Frosty Fiction, Day 30:

Jesus stretched, his paws kicking the air. Oh, he loved a lazy morning. He didn’t even know what morning it was. Jonah was the only one who kept track of days of the week and month.

Mariposa was fat and swollen with pups, her nose covered by her tail as she curled in her den. She opened one eye to glare at him when he woofed softly, but he just gave her a lupine grin. Their lady was never so beautiful as when she was pregnant. And Jonah was never so happy.

Jonah was singing in the little kitchen of their cabin, stirring something that smelled heavenly and Jesus licked Mariposa’s muzzle before padding over to see his Alpha.

“Hello, love.” Jonah scratched his ears, making his eyes cross.

He lapped Jonah’s wrist, tail moving fast and hard. Happy winter, mate. Puppies and food and petting.

Jonah chuckled. “I’m making barbecue sauce, love. I know how you adore grilled meat.”

He chuffed and wagged, leaning hard, the scent of Jonah like a drug.

“I could use some human company today.”

Oh. Oh, sweet Alpha. Jesus pondered that, very hard. Legs. Man. Come on. Jonah needed love.

There. His legs lengthened, his front ones becoming arms.

“Mmmmmate.” He growled happily, standing to push into Jonah’s arms.

“Hello, baby.” Jonah kissed him, tongue flicking his lips. “Shall we make Mari some yummy food?”

“I like food. And Mari.” He sniffed the air. “There’s going to be snow.”

“Is there?” Jonah laughed. “Glad you came north with me, baby?”

“Always.” He was made to follow his mates. They took care of him and he made art for them.

“Good.” He got another kiss, then Jonah squeezed his ass. “Get Mari another blanket, and I’ll give you a reward.

“I will.” He rubbed their cheeks together. “The pups will be here soon, I think.”

“Then we’ll have to be ready. I love you, Jesus.”

“Love.” He took a kiss, smiling as the snow began to fall. Lovely.

Home. Snow. Puppies.

Perfect.

***

Mariposa, Jesus and Jonah live in Desert Lobo. One day left, y'all -- can you believe it? :D 

Much love, 

BA

Frosty Fiction, Day 20: Wend, Canyon and Riana

“Canyon?” Riana came to him, long white hair like a cloud around her, face like a little worried thundercloud. “The women say that I have to make the Pack a Christmas. I’ve never done a Christmas for anyone. I don’t know how.”

“Oh.” Canyon bit back a grin. “I guess not. I can help with that.”

“Okay. You tell me and I will make it.” His fierce, frowning girl, working so hard to be the alpha female, to make things right. He adored her.

“Well, first we need Wend. He’s the domestic one, yeah?”

She nodded, arms wrapped around herself as she turned, heading back toward their home, tension written in every line of her body.

“Hey.” He snagged her, pulling her back against his chest. “Guess what?”

“What?” It meant so much, that she never even tensed, just cuddled in.

“Christmas can be easy. You just need a lot of love in your heart.”

“I have a lot of love in my mates. I want you to be pleased.”

Wend appeared out of the shadows. coming to them like he’d been called. “Is something wrong?”

Canyon chuckled. “Not at all, sweet boy. Let’s go in, make hot chocolate, and plan our holiday.”

“I’d love that.” His sweet mate beamed, coming to nuzzle and nibble their lady until she eased, smiled, nodded.

“It will be okay?” she asked.

“It will be perfect.” No matter what.

Canyon would bite anyone who said different.

 

***

Riana, Wend and Canyon are from Opening the Cage. :D

Comment for a chance to win a backlist ebook, y'all.

Much love,

BA

Six Sentence Sunday: What She Wants

"Oh, now. That's pretty." A camera flash went off, blinding him.

Adrian shot up on the bed, Packer grunting when Adrian's hand landed hard on his belly. "What the fuck!"

"Oh, don't stop on my account, boys."

***

From my latest release, What She Wants. Available at Torquere Books.

Want to play along? It’s fun and easy

1. pick a project – a current WIP, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published

2. pick six sentences

3. post ‘em on your blog or website on SundayThis snippet is from Adam's story, Tag Team, that I'm currently plugging away at. The boys are currently in a pervy position, in fact. :D Want to play along? It’s fun and easy 1. pick a project – a current WIP, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published 2. pick six sentences 3. post ‘em on your blog or website on Sunday

Frosty Fiction, Day 8: Samantha, Kody and Mesa

Kody stood in the main house, staring. “Uh, Mesa?”

“Yeah, baby?”

The room was filled with boxes and lights, garland and sparkles and... wow.

“Did the North Pole explode in here?”

His Alpha stood there, hands on his hips, glaring. “What? It’s Sammy’s first Christmas with us. I don’t want her disappointed.”

Kody snorted. Their mate wasn’t sad. Samantha loved it here, loved the clan.

