Yes, another project! Okay, I had to write about 20k on other stories first, but I've been hard at work on research for this story while I did that. I think I hit about a bazillion websites and even checked out books at the library. The outline is a little epic, so now I'm scrambling to write, write, write. So, who wants a taste of the beginning?
**This is an unedited snippet with names taken out cause I'm just evil that way**
Chapter One
“Everyone have their slipcards? You’re going to need them.” MC1 ignored the lecturing teacher. He had everyone waiting in the parking lot while he went over all the rules. Like they didn’t all know them already.
Well, maybe not the new kid.
Who dressed like that? He was obviously trying to attract all sorts of the wrong attention. Guys around here did not wear their hair long and loose, curling around their shoulders. Jeans were meant to be worn loose and held up with a belt, not tight and barely hanging on to sharp hipbones just begging to be squeezed in a bruising grip.
MC1 could see the new kid’s hip bones because his shirt was rucked up under his black jacket. Black on black, how original. Emo brat with the dark clothes, flaring nostrils, and narrowed eyes. The only thing he couldn’t ruin were his soft lips, somehow a much darker red than you’d expect from his honeyed skin.
“MC1.”
He strutted when he walked. Cocky bastard.
“Mr. MC1!”
MC1 jerked. He scowled. “What?”
“Excuse me? You want to rephrase that.” The now was unspoken but hung clearly in the air. His teacher could have his dad on face-to-face conference in seconds. It wouldn’t be the first time, either.
“Sorry.” MC1 stood up from his slouch against the fence. “Yes, Mr. Teacher?” He had better straighten up and fly right. The words his father enjoyed snapping at him on a damn near daily basis echoed in his mind.
“Your permission?”
MC1 dug the frayed slipcard out of his back pocket. They were supposed to last the entire school career from their very first day, but his saw a lot of mileage. Demotions, detentions, parent notes… they’d probably have cut down an entire forest for just him to send letters home if they still did that.
“Got it.”
He handed it over to his teacher who stuck it in his reader, eyeing the screen until it beeped.
“Oh good, not forged for once.”
Who’d do that? “It’s a field trip to a cave.” He saved his forges for important things, like covering for when he had to skip. He didn’t want anyone knowing he took off school to head over to the used bookstore to attend seminars by Famous Author. The guy was local, but he was going to be a big named author one day. MC1 followed his blog and always attending his talks.
“One never knows, Mr. MC1.” Mr. Teacher handed back his slipcard. MC1 shoved it into his pocket, already back to watching the new guy. He leaned against the fence, hanging on with his hands above his head; a chunky watch covered one wrist and the other was layered with leather, yarn, and cord bracelets.
How old-fashioned.
“Time to go!” Mr. Teacher shouted. “Two to a seat.”
MC1 barreled on to the first bus to nab the back seat. He hated feeling knees in his back from idiots behind him. “Hey, Friend1, sit with me.” His friend was skinny as a rail. MC1 would get more of the seat if he sat with him.
Friend2 and Friend3 sat in front of them. MC1 reached up and yanked on Friend2’s hair.
“What the hell, man?”
“It’s getting too long.” MC1 tugged on it again. “You need a cut.” He’d only get to keep his friends as friends if they toed the line his dad made him toe. So he put pressure on them when he had to. He needed his friends. Luckily, they’d been listening to him for years and didn’t really question it anymore.
“Whatever.” Friend2 turned sideways in the seat. “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“Man, can you believe they’re making us go on this trip, again? How many times have we seen the Doestrin caves?”
“Every other year since we were old enough to not piss our pants in the dark.” Friend1 pulled a pack of gum out of his pocket.
“Nah.” MC1 shook his head when Friend1 offered him the pack.
“What kind?” Friend3 was a mooch, but he was picky about the kind of gum he’d chew.
“Café Mocha.”
“Kick ass. Gimme.” Friend3 had a thing for retro sayings. Had to match the name his parents had saddled him with. He snagged two pieces.
“Hey pig, just one,” Friend1 objected.
