I'm not sure if you remember me, but we were acquainted once. A long time ago.
Over a year, in fact. And even then it was very infrequent.
So I just wanted to say hello. I haven't forgotten you, I just...I guess I needed time.
I needed to unplug (or at least unplug some things--you can always find me on twitter b/c apparently 140 characters suits me just fine). I needed to work on this life thing.
In the last two years, I've started law school (more than halfway done, yippee!), discovered a whole host of things I'm passionate about, fallen in love, recovered (mostly) from a broken heart, written three novels and a bunch of shorts, piled up some impressive writing rejections, maintained a personal blog, and was there for my mom as she battled cancer.
It may not seem like it, but that's a lot for two years.
So I know I've let Dakota stuff take a backseat. I'm sorry about that. I don't have any Dakota writing related news right now, at least not yet. I'll update if and when I know something. But as I said, you can find me on twitter most days, and I hope to start blogging more frequently again.
So you'll hear from me again in June. Kidding! *g*
- Mood:
busy
And to prove how silly and vain I am, and how a new release has made it all about me, me, me, I took a screen cap of the amazon ranking for SY last night (and yes I know it changes like every minute):

- Mood:
chipper
The last couple of weeks since the release of Seeing You from Samhain Publishing have been really wonderful. Overwhelming in a good way.
And crazy. I’m starting to sympathize with that poor chicken running around looking for its head. *g*
I’ve been guest blogging a fair bit. I know my own blog is very jealous of the time I’ve spent with others, and I’d promise to blog more on here but I think I might be blogged out for a bit. Surely I can’t be interesting enough to talk THAT much. Heh.
Don’t think I ever posted about it, but I was over at lovely and talented Clare London’s spot for her month-long birthday bash (which was a blast!). I talked about the value (or not) of the epilogue and one of the reasons why I love epublishing so much.
I spent some time over at the Samhellion blog talking about size.Of fiction, get your mind out of the gutter! I like ‘em long these days.
Today, tomorrow, and Saturday I’m over at DIK, invited by the fabulously discerning and prolific Jen from Well Read. I have to say it’s a blast, with sand, sun, fruity drinks–and of course–hunky men. Yesterday I answered some questions about the REAL Dakota, and today I'm talking about some of my favorite tropes in romance. Tomorrow I”ll be talking about one of my favorite topics, sexual tension. Stop on by and make sure to leave a comment on any of the three posts as I’ll be picking two commenters to receive a FREE FREE FREE copy of Seeing You. (the FREE FREE FREE…well that’s a flag for anyone skimming this post, aren’t I sweet? *g*)
Seeing You has also received some great reviews for those of you who are thinking about buying–you should!–or are curious. ![]()
Wave over at Reviews by Jessewave was the first to offer a review, giving it 4 out of 5 stars and hitting on an ingenious marketing strategy: curiosity. She said, "I thought that the best part of the book was Wade’s unusual courtship which you will have to read for yourself – let’s just say that the author showed a great deal of imagination." You can read the rest of the review here.
British Bulldog over at Rainbow Reviews also gave it 4 stars out of 5 and thought, "The story’s greatest strength is how it shows the slow coming together of Wade and Dylan, as both men heal from Simon’s death." He also commented on my "first-class job" and "mastery of words." (That TICKLED me, I say!) You can read the rest here.
Jen over at Well Read gave Seeing You a grade of Very Good and found that "as a study in overcoming grief this novella was spot on" and it "managed all this without being too heavy on the angst." You can check out what else she said here.
Joan/Sarah F. from Dear Author also reviewed Seeing You (I was completely flabbergasted that it had even been reviewed on such a popular site). She gave it a B- and thought it was a "beautifully-done story of loss and recovery." You can read the rest of the review here.
Mrs. Giggles also reviewed Seeing You, and while some parts worked for her, some didn’t and she gave it a 78 out 100. The review itself made me laugh out loud three times while reading it, which is probably an odd reaction to enjoy a less than positive review of your own work, but what can I say? I’m strange. You can read her review here.
And finally the lovely Elisa Rolle reposted her review of Seeing You, saying the "mood is definitely not light, but the story is very romantic." You can read the rest of the review here.
So that’s what a few people have thought so far of my wee little story. And though it’s early days, it seems to be selling pretty well. SY spent two weeks on the MBaM Bestseller list, with a few days at #2. It’s also listed as one of the highest rated and bestselling gay and contemporary ebooks over at ARe. It fluctuates a lot (and I’m not sure how much it really means) but it’s been staying pretty high in a couple popular Amazon categories. (I think at the moment it’s #5 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Gay & Lesbian and #6 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Fiction > Gay.)
And after all this news I should probably say…If you haven’t already and you’d like to, you can pick up a copy of Seeing You here.
So there it is. Post-release news and updates. I hope you’re not as tired as I am! *g*
Seriously though, I can’t tell you how pleased I am. I love hearing from readers and reading reviews (truly I do, whether positive OR negative) because I like to see what worked for someone and what didn’t. And if you’ll forgive me a moment of emotionalism on my professional blog…I wrote Seeing You over two years ago and it was very different from anything I wrote before it and everything I’ve written since. It’s special to me, flaws and all, and I thought for a while of not trying to publish it (but submitted it impulsively the first time around). Writing it helped–in a small way– during a time when my heart was breaking as someone I loved was losing a battle to a terminal illness. The grief…well that was my own. But the recovery…that was how I imagined it to be at the time. Whether I was successful or not in terms of the story, I’ll leave that up to the readers. And now in some ways, I feel like I’m quietly closing a chapter in my life–and I’m smiling about it. That’s a good thing. :)
- Mood:
cold
My cowboy novella, Seeing You--the ebook edition--is out today from Samhain. Click here to pick up a copy!
