R.J. Jones's Blog, page 8

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Happy Valentine’s Day…

 

This Valentine’s Day finds me at home alone with the kids. Hubby has gone away for work and won’t be home for two weeks.  I’m not upset, really. The house will stay more or less clean and there’ll be less washing and cooking to be done. Don’t get me wrong, I miss him. Just not as much as I probably should.

But he did melt my heart when I got these lovelies delivered. Even after all these years he still surprises me with the romance.

Whatever you’re doing today, I hope you’re doing someone something you love.

RJ

Excerpt from Indigo Road, my current WIP. (Not stolen)

I don’t normally do this, but something came to my attention yesterday morning and I’ve been wracking my brains what to do ever since.  After I had a moment – read, a few tears – a friend of mine suggested posting an excerpt, even if it’s just to show a timeline of events.

My current WIP, called Indigo Road (previous working title was Joy Ride) is currently sitting at about 30k, which I think is about half way or maybe two thirds finished. According to Scrivener, I started writing this on 20 December 2014.

It’s about two straight best friends, Alex and Josh. They’ve been best friends since junior high when the new kid, Alex, was sentenced to detention the same time as Josh. They became fast friends through a mutual hatred for the science teacher, and have been inseparable ever since. They even share a birthday and their parents call them ‘The Terrible Twins.’  They went to college together and when they graduated (which is where my story starts) they’re given a remodelled VW Combi Van as a graduation present from their parents.  They’d always planned on taking a year off to ‘find themselves’ prior to getting a job (we call this a gap year in Aus). So you can guess what happens, right? Yes, it’s a double GFY. Instead of ‘finding themselves’ during the twelve months, they find each other. Can I get a collective ‘aww?’

Anyway, here’s an (unedited) excerpt:

We stumbled up the stairs to our room at the B&B, and no sooner had we closed the door, Alex had me pinned against it, his mouth assaulting my throat.

“Tell me this isn’t weird,” Alex said on a breath.

“It’s not weird. It’s right.” 

“Tell me… tell me you want this as much as I do.”

Alex’s lips made their way to my ear and the soft spot behind it, making any coherent thought impossible.

“Want… you,” I managed to squeeze out.

In an instant his body was gone from mine and I was left cold without it. Alex grabbed my hand and led me quickly to the bed, pushing me down and climbing on top of me.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said, resuming the assault on my throat as his hands pushed my shirt up. He found a nipple and tweaked it hard.

“Ungh, more of that.”

My hips had a mind of their own as they bucked, trying to find some friction. I’d never been so turned on. Alex palmed my cock through my jeans, his movements gentle and hesitant.

“Is this okay?” Alex asked.

“Better if my jeans weren’t in the way.”

“Um… I…”

I stopped his movement, placing my hand over his but not removing it from my groin.

“It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I have no idea either, but I know I want something.”

Alex smiled, his eyes shining. “I’m so glad you’re just as clueless.”

So why am I telling you this?  There’s a novel coming out on April 7th titled 100 Days. Here’s the Goodreads blurb:

Jake and Aiden have been friends—and nothing more—since age six. Now college graduates, they take a road trip across the USA, visiting very state in 100 days.

As they start their cross-country odyssey, Jake and Aiden think they have their journey and their futures mapped out. But the road has a funny way of changing course.

I admit the blurb is a little obscure, but there’s enough similarity to have me sit up and take notice.

I haven’t read 100 Days, obviously because it’s not out yet, and honestly, I’d be a little scared to. But reading it will be the only way to see how it differs from Indigo Road. 

I planned on releasing Indigo Road toward the end of 2015, or maybe early 2016, but now, I don’t even know if I’ll finish it. I wouldn’t like to think that I’ve written 30k for no reason, but worse, I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’ve plagiarised something either.

That would be worse.

RJ

 

I’m up at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words are promoting Aussie authors.
Check out my guest post with them here.  
Remember there’s a giveaway too!

Throwing in a random pic because I can.

RJ

 

Down Under Authors Showcase… a reminder

 

Don’t forget to visit me at the Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words, Down Under Authors Showcase.  Click here to see my post on January 31st.

 

I’ve returned from holiday

Okay, so I’ve been back for a while now but I was hit with double edits, work at the EDJ, kids on summer holidays… the list goes on – or I’m just making excuses as to why I’ve been so slack. I did warn you I wasn’t a very good blogger. I just don’t think my life is that exciting that you want to hear about it.

Anyway…. my holiday was a huge success. We loaded the car and headed about 3 hrs south to a small town called Dunsborough (check out the previous post to see where it is on the map). It’s small and sits on a beautiful sheltered bay with turquoise water. It is my favourite place in the world. I haven’t travelled a lot, but I’ve been to some pretty nice places, but none come close to this little piece of heaven. 20 minutes away is wine country and in an hour you can be in Margaret River, the international surfing spot. Like I said, it’s a pretty special place.

