Friday, January 27, 2012

Inside of You

My mm Carthera short story, Inside of You, posted on Literotica today. I submitted it to the Valentine's Day contest so if you're willing, please go give it a read and then vote on the story. Comments are always welcome as well!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A blog award! Already? Whew!

So... Nephy awarded me with a blog award, though she's helped me as much as I've helped her in many ways. Thanks hun, bigs hugs! She didn't say which one I get so I'm going to pick the Kreativ, because well, I've not been very versatile. All my blogs are about my writing or my reading. Pretty one-sided, really, lol.


The RULES, apparently. Cause who knew blog awards had rules? =D 

 1.In a post on your blog, nominate a number fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.(this seems to be an arbitrary number from person to person)
2. In the same post, add the Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.


Okay. So, I've done #2, 3, and 5. I guess I'll move on to 4. Hold onto your socks.

1. I'm a redhead. That means if you tick me off...you had better run. (Ask my hubby, he started this tradition on our wedding day after the cake cutting)
2. I love to read. Okay, that's fairly obvious to anyone who has ever spoken to me but for new people... Gimme stories, I never have enough!
3. I have giant feet. They're 10 in., or 25.4cm to non US folk. The joke has been made my shoes could be used in place of an Ark should the world flood.
4. I've been with the man I love for over 14 years now. Wedded bliss...and not so bliss, we've made it together so far. (thought I should add that after #1, lol)
5. I like to eat smoked octopus with butter.
6. My favorite book series right now is the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward.
7. Right at this moment in time my 5 year old son is sitting on my shoulder like a parrot. He weighs 55 pounds. Someone help!

Off to those I'd love to recognize, in #1:

Decadent Delights blog by MA Church. She's been awesome since I met her online, a big fan of mine when I'm a big fan of hers and in total awe she likes my work. Her work is so original so she's very deserving of a Kreative blog award!

Brilliant Disguise by Talismania. She has a lot of stories on Literotica, though I've only read a few. He blog has some great info on writing though and she was kind enough to follow me out of the blue! Versatile award for sure!

Laurann's Blog by Laurann Dohner. I emailed her after the first of her New Species stories, Fury, came out and she was gracious and so friendly in her reply and in the few others we've exchanged. Also, her latest in that series, Brawn, made it on the USA Today and Times Bestseller's lists. You rock Laurann and totally deserve a Kreative blog award!

Passion's Harem by Amylea Lyn. I recently read her story, Nature of the Beast, which I loved. I can't wait to find time to read her serial blog story. She's a Kreativ award winner for sure.

I'm not sure if I can mention/offer off blogspot blogs awards, but I'd love to point out a few other blogs I enjoy that I think my visitors might like.

Robcub's Story Blog. This guy has really evolved as a writer, and I enjoy his stories immensely.

Silvia Violet's blog. Wow, she has some awesome content on there; I'm still exploring.

You'll just have to trust me that I did #6. 

More The Experiment should be out tonight. Thanks to everyone who is reading and commenting!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Flash Story: Be Okay

This story came about from a prompt posted on GA by Lugh. The task was to write a story about a parent looking for a child. The child was on public transport that 'crashed' earlier in the day. As a mom, something like this could be one of my worst fears come to life so I think I did justice to the emotions involved. I hope you enjoy this flash piece, The Experiment Pt. 4 will be posted tomorrow.

*

"Sarah, no! You can't go up there." Her captain grabbed her by the arm.

"Why not Captain? Looks like they could use all the help they can get." Sara tried to shake her arm free, but her boss had a good grip on her. She sighed when he began towing her away from the scene. Sara couldn't help but wish that she wasn't quite so slender. She could hold her own in a fight but she wasn't about to hit the captain. Suddenly she realized he had just used her first name. The captain never used first names.


Sarah frowned.

"Where are we going?" Sarah stopped walking beside the captain, locking her legs. "What is going on?"

He sighed and then looked around. Sarah couldn't understand what the secrecy was about. They were standing beyond the police tape and screened behind some parked cars. This was a private as it could get when a bus full of kids crashed during morning traffic. People were everywhere with cameras and the news crews had begun to arrive in the last ten minutes.


No one was watching where they stood to one side of the accident scene. Cops were everywhere along with firemen and paramedics, but this sort of thing had them all scrutinized. Sarah knew that, all cops knew that, and acted accordingly at scenes like this. It wasn't easy but it was part of the job.

"Sarah, I need you to stay calm and wait outside the police tape. You can stand over by the ambulances but I need you to stay out of the scene."

Sarah pulled her arm from his grip and then crossed them over her chest. "What! Why?"

