NaNoWriMo and the great word count issue...

NaNoWriMo and the great word count issue...

Buy Links, reviews and excerpts
In 2010 I wrote my first NaNoWrimo novel. Back Home was a triumph of writing every day and actually finishing a novel in the month.

Of course, the pressure was intense. Not only are you needing to write 1667 words a day to achieve your target but you have other nano'ers posting how much they wrote.

Some days I managed 1667, others only 800, and then on a few shining days where I panicked I wrote 3000 words. After which I needed wine. Lots of wine.

The nano'ers I joined up with, of which Diane Adams was one, were all creating long important work, but I was creating a convoluted angst filled tale where even the blurb was difficult to write.

Writing MM and having to create a blurb that mentions brothers, ex boyfriends, and brother's boyfriend's dying, was like the worst kind of torture. Would have been much easier if the brother had a girlfriend, at least I would have had a *she* to use, instead of all the *he's* ROFL...

So, Kieran falls in love with his brother's boyfriend. More of a teenage crush. His brother's boyfriend was nice to him, his brother not so much. Kieran's brother. Not the boyfriend's brother...

See what I mean.

The the brother dies. Kieran's brother. Could Kieran come Back Home and build a life with his brother's boyfriend and confront ghosts of their past (Kieran and Jordan's - the boyfriend).

AHHHH too many Bs!

I love the story to Back Home. It's angsty and emotional, and by far the book has received the most consistent reviews. So my first ever Nano was a success. The book was picked up by a publisher and hit the shelves in 2011. People liked it. I could do this Nano thing. I had conquered it.

Then came 2011. ROFL... that was funny... I can't even remember what I wrote but I kind of recall giving up halfway through, simply due to commitments on editing and other stories I was in the middle of writing.

2012? You could write that off. I joined up, I sketched out details. The Schoolteacher and the Soldier (yes, this was Ellery 2).

The blurb was Luke Fitzgerald left Ellery Mountain for college and vowed never to come back. When his father is murdered and Luke is asked to come home to sell off his share of Ellery Mountain Cabins he meets the son of the other owner, ex-marine, Daniel Skylar.  It doesn’t matter what Daniel says, or how much he needs Luke; Luke isn’t staying once everything is sold off. Surely Daniel can understand that?

Is it cheating that I chose to do a series book for my Nano? Not so much, when after day one I realised I needed to be writing 4000 words a day so that I could move on to Ellery 3 and Worlds Collide (Sanctuary 7).

I achieved my 50,000 but not on anything in particular that I could physically track with the Nano scheme as a 50,000 word novel I created. Still I succeeded.

This year I haven't signed up. I wasn't giving Nano enough attention, or interacting with writing partners. I am a bad Nano'er.

I told myself in earlier Nano's that forcing myself to write 1667 words a day stifled my creativity, and despite the fact this was complete bollox, I used that excuse to avoid it all. Now I am writing full time having an aim in word count is how I work, and it doesn't seem to stifle my creativity at all.

My aims for November 2013 instead...

Edits on Montana 1... Ellery 7... Texas 5... Christmas In The Sun... 5,000 words a day each weekday, less at the weekend. This isn't all set in stone, but that is MY targets for November...

Let's see how it goes...

And good luck to anyone Nano'ing... it's intense but fun... :)

http://nanowrimo.org



Nothing Serious, by Jay Northcote, 5/5, recommended read

Nothing Serious, by Jay Northcote, 5/5, recommended read

The Book

5/5 and recommended... 

Mark O’Brien is finally being honest with himself. His relationship with Rachel is over and he’s moving out of the home they've shared for six years. They get along, but he can’t fix a relationship when the person he's with is the wrong gender.

Jamie Robertson, one of the removal men, is huge and ridiculously gorgeous, and Mark is smitten at first sight. When a cardboard box splits, revealing items of a personal nature that Mark never wanted anybody to see, he's mortified. But it sparks the start of a beautiful friendship with benefits.

As Jamie initiates Mark into the joys of gay sex, the two men get increasingly close and “nothing serious” turns into something rather important to both of them. But communication isn’t their strong point. Will either man ever find the courage to be honest about his feelings?

The Review

Oh, I loved this book so much... a proper romance, a realistic story, and a happy ever after...

I adored the Brit speak, and the fact that I could just get inside both character's heads... loved that the leaving the girlfriend bit wasn't overly dramatic and was less of a thing to worry about against the budding romance between the main characters.

Just... sighs... perfect...

5/5 and recommended...

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | All Romance | Dreamspinner Press


Feed. Prey. Love. by DH Starr 4/5

Feed. Prey. Love. by DH Starr 4/5

The Book

At Whispering Hills where mortals and paranormals coexist peacefully – and romantically - love really does bite!

Talib Eldridge is a vampire who lives with guilt. 100 years ago, he accidentally turned a human to a vampire and has been afraid to get close to anyone for fear of ever losing control as he once did. When he meets Conley Berillo, his commitment to living in isolation is challenged. Immediately drawn to the human, he can’t help but fall in love.

Conley has always felt out of place. Never fitting in with others, he too has lived in isolation. When the existence of paranormal creatures is finally acknowledged, he feels an immediate affinity to the outcasts, still feared and hated by humans. Moving to Whispering Hills in Providence, Rhode Island, he knows immediately that he belongs to this new world. When he meets Talib, that conviction is only solidified.

When Jonah Townsend, the human Talib had turned about a hundred years earlier, re-enters the picture, Talib and Conley’s newfound happiness is threatened. Conley becomes the tool that Jonah uses to get back at Talib and Talib is forced to make a choice. Fight for his own happiness and risk Conley’s life, or put Conley’s safety first and sacrifice what he’s searched and struggled for over two hundred years!

The Review

I really enjoyed this story. The idea of paranormals and humans living side by side is something that intrigues me. The sex is hot, the story is good, the set up for book 2 (I hope I am right) is good as well. Some people have said in reviews that the characters had too much self doubt. I don't agree, I like that the characters explore how they feel, together and when they are alone. This has elements of a kind of insta-lust but the characters had time to grow after that, which I appreciated. I did sometimes want to shout at Talib about one thing... you'll see what I mean...

Nicely done bad guy as well...


GRL Author Signing Competition Winners...

GRL Author Signing Competition Winners...



Congratulations guys...

1st Prize $30 Amazon Voucher = 177 marie-c (sent)
2nd Prize $20 Amazon Voucher = 210 Forreta Byles (sent)
3rd Prize Signed RJ Scott book = 008 frenchie29
4th Prize Harrods Teddy Bear + 1 RJ ebook = 248 dartagnan (book chosen - The Decisions we Make - sent. Package to follow).

Runner up prizes (RJ ebook)

151 = vahobbs
211 = marit41702
039 = vamps
082 = llogan24 (The Christmas Throwaway)
270 = terrilee (pre-booked Texas Christmas)

I will be emailing all winners individually in a bit...


RJ XXX


RJ Scott's GRL 2013, Atlanta, Report

RJ Scott's GRL 2013, Atlanta, Report

Here follows a random linking together of sentences...

I want to name check everyone I met in Atlanta, but I can’t. I have moments that I remember with great clarity and names that I will remember perfectly but if I begin to name check everything I swear I will leave someone out. All I know is that every single person I talked to made me feel like a million pounds, sorry, dollars…

As soon as we landed in Atlanta we were faced with something very different from what we were used to. The Brits have a reputation of unfailing posh politeness, but actually a lot of that is classic Brit reserve. When faced with four people at the bottom of the escalator welcoming us to Atlanta and asking us how we were, I was a little blown away. ROFL. I immediately thought we had done something wrong and this was security asking us to go home. Instead we had smiles, and yes ma’ams, and happy welcomes. Blimey.

This didn’t stop when we got to the hotel. The people we had met and the staff at the Melia were just a whole different breed of people to what we're used to. They talked to us as we walked past, they started conversations with us and my Brit reserve was severely tested. Not so much Mr RJ who made friends with everyone when he was outside in the *smokers corner*. Including disappearing for nearly one whole night with Devon and Jared in which time they fixed the world and ate Cody’s Cheetos.

I didn't really go to the evening events, I'm not a great fan of crowds and loud noise... I know, kinda pathetic really. But Mr RJ did his bit and apparently had a lot of fun up there in my place. He has said that next year he is dressing up...

Being overwhelmed doesn’t cover it. I had a few fans approach me and we hugged and they said lovely things, and I thanked them, then there was silence. I don’t do silence so well. I think in my fevered imagination the fan was looking for something that I hadn’t prepared for… intelligent conversation. It was only when a few fans explained they just wanted to talk books that I thought, *I can do that*. Of course asking them which of my books was their favourite was the wrong thing to do. Every single person I asked looked aghast that I should make them choose. That was such a lovely thing to hear. Although when pushed, the usual suspects rose to the top, Throwaway and Texas.

