Sloan Parker Blog

Hello everyone! I only have time for a quick post today, but I definitely wanted to share a link to a guest blog I wrote about music and my current manuscript (Walter and Kevin’s story).

My friend and lovely critique partner, Constance Phillips, who has her first release coming out with Crescent Moon Press later this year (Congrats, Constance!! So proud of you!!), was kind enough to give me a spot on her Character Playlist feature.

Stop by my post, Music of a Manuscript, to get a mini preview of Walter and Kevin’s story via some of the songs on the book’s playlist.

Also, keep an eye on my website for more about this story. I’ll be adding these and other videos for the rest of the playlist to my Behind the Story page, as well as more news and other behind-the-scenes details.

Have a good one!
Sloan

Check it out…my critique partner’s daughter made me this awesome trailer for Take Me Home. Thank you so much, Katelynn! It’s perfect for this story.

(If you can’t see the video, you can watch at YouTube)

I need to do these more often. I always have a great time picking out these fave excerpts from other authors of m/m romance. This one’s from a BDSM erotic historical by Ava March. A great series to start out with if you’ve been wanting to try reading BDSM.

“Love you,” Oliver whispered.

Vincent’s lips curved in a smile, his blue eyes softening with genuine affection. Oliver’s heart leapt into his throat, pleading for the response he knew Vincent would not utter. He wanted to hear those words just once. One time. Even if Vincent didn’t feel them. He could at least have the sound of them as a memory and play them over in head as he lay alone in his bed and pretend they had come from Vincent’s heart.

Vincent cupped his jaw. Eyes drifting closed, Oliver leaned into his touch. A quiver of need shook his body. Soft lips brushed his, the lightest of touches, a mere whisper of skin against skin. Then that large hand slipped away.

- From Bound to Him (Bound, #2) by Ava March

You can find out more about Ava’s work at www.avamarch.com

It’s official. I’ve signed a contract for TAKE ME HOME, my love story about two friends finding their way to what started 10 years before with one passionate night that ended too quickly. Tentative release date is December 13, 2011 from Loose Id. Sometimes Loose Id will adjust their schedule closer to the release date, but I’ll keep you posted if that happens.

Thanks to all who commented on the blog, sent an email, or have chatted with me on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere for your support while I was working on this manuscript.

This week and next I’m wrapping up writing TAKE ME HOME, so I thought I’d share a preview of Kyle and Evan’s story (tentatively scheduled for a December 2011 release).

This is an unedited excerpt from TAKE ME HOME

From the moment right before Kyle and Evan have their first kiss in ten years.

Evan shivered. Which made no sense. He was still warm from the run, the sweat on his skin not even dry yet.

Kyle took another step. Evan wanted him to stop. He wanted to shout all the reasons why this had to stop, even before it got started, wanted to tell Kyle not to move another inch.

He didn’t.

And Kyle didn’t stop coming at him until they were practically touching, Kyle staring down at him.

Evan tried to focus on Kyle’s words, on the news about the journal and his grandpa, but all he could think about was what he’d seen when he’d walked into the apartment: Kyle, all skin and taught muscles, wearing only his tight-as-sin white underwear, the briefs stretched over his cock, and the way Kyle had looked at him in the dim light of the hallway.

Just once. He’s leaving anyway. Evan closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. He looked up at Kyle again. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Kyle said the word with a slight curve of his lips. He took a step back and leaned against the wall, looking casual, like he was about to flirt with a bartender for a free drink. “After I read it, I was thinking about that night in the motel room in Iowa on our first drive out here.” He slowly turned his head in Evan’s direction. “Do you remember that night?”

Evan nodded.

“Do you ever think about it?” Kyle’s voice was barely a whisper.

Up until a few months ago, Evan hadn’t let himself, but since he’d moved in with Kyle… “Sometimes.”

“Like right now?”

“Yeah.”

Kyle slid along the wall, traveling the last remnants of space between them. “Ev, I’ve been waiting ten years to finish what we started.” He pushed off the wall and turned until they were face-to-face again, his dark eyes unflinching as he leaned in. He stopped before their lips touched. The heat of that mouth and body so close stoked the fire inside Evan.

