Amy Lane's Blog: Writer's Lane, page 35
December 18, 2018
It's all in the eyeballs...
So truthfully, this cold is kicking my ass.
I had plans for what I was going to write on the blog this week and...oi.
Had to be up super early this morning after getting to bed super late and coughing all night--again. This morning I took the car in to be serviced then Mate and I went Christmas shopping, and then we went to lunch, and then...
I. Just. Stopped.
Like, forgot my purse at lunch, "Honey, I'm at the zoo!" quit on the whole world. Mate got me home, I said, "DERP! PURSE!" and Mate said, "I'll get it. But first you have to put the stuff away."
Okay.
About the stuff.
The stuff is mostly socks and underwear at this point, with a couple of "toys" for the kids.
But when I say "toys" I mean last ditch material efforts to get the kids to love us before they decide we're too old to talk to anymore.
Because seriously-- they didn't want a Switch Box, they didn't want games, they didn't want... well, anything. These are seriously content children. Anything they DID want, Squish sent me a link to and I'd already bought it.
So my brain was mid-shut-down and we were IN CHRISTMAS CENTRAL and I couldn't think of a fucking thing to buy my own children.
God knows what's in those bags.
But I WILL tell you what was in them what wasn't SUPPOSED to be in them.
Cough syrup.
Which is important later.
Anyway, I stow the stuff in the unused room which is quickly becoming SO unused we can't walk a path through it, and shut the door. Then I fall face down on the bed and fall asleep. I'm freezing, so I cover myself with folded laundry, and I don't wake up for two hours. As in, it's a good think Mate was here, because went to get the kids and I didn't even remember to set my phone.
I eventually wake up, do some work, then sit down to watch TV and... well, I could say "I crafted" but the real truth was, I crafted because getting up to cook dinner was beyond me. Mate made us soup. He was so proud. Safeway Signature Recipes helped.
Finally bedtime rolls around and Squish is coughing. Go figure. I've been a plague dog for the last four days.
"Squish!" I call. "Do you want some cough syrup!"
"Yes!" She comes into the living room and Mate looks at me.
I am knitting under a blanket, covered by dogs.
He stands up and walks toward the kitchen and I say, "Uh, it's not there."
He turns around and we have an eyeball conversation.
Where is it?
The unused room.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Where in the unused room?
Anybody can find it.
SERIOUSLY???
I WAS PRACTICALLY UNCONCIOUS!
And then he laughs out loud and turns down the hallway.
Squish says "I don't understand what just happened."
We have been watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel so she understands this next part.
"Daddy and I just told a joke. We told the set up, the build, the punchline, then the recall, and then we laughed like the audience, and we did it all with our eyeballs."
"Except the laugh."
"Really?"
"We're that good."
"Huh."
"Sweetie, when you take that cough syrup, don't make any frickin' plans."
"I don't even know what you mean."
"Trust me. Just... trust me."
So I'm off to bed. I'm taking some cough syrup, now that we have some. I'll wave to you all when the comas over.
Also?
Thanks for making HomeBird a success :-) People really seem to love it-- thank you!!
I had plans for what I was going to write on the blog this week and...oi.
Had to be up super early this morning after getting to bed super late and coughing all night--again. This morning I took the car in to be serviced then Mate and I went Christmas shopping, and then we went to lunch, and then...
I. Just. Stopped.
Like, forgot my purse at lunch, "Honey, I'm at the zoo!" quit on the whole world. Mate got me home, I said, "DERP! PURSE!" and Mate said, "I'll get it. But first you have to put the stuff away."
Okay.
About the stuff.
The stuff is mostly socks and underwear at this point, with a couple of "toys" for the kids.
But when I say "toys" I mean last ditch material efforts to get the kids to love us before they decide we're too old to talk to anymore.
Because seriously-- they didn't want a Switch Box, they didn't want games, they didn't want... well, anything. These are seriously content children. Anything they DID want, Squish sent me a link to and I'd already bought it.
So my brain was mid-shut-down and we were IN CHRISTMAS CENTRAL and I couldn't think of a fucking thing to buy my own children.
God knows what's in those bags.