Then it happened.

Someone said their favourite book was Oracle and it’s sequel. NO ONE has ever said that to me. I nearly cried (Yes, I was an emotional basket case for nearly the entire convention!).

Amber and I joined TA Chase on the first night for early registration. Oh. My. God. It was sooooooo busy and so much fun! I am so going to volunteer for that again!


I met people that I spoke to online and I loved every minute of it. We were one of the first groups up in the convention rooms. I was with Amber Kell and Stephani Hecht talking about werewolves and paranormal. We were up against Klarvin, and
I expected maybe three people to attend ours, but we were so happy when we had a nicely filled set of rows and some really enthusiastic fans.

The highlight of the panel was Devon asking Mr RJ, Mr Kell, and Steph’s son Cody, what they felt about our writing. Mr Rj’s reply made me all teary-eyed when he talked about being proud, and how the first chapter of Throwaway makes him emotional. When Mr Kell and Cody added to the support it was a shining moment in our panel. We also managed to get a lot of laughter, which apparently they heard in the Klarvin panel… YAY us!

Ps... congrats to TJ and Eric on the engagement!

Mr RJ & me at The Aquarium, report to follow...
I collected a billionty-and-one pens from the swag table and most of my stuff disappeared. Hubby and I learned that transporting sweets on the plane was not a good idea as they all melted but the pens and postcards went well. Clare London had some awesome little wish jars and we talked beads for a while, which gave me ideas for swag another year.

I fangirled Rowan Speedwell, and tried my hardest not to jump Marie Sexton again. I had the most amazing meeting with Jordan Castillo Price *fangirls again* in which we talked self-publishing and she was incredibly gracious to give me her time and talk – I think I made a new friend there.

A yellow cab... yes, I was
THAT English tourist taking
photos of cabs.
As to LC Chase, well hell, I couldn’t find her anywhere. BUT… I managed to find her at the author signing and we HUGGED SO MUCH. I got a book from her and she signed it and I was a little lost for words, I just kept saying, I love your writing, I love your writing. ROFL. Yes, I probably scared her a little.

I saw some of Carol Lynne and the other organisers. They seemed to be constantly on the go, *pets Carol’s poor legs*. There were other volunteers that made life easier for us all. A big thank you to all of them.

Portia, I love you. Is all. This woman, Portia de Moncour, from FB and MM Good Book Reviews, simply blew me away. How much energy does one woman have AND how clever she was with the way she talked. I could listen to her for hours. Mr RJ was smitten.

Amber, Steph and I found a quiet space on the BR floor and ignored the noise of the escalator to come up with new projects. More details to follow…

The dine with an author event was a little strained. The tables were too big and the noise too much and I think everyone thought the same. BUT, I had fun talking books to the people I could speak to. As usual Mr RJ plonked himself in between readers and told them trade secrets about RJ Scott… harrumph… I tried my best to ignore him… LMAO

Stabby,,, stabby,,,
The author signing was intense. Utterly consuming, full concentration was needed at all times. I signed and hugged and talked and I cannot believe that those three hours went so damn fast. I loved every single tiny minute of it, alternating between the usual disbelief that people wanted my autograph and to talk to me, and pride that somehow I had achieved something bigger than me.

I met Sandrine Gasq-Dion and the Kindle Alexanders... and as much as I wanted them to move their books out of the way of Texas Family on Amazon, I actually liked them a lot... ROFL... guys I didn't really mean to say I wanted to hire a hitman. *sniggers*.

What I enjoyed most about GRL was the way I could meet someone in the elevator, or in the lobby and talk informally. I learned an awful lot from everyone.

I plan on trying to get a ticket for Chicago next year and will be sat at my computer waiting for the time the tickets go live.

Thank you to all the organisers who worked so hard to make sure this event happened. GRL rocked. 

What have I learned from GRL
  • That I have a super sexy and wholly cute accent and that just saying *bloody hell* made me very popular. (I actually think I had no accent - it was all the Americans that had the accent... nods)
  • That I can handle being told nice things without immediately running away and hiding or thinking the speaker had the wrong person.
  • That I rely too much on the Internet (Internet was bad in the hotel!)
  • That I really like bacon.
  • That three hours can sometimes seem like ten minutes, until the cramp from signing kicks in.
  • I love you.... Tea... I love you so much
  • THAT I REALLY MISSED ENGLISH TEA!


Now You See Me - Film Review 4/5

Now You See Me - Film Review 4/5

Now You See Me

IMDB

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.
My thoughts...

Loved Jesse Eisenberg, spent the first half an hour trying to recall where I had seen him before then recalled he played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Also Dave Franco (Little brother of James), but I didn’t recognise him, and Isla Fisher was stunning and sexy.

I’m not a great fan of Woody Harrelson. Loved him in Indecent Proposal but after that it seems he plays the same quirky character in everything.

Morgan Freeman seemed a little odd… I didn’t quite get his characters, but I loved Michael Caine.

Twist in the story – didn’t see it coming. Not often I get caught, so very nicely done!

The story wasn’t quite paranormal to convince me there was a paranormal element to it at all, so I found the direction of the movie a little confusing. BUT all in all, 95% of the film was bloody awesome. Just that 5% off for a strange lack of direction or motivation towards why they all did what they did.

I think the film wanted to be a revenge movie, a twist movie, a hyper-loud action movie, but couldn’t quite settle on any one thing…

Still 4/5 and recommended as chewing gum for the eyes…


Christmas Anthology - Gorgeous new cover art AND support needed from editory and proof-readery type people...

Christmas Anthology - Gorgeous new cover art AND support needed from editory and proof-readery type people...

Art by the awesome Meredith Russell
Calling all editory or proof readery type people...

EDIT @ 16:44 today

I can't believe it, I have had SO many volunteers. I am blown away...

All my editing positions are now full... I am just looking for a few proofers...

Original message was:

As you know I have a Christmas anthology for new authors, to show new writers and to give them a foot in the door...

What I need is volunteers... to give constructive support to each of the new fourteen writers... This could simply be reading and commenting on content etc up to a full edit...

This anthology is free and so I can't pay you as such, but anyone who helps me can choose some of my back issues (or new future books) as a HUGE thank you. I will also name check every one of you in the anthology.

Email me rj@rjscott.co.uk, or comment here, if you are interested and I will pair you with one of the new authors. Each story is short and based on the theme of the Christmas Season...

HUGS XXXXX

Clark's Story - Diane Adams

Clark's Story - Diane Adams

Book 4 in Diane Adams' Making Of A Man series is out today at Love Lane Books and other third party retailers.

Our December (Book 1)
A Place To Run (Book 2)
Stronger In Your Hands (Book 3)
Clark's Story (Book 4)

The Book

Some people have a bucket list, that famous list of things to do before they die. Clark has a list too, and it can be summed up in a single word: Love. For Clark, love is what his friends, Alex and Jared, share. This is what he wants with Stevie.

Stevie holds his heart, but Clark struggles to convince her of his sincerity simply because she can't let go of her past enough to have faith to truly trust another. He is beset with jealousy over his best friends for the first time. Everything looks so easy for Alex and Jared while every step forward he takes with Stevie, seems to result in two steps back.

Frustrated and on the verge of defeat, Clark’s bitter hopelessness spills over into other parts of his life. Unable to abandon his dreams and move on, will Clark’s unconditional love for Stevie cost him everything?

Buy Links

Love Lane Books  | AllRomance E-Books | Smashwords | Amazon (US)Amazon (UK)

Reviews

To follow...

Excerpt


Chapter 1 - Thanksgiving Plus

"I don't see why we can't have the kind of Thanksgiving dinner normal people have."

Clark didn't try to hide the smile his twelve-year-old daughter's complaint brought to his face. Clark and Stevie had shared Thanksgiving with Alex and Jared since they were just out of high school. Admittedly, not the in the most traditional way people celebrated the holiday, but Jared and Alex excelled at doing things different than most people.

Annie tossed him a cutting look. "Don't laugh at me, Daddy. It's rude." She continued covering the trays of deviled eggs spread out on the long counter in front of her.

Eight trays double stacked, twenty-four eggs in each one. Clark wondered if it would be enough, Annie's deviled eggs were popular. His mother started letting her help in the kitchen after Clark and Stevie had adopted her at the tender age of six.

"I'm not laughing, baby." Clark lied through his teeth. "You don't think we're normal?"

The slightly slanted, tawny colored eyes didn't belong in the face of a child, but the way they rolled at his question was one hundred percent preteen.

"Do you?" Annie snapped on the last lid and turned to face Clark, her expression defying him to lie. Her bobbed hair swung even with her jaw line. Golden brown, it shone in the sunlight streaming through the kitchen window.