TBC
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Reading Review: A Moment in Time by Stormy Glenn
A Moment in Time by Stormy GlennMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Shameful editing! I expect better, far better! Not only was the line editing crap, so was the content editing. At one point both Grayson and Apollo are talking in the same paragraph. There are incorrect dialogue punctuation marks and some flat out missing. Grayson tells Brandon on the phone that he can get back to the forest shack in 30 minutes due to the first attack in the woods yet then it takes him a few hours to get there? Plus anyone with a spec of sense knows a forest on a mountain area means no cell towers... so how did Brandon call in the first place?
Then we have the Apollo topping scene. Disaster after disaster. First, Apollo never blindfolds Grayson, yet pushes a blindfold off at the end. He also calls him his sub right at that moment which was totally random and didn't fit the story which did deal with dominance but not D/s. We also get to read completely illogical and physically impossible actions of Apollo seeing Grayson's erection grow even though he was fucking him from behind, and then he 'turns his head' to sink his teeth into Grayson. It's pretty hard to bite sideways or see through a body.
And what the hell is up with purposefully pointing out that this shifter world doesn't involve destined/ I smell you as my mate... and have that be the exact thing that brings them together so they can blurt out they love each other during a few short weeks where they don't get to spend much time at all together? Methinks the author protests too much, cause hello insta-love! This got 2 stars only because the plot finally progressed beyond seemingly random attacks, and we got some damn explanations of the council's motives. Plus I liked the little scenes with the pups.
It's sad to say, but Stormy Glenn is going on my list of experienced authors who know better but are clearly more concerned about quantity over quality, which is a crying shame.
View all my reviews
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Tease Me Thursday!
So here we are again... Tease Me Thursday! What do I have for you today? How about a moment from one of my free reads on GA? A Legend is the Key is one of my forays into fantasy, with a bit of a historical feel to the story. You'll find princes and priests, magic and mayhem... all in one!
His intention was to distract Ken, but the result was so much more. Ken's lips were hard against his so Nyle softened the kiss and began nibbling at his bottom lip. One hand crept up, rubbing along Ken's jaw to feel the scratchy growth of his stubble and then sinking into his newly shorn hair. He licked at the seam between Ken's lips, tasting him for the first time. It was so much more intimate than Nyle had ever expected and heat raced through his body. His hips rocked forward. Ken's hands came up and clenched in his robe.
"Please, Ken," Nyle murmured against his lips. "Come back to me." He closed his eyes and kissed Ken again, hoping that it would work. Those hard lips softened and then Ken's hands were dragging him closer. Swaying into his hard body, Nyle moaned as his prince took over the kiss. He shuddered when a hot wet tongue probing at his mouth urged him to open to it. The feeling when he did was incredible.
Hot and wet, their tongues slid together. Nyle tentatively rubbed against Ken's tongue with his, feeling the rough slickness. He shook as if chilled and an ache set up in his balls as he rapidly hardened. His breathing was ragged and his heart raced; he'd never felt anything like it before. He wanted more, much more.
Ken gave it to him when he pressed forward, rubbing their hips together. Nyle moaned into his mouth and Ken ate the sound, greedily consuming him. Their hard lengths slid together through their robes. Even with the bulky fabric between them, Nyle was close, so close, to losing his essence.
He ripped himself away, leaving Ken standing there with his hands reaching for him.
"Nyle?"
He was so aroused, so ready to explode, that the sound of his name on Ken's lips was almost enough. "Can't," he panted. "Sorry."
His intention was to distract Ken, but the result was so much more. Ken's lips were hard against his so Nyle softened the kiss and began nibbling at his bottom lip. One hand crept up, rubbing along Ken's jaw to feel the scratchy growth of his stubble and then sinking into his newly shorn hair. He licked at the seam between Ken's lips, tasting him for the first time. It was so much more intimate than Nyle had ever expected and heat raced through his body. His hips rocked forward. Ken's hands came up and clenched in his robe.
"Please, Ken," Nyle murmured against his lips. "Come back to me." He closed his eyes and kissed Ken again, hoping that it would work. Those hard lips softened and then Ken's hands were dragging him closer. Swaying into his hard body, Nyle moaned as his prince took over the kiss. He shuddered when a hot wet tongue probing at his mouth urged him to open to it. The feeling when he did was incredible.
Hot and wet, their tongues slid together. Nyle tentatively rubbed against Ken's tongue with his, feeling the rough slickness. He shook as if chilled and an ache set up in his balls as he rapidly hardened. His breathing was ragged and his heart raced; he'd never felt anything like it before. He wanted more, much more.
