So, why did I start writing. Well, I really like rural/country settings. I grew up on the small ranch in Oklahoma, so that was pretty much my world for the first half of my life. But I would read through most of the stuff I was finding and thought ‘those guys sound dumb. Not everyone who lives in the country is a stupid redneck’.
At first I just ignored those stories, but after a while it started bugging me. Eventually, I decided I could do better than that, and started hammering out the first story. In the beginning I had no intentions of doing more than a few chapters of two guys falling for each other. I wrote the first chapter, and waited. I was pretty terrified of what people would say about the writing. I could just imagine being ripped to shreds. But after a week or so, I worked up enough courage to punch send.
Well that was the first chapter of Wrangler Butts, which still exists on Gay Author, Nifty, and Literotica. I didn’t get roasted for those first rough chapters. I got words of encouragement and support. Other people could relate to what I had written. Score! So that first hopelessly head hopping chapter was the beginning of what is a three “book” series and soon to be fourth when I continue the saga as part of my Wednesday Flash series titled Double Trouble.
I owe a lot to those early supporters. They were the first to plant the thought of being published. But I did think about it and finally decided I wanted to take the next step. Crossfire is the first in 2014, but over the next year I have contracts for the release of another short story, two novellas and two novels. Things have changed over the past few years.
So that’s a short explanation of why I started putting my ideas down on paper. I hope everyone enjoys Crossfire as much as I loved writing it. ~ Jon ~
Story Synopsis:
Rick Anthis, a forty-five year old veteran of the Colorado State Police, and his husband, Gabriel Thorkelson, a deputy sheriff in a nearby county, enjoy the peace of their suburban Boulder home. Until three gunshots rip through the tranquil neighborhood and Rick witnesses the kidnapping of his buddy, eight year old Jacob.
The clues are sparse until Gabe reminds Rick of something Jacob had said. Rick has a starting point. He and his CSI team locate the remote hideout, only to find the the kidnappers are gone, and Gabe is missing too.
Story Excerpt: Rick dried the last dish and handed it to Gabriel to put away. Gabriel settled the last plate into the white cabinets. He loved their house and the quiet, older neighborhood it was in. He hoped Mark and Rachel could work out their issues, keeping Jacob in the forefront.
Rick put his hand around Gabriel's slender waist. He's as sexy as he was in college. Damn just being next to him makes me randy. Releasing Gabriel, Rick folded the dishtowel carefully and laid it beside the sink. "Supper was great. You're a damn fine cook."
Gabriel snickered and spun to pop Rick with a wet towel. "It should taste good. Your mother gave me herbs from her garden the last time we visited."
"Mom's just trying to fatten me up. I'm kind of skinny for a forty-three year old Greek man."
The towel snapped against Rick's butt again and he grabbed at it. Gabriel danced away, his face lit with delight. "Where does that leave me?"
Rick swept Gabriel up and kissed him. "It leaves you in my arms, just where you should be."
Rick paused as he remembered the note in his pocket. Leaving his hand on the small of Gabriel's back he reached in his shirt pocket and fished out a small piece of yellow paper. He gripped it between two fingers and dangled the sheet in front of Gabriel.
"Speaking of, I found another note in my lunch."
Gabriel studied the symbols on the page as if he'd never seen them. "Huh, what do you think that means?"
Rick smiled. "I know what it's meant the last dozen times I found one in my lunch."
"Really? And what was that?" "It meant I was going to be exhausted the whole next day."
"You don't say. Let me see that." Gabriel took the paper from Rick's hand and appeared to study the content. "Looks like Native American symbols. Hmm, maybe 'bear' and 'hunt'." He smiled at Rick with a glimmer in his eyes. "Are we going on a bear hunt this fall?" Gabriel reached up and tugged on the short hair coming from the top of Rick's T-shirt. The slight touch shifted his libido into high gear.
He nuzzled his face against Gabriel's throat and sighed at the spicy fragrance that curled through his nostrils. Rick slid his hand under Gabriel's shirt; the rub of his chest hair on Rick's palm ignited his desire. "What's the sign for otter? Because I think I need to hunt one of those little furry things." I still can't believe Mom gave Gabe my Eagle Scout pictogram project.
Author Bio Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But as puberty set in he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books.
A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.
Author Links
E-mail: jon.keys@ymail.com
Twitter: @Jon4Keys
Bought it, read it, loved it. I have all Jon Key's published works and always enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteI loved the guest post, it's always fun to hear why authors start writing. :D
ReplyDeleteruralmom08 (at) gmail.com