Wayback Wednesday: Sound and Fury

Ten years ago, give or take, I was having an affair with pseudo-Victorian erotica. What does this mean? I was writing what Julia calls Hollywood style, taking the feel and the romp without bogging it down in detail. I don't consider this historical, more hysterically hot. :D

 

***

Official blurb: 

Running from his past, Declan Murtagh arrives in London and immediately sets it on its ear, earning himself so many duels with his temper that he never needs to shoot for target practice anymore. One early morning assignation leads him to the most intriguing, and infuriating, man he's ever met. Seth Rhodes.

Seth is a old rakehell, and he sees something of himself in Declan, vowing to take the young man in and teach him a few things about controlling his temper, polite society, and debauchery. When they come together it's like lit gunpowder, but what will they do when their pasts catch up to them?

Available at Torquere Press, Amazon, and All Romance Ebooks.

***

Excerpt:

Hiding his deep yawn behind his hand, Seth Rhodes wondered, not for the first time, why anyone would wish to leave the warmth of their bed at dawn to be shot at.

Or why anyone would think he would want to be there to witness it.

Still, Carlton was one of the few, rare friends he maintained from his formative years, and he was therefore bound to agree to second him in this ridiculous duel.

Such utter tripe, the insult Carlton claimed the young pup he was to meet gave him. The man was simply feeling his age, longing for the supposed adventures of his youth. And Seth had the terrible feeling that the young man who just rode up on a rather impressive Irish racer was a much better shot than Carlton could ever be.

The young man slid from the horse, eyes flashing even in the early morning light. Odd, really. He didn't believe such fiery anger could be pretended before noon, much less honestly felt.

''Are ye ready? I've plans by eight bells. Let's move this along, yes?''

Carlton surged up, nostrils flaring in a most amusing manner, and Seth put a hand to his arm. He looked the lad over, stifling a smile with less success than he had the yawn.

''Yours was the insult, you have chosen your weapon?'' A formality, as he knew very well the lad had chosen pistols.

''Pistols. The distance?'' The rich brogue was clipped, lips tight, but the stocky body was relaxed, easy, no sign of distress.

''Twenty paces should suffice.'' He looked at Carlton. ''I don't suppose you would care to apologize?''

Grim-faced, his friend shook his head. Seth shrugged. ''Very well. Pace off, and I will call to fire. Unless you have seconds arriving, sir?''

''I don't. You ready, then? I've not much time to play with you.'' At Carlton's nod, the men stood back to back, Carlton's challenged a head shorter and a bit wider, curly red hair flaming in the rising sun. Then they paced off and faced one another.

Seth waited until they were at right angles to one another, both at the ready before he called. ''Fire!''

The explosions were loud, a small, dark hole appearing in the meaty part of Carlton's shoulder, his friend's pistol falling to the ground. The young man stood and watched, eyes hooded. ''Our argument's done now.''

Carlton staggered, went down on one knee, but looked nonetheless as though he would argue, so Seth went to him and took the pistol from his hand. ''Your honor has been satisfied. Leave well enough alone, you fool.'' He summoned the doctor with a wave, and went then to the other participant.

''Are you satisfied, sir?''

''I am. Tell your friend to watch who he passes judgment on.'' Green eyes flared, lips firming. ''I'll not be so kind next time.

***

Author's Note: Warning - not a historically acurate, dripping-with details historical. This is a historical romance, Hollywood style.

 

Looking for Guest Bloggers for Tuesdays!

Come chat about your book, your process, hot guys, your life. :D

I'm willing to host if you're willing to play.

Much love,

BA

Man, Friday didn't turn out how I'd hoped

We were supposed to have company, they had to cancel.

We were supposed to see Luke Bryan, ABQ had the worst storm in history (it was an outdoor concert).

We were supposed to tape the Tim McGraw special, we have satellite and the worst storm in history.

We were supposed to go hiking Saturday, the trail was too wet.

:P

On the good side, I got tacos and J and I sat in bed and watched Jurassic Park.

Still...

;P

 

Much love, y'all.

