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

What I'm Working on this Week

Writing, writing, la la la

 

Writing:

I Don't Dance -- m/m contemporary, doctor, EMT, explosions, drama. 

Coke’s Clown — adding 30K give or take.

 

In edits/rewrites:

Rainbow Brew in rewrites
Refired in edits

Midnight Rodeo in edits

Picking Roses in edits

Ace & Kitty in edits

Odd Wolf Out in edits

 

At beta:

nothing

 

At proofing:

Boys in the Band

And a Smile

 

Subbed:

Trial by Fire to DSP

 

Next week's plan?

Same thing we do every week, Pinky..

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

Throwback Thursday: Me and Kristi, 1983

Wordless Wednesday -- Our Office

Guest Post: Sean Michael

Thank you, BA for letting me take over your blog to share my latest book from Amber Allure with your readers. I hope they all like smut, because you know that my excerpt is going to have some in it!

This book is a part of the “To Love a Hero” AMBERPAX collection and when I saw the military theme, I knew right away I wanted to write a story for it. I was suddenly itching to write a soldier again and James immediately presented himself, front and center, to be that man.

He’s an amputee – lost his arm from just below the shoulder when he saved the rest of his squad by jumping on a bomb. Now that’s a hero. 

Unfortunately he doesn’t get a hero’s welcome when he gets out of the hospital – the man he’d been with for seven years has replaced him with another man and was too chicken-shit to let James know while he was still in the hospital. So James finds himself in front of an old platoon buddy’s beach house, pleased that at least someone has his back.

 

So yeah, not only did I get to write a soldier, I got to write two! And I got to put them together. Yum!

I hope you like this one.

Blurb: When he arrives home from a long stint in the hospital after losing his right arm to an IED blast, Sergeant James Miller certainly doesn’t expect his keys not to work and a strange man answering his door, only to learn his boyfriend has dumped him. Yet that’s exactly what happens, and James is just happy that he can count on his old platoon buddy to have his back, and a spare bedroom he can use until he gets on his feet.

Horace Grundy the third—“Horse” to anyone who doesn’t want to get his butt kicked—is retired and has a tidy house on the beach that he calls home. The place isn’t big, but he figures there is plenty of room for James, even if he has always fancied the man.

Thankfully, the two of them fit together well, and soon the roommates become more. But James’s past isn’t ready to let go of him yet, and the new lovers are caught off-guard when James’s ex-boyfriend suddenly reappears in his life. Can James and Horse’s new relationship weather the storm?

Buy link: http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2243-Finding-The-Way-Home.aspx

Smutty excerpt:

“Gotta get you ready,” Horse told him, voice rough with need.

“Oh, fuck yes. This okay?” He wasn’t sure he knew how to do hands and knees without his arm.

“Yeah, I want to see your face while I do you.”

“Cool.” James spread himself wide.

“Love that you’re eager.” Slicking up his fingers, Horse shifted to kneel between his legs.

“I’m not ashamed of what I need.” He’d done that already, learned all that being ashamed could teach him.

“Good. I’m not either. I’m not ashamed of anything about you.” Horse pushed a finger into him. Horse’s eyes rolled. “Fuck, baby. You’re tight. Gonna feel so good around me.”

James hoped so.

Horse finger-fucked him with the single digit, eyes boring into him and James began to move, rocking against that touch.

“That’s it, baby, you know how to take what you want.” Horse pushed a second finger into him.

His lips parted, and James took that finger, too, knowing he’d need one more to take Horse’s cock. Horse spread his fingers, closed them together again, pushed them deep. Electricity slammed up James’ spine. Yes. Fuck, yes.

Horse pushed his fingers in again. “Oh yeah, that’s what you need.”

James nodded and wetted his lips, his head spinning. That third finger he needed pushed into him, stretching him farther as Horse moved slow and easy.

James groaned. “Good. Good, good. Jesus, man.”

Satisfaction was a good look on Horse.

The three fingers inside James stretched wide, opening him up even more.

“Soon. Soon it’ll be your cock.” James couldn’t wait.

“That’s right, baby. Soon.” Horse found his gland again, pressing it firmly.

James damn near shot up, the sensation making his whole body curl. Horse nudged it a few more times, making him shout. Then Horse’s fingers slid away. James couldn’t have stopped the protesting moan if he’d tried.

“I’m not going to leave you hanging,” Horse promised.

“Uh-huh.” He just wanted it.

Horse gloved up and settled between his legs again, tugging his ass down a little. James looked into Horse’s warm, dark eyes and Horse stared right back.

Grabbing his legs, Horse draped James’ ankles over broad shoulders and began to push into him. The heavy head spread James, stretching him without a bit of hesitation. Horse didn’t stop, didn’t speed up, simply continued pushing forward, filling him up. James took and took, accepting every inch. His legs were pressed back against his torso as Horse leaned into him, the thick cock finally stopping once Horse was all the way in.

