Rainbow Snippets*-- Happy 4th

I'm finding writing to be particularly challenging lately. It's like my mind doesn't want to work. But in the middle of the night, on one of those nights when I couldn't sleep, a plot point popped in my head, the hole in my current WIP that I couldn't figure out. So maybe that's a sign that the writing juices will start flowing again!

Fireworks at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in 2018.

Still snipping from Embers and Flame. Last week Cherry was having a bit of a crisis, wondering why Ben was interested in him when there was a crowd of women vying for his attention. This is Ben's response, told from Cherry's POV:

[Ben] pulled away and captured my face between his hands. “I’m with you because you make me happy. In a way I haven’t been for a very long time. Maybe never. Your hair is thick and wild, your freckles are delicious, and your eyes reflect every emotion that runs through your head. Sometimes they’re silver like the underside of maple leaves; sometimes they’re dark, like the sky before a storm. When we’re at the campground, they reflect the green of the grass and trees. And your eyelashes. God, I love how they’re red but tipped with white. You’re beautiful.”

He pulled me against him again and laid his head on my shoulder. The high-pitched whistle of a train came from far away, thin and shrill, while closer, crickets sang to the moon. I was afraid to break the peace between us and I drew in a lungful of the cooling midnight air. Ben’s voice was soft but clear, even though he was facing away from me. “I’m nothing but a grease monkey while you actually do something important. You keep people alive. What can you possibly find interesting about me?”

My heart almost broke at his tone and I held him tighter. “Oh, my dear, we’re drunk, aren’t we? You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. You’re everything I’ll ever want.”

Embers and Flame Blurb:

After an amicable breakup, Charles “Cherry” Andrews’ ex left him the couch, the bed, and the camping equipment. Replacing the noises of St. Louis with crickets and birdsong at his favorite campground feels like the perfect vacation. He’d hoped to prove to himself that he’s fine on his own, but instead of finding inner-peace, he’s simply bored. His evening becomes instantly more interesting when a gorgeous guy with a loud motorcycle pulls into the neighboring campsite. 
Ben Torres hopes that a cross-country motorcycle tour will help him find his own peace after his mother’s recent death, but a faulty tailpipe curtails his plans within hours of leaving home. Luckily for him, the cute redhead in the next camp spot happily shares his fishing equipment as well as offering taxi service during a week-long search for parts.

An unexpected kiss on their last day together leads to an afternoon of discovery that turns into a summer romance that in turn becomes a long distance relationship in the fall. Everything would be wonderful if they could spend the rest of their lives in a tent by a lake. But Cherry’s overly involved ex-boyfriend sticks his nose where it isn’t wanted and Ben’s 17-year-old son has a hard time accepting his father’s bisexuality. Two-hundred miles may be the least of the challenges they face.

*Rainbow Snippets is a (Facebook) group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers who gather once a week to share snippets from a work of fiction–-a WIP or a finished work or even a book recommendation. If you're interested in following a diverse group of authors, check it out here.