But I WILL tell you what was in them what wasn't SUPPOSED to be in them.
Cough syrup.
Which is important later.
Anyway, I stow the stuff in the unused room which is quickly becoming SO unused we can't walk a path through it, and shut the door. Then I fall face down on the bed and fall asleep. I'm freezing, so I cover myself with folded laundry, and I don't wake up for two hours. As in, it's a good think Mate was here, because went to get the kids and I didn't even remember to set my phone.
I eventually wake up, do some work, then sit down to watch TV and... well, I could say "I crafted" but the real truth was, I crafted because getting up to cook dinner was beyond me. Mate made us soup. He was so proud. Safeway Signature Recipes helped.
Finally bedtime rolls around and Squish is coughing. Go figure. I've been a plague dog for the last four days.
"Squish!" I call. "Do you want some cough syrup!"
"Yes!" She comes into the living room and Mate looks at me.
I am knitting under a blanket, covered by dogs.
He stands up and walks toward the kitchen and I say, "Uh, it's not there."
He turns around and we have an eyeball conversation.
Where is it?
The unused room.
Seriously?
Yeah.
Where in the unused room?
Anybody can find it.
SERIOUSLY???
I WAS PRACTICALLY UNCONCIOUS!
And then he laughs out loud and turns down the hallway.
Squish says "I don't understand what just happened."
We have been watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel so she understands this next part.
"Daddy and I just told a joke. We told the set up, the build, the punchline, then the recall, and then we laughed like the audience, and we did it all with our eyeballs."
"Except the laugh."
"Really?"
"We're that good."
"Huh."
"Sweetie, when you take that cough syrup, don't make any frickin' plans."
"I don't even know what you mean."
"Trust me. Just... trust me."
So I'm off to bed. I'm taking some cough syrup, now that we have some. I'll wave to you all when the comas over.
Also?
Thanks for making HomeBird a success :-) People really seem to love it-- thank you!!
December 17, 2018
Oh hey! HomeBird is out!
HomeBirdby Amy LaneCrispin Henry isn’t an adventurer. He learned early on that the world is a frightening place and that home is rare and precious. If his friends didn’t drag him to sports games and ill-advised trips to Vegas, he wouldn’t get out at all—and his trip to Munich for Oktoberfest is no exception. But it’s there that he meets Luka Gabriel, and he learns to take a chance.Luka is a free-spirited world traveler, working at Oktoberfest to feed his enchantment with new places and new people. His only possessions fit in his backpack, and he depends on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep. Crispin should know better—but he takes Luka’s hand anyway, and together they turn three nights in Munich into the relationship neither of them has been brave enough to risk—and neither can let go of.
When Luka turns up on Crispin’s doorstep before the holiday season, Crispin takes him in on hope alone. Yes, he knows the odds are good Luka will flutter out of his life again and leave him bereft, but isn’t it worth it to see if Luka is a homebird after all?
BUY AT AMAZON
BUY AT DREAMSPINNER PRESS
The thing is, I love writing stories for this time of year.
It's like that habit of making one day a year as perfect as possible (and we are imperfect people so it's not particularly perfect) for my children extends to my writing.
The projects I'm working on currently are rough. They've got pain and every day problems and things like money and family and destructive decisions all matter.
But my Holiday story is my one chance to really BELIEVE in in hope and joy and happy endings, without strings.
In a holiday story, a world-traveling hottie and a shy homebody can meet, can fall in love, can have a happy ever after.
So I hope you all enjoy this story. I loved writing it. Make sure you check out the forward when I talk about the story of the story.
And definitely allow yourself to believe in happy ever afters, even when they're at their most unlikely.
All yourself to dream.
Amy
December 16, 2018
And a headache and two ibuprofen...
Eight days before Christmas, my weekend did to me...
12 Folks at T-s B-day party
11 hours coughing
10 different stores a-shopping
9 miles looking at lights
8 revisits to the list
7 fresh work deadlines
6 more things I need to craft
5 KIDS TO SHOP FOR
4 Posts for a blog tour
3 major edits
(also) 3 dogs who need a walk
And a trip to see Spiderman for Mate...