Ken gave it to him when he pressed forward, rubbing their hips together. Nyle moaned into his mouth and Ken ate the sound, greedily consuming him. Their hard lengths slid together through their robes. Even with the bulky fabric between them, Nyle was close, so close, to losing his essence.
He ripped himself away, leaving Ken standing there with his hands reaching for him.
"Nyle?"
He was so aroused, so ready to explode, that the sound of his name on Ken's lips was almost enough. "Can't," he panted. "Sorry."
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Wednesday Briefs: Lost Inside Chapter Fourteen
Lost Inside Chapter 14
Benny
kept muttering under his breath. He climbed into bed, though. Yuri’s smile
morphed into a giant yawn. “I’m tired.”
“Shut
off the light, and we’ll go to sleep. You have more tests tomorrow.”
Yuri
paused. “With the guys from today?” He couldn’t remember their names, but he
remembered the white coats. “It was a long day.”
“Yes,
with Dr. Poinyard and Dr. Vancould. Bashta and Ellis will be there too.” Benny
smooshed the pillow under his head. Yuri turned off the light.
He
lay back down beside his mate.
“You
cold?”
Yuri
tilted his head up. “No.” Benny’s face was mostly lost in the dim neon light,
but he could make out a little of his features.
“You’re
shaking.”
“Are
they going to stick me again?” He still
had bandaids on his arms. He didn’t like them, they pulled on his arm hair.
Yuri flopped onto his back. “It does not
feel like a pinch when they do that. I don’t like pinches either, though.”
“Maybe.
Yuri…” Benny hesitated.
“What?”
“You’re
so different now.” Benny sounded sad.
“I
know.” Yuri knew people thought he didn’t, but he did. He wasn’t stupid. “Is
that a bad thing?” Maybe Benny didn’t want to be his mate anymore. But they
couldn’t just stop. At least, he didn’t think so.
“We’ll
never stop being mates,” Benny assured him. “You’d have never complained about
shots before, but you would have hated it just as much I bet. I just… do you
want your memories back?”
Yuri
stared into the darkness. “They’re not all good.” He traced his finger over the
bumpy ridges on his side.
“No,
they’re not.” Benny rolled toward him. “But you’d remember us too.”
He
knew Benny, but he didn’t remember when they first met. He didn’t remember
mating him. Yuri twisted onto his stomach. He slid his hand up the slick sheets
to Benny’s hand. It was resting open on the bed.
“I
want that,” he whispered. Benny twined their fingers together. His claws
pricked at the back of Yuri’s hand, but he didn’t care.
***
It
wasn’t weird at all, sleeping in a strange place. Yuri slept hard. When he woke
up he was wrapped around Benny, his cheek buried against the back of Benny’s
neck and head. The stubble on his face rasped against the prickly hair on Benny’s
head. He shivered at the scratchy sensation.
“I
need to shave this morning.” Benny voice was a harsh rasp.
“Uh
huh.” Yuri rubbed against Benny. “Me too. Will you help me?”
Benny
froze. “With shaving?”
“Yeah.
Szorpin usually helps me.” Yuri rolled on to his back. He glanced down. The
sheets were tented from his erection. “I gotta get rid of this first.” The
smell of his mate was all around him and Yuri was enjoying it, a lot, now that
he wasn’t so tired.
“I
can do this myself.” Szorpin told him so the first time it happened. But only
with his door shut. Benny’s door wasn’t shut. He slid over to his side of the
bed and then padded to the door.
“What
are you doing?” Benny rolled onto his back.
“Shutting
the door.”
“Why?”
“So
I can stroke myself.” Yuri pushed his boxers off before he got back on the bed.
“Urghk.”
Benny made a very strange sound. Yuri looked down at Benny’s sheet covered
crotch. The bulge was growing.
“You
can do it too. I mean, it’s your room.” They shared it, so that meant Benny’s
room was his too, so he was okay.
“I…
ah…” Benny’s made that strangled sound in his throat again. Yuri shrugged. He
didn’t feel like waiting anymore.
He
wrapped one hand around his dick and began to stroke it. “Ahh.” Yuri was so hard.
