I need to talk about the fact that I've not met my announced and intended goal of getting Rising Wolf out this year. It's not that I've stopped working on it. It's that my health has declined. I admit I'm floored by the personal limitations and my own poor adjustment to the changes. I'm finding these limitations and consequences when I try to ignore these limitations very difficult. I am struggling with this and with other personal issues, and have been for quite some time.
I hate writing this, and I hate admitting defeat in terms of meeting a goal. I want to offer my apologies if I've disappointed anyone. I hope that in the end I make it worth the wait.
I'd like to focus on the positive. The fact that Rising Wolf seems to
have turned into a full-blown novel is one of those positives.
Novels
are their own animal, aren't they? They have a different pace, more
threads in the tapestry so to speak, a more deeply realized world
within the story. It's fascinating and challenging to weave it into a strong, cohesive piece.
I've not forgotten the people who love Mal and Zach and want to see more of them. There IS more of them, I promise you that. I will share them with you as soon as I can. All other projects are on hold while I finish their story. I am not stopping the work. I am focused on getting it done.
Looking into the lives of Mal and Zach the way I have been, expanding on their pasts, their families ... writing about how hard they fight to stay together, I'm not completely sure that this novel is the end of their story. Time will tell.
To those of you who love these guys as a couple and want them to be together, I'll tell you this: so do I. And so do they.
(Read the first chapter of Rising Wolf)
I'm a geek and a writer. I love comic books, classic movie monsters, everlasting love, old pulp fiction and genres outside of the mainstream.
I write under two names. As Theda Black, I write about men in love with other men. I write fairy tales, urban legends and horror under the name of Klaudia Bara.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
review: Horns by Joe Hill
Horns by Joe HillMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
My first Joe Hill book. The author is skilled, but I didn't find the characters engaging. The action felt a bit clumsy at the end, or maybe just too understated. As much as I enjoy certain kinds of horror, this was ugly *and* dreary, proceeding at a glacial pace. I'm not objecting to horror being ugly and dreary. Part of the reason I disliked it so was precisely because, horns notwithstanding, much of it felt possible and true to life in the ugliest of ways. I want to give the author credit for that, but I still can't personally rate it with even two stars. The story was meandering, and since I didn't engage with anyone, I didn't care to meander with them.
Things I did enjoy - the conversations between friends during the course of the book felt natural and real. The ugliness at the beginning with the compulsive conversations between Ig and loved ones was wicked sharp and hurtful, a terrible contrast. I was glad that even with the horrors Ig faced, in the end he found the truth of his relationship with Merrin. The Lee POV scenes and revelation of how he treated his mom were pure psychopathy, striking when juxtaposed with the kindness of his friends - a punch to the gut I hated, but appreciated the skill with which it was done. Loved Mom's last lucid, strangely dignified conversation with Lee.
Hated all the italics.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
JOYLAND review
Joyland by Stephen KingMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
First, the cover: I loved it. A callback to pulp fiction at its finest. There's a hardcover edition, but I far prefer this art.
I like King when he writes small (small is less than 300 pages - for King, anyway). No huge cast, just Devin Jones and the people he interacts with. It's a coming of age novel, which I'm always interested in (or writing about). It's got an amusement park, which I'm always fascinated by (strange, considering I don't ride rides, never have). And it's horror, King style.
Except it's not that horrific. No, it is, but it's not in your face monsters-aliens-supernatural horror. No spaceships here. It's quieter. Matured, the same as Mr. King. It's the monsters that adults recognize - the ones that come for little kids and adults in the form of disease, that comes for others in the form of a psychopath.
Sure, the story has a hint of other-worldness, ghosts flitting around the edges of the frame, but mostly it's life and death and courage, lost love and growing up. It's not fast-moving, but it's good, fascinating characterization.
As for the ending - my guess was correct well before the reveal. It didn't hamper my enjoyment.
View all my reviews
Monday, August 5, 2013
extended version of RISING WOLF excerpt - includes a scene of Mal and Zach together again
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/338779-rising-wolf-sequel-to-beneath-the-neon-moon
Mal walked out of his apartment Saturday evening, his stomach a jumble of excitement and nerves. He'd gone to the store earlier that day and picked up more food and some household supplies. There had been no smell, no sound, no one from the wolf pack near by. If his luck held tonight, finally, finally he'd get to see Zach again. He couldn't remember feeling anything close to this before, his body taut with anticipation, pulse hammering in his throat and beating at his temples, adrenaline surging. All of it because of how much he wanted to see Zach, touch him, feel Zach's breath against his own skin. Make sure he was okay, and that he still wanted them enough to risk the danger involved.
Mal reined himself in, keeping his control with tight effort. He stepped outside. The Meadows' porch spanned the width of the building. A wooden swing hung from the ceiling on one side, two rusted chairs on the other end, a table with a shallow clay pot of mother-in-law's tongue reaching toward the porch ceiling. A crumpled cigarette butt was half buried in the dirt at the base of the plant.
The sun was almost gone, twilight settling in. The wind blew, short little gusts, hard enough that the porch swing creaked on its chains. An inebriated girl walked unsteadily on the sidewalk in front of the apartments, short shorts in neon pink contrasting with her tan. Mal saw no one else.
It didn't matter. He smelled another wolf nearby, and not just any wolf. Kane, one of his captors from the weekend, had been on the porch recently. The scent was faint but clear.
Mal bit his lip, excitement strangled, stomach plunging sickly to somewhere around the vicinity of his shoes. He couldn't go to Zach. He'd been stupid to think he could without endangering him. His hands doubled into fists, a hot ball of rage growing in his gut.
His eyes swept the area left and right to the apartments. Mal headed around the building for the parking lot. Kane's scent grew stronger, and he turned in a circle, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. Kane was definitely somewhere in the parking lot.
The streetlights blinked on, the glass in the asphalt glittering. The edges of the lot remained mostly in darkness thanks to wild hedges growing tall and hanging over the pavement. The asphalt held heat from the day. It seeped up through the bottom of Mal's shoes.
Each step he took mocked him. Had he thought it would be easy, that he could just go to Zach without the wolf pack interfering? He had known his time was running out. He hadn't wanted to see it, couldn't accept not seeing Zach again.
Kane stepped out from the shadows at the end of the lot where Mal was staring. He walked fluidly toward Mal, an easy stride. His hair looked black in the lowering light. He was shorter and thinner than Aaron, but despite that fact, no less imposing.
