I have been thinking of doing a full-length story about Tom and Ben's adventures.
Here are the links to my fellow flasher's stories:
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Weds Brief
I have been thinking of doing a full-length story about Tom and Ben's adventures.
Here are the links to my fellow flasher's stories:
Friday, February 22, 2013
I'd like to welcome Kendall McKenna to my blog
I'd like to welcome today's guest author Kendall McKenna to my blog. Please make her feel welcome as we learn about her and her book "Nights in Canaan."
1. How long have you been writing?
1. How long have you been writing?
Probably all of my life.
My first clear memory of writing a story from beginning to end is something I
wrote for my 5th grade class writing journal. It was basically a
fanfiction based on a popular song of the time. All through school I wrote
stories for contests, to give as gifts, or just for my own pleasure.
About five years ago or
so, I decided I wanted to try to get published. I started writing short
stories. I sought out very good, very critical editors who pushed me to
improve. Eventually, I learned to develop stories that were full novel length,
and then I submitted one. The rest is history.
2. What is your favorite genre to write?
2. What is your favorite genre to write?
Well…I’ve really only
ever wanted to write contemporary military m/m erotic romances. I write about
U.S. Marines, which is why my tag line is Love and Dog Tags. I guess you can
even say I write mystery stories. Then one day, Kris Jacen with MLR challenged
me to submit a story for MLR’s Bloody March (2013). So, I wrote a vampire story
and submitted it. That’s Nights In Canaan and will be released on March 15th.
A good friend of mine challenged me to write Marine werewolves, so I did. So,
while set out to only write the contemporary military stories, I have found
that I enjoy writing the paranormal stuff and trying to put a new spin on it.
By the end of the year, my paranormal stuff will have as many releases as my
contemporary stuff!
3. What are you working on now?
3. What are you working on now?
I am currently writing
the first of 2 sequels to Strength of the Pack. At the same time, the 2nd
sequel to Brothers In Arms is at the beta reader, so at some point I’ll have to
work on those edits to submit it for publication. I write one story at a time,
except in certain circumstances, so basically, I’m working on Strength of the
Wolf, the second book in the Tameness of the Wolf series.
4. When you start a new story do you
begin with a character or plot?
Character. I usually
start with one character, whose story I want to tell. Sometimes, I have two
characters who have stories to tell and they intersect. Either way, I use a
story I want write about and I build it around the story of the character. It
all gets blended together to form a whole novel.
5. Tell us about your latest/upcoming release. What inspired it?
5. Tell us about your latest/upcoming release. What inspired it?
My upcoming release is
Nights In Canaan. I’m a member of the Yahoo Group, The Sweet Spot. One day,
Executive Editor Kris Jacen, posted a special submission for MLR Press. It
called for stories about vampires. We threw around story ideas and some members
posted pictures and plot bunnies. I had projects planned so I had no intention
of submitting. Then, Kris said that she expected me to submit a story for the
special call! As we all discussed on the list, when an Executive Editor calls
you out in public, you kind of have to submit a story! So, I gathered some of
the pics that had been posted, and I started thinking of the kind of vampire
story I wanted to write.
In the end, I took the
bits of vampire legend that have always appealed to me, the more traditional
aspects. I took some of the images that I really liked, and tried to form a
story out of the two. Of course, at least one of my characters had to be a U.S.
Marine. What I ended up with is a story about a vampire who is reborn down
through time with the goal of enslaving the human race. An ancient warrior
follows him through time with the goal of keeping balance in the universe. The
two fall in love with each other and are always faced with the choice of
claiming their own happiness and destroying the world, or sacrificing
themselves to maintain the universal balance.
It’s made my beta and a
proof reader cry, so we’ll see what the readers think when it releases March 15th.
Nights In
Canaan
by Kendall McKenna
by Kendall McKenna
Blurb:
Love and hate. Good and evil. Life and death. The universe requires balance, whatever the cost. An ancient vampire rises, time after time, threatening the survival of the human race. An ancient warrior is reborn, again and again, with the singular purpose of halting the vampire’s bloody rampage. With each encounter throughout time, their passions burn and their emotions deepen. The vampire shares his body and the warrior shares his blood. When they are no longer able to cause one another harm, the lovers hesitate to fulfill their destinies. Will the ancient warrior sacrifice the whole of the human race, in exchange for eternity in the arms of the vampire he loves?
