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Rainbow Snippets*–Fall Out

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The week started out nice. There was sun. There was warmth. And now it's cold, it's gloomy, and we had snow flurries today. Can we not do this, please? I really need to move to a warmer climate! The sun through the window hit this basket of artificial fall leaves and made them glow!  This snippet from Headphones: Fall Out is a chapter opening that starts out descriptive with Headphones reflecting on the changes in her life since the first of the year. I wrote this ten years ago, but it feels very much like the weather we're having now!  The brittle leaves still hanging on the oak trees rattled around Headphones as the occasional gusts of wind blew her hair across her face. The trees were patchworks of fall colors–evergreens still wearing their green while some of the hardwoods were red and yellow, with many already naked and settled into their winter hibernation. It had been a damp day with thick fog rising with the dawn, and mist that turned into a light almost-drizzle. B...
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Rainbow Snippets*–A Little Vanity Never Hurts

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My snippet this week comes from Headphones , a "vanity" project, I suppose. It was an online serial I wrote 10 years ago as a challenge to myself to finally finish something, and after, rewritten in book form. It's not polished, and kind of all over the place, but I still love the characters. Headphones was a character that came to me in high school, written in bits and pieces over 30 years before I put it all together. Originally, Scoey wasn't a queer character, but when Jay popped into my head in 2013, I knew they belonged together. Somehow, the story became less about Headphones, and more about Scoey and Jay.  The Headphones Trilogy One of the main settings of Headphones is the University bar that Scoey's brother, Richard, owns. This scene from Fall Out  takes place on Halloween night, and the crew are all in costume:      Somehow Scoey made it through the night, the crush of costumed partiers proof that Jay and Headphones were right about Halloween and wee...
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Rainbow Snippets*--Heading South

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 I'm leaving on vacation is just a few hours. We're taking a cruise out of New Orleans, and then spending a day being tourists in the city after we disembark. I'm both excited and nervous, which always happens before I leave on a trip. But it's good–I've needed a break! This week's snippet is from my WIP, Delicious . While Grady has spoken on the phone with the man refurbishing his house, this is the first time they've met in person. Naturally, Hanson embarrasses himself. Told from Hanson's POV:    “I’m Grady Martin. We’ve spoken on the phone.” He smiled as he took my hand. From a distance I would have thought he was in his mid-twenties, but close up I could see the lines forming around his eyes and mouth. They weren’t deep, as if he didn’t smile often. If that was true, it was a pity, because his smile was devastating.    I returned his smile. “We’ve more than spoken on the phone. You’ve basically been my sugar daddy for the last two months!”    ...
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Rainbow Snippets*--The Good and the Bad

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It was a rough week. My phone died, along with my oven. On the upside, I finished the first draft of Delicious ! (If you're interested in being a beta reader, check out my previous post.) It was supposed to be part of a series of fairy tale retellings, but I think we're just publishing on our own. I ended up with Hansel and Gretel, which was a challenge. How to retell a tale about sibling children without crossing a few lines? That's not my style. So, it's not really a retelling so much as "and then this happened" story. I never can stay within the set parameters!   There are strange noises in Grady's new house, but one night it becomes too much, and he shows up at Hanson's, still in his pajamas. Turns out, it was a refrigerator fan gone bad. (Or was it?!) Hanson fixes it and then teases Grady. Grady teases back. Told from Grady's POV:    “I’ll see you Monday,” Hanson said at the doorway. “Unless your ghost chases you into my bed again before then....
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Blurb for Delicious-- Coming Soon!

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 I'm looking for Beta Readers for my latest WIP. It's a 40k "what happened next?" fairy tale. Because the end of the story isn't always the end of the story! BLURB: Grady reached his goal to be a premier pastry chef, but long days in a cave of a kitchen aren’t what he expected. Maybe it’s a midlife crisis, but the chance to write a cookbook is the kick he needs to leave the city and start afresh. Hanson jumps at the chance to refurbish the “haunted house” at the edge of town. He and his sister snuck in when they were kids, and it was creepy, but he still doesn’t believe in ghosts, despite the weird things that keep happening. Hanson and Grady grow closer even as the town legends of the gingerbread style house turn out to be more than strange noises and cold spots. Maybe fairy tales aren’t real, but this one could mean ‘The End’ for Grady and Hanson. Where’s a fairy godmother when you need one? Want to know more about my work? You can find it here . 
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Rainbow Snippets*—I'm Not Ready

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For many people, autumn is their favorite season. I suppose it used to be mine because I didn't like the heat. But that changed as I got older. I'd like autumn better if winter didn't follow. My mood has taken a definite downswing during the last couple weeks, when the temperature dropped 15° below average overnight. It was the end of our swimming days, and it was too soon! On the upside, no pool time ahs meant more writing time, and I finished the first draft of my WIP. Now the real work begins! It's apple time–one of the good things about autumn, I'll admit.  From my current WIP, Delicious : Grady hired contractor Hanson to refurbish a house in the country he bought, sight unseen, and has just arrived unannounced. Hanson has his niece and nephew with him, and has sent them outside while he gives Grady a quick tour. Told from Grady's POV: Through an open window, I heard [Hanson] tell the kids he’d only be a few minutes. I was oddly disappointed. I told myse...
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Rainbow Snippets*–August Edition

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Halfway through August? How did that happen? I don't have kids at home anymore, so it caught me by surprise when the first day of school rolled around. To be fair, they start earlier than they used to. Of course, the school year ends earlier than it used to. I'm not sure I understand why that all shifted, but everything changes. It's life! It also means I'm halfway through our Farmers Market season, and things have slowed down. I'll have to look for a new job soon, but it's been nice, having the summer off. And by off, I mean not having to dress and fix my hair, leave the house, come home, and spend the afternoon baking. Now, it's ratty shorts and barefoot while I bake. (I hate shoes.) Soft iced sugar cookies–my number one seller at the Farmers Market. From Embers and Flame ; Cherry (Charles) and Ben meet at a campground and spend the week together. But all vacations end, and it's time to head home–one going west and the other heading south. Cherry has g...
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