Accomplished in 2013

After taking much of 2012 off, I started back in on writing in 2013 to try and get up to steam. It was a slow process, but I think I'm back in a groove somewhat, finding my rhythm as I concentrate on writing the stories and characters that are important to me. All but one of them came out with Amber Allure as well as all being m/m, but that's going to change up in the year to come. I ended up having seven solo titles and one collaboration with Rick R. Reed.

My lone non-AQP title came from Liquid Silver. A Simple Charm is a sweet historical romance about a carny who shows up in a small Indiana town and falls for a local boy who has real magic. It's one of the most gentle stories I wrote all year, with some of my best prose, I think. It makes me a little sad that this didn't get the bigger audience I think it deserves, but I always knew a sweet historical with paranormal overtones would be a hard sell for most m/m readers.

One of my first titles this year at Amber Allure was The Low Between, a 50s noir story about an ex-cop and the young actor who get caught up in murders that have nothing to do with them. I have a real soft spot for this time period, and there just isn't enough out there, especially in the m/m world. It was tough getting back into plotting, but I was happy with how this turned out.

After reading so much steampunk that focused too much on the tech and not enough on the characters, I decided to try my hand at my own version. The result was Iron Eyes. While one of my leads was a brilliant engineer from 20s Hollywood, I deliberately focused on the story they had to tell, the journey of finding a new solution to help a little blind girl see. I'm really proud of this one, plus Cap and Hector's chemistry went off the charts for me.

After noir and steampunk, I decided to dip my toes in sci-fi. Thus, Aria of the Eclipse was born. I've never created an alien species all on my own before (I've done it as part of the Jamie Craig team), so coming up with Dek was my real challenge in this. He needed to be otherworldly enough to warrant the genre, and yet relatable enough for the readers to connect with. I think, hands down, this is the most romantic story I published all year.


I collaborated with the talented Rick R. Reed on an epistolic short about two men separated by life choices, in a time when being gay wasn't nearly as accepted. Family Obligations still makes me cry when I re-read it, for everything they had to endure as well as for the lives they actually lead.

I stayed in the contemporary zone with my sweet romance, The Hearts of Yesteryear. While it's very comedic in tone, the subject matter is not. It's about a man in his seventies who ran away from his small town after his best friend and the boy he loved chose the military over him. John has to go back to that town and confront his past. To this day, I still want to see this as a sitcom. I think John and Frank would be terrifically funny as a gay senior citizen couple, with Corrine, John's personal assistant, there for back-up. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Things sobered up for me with my next contemporary. The Unbeaten Track is about an insomniac who is still haunted by the loss of his high school sweetheart, a victim of homophobic violence. I chose to do this one in first person, mostly because it's so much about being in Sean's head. The reader needed to be there with him as he made his choices, and hopefully come out the other side better for the knowing.

Last but not least, came Threshold. This took me back to my vampire roots, about a hurt vampire on the run who holes up in an out of the way motel. Falling for him was Max, an ex-soldier who is desperately looking for meaning in his life. The connection between these two sizzled from the start. Of all the titles I released this year, this one, for me, is by far the hottest.

2014 is going to see me branching out some. For instance, I have an m/m/f menage called Enthralled in Silver coming out with Ellora's Cave, and I'm hoping to have more. There are two stories in the final stages to come out at Amber Allure, Boundless and What the Heart Thinks, and more I'm scheduled to do there. All good things!

New review for The Hearts of Yesteryear

I got a wonderful new review for my latest release, "The Hearts of Yesteryear." Cat at MMGood Book Reviews gave it 4 hearts and called it "well written" and "a very sweet love story," which just makes me all kinds of happy. John holds a special place in my heart, grumpy old man that he is, and the whole point of the story for me was to show that we all need love no matter how old we are or how settled we are in our lives. Cat got that, and for that, I'm so grateful. Thanks, Cat! 

For an excerpt and purchase information, check it out at Amber Allure.

New release - The Hearts of Yesteryear

My new sweet m/m romance, The Hearts of Yesteryear, came out yesterday at Amber Allure!

Throughout his career, actor John Paravati has stuck with the line he sold to the gossip rags—he’s been in like, been in lust, even been in respect once or twice, but never love. It works for him. After all, the only thing he’s ever cared about is performing, and if he’s stuck now doing commercials for cruise lines to pay his bills, at least it’s better than shilling adult diapers.

But people in Hollywood are pros at pretending, and John is the master of them all. Because once upon a time, in the world of his youth, he loved two things with all his heart—his best friend Frank and the movie palace he used as sanctuary.

