Thursday, October 31, 2013

Julie Lynn Hayes is a guest on my blog today

I'm honored to have Julie Lynn Hayes on my blog today.   she is making a return visit.

Let's find out more about her book   "Leonardo DiCaprio is a Vampire"



I hear voices in my head.
No, I’m not daft or certifiable—at least no more than any other writer, I think. The voices that I hear are not the kind that tell me to do strange things or incite me to desperate acts, rather they belong to my characters, both those I know and those I’ve yet to meet. And I’ve learned something in over forty years of writing—when they speak, I listen!
Carrying paper and pencil or pen is wonderful advice for those moments when your characters begin to speak and you want to capture them for posterity. It’s all well and good to say oh, I’ll remember that, no problem, until  you’re sitting in front of your computer screen and your fingers are in place upon the keyboard and suddenly you’ve forgotten every single word you were sure you’d remember forever. As they talk, you should write, that much is just a given.
But sometimes you aren’t in a position to write—for example, while you’re driving, or when you’re showering (bathing isn’t quite so bad, at least you can take the paper and pen into the bathroom and write while you soak), or even when you’re having sex. So what do you do? If it’s just one line, you can keep repeating it to yourself until you’re in a position to write it down, and that can work. But what if it’s more than that?
I have a little trick for those moments. At least it works for me. I get a mental picture of the emotions involved, and capture them visually, imprinting them with the words, almost like a hot key. So that when I’m ready, I “press” the key, and then it comes out where I can capture it. If I let the character ramble before I’m ready, I find that I lose the words. But if I imprint them in this way, then they stay there, waiting for me to access them.
For example, a couple of years ago my daughter and I went to see Inception at the theatre, the Leonardo di Caprio film. I wasn’t even sure at first that I wanted to see it, but she did so I agreed to go. Before we went, I got to thinking about Leo and other films that I’ve seen him in over the years, including Total Eclipse (Leo and David Thewlis – totally hot! Kissing and nakedness, very delicious!), and I heard a voice speak to me.
“Did you know that Leonardo di Caprio is a vampire?”
Sounds like an odd beginning or introduction even for a character. But I thought what the heck, let’s listen. I realized that this was a new character, so I kept the line in my head, all through Inception. Afterwards, I worked on the story, as I drove home. First, I needed character names. In Inception, Cillian Murphy plays a guy named Robert Fisher. He’s an important character, and his name stuck in my head, but I reversed it and changed it slightly. So Robert Fisher became Fisher Roberts. One character down, now for number two (I already knew this would be m/m, so I needed another male name). As I was driving, I scanned everything around me—billboards, businesses, vehicles, whatever—for the mate to Fisher Roberts. I saw an ad for hunting, and suddenly I had it—Hunter, who became Hunter Long.  It wasn’t til long after I began to write that I saw what I had inadvertently done – Fisher and Hunter. It might seem contrived to some, but I swear to you it was totally accidental.
I knew nothing about these two guys, but I began to write, using that first line, and I kept writing until some 35k later, I was done.  Or at least I thought it was. After a brief stint with a publisher who shall remain nameless, I received Leo back into my own hands and then I took the original story and added 5k to it, in the form of Hunter’s POV, and then I sold it to Torquere. And now we have a happy ending, as well as a new cover and more depth to the story of Hunter and Fisher.
This isn’t the only time this has happened to me, far from it. There once was a time when I was researching a non-fiction book, a children’s book about composer Percy Granger, when a voice began to speak, and he told me he was a gay werewolf. I could feel that he was a nice man, so I politely told him to please wait til I was done with the other book.  But he kept talking, so to appease him I thought I would just write down a few notes and hold onto them until I was ready. Those few notes became the first chapter of To The Max. Which became an entire book. And which now has a sequel. All because a voice wanted to be heard. Oh, that other book never got written yet. Guess Percy needs to speak louder, eh?
Another time, it was Judas Iscariot that spoke, and that book became Revelations (for which I’m still seeking a publisher). Sometimes I only get to the first chapter, and then it sits as a WIP until I get back to it. But at least it’s a start.
I hate to think about all of the characters that I have lost or forgotten because I wasn’t able to keep their words in my head. Perhaps they’ll come back again someday, but I’m not holding my breath. That goes for the books I’ve written in my dreams, but forget the moment I wake up. Since I started using my little mnemonic trick, I haven’t lost a thing, and that’s a good feeling. I just hope my readers agree that it was worth it!
Do your characters talk to you? Do you have any tricks you use for getting your characters down onto paper?  I’d love to hear about it!  Thanks for having me, Lily! Have a great day, everyone!


