Sadie Jay

I'm forgoing NaNoWriMo this year because I'm determined to finish the Headphones edits. I'd so rather be writing! I'm close enough now to start thinking about covers and debating whether to publish it as one very long book or as a trilogy of shorter books. Decisions, decisions! (that's the difficulty with self-publishing--no one to make the hard decisions for me!) The final part of my Halloween scene, where Jay's costume is revealed. Click for Part one and Part two . Jay turned, his head tucked down so that all Scoey saw was huge eyes framed by loads of liner and blue eyeshadow. He glided forward in knee-high white mod boots as he batted those eyes slowly, heavy with false eyelashes that feathered out like lustrous black butterfly wings across his cheekbones. His hair was teased up and held back with a wide headband, and somehow it was much too long. Extensions , reasoned the side of Scoey’s brain that still functioned. The dazed half of his bra...

Part 2 of my Headphones Halloween. In last week's snippet , Scoey was dressing in the outfit that Jay gave him. This week, he sees how everyone else is dressed:             “Yup. I called that right,” he thought as he stepped through the front door of the bar to find he was almost the last to arrive. Lenny and Elinor looked like Shaggy and Velma. Richard could have come straight off the set of  Easy Rider  while Bets was a perfect Diana Ross. Marcus was dressed like Elvis, Mick was doing a passable Jim Morrison, and Headphones reminding him of a young Marlo Thomas. His mouth almost dropped open when he spied Honey. She was wearing a bit of nothing--showing off her long legs--that clearly had Barbarella written all over it. He wondered if the outfit was her idea or if it was something Headphones talked her into. Either way, every college boy that came in was going to leave with a hard-on. But no Jay. Scoey debated running upstairs to see ...

 I missed last weekend because my mom wanted to go to Wyoming to see her newest great-grandchild and my folks have reached the age where they can't travel that far alone. So, being the ever accommodating daughter, I took off work and drove them cross country to spend a few days with my brother and his clan, but it's exhausting. It takes days to recover! (crossing Nebraska) This week's snippet is taken from In From the Cold , the book I am slowly but steadily editing. Scoey is moving into The House and Headphones is unsettled by it:           Headphones shuffled through the drizzle and fog. On nights like this, the cold and dampness sank into her bones and even a scalding-hot shower wasn’t enough to warm her. Her family had moved several times over the years, following her dad’s jobs, but somehow always in southern towns, warmer and dryer. Old memories had been flooding in, as if finally being settled,  static , had opened some gate that sh...

I'd love fall more if there weren't so many mosquitoes and flies. And it means we have to close the pool. And winter isn't far behind (I'm not a winter person at all, anymore). But the cool nights are nice. And the kittens have a dandy time playing with the leaves that have already fallen. We lost Baby Kit, despite our best efforts. She was so much tinier than her sibs, I'm sure there was something wrong. But at least she got to spend her last days getting loved instead of in a dark hole under the house. Now I just need to find homes for the rest of the litter! Since I write Romance, Scoey and Jay will get their happy ending. It's a slow-burn and it takes them a while to get together--almost two full books. (And even after they get together, things are going to be a bit bumpy, naturally! But that's for book 3.)             With no hesitation, Scoey lowered his head and kissed Jay, desperate and thorough, unloosing the emotions he’d kept buried so de...

Here we go again. Momma Cat (Peppercorn's Grandmother) brought us another litter. I'm about ready to do a Go Fund Me to raise the money to get her--and her progeny--fixed. I looked into a "spay and release" program, but it doesn't seem we have a good one in our area. Anyway, this little one got trapped (or abandoned) and my husband rescued her. She's much smaller than the other kittens, so we're keeping her in with us. Peppercorn's not sure what to think! On the writing front: Scoey has just moved into The House and Jay has come to visit. Part 1 , Part 2 ,  Part 3 , and this weekend's snippet is the fourth and final bit: “She likes you.” Scoey’s soft comment drew Jay back with a start. “My mom? I should hope so.” “No, doof. Headphones. She likes you. She doesn’t like me.” Jay chuckled. “I’ve noticed that. She gives you strange looks. Maybe she’s shy. Just be nice and she’ll come ‘round.” Scoey let a small laugh invade the quie...

...or maybe not so happy. I'm not much for cold weather anymore! I'm writing this up quickly because I have to work over the weekend, but enjoy it if you can!  Peppercorn, ready for his closeup! (Actually, he was trying to help me write.) This week's snippet: Scoey has moved into The House and is feeling a bit lonely but Jay comes looking for him. Part 3 of 4. Read part 1 here and part 2 here .  “Whatcha doing?” Jay asked as he finished peeling off his winter gear and plopped gracelessly onto the couch.  “Exploring. This place is amazing, like some expensive B&B. Your apartment makes more sense now. Honey decorated it, didn’t she? I knew Richard didn't match the pillow shams with the curtains.” Jay shrugged--the apartment was like that when he'd moved in so he couldn’t say one way or another. “Has anyone told you about the attic? If you need anything, go explore. I went up there with Honey and Headphones. It’s amazing. I found an 80’s s...