It must be being with his mate. Sometimes he caught whiffs of sex smells on
mates. It wasn’t going to take very long before he spurted.
Yuri
turned his head to get a better smell from the pillow. His mate had a musky, spicy
scent. As good as that was, Benny’s wide eyes staring at him, devouring him,
was better.
“Ugh.”
Yuri grunted. Benny’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Yuri reached down with his
other hand and fondled his balls, rolling the smooth orbs in his sack.
“Oh
shit.” Benny licked his lips.
Yuri
could barely keep his eyes open to watch his mate watch him. He watched a flush
rise up Benny’s chest and over his face through his slitted eyelids. He moved
his hand faster, smoothing the glide with the slick fluid that dribbled out the
tip every time he squeezed his sack. He’d never made so much before. His legs
slid on the bed as he pushed up into his hand.
“Yeah,”
Yuri hissed out the word, holding the note as he went rigid, white sticky globs
of cum squirting out and landing on his stomach. He closed his eyes, listening
to Benny’s groan as he tried to catch his breath.
“Yuri?”
Benny’s voice was even deeper.
“Hmm?”
He liked the after time. He felt so relaxed. “What?”
“Are
you okay?”
“Oh
yeah.” Yuri opened his eyes. “Why?”
“You
just… I-I—”
“You
what?” Yuri glanced down. He must have kicked the sheet off them. A dark patch
stained the front of Benny’s underwear. “Oh, you had fun too.”
Benny
made the sound again. He covered his eyes with his hands. “I feel like I just
took advantage of you.”
“What?
We’re mates. It’s okay.”
“But
you’re not—”
Yuri
sat up. “Don’t tell me what I’m not. I’m not a kid. I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t
do that with someone who wasn’t my mate. But you are, so it’s okay. You shouldn’t
worry so much.” Benny was ruining the after time. Yuri grunted, annoyed as the
cum on his stomach slid down in slimy trails.
“I
want to take a shower.”
“You
go first. I’ll wait.” Benny looked at the clock. “We can pick up something to
eat on the way to the clinic.”
TBC
Now you can either check out the central Briefers' website, or click on the list of authors below!
Jim Dunaway
Victoria Adams
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Visiting Author: JC Wallace with Curiosity Killed Shaney
Please join me in welcoming JC with Curiosity Killed Shaney!! Enjoy the post and excerpt... and enter Shaney's contest!!
Hi, everyone! I want to
thank Cia for inviting me to the blog. Curiosity Killed Shaney is my
first published novel and I am thrilled to share this story with all of you.
This blog tour got huge
fast! There are awesome prizes to that will be given away at the end of the
tour. At the end of this post, you will find a link to enter! Check in at www.jcwallacebooks.com for links to all of the blogs in the tour and you
can enter as much as you like!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hey
everyone, Hudson here. JC’s off actually writing another story. I can’t wait
for that one. He wanted to finish the interview for Shaney and me but Shaney is
currently MIA doing something (probably getting into some kind of trouble). JC
asked me to stop by and post a blog for the tour. I decided to share some
interesting paranormal and other some other facts about the Adirondack
Mountains in NY where Shaney and I live. Our town is Tupper Lake and you can
see it on the map below.
Interesting Paranormal and Other Facts about the
Adirondack Mountains
·
Champ, the Lake Champlain monster, is a prehistoric creature such as a plesiosaur (same as the
Loch Ness Monster) or a tanystropheus. Champ is a member of the elite group of
creatures called cryptozoological animals, which include dragons, unicorns,
Pegasus, Sasquatch (see below), Yeti, and of course, Champ's
"cousin", the Loch Ness Monster. Cryptozoological animals are those
whose existence on earth has never been proven or disproven.
·
Abolitionist John Brown’s farm in North Elba (now a NYS
historic site) is said to be haunted by his son, Billy, who died from being
struck by lightning while plowing.
·
Whitehall, NY, at the southern end of the Adirondacks,
has been the site of numerous Sasquatch (Bigfoot) sightings dating back
hundreds of years.
·
In the late 1800’s to mid-1900s, Saranac Lake was a
world-renowned center for the treatment of tuberculosis, which at the time
included fresh air and complete bed-rest. Cure cottages were erected for the
sick. Several of these cottages remain and many are purported to be haunted by
the sick who died there.
