Tag Archives: Writing

First Date Taboo

01 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in Fantasy, M/M, Short Story

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“Technically, yes.” A pale flush crept up Charlie’s neck and spread across his cheeks, the color clashing with his long, flaming red hair. “But we ended up only getting fined for trespassing.”

“And?” prompted Terry.

Charlie shook his head marginally, glancing around the restaurant before refocusing on his dessert plate. “And nothing.”

“You blushed harder than this wine. Don’t tell me nothing. Tell me the story.”

“Uh…” Now Charlie’s discomfort ramped up to a ten, making Terry reevaluate his pushing. He was just about to recant his demand when Charlie went on. “It sort of involves an ex and that’s a taboo topic for first dates so…”

The gentle clinging of silverware on china and the hum of the saxophone in the bar in the next room finished Charlie’s sentence. He then opted for a gulp from his water, bypassing his wine glass completely. The discomfort lingered, though the flush under his freckles began to diminish.

Wanting to put Charlie at ease, Terry chuckled and leaned against the table to say, “No taboo topics with me. I won’t judge.” He lifted his brows. “But only if I get the juicy details.”

Charlie’s shoulders relaxed and his lips curved. Most of his self-conscious behavior faded. “All the juicy details? Because it wasn’t exactly a PG night.”

Terry waved a hand nonchalantly before picking up his glass. “I’m an NC-17 type of guy.” Continue reading →

September ’17, Briefly

30 Saturday Sep 2017

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Back to school season! That means words can be completed without distraction! Massive editing can be taken on! Research doesn’t become a befuddled mess in my brain! Means I finished a bunch of work :)

1) Lost Isle (The Ocean’s Aviary I)

Received Cover files and Teasers! And oh, my gosh I’m so excited to share with you. It’s gorgeous and awesome and…and won’t be revealed until Oct. 22nd!

2) Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Finished! Sort of! The words are all there at least. It’s waiting on further editing phases, but I’m really happy with how it turned out–except that one scene that needs the prose massively cleaned up. I must have been having a ‘wat r wurds’ day when I wrote that. So plenty of work left to accomplish to keep me busy! La’vii is a sweetheart compared to some of my last few MCs.  Definitely a nice change of pace :) And Co’mil is… He’s the kind of man who pretends to be harder than he is because he’s been hurt too many times. But maybe I’ve said too much :O

This one isn’t a grand, journey-style adventure like The Wilds Duology, but I think it’s fun to add pieces to the world. Extra character introductions and wider possibilities. There’s another standalone Houndmaster Novel in the works as well that is also mostly set in Crafton–Doghouse Negotiations. Only about 15% of the way through this one, but it has more to do with the city and some of the darker things going on there.

3) Storm Dancer (Living Metal I)

This was that Steampunk story I told you about. You know, the one I claimed was just a novelette. Yeeaahh, it’s now the first in a novella series. I finished this as well. Coming mid-to-late 2018. It’s about a mechanic and his favorite, and famous, client.

4) Somewhat Secret Project

Mostly I did brainstorming/outlining for this one. Have a couple thousand words completed as well. No clues.

~

Hope you are all having a productive autumn as well :) Just in the past two days, around where I live has finally come out of a humidity spike and the heat has been lingering around 70F. It’s pumpkin spice time and colorful leaves…and boots!

PS: Full disclosure, I don’t actually drink pumpkin spice. I’m a Christmas peppermint kind of gal.

In between the busy days

17 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in Poem

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In between the busy days

of catching trains and bills to pay

of looming deadlines kept at bay

by flurried habits come to stay

that drag us from our youth most gay

and teach us numbing, awful ways

to cope, to handle lives of grey

that never should have been okay

 ~

In between those busy days

your call, your voice flies me away

from deadlines, habits must obeyed

to lightened moments lit by rays

of soulful joy that makes me say

you always lead my thoughts astray

for when you call, the greyness fades

and life transcends beyond okay

© EMMI LAWRENCE (5.19.2017)

Lines to Read By (August)

10 Sunday Sep 2017

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Here are some of my favorite teaser lines from last month :)

All from Pup Games (mm fantasy romance/coming of age novel) except for the one with the picture. That one was a writing prompt I had fun with.