Blurb:
Halloween is the night when the veil between the worlds grows thin... Not that Fisher Roberts believes in Halloween or any other holiday. Unlike his roommate and longtime best friend, Hunter Long. The trouble is that Fisher’s feelings for Hunter are more than that of a friend, and it’s getting harder and harder to hide those feelings from Hunter.

Fisher has promised Hunter to attend a Halloween party with him on All Hallow’s eve, even though he’d really rather not. Things start out badly and then take a decided turn for the strange. Hunter confesses to being a vampire. Not that Fisher believes that, of course—that’s just Hunter’s strange sense of humor. But the kiss in the park... what’s that about? And at the Halloween party from Hell, nothing and no one are what they seem to be... Halloween madness or something more?

Excerpt:  Fisher trembled, an expectant trembling, as if he were waiting for something to happen. He didn't have to wait long. Suddenly those beautiful lips were touching his, and then they were kissing, truly kissing. No, it wasn't Fisher's first kiss, but it was his first with a man. His only kiss with a man. And he was amazed at what a difference there was between this kiss and the others. Not because of gender, but because it was with Hunter. Because Hunter was someone special.

He felt himself giving in to those lips, melting into that touch, with a heat that penetrated his entire body, vibrating in its intensity. Now Hunter was nibbling at his lips, soft tender kisses that shook him to his very foundation. His head was reeling, and he was on the verge of losing all sense of self when he felt the first raindrops splash upon his upturned face.

What the hell. He pulled back at this sudden insertion of reality into a very unreal scene, his mouth forming a large "O" of amazement, his eyes going into saucer-plate mode. But even as he did, Hunter moved forward, sliding his hips until their knees were touching. From this position, luckily, they couldn't get much closer, or Hunter would realize what else he had raised beside's Fisher's blood pressure.

He was going to do it again. Fisher just knew it, he could feel it, and oh God how badly he wanted it, as he felt a whimper rise in his throat, indicating a neediness he wasn't aware he even possessed. But the drops were turning thicker now, more of them, and they were brutally cold. A definite shock to the system. His brain was screaming to him to get out, get out now.

Even though this was what he wanted, exactly what he wanted. So what was the problem? What did he think would happen if he gave in to his feelings? He didn’t know. He was afraid of things that he couldn't even explain to himself.

He practically threw himself backward from the picnic table in his haste to get away, landing on the hard ground that would soon be turning to mud if this downpour kept up. A steady rain it was now, and lightning crackled angrily above their heads.

"Fisher?" Hunter rose hastily, reaching for him. So Fisher did the only logical thing he could do -- he gained his feet and ran, as hard and as fast as he could. He hated himself with every step that he took -- and he knew he had never loved Hunter Long more.

Julie Lynn Hayes was reading at the age of two and writing by the age of nine and always wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Two marriages, five children, and more than forty years later, that is still her dream. She blames her younger daughters for introducing her to yaoi and the world of M/M love, a world which has captured her imagination and her heart and fueled her writing in ways she'd never dreamed of before. She especially loves stories of two men finding true love and happiness in one another's arms and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She lives in St. Louis with her daughter Sarah and two cats, loves books and movies, and hopes to be a world traveler some day. She enjoys crafts, such as crocheting and cross stitch, knitting and needlepoint and loves to cook. While working a temporary day job, she continues to write her books and stories and reviews, which she posts in various places on the internet. Her family thinks she is a bit off, but she doesn't mind. Marching to the beat of one's own drummer is a good thing, after all.  Her published works can be found at Dreamspinner Press, MuseitUp Publishing, Torquere Press, and eXtasy Books. She has also begun to self-publish and is an editor at MuseitUp.  

You can find her on her blog at http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com, and you can contact her at tothemax.wolf@gmail.com.

Link:

Torquere 


My Publishers:




Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Weds Brief

Happy Halloween everyone.

Today's Weds Brief has a Halloween theme to it.   I noticed that my story doesn't have a title to it.   I stink at coming up with titles and I figured since this is part of Weds Brief group I haven't come up with one.  maybe if I choose to expand this to a novel I would certainly come up with one.

enjoy all the trick or treaters tomorrow.

