I've been friends with Carolyn since we were in short pants and catching tadpoles with Henry Robinson down by the old creek. Carolyn was my BFF even back then and she never said a word when I stole anything resembling chocolate from her lunchbox.
When we got a little older and moved from tadpoles to actually trying to catch Henry Robinson himself, we remained BFFs. We used to experiment with make-up together and sneak out late at night, rolling our skirts at the waists to make them shorter and hanging down at the Tastee-Freez while hoping to catch the eye of an innappropriate Bad Boy.
When Henry Robinson left juvie for the second time and then deflowered Carolyn in the back seat of the family station wagon, I was the first person Carolyn told, and the fifth person that Henry told. It was unfortunate that Henry never learned the meaning of discretion and therefore caused Carolyn the shame of being known as "that loose Bama hussy."
But it didn't change our friendship, at all. I still stole all her chocolate and Carolyn still pretended to ignore it.
In college we drifted apart for awhile. I joined the local chapter of Students for Purity and Carolyn pledged Sigma Delta Slut. We shared the occasional English class and teacher's assistant but our heady days as BFFs seemed to be over.
It was in our junior year that things changed. I discovered that male students who studied poetry were better at cunnilingus than any of the Purity students and soon I became a Slut too.
After college we went to different places at different times but always found our way back together. All it's ever taken is Carolyn calling and saying "chocolate covered praline" and I'm right there.
We went through our divorces together, our illicit affairs and out of wedlock babies. I stood by Carolyn when she tried a sex change for shits and giggles and then when my attraction to her turned scary, when she changed back. We've stalked ex-boyfriends together, done mushrooms together and owned a pizzeria for awhile.
It's just who we are. And I still steal her chocolate.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Writing the Porn
I'm trying to write porn. Honest to Gawd, penis/vagina, wet and sloppy with every act described in loving detail porn.
I'd rather shoot myself in the face.
There is nothing quite as tedious as writing a penis and a vagina and the things they do. Because ultimtely the act itself isn't half as interestiing as the things that lead up to it.
So why am I doing it? Because I want to write a specific story for a specific line at a specific publisher. And it needs to be porn.
Gads, might make me swear off sex forever.
I'd rather shoot myself in the face.
There is nothing quite as tedious as writing a penis and a vagina and the things they do. Because ultimtely the act itself isn't half as interestiing as the things that lead up to it.
So why am I doing it? Because I want to write a specific story for a specific line at a specific publisher. And it needs to be porn.
Gads, might make me swear off sex forever.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Interview with Lila Mae Johnson, owner and operator of Lila's Cut and Shear
With Song of Life, we have a small town, a younger man (Cas) and older woman (Sunny) who must face teir pasts, their future and a town of watchful eyes.
To get the full and true picture of events that unfolded, the best place to go is the beauty parlor. and that would be Lila's Cut and Shear. So we introduce Lila Mae Johnson who has agreed to answer a few of our questions.
You've lived in Nevis for all your life. Did you always know Sunny?
Heavens, child, we went to school together. Took the bus from Nevis to Eufala every day. 'Course, there wasn't much socializing 'tween whites and blacks back then, at least not in public. Even though the schools had been integrated. But Sunny never really cared about all that. More'n once she embarrassed me by taking the seat beside me and talking about the fish we'd caught or some such thing. My mama worked at the Crossroad and old Mr. Douglas let us live in one of the rooms in the basement. Sunny and me did a lot of hiking and even more talking, but it wasn't something I wanted known.Things were different back then. Folks complain nowadays, but I'm here to tell you it's better than it was.
You knew Sunny and Jim her husband. What was the general impression of them around town?
Oh, Jim Douglas, he was the local Prince Charming. Even at school in Eufala, he stood out from the other boys. I'll always maintain it was that hair of his. Pure waste if you ask me. He always kept it covered with a cap unless they was singing the national anthem. A woman would have killed for hair that color. Sunny made a decent princess too, being blond and all, but gradually it become known she was more than a princess, she'd grown into a queen. Now Jim, he stayed Prince Charming, and for sure he could charm the socks off even the men. But that don't put bread on the table, does it?