Clark considered the annual Thanksgiving dinner they were preparing to attend at Alex and Jared's—the day of the holiday sans meat—as tradition, and Jared, demanded. Turkey came on the scene the day after, Thanksgiving Plus they all called it. Jared was a stickler for tradition, not popular mainstream type traditions but those created by life's experiences. Things that meant nothing to anyone outside their circle became treasured moments in the hands of Jared Douglas.

"We're better than normal." Clark winked at his daughter. "We're like normal-plus"

Annie giggled. "Daddy, you're silly."

She took off the apron she wore to work in the kitchen, sky blue with a rainbow embroidered on the top and the pocket. His mother had taught her to sew simple items the year before, and Annie had been embroidering for a couple years. Stevie called her a girl's girl, and it did seem Annie had the determination to master any task or talent traditionally considered female. When encouraged to stretch beyond those interests, she would laugh, shake her head, and remind them there were plenty of people around the house to do boy things. Considering she had four brothers it was hard to argue with her logic.

Clark watched her stack the carriers next to the huge bowl containing the salad Stevie had prepared earlier.

"Did you have fun making the eggs with Grammy yesterday?" Clark's mother, modern in every way, took an unfathomable delight in Annie's feminine ways and encouraged her at every turn.

Annie's smile lit her face and the sunlight spilling into the room dimmed.

"Yes! She made the cornbread pudding stuff, and she showed me how to get the mashed potatoes just right. I'm going to make them at Christmas."

Feigning disappointment, Clark gasped in horror. "No eggs?"

Annie's little girl giggle sounded like music to his ears. "Don't worry, Daddy. I'll make the eggs, too."

Clark's huge sigh of relief brought another peal of laughter. Annie's suddenly serious expression appeared like a cloud covering the sun.

"Daddy, when I was shopping with Grammy yesterday I saw Grammy Ross." Small white teeth worried her lower lip. Clark's heart gave a twinge of concern and he moved around the counter to stand beside his daughter.

He leaned against the surface. "Oh yeah? How is she?" Alex's mother tended to be a sore spot for him. Any mention of her filled him with anxiety.

Annie shrugged one small shoulder. "Okay, I guess. I asked if she was coming to have dinner with us. She said she made other plans, but to give Uncle A a hug. That's all." Annie dropped her gaze and laid the apron on the counter top. "Nothing major."

Clark reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, and with a gentle finger lifted her chin until their eyes met once more. "It's not all. What's bothering you?"

"She never comes. Nana is there, and Grammy and Gramps. Gramps Ross always comes unless he's sick. But she never comes and she never sends Uncle J a hug."

Observations, but no questions. Clark sighed. Kids and their timing. Even prepared for this moment, it was difficult. The twins had noticed by the time they were eight And, unless there was a miracle, he'd have this conversation twice more in coming years.

Having nothing to do with Janet Ross would be his first choice and Stevie agreed with him. However, Alex and Jared did not. Janet had limited contact with Alex, never cutting him off completely, but she pretended Jared didn't exist. It infuriated friends of the couple.

"We won't be reduced to her level. And cutting her completely out of our lives will only make her more angry and bitter. She loves your family and as long as she… behaves… we think you need to let her know the kids. We can't change how she feels, but we can give her the respect she denies us, because we are better than that."

Alex's words, tinged with resigned sadness that tore Clark's heart, made him want to hit something. He could argue, but faced with the fact that he and Stevie loaded up the kids twice a year and went to visit her mother at the mental institution, made any argument he made against having Janet Ross in his life a little lame.

The rules were never discussed, but Janet seemed to know instinctively where the boundaries lay. When they visited, she talked to the children about Alex, treated them with love, and never mentioned her feelings about homosexuals, or Jared. The strategy worked fine for the younger kids. When they got old enough to recognize the slight for what it was, things changed. The twins' feelings for her turned from love to tolerance, much as she exhibited towards Alex. Clark felt sure the same thing would soon happen with Annie.

"Well, angel, Grammy Ross doesn't think Alex and Jared should be together." He began the speech he'd prepared and committed to memory for the situation.

Annie turned out to be more intuitive than the boys, latching on to his meaning immediately. "Grammy Ross is one of those people?" She sounded horrified. "But Daddy, Uncle A and J have been together forever. Doesn't she care that they're in love?"

Clark pulled her into a tight hug and Annie buried her face in his chest. "No, she doesn't care. She thinks it's wrong."

Annie's thin arms squeezed hard around Clark's waist. "But she's his mom, doesn't that hurt?"

Clark had to regroup. Annie's reaction, so different from the twins' frank 'that's stupid' before they moved on to something else, left Clark speechless. He heard a sound in the doorway and looked up to see Stevie standing there, concern written on her face. He gave her a small, tight smile.

"It does hurt, Annie. But people don't always think about feelings when they have strong ideas about something. Uncle Alex thinks Grammy Ross can't help how she feels and he forgave her a long time ago. So did Uncle Jared. They are a little sad, but they still love her."

Annie pulled away, her little face fierce, hands fisted at her side. "Well I don't. I'll never forgive her and I'll never love her again. She's mean."

Clark ran a hand through his short hair.

Stevie gave him a sad glance and moved to wrap an arm around Annie's shoulders in a comforting hug. "It's okay, sweetie. It's fine for you to feel that way. Mommy and Daddy kind of feel that way, too, but we have to think about Uncle Alex and Uncle Jared. They are sad and hurt, and we have to try to make that easier for them, so we try our best to do what they want. It's very hard to forgive someone when they hurt people you love." She pressed a kiss to Annie's hair. "Now, it's almost time to leave, will you go get Jens? I think he fell asleep behind the door again. And blow the whistle for the twins, they're in the shop."

Annie nodded and sniffed, rubbing her face with the paper towel Clark handed her. She hurried away to do what her mother asked.

"That was unexpected." Stevie sighed, leaning into Clark's side. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Mom didn't tell me they saw Ms Ross yesterday." He couldn't keep the tight anger out of his voice.

Out of them all, he struggled the hardest to comply with Alex's request. Clark's eyes slid closed and he trembled against his wife. "I hate her, Stevie. I hate her so much. I try to be forgiving like Alex and Jared, but I just want to smash her face in. And now she's hurt Annie."

Stevie pressed a kiss against the pulse in Clark's neck. "Janet Ross is a lesson they need to learn. Our kids live in a little isolated world of love and acceptance. They hear about things—hate and prejudice—but they never see it firsthand. At least Grammy Ross is a lesson we know is coming and we're ready for it." She snuggled against his side, voice resigned. "Their first experience with hate would blindside them wherever it comes from. At least this way, we aren't caught off guard, too."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Um, yeah, not really buying that either, but thanks for trying."

He laughed with Stevie just as Alexander and Jared, nicknamed Xander and Jay to keep everyone sane, barreled in through the laundry room. The fourteen-year-old boys, the first of Clark and Stevie's five children, were four years old when the couple began fostering them. They had gone to meet little Alexander not long after being approved as foster parents. A surprise awaited them in the form of a twin brother no one warned them about because child services planned to foster them separately. The small boys had huddled together, watching Clark and Stevie through wide scared eyes. After seeing the way the children clung together it seemed anticlimactic to learn that young Alex's twin was named Jared, making it that much harder to leave him behind. The twins' case worker had been beside herself with delight when they requested to foster both boys. Two years later the young woman had been their staunchest supporter when they filed to adopt.

When Xander and Jay were eight Annie came into their lives, a bright cheerful six-year-old who'd been in the system since birth. Foster children often got shifted from home to home in an effort to make room for them all, but when Annie landed in the Johnson household on her sixth birthday, sans front teeth and eager to be a part of a family, Clark and Stevie never let her go. They adopted Annie before her seventh birthday.

Kels—Kellsey—had been the first child they took in as an infant. He joined their family at only a few months old, given up by a young mother who wanted and tried to keep him, but couldn't provide adequate care for him. The open adoption ensured Kels' mother received a yearly update. Stevie faithfully kept a journal for her, filled with pictures. His birth mother moved out of state, but a gift always arrived for him in the mail, accompanied with a thank you note soon after Stevie sent the update.

Clark and Stevie adopted little Jens at birth. He came to them as a struggling, scrawny crack baby. Offered the chance to foster him first and allow the state to pay for his extensive medical care, Clark and Stevie refused, anxious to give the sick infant the security of his own home. Under their loving care, Jensen had grown into a chubby, dimpled two-year-old with the odd habit of napping behind open doors. Their home bursting with children of all ages, Clark thought they were done, but he noticed Stevie watching a tow-headed little girl in the mall with a familiar expression on her face. He expected any day for her to suggest they had room for one more. He thought they probably did. Annie would love a sister.

His heart aching with love for his wife, Clark pressed a kiss against her temple.

"Is it time to go?" the boys demanded in unison.

