Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Release Day for Let It Snow, my naughty Christmas story at Dreamspinner Press! NSFW Excerpt


My latest release, Let It Snow, is now available! It's my third year as part of Dreamspinner's annual Advent Calendar, and I really enjoy getting in the holiday spirit (albiet several months early!) by writing these winter-themed stories. Not only is it in the package, you can also buy it as a single e-book starting today. :)

Here is a NSFW excerpt as a disappointed Garrett settles in and prepares to face Christmas alone...

*****

By now, he was dealing with a semi-erection just thinking about Ethan and their scenes.  He was just fooling himself, he thought ruefully, if he was really considering bypassing the toy at this point.

After finishing his nighttime routine, he snagged the plug and a tube of lube before he headed towards the bed. Ethan loved to see him on hands and knees… well, head down and ass up, to be precise. The sight of Garrett in the open and vulnerable position never failed to bring Ethan into a dominant mindset. But first he’d get ready.

He lay on his back and took his time prepping himself, all the while remembering the last time Ethan and he had gotten together. They usually met at Ethan’s place, and that night had been no different. They’d been out with a few friends to watch a conference championship game at a bar over a few beers. The sex had been random; there was no set pattern to when and why they would go beyond friendship and take their respective kinks out to play.

All Garrett knew was that sometime during the evening, a look had passed between the two of them—a hot, electrifying exchange that left no doubts with either man that they’d be making their excuses to the rest of their group very soon.

As soon as they’d entered Ethan’s home, Garrett had all but thrown himself against Ethan, stepping into his space in a challenge the man would be hard pressed to ignore. He’d thumped his body into the other man’s, their similar heights allowing them to fit comfortably together, in contact from chests on downward.  Ethan quickly turned the tables, spinning Garrett around and pressing his upper body up against the entry wall, holding him in place with his chest, legs bracketing his.

“You’ve been wanting this all night, haven’t you?” he growled in Garrett’s ear. “I couldn’t believe it when you ordered another pitcher.”

He’d laughed, shamelessly pushing his ass back against the hard cock rocking along his backside. “I thought it would be a good peace offering since we both had to leave early because of… work.”

“Stop.” Garrett had known immediately what Ethan was referring to and reluctantly halted his movements, though he left his hips canted back in inviting contact with Ethan’s. Garrett remembered how he’d held his breath as Ethan moved his hand slowly down his abs to his waistband. His touch had lingered there for some time as if he’d been trying to decide what to do to Garrett next.

Hole slicked and ready, Garrett ran the plug down to his abdomen and let it rest there as his brain reenacted the moment of decision. He left the toy sitting on his lower abs as he ran his hand—in his mind, Ethan’s hand—up under his shirt to flick lightly at a nipple until it was taut, before giving a hard pinch that sent a bolt of sensation zinging straight to his balls.

Garrett had remained against the wall, panting for oxygen, as Ethan had leisurely tweaked and tortured first one nipple and then the other.

“One of these days I’m going to get you off with nothing more than twisting your nips. Won’t touch you anywhere else. Work them until they’re begging for mercy. You won’t make a sound, though, will you? Not until I tell you to come and you shoot for me.”

Groaning both at the time and at the memory, in both scenarios it took Garrett all the willpower he had to keep from squirming under the touch. They both knew that since Ethan had commanded him to stop moving, it would take an earthquake to get him to disobey—a fact which Ethan never failed to put to the test with upping the ante in challenge.

His pants had then been unfastened and unceremoniously shoved to his ankles. With his shirt and shoes still on, it had been a terribly slutty and debauched pose to hold, somehow making Garrett feel more naked than if he’d been completely nude.

Ethan had cupped his ass cheeks, kneading the muscles, exposing his hole repeatedly but not touching where he needed it. Garrett now flipped over, the dildo dropping to the mattress unimpeded as he replicated the pose, though on his knees on the bed rather than standing in Ethan’s foyer. He pulled his ass cheeks aside enough to feel the cool of the room on his slicked, prepared entrance.

On that night, Ethan had left him for a minute, walking deeper into the house before returning. He had then sank to his knees behind Garrett and roughly prepped his hole with lube-laden fingers until he was fucking two scissoring and twisting fingers in and out, in and out—oh, so good! Garrett had almost cried out in protest as the fingers disappeared, but he had forced himself to wait anxiously for the next touch. Surely Ethan wouldn’t leave him hanging?

Garrett reached down to grab the plug, knowing what came next. He’d been put out of his misery as Ethan ran a cool, hard object up and down the cleft of his ass over and over until it was as warm as his clenching hole. He slid the plug in just as Ethan had penetrated him with the dildo—not in increments, but in one long, inexorable slide that didn’t ask for entry, but demanded compliance.