Mal moved to stand by his car, raising a palm to the rooftop and resting it there. He smirked. "Where's Aaron?"
Kane nodded an acknowledgment, eyes narrowing. "He's healing. And he will heal. Where'd you get the bright idea to hit him with silver?"
Mal ignored the question. "What do you want?"
"It's not just me or Aaron you're fighting against. It's all of us. Your pack, like it or not. You can't wipe all of us out."
Mal's fingers drummed on the roof of the Audi. "You guys have a lot of trouble with the words no and fuck off, don't you? If I wanted to be part of a pack, the last thing I'd do is join in with the bastards who forced me into this in the first place."
Kane stopped on the other side of the Audi, propping his elbows on the hood.
"And get the fuck off my car."
Kane grinned and dropped his arms to his sides. He sighed. "Alphas. Even amongst their company, you've given new meaning to the word difficult." He waited a moment. "And Aaron says fuck you, by the way."
"Too bad he's not here to tell me himself. You already have a pack alpha, don't you? Seems like they wouldn't want competition around."
"We have two. Argent and Kyra. You'll probably compete with them eventually, but that's the way it works." Kane shrugged. "Leadership is earned, not given. Our pack is as strong as each of us makes it. You, brother, are strong. We want you in." He gave Mal a pointed look. "You'd know this already if you'd stop fighting us."
Mal shook his head, short and tight. He could feel his upper lip trying to curl. "Not in my nature."
Kane nodded, his eyes dropping to Mal's mouth. He held up his hands. "You've made that clear. But I'm here to deliver a message."
"From who?"
"Kyra. The female alpha protects the whelps—for a short while, anyway. If you make it difficult and Argent has to bring you in after her protection lapses … " Kane smiled, giving a quick nod of his head. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, after what you did to Aaron."
"I don't give a damn about her message."
"Listen to it anyway. Kyra invites you to a pack meeting. Sunset, the night of the new moon. At the cabin where we turned you." Kane walked backwards, slow step after step. He grinned at Mal. "And remember that if you don't show, Argent will come after you, whelp."
Mal took quick steps after him, grabbing by the collar and pulling his face close. "Call me by my name. Nothing else, you got that?"
Kane looked into his eyes, then dropped his gaze.
Mal flung him away. He turned his back to Kane and walked to the car. He smelled Kane, the scent lingering closely, sweat and menace and anger. Fear. And there was the scent of other wolves nearby, too. Three others from the shadows beyond the parking lot.
Mal unlocked his car door. He started the Audi, pulling out onto the drive that led to the front of the apartment building. He turned right onto the road. At the stop sign he looked back. Two cars pulled out of the lot behind his apartment, following.
It was after midnight before he lost them. He parked in a Kroger parking lot, walked in the store. At the end of the aisle, he looked back and saw Kane and three others, walking shoulder to shoulder, approaching the automated doors. He found a swinging door at the back of the store and went inside the stock room, finding a back door, locked from the outside but not inside. He took it and ran across a road behind the store, keeping to shadows, under trees, stopping and listening, then cutting through yards, running and finally slowing to a fast walk. He didn't let himself think about what could have happened if he'd went to Zach without realizing the wolves were after him. Self-recrimination was for after they were gone.
He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. He walked until he was sure he couldn't smell them, couldn't hear or see them, and then he kept walking.
Oh God, I almost brought them to Zach. He said it over and over, shock waves expanding inside his head, imagining what might happen to Zach if Mal was ever so goddamn fucking stupid as to actually lead them to Zach's home. He had to remember this moment and make sure he never, ever again let his own need to see Zach overcome caution and good sense.
He began to panic after the fact, another stupid thing, but undeniable. The night air was comfortable but he was sweating buckets, panting in great breaths of air. He couldn't stop moving. He started across a small neighborhood park sandwiched between two narrow roads. Either side of the park was lined by trees at the street.
His cell rang again. It'd been ringing off and on for the last couple of hours. Mal started violently, looking up and down the park. No one. He smelled nothing but grass and a cat who'd marked the trunk of one of the trees recently, and further beyond it the faint sharpness of chemicals from a pool in someone's yard. He heard frogs croaking. He dropped the phone and cursed, picked it up and put it to his ear. His hand trembled.
"Mal? Are you there?" Zach said, the words quick and hard.
Mal heard him breathing, waiting for him. He sank down on the end of a sliding board some two feet off the ground. It was one of those enormous, colorful plastic and metal contraptions.
"Mal? Say something. Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I can't. Can't come see you," Mal said, struggling to say the words. "I'm sorry."
"Just—shit, Mal, are you hurt?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Stop asking stupid questions," Mal said, each word strangled, jerked out of him.
Zach laughed. It was all wrong, terrified. "Where are you?"
"Walking." He guessed the attempt at casual hadn't cut it.
"Walking where?"
"I don't know."
"Find a road sign."
"You can't come get me."
"Jesus, you're scaring the shit out of me. Tell me you're safe."
Mal swallowed. He couldn't get control of his fear. "Yes."
"If you're safe, why can't I come get you?"
"Because they followed me and I fucking almost led them to you. We can't do this. They'll find you."
Zach huffed through the phone. "Are they gone?"
"Aren't you listening? They'll find you, and it'll be my fault. No."
"Are they gone?"
"Yes."
"Then there's no way they can find me. Find a goddamn road sign or I'll go to your apartment and wait for you."
"No!" Mal sprang up. The muscles in his legs quivered. "Promise me you won't!"
"I'm sorry, okay, I won't," Zach said, sounding pretty worked up, "but find a road sign, Mal. I'm going crazy."
Mal knew he should leave and find his way home, but he was afraid Zach would show up at his place if pushed too far. He stood and walked out of the park, phone in hand. He stopped on the sidewalk looping around it. Bugs crawled underfoot, and a black shadow flew over one of the streetlamps. He saw a street sign at the end of the block but he couldn't make it out yet, so he started walking.
"Mal. Mal? Talk to me."
"It's Calhoun. I'm on Calhoun at the intersection of Rogers."
"I'm coming after you. Wait for me."
"Please don't. I said I'm okay, Zach."
"I know what you said. Promise me you'll wait."
"I'm in the park," he said, and hung up, walked back to the park to wait. He paced to and fro. He felt better, concealed somewhat inside the circle of trees.