I hope this next week is head cold free, the dogs get walks, I get my deadlines done, and the kids survive school--because it looks like my favorite Christmas present is going to be some blessed, blessed sleep.
OH!
And for folks who saw this on Amazon, I FINISHED THE BOOK!
I was so relieved to have that done I didn't even know where to put it in the song.
12 Folks at T-s B-day party
11 hours coughing
10 different stores a-shopping
9 miles looking at lights
8 revisits to the list
7 fresh work deadlines
6 more things I need to craft
5 KIDS TO SHOP FOR
4 Posts for a blog tour
3 major edits
(also) 3 dogs who need a walk
And a trip to see Spiderman for Mate...
I hope this next week is head cold free, the dogs get walks, I get my deadlines done, and the kids survive school--because it looks like my favorite Christmas present is going to be some blessed, blessed sleep.
OH!
And for folks who saw this on Amazon, I FINISHED THE BOOK!
I was so relieved to have that done I didn't even know where to put it in the song.
December 13, 2018
From James Dean to Urkel
So, Squish and I were going to pick up ZoomBoy. We saw him at the intersection, leaning against a fence, waiting for the walk signal.
"Doesn't he look cool?" I asked-- that is not ZB's default.
"Yeah," Squish said thoughtfully. "Ankles crossed, hands in pocket, eyes closed. Looks like a movie star."
Then the light changed and he used his hands in his pockets to yank his pants up by the crotch--and hence up about four inches at the ankles--and he hunched his back, shouldered his backpack, and crossed the street like the hunchback of Notre Dork playing pocket pool.
Squish and I were like this: 0.0
ZoomBoy got in the car and we were like, "Uh, your pants falling down?"
"Yeah, but I keep my hands in my pockets so nobody knows."
"Uh, yeah, son. Maybe ask dad for a belt when we get home."
Belt looks great!
Also, we got a Christmas card today that sort of baffled us.
I recognized the address--it was a friend from high school-- we swap Christmas cards still, although we haven't seen each other in ten years.
The name was different. "Hey, isn't that the name of that guy that my (other) friend dated about fifteen years ago?"
"Yeah..."
I opened up the card and read the letter.
So, Christmas card friend had married that one guy's twin brother.
Which, folks, is probably why it's a good idea to--in the immortal words of Bowling for Soup-- get the fuck out of your hometown.
"Doesn't he look cool?" I asked-- that is not ZB's default.
"Yeah," Squish said thoughtfully. "Ankles crossed, hands in pocket, eyes closed. Looks like a movie star."
Then the light changed and he used his hands in his pockets to yank his pants up by the crotch--and hence up about four inches at the ankles--and he hunched his back, shouldered his backpack, and crossed the street like the hunchback of Notre Dork playing pocket pool.
Squish and I were like this: 0.0
ZoomBoy got in the car and we were like, "Uh, your pants falling down?"
"Yeah, but I keep my hands in my pockets so nobody knows."
"Uh, yeah, son. Maybe ask dad for a belt when we get home."
Belt looks great!
Also, we got a Christmas card today that sort of baffled us.
I recognized the address--it was a friend from high school-- we swap Christmas cards still, although we haven't seen each other in ten years.
The name was different. "Hey, isn't that the name of that guy that my (other) friend dated about fifteen years ago?"
"Yeah..."
I opened up the card and read the letter.
So, Christmas card friend had married that one guy's twin brother.
Which, folks, is probably why it's a good idea to--in the immortal words of Bowling for Soup-- get the fuck out of your hometown.
December 11, 2018
Dear Helpful Person...
To the person who posted the Yip Yip pattern on my FB group--Parker Williams, you know who you are...
First off, I would like to say, I had a handle on my Christmas crafting. I swear I did. I was going to make three of these things here:
And then I thought, "But that went so FAST! I'm just going to make a scarf for Chicken, and I'll use THIS pattern because it's really fast TOO."
this pattern, right here.
And then I started to make it, and it felt really easy. So I committed to making THREE OF THEM, except what I THOUGHT was easy was a bust because it turns out you have to do basic maths, and there's a stitch I don't understand and anyway, it took me two weeks. TWO WEEKS in the height of Christmas crafting season.