Annie appeared from the living room, balancing Jens on her hip and holding the hand of five-year-old Kels.

Stevie looked at their children and turned to Clark, eyes shining. "I love Thanksgiving."

"Why's that?" Xander demanded, though he was more interested in the food than conversation. "Ow!" He glared at Annie, who had smacked him when he tried to pry open one of the egg containers.

Clark moved between the battling siblings. "Because it was on a Thanksgiving, many moons ago, I won your mom's heart." Clark winked at the kids and the older boys groaned.

"Dad, we really don't have time for all that mushy stuff. It's time to load the car." Jay tossed his hair out of his face. His light hair and pale skin were a contrast to Xander's swarthier complexion and dark hair. Despite their differences in looks, their temperaments made them like two peas in a pod. They put words into action. Grabbing dishes, they hurried out to load the back of the SUV. Clark bemoaned the gas usage in the thing, but with such a big family, they didn't have much choice when it came to transportation. At least they didn't own a mini-van.

Stevie moved to take the baby. "Clark, help the boys. Annie and I will get the little kids' gear and load them in the car."

Clark's family had the routine of loading up to go somewhere down pat, and before long, Stevie was settled in the passenger seat fastening her seatbelt. Clark tossed her a grin, and with a look in the rearview mirror, double checking the kids were all in place, he started the engine.

"You know what?" Annie asked as they backed out of the drive way.

"What, baby?" Clark caught her gaze briefly in the rearview mirror.

"I was thinking. I'm still mad at Grammy Ross, but it's sad, too. It must be really lonely being so mean."

"From the mouths of babes." Stevie whispered.

Clark swallowed hard and focused on driving. Not once had he tried to imagine how Janet Ross might be affected by her own behavior. For the first time, he had a glimmer of understanding why Alex could forgive her.

But he still wanted to punch her face.



* * * *



"We're here!" Stevie called out, her family crowding through the back door, hurrying through the mud room into Alex and Jared's huge kitchen.

Coming in the door landed them beside a kitchen fully enclosed with long expanses of counter space. At the far end of the room, just beyond the cabinets lay the formal dining area where the table had been expanded to its full length, seating sixteen. Stevie had no idea where Alex and Jared kept the extra chairs and extensions for the table since, without the extra leaves, it normally seated eight. No doubt Alex had designed some secret cubby and Jared had built it with one hand tied behind his back, during a fifteen minute break from work while he whistled show tunes. She shook her head, amused at her thoughts, herding the smallest children out of the path of the older ones.

A family room lay to the right of the dining area. A huge TV took up one wall, a fireplace directly under it, already lit and adding a cozy ambiance to the room. The overstuffed furniture arranged in front of it made a cozy place to watch a movie or hold a conversation. Behind that grouping, things got more active with smaller chairs and huge ottomans encouraging game play. Beyond those lay a foosball game and air hockey table. The back wall contained floor to ceiling shelves filled with books. Sci-fi and fantasy paperbacks were tucked in with architect books and carpentry manuals.

Stevie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It smelled like Thanksgiving, despite the distinct lack of turkey. The lingering scents of leather and beeswax, part of the smells that made the house as much a home to her as the one she'd built with Clark. The kids felt the same way, quickly making themselves at home in their uncles' house. Kels grabbed a handheld video game from the shelf where he'd left it during a visit several days before. The twins deposited food on the counters and turned expectant eyes to where Jared leaned against the counter, talking to Alex while he julienned carrots. Annie came in, her carefully folded apron perched on top of the Tupperware containers of deviled eggs. Clark entered last with the huge bamboo salad bowl, a bag of salad 'extras' hanging from his arm. Jens tugged Stevie's shirt demanding to get down.

Alex laughed, looking around at the chaos. "What's that? You're here? I wouldn't have guessed." He moved out of the way, making some room. "Hi, Annie, just stack those over there. When everyone gets cleared out, I have room for them in the fridge.

Jared glanced at the older boys. "The shop's open." With whoops of delight, they headed for the sliding glass doors leading outside. Jared's carpentry shop, the size of a small house itself, stood in the backyard. He laughed and leaned over to pick up Jens when he tugged Jared's pant leg. "Hey there, little man."

"'Lo, Red." Jens sighed with contentment and wrapped chubby arms around Jared's neck, hugging him tight.

Things quieted and Stevie watched the twins racing across the backyard. "You spoil those two."

Jared glanced from the one in his arms, to the one playing Pokémon, and beyond into the yard where Xander and Jay were just disappearing into his shop. He gave her quizzical look of feigned innocence.

Stevie gave in with a quiet chuckle. "I meant the twins, but I see your point."

"Spoiling is what uncles do best." Jared admitted. "I'm headed out there now. I'll make sure they don't cut anything off or scroll saw their clothes." He kissed Alex's cheek.

Frowning, Jens pushed at Alex. "Mine Red." He poked out his bottom lip.

When Alex looked inclined to argue, Jared disarmed him with a raised brow and a mouthed 'later'.

Satisfied, Alex ruffled Jen's baby-fine hair. "Sure kid, whatever you say."

"If you ladies don't mind, we'll get out of your way." Clark laid his hands on Stevie's hips from behind and pressed a kiss under her ear.

"Go." She made shooing motions with her hands.

"Funny." Alex threw Clark a narrow-eyed glance that promised payback.

Clark grinned. "I thought so. Come on Jared, let's see what sort of nightmare you've got my boys tangled up in this week."

Jared followed him towards the door, protesting. "What happened last time was not my fault!"

"Good heavens, we're like a hurricane. Why do you keep inviting us back?" Stevie sagged against the nearest countertop.

"A harmless hurricane, so not so bad. There's this huge rush of arriving, then the semi-calm of the visit and then the huge rush of leaving. And then, finally, the calm after the storm. You're the one trapped in the car with them." He grinned wickedly.

Stevie rolled her eyes and picked up some of the egg containers. "Pantry fridge?" she asked.

Alex nodded, and grabbing a few more boxes, followed her. The pantry door stood right next to the fridge and opened into a large room filled with dry goods, kitchen gadgets on the shelves and, on the back wall, all the cleaning equipment for the house. On the right were solid metal doors. One led to a small walk in freezer and the other, a twin of the first, opened into a walk in refrigerator. Stainless steel racks lined the walls, with plenty of empty space for the containers of eggs and the bowl of salad.

Back in the kitchen Stevie closed the pantry door, laughing. "Any woman in America would kill for a pantry set up like that in her kitchen."

Alex glanced at the door as he returned to his carrots beside where Annie chopped celery. "I suppose." He slid his gaze to Stevie. "You know Jared and I will put one in for you anytime, all you have to do is give the word."

"What else needs to be done?" Stevie had little hope Alex would allow the clumsy change of subject. "Did you do the cheese and crackers yet?"

"Nope. The crackers are in the pantry and the cheese is in the bottom drawer of the kitchen fridge." He waited a beat. "You're avoiding the subject."

Stevie retrieved the boxes of crackers and dug out the cheese. She lifted a large silver tray down from on top of the refrigerator and went to work filling it with various types of cheese and crackers. "Guilty. We can't afford something like that." She laughed. "It's an incredible expense, Alex."

He crunched a carrot. "I didn't say anything about paying."

Annie looked at him, wide-eyed. "I don't think Daddy would like that, Uncle A. He says youdotoomuchforus."

The way she ran the words together like one big word made Alex's lips twitch with suppressed laughter. He glanced over at Stevie and she raised a brow and shrugged. "We aren't a couple of guys with high-end jobs and no one to take care of but ourselves. I know you mean well, but we are doing just fine. Me staying home with the kids might not make us rich, but it's the right decision. I love homeschooling. You wish you got to stay home and play all day with such fun little people."

"Sometimes I do wish just that," he confessed, turning back to his vegetable plate with a wistful smile.

Busy cutting bread into cubes to toast for the next day's stuffing, Annie paused to look up, her expression thoughtful. "When are you and Uncle J gonna have some kids?"

Alex looked stricken. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. Enjoying his discomfort, Stevie stifled a giggle and offered no help.

Annie's face flamed. "I don't mean like that. I know what… that babies… I'm not stupid." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply once, twice, and opened her eyes. "I meant adopt, like Mommy and Daddy. We're all 'dopted. You and Uncle Jared can do that. You could get a big girl like me; she can be my cousin-sister. Don't get a boy, they always like Uncle Jared." She went back to chopping her bread. "Do you like your apron?"

Alex blinked and laughed "Yes, I do. Very much, thank you." He tightened the knot he'd tied in the front after wrapping the long strings around his waist twice. The brown apron sported a slightly lopsided turkey embroidered on the bib.

"Good. When you get my cousin-sister, I'll teach her to sew and she can make you nice things all the time." Annie looked thoughtful. "Would you like to get a kid?" She piled the bread into the baking sheet and began to spread it out.