“Fuck. So tight.” Horse panted softly.

James was full, filled to the brim.

Turning his head, Horse kissed his the side of his knee, then began to move again.

Sean MichaelSmut fixes everything

www.seanmichaelwrites.com

http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca/

Cover Reveal!

COMING IN OCTOBER FROM TORQUERE PRESS!

What I'm Working on this Week

:D — good writing week! YAY!

 

Writing:

I Don't Dance -- m/m contemporary, doctor, EMT, explosions, drama. 

Aussie vs Texan — Pulling into happy ending land. Choo choo!

Coke’s Clown — adding 30K give or take.

 

In edits/rewrites:

Rainbow Brew in rewrites
Refired in edits

Midnight Rodeo in edits

Picking Roses in rewrites

Ace & Kitty in edits

Odd Wolf Out in edits

 

At beta:

nothing

 

At proofing:

Boys in the Band

Needing to Breathe

 

Subbed:

nothing

 

Next week's plan?

WRITE ALL THE WORDS!

Me and my Parents

So, it’s sort of common knowledge that I’m a daddy’s girl. It’s a thing. He’s my hero and it doesn’t matter how our relationship goes, he always will be. Don’t get me wrong, we used to fight like animals and he can still hurt my feelings faster than anyone else, but that’s life, isn’t it?

My mom and I spend hours on the phone jabbering, we’re both endlessly crafty and there’s always something to talk about. She’s my biggest cheerleader and I can always count on her to talk me down from whatever hysterical ledge I’m walking. (If I had a nickel for every time I heard, “stop crying, you’ll just make yourself sick” I’d be rich.)

I talk to both my parents weekly, at least. It’s a thing. The older I get, the more I need those phone calls, because usually now they’re just normal stuff — how’s the construction business, how’re the dogs, I love you, are you eating okay, etc. It’s important. 

My wife tells me I’m a perfect mixture of both of them. I have my daddy’s practicality and ability to simply not give a shit, my mother’s creativity and need to have something to do all the time. Daddy’s ambition, Moma’s wits. Both parents gave me the work ethic, the reading bug, and the love of chatter. I get the OCD from Daddy’s side, the weird need for schedule from Mother. Moma is to blame for my obsession with all things musical and she’s where I get all my weird faces (and the chin — the chin is hers). Daddy is a huge bird watcher and a consummate story teller and he’s to blame for the nose. No one knows where my temper comes from (I get icy cold and cutting, both my parents are hot tempered).

*grins*

That’s me. A mixture of both of them. 

Much love, y’all.

BA

Throwback Thursday -- My Gorgeous Moma

Wordless Wednesday

On Pre-Order Now

Just released from the military, wounded warrior Eric Tremaine is trying to put his life back together like the doctors reassembled his shattered leg. He’s a man with no home, since his Louisiana family rejected him, so Eric winds up in Texas with his old Army buddy, Adam Winchester, and his lover, Sage.

When Eric decides to stop sitting on his ass feeling sorry for himself, he is introduced to trainer Troy Daniels, who lost both his legs in a teenage accident. Troy knows what it’s like to feel as if your body is your enemy. While Eric and Troy have a bumpy start, they soon find enough common ground to make a friendship, if not more. But taking it to the next level means finding out what they have to offer each other, and the world, before they can trust that the love they find together won't cause more pain than pleasure.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6815

 

Just released from the military, wounded warrior Eric Tremaine is trying to put his life back together like the doctors reassembled his shattered leg. He’s a man with no home, since his Louisiana family rejected him, so Eric winds up in Texas with his old Army buddy, Adam Winchester, and his lover, Sage.

 

When Eric decides to stop sitting on his ass feeling sorry for himself, he is introduced to trainer Troy Daniels, who lost both his legs in a teenage accident. Troy knows what it’s like to feel as if your body is your enemy. While Eric and Troy have a bumpy start, they soon find enough common ground to make a friendship, if not more. But taking it to the next level means finding out what they have to offer each other, and the world, before they can trust that the love they find together won't cause more pain than pleasure.

Weekends Are Too Short

You know, sometimes I sit here and stare at my blog and go...

Words?

Do I know any words?

I’m not sure I do today. I don’t have any fab stories and I had one of those normal weekends — errands and crafting and cleaning and suddenly it was Sunday night and I wasn’t sure what happened exactly.

I mean… Saturday I finished cleaning the garage and we sorted the guest room closet and moved furniture and unpacked all the keepsakes and watched The Cube and wrote a couple thousand words and made grocery lists. Then Sunday we walked and had coffee and organized our week. Then Target, groceries (just chicken and salad because OMG THE HOT) and then we warped the loom, I talked to Mother and Daddy both on the phone, we cleaned up, I set up the fans we bought and then I dyed some fabric and did laundry and plotted a novel and dyed some yarn and read a magazine and did laundry. 