When did you first notice Cas?
Let's see now, when did I first notice Cas ... reckon it was the first day he come to town. It was early, but I open early, don't see the need to be keeping those fancy city hours. He's a fine looking man, makes a woman wish she was younger, you know? Sunny probably wished that too, but Cas, he don't care nothing about her age, he just loves her. He's a good man, just like my Stan.
What was the general consensus about this young, good looking stranger?
Only one set against him was Ennis and Ida Ratcliff. Ennis, he likes to jump to conclusions and Ida mostly parrots what her brother says without thinking it through. 'Course Wayland Edwards didn't like Sunny taking up with Cas one bit. He'd talked himself into believing Sunny was his woman, no matter what she said to him. Ain't it strange how one thing leads to another? But most folks liked Cas, he gave them no reason not to.
How did people first figure out that Sunny was losing her heart to this young man?
Couldn't say, I'm sure. Might of been when they went out to dinner at Mimi's. Brenda was their waitress and that woman could squeeze blood from a stone if it caught her interest and she was sure interested in Cas and Sunny.
When Cas's father, Jose Aguilar, came to town, how did you hear and what did you hear?
Didn't hear much. The man snuck into town and then he snuck back out and I never knew what happened til Crystal McLaren came rushing into my shop, saying Ennis done arrested Cas.
Did you have any idea that the events that occurred, would or could?
Ma'am, Nevis might be small, but you got southerners living here, decendents of soldiers, moonlighters and hunters. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Do you think the feelings of the town have changed toward Cas now?
Why sure. I don't think anyone was real set against Cas in the first place, except maybe Ida Ratcliff, because everyone knows Ennis is an idiot.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I've lived awhile and I'm hoping I'll be living a good while more. I seen people fall in love - I got a husband of my own that I love to death. But I ain't never seen nothing like what happened between Sunny and Cas. I never seen two people fit each other better. It's like they grew up together, known each other all their lives. Never seen anything like it. Gives me faith in human kind, it does. Sure does.
To get the full and true picture of events that unfolded, the best place to go is the beauty parlor. and that would be Lila's Cut and Shear. So we introduce Lila Mae Johnson who has agreed to answer a few of our questions.
You've lived in Nevis for all your life. Did you always know Sunny?
Heavens, child, we went to school together. Took the bus from Nevis to Eufala every day. 'Course, there wasn't much socializing 'tween whites and blacks back then, at least not in public. Even though the schools had been integrated. But Sunny never really cared about all that. More'n once she embarrassed me by taking the seat beside me and talking about the fish we'd caught or some such thing. My mama worked at the Crossroad and old Mr. Douglas let us live in one of the rooms in the basement. Sunny and me did a lot of hiking and even more talking, but it wasn't something I wanted known.Things were different back then. Folks complain nowadays, but I'm here to tell you it's better than it was.
You knew Sunny and Jim her husband. What was the general impression of them around town?
Oh, Jim Douglas, he was the local Prince Charming. Even at school in Eufala, he stood out from the other boys. I'll always maintain it was that hair of his. Pure waste if you ask me. He always kept it covered with a cap unless they was singing the national anthem. A woman would have killed for hair that color. Sunny made a decent princess too, being blond and all, but gradually it become known she was more than a princess, she'd grown into a queen. Now Jim, he stayed Prince Charming, and for sure he could charm the socks off even the men. But that don't put bread on the table, does it?
When did you first notice Cas?
Let's see now, when did I first notice Cas ... reckon it was the first day he come to town. It was early, but I open early, don't see the need to be keeping those fancy city hours. He's a fine looking man, makes a woman wish she was younger, you know? Sunny probably wished that too, but Cas, he don't care nothing about her age, he just loves her. He's a good man, just like my Stan.
What was the general consensus about this young, good looking stranger?