This week's prompts:  "Did you really think that would scare me?" or "Yo mama's so scary..." or "Suck on that, big boy!" or "This place made the Bates Motel look like Disneyland..." or "I want my mummy!" or "You got candy? I only got rocks!" or feature a haunted house or a vampire or any Halloween creature or have your character in costume or use the Great Pumpkin or "When did you get to be so smart?" or have a character playing a video game or have a potato sack race or have a character watch NASCAR

Tom and Ben's story


Halloween was Tom’s favorite holiday, even more so than Christmas.  When he and his older brother, Travis, were kids they would dress up in the craziest costumes they could come up with. It would drive their mother crazy, which was half the fun. 

They both looked forward to it every year. As they got older, you’d think the fun and games would end as they became ‘adults.’   Well, they may have gotten older, and real life may have been thrown at them and they had to be ‘responsible’, but it didn’t stop them from letting the kid inside shine through.   Tom was happy with his life as a firefighter, and he was proud of Travis when he followed his dream and became a sportscaster.  They did everything together, even went to the same college.  It was a mix of sadness and happiness when Travis got a fantastic offer to work at a TV station in Los Angeles.  He had yet to find the ‘one’ to settle down with, not like Tom did.  Tom was happy that Travis didn’t even blink an eye when he came out to his brother when they were in high school.  He just wanted Tom to be happy.  

“Are you sure you want Travis to visit?”  Tom wasn’t sure Ben would even want to do Halloween this year, not with everything that happened.   The trial had been set for January.   Ben seemed to be doing better, but Tom just didn’t know.

“Of course, Tom.  You and Travis don’t see each other enough.  And you know I love my brother-in-law.   Come on, Tom, don’t treat me like some porcelain doll.”

“Boo!”

“Oh”

“Ah!”

Both men jumped and turned around.

“Travis!”  they said together.   Tom barely let his brother put his suitcase down before he had him in a bear hug.  “What are you doing here?” Tom released his hold just enough to look his brother in the eye. “I thought we were going to pick you up at the airport.”

“I thought I’d take a cab and surprise you.”  Travis turned to Ben and hugged him. “Or should I say scare you.”

“Did you really think that would scare me?”  Tom claimed.

“Yeah, right, Tom.”  Travis smiled knowingly.

“I’m just so glad you could make it.  I thought with the World Series going on you wouldn’t be able to make it.”  Tom took Travis’ luggage and put it in the guest room.  He and Ben insisted Travis stay with them while he was in town.

“Well, if the Dodgers had made it into the series, no I wouldn’t have been able to be here.  But since they aren’t, well here I am.  Unfortunately, I’ll still have to do some work from my laptop.  So I hope that is no problem.”

“No of course not.”    Tom told him.  “I’m just glad you’re here.   Come on into the living room, we’ll have a cup of coffee.”   After Travis had taken his coat off and hung it in the hallway closet, they all settled down for a cup of coffee.  Ben brought out his pumpkin muffins he’d made.

“Mm, these are good, Ben.  I missed your home cooking.  Tom never was that great of a cook.”

“Hey!  I did a hell of a lot better than you ‘mister I can’t even boil water.’

“What I’d like to know is what is going on?” Travis took a sip from his mug of coffee.

“What do you mean?”  Ben asked. He knew Tom had told his brother what happened to him.

“Where are the Halloween decorations? Imagine my surprise driving up here and there isn’t even a jack o’ lantern on the stoop.”

“Oh, well you know with everything that is going on, well…” Tom wasn’t sure if Ben wanted to decorate so he didn’t push things.  And tomorrow being Halloween, he just figured they’d skip it.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.  Of course we don’t have to.”

“What are you two going on about?   Do you think that I’m going to let this whole shitty situation ruin the best holiday there is?   I just got busy at work and I usually let Tom do it, since he is the Halloween master.”

“Well, you have ‘two’ Halloween masters now. How about we get your decorations out and start decorating?” Travis suggested.

“You’re not tired from your trip?”  Tom asked his brother. 

“Nope, never too tired of getting all the things that go bump in the night out.”

They went to the basement and got all the boxes up and started assembling the ghosts and ghouls. 

“We need some pumpkins.  Where is there a place we can buy some?”  Travis was an expert on carving.   He’d even won awards when they were younger.

“There’s a farm a few miles from here. We can take a ride over.”

They piled into Tom’s car and, despite being last minute shoppers, got some nice-sized pumpkins.

“Okay, stand back.  Master carver at work here,”  Travis said when they ‘d gotten back home. 

Tom and Ben let the expert work his magic with some stencil and carving tools.  In no time, he had some amazing art.   Haunted house, cats, and a witch all made an appearance under his skillful hands.   