After a while he heard Zach's truck approach. His legs felt rubbery all of a sudden, so he moved to the bottom of the slide again and sat on it, waiting. The truck's engine cut off in front of the park. He heard the truck door open and close, heard Zach approaching, his breathing and his heart rate both too fast. He sat still, waiting, the air flooded with the smell of Zach, heat and aftershave, soap and sweat, pheromones, and he wanted. Hands on Zach's skin, touching shoulders and under his arms, everywhere, mouth on him, licking and biting, kissing and fucking, close enough to breathe in and smell Zach as if he were part of him. But each step Zach took that brought him closer clarified things for Mal. Zach's pupils were black and dilated, his heart racing, and his face was pale like when Zach had come after Mal at the store. All the fear he read in Zach was overwhelming. It made him ashamed and paralyzed.
He was fucking everything up. He couldn't afford this. Zach couldn't.
Zach stopped, standing over Mal, a black shadow.
Mal looked up. "I can't do this." The words came out ragged. He licked his lips.
Zach swallowed, a dry click in his throat. "Why?"
"You know why."
"I know you're worried about me, but you're the one in danger. You can't expect me to ignore that."
"I can. I'll beg if it'll make a difference. You're the one good thing to get out of that fucking basement. You don't know what it'll do to me if you get hurt."
Light came from the streetlights behind the trees, pouring over Zach's head. He leaned over Mal, eyes glittering, chest heaving. "You're better than I could ever hope to be, dammit." He grabbed Mal's jaw in his hand, forcing his head up higher. "Don't talk like you don't matter when you know how much you matter to me. Don't ask me to go, Mal. We'll figure out how to fight them, I promise." He bent, covering Mal's mouth with his.
He was too gentle to fight. A small, surprised breath left Mal's lips, puffing into Zach's mouth. He felt Zach breath it in, tasting it, tasting him, and then Zach's tongue was pushing into Mal's mouth, sliding over his teeth and rubbing against Mal's tongue, coaxing. Zach's hand slid from his jaw to cradle the back of Mal's head. He moved in deeper, all heat and slow, pained desperation, kissing Mal gently and thoroughly.
Mal grunted, a short, bitten off sound. He felt naked, exposed in a way he couldn't remember feeling before, wanting someone so much, more of Zach's hands on him, his mouth, all of it feeling like coming home, something they were together that he'd never felt before.
Zach tipped Mal's chin back further, a defenseless posture Mal would never allow since being bitten and turned. But it was Zach. It felt so incredibly good, letting go.
Mal walked out of his apartment Saturday evening, his stomach a jumble of excitement and nerves. He'd gone to the store earlier that day and picked up more food and some household supplies. There had been no smell, no sound, no one from the wolf pack near by. If his luck held tonight, finally, finally he'd get to see Zach again. He couldn't remember feeling anything close to this before, his body taut with anticipation, pulse hammering in his throat and beating at his temples, adrenaline surging. All of it because of how much he wanted to see Zach, touch him, feel Zach's breath against his own skin. Make sure he was okay, and that he still wanted them enough to risk the danger involved.
Mal reined himself in, keeping his control with tight effort. He stepped outside. The Meadows' porch spanned the width of the building. A wooden swing hung from the ceiling on one side, two rusted chairs on the other end, a table with a shallow clay pot of mother-in-law's tongue reaching toward the porch ceiling. A crumpled cigarette butt was half buried in the dirt at the base of the plant.
The sun was almost gone, twilight settling in. The wind blew, short little gusts, hard enough that the porch swing creaked on its chains. An inebriated girl walked unsteadily on the sidewalk in front of the apartments, short shorts in neon pink contrasting with her tan. Mal saw no one else.
It didn't matter. He smelled another wolf nearby, and not just any wolf. Kane, one of his captors from the weekend, had been on the porch recently. The scent was faint but clear.
Mal bit his lip, excitement strangled, stomach plunging sickly to somewhere around the vicinity of his shoes. He couldn't go to Zach. He'd been stupid to think he could without endangering him. His hands doubled into fists, a hot ball of rage growing in his gut.
His eyes swept the area left and right to the apartments. Mal headed around the building for the parking lot. Kane's scent grew stronger, and he turned in a circle, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. Kane was definitely somewhere in the parking lot.
The streetlights blinked on, the glass in the asphalt glittering. The edges of the lot remained mostly in darkness thanks to wild hedges growing tall and hanging over the pavement. The asphalt held heat from the day. It seeped up through the bottom of Mal's shoes.
Each step he took mocked him. Had he thought it would be easy, that he could just go to Zach without the wolf pack interfering? He had known his time was running out. He hadn't wanted to see it, couldn't accept not seeing Zach again.
Kane stepped out from the shadows at the end of the lot where Mal was staring. He walked fluidly toward Mal, an easy stride. His hair looked black in the lowering light. He was shorter and thinner than Aaron, but despite that fact, no less imposing.
Mal moved to stand by his car, raising a palm to the rooftop and resting it there. He smirked. "Where's Aaron?"
Kane nodded an acknowledgment, eyes narrowing. "He's healing. And he will heal. Where'd you get the bright idea to hit him with silver?"
Mal ignored the question. "What do you want?"
"It's not just me or Aaron you're fighting against. It's all of us. Your pack, like it or not. You can't wipe all of us out."
Mal's fingers drummed on the roof of the Audi. "You guys have a lot of trouble with the words no and fuck off, don't you? If I wanted to be part of a pack, the last thing I'd do is join in with the bastards who forced me into this in the first place."
Kane stopped on the other side of the Audi, propping his elbows on the hood.
"And get the fuck off my car."
Kane grinned and dropped his arms to his sides. He sighed. "Alphas. Even amongst their company, you've given new meaning to the word difficult." He waited a moment. "And Aaron says fuck you, by the way."
"Too bad he's not here to tell me himself. You already have a pack alpha, don't you? Seems like they wouldn't want competition around."
"We have two. Argent and Kyra. You'll probably compete with them eventually, but that's the way it works." Kane shrugged. "Leadership is earned, not given. Our pack is as strong as each of us makes it. You, brother, are strong. We want you in." He gave Mal a pointed look. "You'd know this already if you'd stop fighting us."
Mal shook his head, short and tight. He could feel his upper lip trying to curl. "Not in my nature."
Kane nodded, his eyes dropping to Mal's mouth. He held up his hands. "You've made that clear. But I'm here to deliver a message."
"From who?"
