Sadie Jay

I don't have words for this last week. So I'm just going to leave it at that. I did go spend the night with my daughter and her partner over the weekend (they live 3 hours away). Sometimes you just need your family.  This weekend's snippet comes from Like Cracks in the Sidewalk . It's 1995. James and Val are taking a walk during the early days of their relationship. Told from James' POV: Val's face was smooth, relaxed. I’d not noticed how tense he normally was until he wasn’t. How had I missed that? I ran my thumb across his cheek-bone, forgetting where we were, and tilted my head as I leaned down to kiss him. He parted his lips without any hesitation, drawing me in, and it was sweeter than any kiss in all of history. The birds chirped their song over our head and the wind rustled the leaves, and yet, the only sound I heard was the small moan Val made at the back of his throat as he pressed against me. Every second was magnified and expanded, wrapping us in a bu...

January found me in a writing slump. Like Cracks in the Sidewalk had been released into the wild, and I'd finished my Headphones Vella. I have a list of "what's next" but somehow I've been in a holding pattern. A big part of that is my day job situation. The business I work for sold, so I'm in the same building, looking at the same walls, but I have new bosses with different ways of doing things–including a new grocery supplier and new computer system I have to learn. If new challenges keep our brains young, mine will regress to teenagehood soon!  I'm so ready for spring to get here! I need leaves and flowers!  One of my new projects is editing an older manuscript and publishing it on Vella with the hope that it'll be the incitive I need to finish the second part of the story. (It's going to be a duology.) So this week's snippet is the opening of  When Silverfist Dance : “Buy me a drink?” Morgan slumped in his chair with his glass in hand and ...

I'm starting 2024 by opening the store bright and early on January 1st, which means an early bed time instead of a party for my New Year's Eve. Honestly, the thought of a crowded loud bar doesn't appeal to me now like it did when I was in my 20s. Okay, I might miss it a little! (because fun was had!) New Year's Eve 1994. That me in the middle with my "gang"! Like Cracks in the Sidewalk starts in 1995 and ends in 2000. So naturally, I had to mention the excitement that was New Year's Eve 2000! It’d been almost a year since I ran into Val in that shiny, overly bright grocery store and he’d outshone the fluorescent light bulbs reflected on the waxed floor tiles. The world survived the switch of the calendar from 1999 to 2000 without an apocalypse, and I moved in with Val after Lance proposed to Molly on New Year’s Eve. They broke the news to me the following week that they planned to move to Springfield, Missouri. I’d been upset, naturally. But the world dec...

It's December already. How did that happen? It seems like we just put the Christmas decorations away and here we are again, decking our halls. With a little help!  Peppercorn decided to help trim the tree.  Like Cracks in the Sidewalk released this week. I'm snipping from an intimate moment between James and Val. Told from James' POV: I needed to see him, all of him, and I pushed at his chest until he rolled away from me onto his side, laying his head on his folded arm. I followed so we were facing each other. Reaching out, I ran my hand down his shoulder and across his chest, stopping my explorations at his waist. Normally, his body was hidden by his loose clothes—I wouldn’t have guessed how curvy he was. Val’s chest wasn’t as flat as mine and his rosy nipples were framed by the light cover of coarse hair that’d caught my attention earlier. His waist dipped and flared to form rounded hips, and his stomach was a small pooch under his belly button. And this was another Val ...

Take a break from the December hussle and bussle by curling up with a book and your favorite drink! I'm in two great promos this month with a ton of quality books to fill your TBR list. MM Series Starters : 57 books that start a series. Queer Reads : Choose from a whopping 125 books!  

Like Cracks in the Sidewalk is (finally!) up for preorder with a November 29 release date. Now comes the marketing fun. And yes, that's sarcasm. There's so much going on now between work and the Holidays, marketing is going to be sporadic. It would be nice to have a marketing elf! Check it out here . We had snow in the forecast this morning. So far it's only rain. Hopefully, it'll stay that way—I'm not ready! Although a white Christmas would be nice. I'm switching it up this week. Instead of snipping from Like Cracks in the Sidewalk , I thought I share something from Fangs for Everything , since this week is its book birthday. This scene takes place on Thanksgiving and vampire Alex is reflecting on how Christmas has shifted to earlier in the year: The trip across the city was easy, slowed only by red lights that were set for the usual Thursday night rush hour. The store fronts sparkled with Christmas decorations, as they had for the last couple of weeks. That ...

I hit the editing hard last week and worked on formatting yesterday. Projected release for Like Cracks in the Sidewalk is Wednesday. I probably should wait, what with American Thanksgiving on Thursday, but honestly, I just want it out there!  The official cover for Like Cracks in the Sidewalk! A little trip down memory lane. Told from James' POV:      "Remember when we drove up to Dallas for the State Fair?” Val asked. How could I forget? That was during that first summer before the drugs and alcohol became more important than our time together. For three days, we listened to local bands and ate fried things on sticks. It’d been a spur-of-the-moment adventure and we’d not been able to get a motel room, so we found a small strip mall and parked behind it. We slept in the back of my truck on an air mattress we bought at a local sporting goods store with our clothes on in case we were discovered. We’d held hands under the blanket as we talked, and imagined the unse...