My bestie, Nic and her family flew over from Sydney for 10 days and we had some fun times together. The husbands found things in common (no, they’d never met before) and even our kids played and got along well. (My boys, 8 & 9 years and Nic’s girls, 14 & 15 years – I was a little worried because of the age difference). On our last night together, as we were saying goodbye in the restaurant carpark, all the kids had a big group hug. It was really sweet and I think my boys fell in love over those few days.

This pic was taken of Nic and I having a rest while trying to navigate our way through a giant hedge maze in Margaret River township. We teamed up, girls against boys. Can you guess who won? Yeah, of course we did!

 

 

 

This is the maze we had to navigate through, one way in and only one way out. It was our “Alice” experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you got a favourite holiday spot you want to retire to someday?

I’m excited… my first anthology

I’m very excited to be part of this anthology by Wayward Ink.  All stories are based on musicals and my story “The One That I Want” is based on Grease.  Who doesn’t love Grease?!

This will be my third release scheduled for this year and don’t forget “Out Of The Blue” is scheduled for end of Feb.  Keep your eye out for it.

I’ll post more information including links for the antho closer to the release date of March 20th.

Summer holiday!!

The summer holidays are upon us and we’ve gone down south for a week. Kids are off school for another four weeks and we’re enjoying a lovely few days relaxing by the beach.

This isn’t my photo, but it’s where we currently are. Jealous much?

Anyway, I won’t be around for a little while. Internet in small towns here is a little dodgy but I’m planning on doing other things rather than sitting on my laptop. I can do that at home :)

 

If you ever get to this part of the world, I recommend a trip to the south-west of Australia.  It’s my favourite part of the whole world!

I’ll fill you in on the happenings on my return. :)

RJ

It’s a New Year! Will it be awesome?

 

 

Have you ever looked back on a year and thought ‘wow, that was awesome.’ Nah, me either. For me a year usually consists of a few highs, a few lows but mainly boring, every day shit in between.

So this year, I’m hoping for a few more highs, a few less lows and the average amount of boring shit. Some may call me cynical, some may even call me realistic. I don’t think I’m very optimistic, but I’m certainly not pessimistic either. There’s a lot of ‘tic’s’ in that lot, unintentional I promise :)

All that being said, it doesn’t stop me from being excited. I have three scheduled releases, and if I can pull my finger out there may even be a fourth. So… I’m excited, this year promises to have a few more highs than last.

So, if you feeling a little like this today…

 

                             … come join my party and we’ll see how awesome it is!

Happy New Year all. May 2015 be the best yet!

RJ

Love your Aussie Authors? Check us out here!

I’m proud to be part of this showcase with Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

Want more from your favourite Aussie Authors? Follow the fun throughout January.

Want to know more about me and my upcoming release? Make sure you stay tuned. I’m not featured until Jan 31, but there’s lots of fun to be had along the way!

January is Down Under Author Showcase Month!

How many trips of a lifetime begin by opening a book or turning a page? Are Australia and New Zealand at the top of your “most desired vacation” destinations? Well, beginning in January, you can begin your journey to these faraway places through the books and stories of 28 Down Under writers.

For the entire month of January, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is showcasing 28 authors from Australia and New Zealand. Journey by way of these authors stories and settings through the mountainous regions and rocky coasts, and cities of New Zealand, or the vastly different and beautiful territories of Australia! Get to know the authors and let them act as your travel guides, introducing you to faraway countries, places they call home.

Think everyone in the US, CAN, AUS, and NZ all speak the same English? Oh the joy of discovering what an “esky”, “chilly bin”, “jandals”, “mozzie” or even a “woop-woop” is. Each day brings a new author, new books, new giveaways and, yes, new surprises.

In addition to these wonderful authors and their novels, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

has multiple event prizes to be awarded to readers who participate in the Down Under Author Showcase Scavenger Hunt. Visit each author’s page in January, search out the Scavenger Hunt word or phrase, and then follow the directions on the Showcase page at our website.

For all the details and information for our first January Down Under Author Showcase, visit http://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.com

Don’t forget to enter the contest to win some awesome Aussie prizes!

Click here to find out how.

Down Under Showcase Authors:

1/1/2015      Christian Baines

1/2/2015      Nicki J. Markus

1/3/2014      Anne Barwell

1/5/2015      N.J. Nielson

1/6/2015      L.J. LaBarthe

1/7/2015      Michelle Rae

1/8/2015     Renae Kaye

1/9/2015      John Wiltshire

1/10/2015    N. R. Walker

1/12/2015    John Terry Moore

1/13/2015    Beany Sparks

1/14/2015    A.B. Gayle

1/15/2015     Lisa Henry

1/16/2015    Meredith Shayne

1/17/2015    Pelaam

1/18/2015    Penny Brandon

1/19/2015    Toni Griffin

1/20/2015    Lisa Harris

1/21/2015     Isabelle Rowan

1/22/2015    Maggie Nash

1/24/2015    Lily Veldon

1/25/2015    Bette Browne

1/26/2015    Nic Starr

1/27/2015    Barry Lowe

1/28/2015   Cecil Wilde

1/29/2015   Lisa Henry

1/30/2015   Jack Burnes

1/31/2015   RJ Jones