When all was said and done the three men took a step back and looked at the house.

“Now this is Halloween,”  Travis said.

“No, this is Halloween.”  Tom wrapped his arms around Ben and Travis and they had a group hug out on the walkway.

“You know what’s missing?”  Travis said.

“What?” Ben asked.

“Candy.”  

Tom went over to his car and opened up the trunk.  Inside were bags of variety packs of chocolates.

“No one is going to be able to say, “you got candy, I only got rocks,”  Ben said

“Not on my watch,”  Tom assured his family.

TBC 







Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Weds Brief

Hi Everyone,

Well Tom and Ben's saga continues.  Let's find out what they are up to now.   It's a few weeks after Ben was abducted.

Here are the prompts.   Who can figure out which prompt I used?


This week's prompts are: "Who the fuck made you emperor?" or use a tootsie roll pop or use the evil eye or "My Aunt Fanny has bigger boobs than you do!" or "You win some, you lose some..." or use: a pirate, a gentleman, and a sheep or make a reference to any REM song or "She/he asked you to do what?" or "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" or "Two plus two equals what?"


Weds Brief Oct 23rd

It had been a few weeks since Ben’s kidnapping and the arrest of Jethro Steele . Steele had been arraigned and bail had been set.  Of course, the Westboro Baptist Church paid for his release, and ever since he’d been let out Tom had been keeping a close eye on Ben.

“I won’t stay locked up like some caged animal.”  Ben was in the kitchen. He sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and having a banana muffin Tom had bought him, ‘cause he knew it was one of his favorites. 

“I’m not asking you to. If we change our habits, it’s like those bastards have won.  All I’m asking you to do is not go alone to any listings.  Have one of your fellow agents come with you.  Or how about calling one of our friends, like Sam?  He works from home, maybe he could come out with you.  Or how about Edith?  She’s retired now. I bet she wouldn’t mind going with you.”

“To babysit?”  Ben groused.  

“No, to be a look out in case these nutcases decide they want some retribution.”

“I don’t want to live like this, Tom.  I’m not going to do it.” 

“Please, Ben, for me?”  Tom wrapped his arms around Ben, his head rested on his shoulder.   He was scared, more scared then he’d ever been on the job.   This was his whole life he held in his hands.  To think he’d lose Ben... he didn’t want to think about life without him.

Ben looked him in the eye. Tom never asked much from Ben.  “It just hurts so much, Tom.”

“I know, Ben, everybody hurts, sometimes.  But you’re not alone, just hold on…to me.”   Tom smiled when he felt his man turn around and put his arms around him.  

“Thank you Tom, for being in my life.”  Ben kissed him.  “Okay, honey, I’ll make sure that I’m not alone.”

“After what you did to that asshole, maybe I should be worried about anyone who goes up against you.” Tom remembered how Ben had taken down Jethro Steele.

“Ha ha, well, I have to go into the office today. I’ll have to see who I can get to come with me on my showings.”

“How about me?”  Tom offered.

“You? I thought you said you had some paperwork to catch up on and things to do around the house?”  Ben knew this was one of Tom’s days off.

“You’re more important than some paperwork.  I can get to that later.  How about I drive in with you and then I can watch my man in action?”   Tom got his coat on; the weather had finally started to feel like fall.  All the leaves were putting on a fall show in all their colorful glory.   

“Well, just remember, it’s not as exciting as your job.”

“Oh please, I’d rather spend time looking at the inside of houses with you than putting out fires and rescuing poor victims anytime.”

“Don’t you like your job?”  Ben asked him.

“Sure, I love it when everything turns out well, but when you see the faces of the people who lose their loved ones and their homes, well, it can take a toll on you emotionally.”

“I’m sorry, Tom.  I know how being a firefighter can be a double-edged sword.”  Ben gave Tom another hug.

“Okay, let’s go to the office, I have a client coming by around 11AM.”

Tom got in the car with Ben.  Things were peaceful now, but with a trial coming up, and Ben having to testify and relive what happened to him again,  it was going to be a bumpy ride for a while.  Tom had an idea of how to help his man forget all these horrible things.

“What are you smiling about?” Ben asked him. They had stopped at a traffic light and Ben had been looking over at him.

“Oh nothing, much.  Just thinking about something pleasant.”

“Care to share with the rest of the class?”

“Not at the moment, but I will.”   Tom thought about how he was going to make Ben forget all about his troubles.

TBC

Fellow flashers:

 Victoria Adams