He grunted as the plug seated itself and he breathed through the adjustment. Ethan had smoothed a hand along his lower back, then down the curve of his ass. Garrett remembered wishing fervently that the caring in his touch was that of a lover, of something more than just a friend and partner in kink….

He’d played Garrett with an expert touch, every movement bringing him closer to the point at which he’d break position or beg or… God, he loved every minute of what they did together. What a crazy, fucked-up, wonderful thing they had. They meshed like two sides of the same coin.

But Ethan wasn’t his lover. And Garrett wasn’t holding his breath that they’d become lovers anytime soon. Ethan wasn’t gay. Probably bi, if Garrett had any instincts about these things left. Ethan was just too comfortable with intimately touching another man to be completely straight. But he’d never, to Garrett’s knowledge, dated another man. In fact, Ethan and Chris and Will, their other two best friends, had cut quite a swath through the available women in the area.

Ethan and Garrett’s time together was all about an exchange of power. He would be a fool to think he could “convert” him to a boyfriend.

The dampening effect of that reminder on his emotions didn’t begin to touch the fever pitch he’d roused his body to, and he broke off from the memory. Maneuvering carefully, plug still held in place in his ass, he lay down on his back and took his uncomfortably hard cock in a rough, welcome grasp. He planted his feet and thrust up into his palm while he reached down to give the plug a nudge at just the right angle. A couple more pulls and the orgasm boiled up from his balls. He yelled as he came, the physical release so complete and consuming that it nearly made him pass out.

It took eons for his heart rate to resemble normal again, but eventually he dragged himself from bed to do some cleanup in the bathroom. He rinsed the toy and left it sitting on a towel, then headed to the bedroom again, a bit too awake to just go to bed. A good orgasm had the opposite effect on him than many other people; it enervated him, wound him up.

Remembering that the wood-burning fireplace was operative, he kindled a fire in the already-laid hearth and then sat back on the loveseat, poking at it occasionally until a decent-sized fire was going. When the yawns finally started, he made sure the screen was in place, crawled into the four-poster, and closed his eyes.

Lying in bed, the random dancing of firelight teasing at his eyelids, Garrett could almost hear the voice of his grandma, reminding him to make his Christmas wish before he went to sleep.

What I really want, Santa can’t bring, Mimi. 

Flipping on his stomach and burying his head under the pillow, he wished anyway… then promptly cursed himself for his sugar-plum delusions.

You can find Let It Snow at Dreamspinner Press.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thankful to still be a daughter...Happy transplant day, Mom!

Note: I've posted a version of this the past couple years, so some of you may have read it, but this time of year will always remind me of what I'm truly thankful for and the sentiments I originally wrote two years ago on her first anniversary are just as heartfelt and relevant today. I've tweaked the time references so they are accurate for the current year, but otherwise it stands as previously written. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


Fall has always been my favorite season of the year, the colors, coolness in the air, what's not to love? It was Dad's fave as well, which made it especially difficult when he passed away unexpectedly at 61 in late October 2003. Every Thanksgiving since then has been bittersweet with happy reminiscences comingled with the memories of the raw shock of that first holiday season without him.

Three years ago, my remaining parent was literally fighting for her life. She had been diagnosed with leukemia in May 2008, fought a losing battle with chemotherapy over the summer, and nothing was helping to stem the advance of the cancer in her blood and bone marrow. With the classification that she fell into, her prognosis at the time of diagnosis was less than a year.

Then a miracle happened...her doctor was able to convince the insurance company to approve a bone marrow transplant despite her age (63) being beyond their normal range. That was followed closely by a second miracle...she didn't have to wait for a donor match. Her brother, who lived 4 miles away from her and was still in good health at 65, tested to be a perfect match for donation. Sibling donations have the highest success rate, and we crossed our fingers that Mom could hold out long enough to stabilize for and undergo the god-awful pre-procedure chemo and radiation.

So on November 25th, 2008, she was given the transplant, and we waited while her body fought both the cancer and the 'invading' new bone marrow cells. That Thanksgiving was filled with worry and hope.

As December began, she started slipping away. Her counts were proceeding 'normally', but she was becoming delirious and eventually unresponsive. An unexpected allergic reaction to her anti-rejection medication sent her into a coma due to fluid buildup in the brain called PRES syndrome. Nearly 2000 miles away, I could only wait for news. She was moved to intensive care and the second week of December I received a call needing permission to place her on a ventilator as a respiratory infection set in.

At that point I could wait no longer and scheduled my flight to South Dakota. I hadn't seen her since August, and barely recognized her; her hair was gone, she was 30 pounds lighter, and all the medical support equipment... I walked into her empty house alone that night and it was the strangest sensation, as if she were already gone.