"Kyra. The female alpha protects the whelps—for a short while, anyway. If you make it difficult and Argent has to bring you in after her protection lapses … " Kane smiled, giving a quick nod of his head. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, after what you did to Aaron."
"I don't give a damn about her message."
"Listen to it anyway. Kyra invites you to a pack meeting. Sunset, the night of the new moon. At the cabin where we turned you." Kane walked backwards, slow step after step. He grinned at Mal. "And remember that if you don't show, Argent will come after you, whelp."
Mal took quick steps after him, grabbing by the collar and pulling his face close. "Call me by my name. Nothing else, you got that?"
Kane looked into his eyes, then dropped his gaze.
Mal flung him away. He turned his back to Kane and walked to the car. He smelled Kane, the scent lingering closely, sweat and menace and anger. Fear. And there was the scent of other wolves nearby, too. Three others from the shadows beyond the parking lot.
Mal unlocked his car door. He started the Audi, pulling out onto the drive that led to the front of the apartment building. He turned right onto the road. At the stop sign he looked back. Two cars pulled out of the lot behind his apartment, following.
It was after midnight before he lost them. He parked in a Kroger parking lot, walked in the store. At the end of the aisle, he looked back and saw Kane and three others, walking shoulder to shoulder, approaching the automated doors. He found a swinging door at the back of the store and went inside the stock room, finding a back door, locked from the outside but not inside. He took it and ran across a road behind the store, keeping to shadows, under trees, stopping and listening, then cutting through yards, running and finally slowing to a fast walk. He didn't let himself think about what could have happened if he'd went to Zach without realizing the wolves were after him. Self-recrimination was for after they were gone.
He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. He walked until he was sure he couldn't smell them, couldn't hear or see them, and then he kept walking.
Oh God, I almost brought them to Zach. He said it over and over, shock waves expanding inside his head, imagining what might happen to Zach if Mal was ever so goddamn fucking stupid as to actually lead them to Zach's home. He had to remember this moment and make sure he never, ever again let his own need to see Zach overcome caution and good sense.
He began to panic after the fact, another stupid thing, but undeniable. The night air was comfortable but he was sweating buckets, panting in great breaths of air. He couldn't stop moving. He started across a small neighborhood park sandwiched between two narrow roads. Either side of the park was lined by trees at the street.
His cell rang again. It'd been ringing off and on for the last couple of hours. Mal started violently, looking up and down the park. No one. He smelled nothing but grass and a cat who'd marked the trunk of one of the trees recently, and further beyond it the faint sharpness of chemicals from a pool in someone's yard. He heard frogs croaking. He dropped the phone and cursed, picked it up and put it to his ear. His hand trembled.
"Mal? Are you there?" Zach said, the words quick and hard.
Mal heard him breathing, waiting for him. He sank down on the end of a sliding board some two feet off the ground. It was one of those enormous, colorful plastic and metal contraptions.
"Mal? Say something. Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I can't. Can't come see you," Mal said, struggling to say the words. "I'm sorry."
"Just—shit, Mal, are you hurt?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Stop asking stupid questions," Mal said, each word strangled, jerked out of him.
Zach laughed. It was all wrong, terrified. "Where are you?"
"Walking." He guessed the attempt at casual hadn't cut it.
"Walking where?"
"I don't know."
"Find a road sign."
"You can't come get me."
"Jesus, you're scaring the shit out of me. Tell me you're safe."
Mal swallowed. He couldn't get control of his fear. "Yes."
"If you're safe, why can't I come get you?"
"Because they followed me and I fucking almost led them to you. We can't do this. They'll find you."
Zach huffed through the phone. "Are they gone?"
"Aren't you listening? They'll find you, and it'll be my fault. No."
"Are they gone?"
"Yes."
"Then there's no way they can find me. Find a goddamn road sign or I'll go to your apartment and wait for you."
"No!" Mal sprang up. The muscles in his legs quivered. "Promise me you won't!"
"I'm sorry, okay, I won't," Zach said, sounding pretty worked up, "but find a road sign, Mal. I'm going crazy."
Mal knew he should leave and find his way home, but he was afraid Zach would show up at his place if pushed too far. He stood and walked out of the park, phone in hand. He stopped on the sidewalk looping around it. Bugs crawled underfoot, and a black shadow flew over one of the streetlamps. He saw a street sign at the end of the block but he couldn't make it out yet, so he started walking.
"Mal. Mal? Talk to me."
"It's Calhoun. I'm on Calhoun at the intersection of Rogers."
"I'm coming after you. Wait for me."
"Please don't. I said I'm okay, Zach."
"I know what you said. Promise me you'll wait."
"I'm in the park," he said, and hung up, walked back to the park to wait. He paced to and fro. He felt better, concealed somewhat inside the circle of trees.
After a while he heard Zach's truck approach. His legs felt rubbery all of a sudden, so he moved to the bottom of the slide again and sat on it, waiting. The truck's engine cut off in front of the park. He heard the truck door open and close, heard Zach approaching, his breathing and his heart rate both too fast. He sat still, waiting, the air flooded with the smell of Zach, heat and aftershave, soap and sweat, pheromones, and he wanted. Hands on Zach's skin, touching shoulders and under his arms, everywhere, mouth on him, licking and biting, kissing and fucking, close enough to breathe in and smell Zach as if he were part of him. But each step Zach took that brought him closer clarified things for Mal. Zach's pupils were black and dilated, his heart racing, and his face was pale like when Zach had come after Mal at the store. All the fear he read in Zach was overwhelming. It made him ashamed and paralyzed.
He was fucking everything up. He couldn't afford this. Zach couldn't.
Zach stopped, standing over Mal, a black shadow.
Mal looked up. "I can't do this." The words came out ragged. He licked his lips.
Zach swallowed, a dry click in his throat. "Why?"
"You know why."
"I know you're worried about me, but you're the one in danger. You can't expect me to ignore that."
"I can. I'll beg if it'll make a difference. You're the one good thing to get out of that fucking basement. You don't know what it'll do to me if you get hurt."
Light came from the streetlights behind the trees, pouring over Zach's head. He leaned over Mal, eyes glittering, chest heaving. "You're better than I could ever hope to be, dammit." He grabbed Mal's jaw in his hand, forcing his head up higher. "Don't talk like you don't matter when you know how much you matter to me. Don't ask me to go, Mal. We'll figure out how to fight them, I promise." He bent, covering Mal's mouth with his.
