Lisa Worrall's Blog, page 19

SUNDAY SNIPPET

SUNDAY SNIPPET!
This week's Sunday Snippet comes from Monty Meets the Parents which will be available on the 20  September... (unedited of course)
Long after Kaylee was asleep in her pink fairy castle, lounging on the couch, Finn listened Aiden and his mom chatting about their upcoming visit to San Antonio. Finn had already spoken to her and explained that he and Kaylee would come up on the Friday and Aiden would fly down after his presentation at work. It had become quite the little ritual for him to speak to his mother and then hand the telephone to Aiden every time Molly called, and Finn was touched by how readily his family had taken Aiden and Kaylee to their hearts. Not that he'd ever thought they'd do otherwise.He smiled when Aiden began to write down the recipe for his mother’s apple pie.  “Hey, isn’t she supposed to kill you if she gives you that?” he queried, poking Aiden with the foot he had rested on his lap. “Have you any idea how many times my Aunt Myrna has tried to get that recipe and been told to wait for the reading of the will?” Aiden rolled his eyes and carried on writing, throwing over his shoulder, “Momma said shut up or she’ll mention the sledding incident.”  He raised an eyebrow, his gaze locking with Finn’s. “What sledding incident?”“I’m shutting up and you’d better do the same your end, Molly Thomas,” Finn said loudly enough for his mother to hear.  Nodding towards Aiden’s note pad, he poked him again with his foot and said sagely, “You just carry on with your recipe, Betty Crocker.”  He lounged back against the cushions and half-closed his eyes, watching Aiden’s face light up, chuckling here and there as the conversation went on.  Although he loved to watch Aiden talking to Molly, there was a big part of him that wished it was Aiden’s mother on the end of that phone. Wished she could hear the laughter in Aiden’s voice and know how happy he was.  Chewing the inside of his lip thoughtfully, a little seed began to take root inside his head.  Dallas was only four hours drive from San Antonio... less by plane.  He could easily get his parents or AJ to pick Kaylee up at the airport and then hop on another plane to Dallas.  He was sure he could talk Patti into helping him out, because she was anxious for Aiden to reunite with them, and if it all went horribly wrong, Aiden need never even know. “You okay, babe?” Aiden said, crawling up Finn’s body and settling between him and the back of the couch, one muscled thigh thrown over both of Finn’s.Finn looked down into green eyes and smiled, capturing those full lips in a very thorough kiss.  “I’m great,” he replied, laying his cheek against Aiden’s hair. In fact he was more than a little bit excited. It was time for a little digging. Time for some answers. Time for Monty to meet the parents.

RELEASE DAY: BY DESIGN

Today is release day for By Design!

BLURB:
Robbie Cooper gets more than he bargains for when Shane Donald walks into his shop, photograph in hand, asking Robbie to tattoo the likeness on his skin. 
There’s something about the photograph and the way Shane talks about the man in the photograph that ignites a spark deep inside Robbie, and he longs to know more.  But will he like what he hears, and will he be able to control his instant attraction to his client?
EXCERPT:"Rob, this bloke wants a portrait. I said he was looking at a couple of hours at least. He wants it done today, but I told him we close in fifteen."Rob glanced at the photograph Rainbow had tossed onto the table, and his pencil once again stuttered on the paper. The photograph showed a man with laughing green eyes staring up at him from a heart-shaped face with high cheekbones. The man's softly falling blond hair was lifted by a gentle breeze as he laughed at whatever the photographer was saying. The man's chest was bare and Rob's gaze touched on the beautiful tattoo of a wolf's head artfully placed around the man's belly button.  He couldn't help but admire the artistry of the needle work, the wolf's fur so expertly done the tattooist may as well have used a brush and paint. But it was the expression that caught his eye. The photographer had captured a moment in time. An expression of tenderness so acute, that made Rob wonder if he'd ever been looked at that way. With completely unabashed joy… love."Hello?" Rainbow drew out the second syllable pointedly and Rob cleared his throat, glancing at the guy behind the desk and then back at his assistant.  "I can do it," Rob blurted out, cutting her off in mid-flow. "Bring him down.""Rob it's not late night—""Maud," Rob ground out through his teeth in an attempt to keep his voice at a controllable decibel. "I said I can do it. Bring him down.""Jeez, unbunch," Rainbow complained, folding her arms and glaring down at him. "I don't have to stay, do I?"Rob rolled his eyes and waved an impatient hand at her. "God forbid you should have to work one minute later than five," he growled. "In fact, go home now—just make sure you turn the closed sign, pull the blinds and kill the lights at the front of the shop. Then sod off and do… whatever it is you do." He gazed up at her, confronted with the cavern of her mouth as she yawned widely. "What exactly do you do?" "Well, on Thursdays I watch Eastenders. After which I go out and sacrifice a live goat or two. Then I bathe in their blood to keep my youthful complexion," Rainbow drawled sarcastically, flipping him the finger and spinning so fast on thin heels he was amazed she didn't break her neck as she walked back to the reception desk.
BUY LINK: https://spsilverpublishing.com/by-design-ebook-p-1530.html