Now it’s Monday. 

O.o

*grins*

Yeah. 

Weekends should have one more day in them.

Much love, y’all,

BA

What I'm Working on this Week

Chugga chugga chugga

 

Writing:

I Don't Dance -- m/m contemporary, doctor, EMT, explosions, drama. This one is killing me

Aussie vs Texan — OMG. So much happening 

Coke’s Clown — adding 30K give or take.

 

In edits/rewrites:

Rainbow Brew in rewrites
Refired in edits
Needing to Breathe in edits

Midnight Rodeo in edits

And a Smile in edits

Picking Roses in rewrites

Ace & Kitty in edits

Odd Wolf Out in edits

 

At beta:

nothing

 

At proofing:

City/Country

Boys in the Band

And a Smile

 

Subbed:

nothing

 

Next week's plan?

WRITE ALL THE WORDS!

A Julia Story

So, I met my wife online. I know *so* original, but true. I also met my best friend there. 

At any rate, we started out as critique partners in fan fiction, then we wrote together and chatted for hours (as one does). We’d been a couple for… 2 years and a month before we met in person.

A little less than a year after that in person meet, we moved in together.

You want to talk about complicated and scary and intense? OMG, y’all. I could tell some stories that would curl your hair.

Today’s story is not hair raising, however. Today is the story of when we knew, 100%, that we were meant to be together. 

In 2007 we were going to attend the RWA convention in Atlanta. We flew in a few days early, we drove (through the worst rainstorm ever — it was like Houston) to Clemson to see all her family. Then we drove back to Atlanta only to discover that 1. I’d gotten the date wrong and we were supposed to be there the day before and the hotel had cancelled our reservations and there were no hotel rooms to be found and 2. that all the people that had been very nice and welcoming of the Big Gay online proved to be… uh… less so in person.

Now. how did we know that this was it? This was the Real Thing?

Even though this whole hotel debacle was TOTALLY my fault. Even though we had 4 days before we could fly home and we had no intention, after the first day of hysterical awful, of staying at the con --

Not once did we turn on each other.

We became the Queens of You and Me Against the World.

We banded together and became — in this one awful experience — an US.

That has never changed. We’re a matched set and we have each other’s backs, no matter what. 

Damn, I’m lucky.

Much love, y’all.

BA

Wordless Wednesday

Julia takes over the blog today

Hi y'all!

The wife here, hijacking the blog to tell you about my new Full Moon Dating story. Gage and Hamish is book 4, and at this point they're all interconnected, so go read Aiden and Ben, Coy and Denver, and Evgeny and Feng, 'kay?

Ahem.

See how I did that promo thing?

So. Gage and Hamish.

Cat shifter Gage is an impossible bottom. No one has ever been able to tame him, even if he wants them to. He’s willing to keep trying, though, and when he finds out about the paranormal dating site Full Moon Dating, he puts himself in their hands. He longs for someone who will take him in hand and make him like it.

Hamish is a bear shifter who plays too rough for most subs. Gage sounds like just what he needs, so when Full Moon matches them up, he’s happy to see how they get along. Can he convince Gage that he’s the one to make the man toe the line?

Find it here at ARE and here at Amazon!

I love bears. Love them. I mean, what's not to love? Fuzzy. Grumpy yet sweet. Too big to know their own strength.

That's Hamish. Say hi, Hamish.

Then there's Gage. Pretty kitty. Finicky. Likes to groom.

 

Good kitty.

Thanks to BA for letting me hang out, and I hope y'all will give the series a shot!

XXOO

Julia

 

 

 

 

I'm a Create-a-holic...

I am.

I quilt. I knit. I sew. I make paper. I paint. I crochet. I make miniatures. I draw. I do multimedia art. I dye. I take weird art photographs. I do art journals. I garden. I cook. 

If it’s a craft, I’ve tried it. 

If I haven’t, my wife has. 

If you’ve looked at my Pinterest, you’ll see it. I love to make things. I can’t imagine not creating — in my work life, in my home life. I’ve never worked at a profession where I wasn’t making things. I’ve been an illustrator, a cook, a designer, a toymaker, 

A writer. 

I make things. I’m married to someone who makes things. We have 3 rooms in our house dedicated to making things. O.o

I did a guided meditation once and we were supposed to get advice from our ancestors. The ancestor that chose to visit my was my mother’s great grandmother, Gramma Copey. She smiled at me, handed me a sewing box and said, “We make things, little girl. That’s what we do. We make things."

So now I have an excuse.