·
There are groups of ghost hunters in the Adirondacks
called the Adirondack Ghost Hunters and the NY Shadow Chasers.
·
The cult slasher film, Sleepaway Camp, was filmed in Fort Edward, Glens Falls and
Argyle. The Hudson Falls police let actor
Allen Breton use one of their actual police uniforms for the movie. When Allen
pulled the gun of the holster during a scene, it was the actual police revolver,
not a prop, and was loaded. Luckily, he wasn’t required shoot anyone at that
moment.
·
The Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing is said to be the
exclusive haunted home to several lost spirits, including a little ghost boy
who walks about haunting the golf course. A ghostly couple can be seen walking through the dining room where upon the man
flings the woman hard to the floor with a thud where she fades into the carpet.
Another creepy ghost is the mysterious lady in white who enters many rooms and
awakens sleepers by peering into their faces and blowing a cold chill on their
eyelids.
·
Serial Killer Robert Garrow lived in Mineville, NY. In
the early 70s, he murdered four people in July 1973. Two of the victim’s bodies
were never recovered and were believed to have been dumped in a mineshaft near
where Garrow lived.
·
In
Dannemora, many ghosts haunt the house on Flagg Street. The image of a man
committing suicide often appears in a bathroom mirror. He actually hung himself
with an electrical cord in that bathroom. Also, a girl murdered by her father
she can often be heard singing.
·
The
most famous murder in the Adirondacks is said to be that of Grace Gillette. In
1906, her new husband drowned her in Moose Lake however, he’d claimed that
she’d accidentally fallen from their canoe. After being found guilty, he was
executed by electric chair.
·
At the now closed Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, the
entrance to the Old Base still has two pillars that are original architecture.
In the past, Sentries working this gate have reported a Revolutionary War era
soldier marching back and forth between the pillars, standing guard.
·
In
Tupper Lake, NY, Shaney Mills stumbled into a ritualistic circle and was imbued
with an energy that allows him to control matter at the point of creation (read
more of his story in Curiosity Killed Shaney!)
I hope you’ve enjoyed these Adirondack facts. Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, the blog tour will visit the blog of
MA Church! Hope
to see you there!
Available at
Blurb: Shaney's curiosity is always getting him into trouble,
including stumbling into a ritualistic circle and being imbued with an energy
that will eventually tear him apart. He soon finds out that Hudson, a man he
cares for deeply, might be responsible for his misfortune. Add in the betrayal
by his best friend Todd and the desire of a demented occultist named Silas to
control the energy inside of him and there seems to be no way out. Can Shaney
find a way to rid his body of the nefarious energy before he dies a horrible
death?
Excerpt
The cabin was dark. Still, the uneasiness plaguing Shaney’s
gut crept through his veins. Todd shifted restlessly beside him.
"Any chanting or pressure to run away?" Todd asked
in a hushed voice.
Shaney peered out into the unnerving darkness. "No
chanting. Running has crossed my mind, but that chicken shit is all on me.”
“Since when does anything remotely interesting scare you
off?” Todd asked.
“Since yesterday,” Shaney replied and waved Todd to follow
him to the stairs leading to the front door.
The dried, crusty remnants of mud crunched beneath Shaney’s
sneakers as he crept up the stairs. Shaney froze on the last step. Shit. The front door was ajar again.
Hudson must have locked it when they’d been there earlier, right? Why would he
have left it open? Shaney’s apprehension kicked into a heart-pounding panic,
but they’d come this far, they couldn’t run now. Using the end of his
flashlight, Shaney warily pushed the door open.
He scanned the interior and his eyes widened as he stepped in
cautiously.
“What the fuck?” he managed to get out.
Pushing in behind him, Todd let out a loud gasp, and then
took a step back. “No.”
What little furniture there had been was piled into the
corners. Complex symbols and shapes drawn in black covered the walls and the
ceiling. Rendered on the old wood floor were more symbols and shapes in what
looked like white chalk.
“I’ve seen these before,” Todd whispered, gesturing to the
cryptic graffiti covering every surface.
“And?” Shaney asked, waiting for the punch line.
“And, fuck, this is bad.”
“Define ‘bad,’” Shaney croaked out.
“Like oh-shit-you-don’t-mess-with-anything-this-powerful
bad.” Todd sounded a bit awestruck.