Love and hate. Good and evil. Life and death. The universe requires balance, whatever the cost. An ancient vampire rises, time after time, threatening the survival of the human race. An ancient warrior is reborn, again and again, with the singular purpose of halting the vampire’s bloody rampage. With each encounter throughout time, their passions burn and their emotions deepen. The vampire shares his body and the warrior shares his blood. When they are no longer able to cause one another harm, the lovers hesitate to fulfill their destinies. Will the ancient warrior sacrifice the whole of the human race, in exchange for eternity in the arms of the vampire he loves?
Excerpt:
Reaching over his own shoulder, Jesse silently unsheathed the powerful sword at his back. With his free hand, he pushed aside the cloth covering the dwelling’s doorway. Jesse burst into the small room, knowing he held the strategic advantage of surprise.
Reaching over his own shoulder, Jesse silently unsheathed the powerful sword at his back. With his free hand, he pushed aside the cloth covering the dwelling’s doorway. Jesse burst into the small room, knowing he held the strategic advantage of surprise.
The sight that greeted
him froze Jesse in his steps. A beautiful young man lay sprawled on the dirt
floor, his thin clothing askew. His skin was dark and smooth, his shoulders
broad, hips narrow. An equally gorgeous man lifted his face from the neck of the
first. He tilted his head back, a look of ecstasy on his features. Dark blood
covered his mouth, running down his lightly bearded chin. He smiled, baring a
set of wicked fangs.
Jesse gasped when the
man ran his tongue over his full, bloody lips and slowly opened his eyes. The
pale blue irises shone bright in the darkness, confirming this was no
blood-drinking minion, this was evil in the flesh.
“Saul.” Jesse’s rough
whisper was loud in the quiet of the room.
“Hello again, Jesse,”
the vampire greeted languidly.
Jesse lifted a hand that
felt almost too heavy, and removed the cloth that obscured his face. Saul knew
very well what Jesse was and how he looked.
“You were in Yerushalayim.” Jesse accused. The
fingers that clutched the hilt of his sword were numb.
“And now I am in Gina.”
Saul’s elegant, long fingered hands caressed the smooth skin of the young man
in his lap. He lifted the nearly lifeless body in his arms so that he could
nuzzle the young man’s throat while holding Jesse’s gaze.
Jesse ached with the
memory of those hands gliding over his own body. He swallowed hard, the human
heart in his chest racing uncontrollably. “Set the boy aside, Saul,” Jesse
ordered.
“Wouldn’t you rather
join us?” Saul punctuated his question by dragging the flat of his tongue over
the wound in the boy’s throat. “He’s going to be beautiful when he turns. A
lovely angel of death. Can you picture it?”
“No!” Jesse tightened
his grip on his sword. His wings burst into visibility as he unfurled them as
much as the confined space would allow. “You will not turn him. Let the boy
alone!”
Saul’s suggestive smile
displayed his fangs and Jesse remembered the feel of them on his own flesh,
pressed to the back of his neck, nipping sharply at his hip.
“I’ve drained him,
Jesse,” Saul replied, just above a whisper. “If I don’t turn him, he’ll die.”
“And if you turn him, he
will die, along with all your minions, when I kill you.” Jesse lifted his sword higher, fanning the tips of his wings.
Saul’s smile faded. He
let the boy fall from his arms as he slowly rose to his feet. “After Yerushalayim, I thought perhaps this time
you would finally join me.”
Jesse’s face flushed as
memories assailed him. He could almost taste Saul’s skin on his tongue, feel
the coarseness of Saul’s sparse beard along his throat. “After Babylon, I
thought you had grown wise enough not to return.”
Saul’s expression grew
hard and angry. “Why do you protect them? They are not worthy of your
attention. Do you not realize what we could be if you joined me, and I turned
them all?”
Of course Jesse
realized. He had known for millennia. No matter his desire for Saul, or whoever
he was or will be, Jesse was reborn each time for a sole purpose. That purpose
was to ensure the humans did not become an army of blood drinkers while their
race was mere children.
