Joel Rush

I honestly don’t remember where I first saw this photo of actor/model Joel Rush and, try as I might, I can’t seem to locate a photographer’s name to give credit here for this shot being the inspiration behind my short story What.

The first thing I thought when I saw this photo was this man is upset, troubled by something, maybe frustrated, and I’ve just interrupted him trying to sort things out. He turned to look at me and barked, “What?”

So I had to answer his question. Or, actually, Sam had to, and Sam very much did not want to, but felt he had a duty to explain himself… Since it’s his fault… Jeremy’s in this mood to begin with… Because the guys in the tattoo shop were… Fighting again and Sam’s pretty sure it was his fault even though he can’t figure out why. Yeah, that.

This story turned out to be the first shifter story I had ever attempted, then I tacked on a little GFY and some hurt/comfort. I ended up with a roughly 4,000-word story about Sam discovering that, not only is his boss and the man he’s loved from afar a werepanther, but Jeremy’s also got one hell of a mating instinct going on for Sam. Sam and Jeremy riding off into the night to begin their relationship after a handjob, some kitty domination and claiming, and a long talk about what’s going on with everybody wrapped up the story pretty well for me.

But the story wasn’t really done-done.

Going back into Sam and Jeremy’s world, I decided that gay mates in the werepanther prides was previously been forced to live a little like soldiers under DADT. Jeremy, though, he’s not the type of guy who’ll just accept that he’s not allowed to publicly claim Sam as his own like anyone else who, through some miracle, has found their one true mate. All kinds of rules govern these werepanthers and now that Jeremy has successfully lobbied for gay mate rights, there are rules he and Sam have to follow. Jeremy’s just a little leery of one of them since, until Sam, Jeremy was straight. It’s up to stuttering, submissive Sam to step up and be the man Jeremy needs him to be so they can have the future they deserve.

There is also an incident with a squirrel.

All told, this photo of the gorgeous Joel Rush inspired in me a short story of 19,000+ words that firmly establishes the relationship of Sam and Jeremy with a very nice HEA. So, coming in late-spring/early-summer from Amber Allure is What by Missy Welsh.

Sometime in November/December, I got it in my head that I had all these short stories all over both my blog here and my harddrive. Some were far too short to meet publisher requirements for an individual ebook, most of them were already free in here, and I honestly didn’t think anyone would want to publish a collection of short stories by just one author — and a relative newbie at that. So I thought about self-publishing and actually went to work assembling all the shorts, editing them like crazy, expanding What from 4K words to over 19K words, and so on until I thought the collection would make a worthy purchase at about 60K words with a good mix of new and updated stories.

Then I looked at my bookshelf and saw my signed copy of Over the Edge by Rick Reed as published by Amber Quill Press. It’s a collection of short stories. Oh hey! Could I…? Would they…? I mean, I’m not in his league, but…

Couldn’t hurt to ask if they’d be at all interested in such a thing, at least. Take a chance and what the hell and all that, right? Worst they could do is say they weren’t interested.

Well, my little gamble paid off because, within a couple weeks, they accepted every single story I sent them!

Beginning in late-spring/early-summer and continuing into the fall, AQP/Amber Allure will release the following from little ol’ me:

• What — updated and expanded
• Yours Forever — new story
• Oscar’s Soul — updated
• Come Cuddle Me — new story
• Happy Endings: Briefs — a collection of very short stories that appeared in blog posts here with new content as well
• Happy Endings: Shorts — a paperback book of the short story collection

I cried when they told me all that and then cried more when I told friends and family. I took a chance, it worked, and I am now a new member of the Amber Quill Press family.

Where M.J. and Piper Play!

Today, I’ve done a guest post over on Babes in Boyland, the combo blog of the “sweet and awfully cute” authors M. J. O’Shea and Piper Vaughn, where I talk about breaking through unmotivation.

Many of you may know that I’m currently unemployed and have been for a year (with a brief stint in a temp job that failed to help much). Tuning out all that stress, worry and self-doubt to write has been an enormous challenge for me. I have learned some tricks along the way, though, to kick start my motivation. Now I share those with all of you as one of M. J. and Piper’s author posts about the writing life.

So hop on over to Babes in Boyland to learn about such things as:

• Doing it anyway
• Ignoring the shiny
• Interviewing characters
• What to read, and
• Why you shouldn’t discount the fine art of manipulating family members.

Break through that unmotivation! Because, for Pete’s sake, if I can do it you certainly can.

Over on Clare London’s LiveJournal, she has 10 posts with either free stories right there waiting for you, or links to a bazillion other free stories to read or download.

