Sloan Parker Blog

I’m pleased to announce the release of part 4 of Mark and Scott’s story, More Than Just a Good Book, which you can read free on my website.

Writing this story has been such an interesting process for me. This is the first time I’ve ever written and polished anything one section at a time before finishing the rest of the story. I have the entire book outlined, so I know the major plot points, but I often explore new ideas as I write and then go back and rework the beginning later. Overall though, I’ve been really surprised at how well this new process is working out for me. I hope you guys are enjoying it as well.

No Multiple Formats until Complete: I’m no longer posting each installation in multiple formats as that takes quite a bit of time to put together, and I figured I’ll save that work for when the full version is complete. This should help me prep new parts more quickly. I hope this isn’t an inconvenience for anyone. You can read the individual installments on my site or parts 1-4 in PDF format.

Just a note for those of you waiting to read the entire story all at once: I will be making it available as a full download in various formats when the story is complete. My best guess is that’ll be sometime next year. I have 10 parts planned, but again, that’s just a guess as things might change the more I write. I might end up cutting some chapters or adding more.

When I’m finished I may decide to publish the full story and make it available for purchase, but there’ll be some time where you can download it first, so be sure to keep an eye out here on the blog or via my newsletter for more on when the full story will be ready.

Thanks for checking out Mark and Scott’s journey together.

Here’s an excerpt from part 4:

Scott shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong.” Since that first kiss in the elevator, he’d been able to let go, to be in the moment with Mark. He wanted that feeling again. He breathed deep and let himself fall into it. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Good. Because I’ve been dreaming of doing something to you.” He ran his hands down the front of Scott’s bare chest and abs straight to the small dragon tattoo on his hip. He gripped both hips and dropped to his knees. Then his tongue was exploring the dragon. “God, I love this tat.” He stroked the hard length of Scott’s cock with one hand. “Been dying to suck you.”

“Oh God.” This was not happening. Scott’s entire body shook as Mark’s warm breath hit the top of his dick. “What are you doing?”

“Want to feel your cock on my tongue, in my mouth.” He held the base of Scott’s dick and angled the head toward his mouth. “You are free to move as you’d like. Touch me, touch yourself, fuck my mouth, whatever you need.” He leaned forward and licked the tip of Scott’s dick.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Nothing had ever felt like that. Scott hissed as Mark did it again, tonguing all over the head and the sensitive skin below. The wet heat of Mark’s saliva covered the end of his cock. Then Mark opened wide and took him deep, sucking his way to the tip again.

“Oh. My. God.” How could this feel so differently than a handjob? He jerked his hips forward and immediately pulled back. Too much. “Wait.”

Mark sat back on his heels. “You don’t want me to?”

“I… I do. No one’s ever…”

“Never?”

Scott couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Mark released him and stood. “What the hell kind of men have you been with?”

“Not many.” He shrugged. “I usually blow them, or they fuck me then leave.”

“Not this time. This time, I’m sucking you until you come. Unless you don’t want—”

“I do!”

And before Scott could dwell on how the squeal of those words must have sounded, Mark dropped to his knees again and had his cock surrounded by that wet heat. Scott’s ass hit the wall. He reached out and gripped the top of the desk in one hand and the dresser in the other. He watched Mark’s head bob faster and faster, and the intensity built with each plunge of his mouth. So different. Real. Powerful. And that was the problem.

Staring down at Mark felt…wrong. He gripped Mark’s shoulders. “Please.” Mark sucked harder, faster. “Please. Can I…”

Read More of More Than Just a Good Book

All four volumes of Don’t Read in the Closet (an M/M Romance Collection) are now available to download for free at All Romance eBooks and Goodreads.

The list of participating authors is huge, and the collection is a great way to try out some of the wonderful new and established writers in m/m romance. I’m honored my short story “Swept Away” was included in this collection.

Hopefully I didn’t miss listing any of the authors. Congratulations to all and a huge thanks to those in the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads who did all the formatting and hard work of putting the collection together as ebooks and making them available at Goodreads and All Romance eBooks.

If you pick up your own copy of these free reads, I hope you find some wonderful new authors to read.