BA

Six Sentence Sunday: Weed and Feed (m/m/m paranormal cowritten with Julia)

And boring him out of his mind. Unlike your average novelist, Cian was not an introvert.

He wanted to be where the people were. Where the blood ran hot.

He wanted to play.

Hard.

***

:D

Much love, y'all.

BA

What I Worked on this Week

I was supposed to have company all week, but they had to cancel, so I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. ;-)

Active Writing:

Catnipped (working title) -- m/m/f shifters. At the climax. 

New West -- m/m, post-apocalyptic Western. I've burned folks, shook 'em up, beat on them. ;-)

Cereus: Training (co-write with Julia) -- Weed and Feed -- goofy river rafter werewolves and a novelist vamp ;-)

Bartender Rescue -- Galen/Shane story for the anthology with Kiernan, Julia and Sean. On the final scene. :D

On hold:
m/m/f novel (co-write with Julia) -- fun, sexy menage. This one doesn't have a home or a deadline, so it keeps getting pushed back.

In edits/rewrites:

The Four Horsemen: Ace and Kitty: working on the rewrites

Fais Do Do: in to editor

The Terms of Release: At beta.

Little Bear: In to editor

Next week's plan?

Finish Catnipped, Bartender Rescue, and New West. If I hit all three of those, start Absinthe for TP, a f/f assassin piece for EC, and Mr. Untouchable for RP. :D

Much love, y'all.
BA

What I'm Reading This Week

Reading Heather Rainier's Divine Grace and rereading Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald Mage series this week! :D

Also, I bought a fabulous One Skein Wonder Crochet book to play with. ;-)

Much love, y'all.

BA

Wayback Wednesday: Roughstock: Blind Ride -- Season One

oh, y'all.

This is it. The first book in the series that ate my world. 

I can't express how much I love these boys -- all of them, but these two were the first, and they're the most honest.

Official type blurb:

Jason Scott is at the top of the bull riding game, on his way to a winning season. Along with his traveling partner, Andy Baxter, he's riding hard on the circuit, working around the country with all of the other bull riders and bull fighters, living the good life. The only thing he wishes he had is Bax, but he's afraid to take the step that would make them more than friends, worried that it will ruin everything.

When a terrible accident leaves Jason unable to see, his whole life goes south. Jason decides to chuck it all, determined to go home and hide at his momma's ranch. Bax has other ideas. He wants to make sure his best friend doesn't give up, and he hatches a plan that stuns Jason and makes their friends and family think he's crazy.

With the help of the other bull riders and a very persistent bull fighter named Coke, Bax convinces Jason to give life one more try. With Jason cautiously learning to hope, and his relationship with Bax going to the next level, life gets pretty complicated. Everyone gets in on the project, from Jason's strong-willed mother to an entire ranch full of children, all of them working to help Jason do what he loves.

Will Bax be able to convince Jason that he can still ride, even if he's blind to everything the world has to offer?

Excerpt:

Jason stood there with the big fake check for the event win, watching the crowd go one of two ways -- up and out, or down to wait for the guys to make the autograph circuit. He fucking hated this part.

That little broad from the XSports channel was waiting with her bright orange hair and her too tight jeans. He knew how it’d go, too. Blah blah blah Jason Scott blah blah blah race for the finals blah blah blah new kids chasing his ass.

Goodie.

He managed to get through all the questions without being an asshole, but not before a huge stack of fans were hanging over the fence, waving programs and hats, hollering his name. He ducked under into the pens and headed toward the back. He just wasn’t good at that whole meet-and-greet thing.

“You’re gonna get a reputation as an asshole, man.” His best buddy, Andy Baxter, fell in beside him, boots clacking against the concrete walkway back to the locker room.

“Yeah, yeah. Better let them think I might be than know I am. ‘sides, I don’t see your happy ass out there, Bax.” And shit, nine times out of ten Bax was out there gladhanding.

“It was a long night. My knee’s killin’ me.” That slow Texas drawl always made him smile, because it made everyone think Bax was laid back, maybe not so bright.

Jason knew better.

“Yeah?” He winced, shook his head. “You came down on it fucking hard. I swear, that bull has it out for you.”