I can't do three of them. OMG I BARELY FINISHED ONE--and, honestly, it's almost twice as deep as it should be in the picture. Because maths, you understand.
Anyway, I decided to do THIS pattern, from the Lion Brand Touch of Alpaca ball band, because hey, it's quick, it's easy, and I think I can finish three of them in OMG TWO WEEKS? IS THAT ALL I HAVE?
Wait-- what about the cowls again?
Those can wait.
BUT I have two weeks to make those big scarves and suddenly, SOMEONE, (WE ALL KNOW WHO!) puts THIS up on my feed.
Press the link. PRESS IT, I TELL YOU.
Do you see that?
Those are YIP YIP STOCKINGS.
And... *sob* THEY'RE ADORABLE!
So I show these to Chicken thinking she'll talk me out of it-- she really liked the idea of her and her friends all having matching scarves, right?
But no. She's like THOSE hosers can have scarves, I want a YIP YIP STOCKING.
I tell her tough luck, I have no time and my budget has been spent.
So I tell Mate, thinking he will LAUGH at me, because seriously, YIP YIP STOCKINGS? But he takes one look at the pattern and goes, "Oh. Oh yeah. You need to start those in January and make them for EVERYBODY WE KNOW!"
*sob*
You all... I've got yarn. I mean, lOTS AND LOTS OF YARN. So much yarn. And every new pattern means I need to buy MOAR YARN.
Those Yip Yip Stockings don't come cheap-- but... *sob* Did you SEE THEM?
HOLD ON BOYS, MOMMY'S COMING!!!!!!!!!!
First off, I would like to say, I had a handle on my Christmas crafting. I swear I did. I was going to make three of these things here:
And then I thought, "But that went so FAST! I'm just going to make a scarf for Chicken, and I'll use THIS pattern because it's really fast TOO."
this pattern, right here.
And then I started to make it, and it felt really easy. So I committed to making THREE OF THEM, except what I THOUGHT was easy was a bust because it turns out you have to do basic maths, and there's a stitch I don't understand and anyway, it took me two weeks. TWO WEEKS in the height of Christmas crafting season.
I can't do three of them. OMG I BARELY FINISHED ONE--and, honestly, it's almost twice as deep as it should be in the picture. Because maths, you understand.
Anyway, I decided to do THIS pattern, from the Lion Brand Touch of Alpaca ball band, because hey, it's quick, it's easy, and I think I can finish three of them in OMG TWO WEEKS? IS THAT ALL I HAVE?
Wait-- what about the cowls again?
Those can wait.
BUT I have two weeks to make those big scarves and suddenly, SOMEONE, (WE ALL KNOW WHO!) puts THIS up on my feed.
Press the link. PRESS IT, I TELL YOU.
Do you see that?
Those are YIP YIP STOCKINGS.
And... *sob* THEY'RE ADORABLE!
So I show these to Chicken thinking she'll talk me out of it-- she really liked the idea of her and her friends all having matching scarves, right?
But no. She's like THOSE hosers can have scarves, I want a YIP YIP STOCKING.
I tell her tough luck, I have no time and my budget has been spent.
So I tell Mate, thinking he will LAUGH at me, because seriously, YIP YIP STOCKINGS? But he takes one look at the pattern and goes, "Oh. Oh yeah. You need to start those in January and make them for EVERYBODY WE KNOW!"
*sob*
You all... I've got yarn. I mean, lOTS AND LOTS OF YARN. So much yarn. And every new pattern means I need to buy MOAR YARN.
Those Yip Yip Stockings don't come cheap-- but... *sob* Did you SEE THEM?
HOLD ON BOYS, MOMMY'S COMING!!!!!!!!!!
How Many Words?
Okay-- so a super short bit today. Paint it Black is getting ready to be finished, and it's nearly 100K and yes, I know that's too many words, I don't know what to tell you.
Also, it needs another sex scene.
Anyway-- the following happened today:
Took Johnnie to the vet, where I had to hoist him onto the stainless steel table to get his shots and temperature taken.