Volume One
Jade Archer – CUPID‘S BEAU (Fantasy/Friends to Lovers )
J. P. Barnaby – END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love )*
Sarah Black – SUCKER-PUNCH (Athlete/Hurt-Comfort )
Scarlet Blackwell – BREAKING WAVES (Surfing/Angst )
Penny Brandon – FINDING JACK (Cowboys/Mild BDSM )
Lee Brazil – BE A BAD BOY (First-Time/Family Drama )
Cardeno C. – WOMAN WITH A DILDO (Friends to Lovers )
L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE (Friends to Lovers )*
Kim Dare – MASOCHISM 101 (BDSM/Friends to Lovers )
S.J. Frost – A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY (Musicians/Rivals to Lovers )
Jeanette Grey – HEART AND SOUL (Friends to Lovers )
Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER (Military )*
Pender Mackie by DOG DAYS OF SUMMER (Blue Collar/First Date )
KM Mahoney – SHOW & TELL (College/First-time )
JL Merrow – BEAR NAKED (First-time/Bears )
M.J. O’Shea – BRIDGES (First Love )*
Neil S. Plakcy – PHOTO BOOTH (Cowboys/FBI )
Dustin Adrian Rhodes – STORM OF PASSION (Friends to Lovers )
Jaime Samms – MOURNING (Hurt/Comfort )*
Justin South – REFLECTIONS (First Love/Hurt-Comfort )
Zach Sweets – LUSCIOUS LOVE (Coming out/Food Kinky )
Piper Vaughn – WANTING (First Love )*
Silvia Violet – TIME TO TELL (Military/Friends to Lover)
Deanna Wadsworth – UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (Office Sex )
Stuart Wakefield – THE ELEMENTS OF LOVE (Sci-Fi/Ménage )
Alex Whitehall – HOLD ME TIGHT (Hurt-Comfort/BDSM Light )
Lisa Worrall – JUST ONE KISS (Gay-for-You/Cops )
Connor Wright – GONE TO PIECES (Sci-Fi/Mild BDSM )

Volume Two
Blaine D. Arden – COLOR ME (Paranormal)
Mandy Beyers – THE PRESENT IN ROOM FOUR (Rent Boy/Hurt-comfort)
JR Boyd – LABOR OF LOVE (Blue Collar)
JM Cartwright – APPEARING KNIGHTLY (Superhero)
Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT (BDSM/Cowboys)*
Casey Cox – BE MY BOY (D/S Slave)
Nicole Dennis – HIDDEN AMONGST STARS (1950’s Hollywood)
Megan Derr – DELIVERY WITH A SMILE (Comedy)
Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE (Angst)*
Haven Fellows – HIDDEN NEEDS (BDSM)
Kerry Freeman – KEEP ME (Angst, D/s)
Kari Gregg – THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING DENNY (Angst)
Kaje Harper – LIKE THE TASTE OF SUMMER (First-Love/1980’s)
Jason Huffman-Black – I AM THE HIGHWAY (BDSM)
Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA (Paranormal/Fairytales)*
Amy Lane – SUPER SOCK MAN (College/Solo-action)
Cleon Lee – BENEATH YOUR WINGS (Angel/Demon)
Jordan Sophia Lombard – FINDING HOME (Sci-fi/Military)
Sarah Madison – SURF’S UP (Role-Playing)
Angel Martinez – IF ONE DREAM SHOULD FALL AND BREAK (Sci-fi)
NJ Nielsen – SHADOWS ON THE HEART (Paranormal)
Elizabeth Noble – TAKE WHAT’S YOURS (Futuristic Sci-fi)
Adara O’Hare – CHASING THE PRICK (Hurt/Comfort)
SJD Peterson – INNOCENCE TO THE MAX (Paranormal/BDSM)*
Lily Sawyer – LAWN MOWER BOYS (Summer Love)
Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paranormal/Sorcerer)*
DH Starr – TLC (Recovery)
Em Woods – BETWEEN FRIENDS (Action)

Volume Three
Mael Day – THREE MONTHS AND ELEVEN DAYS (First Time/College)
Astrid Detlefsen – THE MUSE (Established Relationship)
Sasha Devlin – STROKE OF MIDNIGHT (Werewolves/Vampires)
Ryssa Edwards – SPINNER (Military)
Tia Fielding – HAWK’S SPARROW (Werewolves)
Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT (Military)*
Julie Lynn Hayes – PAVANE FOR A PROUD PRINCE (Fantasy/Magic)
Valentina Heart – PLUG AND ENGAGE (BDSM/Friends to Lovers)
Lissa Kasey & Xara X.Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM (Established Couple)*
A.J. Llewellyn – CROCODILE UNDIE (M/M/M/M)
Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (Paranormal/Angels)*
Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY (BDSM)*
Summer Michaels – LUCKY BOY (Friends to Lovers)
Bran Mydwynter – FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE (Geeks-Nerds/Humor)
Cherie Noel – KISS AND TELL (Mild Kink)*
Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA (Shifter/Cowboys)*
Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT (Coming Out) *
J. Rocci – JUST BREATHE OUT (First Time/College)
RJ Scott – GOT YOUR SIX (Military/ Friends to Lovers)
PD Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Friends to Lovers)*
Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS (Sci-Fi)*
Ariel Tachna – YOU’RE IT (Friends to Lovers, M/M/M)
Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO (Fantasy) *
Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES (First Love)*
Cooper West – HENRI’S WAR (Diesel-Punk/Film Remix)
Sara Winters – STARTING OVER (College/Athletes)
Serena Yates – ZEPH’S AWAKENING (Rescue/ Age Difference)

