Help! I met this guy but was it a date?

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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Edited to add: Scott Murphy is a fictional character from More Than Just a Good Book. His post and comments are meant to be a fun teaser of my work. I hope you enjoy reading this from Scott’s point-of-view.  -Sloan

Part 2 of My New Serial Novel Now Available

Those of you who follow the blog regularly may have seen last week that I finished editing part 2 of More Than Just a Good Book. Mark and Scott’s short story was the first fiction I shared on sloanparker.com, and I’m excited to continue their story in a serial novel.

You can now read part two or download both parts on my site. I’ll be announcing future installments via my newsletter.

I hope you enjoy reading more about Mark and Scott as they find out what else is better than a good book.

For those of you in the US, I hope you have a safe and fun 4th of July!

More Than Just a Good Book: Part Two

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

Editor Friend & Prof Guy

Check out the new book I just got: The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby

No, I’m not having a baby. I just get wickedly excited when I find a writing resource that’s a gem (at least for me).

Lately when it comes time to give my secondary characters their names, I’ve been drawing a blank, selecting the same ones over and over or not finding something that fits the character. For my current works in progress I had two secondary characters whom I affectionately called “Editor Friend” and “Prof Guy” for far too long. For a while I was afraid I’d get so dang used to “Editor Friend” and “Prof Guy” that I’d send it off to my editor like that. It was nice to finally pull out my baby name resources and search for actual names for these guys.

Lists that are organized or searchable in specific ways (by first letter, sounds like, meaning, popularity per year, etc.) are the most helpful. So far The Baby Name Wizard is the best naming book I’ve used, along with these websites:

BabyNames.com

Baby Names Finder

Baby Names World

Popular Baby Names

And for last names I almost always end up using a printed phone book.

For any writers who are interested, these links have also been added to my website on the Resources for Writers page.

I’m off to work on revisions for my next installment of More Than Just a Good Book. Hope you all have a great week!

New Free Short Story (The Break In) & Newsletter Info

Hey guys, hope you are all doing well. I’m back to blogging this week and am excited to share some news:

  • I have a new short story available on my website: The Break In. Billy’s been breaking into his ex-lover’s apartment every Friday night for a little solo sex in the bed they used to share. One night he almost gets caught before he has a chance to finish his usual routine and climb back out the window. Now he has only seconds to decide if he should hide and end up watching his ex have sex or run from the most erotic encounter of his life–and maybe a chance at love again.
  • I mentioned the short, as well as a few other updates, in my newly reformatted newsletter. If you aren’t on the mailing list you can view the newsletter online. If you’re interested in signing up to receive my latest news in your inbox, you can do so via this form. The newsletter will be published every other month or so and will include writing updates, release information, free fiction, and more.
  • Also coming soon is a serial story that I will share via my newsletter and on the blog. The first story will continue with my short More Than Just a Good Book. A new scene will be added with each newsletter publication, and after the last scene is shared, I’ll make the entire thing available as an ebook.  I will be writing the story one scene at a time, although I do already have an outline for the rest of Mark and Scott’s story.

If you check out The Break In, I hope you enjoy it. It was a fun one to write.
Sloan