Alex leaned close, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It's a secret so you can't tell, but I'd get one tomorrow if I could. Uncle Jared isn't so sure." Alex reached for the broccoli, his movements very precise.

Stevie grew still, watching Alex with some concern. Alex and Jared rarely had differencing opinions on anything major.

"Oh." Annie frowned, and then glanced up. "Mommy, can I put the pan in the oven?"

"If you're careful." Stevie watched Annie put on oven mitts. Alex kept a pair hanging by the stove for her. He used regular pot holders, but insisted if Annie wanted to use the hot oven she use the mitts. With the bread safely in the oven and the timer set, she turned back to Alex. "What will you do?"

"Annie," Stevie cautioned. Her daughter didn't always know when to let a subject go.

Alex flashed Stevie a reassuring smile. "It's okay." He turned back to Annie. "We'll have to compromise."

Annie looked delighted. "Oh! The day after tomorrow?"

Alex looked puzzled. "What?"

Annie giggled and hugged him hard. "Mom says Uncle J never holds out more than one day when you ask for something." She beamed up at him, grinning and mischievous. "Just kiss him lots." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "That's what Mom does."

Alex feigned a look of horror. "Your mom kisses my Jared?"

"No!" Annie squealed with delighted laughter. "She kisses Daddy. Uncle J doesn't even like girls."

Stevie watched the two continue to play, bantering back and forth. From outside, she could hear the sounds of the boys. Through the glass doors she could see Jared and Jens playing 'Red-plane', Jens' favorite game in the whole world. He flew, arms outstretched, safely tucked under one of Jared's arms. The twins hammered something, laughing and shouting. Kels looked up from his game at the fun going on outside and tossed it aside. He ran outside shouting for his daddy to catch him. Everyone wore jackets against the crisp fall air, and a few red and gold leaves still clung to the huge old maple tree.

The sun caught in Clark's hair as he scooped a laughing Kels into his arms and joined the game of Red-plane. He turned to look at the house, and though Stevie knew there was no way he could see her watching with the glare of the sun on the tinted windows, he grinned and whispered something to Kels. They waved furiously before taking off again.

Her heart so full it felt like it might burst, Stevie thought again how much she loved Thanksgiving. The timer chimed and Stevie turned to supervise Annie removing the toasted bread cubes from the oven. Alex's arm slipping around her waist surprised her and Stevie turned to meet his eyes.

"Thanks for sharing your family with us, Stevie." His expression was so serious she repressed her natural reaction to tease.

"We're all family Alex, you know that. We always have been."


Chapter 2 - Back Home

"Stevie's home." Clark lay in his bed, blankets pulled up to his chest, hands clasped under his head, staring at the ceiling. "Stevie's home." He said it aloud once more, tasting the words trying to give them meaning, but they sounded flat to his ears.

He didn't know what they meant. Stevie was supposed to live at Haven Home for at least a year though she was doing well enough to come home over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Clark sighed. He knew that, after being attacked and almost killed by her mother, going to live somewhere people could help had been the right choice for Stevie to make, but accepting she need someone besides him had been hard. Now, without notice, Stevie had come home. There hadn't been anything but a hurried call from Alex earlier telling Clark she was back, like a warning. Clark wondered if he needed to be warned. He guessed he probably did. Showing up at Jared's and finding Stevie there would have been a bit of a shock.

She'd written him a few times since she left. Chatty, friendly letters that did nothing to feed his starving heart, and yet there'd been an undertone to the correspondence. A loneliness he could identify with, one that kept him holding on, when any sane guy would have given up.

Letting go wasn't part of Clark's makeup. The slightest hint Stevie needed him, made moving on impossible. Getting away to work out of town over the summer had given him the space and time he'd needed to gain some perspective, but if Alex had expected him to come home ready to hit the dating scene at last, his best friend had been severely disappointed. Living and working with a playboy like Justin White had been an eye opener after hanging out for so long with Alex and Jared. Clark had come away with a clearer picture of exactly what he wanted and it couldn't be found hanging out in a bar.

He wanted Stevie.

Clark closed his eyes, remembering Stevie before the attack, her smile and how she had teased him. After what happened she'd changed, the incident had sapped the joy from her. Clark thought if he could give that back to her, help her rediscover that flashing smile and the laugh that warmed his heart, they'd have a chance. If there was any justice in the world, his love for her would be good enough.

With a sigh Clark threw off his blankets and sat up. He doubted anything about him would ever be good enough for Stevie. No matter what Alex and Jared said, Clark remained convinced part of the blame for what had happened to Stevie belonged to him. He'd promised to keep her safe, and failed spectacularly. If he'd paid closer attention to her instead of focusing on himself, he might have saved her.

Never mind the clues something had gone wrong were clear only in hindsight. He should have known. Stevie depended on him to protect her and he hadn't. The last time he saw her, Stevie had been a shadow of herself… Clark closed his eyes tight refusing to give in to the emotional storm that threatened, knowing in the next few hours he'd be face to face with his failure.

With a deep breath, Clark forced thoughts of personal recrimination from his mind. How he felt didn't matter. Stevie mattered. She needed his support and friendship and she'd get it—no matter what it cost him. He'd go for a run and then head over to Jared's, just like he'd planned before Stevie came back into the picture.

Despite the fact it was still dark outside Clark shed his sleep pants and pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Stepping into his jogging shoes, he grabbed a jacket. Summer lingered but early mornings held a reminder that fall was just around the corner.

Stevie.

His heart just wouldn't shut up. He didn't deserve her, but he ached for her. God, he'd missed her. She loved the fall. The crisp air and the brightly colored leaves, while so many other people saw the season as the herald of the cold, dead winter, Stevie saw only the beauty. Clark barely restrained from slamming the front door and waking the house. Doing so wouldn't close off the avalanche of memories knowing Stevie was home had caused. Starting a slow jog down the walk way in front of his house Clark looked up in surprise when Alex fell into step beside him.

Alex grinned and they hit a familiar rhythm, feet hitting the concrete of the sidewalk the only sound in the night. It was a weird time, too late for crickets and too early for birds. Clark wondered if the frogs at the lake in the park were sleeping too, and then he wondered why he was thinking about frogs sleeping. Obviously having Stevie back in town, breathing the same air, had already fried his brain.

"How'd you know?" Clark asked as they took the turn towards the park.

Alex gave him a sideways glance of exasperation. "How could I not know?"

Clark had to give him that. Literal running had always been his escape from things he wanted to sprint from mentally. "How's she look?" They turned onto the running path that wound through the park and picked up speed slightly on the packed dirt instead of concrete.

"Better than when she left. She's back for good, not just a visit. Jared's kinda mad she quit counseling so soon. He thinks it's a bad decision."

Clark frowned. "And you left her there?"

The sun pinked the horizon, birds began to wake up, and a frog croaked. Oblivious to the world around him Clark imagined little Stevie, alone in the face of Jared's displeasure.

Alex shrugged. "She's the one who came home early. Let her deal with it. It's not like they were going to have it out in front of me anyhow." Alex glanced at Clark, his expression amused. "When I get back she'll be in bed and have her job back. Jared'll be sitting at the table drinking and brooding. Fun times. So how are you?"

Clark slowed to a stop staring at Alex's back as he moved ahead. What the heck?

Alex looked back over his shoulder and frowned at Clark, standing in the middle of the path. He jogged backwards until they were even again. Running in place, he studied Clark's face. "What?"

"Jared drinking at six in the morning? Dude." Clark felt stricken, maybe the whole world had gone crazy.

Alex laughed. "Tea or OJ. It's Jared, you idiot. Did your brain die?"

Clark wondered the same thing as they started jogging again. Maybe it was the result of the fact he felt like he needed a drink. A strong one. Bad. "Do you think she'll want to see me?"

"You guys didn't break up or stop being friends. She knows you're back from that job. I'm sure she expects to see you."

"Can't break up with someone who never wanted you to begin with." Clark snorted a laugh realizing how he sounded. "God, how pathetic am I, anyhow?"

"Hella pathetic." Alex jogged out of reach, managing to dodge the half-hearted swat Clark took at the back of his head. "Stop worrying so much, it's going to be fine."

Clark shrugged but kept moving. Somehow physical exertion helped dull the edge of his concern. "Easy for you to say. You actually get to have sex."

"So could you if you weren't so damned…" Alex hesitated but Clark jumped right in.

"Focused."

"That's one word for it. Clark, you could get out and date a little," Alex said, his tone cautious.

Clark had heard and rejected the advice before. "You didn't."

"Well, no, but Stevie isn't Jared."

Just the way Alex said Jared's name told the story. Stevie wasn't Jared. No one was Jared, or even came close in Alex's opinion. Clark ran alongside his best friend in silence. As they approached the lake, he jogged out over the grass to a stop. He looked out over the water thinking about Stevie. Clark turned back to Alex, meeting his friend's concerned gaze.