"C'mon, you big chicken, you need to get violated and prodded and have some shit blown up your nose."
Johnnie looked at me with big Chihuahua blueberry-muffin eyes and the vet laughed.
"Gee, and you made it sound like such an awesome deal."
Also...
Went walking with Chicken, and she told me about this event from her world mythology class:
Professor: Do we have any figures that have become legendary in modern times?
Student: Elvis?
Professor: Dumbledore?
Also...
So, two weeks ago, Squish came up to me as I was working and gently touched my goddess pendant.
"That's pretty."
"It is. Mary gave it to me. She gave me a little cauldron with the trinity symbol on it, but Chicken stole it."
"You know, I'd like a necklace like that."
So we found one that was different--pagan, with her birthstone on it--and I put in an order. A week later, a tiny box showed up, but since it was so close to Christmas, it went on the "so close to Christmas" pile, and I didn't think anything of it.
Until I got a text this morning--from Mary. She wanted to know if I'd gotten my gift from her yet.
"Oh my God-- that box was for ME???"
I thought it was pretty funny. And totally her fault, right?
And now I need to check the "so close to C Christmas" pile to make sure Squish's present got here too!
Also, it needs another sex scene.
Anyway-- the following happened today:
Took Johnnie to the vet, where I had to hoist him onto the stainless steel table to get his shots and temperature taken.
"C'mon, you big chicken, you need to get violated and prodded and have some shit blown up your nose."
Johnnie looked at me with big Chihuahua blueberry-muffin eyes and the vet laughed.
"Gee, and you made it sound like such an awesome deal."
Also...
Went walking with Chicken, and she told me about this event from her world mythology class:
Professor: Do we have any figures that have become legendary in modern times?
Student: Elvis?
Professor: Dumbledore?
Also...
So, two weeks ago, Squish came up to me as I was working and gently touched my goddess pendant.
"That's pretty."
"It is. Mary gave it to me. She gave me a little cauldron with the trinity symbol on it, but Chicken stole it."
"You know, I'd like a necklace like that."
So we found one that was different--pagan, with her birthstone on it--and I put in an order. A week later, a tiny box showed up, but since it was so close to Christmas, it went on the "so close to Christmas" pile, and I didn't think anything of it.
Until I got a text this morning--from Mary. She wanted to know if I'd gotten my gift from her yet.
"Oh my God-- that box was for ME???"
I thought it was pretty funny. And totally her fault, right?
And now I need to check the "so close to C Christmas" pile to make sure Squish's present got here too!
December 10, 2018
GNGL BLZ
So I shit you not. The license plate of that vintage automobile driven by that charming elderly couple wearing very distinctive holiday costumes is GNGL BLZ.It's enough to look for signs of Christmas cheer.
Such as...
* The Lego Advent Calendar is opened and pillaged and fought over
* Strange packages arrive that Mom and Dad won't open and often can't remember ordering
* The great debate of "Do we get the tree BEFORE or AFTER Big T's birthday" begins.
* Mom lets the kids choose Christmas music in Spotify
* The conversation in the car turns simultaneously to A. Honoring other religious holidays besides Christmas, B. Where those holidays come from, C. If we're pagan why do we celebrate Christmas again?, and, my personal favorite, D. "Why does religion seem to spawn so many wars?" (Ugh. True, but I could do without this discussion once a year. It makes me want to stab several people with a Yule log.)
* We start watching "forbidden" movies-- Love Actually, Die Hard, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Gremlins, the Apartment, The Thin Man-- that we save for this month actually, because otherwise they shall become commonplace, like Christmas lights left out all year long.
* Speaking of Christmas lights, uh, Mate, when were we gonna...?
* The animals get all excited because a TREE just MAGICALLY APPEARS in the INSIDE and not the OUTSIDE and we NEED TO EXPLORE THIS MADNESS!
* I start making plans to fry chicken, a thing I do once or twice a year, usually for Christmas Eve
* Mate and I plan his week before Christmas off to the last detail. FTR? We usually blow this plan in the first day.
* Mate starts looking up recipes for fudge.