More than fifty years ago, John ran away from his hometown, never to look back. Now, someone has decided to restore the theater he left behind, and they want John to be a part of its relaunch. Though the memories still sting, he swallows his pride and agrees to go, even if it means finally dealing with the heartache he’s ignored all this time. At seventy-seven, he’s too old to continue holding onto the hurt. The question is, however, is he too old to start over once it’s gone? 

I love this story, plain and simple. It's about second chances, it's about letting go of the power of the past, it's about the acts we put on for family and friends. This was one of those stories where the characters felt like people in my life, with all their humor and imperfections. I think what I love the most is that it breaks out of the typical gorgeous hunks mold and tells the story of two men who have already lived their lives and are fighting for one more chance at love.

You can read an excerpt at the Amber Allure site. Even better, this week it has a new release discount if you decide to buy! Check it out!

TV dreams

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was quiet, but productive. Lots of work, though not the work I imagined I'd be doing.

Part of it was prep for my upcoming release. On the 22nd, my novella, "The Hearts of Yesteryear," will come out at Amber Allure. It's an m/m sweet romance about an aging actor who has to confront his ghosts in the hometown he abandoned fifty years earlier. Have I mentioned how much I love this story? Every time I read it, I want to see it as a TV show. It's got sitcom written all over it.

Two gay senior citizens who have reconnected after decades with the quirky but flighty female assistant/surrogate daughter living with them in sunny LA? One of whom is an actor trying to stay relevant, the other retired military who hasn't dated since 1979? I would watch that in a heartbeat. Because the being gay part is just incidental. It's about living life to the fullest when you're starting over at such a late age. With humor.

But ah, that's just a pipe dream. For now, I have to live vicariously through the story where they reconnect. I plan on having a freebie short available after it comes out, but more details on that later.

Cover reveal - The Hearts of Yesteryear

I got new cover art!

Throughout his career, actor John Paravati has stuck with the line he sold to the gossip rags—he’s been in like, been in lust, even been in respect once or twice, but never love. It works for him. After all, the only thing he’s ever cared about is performing, and if he’s stuck now doing commercials for cruise lines to pay his bills, at least it’s better than shilling adult diapers.

But people in Hollywood are pros at pretending, and John is the master of them all. Because once upon a time, in the world of his youth, he loved two things with all his heart—his best friend Frank and the movie palace he used as sanctuary.

Over fifty years ago, he ran away from his hometown, never to look back. Now, someone has decided to restore the theater he left behind, and they want John to be a part of its relaunch. Though the memories still sting, he swallows his pride and agrees to go, even if it means finally dealing with the heartache he’s ignored all this time. At seventy-seven, he’s too old to continue holding onto the hurt. The question is, however, is he too old to start over once it’s gone?

I'm so pleased with it. The Hearts of Yesteryear is my sweet, senior citizen m/m romance, and the cover is perfect for it. It comes out on September 22 from Amber Allure.

The state of my writing world

I haven't been completely slacking off in the time away I've been away from my blog. My productivity might not be anywhere near where it was when Pepper and I were working together, but I still try to get a little bit done every day.

So what's in the pipeline...

On September 22, The Hearts of Yesteryear, my novella about an aging actor who returns to the home of his youth for the relaunch of the movie palace that changed his life, comes out at Amber Allure. No cover yet, though I'm hoping to see that soon.

I'm in the throes of finishing up a vampire m/m novella called Threshold. It's about a vampire who crashes at a motel for the day after barely surviving an attack and the ex-Marine who finds him and refuses to let him die.

Once that's done (which should be by the end of the week), I have a short story to finish that's due by the end of the month. That one doesn't have a title yet. I had a longer idea I was going to do for that particular collection (stories set on trains), but I don't have time to do it justice.

And finally, I wrote a het paranormal short story called One More Bloom for a charity anthology created by Kallysten. The anthology is called Shades of Pink and will benefit breast cancer research. That comes out in October, and I will definitely be sharing more details about that as the date gets closer.

Writing status update

Since I've been mostly incommunicado for the past couple weeks, I figure I'm due for a status update on what's going on in my writing world.

First of all, I got my contract for The Hearts of Yesteryear, my m/m story about a 77 y/o actor who has to return to the hometown he hasn't visited in over fifty years. I don't have a due date for that yet, but it'll be out in either August or September. I'm in the throes of those edits right now.

