Sadie Jay

For this week's snippet, I'm going back to Headphones . In the second book, Sunshine Smile , both Headphones and Scoey have negative reactions to fireworks. I wrote the original serial version of this ten years ago, but it feels relevant this week, as my neighbors have set off fireworks all week at all times of the night. I'm exhausted.   In this scene, Scoey experiences a bad case of PTSD. His military career ended when he got caught in an attack and wounded. ...the fireworks ignited directly overhead with echoing explosions that rattled [Scoey's] bones. Each detonation pulled him apart until it was overwhelming, and he ducked his head and covered his ears with his hands. His eyes were darting, showing too much white, like a cornered animal searching for an escape. Jay caught his jerky movements out of the corner of his eye and went to Scoey, circling an arm around his waist. Something was very wrong. Encouraging Scoey to stand, Jay led him into the storeroom. He colla...

Another week done. They all blend together right now. My husband and I drove to the Nature Center (about 4 miles) and walked the trails this morning, and he asked me when I'd last bought gas because the tank is nearly full. It's been weeks, but I rarely go anywhere. I guess that's one think I can count as a positive--saving money and wear-and-tear on the car. But I am so craving a road trip right now! This is where I want to be, but know it isn't going to happen again any time soon! This week's snippet is part 4 of 4, taken from  Sunshine Smile--Headphones book 2 .  Scoey and Jay are stuck in the walk-in freezer and things are heating up even while they're getting colder. From Scoey's POV. (To review--  Part 1 ,  Part 2 , Part 3 .) (Honestly, out of all of the characters I've written, Scoey and Jay will always be special to me.) There was no sound between them, no moans or sighs, as they reveled in that one single burning point. The tips of ...

I think one of the most exciting things about publishing, whether it's traditional or self, is seeing your story come to life with a cover. While writing Headphones back in 2013, I played around with a series of drawings, trying to put a face to my characters. When I began my search for pictures to use as covers, I really didn't have a clue what to look for. And to be honest, I wasn't giving much thought to my pictures. But once the covers were done, I pulled them out for comparison. And I think I did a pretty good job! Headphones Trilogy  Five different relationships, five different stories--tangled together with the young woman they call Headphones at the center of it all. Homeless and lost, all Headphones wanted on that cold January day was a place to rest. What she found in the bright college bar was a group of people who took her in, offering her a home and a chance to make music again. Told over the course of a year, In From The Cold introduces ...

This is Silver. She's a little sweetie. For some reason, the rest of Momma Cat's last litter hang out at the neighbor's house, but this one spends most of her time with us. I'm hoping to find a home for her, but if not, we'll keep taking care of her.  This week's snippet is part 3 of 4, taken from Sunshine Smile--Headphones book 2 .  Scoey and Jay are stuck in the walk-in freezer and things are beginning to heat up even while they're getting colder. From Scoey's POV. (To review-- Part 1 and Part 2 .)        Jay’s cold lips against his skin sent a shiver through Scoey’s body but his breath was a warm mist against his jaw.   His heart was beating fast and he wondered if Jay could hear it, but he thought he must when his arms tightened against his ribs. He buried his own chilled face into the dark hair, trying to warm his cheek with Jay’s heat.        He hadn’t meant to do it, but Jay looked up at him and they were too clos...

As part of our new "get out of the house and exercise" routine, we've been going to the Nature Center that's only a few miles from our house and walking the trails. We go early in the morning while it's still cool and we've seen quite a few deer and other wild-life. Maybe being forced to slow down isn't a bad thing.  On the writing front:  I think we all have our favorite scenes in our writing-- something that gives us a little punch when we reread it, and hope it does the same for our readers. This scene in Sunshine Smile is one of those scenes for me.  This is part 2, continuing from last week. Scoey and Jay are stuck in the walk-in freezer and are waiting for Richard to let them out. Scoey is fairly heavily dressed, but Jay is wearing light summer clothing. Part 1 can be read here .  “Not sure this is the best place for a little manhandling, but sure, I’ll play,” Jay teased.  “Shut up,” Scoey said as he wrapped his arms around Jay and pull...

The project I'm working on now, Cinders and Ash , is proving difficult. I had considered doing Camp NaNo with the idea of finishing it (I'm barely over 20k at the moment) but with the way my brain's working lately, I knew I was setting myself up to fail. So no Camp for me. I'll just do what I can do. Instead, I've been formatting my Headphones series for paperback. Which has meant learning new skills, which is frustrating but also rewarding. Cats on a shelf. That's Momma Cat, Peppercorn's grandma, and one of the kits from her latest litter.  This week's snippet comes from Sunshine Smile: Headphones book 2 . Scoey and Jay have gotten trapped in the bar's walk-in freezer. Richard should be back any moment, but in the meantime... (told over the next few weeks.)           Jay was shaking harder and it worried Scoey. He’d be okay, he knew, but Jay didn’t have an ounce of fat on his frame and his clothes were basically useless–great on a hot A...