It was hell getting old.

“I did.” Bax shrugged, sticking his hands in the pockets of his old school Wranglers. “I ain’t the man of steel I used to be.”

“Bullshit.” There wasn’t any bastard on Earth tough as Bax. He knew it to the bone. “You want to go get a steak?”

“Hell, yes. Someplace not at the hotel.” They were staying at the sanctioned hotel because the sponsors had asked him to, but eating there was like sitting in a fishbowl.

“I got the truck here. We can go anywhere.” He nodded to Little Jack and Harvey who were still waiting outside sports medicine. DJ had taken one hell of a spill, just got caught up and dragged. “Y’all heard something?”

Jack shook his head. “They ain’t called the am’blance. That’s gotta be good, huh?”

“I guess.”

“Well, you call me, you hear something, yeah?” Bax said, nodding. “Come on, man. Food.”

“I hear you, old man.” He winked at Jack, headed off, following that tight little ass to get their gear.

“Not that much older than you, Mini.” Bax took every opportunity to give him shit about how much shorter he was.

“Three years is a fucking eternity.” He ducked the lazy swing, just hooting with it. “You still scattered from the round, man? You missed.”

Available at Torquere Press, Amazon, and All Romance Ebooks.

Company's Coming!

I have a big family and I love to have visitors. :D

This week Julia and I get my little sister (who is like eight inches taller than me), Kristi, and her girls, Lexie and Leeah. I also get to meet Lexie's girlfriend, Tara, which is neat. 

The girls have never been to this part of the country, so I'm looking forward to showing them around. We're planning on a trip to the ABQ zoo, a day trip to the Sandias, heading up to Santa Fe.

Of course, smack dab in the center of their visit, J and I have Luke Bryan tickets, so we'll have one night with 8000 of our closest friends in an outdoor amphitheater. 

Yay!

So looking forward to hugs and cooking on the grill and wine on the patio. :D :D

Yay summer!

Much love, y'all.

BA

Six Sentence Sunday: New West (m/m, dystopian western)

“Boss! Ezrah! It’s a shaker!”

“Shit. Up! Up, boys! Climb!” The rocks were tumbling down, slow now, but it would get worse, and fast.

***

Yeah, I know it's seven sentences. Sue me. ;-)

Much love, y'all.

BA

What I Worked on this Week

Been a solid writing week. Yay!

Active Writing:

Catnipped (working title) -- m/m/f shifters. At the climax. *giggle*

New West -- m/m, post-apocalyptic Western. CATASTROPHE, ANGST, WRINGING OF HANDS!  *grins* At least it writes fast, huh?

Cereus: Training (co-write with Julia) -- Little Bear. Did I mention blind BDSM bear shifters? Still cracking my shit up.

Bartender Rescue -- Galen/Shane story for the anthology with Kiernan, Julia and Sean. Writing a fight right now. :D

On hold:
m/m/f novel (co-write with Julia) -- fun, sexy menage. This one doesn't have a home or a deadline, so it keeps getting pushed back.

In edits/rewrites:

The Four Horsemen: Ace and Kitty: in my in-box, waiting for Fais Do Do to be sent to editing.

Fais Do Do: in to editor

The Terms of Release: At beta.

Next week's plan?

Finish Catnipped and New West. Have sister and nieces coming, so writing's going to be slow.

Much love, y'all.
BA

What I'm Reading This Week

Still loving Cindy Gerard's book and Mel Schroder's Santinis, but I admit, I went to B&N and bought crocheting books and have been drinking them in. :D :D

Much love, y'all!

BA

10 Things About Me You Probably Didn't Know

1. I am not scared of spiders.

Okay, maybe I'd be scared of that one...

2. I taught myself to knit, crochet, and weave.

3. I'm allergic to a ton of food -- raw potatoes, soy, wheat, barley, oranges, raw nuts, milk, horseradish, to name a few.

