Preview of TAKE ME HOME

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.

Top Ten Things I Learned Writing My Latest Gay Romance

(c) istockphoto.com, palantir 2006

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.

Behind the Story: Another song for Kyle & Evan

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.

(c) istockphoto, kupicoo 2010

(c) istockphoto.com, Yuri 2009

Best. Description. Ever.

When I first started working on Take Me Home, I described the overall idea to my partner. She gave me her opinion and asked a few questions that helped me come up with additional ideas for the resolution of the plot.

It’s been a while since I first told her the idea, so when we were talking the other day about my progress, I was curious how much she recalled. Here’s how the conversation went…

Me: Do you remember how the story ends?

Her: “Yes, they stay together.”

Me: “Well, yeah, it’s a romance. But do you know what happens in the last scene?”

Her: “Uh…” Then she gave her best guest: “They have the butt sex.”

I cracked up laughing. Always nice to know your significant other is paying attention in such great detail. *grin*

Quote I Love: First Time

I love reading about first times. Stories of first love, new love, or old friends taking a chance on more. The last four lines of this quote remind me of Kyle from Take Me Home, my current work-in-progress. He’s at the point in his life where he has to make a decision: accept what he’s feeling and move forward, or lose the person who means everything to him. I’m enjoying taking these men on a journey of firsts as they explore a new, but long-desired aspect of their relationship.

“We’re both looking for something
That we’ve been afraid to find
It’s easier to be broken
It’s easier to hide
Looking at you, holding my breath,
For once in my life, I’m scared to death
I’m taking a chance, letting you inside.”

Lyrics from First Time by Lifehouse