<3 you all! Hope your weekend has been going well :)

 

Continue reading →

Tall, Dark & Handsome

03 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in Contemporary, M/M, Short Story

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Every coffee shop needs three things: black coffee, free Wi-Fi and a hot barista. The trifecta for all our caffeine-addicted, lust-driven and connectivity issues.

Perfection is not easy to find.

That place off Mackle Street has spotty internet. The cafe down on the corner of Humble Way and 4th has burnt coffee and a stream of loud teens. The place a street off of that—Cloud Coffee and Tea—is so quiet you’ll know every bit of drama between the two baristas before an hour is out.

The discovery of the century is this narrow cafe called Tall, Dark & Handsome—or TDH to us regulars. The windows have navy blue, yet sheer, curtains that both let in the light but stop nosy window gazers from seeing computer screens. The hum of activity, while just a murmur, is enough to give a sense of cover. The tables are small but rounded, hard wood yet curved comfortably, obviously meant to entice a person to sit for long lengths of time because they don’t numb backsides or leave lines of pain behind the knees.

Small shelves, each filled with a spattering of books, are scattered throughout, some of the tables having them built into their single center legs. The unwritten rule is you take one, you leave another. One kind, though likely anal, older gentleman has taken it upon himself to keep those shelves sorted. There’s a fantasy and sci-fi table, another with romance and paranormals and two more with dramas and thrillers. The non-fiction fills the largest shelves by the bakery window.

The coffee beans are ground by hand in-house, the occasional humming of that pestle no where near as ear-splittingly painful as the machines in other places. The baristas make hot cocoa from scratch as well, their pots of melted chocolate and warm milk a constant aphrodisiac.

They wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for the lean specimen of male beauty always standing behind that stove. He wears no name tag, though his apron is as black as his hair and his coffee-flavored eyes are as hypnotizing as the real thing. His smiles are brief, his attention briefer. His hands move deftly in their work, skills that likely translate well into the bedroom. His book bag is filled with computer and textbooks when he leaves at noon and the occasional overheard conversation puts him in law school.

A man like that is sure to be attached. His ability to be an ardent lover a byproduct of all that unwavering focus and intense ambition. How he must feel, hot and willing, sweet and strong, moving over his partners… Continue reading →

August ’17, Briefly

01 Friday Sep 2017

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Considering I knew August would be a low-output month, I’m pretty pleased with what I was still able to accomplish. Libraries with Mine-craft to eat into children’s brain cells are the best.

1) Worked on Steampunk Novelette

Still unnamed, but here’s crossing my fingers I can get it finished by the end of next month despite everything else I have to do.

2) Houndmaster WIPs

I have words completed in two more novels. Wrote about 12k total between them, some fleshing out of outlines. My hope is to spend a good chunk of 2018 finishing up this monster of a trilogy that terrifies me.

3) Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Another 20k done. Did edits on what I’d completed sometimes when the library was loud. Also created the base rules for a game in the story since I’d only had the bare bones before.

As a side note, the name on the room is literally “Quiet Study Room” and yet there are people who insist on having full-on phone conversations in there, loud enough I can hear the people on the other end. People who come in, claim a table and chat. People who bring in small children despite the library having a huge, and pretty good, kid’s section–I should know since mine were over there. One day there was even a woman in there tutoring an elementary-aged kid in math. I passed not one, not two, but THREE empty tables outside the quiet room in the main part of the library that day. I just don’t get it. Is there something difficult about the definition of quiet? This was torturous some days when I was desperately trying to get work done.