Clark gave a half smile of reassurance. "I guess that's the problem. She is to me."

Alex's brow furrowed and he nodded. "Okay, I get it. Guess I've been out of line with the whole 'get dating' thing. I should have realized. It's going to work out, Clark, you'll see. She looks great."

Relieved to have Alex's understanding at last, Clark turned back to the view, watching the sun rise over the breeze ruffled water. Their shoulders brushed, but the silence kept each lost in his own thoughts. Clark wondered if the days ahead held a chance for him to show Stevie his heart, and if she'd want it if he did.


What's in my diary for the next few weeks... aka The List Of Doom (TM)

What's in my diary for the next few weeks... aka The List Of Doom (TM)

A mighty fine erection near our hotel in Atlanta
So next Monday, 28 October, I need to crack on with my list... I have plotted and planned with Amber, and Steph, and also on my own stuff and with Meredith and this is the list I need to tackle...

Blogs

GRL 2013. SO much to tell you all...
E-Book Pricing
Erotica
Various guest spots I promised to do

Books to be writin'

The Model And The Agent (Ellery 7) - so nearly done... poor Mikey...

Christmas In The Sun (with Meredith Russell) - we're half way... ish

The Case Of The Purple Pearl (End Street 5 with Amber Kell) more news on this to follow

Texas 5 - for release week before Christmas

Incubus Agenda (Supernatural Bounty Hunters 5) - I may have to delay release of this by two weeks... from 15 November to 1 December, watch this space. GRL knocked me sideways and I am now behind... sighs...

Edit and add to Jesse's Christmas for release before Christmas

The Third Kingdom (Supernatural Bounty Hunters 6)

Collate the stories for the free Christmas Antho... (bully Meredith and Amber into adding short stories)

Triskellion book 1 (book 1 in a series with Meredith Russel and Chris Quinton)

Books Releases: Love Lane

RJ Scott

Sunday 15 December 2013 Texas 5
Sunday 22 December 2013 Jessie's Christmas

RJ Scott & Meredith Russell

Saturday 7 December 2013 Christmas In the Sun (Sapphire 4)

Diane Adams

Saturday 26 October 2013 Clark's Story (MOM 4)
Wednesday 30 October 2013 That One Thing (MOM 4.1)
Saturday 2 November 2013 If The Stars Fall (MOM 5)
Saturday 9 November 2013 Last First Kiss
Friday 6 December 2013 A Home For Christmas (MOM 6)

Books Releases: Totally Bound

Friday 1 November 2013 Montana 1: Big Sky (Pre-order) 
Friday 15 November 2013 Montana 1: Big Sky (available to download and read from TEB)
Friday 13 December 2013 Montana 1: Big Sky (Third Party Release) 
Friday 13 December 2013 The Model and the Agent (Pre-order)
Friday 27 December 2013 The Model and the Agent (available to download and read from TEB)

RJ Scott & Amber Kell:
 
Friday 1 November 2013 End Street 4: Sinful Santa (available to download and read from TEB)
Friday 29 November 2013 End Street 4: Sinful Santa (Third Party Release)

Books Releases: eXtasy Books

Sunday 1 December 2013 The Incubus Agenda (Supernatural 5)
Wednesday 1 January 2014 The Third Kingdom (Supernatural 6)



Stronger In Your Hands - Making Of A Man, book 3, Diane Adams

Stronger In Your Hands - Making Of A Man, book 3, Diane Adams

The Book

Eighteen and still trapped at prep school, Alex feels he and Jared will never get together, and then a surprise visit from Jared puts all doubt to rest. After Alex graduates everything seems to fall right into place.

The heat between them is scorching, but secrets from Jared's past and his need to take care of everyone around him, jeopardizes their fledgling relationship. How will they build a future if Jared can't to face the past?

Our December (Book 1)
A Place To Run (Book 2)
Stronger In Your Hands (Book 3)

Buy Links


Reviews

To Follow


Excerpt

A Private Place

Alex found Jared in their bedroom, sitting in the window seat with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms clasped around them. The sun streamed in through the panes, setting aflame the autumn highlights in his dark hair. Clad casually in a pair of cut-off jeans and a tank top, his feet bare, Alex thought Jared looked good enough to eat. He crossed the room and brushed his fingers through Jared's sun-warmed hair before he spoke. Jared looked up with a smile at Alex's touch.

"What are you doing?" Alex settled down on the edge of the window seat and peered out the window.

Looking slightly embarrassed, Jared shrugged. "Wishing it would rain."

"Oh." Alex laughed and glanced up at the cloudless blue sky. "It can't rain every Fourth of July." He rubbed his cheek against Jared's shoulder.

Jared chuckled. "I know that. Actually, it hardly ever rains on the Fourth."

"Ah yeah, that wicked summer thing," Alex teased. "Clark called. Did you want to do something? They're suggesting a cookout and fireworks." Jared turned and stretched out his legs, tugging Alex to sit next to him. They sat hip-to-hip, leaning against the warm glass.

"You want to?" Jared took Alex's hand in his, playing with his fingers, sliding his own between them and out again. Alex watched Jared's hand-play, felt the familiar curl of heat in his spine in reaction to his lover's touch. He sighed and shook his head, leaned against Jared's shoulder.

"Our friends think how we want to be alone on the Fourth is weird." Eyes sliding closed, Alex squeezed his hand.

"So, you don't want to either," Jared said.

"No."

"Then we won't."

"There won't be any rain." Alex's head lifted momentarily with the motion of Jared's shrug.

"The rain doesn't really matter."

Which was true, but they both liked rain that day. "They aren't expecting us. Even when we say we will, we don't show up. I don't know why they always call."

"So we don't feel left out. So, if we're staying home, what are we having?" Jared wrapped an arm around him, hugging him close.

"I bought a couple porterhouses for you to grill. I'll throw together a salad. Your mom sent over that cake she makes us every year. The one she frosts with Cool Whip."

"Is there any left?" Jared laughed and Alex elbowed him.

"Yes. Geez."

"You love that cake."

"Yeah, love it more when we eat it together."

"Good thing Mom doesn't know that," Jared teased. "So we've got food, the best company, and we can see the fireworks from the backyard. Why go anywhere?" He leaned and pressed a kiss to Alex's mouth. When he pulled back, Alex met his gaze, eyes laughing.

"You want to stay home because we always do."

Jared grinned at the accusation. "I hope you don't think that's a revelation."

Alex stretched and climbed to his feet. "I don't know why you sit there."

Jared crossed his ankles, grasping the edge of the seat on either side of his thighs. The sun made a halo of his uncombed hair. "You don't?" he grinned, leaning back against the glass.

"I don't, it's uncomfortable as hell, even alone." Alex stuck his hands in the back pockets of his shorts but couldn't take his eyes off Jared. Wide shoulders bared by the tank top, narrow hips, long legs, and that damned hair. Alex wanted to climb into his lap and stay there.

"I sit here for you."

"That is not why!"

Jared got to his feet, moving with lazy slowness, a natural result of sun basking, and came to a stop in front of Alex. He cupped his face with a gentle hand and traced his thumb over Alex's cheek. "Oh, it's why." His voice, low and gravelly, went straight to Alex's groin. "You should see your face when the sun's in my hair."

Alex took the step forward that put him in Jared's arms. "The first time I jerked off thinking about you, was after I saw the sun in your hair."

Instead of being turned on, Jared looked horrified. "Dude, you were like twelve!"

Laughing at the exaggeration, Alex shoved at his shoulder. "Fifteen, jerk." He stepped away and surveyed the bed Jared had been not so subtly guiding him toward. "Where are you going to lay me down in that mess?" he asked, hands on hips. Jared wrapped his arms around Alex's waist.

"Always room for my baby."

Alex grunted in disbelief. "What is all that?" He reached down to pick up a picture that caught his attention, but his gaze fell on the wooden chest sitting open on the foot of the bed and he jerked his hand back. "Oh. I'll go make the salad while you clean up."

Jared's arms tightened around Alex's waist. "You can stay." Alex turned to face him.

"Are you sure?"

Some people kept scrapbooks or journals. Jared's way of preserving memories tended to be more hands-on, and at first Alex had a hard time understanding his need for privacy. He thought being together meant they shared everything, including the contents of Jared's memory box. It caused a couple bumps for them, but once Alex started keeping a journal, his thoughts captured in his messy script meant for no one else to see, he understood what the contents of the box meant to Jared.

"Yeah. Sit down."

Tentatively, Alex sat on the edge of the bed near his pillow. Jared sat near the foot, and resumed sorting through the pictures, trinkets and scraps of scribbling scattered over the bed. Alex picked up some pictures and thumbed through them, young Jared and his dad working in his dad's woodshop. Jared glanced up from the papers in his hands.

