing. Anything. I don't care. I told you, it's not a big deal."

The frustration Joey felt must have shown on his face, because Aaron cupped the back of Joey's neck. "How about a blowjob?"

"C'mon. I want to get you something to make you happy."

Aaron's jaw tightened and his eyes looked bleak. The warmth in Joey's belly turned to a heavy doughy ball. What the hell was wrong with that?

He started to turn away, but Aaron held him with that hand on his neck. He bent down and kissed him. "For a smart guy, you can be a total moron."

"Huh?"

"I am happy, don't you get that? Every fucking day. And you know why."

"Oh." Joey grinned as everything got warm inside again. "But I still have to get you something."

"Get me a book of Sudoku. I like to do'em in the can. And sometimes I read that guy. Um, David Sedaris. And," Aaron turned to wave the paddle at the clerk. "You have a place we can test this out?"

The clerk smiled and jerked his chin at a small curtained off space.

"Here? But Hennie's waiting—and that guy—"

"You fucking love the idea of an audience."

Okay, so Joey did. And he loved it even more when Aaron pushed him past the curtain with a swat just hard enough to burn.

Aaron put Joey's hands up on the back wall and ran a hand over the warm spot on Joey's ass. "You want to feel it on skin or should I have him ring it up now?"

"It's still more of a present for me than for you."

Aaron reached around and unbuttoned Joey's shorts. "I think we're both gonna like it."

Reunited (And It Feels So Good)

I love having the next blog day after Maia. She always gives me good ideas. Thanks, Maia!

I too have a free holiday short story release coming from Samhain Publishing. “Custom Christmas” will be available for free download on December 26. If you miss it there (I don’t know why you might be busy), I’ll put it on my website and on my live journal. “Custom Christmas” is a follow-up to my first release with Samhain, a short story called Custom Ride. I’ve never met a word count I couldn’t immediately exceed so in order to make it fit under the fifteen-thousand-words submission guideline, I had to cut a lot. I’ve gotten emails asking me what happened with the characters, and I hope this short story works as a standalone, and ties things up for others.

As Maia said, it was fun to go back and hang out with old characters. Even if you write a book in which your old characters have walk-ons or secondary parts, it’s not the same as when you live in a character’s point of view. And although people say you can never go back, it sure feels good to try.

I guess that’s why I love a reunion romance story. It’s my favorite romantic convention, which you may have noticed if you’ve read some of my books. I’m working on one right now, but in this one, the characters were much more broken than in Diving In Deep. The characters in this book have some serious issues to work through. And a killer to find. (Oh no, she’s trying to write an external plot! Somebody stop her!)

I did get reunited with Noah and Cameron from Diving In Deep in writing Collision Course which came out yesterday. Excuse me while I do my Happy Release Day dance. Okay, I’m back. Be very glad there’s no webcam. But having Noah and Cameron around wasn’t the same as actually living in their heads. I know that I really miss Joey and Aaron, and I’m sure I won’t be able to completely leave them alone. Not only do I miss them, but there’s a character in Collision Course who wants his own book. I’m looking forward to a reunion with that world of characters.

I’d fling some more excerpts or prequels for Collision Course at you, but I’ve already done that to the point where I’m sure some people are glad it’s out so I’ll just shut up about it. Yeah, about me and that word count thing again…well, you can always check out my website or live journal if you missed them.

So what do you guys think of reunion romances, or even just being reunited with characters who feel like old friends?

A Little Help From My Friends

This is less of a blog and more of a plea for help.

You see, one of my writer friends wants to interview me for her blog. But the truth is, as a person, I eclipse all previous standards of the ultimate in dull: an English teacher who writes books! Yeah, that’s original. My characters, on the other hand, are much more fun to play with. She said I could have a character from my upcoming release do the interview, but I’d have to come up with questions.

Since I already asked my characters pretty much all I thought I needed to know to tell their story, I need some help. I’d love it if some of you would throw me some questions for either Aaron or Joey from Collision Course. In return, I’m happy to cross promote with your website and name—or keep you completely anonymous if you prefer.

To help you out, here’s the blurb and here’s the first chapter. Also, there are some prequels over at my live journal here and here and the smutty one here. (Warning: It’s Joey’s first time and he and his high school boyfriend are both seventeen.)

If Joey were here, he’d totally be begging you with his big brown Bambi eyes. The best I can do is say please and thank you for help.

Want To Meet My Sidekick?

YAY! It’s my new cover! That’s Joey in the front and Aaron in the back.

I’m very excited about Collision Course, my December 9 release from Samhain. My heroes did an amazing job telling me the story, my editor did an amazing job making sure there were no plot holes, and then Anne made this amazing cover. And me? I got to hear sexy bedtime stories from two hot guys for a couple of months.

When I needed a friend for Noah to talk to in Diving In Deep, I never planned on giving Joey a book. Back in February, Joey started whining (loudly and incessantly) in my head about wanting his own hero. I pointed out that I’d already given him a new boyfriend after he and Noah broke up, but he complained that Mark was too much of a marshmallow. So I thought up the most difficult hero I could for him. Joey and Aaron took it from there.

To get to the point of my blog (beyond shameless self-promotion) Noah and Cameron, the heroes in Diving In Deep, make a couple of appearances in Collision Course and I learned some interesting things. Sidekicks and secondary characters can say all kinds of things that heroes can’t get away with. I knew Cameron had a dry sense of humor, but I didn’t know he could be that sardonic. I knew Noah and Joey had some unresolved issues from their previous relationship, but I didn’t realize how much of an edge could pop up in their conversations.

When I write a secondary character, I know that he considers himself the star, but without point of view, a secondary character usually stays where I put him. I’ve never set out planning to turn a book into a series, as much as I’ve always enjoyed reading them. Turning a sidekick into a hero is fun, even if it sometimes requires creative gymnastics to fix things that a sidekick can do that a hero can’t. But what I was most unprepared for was the way my other brain children would look in a newly anointed hero’s point of view.

As a reader, I enjoy the visit from old friends when an author writes a series. As a writer, the experience was full of surprises. I think I’m going to try that again. (Yes, Tony, I’m getting to you, just gimme a month or two, okay?)

And by the way, for those of you who were fortunate enough not to grow up with my friends, the correct answer to the title question is “No.” Otherwise, the questioner kicks you from the side. Violence in puns. Go figure.