Loved him and Mesa.

“Don’t you snort at me. It needs to be perfect.”

“You’ve got enough lights to signal space.”

“I might have a few too many.”

Sammy walked in the living room, whistling happily, before she stopped, blinking, and Kody winced, waiting for the explosion.

What he got was a happy laugh. “Are we all decorating together?”

“Yes!” Mesa, his big alpha Mesa, bounced. Bounced.

“Oh, how fun. I’ll get my iPod. There’s Christmas music.”

They’d lost their minds, both of them. They were wolves. Did wolves really even do Christmas? Kody chuckled. “Can I have a Yule log?”

“Baby, you can have a Yule tree if you want.”

“And hot chocolate, Kody-love. With booze.” Sammy bounced, and Kody’s eyes crossed at the boobage. So pretty. “Our first Christmas altogether!”

Their joy was infectious, and he found himself nodding. “I’m on it. Don’t start without me.”

“Start what?” Mesa popped his butt on the way by. “You’re right here.”

“Decorating. I was going to make drinks.”

“Oh!” Mesa came back to kiss him. “We’ll help.”

God, his mate was like a puppy. It was adorable.

Christmas music filled the air and he heard Sammy’s laughter. “Boys! Come on! Let’s play!”

Mesa kissed him one more time before whispering, “Don’t worry, baby. I got mistletoe, too.”

“You’re good to me.” He hummed, rubbed their noses together. “Mate.”

“Yeah. Finally. So it’s okay that I went a little nuts?”

“She brings it out in you.”

“You both do.” Mesa tugged him toward the kitchen where their girl was already heating milk for hot chocolate. This whole Christmas thing might just be fun.

***

Mesa, Kody and Samantha's story is Shifting Streams: Climbing the Ladder. You know the drill by now, y'all. Comment for a chance to win.

:D

Much love, y'all.

BA

What She Wants and Ink Out Today!

Calleigh and Adrian have always had an open marriage. Adrian being on the road all the time has made it easy for them to have separate lives, but neither of them acted on their agreement to see other people until Adrian met fellow Aussie and force of nature, Packer Stevens.

Now Packer and Adrian are always together, and Calleigh is left at home, missing her man. When Calleigh decides she’s not going to let Adrian go without a fight, she comes up with what she thinks is the perfect plan. She hits the spa, and the gym, and sets out to find her inner buckle bunny, intent on getting her bullrider back, and maybe on impressing Packer a little, too. She heads out on the road, ready to fight for her husband.

What Calleigh doesn’t understand is that her plan will be wildly successful, and also the hardest thing she’s ever done in her life. Packer is more than willing to play, but he’s as complicated as Calleigh is emotional. As much as he loves Calleigh and Packer, and the sexy games they play, Adrian has to try  to set things right, but can he find a way to give Calleigh what she wants, and make everyone else happy at the same time?

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=3758

Tattooed men are sexy, right? That’s the premise of the eight tales in the Ink anthology.

Victoria Sloane opens with The Frayed Line, the story of Dan, who daydreams about the black line on Jonah’s back until he finds out what’s underneath the ink. Sinner's Star by Elizabeth Brooks is the story of ex-con Dope, who discovers his best friend Rat isn't dead after all, but Rat has a new tattoo, a .45, and a grudge against Dope!

Katherine Halle brings us Kelly, who fantasizes about licking Dwayne's tattoos, and just might get his chance in Come Fly With Me. In Dragon by D.K. Jernigan, bartender Travis is haunted by a sexy man with a magnificent dragon tattoo. Now Travis just has to find him. Mychael Black's Detective Kris Winters is also looking for a man with a very special tattoo in Secrets.

In Pounding Skin by Emily Moreton, Mal's tattoo should confirm his commitment to the army. To his shock, it has far more impact on his life. In Simple Instructions by Zoe Trope & Brendan Adkins, Finn accepts an internship at a large law firm, and loves his position at the hands of Robert, a demanding, tattooed lawyer. Finally, in BA Tortuga’s Tramp Stamp, what's a vamp to do when he has a tattoo he can't get rid of? Read the Ink anthology to find out!

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76&products_id=3757

Writing Contemporary Western Menage, or why it took my 3 years to write What She Wants...

Julia dared me, a few years ago now, to write a western contemporary menage that made sense to her. 

Now, I'm a fan of menage books -- in fact, I read them sort of voraciously. I love the werewolves, the were kitties, the contemporaries. I've got a huge collection and I enjoy them. 

Julia, though, the western contemporaries bothered her. 

"I want one that I buy, baby," she told me. "I want one where I can go, okay, yeah. Those two cowboys would share each other and some incredibly patient girl. I want you to write it for me."