4. I'm addicted to face moisturizers.

5. I love scary movies, but I won't watch them in the theater.

6. I don't watch sad movies.

7. I'm fascinated by birds.

8. I make these weird little dolls called Dotee dolls. A lot of them. I have 100s. 

9. I can read music and, if I wasn't a romance writer, I'd be a lyricist.

10. If I don't get my monthly pedicure, I get super grumpy.

;-)

Much love, y'all.

BA

Wayback Wednesday: Guapo

So, a hundred million years ago I decided I wanted to read an anthology featuring blind vampires. Of course, one of the deals about wanting to read stories like that is that you have to write one, so that the anthology makes. 

Guapo was my offering and now it's out on its own. 

Out, get it? ;-)

Official type blurb:  

Dieter is just like any other vampire. A little lonely, a little bored, ready to go out and hunt. The one thing that makes him different is his blindness. His inability to see doesn’t stop him from knowing how special Mago is when he meets the young man, though, and he decides to pursue Mago as something more than a meal.

Mago knows there's something different about Dieter, knows he wants to make this beautiful man into art. He takes a chance to see Dieter as often as he can. Life is unpredictable, though, and they may not have as much time as they think. Can Dieter beat both the blindness and the clock? Previously published in the Eternal Darkness anthology.

Available at Torquere Press and All Romance Ebooks.

Yeah.

Blind vampires.

Still a kink.

Maybe I should do another anthology...

Much love, y'all,

BA

Hammer and Tongs is Out!

IT'S OUT!

Eee!

So, Julia and I were joking around about hideous euphemisms. You know -- making the camel with two backs, riding the screaming wonder wall, going at it like fuck-starved jackrabbits -- and going at it hammer and tongs came up.

I went... Oooh.

Oh, I haven't written a historical in a while...

Then Virgil and Asa showed. Then Tak and Loko showed.

Then the ropes and hand carved dildos showed.

That's when I knew the boys had taken over. ;-)

m/m/m/m, western, historical, erotica

Pure erotica.

;-)

Official blurb: 

Virgil is in trouble when he flees to the badlands of New Mexico, and he’s pretty sure the desert is going to kill him before the posse does. He’s running from his past, from a forbidden love. What he finds is half Native-American blacksmith Asa, who happens to be the stuff of dreams.

Asa isn’t about to let the skinny man he finds in the desert die. And when Virgil recovers, Asa thinks maybe he’s found a soul mate, just like his friends Tak and Loko have found in each other. Through everyday life and a series of erotic lessons, Asa thinks he can teach Virgil that love shouldn’t have boundaries. Can Virgil accept the plans that Asa, with the help of his friends, have for his future?

You can buy it now at Torquere Press, or later today at ARe and Amazon.

Excerpt:

The mules were getting downright lazy, as hot as it was, not even bothering to brush the flies away from their ears. Asa flicked the reins at them, not wanting to move them too fast, but needing to get back to the smithy before dark.

Folks down in Mesilla thought he was downright crazy, living as far out in the badlands as he did. He smiled a little, thinking on how he liked being that crazy, half-Injun feller. Meant he didn't have to socialize, didn't have to put up with none of the whispers and the sideways glances at his long braid, his skin that was the color of well-tanned leather.

He could just stare those gossiping fools down and take their money. Hell, the devil himself knew they had their share of blacksmiths around between Mesilla and El Paso, but folks far and wide came to him for wheel rims and nails and horseshoes and andirons and all other manner of shit because he was the best at what he did. His work held up, and he never tried to cheat the iron of the charcoal.

He squinted out from under his hat, his mouth pursing up when he saw three buzzards circling just over the rise. He hoped to hell if something was dead, it wasn't right on the trail.

Dot and Sam, they didn't like dead critters, not at all. Made 'em all... tetchy. God knew a fractious mule was worse than a whole town full of self-righteous church-goers hunting the red man. The wagon topped the tiny hill, lurching up out of the depressions of hundreds of wheels.

The mules stopped dead, the back wheels still down in the ruts. Their ears flicked back and forth as Asa peered over them. Huh, Not dead. Neither the man, nor the horse. 'Course, both of them were down, which just wasn't good.