His own body reacted, his cock pushing at his shorts. He wanted to shove Kyle against the wall and kiss him until morning, do everything he’d ever dreamed of when it came to touching Kyle, everything he ached to feel about the man.

The smile Kyle gave him next wasn’t the usual cocky one he’d used with countless guys over the years. He leaned in and slid his lips along Evan’s skin from the base of his neck to his earlobe leaving a trail of goose bumps in his wake. He lingered over Evan’s ear and whispered, “You smell so damn good. I want to fuck you, Ev.”

Evan shivered again. “We shouldn’t…” He couldn’t say more. Didn’t want to. The time for talking was over.

My latest short story “SWEPT AWAY” is now available to read at the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads. If you’re not a member you can also read it on my website or download a copy. (For those who are not members of the Goodreads group I recommend you check it out. It’s a great community for readers of m/m romance. Even if you don’t enjoy participating in book discussions there’s a lot of other entertaining and informative threads, even for lurkers, such as reading challenges, book giveaways, author release news, online retailer sales, and more.)

If you check out “SWEPT AWAY” I hope you enjoy it. It’s a romantic one dedicated to Sean who shared the photo and words that started Eddie and Mike’s story.

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.

Add it to your bookshelf

Thanks for checking it out.
Sloan

I don’t have it added to my site yet, but I just had to share my news. I finished the next installment for MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK featuring Mark and Scott. An excerpt and link for part two will be in the next issue of my newsletter, which will be sent out sometime this weekend. Then after that I’ll post the link on my site and here on the blog next week.

This story is both a gift to my readers and a way for me to explore a new writing process. I’ve never polished a story one chapter at a time, and so far this has been a fun, interesting change for me.

Here’s how the serial story will work:

• I’ve outlined a short novel (with at least 10 parts) for Mark and Scott. As I have time between my other writing projects, I’ll work on this story.
• As they are released, links to each installment will be available via my newsletter, website, and announced here on my blog.
• After I finish the last installment, I’ll go back through and do a final review/edit of the entire story as a whole.
• When complete, all installments of this serial story will be compiled into one ebook.

Again, I’ll be sending out the newsletter with the link to part two this weekend.

I hope you enjoy Mark and Scott’s story.

Have a good one!
Sloan

Finished revising and editing my latest short story (based on the picture above), and it’s off to my critique partner. There will probably be a few corrections/changes, but for the most part it’s done!

I have to say, I’m really happy with how quickly I wrote this one, as well as how the story turned out. I won’t share the title yet as the group at Goodreads is doing some fun stuff with guessing titles and character names.

In celebration of finishing it, I thought I’d give you guys a little preview.

Here’s a snippet:

I expected him to bend me over a piece of the matching wicker deck furniture, the table or maybe one of the oversize lounge chairs, but he didn’t. He smiled again. I hadn’t seen him smile this much in months. He looked like a dope with the silly grin and his dick rock hard. I didn’t care. It was a stunning combination.

“Race you,” he said, then jumped off the deck and ran onto the beach stark naked, heading for the water’s edge.

“Asshole,” I called out as I kicked off my shorts and shoes. I chased after him, laughing all the way to the water. He’d already made it in waist-high by the time I got there. He splashed me as I ran in. I lunged at him, and he let out a huge-ass giggle as I wrapped my arms around his chest from behind. A fucking giggle.

Wait. That hadn’t come from him. It was from me. His laugh still sounded like a guy his size normally would. It sounded great. I sounded like a kid running to get to the dodgeball first at recess. Maybe it was the sound of pure joy.

- From a new short story coming soon to the M/M Romance group at Goodreads and my website

Edited post on 7/1/11: revised the above except to incorporate final revisions.

I’m guest blogging at Loose Ends, talking about shorts (short stories, that is). Wondering if readers of m/m romances like reading shorts? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Wondering About Shorts

Thanks,
Sloan

I’m the guest at Tara Lain’s blog, sharing what I’ve learned from writing my two erotic romances, MORE and BREATHE. I’m also asking if you can tell when an author has passion (or not) for their story? Stop by and leave a comment. I’d love to hear what you think.

What I Learned Writing Two Erotic Romances

Thanks,
Sloan