Shaney continued to run the beam of the flashlight over the
symbols, which looked like a cross between something occult, Egyptian, and
tenth grade geometry class. The symbols ranged from small, about a foot wide,
to massive, like the one on the floor that spanned at least eight feet. Taken
as a whole, each symbol was a dizzying array of angles and intersecting lines.
But looking closely, Shaney could discern repeating patterns such as triangles,
squares, and circles. Other odd shapes and numbers rounded out the symbols. It
was as if he’d jumped straight into an episode of Supernatural. Maybe last year’s attempted exorcism of Shaney’s
alleged demon hadn’t been so far-fetched.
“How fucking long would it take draw something like this?”
The angles were too precise, the lines too straight. Someone had taken
painstaking care in executing these images.
“So not the part
to be focusing on,” Todd said dryly.
“So what’s all of this for? Some kind of magic spell? Some
occult shit? Exorcism? Voodoo?” Shaney
was trying for sarcasm, but with the hair standing up on his neck and tremors
rippling his skin, he couldn’t pull it off. He stared at the massive circular
symbol that consumed the floor and swore the lines were vibrating. He opened
and closed his eyes to try and stop the visual disturbance.
“Yes and no to all of the above,” Todd stated matter-of-factly
while pulling out his phone.
“What’re you doing?”
“Taking pictures.” The blinding white flash lit the room as
Todd methodically documented the symbols without moving closer into the room.
“Change places with me,” Todd said, scooting past Shaney to
capture the symbols on the wall behind him. “Whatever you do don’t step on any
symbols,” Todd said just as Shaney was about to lay his shoe on one.
Shaney twisted mid-step to avoid the small S-shaped symbol
beneath his foot, but his center of balance shifted when he knocked his
shoulder against the open door. The momentum slammed the door shut and Shaney
stumbled back into the room. Flailing his arms, he managed to remain upright.
Todd turned to Shaney. His face paled in the illumination
from their flashlights. His eyes widened in what Shaney could only describe as
unadulterated horror.
Shaney chuckled nervously. “Umm, Todd, I stepped on a
symbol,” Shaney said, standing almost dead center of the largest one on the
floor. No answer. When Shaney tried to move, his lower body wouldn’t respond. Oh, shit. “Todd, I stepped on a fucking
symbol and I can’t move!” Panic flooded his system with adrenaline as he
repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to move. That seemed to snap Todd out of his
trance.
Todd glanced around the room, and Shaney hoped he was
looking for a solution to his dilemma. Todd’s eyes stopped on the closed door.
A partial symbol covering the door lined up with a symbol that was its mirror
image on the wall adjacent to it. Closing the door had made the two halves a
whole.
“Damn it!” Todd sprinted to the door, leaping over symbols
on the floor. He grabbed the handle and yanked hard on the door, but it didn’t
budge.
A low vibration beneath Shaney’s feet pulled his attention
away from Todd’s struggle. He frowned. The vibrations reminded him of an
approaching train on the railroad tracks—and his foot was caught in the
proverbial rails.
“Todd?” Shaney swallowed hard as the vibrating intensified
and filled his legs.
Todd stilled his attempts to open the door and turned back
to Shaney.
“Todd, something’s happening. Get me off of here!” Shaney
pleaded as all of the hairs on his body stood on end. A shot of tingling energy
pulsed up through the soles of his cross trainers, and flashed through his
entire body.
Curiosity Killed Shaney Blog Tour
Giveaway!!
Shaney
is so excited about his story being told that he is giving away some great
prizes!
P.S.
He’s really excited to give them away!
Prizes:
1- $25 Amazon Gift Card
2 Curiosity Killed Shaney Ebooks
2 of Maximus’ “Duct Tape” T-shirts
3 “Freeze Warlock” Coffee Mugs
2 $5 Amazon Gift Cards
You
can enter daily along the blog tour, as often as you like!
About JC Wallace
I have been writing all of my life, however it was just
this year that I ventured out to be published. In my day job, I am a behavior
analyst. At night and on the weekends, I write about all things men. I believe
there is nothing hotter than two men finding and loving one another, whether
for a night or forever. An avid reader of M/M romance, I love a good twist of a
plot, HEA, HFN, or tragic ending.