“You are defeated, Saul.
I will always defeat you,” Jesse said angrily, taking a step closer. “Why put
us both through it?”
“Why do you put us through it?” Saul demanded,
stepping over the now dead body of the young man and reaching for Jesse.
Their lips met and Jesse
tasted sweet blood and bitter ashes. He fisted his free hand in Saul’s bisht,
opening to Saul’s aggressive tongue. How he hated being the immovable object to
Saul’s irresistible force.
Saul broke the kiss abruptly.
He slowly backed toward a cloth draped window, watching Jesse with a thunderous
expression. “There is no Hittite army at your back to drive us from Canaan.”
Righteous anger flared
hot in Jesse’s belly at the memory of how many Amorites had fallen victim to
Saul before Jesse had driven them out of Babylon. His chest tightened when he
remembered Saul on the tip of Jesse’s sword as the Euphrates rushed past.
He lunged, but Saul was
already fleeing out the window. Jesse tucked his wings and pursued.
About the Author
Kendall
McKenna’s first work of fiction was written at the worldly age of nine, and was
a transformative work that expanded on the story told in a popular song of the
time.
She
tried her hand at vampire and cowboy fiction, winning high school poetry and
short story contests along the way. It wasn’t until she discovered the world of
m/m erotic fiction and found her
stride with cops, Marines and muscle cars,
that she felt inspired to share her stories with readers who enjoy the same
things.
Putting
herself through college by working in a newly-created HIV testing clinic in her
local Department of Health, introduced Kendall to the gay and lesbian
community. Understanding and empathy has made her a lifetime advocate of GLBT
issues.
A
brief bout of unemployment gave Kendall the time and focus she needed to
finally produce a novel worth submitting for publication. Her first novel, Brothers In Arms, introduced the
world to her authentic military stories and characters.
Kendall
was born and raised in Southern California, where she still lives and works. A
non-conventional relationship has kept her happy for the last decade. Her four
dogs enjoy it when she writes, as she sits still long enough for them to curl
up around her.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Weds Brief
It's that time of the week again. Time to flash. I decided to use a photo prompt this week. Here is the photo I am using. It's entitled "Lonely Road." but I don't think of it like that. I think of it as a beautiful piece of nature that I wouldn't mind experiencing myself (and have from time to time taken a walk in the woods)
Ben loved nature. He was an avid bird watcher and living
this close to nature gave him an opportunity to enjoy taking long walks in the
woods, charting the birds that lived in Lancaster County.
“Do you think Love is going to be okay with this collar? You
know she’s not a dog.” Tom held out a harness and a leash.
“I know, but I’d like to take her for a walk with us. That’s okay, right?” Ben asked him.
“Sure. It’s just not
every cat that wants go to out on a walk on a leash,“ Tom pointed out to him. Cats were pretty independent. They liked to call the shots, and unless you
started when the cat was a kitten the odds of getting him to want to walk on
one was pretty slim.
“Well, let’s give it a try.” Ben sat on the living room floor and waited
for Love to come over and rub up against him, which was something she loved to
do. Sure enough it wasn’t long before
she was purring and head bumping Ben in the stomach. He picked
her up and carefully put the harness over her head. When she didn’t make any
move to squirm out of it, Ben continued to put it on her. “There, how do you like that, Love?” The cat meowed, licked her leg and then
looked up at Ben inquisitively. “Would
you like to come with us and take a walk in the woods, Love?” The cat rubbed Ben’s knee then fell onto the
floor and rolled on her back for her favorite activity, a belly rub.
“You’ve got the magic touch, baby.” Tom leaned down beside Ben and petted Love. “In every way.” They kissed.
“Tom, if we start this now we’ll never get out for our
walk.” Tom was licking Ben’s neck. “Oh
gawd.” Tom knew all the moves that drove
Ben crazy.
“Now, here?” Ben’s mind was turning to mush.
“What about Love?”
“I don’t think she’ll mind.”
Tom unbuttoned Ben’s jeans and slid them off his hips. “Besides it’s ‘all’ about love.”
Ben leaned forward and whispered “Sixty-nine?” and wiggled his eyebrows
suggestively.