Volume Four
Mark Alders – PYROGASM (Paranormal/Firemen)
Rory Auden – BONDS AND BUBBLE RINGS (Shifters/BDSM)
Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort)
Megan Derr – PERMANENT EXHIBIT: THE GUARDIANS (Fantasy/Angels)
Charles Edward – HEROTICA: PHOTON’S STORY (Superheroes)
R L Ferguson – RIDING FOR A FALL (Cowboys/Friends-to-Lovers)
S.A. Garcia – BOUND TO BE SUITED (BDSM/Humor)
S.A. Garcia – A CURE FOR THE KING’S LUST (Wizards/Warriors)
David Greene – SNAKE BITE (Adventure/Coming of Age)
Kathleen Hayes – BROKEN (Hurt/Comfort)
Kayla Jameth – CONTROLLED FALL (Adventure/Nature)
K. Lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rockstars/ Established-Couples)
Celia Kyle – JOY AND PAIN (BDSM/Voyeurism)
Taylor Law – WRONG TURN (Shape-shifter/Coming-out)
Elizabeth Lister – THE BEACH HOUSE (M/M/M)
Ryan Loveless – TWENTY YEARS LATER (WELCOME HOME TO THE CONQUERING HERO) (Military/Reunion)
Selah March – THE SATYR’S LAMENT (Post-Apocalyptic/ Mythology)
Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Angels/Light D/S)
Zahra Owens – TRUST (Organized Crime)
Sloan Parker – SWEPT AWAY (Established-Couples)
Jen Pinto – BLUE FLAMES (Sci-Fi/Masturbation)
KD Sarge – ROMEO AND JULIAN: A NEAR-TRAGEDY NEAR VERONA (Sweet-No Sex, In-the-Closet)
Kate Sherwood – TAKEN (Friends-to-Lovers, Hurt/Comfort)
K. Z. Snow – QUIET ERP (Fairies/ Non-Explicit Sex)
VJ Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Goth Club/Friends-to-Lovers)
Fae Sutherland – MORE THAN WORDS (Guy-liner/Public Sex)
Anne Tenino – WHITETAIL ROCK (Cops/Inter-Racial)
Pia Veleno – FREEDOM’S SOUVENIR (Vacation Romance)
Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (College/Coming-Out)

*These stories also appear in the GayRomLit Special Edition.

I’m sharing on my RWA group blog today about what it’s like when you’re a writer and words fail. Every time I finish a story, I’m so glad I never stopped and gave in to the moments when it was tough.

Stop by if you can. I’d love to hear if there’s anything in your life that you’re glad you kept plugging away at.

I’m happy to share that my latest e-book, Take Me Home, is now available at All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, Amazon US and Amazon UK, and it should be up at Fictionwise soon.

Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy so far, and all the reviewers who have taken the time to read the book and write up a review. I’m thrilled so many of you have enjoyed it.

Here are a few of the wonderful remarks for Take Me Home:

“I loved both of the heroes in this book, and found myself easily rallying for their relationship to grow from being best friends to developing a loving, romantic relationship together that lived long within my heart long after the story was over.” Night Owl Reviews

…

“I can assure you that you will LOVE Take Me Home. This is a book that you will want to read over and over. Ms. Parker is an incredible writer and I have enjoyed every one of her books. But let me warn you…once you read her books you’re hooked and will find yourself waiting impatiently for her next one.” Books and Porn

…

“This isn’t just a romance, it is filled with plenty of heartfelt moments, action of both the steamy kind and adventure kind, it had everything you could want from an m/m romance read with a little mystery and plenty of suspense.” Book Devotee Reviews

…

“Oh, this was such a sweet, yummy friends-to-lovers story! … Great dynamic between the two guys with just the right combination of tender, sweet moments and scorching hot scenes, something Parker does so well in her books.” Joyfully Jay

This one’s for Scott and Mark.

“In a sense, you will find that it does not matter what stance you take in bondage and discipline games. Either role done well transcends into the other, and to be done well both require trust.” – Lady Ravinia

For those of you who are waiting to read more of their story, I added a new section to part four this weekend. I promise I’ll get it up on the site just as soon as I can. I do try to give as much attention to detail to this story as I do my published novels, so it takes a bit of time to revise, edit, and get feedback from others for each part.

I’m on my third pass working on Walter and Kevin’s story, and I had a series of great writing sessions this week. Today I worked on a chapter and a half that needed a few changes, including adding some dialogue and reactions. I ended up rewriting almost all of it. I was in some sort of zone where the dialogue and character interactions just flowed and worked better within the overall story arc. The more I rewrote, the more I knew what I had previously written wasn’t working. When I was done, it felt good to know it was the right call to rewrite those scenes.