Started in 1981 as something to do during study hall, Headphones and the occupants of The House became companions that lived in my head, their stories growing and evolving over the years. In 2013 I decided to give them new life and prove to myself that I could finish something. The result was an online serial that ran from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2016. To call it a vanity project is probably generous. But by the end of the year, I was getting 100 hits a day from readers around the world. For someone who grew up without the internet and social media, it was exciting. Early last year I decided to rewrite it into a publishable book. The problem was, it was too long for one book.  My solution? Make it into a trilogy! So I introduce, nearly 40 years in the making, Headphones ! Book one:  In from the Cold introduces Headphones and a group of friends who are going about their lives while not truly living them. Book two: Sunshine Smile is heat and healing–ne...

(Keeping with today's Unicorn theme, I collected them when I was in High School. Here's a few special one's I kept.) It's been an exciting week for me. My Headphones series is up for pre-order ( In from the Cold , Sunshine Smile , and Fall Out ) and we did the cover reveal for the Vampire anthology I'm participating in. Working Stiffs is a collection of 13 short stories with a shared universe about working Vampires and the people they love. It's a little tongue-in-cheek and a whole lot of fun. I also now have a FaceBook author page and I'm encouraging fellow authors to share/promo their books there. I figure if I'm stuck at home, I'm going to put my time to good use! Here's another excerpt from my story, Fangs for the Memories : I tried to not stare but I couldn't help myself. He was exactly the same except his long white hair was streaked with a rainbow of colors and pulled up into a messy bun. An inch taller than my fi...

I started writing Headphones when I was seventeen. It all got put in a binder and shuffled around for years while  I was busy raising my kids and working to pay bills.  But I never forgot. The characters grew and developed over those 30+ years and the day came that I pulled out all of those notes and decided to put renewed life into Jessie and the crew. At some point I realized I had a band that needed original music. And lo--there was a folder full of bad poetry I'd written in High School and College. (Admit it--we all have that folder somewhere.) So much of it was cringe-worthy, but I managed to use a line here and there!  Today's lesson--never throw anything away! (I'm ready for Spring--if the cold gloom would just go away!)  From chapter 4 of Sunshine Smile ( Headphones , book 2)-- The afternoon wore on, meandering and unhurried, until eventually the musicians of the group grabbed their instruments to play songs of Honey and Elinor’s choosing. ...

Bleak has been the word of the week. It's been cold and grey with rain, sleet, and snow flurries. It can end now! I feel like I'm in a holding pattern, waiting for nicer weather. This week's snippet is part 2, again from Headphones: Sunshine Smile . In part 1, Jay catches Scoey watching him as he eats a banana, and so naturally he makes a production of it and it's too much for Scoey:            With a wicked grin, Jay pulled his lips back and made a show of biting into the fruit. He winked and swallowed before sending Scoey an air-kiss.  Scoey was transfixed by the movement of Jay’s lips and jaw. Flashbacks of kissing Jay trapped his mind and his skin itched as he broke out in a sudden sweat. The taste of him, as if it had happened only moments before, was still fresh in his memory. His throat tightened and his stomach fluttered. It was too much and he fought his paralysis, willing his arms and legs to move. A stool skidded, almost tipping, ...

The February blahs have hit me hard. Except for a couple of nonseasonal nice days last weekend, it's been cold with snow flurries. Not enough to have to shovel the walk, but enough to make everything wet and uncomfortable. I'm finding it hard to get interested in anything-- reading, movies, work. Spring can't get here soon enough! From Headphones: Sunshine Smile , Jay is a keyboardist in the band, Blue Mick, with Scoey's brother, Richard. When Scoey isn't working, he likes to watch the band rehearse. To call Jay a tease is an understatement:             Mick was running through the playlist for their next gig as Jay slipped onto the closest stool. A rumble in his belly and a lone banana lying forgotten and forlorn reminded him he’d not thought to grab something to eat in his still agitated state as he drove across town. He concentrated more on partially peeling the fruit than he did on Mick and what he was saying. He rolled a small bite on his tongu...