"That bus was going to the Rainbow Center," he said quietly. His expression was sad.

"Going to the. . . ." Sarah's arms fell to her sides. She stared at him blankly, and then her head cranked around to look for the bus. "Is that?"

"Yes. The school said the bus was coming back from a field trip to the zoo."

One hand was up covering Sarah's mouth, trapping the sob inside. Melody had been so excited to go to the zoo that day; she loved the penquins. She'd woken up with the sniffles and Sarah had almost kept her home. If she had. . . She pressed her trembling hands against her chest where it felt like a gaping hole had just opened.


"Have you found her already then?" she whispered.

"No. But it's not good, Sarah. The bus fell off the freeway overpass about fifteen feet. None of the kids had seat belts. You need to--"


Sarah bolted.

The captain cursed. He didn't shout after her, that would just draw attention they didn't need.

Sarah ran under the yellow caution tape; her blue uniform ensured that she wasn't stopped. She was forced to slow down when she got near the bus. The smell of hot metal and rubber filled the air. There were sounds of machines working on the cars to get them open and rescue personnel everywhere trying to get people onto backboards and into the row of ambulances that ringed the outer perimeter. She ignored all of that and started wenching on the back door of the bus. It finally came open, and she crawled inside.

"Melody! Melody! Where are you, honey? Answer Mommy," Sarah called.

She heard a whimper and stopped. Looking under the seat, she saw a little boy with blood dripping from a gaping cut on his forehead. She sat up and looked around, then crawled back over the glass on the seat and stuck her head out the broken door. She saw two firemen standing nearby and called out to them.

"Hey! I've got another kid. I think we can get him out this door if you come help me." Sarah didn't wait for them, just turned back and began checking on the kid. He had a pulse so she began moving past him, looking for Melody. She stopped for a minute to help the firemen load the moaning child onto a small backboard and move him out of the bus before she kept looking.


There was a crew in the front of the bus but Sarah knew that Melody liked to sit in the very back. She got down the floor and started looking under the seats. Her daughter's long blond hair was the first thing she saw.

"Melody!" Sarah screamed. She shoved the backpack on the floor out of the way and squeezed in between the seats. She was reaching for Melody to scoop her up when hands caught her shoulders. "No! Let me go! My daughter needs me."

"You could hurt her, ma'am. You can't pick her up. Let us help your girl."

Melody fought to get free but the firemen pulled her away. "No!"

"Let us do our job. We'll get her out safely."


He pulled her all the way out of the bus and left her standing next to the open door, twisting her hands together and watching them anxiously as they moved her precious baby girl onto the backboard and then carried her out of the bus. Sarah ran beside them as they raced for the ambulance. She knew she should stay at the scene and help the other children, but she couldn't. She had to go with Melody. She sat next to the gurney and watched her daughter take shallow breaths, unable to focus on anything else.

"Shit! You're bleeding everywhere too." The paramedic started to pull on her hands, trying to get the glass out so he could wrap gauze around the bleeding lacerations. She pulled away from him.


"No. Help Melody."

"I have done everything I can do for her. Now let me help you. You got her out of the bus, and I think she'll be okay. Let's get you fixed up so you don't scare her with all this blood when she wakes up."

Sarah numbly allowed the paramedic to clean her hands. The only thing running through her head was a fervent with that her little girl be okay. She held onto that phrase, repeating it in her mind like a mantra, as if it would make it come true. It kept her going through all the tests until she was able to sit down beside her daughter's bed in the ER, her little face swathed in bandages. The doctor stood on the other side of the bed.


She saw the sympathy in his eyes and cringed, waiting for him to speak. She had to be okay. She had to.

"Melody's a little banged up but she is going to be just fine."

Sarah put her head down on the bed and finally gave into her tears.

The End.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Favorite Stories!

It is taking a little longer to polish part 3 so I thought I'd post a few of my favorite stories for you guys to check out while you wait! Follow the links!

Nephy's flash piece: Not Mine
Renee Steven's Shorties flash fiction: Convictions
Myr's short story: Terran Confederation-Jeremiah

and one of my short stories:
Cia's GA anthology short: With Open Arms



Friday, January 20, 2012

In my writing world today...

Experiment Pt. 1 was featured over on GA in the staff blog. Yay! Literotica posted a combined set of chapters for Hypnotic, since I typically combine and post chapters in pairs on that site. I got so many lovely comments and emails, thank you so much to my readers!

I also got a new follower on here, hi Monique *waves* Thanks for joining up!

I did some beta reading/editing for a few friends from GA, and I made some headway on my revisions and edits for Pipe Dreams and Hypnotic. Now I'm going to write a bit more on The Experiment. If I don't post it tonight I should be ready early tomorrow my time.