He was too gentle to fight. A small, surprised breath left Mal's lips, puffing into Zach's mouth. He felt Zach breath it in, tasting it, tasting him, and then Zach's tongue was pushing into Mal's mouth, sliding over his teeth and rubbing against Mal's tongue, coaxing. Zach's hand slid from his jaw to cradle the back of Mal's head. He moved in deeper, all heat and slow, pained desperation, kissing Mal gently and thoroughly.
Mal grunted, a short, bitten off sound. He felt naked, exposed in a way he couldn't remember feeling before, wanting someone so much, more of Zach's hands on him, his mouth, all of it feeling like coming home, something they were together that he'd never felt before.
Zach tipped Mal's chin back further, a defenseless posture Mal would never allow since being bitten and turned. But it was Zach. It felt so incredibly good, letting go.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Hmm...
That's the longest sex scene I ever wrote. Hope it's good. C, my best friend and first reader, says it is.
I'm almost at 40,000 words and I'm not nearly done, dammit. Must write faster.
Did I tell you I had weather damage to my house TWO times lately, exactly a week apart? Tree fell on it, holes in the roof, and the weekend before a storm ripped our power lines off the house and destroyed the meter.
THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.
I'm almost at 40,000 words and I'm not nearly done, dammit. Must write faster.
Did I tell you I had weather damage to my house TWO times lately, exactly a week apart? Tree fell on it, holes in the roof, and the weekend before a storm ripped our power lines off the house and destroyed the meter.
THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.
Monday, July 1, 2013
progress notes
My husband went to the hospital (kidney stone) a few days ago, my child had oral surgery this past week and was ill for days ... and then last night, the power lines were ripped from the exterior of our home by high winds during a storm. Power's back on after calls to electricians and a lovely company that actually got out here and did the job within hours! It was the utility company that was backed up and took so long to get the power back on, which they did even as lightning and thunder began again this afternoon.
It's been very busy during a time when I need to pick up the pace to make sure I get Rising Wolf out this summer. It'll be at least twice as long as BtNM, maybe longer.
Getting some good work from Sonja on the cover art as well - I'm very excited, and also by how the art is clearly for the Beneath the Neon Moon sequel.
It's been very busy during a time when I need to pick up the pace to make sure I get Rising Wolf out this summer. It'll be at least twice as long as BtNM, maybe longer.
Getting some good work from Sonja on the cover art as well - I'm very excited, and also by how the art is clearly for the Beneath the Neon Moon sequel.
Friday, June 21, 2013
small excerpt from RISING WOLF
from Chapter 9 (unedited)
He couldn't remember feeling anything close to this before, his body taut with anticipation, pulse hammering in his throat and beating at his temples, adrenaline surging. All of it because of how much he wanted to see Zach, touch him, feel his breath hot against his own skin. Make sure Zach was okay, and that he still wanted them enough to risk the danger involved.
Mal reined himself in, keeping his control with tight effort. He stepped outside. The Meadows' porch spanned the width of the building. A wooden swing hung from the ceiling on one side, two rusted chairs on the other end, a table with a shallow clay pot of mother-in-law's tongue reaching toward the porch ceiling. A crumpled cigarette butt was half buried in the dirt at the base of the plant.
The sun was almost gone, twilight settling in. The wind blew, short little gusts, hard enough that the porch swing creaked on its chains. An inebriated girl walked unsteadily on the sidewalk in front of the apartments, short shorts in neon pink contrasting with her tan. Mal saw no one else.
It didn't matter. He smelled another wolf nearby, and not just any wolf. Kane, one of his captors from the weekend, had been on the porch recently. The scent was faint but clear.
Mal bit his lip, excitement strangled, stomach plunging sickly to somewhere around the vicinity of his shoes. He couldn't go to Zach. He'd been stupid to think he could without endangering him. His hands doubled into fists, a hot ball of rage growing in his gut.
His eyes swept the area left and right to the apartments. Mal headed around the building for the parking lot. Kane's scent grew stronger, and he turned in a circle, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. Kane was definitely somewhere in the parking lot.
The streetlights blinked on, the glass in the asphalt glittering. The edges of the lot remained mostly in darkness thanks to wild hedges growing tall and hanging over the pavement. The asphalt held heat from the day. It seeped up through the bottom of Mal's shoes.
Each step he took mocked him. Had he thought it would be easy, that he could just go to Zach without the wolf pack interfering? He had known his time was running out. He hadn't wanted to see it, couldn't accept not seeing Zach again.
Kane stepped out from the shadows at the end of the lot where Mal was staring. He walked fluidly toward Mal, an easy stride. His hair shone blackly in the lowering light.
He couldn't remember feeling anything close to this before, his body taut with anticipation, pulse hammering in his throat and beating at his temples, adrenaline surging. All of it because of how much he wanted to see Zach, touch him, feel his breath hot against his own skin. Make sure Zach was okay, and that he still wanted them enough to risk the danger involved.
Mal reined himself in, keeping his control with tight effort. He stepped outside. The Meadows' porch spanned the width of the building. A wooden swing hung from the ceiling on one side, two rusted chairs on the other end, a table with a shallow clay pot of mother-in-law's tongue reaching toward the porch ceiling. A crumpled cigarette butt was half buried in the dirt at the base of the plant.
The sun was almost gone, twilight settling in. The wind blew, short little gusts, hard enough that the porch swing creaked on its chains. An inebriated girl walked unsteadily on the sidewalk in front of the apartments, short shorts in neon pink contrasting with her tan. Mal saw no one else.
It didn't matter. He smelled another wolf nearby, and not just any wolf. Kane, one of his captors from the weekend, had been on the porch recently. The scent was faint but clear.
Mal bit his lip, excitement strangled, stomach plunging sickly to somewhere around the vicinity of his shoes. He couldn't go to Zach. He'd been stupid to think he could without endangering him. His hands doubled into fists, a hot ball of rage growing in his gut.
His eyes swept the area left and right to the apartments. Mal headed around the building for the parking lot. Kane's scent grew stronger, and he turned in a circle, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. Kane was definitely somewhere in the parking lot.
The streetlights blinked on, the glass in the asphalt glittering. The edges of the lot remained mostly in darkness thanks to wild hedges growing tall and hanging over the pavement. The asphalt held heat from the day. It seeped up through the bottom of Mal's shoes.