SUNDAY SNIPPET - WIP: MOVING MONTY IN!

SUNDAY SNIPPET!
This week's snippet comes from my current WIP, to be released on the 20 August, MOVING MONTY IN (Marshall's Park #6).
"So good," Finn moaned, his breath already falling in harsh gasps onto Aiden's hair, ruffling the strands and sending shivers of excitement down Aiden's spine. "You make me so hot… so hard, don't stop.""Oh sweet Jesus! My eyes, my eyes!"Aiden and Finn broke apart at the sound of Chris' voice from the kitchen doorway."How did you get in?" Finn spluttered, scrambling to his feet and then holding out his hand to Aiden and helping him up."I found two gorgeous girls getting into a car outside," Chris replied, sauntering into the room, his battered flip-flops sounding loud on the tiled floor. "The short one let me in.""Well that explains the how," Finn growled. "Now how about the why?"Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "You asked me to help you move in, doofus. Katie's is closer to here than the apartment, so I thought I'd come here first." He held up his hands. "But if you don't want my help, I can go—don't bother me none.""Don't even think about leaving." Finn's voice held a note of warning and Aiden couldn't help his lips twitching at the huge, cheesy grin on Chris' face. "Unless you want that six-pack on the back seat of my car to stay there.""Hey, I said I'd help didn't I?" Chris said, mock-affronted. "But if you don't do something about that… thing, you'll have to throw in a pizza, too for emotional trauma."Aiden followed the line of Chris' vision and tried to cover his grin when Finn tried to cover the obvious tenting of his shorts. He couldn't contain his laughter, however, at Finn's dramatic huff as he stormed from the kitchen and delivered a resounding slap to the back of Chris' head as he passed, and Chris chased him from the house.Shaking his head, Aiden grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and followed them. At the open front door, he paused and leaned against the door jamb with his arms crossed, watching the two overgrown boys wrestling on the front lawn. He grinned when Finn got Chris in a headlock, chuckled when he heard Chris squeal, "I can feel your boner on my leg! Get off me ya big mo!" then full on cackled as Finn snapped back, "Takes a dick to know one!" He had no idea what living under the same roof with Finn Thomas was going to bring—but it was going to be fun finding out.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

PLAGIRISM - WHY?

Today, a friend of mine had one of her stories plagiarised in such a blatant and obvious way, that it makes me sit back in my chair and scratch my head in confusion - kind of like Curious George - because I just don't get it.
I don't mean I don't understand why someone would plagiarise her work, that I get totally, because she is a fantastic writer who pulls you in from the very first word and immerses you in stories that leave you wanting more. I just don't get why someone would get any gratification from passing off someone else's work as their own. Or why they would think they could get away with it. This guy even used her surname as one of the characters in his plagiarised version of the short - I mean - really? And, to compound the felony, which is basically what it is, the original version was a free read on a Goodreads Group. This arsehole is charging money for someone else's talent! Luckily the publisher has been very understanding and has immediately removed it from sale pending a full investigation.
I know of several authors this has happened to over the last couple of months and I am completely appalled by the bare-faced cheek of these... lets give them their proper title... just like this little chap - thieves. Writing a story and bringing the characters in your head to life is a deeply emotional and draining experience, and they are, in fact, your baby. 
You wouldn't steal someones baby, would you?
You wouldn't think to yourself, ooh that's a nice one, I'll just pop it under my jacket and take it home--tell the neighbours I'm taking care of it for a relative... surely not? 
And if they are not inclined to walk into Fort Knox and slip a couple of these into their handbags, what on earth makes them think that it's okay to steal these and it won't matter?
The thing is, all you future plagiarisers out there who think that we won't notice... the m/m genre is a relatively small community compared to others and the chance of no one else having read the story you're pinching is NIL. Someone, somewhere will have read it, or at least have heard its plot from someones third cousin's auntie's sister's brother's uncle's dog walker. Do you get where I'm coming from? Have you twigged that you can't run, you can't hide and you can't avoid being named and shamed - because you will be found - trust me. 
So... the moral of this story? Simple.
Keep your fingers out of the cookie jar and you won't get the lid slammed down on them - HARD! 