I finished the revisions on an m/m/f paranormal erotic romance and have started the submission process. I had originally submitted it as a possibility for an anthology last fall, but that never panned out (I strayed too far from the theme, haha how not a surprise, lol), so I finally got around to adding the two chapters I'd wanted but couldn't because of the word restrictions. It's now a 21k novella instead of a short story, entitled Enthralled in Silver. I have high hopes for it. It's hot as hell and the first of a short series.

Once my edits are done, I'm going to finally finish a het WIP that's currently at 68k. I'd changed the title the last time I was working on it, but you know, I didn't write it down, and it's been a couple months and now I can't remember it. Hopefully I can find note of it somewhere.

Then, by July 1, I'll be starting my next m/m. It's working title is Sticking to the Seams, and it's set in an America far in the future that's been destroyed and is in the process of rebuilding. The main hero is a young train engineer who is on the search for his father. I'm rather excited about it, so July better get here fast.

Remembering and loss

Yesterday, the media reported that actress Deanna Durbin died. She was 91.

It's a death that saddens me.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Americans had no idea who Deanna Durbin was. Even though she was an extremely popular child actress in the 30s and 40s, her retirement from the industry in 1949 and subsequent silence took her enough out of the public eye to pretty much guarantee that the only people who would recognize her name were film lovers.

What makes me sad isn't just how she is sliding into a footnote of film history. It's the bigger picture, how so many people probably aren't even aware of her contribution, how easy it is to be forgotten even when you've imprinted your creations on the consciousness of so many. It's hitting me particularly hard since I'm writing about an aging actor right now, someone who's done everything he can to escape his past and yet can't forget it, someone who fought for his career and still is even after fifty years in the business.

It's inevitable, of course. Only the tiniest percentage of people become known on a wide scale for any length of time. We are remembered by those we touch, whether they be few or many.

Perhaps I'm all contemplative about this because of the loss I suffered last year, too.

I'm going to have a Deanna Durbin marathon this weekend. I hope my kids watch with me. I would love to think I've been able to help her be remembered. Even in a small way.

Older heroes in m/m romance

So I'm currently working on my short novella for the upcoming entertainment pax at Amber Allure, and something about it has me thinking.

See, my MC is 77. A spry, active, handsome 77, but an AARP member nonetheless.

And I've decided to make him sexually active. Because hell, he's older but he's not dead. And seriously, he deserves a romance just as much as any 20-year-old.

But I'm not blind. I know that stories about older heroes aren't what a lot of romance readers are looking for. What it boils down to, however, is this:

I love this guy. I want him to have this love affair. So I'm going to write it, even if that means only one other person reads it.

What are your thoughts on older heroes in m/m romance?

The Week in Review

In some ways, it's been a tough week. I've been fighting pain in my head and jaw for almost two months now, and this week, went back to the doctor to try another round of antibiotics. This time, we're going to see if it's sinusitis. The pain's not gone, but I've not even half way through the run, so we'll reassess next week to see if I need to go back and maybe get a referral to an ENT specialist. Yuck. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Because of the pain, it's been tougher to concentrate on writing. I have about 5k on The Hearts of Yesteryear, but I would've wanted to be further by this point. I've had other distractions, too, though. Wednesday was my husband's birthday, and the kids had two games and two practices to take up our evenings. Add onto that all the drama happening with the Supreme Court, and my head has been in a million other places than my story. The kids go back to school next week, however, so hopefully it'll get better.

Oh! But this week over at the Amber Pax Collection blog, the authors of the Office Affairs pax that came out last Sunday have been talking about their stories. If you head over and comment on any or all of the posts, you'll have the chance to win the entire collection. The winner gets drawn on Saturday. That's five stories by some pretty great authors. Go! What do you have to lose?

Weekly wrap-up

I can't believe it's Friday already. My kids are on spring break right now, which you would think would mean I have more time on my hands since I'm not doing school runs or fighting with homework, but not in my world. Yesterday was the first day I was able to get any writing done. We've had games and/or practice every night this week. There's another practice tonight, a game in the morning, and then a piano recital for both of them tomorrow afternoon.

This time of year is always killer for me. I know this, and yet, somehow, I always think it won't be that bad this year.

I did manage to get title approval for my story for the upcoming entertainment-themed pax at Amber Allure. It's called "The Hearts of Yesteryear" and is about an aging actor and a renovated moviehouse theater. It'll be a short one, too, probably somewhere between 13 and 15k. Since it's been percolating in my head all week (in the lack of actual time to write), I'm starting it first thing tomorrow. I imagine it will go swiftly. This is one of those stories that is already written in my imagination. I just have to transcribe it.