Even though decisions like these affect the overall amount of time it takes to complete a project, this type of revising just seems to work for me. The more time I spend with the characters and their story, the clearer the overall picture becomes. Sometimes I can’t see the forest with all those damn trees in the way.

It took about five hours to get that chapter and a half rewritten. I sat in my comfy chair in my office while I wrote. These two little guys came in to keep me company.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m hoping to get in another 5 hours or more of writing on Sunday.

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. I took an unplanned/unexpected sabbatical from blogging. I’ve been slammed recently with non-writing work and family obligations, but when I did get to work on my writing, I rocked it on Walter’s story. I figured an update on my progress was long overdue.

And progress is exactly what I’m making with Walter and Kevin’s book. I’m writing every day again and finding a groove with this story that feels really good.

Which is nice because this book has been through such a long journey already. Here’s the path of its life so far:

1. Brainstormed story ideas (started in 2010).
2. Created character sketches/story outline.
3. Wrote synopsis.
4. Took a break to work on synopses and outlines for Richard’s and Matthew’s books (from More)
5. Submitted all 3 synopses to my publisher.
6. Worked on another project while I waited for feedback on which book they’d prefer to see next.
7. Received feedback.
8. Revised story outline & character sketches based on publisher’s suggestion to remove one story element.
9. Worked on rough draft.
10. Had inspiration for a new story, so I put Walter and Kevin’s aside to create proposal since Christmas stories were being considered at my publisher. After receiving approval, I wrote and revised Take Me Home.
11. Back to Walter and Kevin’s story. Worked on completing rough draft.
12. Had to take a break to work on edits from my editor for Take Me Home.
13. Back to Walter and Kevin’s story. Completed revisions of first seven chapters.
14. Decided to make several major changes to the story (scenes deleted and new scenes added). Reviewed entire manuscript and worked in changes.
15. Completed revisions of first ten chapters (as of today).

This story is nothing like it started out as, and yet, it’s becoming more of what I had envisioned in the first place. I cannot tell you how much I love the conversations and interactions between Walter and the much younger Kevin.

This book may not have had the quickest path to publication, but I am really happy with what I’ve got on the page now.

I’ve also worked on revisions to part four of Mark and Scott’s story, the serial novel More Than Just a Good Book. I need to review a few more times, and then send to my critique partner. I’ll announce when it’s ready for you to read on the blog and in my newsletter.

So that’s where I’m at this week. Thanks for listening!
Sloan

Back in December I did an interview at author Julie Hayes’s blog and one of the questions was: Take these three words and give me a 100 word or less scenario using them: concert, documented, broadcast

Below is what I came up with. Maybe the idea to a new story, I don’t know. I thought it might be fun to post these 3 word scenarios from time to time as a creative exercise. A way for me to play around with new ideas that don’t have to become anything more than an idea (or maybe they will).

My friend Harry used to work as a producer for broadcast TV. But he told me when he finally accepted he was in love with his best friend, he gave up the career he’d always hated, moved to New York, and started a band. See, I’m his best friend. A guitarist. I think Harry would do anything for me. He’s even landed us some sweet concert gigs, and he’s documented our journey as a rising band for our website. I watched the footage last night. There’s a lot of me in it. Maybe he really does love me this time around.

What do you think?

Thanks to author Drea Becraft, a huge group of authors are participating in a blog hop giveaway. There are over 190 authors offering up prizes on their blogs. All the contests will start Friday, December 16, 2011 and will go until midnight Sunday, December 18, 2011. (Not sure, but that might be midnight EST). Just go to the blog hop page and click to each author’s blog to enter their giveaways.

For my contest, I’m giving away one e-book copy of TAKE ME HOME. The winner will be selected randomly from all who comment here on this post. Be sure to include your email address in the email form field so I can contact the winner.

Also, I was recently interviewed at Joyfully Jay, sharing more about the writing of Take Me Home. You can also enter there for another chance to win a copy of the book. Just leave a comment on the post for a chance to win. The giveaway closes Tuesday, December 20 at 11:59 pm EST.

Happy Holidays!

Edited to add: Thanks guys for all your interest in reading Take Me Home. And for the wonderful comments about my writing and the rainbow awards. I have the best readers!!

Thanks again, everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

I’m thrilled to share that my third novel, Take Me Home, is now available for purchase in various e-book formats. You can pick up a copy at Loose Id or keep an eye on my site for links to other e-book stores such as Amazon and All Romance eBooks. I’ll add the links as the book become available at each site.

TAKE ME HOME: Ten years after their one and only night in each other’s arms, best friends finally give in to passion and new sexual roles while trapped in a blizzard as they head home for the holidays.

I hope everyone who picks up a copy enjoys this holiday friends-to-lovers story. Have a happy holiday season and a beautiful, healthy new year!