It’s a family thing.

We make things.

Much love, y’all.

BA

What I'm Working on this Week

I wrote 24,000 words three weeks in a row. :D :D :D

 

Writing:

I Don't Dance -- m/m contemporary, doctor, EMT, explosions, drama. This one is killing me

Aussie vs Texan — OMG. So much happening 

Super Secret Series of Joy

Coke’s Clown — adding 30K give or take.

 

In edits/rewrites:

Rainbow Brew in rewrites
Refired in edits
Needing to Breathe in edits

Midnight Rodeo in edits

And a Smile in edits

Picking Roses in rewrites

Ace & Kitty in edits

Odd Wolf Out in edits

 

At beta:

nothing

 

At proofing:

City/Country

Boys in the Band

 

Subbed:

nothing

 

Next week's plan?

WRITE ALL THE WORDS!

What I'm Reading This Week

Still slogging through Horrorween by Al Sarrantonio and I’ve started Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz. I don’t know. I’m just not feeling either one...

 

***

 

1. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett — so far, loving it. So damn funny.

 

2. The Best Horror of the Year Volume Six, edited by Ellen Datlow — there wasn’t a single story where anything happened. So frustrating.

 

3. Indian Cooking Unfolded by Raghavan Iyer — great narrative, interesting recipes, but not for a foodie, for someone who wants the very basics. 

 

4. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters — lovely little mystery

 

5. A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg — absolutely charming and made me cry

 

6.  Joyland, a Hard Case Crime by Stephen King. Loved it.

 

7. Shadow Man by Cody Macfayden — I have to admit by the end I was furious and screaming. This could have been exceptional. It was not.

8. The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis — nothing I didn’t know, but I needed the reminder.

9. Writing the Cozy Mystery by Nancy Cohen — very interesting. This one’s a keeper.

10. Writing Mystery and Crime by Marg McAllister — for a beginning writer more than an experienced one, I think.

11. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg — beautifully written, a lovely, warm read that’s like a hug. Gave me a lot to talk about with J.

12. Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten Shockey — cookbook, not the best read, but decent recipes

13. Borderline by TA Chase — loved it. Think the wife will love it, too. 

14. In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menendez — a fabulous collection of short stories set in Cuba. 

15. Poe by J. Lincoln Fenn — clever as hell, not scary, but viciously clever.

16. The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles — quite adored this one. Clever and utterly charming.

17. Wolf’s Desire by Ambrielle Kirk — Uh. Not my thing. At all. Whoa.

18. Controlling Parker by Sean Michael — KINKY

19. Dark Carnival: An Anthology of Horror, Edited by Jolene Haley, Kristen Jett and Jessi Shakarian — nothing happened. Ever.

20. Blue Collar by Sean Michael — adorable, sexy and sweet

21. Guarding January by Sean Michael — I love the depth of characters in this one

22. The Biker's Pup by Sean Michael -- you know whose story I want next, right?

23. Voices from the Moon by Andre Dubus -- I just want to write 1/200000th as well

24. Fearie Tales edited by Stephen Jones -- incredibly satisfying collection

25. Spirit Rider by Cotton Smith -- I got bored. :P

26. The Witch and the Gentleman by JR Rain

27. Super Structure by James Scott Bell

28. The Cowboy’s Pride and Joy by Laureen Child

29. The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

A Tiffany Story

Miss Tiff is my baby-est sister. She was born on my 18th birthday, In fact, she showed up in January, my older sister had a baby in April and I had one in September.

1989 had a theme in our family.

Now, having a little sister that’s so much younger leads to some issues — mainly that the older ones of us were all more uncles and aunties than siblings, especially when the kiddos were wee. You tend to give orders, you know?

“Y’all quit that!"

“Goddamn it, y’all get in the house right now!"

“Don’t make me get the fly swatter."

When she was little, though, I would torture Tiff endlessly (beginning at Christmas) with this conversation:

Tiff: My birthday is coming.

Me: Nope, it’s my birthday.

Tiff: *blinks* Uh-uh.

Me: Yes, ma’am. It was my birthday first and you were my birthday present.

Tiff: *beginning to turn red* Nuh-UH! 

Me: Go ask Daddy.

Tiff: DADDY! Sister says it was her birthday first!

Daddy: Well, it was.

Tiff: But she says I was HER birthday present!

Daddy: Well, you were.

Tiff *burst into a fit*

*All the older siblings crack up*

Daddy: Oh for fuck’s sake, y’all stop teasing each other!

It never got old.

Never.

*grins*

She’s still the neatest birthday present (and that includes the piccolo and the cruise to the Bahamas) that I ever got. ;-)

Much love, y’all.

BA

Throwback Thursday -- Me and the Lizard Baby 2000

Wordless Wednesday