* I start singing carols to the kids at random times when they least expect it.
* I KNIT LIKE THE WIND! ONLY SEVEN HUNDRED MORE CHRISTMAS ITEMS TO GO!
* OH. OMG. Like I was writing this list and it suddenly occurred to me that I NEEDED TO WRITE MY CHRISTMAS LETTER, like this week. Like I'm trying to finish a book and edit the SBC and I NEED TO WRITE MY CHRISTMAS LETTER RIGHT NOW AND...
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
December 7, 2018
Hair Cuts and Audiobooks
So, the kids and I got haircuts today--and I forgot to get a picture of Squish, but I have to tell you, she was adorable. ZoomBoy and I took selfies to, because I bobbed mine right below my ears. Looks... well, whatever. Looks like hair. I don't have to brush it anymore, that's the thing. Also, to get the inches off, the hairdresser pulled it all to the top of my head and buzzed off my pompom which was hilarious, and that was the thing.
So, eyeballs deep in stuff tonight, trying to send a newsletter, trying to do promo, and do I have a blog post for Christmas Kitsch tomorrow? (Short answer, I DON'T KNOW!) Anyway-- Super short blog post here tonight, but I thought I'd mention that A Fool and His Manny is out on audiobook!
Also, haircut selfies. Because.
ALSO, I thought it worth mentioning that Geoffie is sleeping on not one, not two, but FOR yarn project bags.
Because she can do more damage that way.
*headdesk*
Anyway, have some Fool and His Manny.
A Fool and His Manny-- on Audio
By Amy Lane
Seeing the truth and falling in love.
Dustin Robbins-Grayson was a surly adolescent when Quinlan Gregory started the nanny gig. After a rocky start, he grew into Quinlan’s friend and confidant - and a damned sexy man.
At 21, Dusty sees how Quinlan sacrificed his own life and desires to care for Dusty’s family. He’s ready to claim Quinlan - he’s never met a kinder, more capable, more lovable man. Or a lonelier one. Quinlan has spent his life as the stranger on the edge of the photograph, but Dusty wants Quinlan to be the center of his world. First he has to convince Quinlan he’s an adult, their love is real, and Quinlan can be more than a friend and caregiver. Can he show Quin that he deserves to be both a man and a lover, and that in Dusty’s eyes, he’s never been “just the manny?”
December 6, 2018
A Freebie and a re-release
So, super quick reminder tonight!The first thing is that I've released this story--which was previously in the Grand Adventures anthology--as a freebie on what is now Prolific Works. You can claim your copy here-- it's a teeny tiny feel good vignette, so enjoy!
Here's the blurb!
A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness
by Amy Lane
Witness the Angel Gabriel.
a.k.a. "Heaven's biggest prick"
Gabriel has been accused of the crime of hubris--and his sentence is to remember why angels protected humans in the first place. A permanent seat at Starbucks might be Gabriel's idea of hell, but it's there that he meets the irrepressible Jamie and wounded Ernie, and realizes that the human race might be worth saving after all.
It just needs a gentle shove of human kindness.
Next, I wanted to let you know that Christmas Kitsch will be re-released on Friday!
A lot of you already have this book, but it's one of my most popular Christmas stories, and it's been re-covered. If you haven't read it yet, your chance is coming! Enjoy!
Christmas Kitsch
by Amy Lane
Sometimes the best Christmas gift is knowing what you really want.
Rusty Baker is a rich, entitled, oblivious jock, and he might have stayed that way if he hadn’t become friends with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. When Oliver kisses him goodbye before Rusty leaves for college, Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.
But nothing can help Rusty survive a semester at Stanford, and he returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. But with Oliver’s love and the help of Oliver’s amazing family, Rusty realizes that failing college doesn’t mean he can’t pass real life with flying rainbow colors.
Buy Here
December 4, 2018
Christmas Flail, Redux!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
So two things happened yesterday!
One was J.P. Barnaby tagged me and said, "Is it too late for Kermit Flail?" And I went "I'm so sorry!!!!" And she said, "That's okay-- you can do it next month!" and I'm SO EXCITED that she's writing again and we SHARE A RELEASE DATE that I thought. "Aw... well, fine. That'll work." I was disappointed.