Each step he took mocked him. Had he thought it would be easy, that he could just go to Zach without the wolf pack interfering? He had known his time was running out. He hadn't wanted to see it, couldn't accept not seeing Zach again.
Kane stepped out from the shadows at the end of the lot where Mal was staring. He walked fluidly toward Mal, an easy stride. His hair shone blackly in the lowering light.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
appearing at Beth Wylde's yahoo group for GLBT Pride Month
I'll be over at Beth Wylde's yahoo group shortly (as in I'm heading there now), along with other authors published by ForbiddenFiction (link NSFW) for GLBT Pride Month. If you're not a member, you'll have to join the group, but it's easy. Come join us!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
winner for HAHAT
Laurie is the winner for a contribution in her name to the IT GETS BETTER project, along with a free copy of a book of her choosing. Thanks to all of you for participating in the hop and for your support of LGBTQ rights.
If you're curious, I used random.org to draw for the winner:)
If you're curious, I used random.org to draw for the winner:)
Friday, May 17, 2013
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia - May 17
My name is Theda Black, and I welcome you to my little corner of the blogosphere. I'm an LGBT writer, also a horror/erotica writer under another name. It seems like an odd combination of interests, I know. I'm interested in edgy situations, intense relationships, passionate events and no safety nets. I explore the emotional and sometimes physical limits of my characters, particularly involving what they can and will endure for the sake of love. Often that involves darker storylines than normal. You can find out more about me at blackbara.net.
I started several posts for HAHAT 2013 and had to scrap them all. Talking about the issues in general terms just wasn't working. It's personal, and once I understood how I needed to talk about it, things fell into place.
True story:
I live in Tennessee. My daughter, age fifteen, is attracted to boys. Her best friend's dad, a preacher, found out about it. I discovered later on that he'd walked around our neighborhood, questioning the kids because of a rumor he'd heard. One of the neighborhood kids told me she'd felt intimidated by him.
Over the next year she wasn't allowed to see her best friend, someone she's known and loved since elementary school.
The year passed. My daughter is allowed to see her friend again, but not to sleep over. Her friend stayed with us many times in the past, for fun times and during times when her family needed someone to look after her, and vice versa. All of that is over now. I am angry about this, but my daughter says it's progress, and she'll take it.
My daughter is a brave person. She holds her boyfriend's hand in public. In one of her high school classes, she challenged the teacher who aired a negative view on heterosexuality. She and her boyfriend exchanged gifts at school on Valentine's Day and took a little flak for it, but not much. It was a good day.
Most of the time when people at school question her, tease her, treat her like an interesting but completely different species they found inside the classroom, she responds civilly. She has a light, even-handed touch when responding, even though on some days all she really wants is to be left in peace. She only cried once at the bullying she's gotten at school this year, and then she came home and told me. The school dealt with it in a prompt and satisfactory way. I was so very happy to have the school's support and impressed by their response.
This is what it's like for my daughter, growing up. I am incredibly proud of her and humbled by her attitude, her forthrightness, and her bravery.
Oh, but wait - this is how it really goes.
I live in Tennessee. My daughter, age fifteen, is attracted to girls. Her best friend's dad, a preacher, found out about it. I discovered later on that he'd walked around our neighborhood, questioning the kids because of a rumor he'd heard. One of the neighborhood kids told me she'd felt intimidated by him.
Over the next year she wasn't allowed to see her best friend, someone she's known and loved since elementary school.
The year passed. My daughter is allowed to see her friend again, but not to sleep over. Her friend stayed with us many times in the past, for fun times and during times when her family needed someone to look after her, and vice versa. All of that is over now. I am angry about this, but my daughter says it's progress, and she'll take it.
My daughter is a brave person. She holds her girlfriend's hand in public. In one of her high school classes, she challenged the teacher who aired a negative view of same-sex relationships. She and her girlfriend exchanged gifts at school on Valentine's Day and took a little flak for it, but not much. It was a good day.
Most of the time when people at school question her, tease her, treat her like an interesting but completely different species they found inside the classroom, she responds civilly. She has a light, even-handed touch when responding, even though on some days all she really wants is to be left in peace. She only cried once at the bullying she's gotten at school this year, and then she came home and told me. The school dealt with it in a prompt and satisfactory way. I was so very happy to have the school's support and impressed by their response.
This is what it's like for my daughter, growing up and identifying openly as lesbian. I am incredibly proud of her and humbled by her attitude, her forthrightness, and her bravery.
Does her story make more sense now?
It shouldn't.
****
links of interest: Violence Prevention Bullying Statistics stopbullying.gov
Leave a comment (with your email address) for a chance to win! I'd love to make a donation in your name (or a name of your choice) to the IT GETS BETTER project. You're also welcome to a free copy of a novella from my backlist - let me know the title you choose along with the preferred format (mobi, PDF, or epub). I'll draw for the winner the day after HAHAT ends.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
research on wolves and notes to self
For BtNM and Rising Wolf, I very consciously chose to make my weres monsters while under the influence of the full moon. The classic version of the werewolf only shifting when the moon is full, or of being turned into a werewolf via a bite from another werewolf, are actually 20th century additions to werewolf folklore (movie lore, more like). I grew up with those ideas and love them, so I used them. But I had to expand on my version of werewolves for Rising Wolf and used actual wolf pack dynamics as a starting point. So, research.
quote pertinent to RW (or why Mal isn't killed almost immediately for threatening the pack's alpha male):
Furthermore, the breeding male defers posturally when he approaches the breeding female tending young pups. On 26 June 1990, I observed the breeding male walk toward the female in the den "excitedly wagging his tail and body." Similarly, on 18 May 1990 in Denali Park, Alaska, I observed radio-collared breeding male 251 in the Headquarters Pack (Mech et al. 1998) approach breeding female 307 when she was in a den with pups and begin to "wiggle walk," waving his back end and tail like a subordinate approaching a dominant. The female emerged from the den and the male then regurgitated to her. These were the only times I have ever seen a breeding male act submissively toward any other wolf, and it seems to indicate that the breeding female is temporarily dominant to even the breeding male before the pups emerge from the den.
--from the Minnesotans for Sustainability site, on the page titled "Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs," L. David Mech
further cited as
Mech, L. David. 1999. Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:1196-1203. Northern Prairie Publication 1078. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND.