Wave at Reviews by Jessewave already gave it 4 stars,you can read the review here.
Blurb:
Love can be found among the pieces of a broken heart.
The night his brother, Simon, was killed in an accident, Dylan took on a double load of guilt. Guilt for walking away unscathed…and for secretly loving Simon’s partner, Wade. Unable to bear the pain, Dylan left the Lazy G ranch to rebuild his life elsewhere.
A year later he reluctantly responds to his sister’s plea to come home, where he finds the Lazy G falling apart. And so is Wade. Wade has stopped caring about the ranch, about everything that should matter most to him.
Though there’s more ranch work than one man can possibly handle, Dylan throws himself into the task. Wondering how he’s going to find the strength to pull Wade out of the fog of grief when his own is still as raw as a fresh wound. Wondering when Wade will finally see that his second chance for happiness is standing right in front of him.
Warning: Contains explicit, emotionally charged m/m sex. Extra box of tissues required. You could use your sleeve, of course, but we don’t recommend it.
Excerpt:
( Read an excerpt )
- Mood:
chipper
First I would like to say thank you to Kathleen Bradean, Kassa, and Jenre for contributing the following prompt words: rumbling, lather, dense, mistletoe, rum, bunt cake, vegan, cut-glass whiskey tumblers, bad smells, snow, chips, and bamboo. Very much appreciated!
Despite the lack of published ficlet, I promise I did use them. It's just...I think I've lost the knack of writing short. Or maybe just tiny. All I know is that I took those words you supplied and sat down to write a simple holiday short, aiming for 2k or less.
And the next thing I know the short I loosely planned around a workaholic managing the family grocery store dynasty, a young manager eager to prove himself, and an MIA personal shopper started morphing into...more. The person shopper idea disappeared completely, and the workaholic is desperately trying to save the family legacy from a hostile takeover (instead of just being a workaholic for, uh, work's sake *cough*). Then add in a missing girl, corporate espionage, betrayal, and...
Well, you've got way more than a two thousand word ficlet. It's like I couldn't help adding more conflict, more, uh, meat to the story, delving deeper into motivations and creating this whole Wiggens clan. I'm excited about this one, though that's dimmed a little by the idea that maybe I'm not cut out to write shorts anymore.
Not sure quite how long this one will be, it's currently at 11k and it feels like it could be long novella/short novel length. I haven't decided whether I'll continue working on this now, or put it on hold while I finish the novel I was working on (which is about halfway done) prior to asking for the word prompts. Either way, I'll keep you posted!
(Oh and for anyone thinking that Wiggens sounds an awful lot like...well, you're right. *g* I was just having fun, though it's a little different now that I'm not writing a free short. I might have to change the name now.)
- Mood:
working
It's a fiction blog--excerpts, free reads, drabbles, etc. It's not for news, promotions, contests, etc. Just fiction, all free and all the time. Pretty awesome, huh?
In keeping with that, I thought it's about time that I wrote another word-prompt ficlet. So hit me with some word prompts (do your worst, I say!) and in a couple days I'll write and post the ficlet to the AGR blog.
Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!
- Location:home sweet home
- Mood:
rejuvenated - Music:Let It Snow
Hope you're all staying warm and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!
- Location:chained to my desk
- Mood:
busy - Music:countdown to doom (Property final)
Oh, and thank you to Elisa and Mara for my v-gifts! Much appreciated!
Anywho, I haven't posted anything about this So You Think You Can Dance season (I love this show), so I thought I'd share my favorite routine of the season so far. Surprisingly enough, it's a...Cha-Cha. Can't remember last time my favorite wasn't a contemporary piece, but this was fun and sexy and just cool. Enjoy!
(If you want to skip the intro stuff, the dance starts at 1:22)
Woo! So enjoyable. Now I want to go see Burn the Floor in the city over break!
Okay, don't mind the singing--that's probably just the dayquil carrying a tune--but I do want to give my new cover art a chance to shine because I think it's scrumptious.
So ta-da! Here's the new cover art for my cowboy novella, Seeing You, done by the very talented Natalie Winters.

Seeing You will be out from Samhain Jan. 19, 2010!
- Mood:
sleepy
Or at least the case opinions, written by judges, (which is pretty much all law students read) can be. Mostly it's when you come across a case where the judge was either a frustrated playwright or literary critic, and they add what I like to think of as flourishes to the opinion. Or you wonder how many more references to Dickens or Shakespeare they can make, because you're studying the law and they're quoting fiction. And every once and a while you come across a case where you read the opinion and think, "Ha! This judge was taking the mick, right?"
So I thought I'd share a little from what has become my top favorite case I've read in law school, because I do love the absurd. And ghosts. :)
Stambovsky v. Ackley, 572 N.Y.S.2d 672
So I won't bore you with all the legal issues and jargon, but basically this guy contracts to buy a house and then discovers it's haunted and wants the contract to be cancelled.
The opinion starts out, "Plaintiff, to his horror, discovered the house...was widely reputed to be possessed by poltergeists." The opinion is only a couple of pages and we have these phrasing gems throughout:
"plaintiff hasn't a ghost of a chance"
"spirit of equity"
"[basis for granting relief] elusive if not ephemeral"
"Pity me not but lend thy serious hearing to what I shall unfold." (Oh yeah, that's from Hamlet. Didn't I tell you they like to quote the Bard?)
"'Who you gonna' call?'" (Apparently they also like to quote Ghostbusters.)
"[transaction will] come back to haunt him"
"most unnatural bargain"
"[this notion is] a hobgoblin which should be exorcised from the body of legal precedent and laid quietly to rest"
Ha.
But the best line in the whole piece? "...as a matter of law, the house is haunted."
Ha. Ha.
- Location:Library. Where else?
- Mood:
chipper