So--I finally got through my first edit! Which means I'm looking for beta readers. If anyone is interested, contact me on Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments below. For anyone who doesn't know, a beta reader is just a "first" reader. I'm not looking for an editor, just some general feedback. And you get to read a free book. Blurb for Headphones: In From the Cold:             They don’t know her name, so they call her Headphones. Homeless and lost, all Headphones wants is a warm place to rest. What she finds in the bright bar is a group of people who take her in, offering her a home and a chance to make music again. Her new friends help her heal from the trauma that forced her to run, while she breaks them from the mundanity of their own lives.  Micky Shane walked away from the glamour of his Rock Star life when he lost his lead-guitarist and best friend, eventually settling in the small college town with a new name and a new band. He can’t c...

I had hoped to have my first edit of In From the Cold done this weekend, but the boss roped me into working, so I doubt I reach my goal. I need to learn to say no. (Usually, I'm good at the no word, but not when it comes to extra hours on the paycheck!) I've lost count, but I think Peppercorn is 16 weeks old. And completely full of spit and vinegar! This week's snippet is the first day after Scoey moves into The House (a sort of communal boarding house): It turned colder during the night and the drizzle from the day before morphed into something more solid. The snow fell in lazy swirls, big flakes that covered the ground like a white blanket. Scoey was working the evening shift, but for the moment he was by himself in the old mansion. Marcus, Bets, and Honey were at their office, Lenny was on campus, and he suspected that Headphones was spending her morning at the bar. The soft flop of his stockings on the wooden floor was the only sound as he explored. He’d b...

It's been a rough week, or maybe I'm just getting too old to put up with it. Thank goodness for these weekends when I don't have to leave the house. (That just proves how old I've gotten!) Peppercorn with his mama, Howie. She's making a visit to the vet this week. For starting out as a feral, she'd become very sweet and affectionate.  This week I'm concluding the mini-story that started with a dream that Scoey had , and a passing   comment to Jay about wearing black . Jay's gone to pick up Scoey at the airport, and he's planned a surprise:  Scoey walked down the small airport corridor with his head down after retrieving his bags from baggage claim, rereading Jay’s last text, trying to puzzle it out. / Not quite Johnny Cash/  What did that even mean? “Oh, shit,” he finally managed when he stepped outside to find Jay waiting. Scoey’s inner voice insisted he must be dreaming again. Jay smiled at him; wickedly, crookedly. His hair was t...

I managed to stay on target in May, which means I'm half-way through the rewrite of the last Headphones book. The original version was in present tense (and not book-form) and I'm switching it all to past, plus some paragraphs and scenes have required complete rewrites. And in a few cases, I've rearranged their order. It's totally a labor of love because it's the first thing I ever wrote and completed. I really do believe our "first" characters become a part of us! This week's snippet is from book two of the Headphones series, Sunshine Smile . In a loose way, it's a continuation of last week's snippet. Scoey can't forget Dream Jay. (It's a rare night off for both of them and they're sitting in a back booth at the bar.)  By the end of the evening, their conversation began to meander, never really settling on one topic. Seemingly out of nowhere, Scoey looked at Jay’s tight peachy-pink tee-shirt. “You should tease your hair u...

 The further adventures of Peppercorn! (because he's still the main attraction at our house right now!) He turns 3 weeks old today and he's on the move! We had a box set up for Howie to keep him in, but she can't keep him there anymore. We've been bringing him into the main part of the house to get him used to it, and for our indoor cats to get to know him. This is the first time I've ever had a cat from birth. So much fun! On the writing front, I'm making progress on the third book of the Headphones trilogy. My snippet is again from the first book, In From the Cold . And continuing with the Rainbow part of Rainbow Snippets, I'm taking from Jay and Scoey's building relationship.  Poor Scoey--he's demisexual but doesn't know it. So his attraction to Jay throws him because he's never been attracted to a man before and it really messes with his idea of himself. As part of his torture, he begins to have dreams:   Scoey couldn’...

I finished book 2 of the Headphones series this week, so now on to book 3. The first two books have both clocked in at 70k but I think the third will be slightly shorter. I'd like to say I'll finish in two months, but best-laid plans always go astray! Still, I'm optimistic. The first set of cards are pinned and ready, so here I go! (Instagram photo) This week's snippet is again from book 1, In From the Cold , and features Jay and Scoey. Scoey has been sleeping on his brother's couch while looking for a place. He was invited to stay with a group of Richard's friends who converted an old fraternity house into what is basically a boarding house.  In this scene, Scoey's been exploring his new home when Jay comes looking for him.  Almost as if his thoughts had summoned Jay, Scoey heard his name echoing down the hall. “In here,” he called back. “Where’s here?” he got in return. Scoey wasn’t sure what to call the room as he looked around. “Ther...

It has definitely begun to feel like Spring, although the weatherman says we're going to have a few cold nights yet. But I've not needed the scarf and gloves and extra layers for the walk to work, so I'm past happy! For the next few months, I'm going to be concentrating on my Headphones trilogy. It's a bit hard to explain and writing the blurb, when that time comes, is going to be a killer! It's an ensemble story with five different couples (each representing a different trope) all braided together, centered around the young woman they call Headphones. The story covers one year, starting January 1st and ends on the next January 1st. The last couple of weeks I've done snippets of Headphones and Mick, but this week I'm introducing another couple: Jay and Scoey. Jay is an androgynous keyboard player and part-time bartender, Scoey is the brother of Richard, who is the drummer of the band and owner of the bar where the group hangs out. Today's s...