As time flies towards the release date...

As some, but not all may know, I have a very short short in the Dreamspinner Press anthology; A Taste of Honey coming out August 19th. This has been a whirlwind of editing, injuries, angst, and pre-release things. This weekend will find me on my computer at several meet the author events online, while I attempt to multitask and work through much needed Trey Grey edits so I can continue past that 30K mark of the second book. On a very happy note...YAITLPYL is done, save a check on formatting, and should be off to Harmony Ink next week. I hope they like it, and choose to publish it. After devouring almost 8 months of my life, the wait will be excruciating. But it isn't as if I don't have things to occupy my time...too many things, and too little time actually.

I hope everyone checks out; Life's Tiny Surprises in A Taste of Honey. I was rather surprised to be picked for the anthology, since I have always struggled with short stories, and LTS is a very short contemporary, with what I think is a very sweet ending.

A glance at Trey's youth.

“Happy fucking birthday to me...” I sang beneath my breath so Willie wouldn’t hear as another client leered suggestively at me. Yeah, alright you fucking pervert. Tossing the guy a condom, I straddled him.

“How and where do you want me?” I asked without preamble. They were all here for me, and they’d paid for the opportunity to have me just about any way they so chose. The gangly dude had the audacity to blush. Maybe having a naked kid take the initiative wasn’t something he was used to.

I didn’t recognize him, he wasn’t a regular client, someone new judging by his trembling hand, and shocked expression as he looked at the condom like he’d never seen one.

“You want to fuck me, it’s required, buddy.”

Suddenly his expression changed. His eyes narrowed behind gold octagonal glasses as he seized my jaw. Spindly fingers viced down until I could feel his bones against mine. That was gonna leave a bruise.

“Hey! You mark up the boy, and that will cost you more than a little extra. No visible signs, understand?” Willie fixed the guy with a warning glare chalk full of blood-chilling truism. He didn’t care if they beat on me as long as they paid for the privilege.


*****

Feel free to leave comments, rants, raves...Whatever.

Contemplating...

So, I have been struggling for a few months with my writing, my health, everything. I know the small things effect the larger...and I am doing some soul searching as a result. I am a slow writer compared to many out there. Too hard on myself, and that trait tends to be detrimental, rather than beneficial, in the long run.

Having fought for weeks on the ending to; You're Always in the Last Place You Look, I stepped away. I decided to write about a pivotal moment in Trey's youth, namely his sixteenth birthday, the day he can never fully recall, and the one that gave him the means to take control of his own destiny.

Imagine my surprise when young Trey flowed effortlessly from mind, through fingers, and onto the screen. It's not where I wanted to be, but it's obviously where I needed to go. I plan to put this little story out when done as one of those awful little 0.5 works. After Out of the Dark is finished, I plan to give Justin his own novella, allowing him to explain his youth, and the events that made him who he is today.

Once winter sets in, and the second part of Trey and Justin's story is out in the cosmos, I plan to reevaluate what I am writing. I think I need the gritty, the dark, the dirty and hidden parts of life we all know are there, but most ignore. I'll see where my dear Shane (another of my favorite characters) leads me. It's time he gets a chance to tell his story.

Howdy all!!!

So...

You're Always in the Last Place You Look is almost through my final edit. I had a lot I decided to expand on, some scenes I cut, and well, just things that needed tweeking. I am much happier with the story it has become, because of taking the extra time with it.

Of course, that has put me off track several weeks, but I do plan to catch up. The re-edit of The Darker Side of Trey Grey shouldn't take me long, and then I get to continue with the second book. I am getting excited for this!

I'm also excited about my winter project. The start of a series that I started two years ago with Shane, but I have decided to take his story from the beginning. How could I not write about his time on the streets? Pffftttt...who do you think I am, if I left that out of his story? The first book will be raw and gritty, honest and realistic with zero romance. It will take the reader through a vivid portrayal of what teens REALLY experience on the streets, and how they end up where they do.

My urban fantasy Slayers will also occupy a chunk of my fall/winter.

That's about all for now. I should begin posting excerpts from Out of the Dark by the end of June. So check back!

I wanted to comment on the reviewers who have listed word misusages in; The Darker Side of Trey Grey. Despite what some readers may think, I used the words in question correctly. I am sorry for those who have misperceived the meanings of these words. I write fantasy also, and these words are used fairly prevalently in that genre. For those interested, here are the words and their intended meanings.

roué; morally unrestrained

reprobation; severe disapproval

fallaciously; falsely, or without your approval.

abnegator; one who gives up, or relinquishes something, such as control. (WOW, this one surprised me.)

latent (as opposed to blatant, which means almost the direct opposite of what I intented); not presently evident or realized. (Where as blatant means; completely obvious.)

So if those who honestly believed I did not understand the meaning of the words I wrote would like to re-read the paragraphs where these errors supposedly occured, I think you would find they now make sense, and you will acquire an understanding of proper word usage in developing the depth of an authors characters.

Now on to other issues. Yes, I know there are some puncuation issues, and I relied on others too much with correcting my to/too disability. I will be re-editing Trey, and to anyone who has a purchased copy, if you would like the revised edition, let me know, and include the date you purchased and from what retailer. I should have the revised copy uploaded by June 1st.

Thank you to all who have sent me words of praise and encouragement. I love you all.

Tara

All things so not in order...

I have been scrambling trying to finish You're Always in the Last Place You Look. It's going, but slowly. I will have some re-writes to do. Blah... But I still hope to have the first draft done by March 1st-ish. My goal was to keep this book under 100K but as I watch the word count climb, I'm not sure it will happen. Anyone who has read Six or Trey Grey know I have a problem with short works. I just can't seem to avoid going deep into my characters and stories. And that takes a lot of words.

I am also working on a short called; My Bully. I hope to have this submitted for an anthology Harmony Ink is putting out, and if I'm lucky they will like it enough to include it. Yeah, I know, laugh away. I suck at shorts. But I am trying to keep this simple. *groan*

Out of the Dark is still my next project. I have about 35K written that needs some re-working, but it is a start. A little teaser... Trey does something truly stupid in this book that backfires in a really big way. Recall how much he dislikes therapists? Yeah... Well, he meets one that pushes all the wrong buttons in him.

Thank you to all the folks who have read Trey. Without you there wouldn't be a second book. I can't believe how much people have connected with Trey as a character. I love him, of course. I designed him after all. He will always be one of my favorite characters, even years from now.