I know a lot of cowboys. Rednecks? Rednecks play fast and loose with the rules, but cowboys are harder, cowboys have a code, rules. Y'all, I actually discussed this with my daddy and my brother. OMG, the awkward.

Finally, though, I did it and once the thought was out there? Let me tell you, Adrian and Packer were happy to oblige, and Calleigh? Well, this woman knows her own mind, that's for sure...

So, I got the concept pretty quick. What if there was this couple in an open relationship and the wife decided she was tired of waiting for her husband to come home to her? What if she wanted to play with him and his 'traveling partner', too.

Boom.

So I wrote.

And wrote.

And wrote.

And about 10K from the end, the file corrupted.

The backup corrupted. 

I ended up with the first, oh, 8,000 words recoverable?

So, Calleigh and the Aussies went in a box while I licked my writerly wounds. And lord, I did. God help you if you asked me where they were, how they were doing, because I'd just burst into tears.

Then one day I thought about them and didn't cry.

That's the day they went on the writing board.

What's the writing board, you ask? 

It's the whiteboard in the office where Julia and I pretend to keep track of things. (What She Wants isn't on this one because it was in editing already. For the record, (looks at the current board) it doesn't look like this anymore...the ink story is done, Julia's current square has stuff in it and my NEEDED square is, like, totally got 6 projects in it... O.o

It lingered for a few months, then I opened the file.

Cried.

Closed it, BUT I started talking about Adrian and Packer. Julia played along, encouraged me, then Calleigh started poking and, 70,000 words later, they're real.

:D

Also, Julia dubbed them incredibly hot, so yay. :D

Okay, so, that was the story of how Julia asked for a western contemporary menage and how it almost didn't happen.

Much love, y'all,

BA

Six Sentence Sunday -- Mating Call

She knew what they were, knew they couldn’t mate with someone for life who wasn’t one of them.

He smacked Shaw’s shoulder, just a little too hard. “It’ll be cool. We’ll be stupid in love and wanting to make puppies.”

Right?

Right.

 

This snippet is from the first book in my newest paranormal menage series, Mating Call, just released from Ellora's Cave :D .

 

Want to play along? It’s fun and easy

1. pick a project – a current WIP, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published

2. pick six sentences

3. post ‘em on your blog or website on SundayThis snippet is from Adam's story, Tag Team, that I'm currently plugging away at. The boys are currently in a pervy position, in fact. :D Want to play along? It’s fun and easy 1. pick a project – a current WIP, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published 2. pick six sentences 3. post ‘em on your blog or website on Sunday

Flash Fiction featuring Mating Call

NEXT WEEK!

*grins*

To help celebrate the turkey day season, I've written a flash fic featuring Steph/Jordan/Shaw. :D Totally safe for work.

http://batortugaflashfiction.blogspot.com/2012/11/mating-call-thanksgiving.html

Much love, y'all.

BA

What I've Been Researching

Yup. Folk magic. 

I'm writing on the second in the Cowbell, Book and Candle series and Sara May's cowboys informed me that hoodoo was their thing.

Hoodoo is fascinating, especially that there are so many versions -- Cajun, African, European. I'm focusing on the bayou version, so that Jules can do his thing and get his gran's suitcase back. 

What set me on this path? The fact that conjuring hands are made, but they have to be fed to work.

Isn't that a great thought? That you have to feed the magic?

*sparkles*

Y'all have a fab day. I'm going to scribble and watch my birds. 

*kisses*

BA

My Boys Touch

There's been a little confusion going around and I figured I'd just be upfront.

I write gay romance. I write lesbian romance. I write het romance. I write threesomes -- lately I'm writing a *lot* of threesomes because they're what wants written.

I don't write m/f/m.

Now, am I saying I don't like it? Nope. I read it. A couple of my favorite authors write it and I enjoy it thoroughly.

Do I typically buy that 3 (or 4 or 5 or 6) people can all be in bed having sex and none of the same sex people in the bed are attracted to each other? Not usually, no, but that's me (and I can tell you, the only time it throws me out of a story as a reader is when there are 3 or more men and 1 woman and they have to take turns sleeping with her in twos because they might touch each other. That always makes me sad).

That's not even what it's about for me when I'm writing.

When I'm writing, I have be honest to *my* muse. To my characters. I love m/m. Love it. Love it enough that I started Torquere Press damn near 9 years ago to publish it because no one else would. In my mind's eye, characters fall in love and I have zero control over the sex(es) of the folk(s) they fall in love with. My boys fall in love -- with the girl, absolutely, but also with each other. Three people who are in love together and, damn it, they're going to be in love together at the end, too.

I'm a sap. I want my HEA -- reading or writing. And, yeah, if there's a menage threesome (or moresome, although I haven't done that yet and the pronoun confusion there sort of makes me dizzy), my boys will touch.

Reader beware. ;-)