I CAN SEE FOR MILES - UP FOR BOOK OF THE MONTH!

Yay - I Can See for Miles is up for Book of the Month over at Live Your Life Buy the Book. It's the fourth round of voting and the winner will make it into the quarter finals.

If you enjoyed the story, any votes would be greatly appreciated (I'm not afraid to grovel!)





And Sue Brown's The Sky is Dead is in the running, too! 

Happy voting!

WINNERS OF THE HALFWAY THERE MONTY GIVEAWAY!

Woo hoo! The winners have been picked out of the hat by my lovely assistant (Gracie) who has pointed out that it would be nice if EVERYONE who participated got a prize, because you all got the questions right, and I agree with her!

So, the winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes are...

1st:   Trisha Harrington!

2nd:  MinnieMae Winter!

3rd:   Laurie P!

Everyone else who participated will receive a copy of Moving Monty In (#6) on release day!


Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to everyone who joined in! I will be in touch by email today :)

SUNDAY SNIPPET... New York Cowboy

SUNDAY SNIPPET
This week's Sunday Snippet comes from one of my current WIP's, New York Cowboy, which is the prequel to the Christmas short, Too Much Christmas Spirit. 
Tentative release date is the 30 August...
When the idea of opening the ranch to businesses as a team-building experience had been pitched to him by his mother, he'd reacted as she must have known he would—with a disbelieving stare followed by a flat-out refusal. Of course, after the air had changed back from blue to its natural color, she had gone on to make several good points. Number one, they were losing cattle they didn't have the money to replace. Number two, upper-class morons in the city would pay a buck load for a genuine cowboy experience. And, number three, she had the controlling interest in the ranch, not him.Vance's cell vibrated in his back pocket and he sighed heavily. The first of many he was sure he would be heaving over the next few days. Reaching behind him, he fished the sliver of metal from the confines of his jeans and cursed softly as his mother's face flashed on the screen. He pressed the button to accept the call and put the phone to his ear. "Mornin' mom.""Don't you 'mornin' mom' me," Audrey Wolf said frostily. "Where the hell are you? Gabby is gonna be back from the airport with the guests any minute and if you're not here to greet them we'll be starting off on the wrong foot.""I'm just checking the rest of the fencing along the creek side," Vance winced at his mother's scoff. Of course she knew he was lying. She was his mother for God's sake. "I'll be in soon. I'm sure you'll be able to meet and greet a few businessman just fine by yourself.""Vance Benjamin Elvis Wolf," Audrey used his full name, even the embarrassing one,  so he knew he was pretty much in deep shit. "Unless you want it handed to you on a platter, I suggest you get that stubborn ass of yours back to the house as if it were on fire. You hearing me, boy?" Recognizing the no nonsense tone of his mother's voice that usually came just before a threatened trip to the woodshed during his youth, Vance emitted yet another sigh and replied through gritted teeth. "Yes, momma." What else was he going to say? No? To Audrey Wolf? They both knew that, even at thirty-two years old, the chances of him being brave enough to defy her were a million to one. 
Thanks for stopping by - see you next week :)

*IN THE MANNER OF THE SEAGULLS FROM FINDING NEMO* MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!

Ah, the Summer Holidays - or should that be Aaaaaagh, the Summer Holidays?