And then E.J. Russell tagged me and said, "Uh... didn't I have a Kermit Flail?" and I went "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Because you all know I loves E.J. TREMENDOUSLY and I hate to let her down.
So I just decided, hey, it's my blog, and it's Christmas.
KERMIT FLAIL FOR EVERYBODY!!!!
And here we are-- KERMIT FLAIL TUESDAY!!!!
And seriously-- these are two great writers at the top of their game. E.J. writes quirky and sweet, and J.P. writes thoughtful and sad, so no matter what your flavor is, WE'VE GOT IT GOIN' ON!
Happy Holidays everybody--
May every day be the celebration of someone you love.
Everyday Hero
by E.J. Russell
When Adam Tyler’s sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn’t count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas—and three days before his sister’s due date. And he definitely didn’t count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators.
Garrett Strong doesn’t consider himself at all remarkable—his ex certainly didn’t think so—and Garrett’s pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn’t the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix—venomous intruders notwithstanding.
A Dreamspinner 2018 Advent Calendar story
Buy Here
Saving Hannah
by J.P. Barnaby
Thomas Aberthol’s luck has run out. His daughter, Hannah, needs a miracle he can’t deliver. A hacker with a felony record, Thomas has little chance of finding work that will provide the care she needs. Out of money, out of options, and out of hope, he throws himself on the mercy of someone he never thought to see again.
Even after ten years, Aleksander Sanna still dreams of that drunken kiss. A perfect moment in time when Thomas wanted him. In his world of elegant code and high finance, the picture he holds of Thomas torments him in the dark of night.
Their worlds collide as Thomas interviews for the job he so desperately needs with the company Aleks inherited from his father. Thomas doesn’t get the position, but Aleks offers him a completely different kind of proposal, one suited to Thomas’s unique talents… one that will change the course of both their lives.
Buy Here
So two things happened yesterday!
One was J.P. Barnaby tagged me and said, "Is it too late for Kermit Flail?" And I went "I'm so sorry!!!!" And she said, "That's okay-- you can do it next month!" and I'm SO EXCITED that she's writing again and we SHARE A RELEASE DATE that I thought. "Aw... well, fine. That'll work." I was disappointed.
And then E.J. Russell tagged me and said, "Uh... didn't I have a Kermit Flail?" and I went "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Because you all know I loves E.J. TREMENDOUSLY and I hate to let her down.
So I just decided, hey, it's my blog, and it's Christmas.
KERMIT FLAIL FOR EVERYBODY!!!!
And here we are-- KERMIT FLAIL TUESDAY!!!!
And seriously-- these are two great writers at the top of their game. E.J. writes quirky and sweet, and J.P. writes thoughtful and sad, so no matter what your flavor is, WE'VE GOT IT GOIN' ON!
Happy Holidays everybody--
May every day be the celebration of someone you love.
Everyday Heroby E.J. Russell
When Adam Tyler’s sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn’t count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas—and three days before his sister’s due date. And he definitely didn’t count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators.
Garrett Strong doesn’t consider himself at all remarkable—his ex certainly didn’t think so—and Garrett’s pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn’t the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix—venomous intruders notwithstanding.
A Dreamspinner 2018 Advent Calendar story
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Saving Hannahby J.P. Barnaby
Thomas Aberthol’s luck has run out. His daughter, Hannah, needs a miracle he can’t deliver. A hacker with a felony record, Thomas has little chance of finding work that will provide the care she needs. Out of money, out of options, and out of hope, he throws himself on the mercy of someone he never thought to see again.
Even after ten years, Aleksander Sanna still dreams of that drunken kiss. A perfect moment in time when Thomas wanted him. In his world of elegant code and high finance, the picture he holds of Thomas torments him in the dark of night.
Their worlds collide as Thomas interviews for the job he so desperately needs with the company Aleks inherited from his father. Thomas doesn’t get the position, but Aleks offers him a completely different kind of proposal, one suited to Thomas’s unique talents… one that will change the course of both their lives.
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