I keep asking myself, "Is Like Cracks in the Sidewalk a Romance or not?" I'm the author—I should know! It was meant to be, when the inspiration came to me. But it doesn't follow the normal beats of a Romance and I probably won't tag it as such when I publish it. But my books always have a happy-ever-after, and this book is no exception!  No explanation for this snippet, just some of James' thoughts when he and Val get back together:       I’d forgotten how all-encompassing being with Val was, this meeting of souls or whatever poetic mythos people used to label it. It was more than the need to climax. It was the unrelenting need to fuse together, to expand beyond our skin and bone containers until we became that perfect harmony of angel song. Suddenly, it all came together and for the first time, I could see it clearly. Before we’d met, we’d both been searching for that single flawless melody, one that was all perfect pitch and crystal clarity. Searching...

Farmers Market is done for the year, and because of my uncertain work situation, I've only booked one Holiday event. I'm used to baking on the days I'm not at the store, so now I have to reschedule my days. It doesn't help that once the weather turns cold, I just want to hybernate.  It may still be fall, but this week felt like winter.  I'm snipping again from Like Cracks in the Sidewalk . James, the narrator of the book, is a journalist, and I think most writers I know can relate to what he's going through in this scene from early in the book after he's been propositioned and doesn't have a condom: The pathetic must have been plain on my face because she smiled. She stepped forward again and kissed me. “Tell you what. Shannon has my number. Why don’t you call sometime? I mean, after you make a trip to the drugstore.” “Really?” Have I mentioned I’m not always quick with spoken words? Give me a few hours and I could write her a poem, or at least a decent...

I'm unpacked from my GRL trip, and had my last Farmers Market for the season. That should mean I have more time for writing. With NaNoWriMo starting in a few days, maybe I can get a regular schedule going again! (Fingers crossed.) The Coffee Shoppe was a highlight of the trip to GRL. At it's core, Like Cracks in the Sidewalk is a second-chance romance. James and Val's relationship grew toxic, but I love that they get to shed that and start over. Told from James' POV: When I thought [Val] was asleep, I slid out from under the blanket and sat up. As I leaned over to tie my shoes, Val whispered, “Stay.” I froze and sat motionless. It was a plea, and there was a sense of déjà vu, an echo of the first time he’d said the word. It’d been a lifetime ago, but all the hope and fear and trepidation came back to me in a rush. I was undecided, divided on doing the right thing compared to doing what my heart most desired. And then Val said it again. “Stay.” How could one word, hell,...

September's gone? How did that happen? This summer went by in a blur and since the Farmers Market got extended for another month, it's not going to slow down for a while yet. I'm going to be ready when it does, though! I've been so busy I missed bi awareness week (last week). In my soon to be released book, Like Cracks in the Sidewalk , both MCs are bisexual, so I'm going to snip from a conversation between James and Val after Val's insecurities throw a wrench in their relationship. Val has asked James if he misses being with women. Told from James' POV: "I like women, sure. But I don’t miss them. I have you. You’re enough.” Val buried his head in my chest and wrapped his arms around me, grasping at me as if he thought I was going to push him away again. There was a question I hadn’t considered before and didn’t want to ask, but there were enough doubts in my head without adding to them. “Unless, well, do you?” “Do I what?” he said into my shirt, not m...

That's not as ominous as it sounds, but I've got some big changes coming in the next months between this year's Farmers Market ending in a few weeks, and the business I work for up for sale. The end of Market means I'll be able to dedicate more time to writing, but the stress of not knowing if I'll still have a job in a couple of months is overlaying everything. Oh, well, it'll work out, one way or another.   Cattails on an afternoon walk.  Snipping once again from my current WIP, Like Cracks in the Sidewalk . No explanation needed for this snippet, other than the two MCs spent the night together and it's the next morning. Told from James' POV: Val tilted his head to watch as my eyes shot open. There was no amusement on his face, none of the teasing I expected. Instead, he was all seriousness. My heart did this funny thing in my chest, a triple beat that caught my breath until it settled back down. I cupped the back of Val’s head with my free hand, pulli...

It's been a non-stop bake-a-thon this summer. I think I've probably overdone it, except I rarely bring much home after each Saturday's Farmers Market. Unfortunately, it hasn't left much time for writing. I'm still editing this book that should have been published months ago. Sigh. But I'll get there eventually! Part of this weekend's Farmers Market set-up.  Snipping from Like Cracks in the Sidewalk . Val has a lot of insecurities, and it affects his and James' relationship. It's there, from the beginning, but James doesn't catch on until it's too late. The book is single POV from James' side of things, but I've done my best to let Val's personality show through:     “I gotta get started.” Val twisted away, but with a quick spin, he grabbed my wrist and took another sip from my mug, intentionally letting his fingers slip into my sleeve, and the touch was as sultry as his gaze. “So you’re staying?” he asked, as if he needed the rea...

Horrible heat here this past week. I'll be happy if that doesn't happen again! Our poor old air conditioner couldn't keep up and tagged out. The husband got it going again, at least for a little while. Just another thing to be stressed about. (On the upside, we did get a nice rain that broke the heat.) The old silo at the Nature Center. It's the last structure standing from before, when one of my friends lived in the house, now long gone.  Snipping again from Like Cracks in the Sidewalk . James accompanied Val home after rescuing him from a thug harassing him after his show, and subsequently spent the night (but slept on the couch.) He wakes up before Val and is getting a look around his apartment. Told from James POV: I took my meager breakfast to the living room. Flipping a switch on the wall, I looked around. There were splashes of color scattered here and there amongst the otherwise beige blandness. Thin-papered posters were tacked to the drywall in a random pattern...