Tag Archives: sloan parker

New Title & Draft Blurb for Take Me Home

Posted on by

A while back I mentioned that I had decided to rename my current work-in-progress, a friends-to-lovers story. Another m/m release had come out with the same title I was going to use, and I’d prefer to keep mine as unique as I can, at least within the same genre.

So I went back to the drawing board. Thanks to some brainstorming assistance from Connie and Patrice in my local writers’ group and Loose Id author Johnny Miles (who shared some lyrics that led me to my choice), I have settled on a new title: Take Me Home

Here’s a DRAFT blurb for Take Me Home
I’m still working on this story, so the description may change a bit.

Aspiring television writer Evan Walker has been in love with his best friend since they met in high school, but Kyle doesn’t do boyfriends. Never has. Never will. Evan knows it’s a bad idea to give in to desire when he wants more than a friend with benefits. He has a new dream job. Now all he needs is the dream partner to go with it.

Kyle Bennett is a mystery novelist with a severe case of writer’s block. He needs a change. He has two days on their cross-country train trip home for the holidays to figure out how to tell Evan he’s staying there for good. He also has to write the overdue pages for his editor. Only, he’s a little too distracted by the close quarters in their sleeper compartment — and Evan’s ass — to get much done.

The sparks that fly between them are hotter than ever. Good thing they have a real-life mystery to focus on: why people all around them want to get their hands on a journal that once belonged to Kyle’s grandfather.

When a blizzard traps them in the mountains, Kyle and Evan steam up the train’s windows and must finally face their true desires.

I’m expanding and revising the last third right now and it’s going really well. When that phase is wrapped up, I’ll be going back over the entire manuscript several times to do more detailed edits. I may end up having to change the title again, but for now I’m really liking Take Me Home. It fits Evan and Kyle, and their story.

And just for fun I took a picture of the manuscript (from the back so you can’t get a glimpse of all my red pen scribbles). If you look closely you can see my cat’s whiskers on the right. He’s been keeping an eye on me, making sure I stay on task.

(c) Sloan Parker 2011

 

I’ll keep you updated on the progress. The story takes place during the Christmas season, so I’m hoping it’ll be a 2011 holiday release. Fingers crossed.

Do you tumblr?

Posted on by

I joined tumblr the other day. Not that I needed another distraction from my writing, but this social networking site is not only a fun way to take a writing break, it also feeds the creative side of my brain with interesting visuals.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with tumblr, it’s a microblogging site where you can quickly share text, images, videos, links, quotes, and audio, as well as view the same from the people you follow. I became familiar with it from the lovely images shared by various people I follow on Twitter. I decided to join so I could share some of what inspires me and my writing. Please note: some of the images may be NSFW (not safe for work).

If you’re on tumblr, I’d love to see what you’re sharing. You can follow me at http://sloanparker.tumblr.com

Just joined the new ARe Cafe

Posted on by

Have you seen the new ARe cafe at All Romance eBooks? I’m still learning my way around, but it looks pretty neat. You can post a status, connect with friends, join groups with other readers, check out recommended reads, see what’s being reviewed, and integrate it with your Twitter and Facebook. There’s even an m/m group called Mmmm… M/M Romance. Here’s the groups description:

“Here is the place for lovers of m/m romance, from sweet to spicy, to discuss what’s hot now. Talk about your favorite manlove authors and recommend titles for readers new to M/M goodness!”

If anyone is a member of the cafe, I’d love to connect with you. Here’s a link to my profile. Feel free to send me a friend request.

It looks like a neat place for readers to hang out. Hope to see you there!

Sloan

Questions, questions, questions

Posted on by

The lovely Winona Wilder interviewed me on her blog today. I shared my thoughts about the popularity and availability of m/m, those pesky pronouns in an all-male romance, and more.

Also, I’m updating my website with a FAQs section. Stuff like…when is the next book due out, what titles do you have out and where, when will your books be out in print, how did you get started writing, etc. I’d love to hear any suggestions for other questions to add. Anything you want to know about me? Anything you want to know from authors in general?

Feel free to comment here or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks. Hope you have a happy hump day!
Sloan

Freedom! Finding Peace with My Work Schedule

Posted on by

(c) istockphoto, Anna Bryukhanova, 2007

After weeks of overworking and pushing myself too hard, I’m finally feeling good about my schedule again. I couldn’t sustain the effort and time I was spending on writing, writing-related activities, my other work, family obligations, and the activities of life in general. Every day of one week I did nothing but work from the moment I woke up until bed at 2 am. It was crazy.

I’m still working at least 10 or 12 hours a day, but I’ve been taking some much-needed time off in the evenings. And I have organized my office, my task list system, and how I manage my emails. I’m even getting caught up on a few things as time allows but not freaking over every little thing that doesn’t get done.

I’ve returned to a schedule that works for me. I write or edit in the morning. Then in the afternoons and early evenings I take care of emails, any writing-related business stuff, my freelance work, and try to do at least a bit of social networking or promotion-type activities. I’m really working hard to cut off for the night with some time before bed to spend with my sweetie (a priority for me this year), to read more, and to just have some non-writing fun.

It’s very freeing to find a schedule and organization system that fits me and how I work. Even though I’m still doing as much (and maybe more), I’m squeezing it into smaller amounts of time. I’ve found a tranquil acceptance of my schedule, my writing process, and how much I can reasonably produce in a year. I’m still a slow writer (or I should say re-writer), but I’m picking up the pace as I go.

I’m sure there will always be some level of stress (this is a tough business, after all), but having a more reasonable schedule as often as I can will help fuel the fire when I need it most.

And ultimately, my worst day writing is better than my best day at the old corporate job. There’s nothing I’d rather spend my time doing.

Thanks for listening,
Sloan