Remember those halcyon days when you were a kid? Going out at 9 in the morning with a belly full of coco pops and a promise that you would indeed come home at some point? When you just laid on the grass in someone's back garden and stared up at the clouds, trying to figure out which one looked most like your dad reading a newspaper on the toilet? Or sat in three inches of water in your best mate's paddling pool for so long you left the house looking like a ten year old and returned home looking like a wrinkly old man who resembled your Granddad? Oh, and riding up and down the road on the back of your brother's chopper until he decided to do one wheelie too many and you ended up flat on your arse? And, of course, let us not forget the hours spent hanging upside down on the monkey bars at the local park, watching the world go by... in reverse!

There were a multitude of ways to entertain yourself when we were kids... so why don't today's generation know how to find their own enjoyment in simply being alive?

Why have I spent the last hour arguing with my 7 year old because she wants the laptop? Why has my son been glued to the TV? Why are they constantly telling me they're bored when they have every toy known to man, a sixty foot garden, scooters, bikes and A DOG? Shouldn't they be making the most of their Summer Holidays instead of complaining they can't find their DS charger?

It makes me feel incredibly old to even think about letting these words pass my lips, but kids today have never had it so good... or so bad. Is it good that they don't know how to take a magnifying glass and a jar into the back garden and discover a whole new world? Is it good that they look at you like you've just dribbled on yourself when you suggest making a fort under the dining-table with a sheet? Is it good that they wouldn't know how to cloud watch if you gave them an instruction sheet?

Well they're in for a big surprise! They will have fun! They will not complain they are bored! They will look like wrinkly old men before I've finished with them! DS? Xbox? Wii? I'm sorry, they do not exist yet, it's 1976 and we're going to hang upside down from the monkey bars! And no you can't have the bloody laptop, cause it's MINE!

Wish me luck dear friends. I'm going to teach my children how to have fun oldschool. They won't know what hit them!

WE'RE HALF WAY THERE! MONTY GIVEAWAY!

Okay, ladies and germs, we are half way there!!! With the recent release of Monty Loses His Head, #5 in the Marshall's Park series, I thought we should have a little giveaway... so here goes...

Isn't he pretty? Here is Monty himself, who is part of the first prize of three. How's the camera work? I know, stick to the writing...

To win one of the three prizes on offer, all you have to do is answer the three questions on Marshall's Park and leave them in a comment with your email address on this post.

The winners will be notified by email one week from today, having been chosen by my glamorous assistant (aka my seven year old!)


Question 1:  Who built Marshall's Park?
Question 2:  How old is Kaylee?
Question 3:  How long was Finn in jail for?

(Yes, yes, I know they're not exactly difficult, but it's all I could think of off the top of me head!)

1st Prize:  Monty himself, as pictured above, plus a copy of Marshall's Park 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in
               the format of your choice on the day of their release, and a copy of the print version
               containing all 10 stories at the end of the year!
2nd Prize: A $10.00 Amazon gift voucher and Marshall's Park #6 on the day of its release.
3rd Prize:  Marshall's Park #6 on the day of its release.

Happy answering and I will announce the winners next Sunday! Don't forget to leave your email with your answers!

SUNDAY SNIPPET...

SUNDAY SNIPPET
This Sunday's Snippet comes from Thirst which you can find HERE and HERE...

Carter pulled open the door of his black 1968 Ford Mustang and eased his ward carefully into shotgun, slowly reclining the seat to make the position more comfortable. Taking off his heavy woolen coat, he rolled it and slipped it behind the man's head to prop up the semi-conscious man. He gazed down at the battered face he had been watching all night from his dark corner of the bar, aware how beautiful it was underneath the swelling and bruising. The man's name was Max that much he knew, because he had heard him introduce himself to his assailant. He frowned, furious with himself that he had realized too late the blond twink and his accomplice's plans for the young man. If he hadn't been distracted, if he hadn't been so thirsty…Carter slid behind the wheel, his green eyes glittering in the muted glow from the dome light as he closed the door behind him. A small smile lifted his lips as he headed his car toward home. The two men who had robbed and beaten Max and left him for dead had already paid for what they'd done. Glancing into his rear-view mirror, he parted his lips and ran his tongue down his elongated incisors.
They wouldn't be hurting anyone ever again, and he wasn't thirsty anymore.
See you next week!