"I wish you could have met Dad." He reached for the pictures. Alex handed them over.

"So do I, you look just like him. More now than when you were small."

Jared nodded. "That's what Mom says. You'd have liked him." Jared waggled his brows wickedly. "We have the same hair."

Alex blushed bright red. "Jared, that was just wrong."

Chuckling, Jared tucked the pictures back into his box. "I guess it was, sorry. Mom says I think just like him too. Well, obviously there are some differences." He grinned and winked at Alex. There were several packets of letters rubber-banded together. Alex picked them up but Jared took them out of his hands.

"Sorry, those are mine." Jared fingered the worn envelopes.

Alex was bemused. "I wrote those and I can't look at them? Did you save them all?"

"They're mine. It's illegal to mess with a guy's mail. And no, it's not all of them. I don't have a box that big."

Alex's eyes were on the tender way Jared's callused hands held the letters. "How'd you decide which to keep?"

"I don't know." Jared pulled an especially worn one out of the stack and handed it to Alex. He felt strangely as if he were holding something sacred. Alex opened it and unfolded the single sheet within. Inane chatter about school life, written in his messy left-handed scrawl, filled the page. Alex didn't see anything special about it.

"Just a letter." Alex turned it over and looked at the empty back. Jared smiled.

"That was the first letter you signed 'love, Alex'."

Alex looked at it again, Jared's words reminding him of his indecision about whether to include the 'L' word in the letter. The page was almost worn through where he'd erased it so many times before committing.

"You changed how you signed your letters to me after that." Alex remembered his nerves on opening Jared's reply. He thought he wanted to see 'love' in front of Jared's name in response to his own limited confession of affection. "Do you remember?"

Jared retrieved the letter from Alex and tucked it back into the envelope before returning it to the correct stack. He set them in the box. "The same way I still sign whatever I write to you."

"'Yours, Jared.' I wanted more than anything for you to say 'love' back to me. You have a hell of a way of teaching me you always know what I need. Loving me has never been about words for you. It's just the truth."

Jared reached out, his thumb brushed Alex's cheekbone. Alex closed his eyes, leaning into the caress, enjoying the familiar slide of heat down his spine that accompanied Jared's touch. "The truth is simple, Alex. It doesn't need a lot of words. Besides, people love chocolate, their shoes, last week's big hit. I'm yours, I always will be."

Alex captured Jared's hand in his own, pressed it against his cheek. When the letter had arrived, he remembered rushing straight to his room and closing the world out. His hands had been shaking when he opened it. He'd looked first for the signature and there, where he'd thought he wanted to see the word love, instead found a promise beyond his wildest dreams. "Mine." His whisper brushed Jared's palm. "I carried that letter with me for months."

"Those weren't easy times for us." Jared stroked his fingers back through Alex's hair, tucking curls behind his ear.

Alex smiled. "We did alright." He glanced back down at the paraphernalia still scattered over the bed. "Well, after you stopped trying to chase me off we did okay. What's this?" Alex grabbed a stack of printer paper tied together with a black silk ribbon. Looking bemused, Jared didn't protest when Alex pushed the ribbon aside to read the top page.

"You saved these?" Alex's face turned bright red and his voice squeaked. Jared rescued his papers, putting them into his box with the letters.

"All of them. I used to make fun of dudes that jerked off in front of their computers until you went to college and started emailing me. Jerking off reading it became a common practice. I started printing them so I could take them to bed. Kept them in a drawer with my lube."

Alex looked like he might melt from the heat of his embarrassment. He rallied bravely. "Dude, you were really bad at email sex."

Jared shrugged. "Don't have the words for it. I sent pictures."

"Oh, I found one of those while cleaning up some old files on my computer the other day." Alex reached under the edge of the bed and retrieved his laptop. "I had a bunch of crap I've been transferring between computers forever. I forgot all about these." Alex turned the computer to face Jared. "This was my wallpaper through most of my junior year. I thought it deserved a revisit." The picture was of Jared and Clark unloading a truck. Jared had on his jeans, work boots, and a pair of heavy leather gloves. Sweat gleamed on his bare back and muscles bunched as he lifted the heavy boards out of the truck, the sun in his hair.

"Stevie. She was supposed to be taking publicity pictures for the company. She took an amazing number of Clark beefcake pictures." Clark's white blond hair shone in the sun in the picture, his sweaty back and shoulders bulkier with muscle than Jared's, though his shoulders weren't as wide or his hips as narrow. "God, we were young."

"Clark? Jared, when that was my background almost no one asked me about Clark." Alex turned the computer back around in his lap.

"I'm not the looks in this relationship, or when I'm standing next to Clark. It's okay, all that matters is what you see." Jared smiled fondly at Alex and put away a few more things into the box. Alex frowned and closed his laptop, stuck it back under the edge of the bed. Jared still thought he lacked something in the looks department, and that Alex saw him through rose-colored glasses. One reminder course coming up.

"Jared can we go out after the fireworks?" He busied himself helping Jared stack stuff back into the box. Jared stopped to look at him.

"After?"

Alex shrugged. "It's not going to rain and we haven't gone dancing in a while." Years really, but Alex hoped Jared would just go along with it.

Thoughtfully, Jared picked up the last few things off the quilt. "I guess you want to see that new dance club over on Fifth?"

Alex hid his surprise. He had no idea there was a new dance club. "Um, it'll be fun."

Jared looked like he thought Alex might have lost his mind, but he shrugged as he fit the final things into place, and closed the chest. "I’m sure it will." He didn't sound sure but Alex was determined.

"Wait, you missed something." Alex picked up the thick square envelope that had somehow gotten under the box. Sliding the card out, he grinned. "The invitation to my high school prom." Alex's grin broadened and his dimple flashed. "You really surprised me that time."

Jared set the chest on the floor, his eyes fixed on Alex. Reaching out, he took the invitation and laid it on the lid of the box. "You remember that, do you?" He pushed Alex back onto the pillows, moving over him, his eyes fixed on Alex's face.

"I remember a lot of things." Alex smirked suggestively.

"Is that right? Like what?" Jared challenged him.

Eyes narrowed, Alex wrapped a leg around Jared's waist and with a hard push on his shoulder flipped them over so he straddled Jared's hips, staring down at him. He fisted handfuls of Jared's tank top and leaned forward until their lips brushed.

"I love you," he breathed into their kiss.







One Day In The Dorm

"Why did I let you convince me to buy a ticket?" Alex groaned as he flopped back onto his bed and flung his arm over his eyes. His best friend at school, Lisa, sat on the edge of the bed laughing at him.

"Because it's your senior prom and you know you want to go. So stop whining."

Alex peered out at her from under his arm when she shoved his shoulder.

"Yep, because going to my senior prom as the third wheel has always been a secret dream of mine." He hid behind his arm again. It seemed like Jared could relent just this once. Being forced to go without him sucked. Staying alone at the dorm sounded much better now that going stag was actually upon him.

"We don't think of you as a third wheel!" Lisa sounded indignant.

Sighing, Alex sat up. "I know. I just wish…" His voice trailed off—no need to repeat something he voiced so often. He stood and went to where his tux hung from a hook on the closet door. Alex brushed his hand across the shoulder of the black jacket. "It seems like a waste of time to get so dressed up with no one to impress."

"You could still ask someone. I doubt your man will hold it against you." Alex shook his head. The idea of impressing someone else seemed worse than going alone. Lisa sighed. "This is crazy, Alex, it's not like you'd have to do him, or her."

Alex shrugged, running his fingers down the inside the lapel, eighteen and still a virgin. Rome had been amazing, but a second Christmas trip to Europe meant there had been an ocean between Jared and him when Alex turned eighteen. Maybe Jared would be more willing to visit if they'd already had sex. Alex losing his virginity at the prom sounded like the sort of stereotype Jared would avoid like the plague. "I'm glad Seth is okay with me sharing the limo and going to dinner with you guys."

Lisa gave an unladylike snort. "Are you kidding? Seth would be okay with you sharing the hotel room with us."

Alex's mind went blank and felt as useless as a hamster on an exercise wheel as he turned to face her. "He said that?" He winced when his voice squeaked, and Lisa laughed.

"Oh, yeah, he said it, and told me to ask you. Thankfully one of us knows how bad that Jareditis stuff you have is." Lisa waved him off as if the idea of her date extending a bi-curious invitation to her best friend didn't bother her in the least.

"Is that the only reason you didn't ask?" Alex flinched at the slide show of visuals his brain insisted on showing him. Jareditis or not, boobs had never been in his future.

"Chill out." Lisa stopped laughing. "The reason I didn't ask was I knew it'd freak you out, but seriously a little sex for fun never hurt anyone. Personally, I think the idea is hot as hell."