Only one set against him was Ennis and Ida Ratcliff. Ennis, he likes to jump to conclusions and Ida mostly parrots what her brother says without thinking it through. 'Course Wayland Edwards didn't like Sunny taking up with Cas one bit. He'd talked himself into believing Sunny was his woman, no matter what she said to him. Ain't it strange how one thing leads to another? But most folks liked Cas, he gave them no reason not to.
How did people first figure out that Sunny was losing her heart to this young man?
Couldn't say, I'm sure. Might of been when they went out to dinner at Mimi's. Brenda was their waitress and that woman could squeeze blood from a stone if it caught her interest and she was sure interested in Cas and Sunny.
When Cas's father, Jose Aguilar, came to town, how did you hear and what did you hear?
Didn't hear much. The man snuck into town and then he snuck back out and I never knew what happened til Crystal McLaren came rushing into my shop, saying Ennis done arrested Cas.
Did you have any idea that the events that occurred, would or could?
Ma'am, Nevis might be small, but you got southerners living here, decendents of soldiers, moonlighters and hunters. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Do you think the feelings of the town have changed toward Cas now?
Why sure. I don't think anyone was real set against Cas in the first place, except maybe Ida Ratcliff, because everyone knows Ennis is an idiot.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I've lived awhile and I'm hoping I'll be living a good while more. I seen people fall in love - I got a husband of my own that I love to death. But I ain't never seen nothing like what happened between Sunny and Cas. I never seen two people fit each other better. It's like they grew up together, known each other all their lives. Never seen anything like it. Gives me faith in human kind, it does. Sure does.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wow!
This has really been an excellent birthday week! Not only for the release of Song of Life, but I also received the cover for Mariposa, my next release. I think it's beautiful, what do you think?
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Discrimination is Alive and Well
I want to announce I will not be entering any of my books into the More Than Magic contest, run by Romance Writers Ink, a chapter of RWA.
Okay, the truth is I wasn't going to enter anyway, because I've never heard of these folks. It might be my loss, but somehow I don't think so.
You see, RWI took a big step backward and are busily discriminating against a certain genre of romance writers.
From Courtney Milan's blog:
Apparently, it’s possible for the MTM contest to get entrants’ books in the hands of diverse judges from multiple RWA chapters who are comfortable with all types of romances and heat levels. You can write M/F erotica. You can write M/M/F. You can write about aliens from another planet who have tentacles, or barbed sexual organs. You can write degrading rapes. None of those things are barred from entry in the More than Magic contest, and if you write them, they’ll try to find judges who are predisposed to like your books.
But they won’t do that if you write same sex romance–even if it’s a sweet romance with no sexual contact whatsoever. No–when it comes to same sex romance, the fact that they might be able to identify judges in their chapter or outside of it who would be willing to read same sex entries and judge them fairly somehow becomes irrelevant. In that instance, the majority gets to say that those entries don’t belong.
http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2012/02/04/dont-enter-more-than-magic/
Courtney's solution? Hop on over there yourself and find out. She says it much better than I ever could. :-)
Okay, the truth is I wasn't going to enter anyway, because I've never heard of these folks. It might be my loss, but somehow I don't think so.
You see, RWI took a big step backward and are busily discriminating against a certain genre of romance writers.
From Courtney Milan's blog:
Apparently, it’s possible for the MTM contest to get entrants’ books in the hands of diverse judges from multiple RWA chapters who are comfortable with all types of romances and heat levels. You can write M/F erotica. You can write M/M/F. You can write about aliens from another planet who have tentacles, or barbed sexual organs. You can write degrading rapes. None of those things are barred from entry in the More than Magic contest, and if you write them, they’ll try to find judges who are predisposed to like your books.
But they won’t do that if you write same sex romance–even if it’s a sweet romance with no sexual contact whatsoever. No–when it comes to same sex romance, the fact that they might be able to identify judges in their chapter or outside of it who would be willing to read same sex entries and judge them fairly somehow becomes irrelevant. In that instance, the majority gets to say that those entries don’t belong.
http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2012/02/04/dont-enter-more-than-magic/
Courtney's solution? Hop on over there yourself and find out. She says it much better than I ever could. :-)
Song of Life Excerpt
An Excerpt from Song of Life. Boss's orders. ;-)
Sunny left Cas sitting on the couch and retired to the kitchen to start the coffee perking. If there was one thing she’d learned about Cas over the past weeks, it was that he loved his coffee. She returned to take a seat beside him, but still she didn’t speak. She waited.