There was nothing more romantic than pleasing your partner
and Tom and Ben knew how to show their love for one another.
“Yeah, baby,” Tom was careful not to bite Ben’s cock as they
both brought each other up to Paradise.
“That was great, honeybunch,” Ben told him.
“Meow.” Love had been lying in her cat tower over by the
backyard window. She’d watched the men
for a few moments before she drew her attention to the birds flying by.
“Looks like she wants to go for that walk now.”
They hooked her to a leash and took her to the nearby woods.
“I never get tired of this view no matter how many times we
walk this path.” Ben took Tom’s hand. He
held onto Love’s leash with the other.
“I never do, either.” Tom was looking intensely at Ben as he
said it.
Ben smiled back and the threesome continued on their way
through the woods.
my fellow flashers for this week:
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Welcome Lynda Kaye Frazier
I'd like to welcome Lynda Kaye Frazier to my blog today. Let's find out more about her and her book "Rescued from the Dark."
My Bio:
1-How
long have you been writing?
I
started writing in October 0f 2010. I wrote my first novel in two months and
was so excited that I sent it out to friends and critique partners to find out
that I had no idea how to write.
I
was told I had a great plot and some great characters but the mechanics of my
story was wrong. I took some tough advice and took workshops and online courses
on POV, grammar and punctuation. After my classes were complete I went back and
completely re-worked my novel. I went
from 156000 down to 84000 words during this process, but my story ended up
being stronger because of it.
I
have since written, and published a short story in the Anthology, Wild At Heart
I, Turpentine Creek. This is an Anthology of animal rescue stories were all the
benefits go towards funding animal habitats at the refuge in Eureka Springs
Arkansas.
Once
I figured out the process of writing I knew this is what I wanted to do in my
spare time. What a great hobby to take up when your children grow up and move
out.
2-
What is your favorite genre to write?
My favorite genre is Romantic Suspense, that’s why I decided to write
Rescued from the Dark. It’s the first book in my Guardian’s of Hope
series. Guardian’s of Hope is a group
made up of Navy Seals, Special ops, and FBI agents who are sanctioned by the
government to do rescues that are deemed impossible. There are going to be
eight books in this series but each one can be read as a stand alone.
3-What
are you working on now?
I
am finishing up the second book in the series. It’s called Last Chance to Run.
I am hoping to have it to the publisher by May and out by the end of this year.
I
am also working in a contemporary story called Saving JT.
Its
about a single Mother‘s fight to save her three year old who is losing his
battle with leukemia.
4-When
you begin a story do you start with character or plot?
I
start out with characters and once I have them they seem to tell their own
story. I just sit behind my computer and do the typing. Many times I work for
them. Great job, just doesn’t pay well.
: )
5-Tell
us about your latest/upcoming release. What inspired it?
Rescued from the Dark is a story about an FBI agent,
Jason Michaels who goes undercover with the Irish Mob to get information on
their gun smuggling ring. While on assignment he realizes they have joined
forces with a known terrorist group manufacturing drugs. He searches for
information to tie the two together when he finds out they have kidnapped a
fellow agent and the only girl he has ever loved. Jason soon realizes their
using Mercy to perfect their dosage and that his cover has been blown. He knows
he has to save her so takes off a
journey that will take him up against his enemies, peers and the Agency
that he loves, but willing to give up to bring Mercy back to him.
My
inspiration was a dream. I know it’s a cliché, but I had the most vivid dream
about a girl on the beach struggling with a decision. It was so involved that
when I woke up I wrote it down. I continued to have dreams with the same
characters and after awhile I had a notebook of small stories. I decided, after
prodding from friends, to put them together into a story. That’s how Rescued
from the Dark started. When I have a
hard time with a scene I put it off and sleep on it. My characters tend to work
out their scenes in my sleep. I always wake up with my problem solved, but a
little weary from all the action in my dreams.