Thanks for visiting my blog. More to come from me soon!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Amylea Lyn's Nature of the Beast

I read an excellent ebook today that I got at ARe. Nature of the Beast by Amylea Lyn was a great read. I didn't have to beta or edit or do anything but follow where she took me. A sterile city, a man who speaks to plants, a man who is called 'The Beast' in a prison where the two main characters meet in a very difficult circumstance... and who just might not be a man at all. I won't give away what happens but if you have the chance I'd definitely recommend you read it. She has a blog, www.amylealynromance.blogspot.com where she is also posting a serial story and has links to other stories she's written. Happy reading!

On the writing front-more editing today and I have done some writing. A new chapter will be coming out soon on GA for Hypnotic and the first chapters should post tomorrow on Literotica.  

Monday, January 16, 2012

Today's Literary Happenings

So I've been doing various writing activities today. I worked at beta reading and editing a story for a friend, discussed the plot of another friend's latest story idea, edited and posted the first two chapters of Hypnotic in one combined chapter on Literotica (should post in 3 days) and now I'm working on Ch. 15 on Hypnotic.

I found that I really enjoyed the plot discussion the most. Talking about character personality, motivations, plot arc and creating the setting... that is all very fun for me with my authors. Editing... at times I enjoy it and other times it feels a bit more like a chore.

Then I sat down to write. I have a couple of short story anthology ideas for deadlines that are coming up but I really want to finish Hypnotic. I'm bringing many questions from the two previous Carthera stories to an end along with the immediate story involving Dav and Ellis and their bond. This ending is harder than every other one I've written other than perhaps my first novel length story. There's an emotional attachment to the stories and characters I don't know if I am ready to give up. 

It's hard to say goodbye to any story plotline you been working at for a while. I've been writing it for months and sharing it with readers as I've finished chapters. Along the way, I've gotten a ton of lovely comments, reviews, and emails from readers that I treasure. In other ways I can't wait to be done because the story is stuck in a very exciting place and I just want to see what happens! Nope, not even I know until it flows out of my brain on my fingers to the keyboard most of the time.

So on that note, I must get back to writing. This limbo is killing me!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Working It Out by Don Hanratty

So today I read Don Hanratty's Working It Out. I read it a few years ago but I was reviewing it for GA's blog and so I planned to skim it. Skimming turned to a day of reading and I have to say its one of the better stories out there that I've come across in the modern/college age mm genre. 

I spent some time writing. I'm working on trying to kick out the last few chapters of Hypnotic. I have Ch. 14 with Renee for a beta/edit and I'm working on Ch. 15 for GA posting. Well, I'm off to do more writing. Too many projects without enough time! The voices in my brain really need to take a vacation, lol.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

My Books: A Lost Love?


Now, I saw this video and it brought to mind a few thoughts. One: Books dancing can be cute; I liked the black and white couple the most. Two: Books do sort of have a life of their own. I think that in this day of e-readers, we have lost a little something by the move to a digital format.

I have a Kindle and when you read as much as I do, the instant gratification of dowloading an ebook is great. Have now-Yay! But I can't think of a single ebook I will be able to touch and feel and pass on to my kids. I have books I read as a girl that I've saved for my son and daughter, their worth enhanced by the yellow pages, dog ears, and frayed covers. You can see my love of them just by looking.

So, while I enjoy my Kindle I don't think I'll ever give up my love of browsing the bookstore and finding well loved books to bring home.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Welcome to Blogging

So here goes... I've never blogged before-yes, in this day and age I'm a new blogger! Sad, I know. You won't find a bunch of commentary on my life, since I think it's a tad too boring to write about. I plan to put a lot of stuff on here about my stories, what I'm writing and reading, and new things I'm learning about writing.

A little bit of personal info... I'm a mom, a wife, a reader, a writer, a baker (I know the way to my man's heart!) and a photographer. I play at writing, baking, and photography but my true calling is my family. They are pretty much my life but when I'm happy, they are happy. So they put up with my hobbies.

A few  years ago I joined GA. I read all types of stories, gay, straight, lesbian... if the story is well written and captures my attention I'll be happy, no matter who the main characters love. I started talking to some authors, began helping them with their writing and that turned into getting the courage to try my own. I can never thank Nephylim, Lugh, and Paya enough for helping me during those first few months!

Now I have stories all over the web. I write free online fiction under my nickname, Cia and I have one free anthology story published on Allromanceebooks under my full name, Alicia. I hope you check those sites out through my links and enjoy my stories and photos!