See at < http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/alstat/alstat.htm >. May 16, 2000. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND 58401-7317
Which for my purposes means to me that the female alpha's protection extends over new pack members - for a very short while.
quote pertinent to RW (or why Mal isn't killed almost immediately for threatening the pack's alpha male):
Furthermore, the breeding male defers posturally when he approaches the breeding female tending young pups. On 26 June 1990, I observed the breeding male walk toward the female in the den "excitedly wagging his tail and body." Similarly, on 18 May 1990 in Denali Park, Alaska, I observed radio-collared breeding male 251 in the Headquarters Pack (Mech et al. 1998) approach breeding female 307 when she was in a den with pups and begin to "wiggle walk," waving his back end and tail like a subordinate approaching a dominant. The female emerged from the den and the male then regurgitated to her. These were the only times I have ever seen a breeding male act submissively toward any other wolf, and it seems to indicate that the breeding female is temporarily dominant to even the breeding male before the pups emerge from the den.
--from the Minnesotans for Sustainability site, on the page titled "Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs," L. David Mech
further cited as
Mech, L. David. 1999. Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77:1196-1203. Northern Prairie Publication 1078. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND.
See at < http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/alstat/alstat.htm >. May 16, 2000. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND 58401-7317
Which for my purposes means to me that the female alpha's protection extends over new pack members - for a very short while.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Dear Author
...linked to a former reviewer's post, called "Why I Now Hate Erotic Romance." Interesting post. That there are plenty of books full of general shite available by unskilled authors, well, yes. That's true. It's not limited by genre. I remember laughing my ass off at reading a Ray Garton werewolf (horror) novel wherein the wife turns into a werewolf and eats her husband's face while they're having sex. "She's eeeatting me!" or some such funniness. (I actually enjoyed it because it was fun, but never mind.)
Friday, April 26, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Barnes and Noble switch from PubIt! to NOOK Press
I received an email yesterday from B&N about their switch to NOOK Press. (PubIt! is scheduled to be phased out in favor of NP). The email says "Same Great Terms: Our favorable PubIt! business terms and commitment to a
transparent retail partnership remain unchanged." But when I went to signup, I read through the terms and backed out, thinking to go through it again thoroughly later since I was skimming the information. I've been through it again and here are some comparisons.
1.
NP can "remove or modify the cover artwork, metadata and product description that you submit to us, or reformat your eBook to make it compatible with NOOK Press."
PubIt! terms: "We may, in our discretion, reformat your eBooks to make them compatible with the Service, and you acknowledge that certain unintentional formatting errors may occur in the process of reformatting of your eBooks."
2.
NP pricing and payment terms are nebulous as set out, aside from this biggie: "We have sole and complete discretion to set the Retail Price at which your eBooks are sold to the customer." But note that NOOK Pricing and Payment Terms offer the same figures given (as of this date) under PubIt! Service Policies.
PubIt! is the same: "We have sole and complete discretion to set the Retail Price at which your eBooks are sold to the customer." Service Policies under PubIt! gives the same figures listed under NOOK Press Pricing and Payment Terms, linked above.
3.
NP: "We will use commercially reasonable efforts to effect any change in List Price you provide to us within twenty (20) days following the date on which you submit it." Reasonable efforts? Is 20 days really necessary?
PubIt! terms in comparison: ""Any change in List Price you provide to us will be effective within five (5) business days following the date on which you submit it." Much more reasonable.
4.
Ebook withdrawal terms has changed by giving NP five more days.
Anyone with more findings, give a shout-out:)
EDIT: Mindy Klasky notes a major flaw when uploading stories at NP in comments
1.
NP can "remove or modify the cover artwork, metadata and product description that you submit to us, or reformat your eBook to make it compatible with NOOK Press."
PubIt! terms: "We may, in our discretion, reformat your eBooks to make them compatible with the Service, and you acknowledge that certain unintentional formatting errors may occur in the process of reformatting of your eBooks."
2.
NP pricing and payment terms are nebulous as set out, aside from this biggie: "We have sole and complete discretion to set the Retail Price at which your eBooks are sold to the customer." But note that NOOK Pricing and Payment Terms offer the same figures given (as of this date) under PubIt! Service Policies.
PubIt! is the same: "We have sole and complete discretion to set the Retail Price at which your eBooks are sold to the customer." Service Policies under PubIt! gives the same figures listed under NOOK Press Pricing and Payment Terms, linked above.
3.
NP: "We will use commercially reasonable efforts to effect any change in List Price you provide to us within twenty (20) days following the date on which you submit it." Reasonable efforts? Is 20 days really necessary?
PubIt! terms in comparison: ""Any change in List Price you provide to us will be effective within five (5) business days following the date on which you submit it." Much more reasonable.
4.
Ebook withdrawal terms has changed by giving NP five more days.
Anyone with more findings, give a shout-out:)
EDIT: Mindy Klasky notes a major flaw when uploading stories at NP in comments
Thursday, March 28, 2013
names and other
The other day I realized a pretty extensive character list had been added to the listing for The Vampire's Boy on Shelfari. I'm terrible at remembering names. As I was looking at it, for a couple of them I thought, "Who the hell was that?" Took me a moment. I put more thought into the main character names, but for many of the minors, the names come after I've planned them with no real significance attached.
I was happy to see Bernie (the neighbor's dog) and Malvoline listed (Jared's cat). I love them.
Work on Rising Wolf continues, slow but steady, and I am satisfied with it thus far. I figure I'm about 20% of the way through it. Mal's monthly transformation is causing changes in him that influence the rest of his behavior during the month. The interesting part to me is that Zach handles it better than Mal.
I was happy to see Bernie (the neighbor's dog) and Malvoline listed (Jared's cat). I love them.
Work on Rising Wolf continues, slow but steady, and I am satisfied with it thus far. I figure I'm about 20% of the way through it. Mal's monthly transformation is causing changes in him that influence the rest of his behavior during the month. The interesting part to me is that Zach handles it better than Mal.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Goodreads
Just a note about Goodreads. Once in a while I used to pop in on reviews of my novellas, usually a friendly comment, but I've stopped doing that. There's been a lot of conversation online over reviews and how authors can sometimes react badly. Even though I don't believe I've ever said anything out of line, I realize that some readers might feel intruded upon when an author pops in. I don't want that! I also realize I don't feel particularly comfortable doing so. I've given up a lot of things I used to do and that authors are told to do to market themselves. It's probably not at all sensible.