Rescued from the Dark
Published through Black Opal Books
Released February 16, 2013
BUY LINKS:
This is a story about an FBI agent, Jason Michaels who
goes undercover with the Irish Mob to get information on their gun smuggling
ring. While on assignment he realizes they have joined forces with a known
terrorist group manufacturing drugs. He searches for information to tie the two
together when he finds out they have kidnapped a fellow agent and the only girl
he has ever loved. Jason soon realizes their using Mercy to perfect their
dosage and that his cover has been blown. He knows he has to save her so takes
off a journey that will take him up
against his enemies, peers and the Agency that he loves, but willing to give up
to bring Mercy back to him.
Blurb:
She has no memory of their love...
Kidnapped by terrorists and sent into a drug-induced coma, FBI
intern Mercedes Kingsley awakes with no memory of her ordeal—or the intimate
interlude that left her pregnant. Convinced her child was fathered by her
ex-fiancé, she walks away from the only man she has ever loved, determined to
make things work with her ex, a man the FBI suspects is implicated in her
abduction.
He knows the truth, but no
one will listen...
FBI undercover agent Jason Michaels remembers what Mercy can’t
and those memories are breaking his heart. Forced to keep his distance from his
lover and their unborn child, Jason risks his life to protect Mercy from a cell
of international terrorists who have vowed to get the secrets locked in her
memory, no matter the cost. Can Jason convince Mercy to trust him until she
remembers their past, or will he lose her to a man who will trap her in a
nightmare world of darkness from which there is no escape?
EXCERPT:
|
A
|
n
explosion ricocheted behind Jason Michael’s eyes as the pressure mounted in his
head. The rush of panic consumed him. He struggled to move, tried to swallow,
but nothing. His throat burned as the flames engulfed his lungs. He needed to
breathe but couldn’t. Shit. He
strained to make out the muffled voice, but the pounding in his ears erased all
hope. His head started to spin and he succumbed to the realization, this was it, the end. He won. The flames
dampened and his heartbeat slowed as the drums subsided, then the voice became
clear.
“Give
it to him now you son of a bitch. What were you thinking? We still need him.”
In a
split second, Jason sucked in a breath, causing stabbing pains to shoot through
his chest. Every muscle fiber burned as the cold blast of air shot through his
lungs releasing the oxygen his body craved. He arched his back, raising his
chest up to pull in more air when his head snapped to the side and the crack
from his neck echoed in his ears. The pain ripped through his jaw, racing across
his cheekbone. Before he could gather his senses, intense burning set his face
on fire. What the hell?
The
slap against his cheek stung, and his eyes snapped open. He wrenched upright,
hitting his head on the roof of the SUV. His gaze darted back and forth looking
for something familiar until he locked onto the ice-cold stare of the devil
himself, Shaun Flanagan.
Damn, that was close. Jason could not blow his cover, even if it meant he
would die as David Logan and not Jason Michaels.
“You’re
finally awake, my boy. We almost lost you,” Shaun cold, emotionless laugh
caused Jason’s blood to boil. “You stopped breathing, I think. It’s hard to
tell with this new stuff. I hope you’re not too injured. We’ve got work to do.”
Jason’s
vision blurred, but his other senses were sharp. Shaun had known exactly what
the drug would do and the burn in Jason’s throat was a harsh reminder. Shaun’s
sarcastic tone spoke volumes to him. He was evil and did not play by anyone’s
rules but his own. Jason had spent the last two months undercover, playing
their games and doing their dirty work to buddy up tight to this family. He’d
earned his spot with Thomas Flanagan, but his son Shaun had issues trusting
anyone, even his own father.
Jason’s
anger burned inside of him, but he couldn’t afford to make mistakes, not now.
He was too close. It’s time to step it up, but first the drugs had to stop. He
rubbed his aching jaw with one hand, clenching his other into a fist to hide
his visible shaking. He had to get control of this game before he lost
everything.
Well I’m an avid reader of romantic suspense and started
writing about a year ago after a vivid dream. I know, sounds cliché, but that’s
how it started. I work full time at a Cardiology clinic, then at night
you will find me in front of my computer writing. I grew up in Pennsylvania,
but now live in Arkansas, surrounded by the Ozark Mountains where I get to
enjoy the four seasons without a long, cold winter. Other than spending time
with my wonderful family, my favorite things to do are writing, reading and
listening to music, but my most favorite is going to the beach. Surf, sand and
a good book, my stress relief.
Twitter-
lynda_kaye
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