Sloan Parker Blog

Here’s what I’ve learned writing TAKE ME HOME (tentatively due out December 2011):

1. Characters do not always listen to my outline.
2. The book isn’t done until it’s done. I added some really great stuff in the last week.
3. Reading a manuscript while walking around the house is dangerous. For my cats. Sorry, little dudes!
4. In order to really put myself into a scene it’s possible to simulate being freezing cold in a blizzard during 100 degree days using just the power of my mind. And a fan.
5. Writing a scene set during any other time than the past decade requires a lot of research. Even when it’s a simple journal entry from 1953.
6. In the process of editing I read faster during the action scenes and forget to actually edit. “Uh, this is YOUR book, Sloan. Pay attention.”
7. Making my poor characters wait to get off is kinda fun. It makes the sex scene more explosive to write.
8. I should not have two books “in process” with characters names that start with the same initial. In this case…Kyle and Kevin. I had to tell Kevin to get back to his own damn book way too many times. “Dude, get off Evan and go find Walter!”
9. I really love the male body and can describe a blowjob for way too many paragraphs (okay, pages) than necessary. More than anyone would want to stick around to read.

   And the last thing I learned writing my latest m/m romance:

10. It’s helpful to take a character’s clothes off BEFORE attempting anal sex.

I have a cover for my new short story “Swept Away” (coming soon to Goodreads and sloanparker.com).

Blurb for Swept Away
The biggest case of Eddie’s career and nothing’s going right. He’s stuck in a stifling courtroom with the air conditioning on the fritz during the worst heat wave in years, and the judge has denied his latest motion. He just wants to spend a quiet night celebrating with his partner, Mike, on their fifteenth anniversary.

But Mike has a surprise in mind this year. A surprise that may be more than Eddie imagined possible.

“I long for the day I’ll dream of your kiss no more, when your lips will caress mine for real, when your touch makes me alive again, and the sight of you arouses all my senses.”
-Unknown

“Character consists of what you do on the third or fourth tries.”
- James Michener

Sloan’s busy working on her manuscript today, so she asked if I’d like to do a guest blog. I have a feeling I’m going to owe Sloan a lot (she’s writing about me in her serial story More Than Just a Good Book), so I figured I’d better say yes.

My name’s Scott Murphy. Right now I’m going to college in Ohio, but I’m originally from Elmore, Michigan, a rural small town where I grew up with my dad. It’s the kind of place with massive oak trees lining the streets, evenly trimmed green grass behind every picket fence, and a volunteer fire department which includes the town mayor, the local barber, and the president of the bank. Yeah, it’s that kind of picture-postcard town where everything looks perfect. A little too perfect. Because nothing really is when you take a closer look.

I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to say what this blog is about. The thing is, I’ve been really nervous about this. I don’t like being in the spotlight, and when I sat down to write this post earlier today, I drew a blank on what to talk about. I’m still in college. I haven’t done anything with my life yet. What do I have to say? But I made a promise, and I don’t like going back on my word. So here I am.

I guess the problem is my brain’s been preoccupied with this amazing guy Mark who I met where he works at the university library. I’m not sure “met” covers it, though. I was going to say, we went on a date the other night, but you know, I don’t know if it was a date.

We had sex. Twice. Amazing-I’m-going-to-be-thinking-about-that-for-the-rest-of-my-life sex. Once at the library (yes, INSIDE the library. Can you believe that? I still can’t). Then later at his apartment.

Before that, he’d shown me around the library’s comic book archive. Then after the sex we talked. Some. He told me what his plans are for after graduation, and I told him something no one knows about me except my dad.

But is that a date? Can you call it a date when it’s mostly sex? How about if you have sex twice? Do you need to go out for dinner, a movie, or at least drinks first?

I would tell you what happened at the end of the “date” but Sloan might kick my ass for revealing too much. I really don’t want to piss her off. I’d like to get laid again someday. I mean, it’s not like I had much action before she decided Mark should walk over to where I was sitting in the library. Guys like him never talk to me. Not that I’m complaining. It was the best sex of my life. Mark did stuff no other guy has ever done to me before. Maybe that means it’s a date simply because I had a fantastic time with him. I don’t know.

What do you guys think? What constitutes an official date in your book? I mean, if my dad calls, can I tell him I had a date? I think he wants me to find a boyfriend more than I do.

Thanks for the help,
Scott

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“If one wishes to know love, one must live love, in action.”
- Leo Buscaglia

I found another song for TAKE ME HOME. “Chasing Cars” from Snow Patrol. I can hear these lyrics coming from both Kyle and Evan with some definite overlap on which lines work for which man. I won’t say more than that for now. The video below is just the song with lyrics.

I’m nearing the end on this manuscript. These men feel so real to me now, it’s like they aren’t my creations, but real men I’ve had the privilege of following on this journey.

I shared these a while back, but I’ll include them again. My inspiration for Kyle and Evan.

Looks like Russell T. Davies, the creator of Torchwood and the UK Queer as Folk, is working on a new project, “Cucumber, which revolves around gay men.”

I hope this one takes off. We could use a new high-quality gay drama. And I hope Showtime picks it up! Although I was just about to get rid of that cable box. Damn!

I can be pretty focused when I’m writing.

Helloooo…

And five minutes later…

And later…

I think I forgot something.