I'm a friendly person, and I enjoy talking to people about a lot of things, writing and good books particularly so, but there's this blurred area at some of these review sites where the mingling between author and reader can get uncomfortable. So even though those kinds of interactions have made me a few friends and I love that, well ... I'll just be over here in this corner if I'm needed;)
I'm a friendly person, and I enjoy talking to people about a lot of things, writing and good books particularly so, but there's this blurred area at some of these review sites where the mingling between author and reader can get uncomfortable. So even though those kinds of interactions have made me a few friends and I love that, well ... I'll just be over here in this corner if I'm needed;)
Monday, March 11, 2013
health and writing
After years of not knowing what was happening to me and then suddenly growing quite a lot worse for the wear, I've been diagnosed with an as yet unidentified autoimmune disease. They're often difficult to identify, but the possibilities at this point, I've been told, range from lupus to some kind of connective tissue disease. I am getting treatment, but it isn't curable. Hopefully I'll be able to handle it a bit better, just knowing (somewhat) what I'm dealing with.
The post is to let you know what's going on because of the delay from my intended start date in late 2012 for the Beneath the Neon Moon sequel, not to mention delays with other planned writing projects. I am currently working on the sequel, enjoying the hell out of it. I am actively scheduling time to write (I always tried to simply fit it into my day before, which didn't work well) and keep a continuous flow going.
I've always found it odd to hear how an author loves their characters, I suppose because we make them up. So are we saying we love our own minds? Maybe we do, or at least what our minds conjure, because I love Zach and Mal. They feel like extraordinary fellows who go to extraordinary lengths for each other. Whatever part of me that brought them to life truly believes in them, and they continue to present themselves to me as strikingly real persons as I write them.
The post is to let you know what's going on because of the delay from my intended start date in late 2012 for the Beneath the Neon Moon sequel, not to mention delays with other planned writing projects. I am currently working on the sequel, enjoying the hell out of it. I am actively scheduling time to write (I always tried to simply fit it into my day before, which didn't work well) and keep a continuous flow going.
I've always found it odd to hear how an author loves their characters, I suppose because we make them up. So are we saying we love our own minds? Maybe we do, or at least what our minds conjure, because I love Zach and Mal. They feel like extraordinary fellows who go to extraordinary lengths for each other. Whatever part of me that brought them to life truly believes in them, and they continue to present themselves to me as strikingly real persons as I write them.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Six Sentence Sunday
Each Sunday, post six sentences from a writing project — published, submitted, in progress, for your cat — whatever.
From Beneath the Neon Moon sequel:
"Go home, Zach, it's okay."
Zach nodded, turning off the flashlight. He blinked into the well. The clearing was growing darker by the minute, and he couldn't see Mal at all any more.
"Mal?" he called out, knowing he sounded panicked but unable to stop.
"It's okay. Zach, please? I'm scared shitless that somehow I'll get to you."
From "Diamond Grey," a short story:
She craned her head and looked up the trunk, the bark gnarled, dead vines clinging tightly as ever. The wind flapped the leaves on the vine, turning them on their side.
Camilla moved closer. Spiders clung in clumps to the bark beneath, bodies one over another, long thin legs bunched up against the cold. Their eyes shone, tiny black pearls, waiting for her to climb the tree just as she had all summer and fall.
Hadn't she seen them all along at the edges of her vision, heard them skittering over the trunk beneath the vines?
From "Beulah's House of Prayer," a short story:
Bryce made a noise in his throat, something that asked for forgiveness. Christian ignored it, looking up at the night sky and the blurred stars. He widened his thighs, spine arching out from the wall. Bryce sucked harder, as if that would make him look, would make it all right. It never did, and Christian never looked. He closed his eyes instead and came in Bryce’s mouth.
From Beneath the Neon Moon sequel:
"Go home, Zach, it's okay."
Zach nodded, turning off the flashlight. He blinked into the well. The clearing was growing darker by the minute, and he couldn't see Mal at all any more.
"Mal?" he called out, knowing he sounded panicked but unable to stop.
"It's okay. Zach, please? I'm scared shitless that somehow I'll get to you."
From "Diamond Grey," a short story:
She craned her head and looked up the trunk, the bark gnarled, dead vines clinging tightly as ever. The wind flapped the leaves on the vine, turning them on their side.
Camilla moved closer. Spiders clung in clumps to the bark beneath, bodies one over another, long thin legs bunched up against the cold. Their eyes shone, tiny black pearls, waiting for her to climb the tree just as she had all summer and fall.
Hadn't she seen them all along at the edges of her vision, heard them skittering over the trunk beneath the vines?
From "Beulah's House of Prayer," a short story:
Bryce made a noise in his throat, something that asked for forgiveness. Christian ignored it, looking up at the night sky and the blurred stars. He widened his thighs, spine arching out from the wall. Bryce sucked harder, as if that would make him look, would make it all right. It never did, and Christian never looked. He closed his eyes instead and came in Bryce’s mouth.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
sequel
I'm writing about Zach and Mal's first full moon together since being free from Aaron and Kane. Exciting!
C, my pal who goes through this whole long process of writing with me (I feel her pain, I really do - I'm quite a handful), called it Mal's rising wolf. I like that. Rising Wolf - it has potential for the title, yes?
I saw this wolf illustration on tumblr and really like it:
C, my pal who goes through this whole long process of writing with me (I feel her pain, I really do - I'm quite a handful), called it Mal's rising wolf. I like that. Rising Wolf - it has potential for the title, yes?
I saw this wolf illustration on tumblr and really like it:
edit: it's a wallpaper from here based on World of Warcraft
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Hawaii 5-0 teaches THINGS
thing I did not know: the family and I watched Monday's Hawaii 5-0 and
saw this - a fire made using a battery and the foil paper from a pack of
cigarettes.
(screengrab from gallicka)
Next thing I know, my 15 y.o. puts a battery in a glass bowl, grabs the foil wrapper from her pack of gum and rips two strips off, holds each strip to the ends of the battery, pushes the other end of both strips together and hello, instant spark, smoke and then fire. Maybe y'all know about this, but it's the first I've seen of it:)
(screengrab from gallicka)
Next thing I know, my 15 y.o. puts a battery in a glass bowl, grabs the foil wrapper from her pack of gum and rips two strips off, holds each strip to the ends of the battery, pushes the other end of both strips together and hello, instant spark, smoke and then fire. Maybe y'all know about this, but it's the first I've seen of it:)
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