Hopping down from the wagon, Asa set the brake and wandered over, steps talking, crunching on the creosote. He nudged the man with the toe of his boot, then turned to the horse. That could at least be worth some work. If he got the little mare up, Asa could tie him to the back of the wagon, give him a little water. That was all he needed, it looked like. Someone had been unprepared for the badlands.

"Don't... hurt my horse."

"Well, shit." Asa was startled into actually talking out loud, which seemed odd these days. "Guess now I got to take you, too."

He sighed, rolled his eyes. The horse first -- water and get him moving. Asa got the mules moving, enough that the wagon cast its shade over the man, keep the sun off. Then he went for the poor nag, who looked like his rider had pulled him down when the man fell off.

He clicked at the horse, tugging at the bridle. "Come on, now. On your feet. Ain't no good comes from a horse being down like you."

The horse's eyes rolled, so far they was all white for a little too long and Asa knew, like he knew his own name, that she was too far gone, then that dying cowboy groaned. "Come on, Strawberry. Need you to come on."

He'd be damned if that damn horse didn't try to roll up.

Asa pushed and pulled, and the horse got to her feet, swaying. "That's a hell of a try. Now, come on and lean." He got the sweet girl leaning on the wagon so he could get some water in his hat.

It took three hatfuls before the horse slowed down, wandered a step or two away from the wagon to lip at the ground, trying vainly to find grass. It was skinny, but well-cared for, no whip marks to show.

He got more water measured into his hat, then pulled his bandana from around his neck. He'd try to get some in the man on the ground, then try to cool him off with a wet cloth on his neck and cheeks.

This land wasn't for greenhorns. Hell, he wasn't sure it was for anyone that hadn't been born to it. Asa grinned. His momma had been born to it, a woman of the Diné, and so had he. He guessed his Pa ought to be grateful for that, because the damned fool was still alive, white or not.

He knelt next to the man, easing the clamped-down hat off the man's head.

Bloodshot eyes stared at him, the blue swimming in the red like clear water.

"You need to have a sip of water, mister. Not too much."

The man blinked, staring at him like he wasn't sure Asa was real.

Asa sighed, looking at the sky before cupping a little water in his hand and pushing it to the feller's mouth.

The cracked lips scraped against his skin, and Christ, but the man was burning alive. Asa let the water trickle past them, then gave the man another sip. "I got your horse up, but I need to get you up in the wagon. Can you try to help?"

He got a nod, and he'd be damned if the bag of bones didn't shift, get himself moving. Good man. Asa caught the feller under the arms when he sagged, then got him up in the footwell of the driver's seat. Wasn't no room in the back of the wagon.

Damn it all to hell.

"Why me? Why on earth would you leave me some shave tail and a horse that is all knocked into a cocked hat?" He muttered as he lashed the mount behind them and got the mules moving. It weren't bad as all that, but he reckoned those that went before him expected a little bitchin' from their left-behind son. Gave everyone something to do in the heat of the day.

Couldn't do much else.

You ever heard the phrase, going at it, hammer and tongs?

That's the inspiration for my new book, y'all.

There's cowboys. Indians. A smithy. Spanking. First times. Ropes. The desert. m/m, m/m/m, m/m/m/m

There's even a horse named Strawberry.

Leave a comment with your favorite euphemism for making the camel with two backs and I'll pick a winner tonight to win a free copy of the ebook, just because y'all make me happy.

Much love, y'all.

BA

Newsletter coming. Winners from the Blog Hop coming. Hammer and Tongs coming.

Apparently coming is the theme.

Look for Hammer and Tongs from Torquere Press on Wednesday and my newsletter -- with free fiction and giveaways  -- on Thursday. :D

Also, Julia's fixin' to pick a winner for my bloghop contest tonight, so hurry over and comment!

Much love, y'all!

BA

Six Sentence Sunday -- Little Bear (with Julia)

“Sweet, little bear. Better than berries.” He licked, then bit again.

His bear. His teeth dug in, leaving a mark, a bruise, to show all the others. Claiming Dakota. Even the wolves and cats would see this, smell it.

***

Much love, y'all.

BA 

What I Worked on this Week

Been a solid writing week. Yay!