I sat by her bed for nearly a week with no response. I'd had the irrational thought that once there, she'd hear my voice and open her eyes, but that only happens in fiction I suppose. I lotioned her feet, tried to keep her bloody tears from drying on, and tried to talk. It was hard to know what to say, again where the movies and fiction have it wrong. Her hand was warm but dead in mine. During this time, her only movements were occasional gagging motions, and I asked, begged, pleaded, and finally demanded they remove the breathing tube. Their response was that she'd met every protocol except one; she had to be responsive before removal.

I was stymied by ICU staff and resp therapists at every turn until one day I finally spoke to the Pulminologist on the phone and reminded him that she's been unresponsive for days before insertion. After securing my permission to reinsert if she went south, he approved the removal, much to the dismay of the resp therapist who'd smugly handed me the phone in the first place, sure that the doc would support her instead of me.

She and the ICU nurse went through the shut-down and pulling of the tube. It was awful watching my mom's body fighting and gagging. But it was finally out.

Then her eyes opened...

After weeks in a coma, when that tube came out, she just...woke up. The nurse asked if she knew who I was, and she said in a raspy, but clearly disgusted whisper, "Of course! That's my daughter." Oh, that's my mama. Give 'em hell, Mom.

While she'd been laying there, her body had been accepting the transplant. They moved her back up to oncology the next morning (that was a jolt, coming into her ICU bay and having it be empty!). I flew home the day after, on Christmas Eve, to be with my girls for the holiday. And only two weeks later, she went home. Her mom, my grandma, who was nearly 90, moved out to the farm to spend the rest of the SD winter with her and take care of her 'little girl' during her recovery.

Tomorrow is the three year anniversary of her transplant, and she is 100% donor cells and cancer-free. She's flown out to Oregon a few times now for visits, something I never thought would happen again. She is living alone, still driving and doing for herself. Moreover, she's still herself--still Mom, still Mimi to my two girls and my brother's little boy--something that I'd almost given up hope on during my vigil that winter.

Back 'round to Thanksgiving again, I am so thankful that my small family is not one person less this year. We had every reason to expect that she could have been gone by now, but a few miracles later and I have something very real and concrete to be thankful for this year and every year...my mom's future.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Guest Blogging about "Deadlines" on OGG today...Scary Word, Isn't It?

Today, I'm back at my old stomping grounds on Oh Get A Grip! talking about deadlines...from an editor's perspective! See you there!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

More New Cover Art... Military Guys--check!


A Ring and A Promise, my story from the His Hero anthology (which releases in January), will come out as a single e-book in February, and here is the fantabulous cover by Emmy Ellis. :P

Here is the blurb:

Careers in military service are never easy on relationships—even less so when both lovers are in different branches…and both are men.

Naval Academy graduation now under their belts, Cary Barrientos knows the reality of the upcoming separation from his roommate of the past four years. Owen is more to him than just his best friend—he is the one person Cary can see spending his life with. 

Owen Marsh knew that when he became Cary’s lover, the day would come when he would have to walk away. Now that day has come, and he’s having a hard time convincing himself that it’s just sex between them. Even with DADT repealed, there is no way a Marine and a Navy flier can be together. He’s just being realistic not expecting more.

When Cary switches their Academy rings, hoping Owen won’t notice, he makes a vow—he will do whatever he has to do, including believing enough for the both of them, to make their unlikely relationship stand the test of time. But when his Marine is called up for duty overseas, can a piece of jewellery and a promise be enough to get them through?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Announcing the Winners of the GRL Swag Contest and the Answers!

Hi everyone! Hope you had fun looking through my posts for the answers! I've put the highest scoring names in and randomized them and the winners are:

Beatrice Tan: Swag Bag of GRL goodies and signed copy of Gaymes
Michelle L.: GRL T-shirt

And since Beatrice chose TA Chase as the answer to question #11, she'll be getting some TA swag too, PLUS TA has kindly offered her a free ebook as well!!

Congratulations!! I'll be in touch with the details. :) And thanks to everyone who participated!


Here are all the answers:

1. Name two of the dancers we saw at Lafitte's.  Paco, Axel...also accepted Bored Guy and Cute Twink
2. Who did I ride on the streetcar with?  Jaime Samms
3. My admirer's nickname?  Puppy Boy
4. Who did I chat with in the airport on the way home?  Rick R. Reed
5. I shared a table at the booksigning with what author?   Marguerite Labbe
6. Which of my books made multiple readers cry?   Making His List
7. Someone who was with me on my balcony.   Amber Kell, Stephani Hecht, Trina Lane
8. Two of the bloggers I spent time with?   Janna, Kassa, Leontine, Chris, Kris, Tam, Tracy...and also accepted as answers authors who blog
9. My roommate for the retreat?     Trina Lane
 10. Dates and location of NEXT year's retreat!     Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 18th-21st
11. BONUS: Your favorite author in one of my photos (no wrong answer here!).
 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Amber Kell Visits with Part Fourteen of her Birthday Extravaganza story, Accidental Alpha!