I am owned by three kids, one grandchild and one on the way, two dogs and one cat. I live in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY
I am owned by three kids, one grandchild and one on the way, two dogs and one cat. I live in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in Northern NY
Friday, March 21, 2014
Reading Review: Ice by L.J. LaBarthe
Ice by L.J. LaBartheMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really, 2.5 stars but I rounded up to three for the rating. I, like many other readers, really expected more from the story. The blurb, the first two or three chapters... they were great. Then we actually MEET the vampires and things move into fast-forward, followed by a whole lot of skip aheads.
Plots need an arc. The beginning was great, as it set us right at the moment of conflict--Koby's inescapable trip to research at a vampire prison slash mine slash research facility in Antarctica. We meet him, see kernels of the ending with his lawyer friend and the set up of the coded messaging system, and then he's off.
While the homophobic director trope isn't new, I really expected more from the man who supposedly rules the facility with an iron first, all while schmoozing the bosses and a lot of the political body public. He felt two dimensional, and didn't have enough face time in the story. I also felt the face time with the vampires was sadly lacking. I read 'dome of horrors' in the description but felt so divorced from the vampires because it was a single visual description of a few cases that the whole dramatic tension was lost for me.
The biggest disappointment was climax. There wasn't one. We barely see the events begin to unfold as Koby and his friends start the chain reaction to free the vampires and bring attention to their so called plight. Then there's a huge timeline jump and a belated focus on the attraction between Koby and Mircea at the end of the story. To be honest, I'd rather have that element completely erased than so poorly realized.
Ice had good bones. The author created a new world, a new paranormal twist, and a nice set-up for a wonderful story. I just wish the editors would've demanded more from the author so we actually received that story.
View all my reviews
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Tease Me Thursday
So I'm trying to take part in a new event MA Church and Julie Hayes organized called Tease Me Thursday. It's 7 words, sentences, or paragraphs that... tease! Complicated, right? LOL
From Burden of Secrets:
From Burden of Secrets:
"Hmm ... I think I'd
like a little bit of Niel for dessert before bed," he whispered, his tongue
grazing Niel's ear.
It affected Niel just as
strongly as it had the first time, making his knees weak and wobbly. He sighed
as he leaned into Chris, bringing his hands up to rub the strong arms
surrounding him. "I don't think I'm sweet enough for dessert," Niel
said throatily.
"Oh no," Chris
said, nuzzling him again. "I've tasted you before. Definitely my favorite
sweet."
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Wednesday Brief: Lost Inside Chapter Thirteen
It's Wednesday! That means it's time for more Lost Inside. Yay!! I hope that you enjoy this week's update inspired by the prompt of someone tripping and falling. *smirks*
Lost Inside Chapter Thirteen
“So
do you live here?” Benny’s scent filled the living room, especially the couch
where they were sitting.
“Yeah.
I work in the bar downstairs. Dav—he’s Ellis’ mate, the Snake who came to the
hospital today—he owns the place.”
Yuri
swiped another glance around the room. He stuffed the last of his burger in his
mouth, then spoke around it. Cleara wasn’t there to nag him for once. “Is that
why it’s so blank?”
Benny
still had some of his burger left. Yuri eyed it, licking bbq sauce off his
fingertips.
“What’s
blank about it?”
“No
annoying thingies sitting out or pictures anywhere. There’s nothing in here but
what has to be.”
His
mate ran his hand over his face, grinding his palm between his eyes back and
forth. He took a deep, shuddery breath. Yuri pulled a leg up on the couch,
wrapping his arms around his shin.
“What
did I say?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit,”
Yuri snapped.
Benny
looked funny with his mouth wide open, but Yuri didn’t laugh. “I’m sick of
people hiding things I should know from me. I know I’m different, but I. Am.
Not. Stupid.” He dropped his feet to the floor and stood. He stomped over to
his shoes by the door. “I’m ready to go now.”
“Go
where?” Benny stood up, reaching for him even though they were across the room.
“I thought you were going to stay with me.”
Yuri
picked up his shoe to untie it. “When did you ask me to do that? You said we
were getting something to eat, that’s all. You didn’t ask if I was going to
stay. You didn’t ask me anything.”