Some are her own, but she also recruited a bunch of her author and publisher friends to give up the goods. (Like me!)

It is Clare’s birthday after all.

So hop on over to Clare’s LJ and indulge in a Saturday of titillating free reads.

It could require Sunday too.

And don’t forget to wish Clare a very happy birthday!

Brian dropped everything last year when his mother became ill so he could take care of her until the day she died. People he thought were friends didn’t stick with him and he’s somehow become kind of a recluse without meaning to be. Only Mike, his best friend since they were kids, has stuck by him and is now saving him from homelessness after a fire destroys Brian’s apartment building days before Christmas. Though Mike has to go down South for the holiday, Brian stays in Mike’s apartment with his slightly singed kitten Oreo.

Brian’s only goal is to set his affairs back in order before everything shuts down for the holidays and then make it through those holidays in one piece. He’s lost so much–his only real possession is a photo album of his mom that he risked death to save from the fire–and he’s feeling lost and very alone…until Mike, his hot neighbor Trent, and even little Oreo conspire to give Brian the best Christmas possible and a future that looks a lot brighter.

For an excerpt and purchase options, please visit my Every Time a Bell Rings page. Thank you!

Except that wasn’t working.

I discovered today that what really helps me is thinking of them as love scenes — that is the goal for my books, after all — and being inspired by real life love gets me writing that scene. Maybe it’s a photo of a couple just sharing a smile or a hug and you can just see in their eyes what they mean to each other. Maybe it’s a poem or a letter written 100 years ago wherein one person longs for the other from such a great distance.

That’s what helped me today, seeing real love put out there for the world to see. Amazingly enough, I found it in Tumblr and I’m going to start sharing the photos that inspire me in there later today. (Up above in the header, there’s a new icon that looks like Flickr, but it’ll take you to my Tumblr page.)

Even though I’m going to go write about some very graphic and naughty things, it’s all in the name of love, baby.

Christmas is the handbell season, and I can remember going with Mamie to practices. Trinity Church is this massive structure that makes me think of castles and knights for all its heavy woodwork, alcoves and bright stained glass. To hear those bells inside that space was to touch on something heavenly for me. Nowadays, I can’t hear them and not remember my Mamie and what it felt like to be a child awed by what she could do with a simple little bell.

Here’s a YouTube video of my favorite Christmas song, Carol of the Bells, that should give you a taste of it’s like to experience handbells at a Christmas service. (Turn your sound down a bit to avoid a tinny sound to the bells.)

Brian dropped everything last year when his mother became ill so he could take care of her until the day she died. People he thought were friends didn’t stick with him and he’s somehow become kind of a recluse without meaning to be. Only Mike, his best friend since they were kids, has stuck by him and is now saving him from homelessness after a fire destroys Brian’s apartment building days before Christmas. Though Mike has to go down South for the holiday, Brian stays in Mike’s apartment with his slightly singed kitten Oreo.

Brian’s only goal is to set his affairs back in order before everything shuts down for the holidays and then make it through those holidays in one piece. He’s lost so much–his only real possession is a photo album of his mom that he risked death to save from the fire–and he’s feeling lost and very alone…until Mike, his hot neighbor Trent, and even little Oreo conspire to give Brian the best Christmas possible and a future that looks a lot brighter.

IMHO this is a bittersweet, sometimes funny, and definitely sexy short story. Just explaining the significance of the photo album and what Trent does with one of the photos for Brian had my mother crying! There are some funny bits too, though–I hope!–as well as a few antics from a spunky kitten that any cat lover should recognize from their own furry friends.

BUY NOW FROM MLR PRESS and don’t neglect to check out the other Christmas stories now available!

You and a Billion Blue Tiles
has been nominated for a Member’s Choice Award in the following categories:

BEST TITLE

BEST SHORT STORY 25 PAGES OR 15K WORDS OR LESS (BOOK)

BEST FREE STORY

If you are a member of the Goodreads M/M Romance group (or would like to become one!) and are interested in voting please do so before December 30, 2011, by clicking here to get to the survey.

Numb. Nut.

So the inquisitive K-lee Klein has interviewed me over on her blog, Chaos in the Moonlight, and if you head over there and leave a comment with your email before December 20, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Every Time a Bell Rings before its release day.

Then there’s Taylor V. Donovan of the Chicks ‘n Dicks collaborative who has an excerpt of Every Time a Bell Rings up as part of their Jingle Your Balls Month of Christmas-themed pimpage. Hop over there to read about when Brian meets Trent.

Thanks very much, ladies, and please forgive the numb-nutted-ness.