Today I'm thrilled to welcome the amazingly talented Amber Kell on her Birthday Extravaganza story blog crawl!

 


Accidental Alpha #14

Stanley rushed through the door, his protective instincts screaming to protect Fenris.

Disaster. Everything in his apartment was torn apart. The couch tilted drunkenly on one wide, the cushions torn apart. Claw marks were evident on everything. His entertainment center resembled toothpicks, his television shattered, the smell of urine everywhere.

“I’m sorry, babe. You might not want to go into the bedroom.” Fenris’ calm tone helped settle some of Stanley’s panic but once the words sank in, a chill froze Stanley’s spine.

“I have to see.”

It was like being that stupid heroine in the spooky movie. Like knowing you shouldn’t go into the dark cellar of a haunted house in the middle of the night but still feeling compelled to check out the spooky noise.

Fenris slid his fingers through Stanley’s, squeezing his hand in a show of support.

Stanley gave the man a sickly smile, hoping he looked more confident than he felt.

Taking a deep breath through his mouth since his place stank, he walked down the short hall. His bedroom door hung solely by the lower hinge, long scratches scarred the surface and someone had carved the word ‘mate’ on the surface.

“What the hell?”

Pushing the door open he sucked in his breath. Someone had used red paint to cover the wall with the words. “You are mine.”

“That’s paint, right?”

Fenris gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah. I don’t think you want to sleep in your bed, though. He peed all around it.”

The bed itself looked pristine until he realized he never made his bed and he certainly never folded down the covers.

“Who did this?”

“Sebastian. It stinks of him. You might want to check with your dad about what exactly he promised the alpha. It looks to me he like he considers you as good as claimed.”

“Yeah, because I always fall for guys who trash my stuff then pee on it,” Stanley said dryly.

Fenris shrugged. “He probably figures you’d be more open to staying with him. He doesn’t expect you to have someone who recognizes the scent. Having you vulnerable and scared makes you more malleable. After all, he wants to immediately establish the power structure. If you are weaker he not only gets a strong mate but two alphas will draw stronger wolves to the pack. Sebastian wants to take over the city and you’re the man he’s chosen to help him do it.”

“It’ll be hard to take over the city with my shoe up his ass,” Stanley growled. “First I’m going to call the police and report this, then I’m going to call my mother and cry on her shoulder until she invites me to dinner where I can explain to her how I got in this situation.”

Fenris smiled. “And then?”

“Then I’m going to watch my sweet mother kick the big bad Overseer’s ass.”


To learn more about other Amber Kell releases, go to www.amberkell.com

 If you need to catch up, here are the links to all of the previous parts. Make sure to comment here for an entry for Amber's daily and weekly prizes!

Friday, November 11, 2011

New Cover Art!! Gorgeous Cover for His Hero anthology

Here's the cover art that landed in my inbox this morning from Emmy Ellis for the His Hero anthology, which includes my story, A Ring and A Promise.



Ain't it purdy? Thanks Emmy! This releases on January 16th from Total-E-Bound, and yes...it's all MM and all uniforms!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Free Reads, Contest Reminder and Writing Military Virgins...

...Because you know they're out there. You catch them early enough in their military careers and they're typical young (horny) guys, who may not have had any manlove yet. But once you get them going...

The two guys in the book I just finished (Wed) and contracted (Thurs), A Ring and A Promise, were roommates at the Naval Academy...with benefits. So come January, you can read some Navy on Marine (and vice versa) deflowerings. I pretty much smushed all my favorite tropes together in one smexy bunch--men in uniform, first times, against all odds, roommates, friends to lovers, and a smidge of gay for you. It'll be a happy (ever after) new year for us all. ;)

I got creative (well, more so) and decided to take the plunge into the world of self-pub on All Romance ebooks. My two free short stories this year, In The Wild (The Dreamspinner Halloween short, which is One Wish #2.5), and His Last Resort (the MM group Don't Read In The Closet antho short) are both now available as free PDF downloads from ARe. The links are also on my right sidebar.
 
Oh, and don't laugh too hard at the covers. I have a much greater respect for cover artists than ever before! BTW, GRL attendees might want to take a close look. :D

Speaking of GRL, I'm in the middle of a voyeuristic little story set at the retreat and the bar across the street, Oz, and what one lucky attendee got to watch two hot guys doing on the balcony. More details when I'm done!

Just a reminder, don't forget to take a read back through my GRL updates and answer the ten questions I posted on Halloween for your chance to win an autographed book and swag bag. See THE CONTEST POST for details. Good luck! :)