Active Writing:

The Terms of Release -- at the end. Like literally. This last scene is taking forever. 

Catnipped (working title) -- m/m/f shifters. Angst ahoy.

New West -- m/m, post-apocalyptic Western. Chugga chugga. They're having the longest first time ever.

Cereus: Training (co-write with Julia) -- Little Bear. Did I mention blind BDSM bear shifters?

Bartender Rescue -- Galen/Shane story for the anthology with Kiernan, Julia and Sean. Still going like wildfire.

On hold:
m/m/f novel (co-write with Julia) -- fun, sexy menage. This one doesn't have a home or a deadline, so it keeps getting pushed back.

In edits/rewrites:

The Four Horsemen: Ace and Kitty: in my in-box, waiting for Fais Do Do to be sent to editing.

Fais Do Do: In final rewrites.

Next week's plan?
Really finish Terms of Release and get it to beta. Get Fais Do Do to my editor. Work on Ace and Kitty. Figure out who's going in the Terms spot.

Much love, y'all.
BA

Canning -- Or Yeah, I Know I'm Weird

So, I'm one of those people with a pot that's only used for jams and jellies.

No, really.

Canning is one of those activities that I learned to do as a little girl and that I adore. I love the idea of knowing what's in my food, I love canning organic and local and seasonal.

More than any of that, I love experimenting. ;-)

It's cherry season, so I made maraschino cherries, cherry jam and cherry pie filling.

I made some carrot cake jam -- next time I'm totally adding green chiles to this. :-D

Also, it's blackberry season, so JELLY!

And I got a lovely flat of strawberries and strawberry preserves are my favorite, so...

About half of my haul. :D Lovely jars!

I can't wait for apple season. 

Apple sauce. Apple jelly. Apple pie filling. Apple butter...

Uhn.

Much love, y'all.

BA

Six Sentence Sunday: Bartender Rescue

A Galen/Shane novella for the upcoming bar-themed anthology with Sean, Julia and Kiernan. :D

***

Tomorrow they would start to deal with everything else. This touching was what was important now.

Shane took a deep, deep breath, muttered, “Love you, Galen,” and then started snoring.

“Love you, too, darlin’.” There was not a damned thing that was more certain than that.

Now he just had to get certain about everything else.

***

Much love, 

BA

What I Worked on this Week

Took a couple of days off to can and to celebrate the Fourth. :D

Active Writing:

The Terms of Release -- at the end. O.o

Catnipped (working title) -- m/m/f shifters. Car sex. Mating. This one's heading into the end as well. :D

New West -- m/m, post-apocalyptic Western. Chugga chugga. They're having their first time. ;-)

Cereus: Training (co-write with Julia) -- Little Bear. Did I mention blind BDSM bear shifters?

Bartender Rescue -- Galen/Shane story for the anthology with Kiernan, Julia and Sean. Still going like wildfire.

On hold:
m/m/f novel (co-write with Julia) -- fun, sexy menage. This one doesn't have a home or a deadline, so it keeps getting pushed back.

In edits/rewrites:

The Four Horsemen: Ace and Kitty: in my in-box, waiting for Fais Do Do to be sent to editing.

Fais Do Do: In rewrites. I'm about 2/3 done. I know what I'm doing Tuesday.

Next week's plan?
Finish Terms of Release and get it to beta. Get Fais Do Do to my editor. Work on Ace and Kitty. Decide whether to start a m/f or a f/f piece  in the Terms spot.

Much love, y'all.
BA

What I'm Reading This Week?

I'm reading Killing Time by Cindy Gerard and loving it. Just bought The Woman in Black, too, and am looking forward to diving in.

How about y'all?

Much love,

BA

I Kiss Girls. The Equal Rights Blog Hop

You know what?

I kiss girls.

Well, girl.

My girl.

Julia. 

I love her and I intend to be kissing her when we're old and bald and crusty.

If all is right and fair with the world, no one will be able to tell me that we can't.

In celebration of the SCOTUS ruling this week, I'm giving away a $25 Torquere Press gift certificate. Just comment below and let me know who you love.

Much love, y'all.

BA

Click to continue hopping.