June 17, 2010 (Yeah...the date? When I actually wrote this post. LOL *sigh*)
Ugh, real life went insane again. Okay, not really real life itself, more like I had the insane urge to clean up my yard/garden/landscaping crap around the house.
Needless to say it's taking WAY longer than I thought it would. But something great did come out of all the hoeing, weeding, pruning, transplanting stuff…lots and lots of head time with characters. Seriously. I sometimes forget how being occupied with something else can open up the floodgates of creativity.
Imagine how many awesome ideas I can come up with when I hit my next project:
Cleaning and organizing the garage. LOL
And that's enough about Skye's real world. Let's head on back to the Imaginary Universe. I promised to begin sharing some details of what I'm currently working on and I'm thrilled to get started.
I'm hoping to give some info about each project…like whether it's a single title, part of an anthology or series, a shorter novella or a full blown novel. But first, I should probably talk about ratings. Here's a quick description of mine:
Tame – Sex? What sex?
Sensual – The sex isn't overly explicit
Spicy – Sex is pretty smokin'
Super Hot – Pretty explicit, no holds barred, head board banging sexy sex.
With those in mind, I also tend to be all over the map with what I write and sometimes what I think will be a tame type of story can take a turn for the wild and end up going Super Hot. So keep that in the back of your head as you follow updates on the WIPs. :D
And now for the fun part!
Here are some deets on an Almost Ready for Prime Time manuscript. What the hell is that? Quick definition: it's a complete manuscript, more or less in final draft mode. I have four wonderful chicas who screen my work and tell me whether it's good to go or if it sucks balls and needs major revisions. (I need to do a post on these truly wonderful women and come up with a kick ass name for my awesome group. :D )
Anyway, I have one more screener I'd like to get this one out to before I start the submission process.
So, here goes…
Almost Ready for Prime Time Manuscript #1
Down in Mexico
Rating: Spicy
How it came about:
This idea came from a brainstorming session with another writer. We started kicking around ideas and throwing them up against the wall to see what stuck. The general idea sprouted around a reunion between soul mates and the rest unfolded from there.
The process:
Heh…honestly, I usually use an outline when I write and I used to be almost religious about it, but this manuscript blew that out of the water. The entire thing basically came to me in scenes and I found it liberating and frustrating at the same time.
I know…go figure.
I literally had the reunion scene written for months before the rest of the story mapped itself out. And it was a kinda smudged up map at that. In the end, though, I'm pretty pleased with how everything finally came together.
This one is a contemporary novella length book and probably a single title. The sages haven't planted any additional seeds for a continuation.
Now let's meet Kiernan Darby and Lars Rademacker.
Kiernan had a meandering childhood. Her parents pulled up stakes and moved on a regular basis. She got to see the world, but yearned for a place to call home. After her parents died in a boating accident she took on work customizing boats and doing freelance diving jobs.
Eventually she bit off more than she could handle and got in way over her head.
Lars entered the military as soon as he was of age. He signed on the dotted line and never looked back. He honed his skills, followed orders and eventually earned a spot on the most covert black ops team in existence. He went into places no one else would enter and took down criminals no one else could touch.
He was an expert at getting others to do what was necessary to help him out.
So… Kiernan and Lars meet under intense circumstances. She's working for a group called EDGE, but she doesn't know it. Lars is on their trail and Kiernan is his way in.
They weren't supposed to fall in love, but they did. They formed a connection and made plans, but an extreme series of events tore them apart and now five years later they have another chance.
Can they risk it? Or will an outside force intervene once again?
Here's a sneaky peek…(unedited of course.)
Kiernan Darby had spent five long years on her own.
She'd built up a solid clientele at her diving school -- tucked away from the truly touristy parts of Mexico -- and she restored boats on the side. Sailboats…nothing with engines. And she kept a low profile about that…she couldn't afford to draw the wrong kind of attention to herself.
There was a reason she disappeared without a trace and needed it to stay that way.
Flat on her back, refinishing the hull of a sadly neglected thirty-two footer, Kiernan could see through the decay to the beauty it could be again and hummed along to some salsa music blaring from the radio. Maybe her sixth sense kicked in…or plain old self-preservation but she looked sideways through the stripped-to-the-studs, bottom of her shed to see a pair of bare feet--bare male feet--making their way toward her.
The eerie feeling staying with her, she scooted out from under the boat, slowly and quietly, keeping those incredibly awesome legs within her sight. She stepped toward the open bay door, her gun a quick grab away, and was shocked speechless by what she saw.
Sort of saw. The sun glared behind, but she had no trouble making out the bad Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned to show a glimpse of the buff male form underneath, nor did she miss the beat up denim cargo shorts, complete with frayed hems.
The hair threw her. Long and shaggy, the trade winds had created a mad-scientist type look that warred with the aviator shades hiding the rest of his face.
Even with all that, she knew who it was. Time hung, and the hand that hovered close to the hidden gun quickly dropped to her side as his name hissed out on a breath. "Lars."
He took a step toward her, but stopped just short of touching her. "Hey." The grin that lit his face had one of her own answering back.
"Hey." Her eyes squinting, she watched him remove his shades and toss them over his shoulder.
"Everyone believes you're dead." His hand lifted, but stopped, like he wasn't sure she was actually there. "I thought you were dead."
"I am dead." And she had to stay that way.
He finally broke down and reached for her hand, holding it in his, his thumb making circular motions over her skin. The look in his eyes, those wicked, wonderful blue eyes, took her breath away. The naked expression was her undoing and as usual…they communicated without speaking.
Five years.
Yeah.
Why?
You know why.
It sucks.
Yeah.
I thought…
I know…you had to.
Or he would've spent all his time looking for her instead of the people who 'killed' her.
They both knew it.
A ghost of a smile hit his eyes.
But not anymore.
No?
No. It's safe. You're safe.
Kiernan almost buckled, her relief so palpable. "So…it worked." She waited a beat. "Took you guys long enough."
Lars laughed. And it was wonderful to hear. She'd missed that almost more than anything else.
"It wasn't easy chasing down everyone in that little operation."
She could only imagine. And she didn't want to know how many they'd lost doing so. It would make her depressed.
She smiled instead…because she hadn't lost him. "God, it's good to see you." She tugged Lars forward and wrapped her arms around him.
He was solid. Real. Here.
They were free.
It finally hit her.
Free.
To be together.
And she wanted him. Needed him.
Now.
Right this moment.
~~*~~
Right this moment. Whew. LOL
I hope you enjoyed meeting Lars and Kiernan. I'd love to get a dialog started on this manuscript, so please, if you have any questions…ask away.
Until the next Skye Post…
Catch everyone on the flip!
~Skye~
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