Staring at her in disbelief, Alex felt for an unsettling moment as if he didn't know her at all. He struggled to find something to say as he ran his hand through his curls, his face aflame. Finally, he gave up and turned back to his tux. Sex for fun, a threesome, Alex's brain stalled on the idea. Maybe Jared and all his morals had warped him more than he realized, considering how the idea shocked him. Busy trying to filter out the images conjured up by Lisa's invitation, Alex remained oblivious to the room behind him, thankful she'd quit talking.

"Holy crap." Lisa fumbled at his sleeve, but still annoyed with her crass invitation, Alex ignored her. "Alex, would you turn the fuck around?"

Brushing off her hand, Alex turned. "Lisa, would you quit…" His voice failed as he stared at the apparition leaning on the jamb of the open door. He shook his head and blinked, trying to clear his head. He refused to believe he missed Jared enough to start seeing things, seeing him. Then the apparition laughed and Alex flung himself across the bed and into its arms.

"Jared," he breathed as Jared's mouth captured his. The fingers of one hand tangled in Alex's curls and the other settled at the small of his back, pulling him close. Alex melted into the embrace, his disbelief suspended at the solid feel of Jared's body against his.

Jared growled, widened his stance and pulled him closer. Mewling into their kiss, Alex clutched Jared's T-shirt. When they finally came up for air, Jared nuzzled Alex's neck, breathing him.

"Missed you." Jared buried his face in his hair. "Missed you so much."

Alex murmured agreement, nosed Jared's cheek searching for another kiss. He moaned approval when Jared complied, pressing their mouths together, licking and nibbling Alex's lips. Desperation gave way to tenderness, and at last Alex stepped back, breathing hard. But he didn't let go.

"I can't believe you're here."

Before Jared could answer, the sound of Lisa clearing her throat captured their attention. Alex flushed. He turned to face her, tucking himself under Jared's arm. "I'm sorry, we just…" He shrugged.

Jared pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Better introduce us before I manage to scare her away completely."

He wrapped his arm around Jared's waist. "Lisa, this is Jared." He pressed his face against Jared's shoulder, breathed his scent in an effort to convince himself he wasn't dreaming.

Lisa burst out laughing. "No, really?" Alex made a face at the sound of her false astonishment.

"It's nice to meet you, Lisa." Jared smiled. "I've heard quite a lot about you."

"Same here, although I'm in shock. Odds are ten to one he made you up." Alex wanted to smack her and she giggled. "Not telling which side I bet on, so don't even ask. Are you here for prom?"

Alex looked up at Jared. "Why are you here?" Knowing Jared, Alex's brain refused to entertain the idea he'd come for a glorified high school dance, but the idea of missing prom to hang with Jared didn't bother him in the least. He couldn't seem to think about anything except the fact he'd turned eighteen months before, finally legal even by Jared standards.

Jared reached in his back pocket and pulled out a rather rumpled square envelope. "I guess that depends on if this invitation is still good."

Alex stared at the cream-colored paper. "I never thought you'd come."

"I wasn't sure either for a while, and yet here I am. Good thing?" Jared's blue eyes danced with his teasing.

"The best thing ever." Alex beamed at him.

"So room for me in the limo, or whatever?"

"Of course!" Lisa chirped, jumping to her feet and recapturing their attention. "Now if you get out of my way, I'll leave you guys alone."

Alex realized she would have already slipped out but they blocked the door completely. "Uh, sorry." He started to edge out of the way but Jared stopped him.

"Since you have room for me, I have to pick up my tux."

"You can't leave, you just got here." Alex frowned.

Lisa tugged Alex's shirt. "He's coming back. Let him go get ready," she urged. Jared flashed her a look of thanks.

"I haven't registered at the hotel yet."

"Hotel?" Alex's breath caught as he met Jared's gaze.

Jared's eyes were hot, and he ran his thumb along Alex's jaw. "Yes. What time should I be back?"

Alex swallowed, staring distractedly into Jared's eyes. A hotel. His palms began to sweat. "Five, the limo is picking us up to go to dinner. Um, I can't stay off campus without parental permission."

Jared kissed Alex, hard. "Then it's a good thing I have a note from your dad, don't you think? See you at five." Laughing, Jared left Alex sputtering.

Staring at the open doorway in disbelief, Alex sank onto the edge of his bed. "Did that just happen?"

Lisa giggled. "Oh, yeah."

Alex took a deep breath in an effort to steady himself, but before he could breathe out Jared popped his head back in the door.

"What color is your cummerbund?"

Alex stared at him blankly.

"The same color as your eyes." Lisa grinned. "Why?" But she was talking to the air. Jared already gone.

"Corsage." The word drifted back to them from somewhere down the hall.

"He's going to totally embarrass me." Alex tried to sound worried, but he looked forward to Jared's brand of spoiling him more than he wanted to admit.

"So that's Jared." Lisa dropped down onto the bed beside him.

"Yeah. Oh, yeah." Seeing Jared had soothed a perpetual ache in his heart, but Alex had the struggle with his dick to occupy him instead.

"I get it now." Lisa shook her head. "I didn't before, not really."

Alex shrugged. "Jared's kind of impossible to explain. Just wait."

"Hot too." Lisa hugged Alex's arm. "He growled at you."

Chuckling, Alex grinned. "He does that all the time. I think it means he's happy to see me."

Lisa snorted. "If by that you mean all of him is happy to see you, then yeah, I'd say you're right."

Alex flopped back on the bed in a daze and stared at the ceiling. "I can't believe he's here."

"I can't believe you're finally gonna have sex!" Lisa squealed, and Alex blushed.

"I wouldn't take bets on that if I was you."

"What are you talking about? It's a sure thing. It's prom, you're legal, and there's a hotel room."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, but you left something out. He's still Jared."


Plotter or Pantser? Advice for new writers...

Plotter or Pantser? Advice for new writers...

This is a very interesting article written by EM Lynley on how to plan your novel. Written for the November NaNoWriMo, and can be found HERE.

There are other articles on her site that I think any prospective author will find really useful, so pop on over and have a look...

Me though, I don't plan at all. I can quite clearly say that if I plan, the entire story becomes stale and suddenly I have no wish to write the story. Like all the fun has gone.

But of course, if I think about it, I do plan. I have an idea in my head of word count, be it a 30,000 word novella or like Texas which was 80000 +. I also have a clear idea of the end of my book, and yes I know that sounds weird.

Take The Demon's Blood for instance. How the heroes get away at the end was in my head from the second I started writing. And no, I don't think I gave anything away with that, after all, my books always contain HEA for the heroes. I hope you will be surprised by how I finish the book. For Texas 4, Texas family, I had the last line in my head for all of the ten seconds before I wrote it. I never knew where that was going at all.

So my entire book for Demon's Blood was written to that absolute point where I know exactly where I am heading. I guess that is a kind of planning in a way. Other than that (and I never thought I would say this, and yes it sounds very pretentious), my characters tell me where it is going. In how they react, what they say, what their back story is etc.

And for Texas, hey, i just let my characters take me where they wanted. And god forbid anyone interrupts me when i am in mid flow--it's like the characters live in my head and I feel for everything they think and do.

So looking at the title, I am a pantser, and I can't think of another way to write that would suit me. Others are plotters. If you are, then go see EM's blog posts which are very nicely done...

HUGS RJ X


News before Gay Rom Lit. The Demons Blood. Texas Family out early!

News before Gay Rom Lit. The Demons Blood. Texas Family out early!


The Demons Blood

The fourth in my Supernatural Bounty Hunters series is out with eXtasy books on Wednesday 15th October! I am so excited for you to read Simeon and Asher's story! You can buy it HERE.

When Simeon, a mountain lion shifter meets Asher, a blood demon, there is instant attraction. But, how can they act on the way they feel when there is an entire kingdom at stake.

Asherkan Iblis is a blood demon, a slave to elves, and a soldier. He keeps the fact he has royal elvish blood a secret. His half brother returns to broker peace but reveals he is actually there for much more and Asher faces a decision that could lead to his death.

Simeon Blue, brother of the leader of the Feline Guild, mountain lion shifter, is tasked to accompany Phin on a mission over the Red Mountains and into the Second Kingdom. He has to talk to the Guild but all they want to do is stay in isolation and his mission is fraught with danger.

When Simeon is wounded Asher hides him and suddenly, next to a kings death, a cousin's hate, and Ludvik's black magic, love falls on the agenda.

Texas Family

I brought forward the general release for Texas Family when I realised I had placed the date slap bang in the middle of GRL!

Tuesday 15th, to celebrate my 9 hour flight to Atlanta (!!!), Texas Family will go live on Amazon and All E-Romance. Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc, should follow soon after.

We will update the Texas 4 page HERE with buy links as soon as we have them... :)

Review for the book have been awesome so far, so fingers crossed you all enjoy it.