4) I also beta-read a novel for a close friend, set up some promo, a few read-through edits, worked on a relaunch idea, wrote a few poems, and (this last isn’t technically writing related, but still managed to eat into a lot of my time) prepared for back-to-school.

Footsteps echoed on that path

20 Sunday Aug 2017

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Footsteps echoed on that path
and strident voices screamed,
yet when I crossed beneath the eaves
not all was as it seemed.

For empty was the entrance
and the corridor beyond.
All that moved within that gloom
were opinions right or wrong.

They flew on wings of torrid air
and cried their thoughts aloft,
a cacophony of scorching sound
and winners missing oft.

I listened to the arguments
debates in endless rounds
circling within that hall
no solutions in those sounds.

Temptation grew within my breast
to join the deafening heights
becoming one with all that air,
a soldier for those fights.

Then came a tread upon the walk,
another just like me
coming to investigate
that loud cacophony.

She stood within the doorway
looking up within that gloom,
then glanced at me with little care
before she left the room.

I followed in explicit wonder
that the shouts she did not feed
and found her kneeling in the garden
tearing out the weeds.

For what is better, I don’t know,
but I did know which I liked
for the noisy heated air inside
did not change the real fight.

Lines to Read By (July)

13 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in Teaser

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Here are some of my favorite lines I posted in July. Most from Pup Games, though some are from tangents I’ve placed in an Unused File that probably won’t end up in the final version.

 

Continue reading →

The Choice in the Inevitable

06 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by in Fantasy, M/M, Mini

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Fate & Destiny

In the province of Scuvorya there exists a prevailing belief in both fate and destiny. A strong enough belief that two of their most revered gods are the Dual Lovers of the Pre-Ordained. When texts were translated and the tenants of Scuvoryan ideology were introduced to the provinces that would one day make up the northern counties of the Merandin Empire, the Lovers were turned into a male/female pair, their names altered to ones more acceptable to older Meranish sensibilities.

However, the original Scuvoryan texts indicate the gods of the pre-ordained, Ahcton and Dvid, were sons of two warring goddesses—Vlerica and Lialornca. Continue reading →

July ’17, Briefly

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

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This past month I didn’t keep as good of records of my hours spent working unfortunately, partly due to the fact my computer decided to die on me. Hard drive seemed fine and backups had already been made so all my work was completely good. I’ve learned that lesson already. However, I was bumming computer time for a couple of weeks. I’m actually typing this up on a brand new computer that finally came in yesterday :)

1) Bridle the Unicorn Published

Still need to finish up my New Release Alert newsletter and send that out by the end of the week. Given how a few distributor platforms work and a couple other experiences with unavailable links at first publication, I decided giving a habitual week leeway after publication for the newsletter would be beneficial for certain publications in the future.

2) Outlined and Began a Novelette

This WIP I started because I didn’t have my main files with me at the time, but there’s always a notebook. It’s steampunky/metalpunky, with a sports feature.

3)  Worked on Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Yes, you read that right; Pup Games has officially become a novel :) Still due out early ’18.

Here’s another teaser from chapter one that introduces La’vii’s pack.

~ ~ ~

I crouched and wrapped an arm around Sed, her light brown coat long enough it’d been picking up debris all day from her time in and out of the soggy edges of the marsh. The rest of my pack–Ris, Mit and Aim–still sniffed around the bushes, searching for a recent trail. They sent flashes through our collective consciousness, reminding me the hares were more numerous further in, away from the salt and tang of the marsh.

“I know,” I said as I pressed my cheek against Sed’s dirty coat. “We have to check everywhere though, you know that.”

Then they sent me images of Co’mil from the night he’d bested El’mik. As if I needed their help to remind myself how he’d looked. Like a dog blessed by the ancestral bitch herself, his hair holding the tiniest hint of red as it curled in an unruly mop on his head, his eyes a piercing gray I wouldn’t have minded staring into as he’d thrown me to the sand.

~ ~ ~