Like everyone else, I'm ready for winter to be done We have so few sunny days here in January and I need sun! It feels like everyone is in holding mode and energyless. On the upside, I finished what I hope is my last pass of edits on In From the Cold and am now working on Sunshine Smile . Because the first two books have cliffhanger endings I want to publish them all at the same time. I'd considered publishing it as one book, but that would make it 180K+ words. I think it works like this. (At least, I hope it does!) (I'm ready for color!) The second book in the series very much becomes Scoey and Jay's story. They weren't really meant to be the main characters, but once I started writing, they took over. It's also when I realized m/m was what I wanted to write. Their romance is a slow burn because Scoey is very confused about what is happening (he's demi-pan). But occasionally, he isn't confused at all: They lay like that, unmoving except fo...

It's raining. A lot. We have flash-flood warnings and our yard is under water. It's been unseasonable warm, which is probably a blessing--I'd hate for this to all be snow! So, in keeping, I've picked a snippet that involves rain. (The road in front of our house. I'm going to need a canoe.) Headphones is the story of a group of friends, and one of the couples is Bets and Richard. They've had a "friends with benefits" relationship for nearly five years, but it's gradually beginning to change. Taken from the second book in the series, Sunshine Smile , they've taken their first vacation together and got trapped by heavy rain: The trip had been nice; a sunny room overlooking a beach with hours spent walking in the sand with the foamy surf rolling over their bare feet. Sometimes they talked and sometimes they were comfortably silent; two people getting to know each other in a way they never had before. But, in a way, Bets treasured most...

We have two other cats, Squirt and Pip, who are both nearly 5 years old and we worried how they'd do with Peppercorn. Being a kitten, if he's awake, he's running and into things. And thankfully, the "oldsters" have accepted the idea that he's here to stay and have actually started to play with him. I really didn't want another cat--two in the house is plenty--but sometimes exceptions are made and we're glad for it! This week's snippet, from Sunshine Smile , is the conclusion- part 4 of 4.  ( Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 )  A little background on Annalise--she's Marcus' on-again, off-again girlfriend (Marcus is one of the housemates) so everyone puts up with her. She does nothing without it benefitting her in some way. She's really not nice. And she tends to dismiss Headphones, calling her the group's pet monkey. Headphones has every reason to dislike her: With a flimsy story about not waiting for Marcus anymore, Annalise he...

The day job is still taking too much of my time and energy so I didn't get very far on my editing. I've got two projects floating around in my head that I've been trying to take some notes on. One is a Christmas novella and the other is a short story for an anthology. I need to figure out a good way to divide my time and accomplish EVERYTHING. And still have time to splash around in my pool! 10 week-old Peppercorn has a bit of a cold, so there are matted eyes and kitty sneezes. Hopefully, the medicine will work quickly. Last week Headphones was having a breakdown . This week, Lenny and Honey talk her down:  “Okay, hon, backup and explain what’s going on to us less enlightened beings.” Honey took her hand and pulled her to the nearest chair, pushing her onto it with the hope that she could calm the girl down.  “Yeah, okay.” Headphones took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “Ever since Mick was in the hospital Annalise has been hanging around. Get it?...

I think I've mentioned before, but just in case not, Headphones features an ensemble cast. It's probably not marketable, but sometimes we write something because it's in our head and needs to come out. Headphones is that for me. I tried to write a blurb for it this week, but it feels flat. How to summarize a 3-book series in less than 300 words? Ah, the joys of writing! This week's Peppercorn picture. 9 weeks old. (he was 2 months on the 5th)  This week's snippet comes from book 2, Sunshine Smile . Honey and Lenny are two of Headphones' housemates (and Lenny is in the band that Headphones plays guitar for), while Annalise is, well, a problem. In more ways than one: “Shit! Dammit!” Headphones was kicking cushions around and cussing a blue streak. “Mother fucker !” Honey and Lenny stood back, stunned.  “Are ya sure she ain’t got Tourettes?” Honey wondered aloud. “Frith on a Frito!” the girl snarled. Lenny’s paralysis broke and he stepped for...

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...

I'm close to finishing book 2 ( Sunshine Smile ) of the Headphones series. Camp NaNoWriMo has been a great tool to keep myself focused. I won't quite hit "the end" by the 30th, but I should next weekend. It's nice to see the completion of a project, even though completion is a strong word--this is only the first draft, after all! There will be much editing to follow. The plan is to set it aside, like I have book 1 ( In From The Cold ), and start immediately on the third installment. Headphones is an ensemble story chronicling the journeys of five different couples. I've mentioned Headphones (Jessie) and Mick in past weeks, but I'm going to concentrate on Jay and Scoey going forward-- since this is Rainbow Snippets! Their relationship is a bit of a slow burn, not really picking up until book 2. This week's snippet (from book 1) takes place a few days after last week's. Scoey, newly out of the military, is settling in, spending time with his br...