Benny
didn’t say anything as he lowered his hand to his side. “I-I didn’t think about
it like that.”
“Sometimes
the younglings stay over at their friends, but mates stay at home. This isn’t
my home.”
“This
is my home.” Benny pointed at a door down a short hall. “That’s my bedroom. You
can sleep there.”
“This
isn’t very home-like.” Yuri’s claws snagged in the laces of his tennis shoes.
He cursed and shook out the stinging pain.
Benny
winced again, and his ears flattened. “What? What’s wrong?” cried Yuri. “Why won’t you tell me?” Why did everyone treat
him like he didn’t have a brain? He had one. The guy in the white coat had
taken a lot of pictures of it.
“I
don’t want to hurt you.”
Stupid.
“But you did. I can make my own decisions.”
“You
don’t pull any punches, do you?” Benny sighed and sank back down on the couch.
“I guess you probably have a lot of questions people don’t like answering.”
“Yes.
All the time I hear, ‘Yuri, you shouldn’t ask that.’ Well, how else am I going
to know?” Yuri twisted his shoe between his hands. “Are you gonna tell me
stuff? Even if I don’t remember it all?” He knew he forgot a lot. He couldn’t
help it, though.
“If
you really want me to. But, it’s not good stuff, Yuri.”
“But
it has to do with us, right? Mate stuff? Cause Cleara always gets mad at
Szorpin doesn’t wanna talk to her.”
Benny’s
smile was strained. “Just like you got mad at me.”
“I’m
not stupid. Everyone else just thinks too much. It’s easier not worrying about
what everyone else thinks about them all the time.”
“Wow.”
Benny blinked and slumped back against the couch. “That… that makes a lot of
sense. You’re not a kid, and you’re not stupid; you just don’t get wrapped up
in worrying about things.”
“Why
should I? So what if people look at me weird.” Yuri knew they did. “Life’s too
short.” Szorpin always said that. Cleara yelled when he said the bad words, but
she wasn’t here. Yuri kinda liked that she wasn’t.
“I
agree. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you about dinner, or coming over, or spending the
night.”
“I
like being alone with you.” Yuri dropped his shoe. He plopped down on the couch
again.
Benny
blinked. “I like being alone with you too.”
Yuri
yawned. “I’m kinda tired.”
“You
can sleep here, if you want, or we can go back to your room at the Falcon’s
house.” Benny rubbed his head. “You decide.”
Finally!
Yuri beamed. “I’d like to stay here.”
“I’ll
sleep on the couch.” Benny picked up the boxes from their dinner. Yuri grabbed
the soda cans and followed Benny into the kitchen. “You can have the bed.”
“Is
it a little bed?” His bed wasn’t too big. Sometimes Yuri even rolled off when
he was sleeping.
“No.”
Benny smiled at him. “You’ll fit.”
“Can
we both fit?” Yuri put the cans on the counter. He fiddled with the end of his
shirt. “Mates sleep together.”
Benny
groaned and his ears flattened.
“What?
Does your stomach hurt?” Yuri was so full his stomach felt stretched. He’d been
really hungry, but now he was tired. He yawned.
“Uhh,
no.” Benny took a deep breath. “Let’s go get ready for bed. I have some shorts
you can wear.”
It
was weird getting ready for bed in a different bathroom. He didn’t have his
toothbrush, and the toilet was on the wrong side. Yuri liked Benny’s bed
though. It was way bigger than his. When he got in while Benny took a turn in
the bathroom, he still had plenty of room to spread out. He rolled over. No
falling off! Yuri crawled back over to his side.
“Oh
shit!” Yuri heard a thud. He looked over his shoulder.
“Benny?”
His
mate cleared his throat. “Yeah?”
“What
are you doing on the floor?”
Benny
stared up at him. He was rubbing a knee. “Um. I tripped.”
“Why?”
A
red flush crept up Benny’s face. He opened his mouth and then shut it. “I’m
clumsy.”
“Do
you need me to kiss your knees better?”
Benny
groaned. “Um, no. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.
I like your bed.” Yuri bounced. “It’s bouncy!”
"Oh, god."
TBC
Now, you can check out the Central Briefer's site or use this list to check out all the other great updates by the other flashers! And please welcome the newest Briefer, TC Collins!
TC Collins MA Church
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