B.A. Tortuga's Blog, page 32
September 6, 2015
What I'm Working on this Week
September 4, 2015
An Adam Story
So, I don’t know if y’all know, but my son, Adam, was born Amanda.
I thought I’d lost Adam for many years, but he found me (believe it or not from a gluten-free baking class I taught at the church, the universe works in mysterious ways) last year and I couldn’t be more tickled with having his light back in my life.
Before I started telling Adam stories on here, I wanted to talk at him, because I not only wanted to respect his feelings (starting with first, did he want stories told on him? I know all bad ones, after all), but also because I wanted to respect my feelings.
After all, I raised an Amanda. I didn’t get a chance to know Adam before he was taken from me, so I have two separate mothering experiences — Amanda as a child and Adam as an adult.
So, I asked him, how do you feel, baby? How do you want me to work this?
He said, then, I was Amanda, now I am Adam. He asked that I title the posts as Adam stories, regardless as to when the stories are from, and that I make it clear that he’s transitioned and a male.
So, world, meet Adam. He’s a talented artist, a good husband, and he’s working on his Master’s degree in education. He’s my baby and it’s fixin’ to be his birthday. I missed him and cried over losing him every day that he was gone.
We have things to work on, like all families do. Julia has a stepson now. I keep having to ask questions about what to say and how to be respectful to both of us. I screw up sometimes and call him Amanda. He doesn’t yell at me when it happens.
Expect to hear the Adam stories. I have lots.
I give thanks every single second that I have new ones now.
Much love, y’all.
BA
September 3, 2015
September 2, 2015
September 1, 2015
Needing to Breathe is Now A Best-Seller!
Orphaned and scared, these cubs need an Alpha…and so do their caregivers.
Cast out of their wolf pack, Jock and Gus are skinny and wild but surviving okay out in the Colorado mountains. Winter is on its way, and Gus isn’t sure what they can do to stay warm and fed. To add to their problems, they’ve adopted a litter of abandoned wolf cubs, and suddenly there’s not enough food to go around.
Archer, a forest ranger and Alpha wolf, finds Jock and Gus in time to save them from Jack Frost, and from themselves. The moment he meets the two young males, he wants them, and he sets out to convince them to stay. Jock understands that Archer is what they need, but Gus intends to fight Archer every step of the way. He has to—it’s in his genes.
Can Archer keep this new family safe, from the elements and each other?
Because y’all know, sometimes two doesn’t cut it. ;-)
August 31, 2015
Coffee and Texas
So, I get asked about coffee a lot.
Why is there so much coffee in your books?
Are you obsessed with coffee?
What’s the deal with the coffee?
The whole coffee? I don’t like it.
Well, so far as I can tell, in all the time I’ve been Texan (longer than I like to admit), coffee is to Texans as tea is to the English.
Do all Brits drink tea? Probably not. I don’t know all of y’all yet. Do all Texans drink coffee? Probably not, but I’ve met precious few that don’t. We offer it for comfort, for conversation, for the hell of it. We don’t even expect you to say yes, necessarily. But coffee’s a thing, and it’s not just for breakfast.
At my daddy’s house, the coffeepot comes on at 5 a.m. and it turns off at midnight. All my friends growing up did the same. At my house, there’s coffee. Constantly. It’s a thing. Your options for drinks at my house are coffee, tea or water. Same at my mom’s. At Daddy’s. At my Aunt D’s.
Now, I buy good coffee; Daddy buys the stuff that is vacuum sealed in the giant economy sized can (OMG, the bitter), but that’s the difference.
I’d tell you I’d stop having characters ask if another character wants coffee, but it would be a lie.
That’s what we do.
Much love, y’all.
BA
August 30, 2015
What I'm Working on this Week
Refired in editsMidnight Rodeo in editsPicking Roses in editsAce & Kitty in editsOdd Wolf Out in edits At beta:nothing At proofing:Boys in the BandAnd a Smile Subbed:Trial by Fire to DSP Next week's plan?Same thing we do every week, Pinky..
August 28, 2015
A Kristi Story
So, it’s my sister Kristi’s birthday tomorrow.
Things I know about my sister:
1. She’s a giant dork.
2. She hates that she’s a giant dork.
3. She is very good at dealing with wildly emotional writer big sisters, although it took a few months for her to understand that it is not crazy to sob over the sad parts. IT’S NOT.
4. She is a kick-ass grill master.
5. Her boyfriend when she was little was Darth Vader. Her second boyfriend was the Hulk. She’s a stud.
6. Her favorite color is black. I never buy her black clothes. I am DETERMINED to bring her to the rainbow side.
7. She was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake when she was little.
8. She loves all things Wonder Woman. When she was little, she would run around the house in her Wonder Woman Underoos, throw her hands on her hips and sing, “WONDER WOMAN! WONDER WOMAN!"
9. She taught me all about being gangster. (gangsta?)
10. She is the anti-craft. Seriously, the child can’t even sew a button. When Mother asked Kristi's youngest child what she was going to do about sewing on buttons when Granny died, her answer was, “Call Auntie Pooh."
11. When she was little, I told everyone she was MY baby. She still is.
Love you, KK. Happy birthday eve.
You giant dork.
BA