Cas looked over at her; his lips curved up in a smile. “I sang,” he said, sounding like he still couldn’t believe it.
“You did, and very well too,” Sunny responded.
“I sang,” he repeated.
“How did it feel?” she asked, curious.
“Did you see the Father’s eyes?” he asked, as if she hadn’t spoken. “That damn priest is uncanny. I’d swear his eyes were glowing. It was like he burned a hole through whatever was inside me, made an opening and it all came out. It just came out without me even thinking about it.”
“But how do you feel? Are you okay with it?”
“I’m more than okay, I feel…liberated. Sounds hokey I know, but I didn’t realize until that moment how much was pent up inside me. I feel light.” He laughed and Sunny had to smile with him. His laugh was deep, light hearted, so completely happy.
“I’m glad,” she said simply and laid her hand over his. “I’ll get your coffee. This calls for a celebration.”
He turned his hand and grasped hers, holding her in her seat. “It needs more than coffee to celebrate. How long is a courtship supposed to take anyway?”
“Well now, let me see. You took me out to dinner...”
“Three times,” he emphasized.
“A corndog at the Cornucopia doesn’t count,” she protested, trying her best not to grin.
“Okay, twice then, but snacks ought to count too.”
“All right, I’ll give you the corndog. This is a small town, not many places to eat. Now where was I? Oh yes, you’ve fed me and you did bring me flowers.”
“Mrs. McGregor’s probably sorry she met me. I think I’ve stripped her garden.”
“It’s her own fault. Where’d she hear about this courting thing anyway? Lila’s, that’s where, and she was just being nosy.”
“No, I think she was being kind. She was excited. Sunny, you don’t realize how people feel about you in this town. They want you to be happy.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Do I make you happy?”
“Good Lord, where’d you learn that? You’ve been watching too much TV.”
“Cottage doesn’t have TV. I made it up all on my own.”
He grinned and her insides did a slow melt. The green was blossoming in his eyes, a sure sign his emotions were involved. One black brow was raised, giving him a roguish look. Two dimples had popped out and his smile was so beautiful. The masculinity of his dark face with its high cheekbones was emphasized by the curls framing it, of so dark a black that they gleamed with highlights. Unthinking, she put up her free hand and brushed the curls off his forehead. He caught the hand in his and now he held both her hands, his grasp warm and strong.
“A gift, I haven’t given you a gift.”
“I don’t need gifts, Cas. You couldn’t give me anything that would mean more than…”
Her voice faded as he released her hands and removed the Celtic cross from around his neck.
“No,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “I’ve loved three women in my life,” he said in a louder voice, fumbling behind her neck to fasten the chain. “And two of them belong to this, or it belonged to them. However you want to look at it. I want you to have it. I love you, Sunny and right now it’s all I have to give you. Besides my heart, and I think that’s always belonged to you.”
“Oh, Cas.” She felt overwhelmed and teary. “You do know how to court a woman.”
“Good. It’s something you don’t want too much practice with.”
Sunny left Cas sitting on the couch and retired to the kitchen to start the coffee perking. If there was one thing she’d learned about Cas over the past weeks, it was that he loved his coffee. She returned to take a seat beside him, but still she didn’t speak. She waited.
Cas looked over at her; his lips curved up in a smile. “I sang,” he said, sounding like he still couldn’t believe it.
“You did, and very well too,” Sunny responded.
“I sang,” he repeated.
“How did it feel?” she asked, curious.
“Did you see the Father’s eyes?” he asked, as if she hadn’t spoken. “That damn priest is uncanny. I’d swear his eyes were glowing. It was like he burned a hole through whatever was inside me, made an opening and it all came out. It just came out without me even thinking about it.”
“But how do you feel? Are you okay with it?”
“I’m more than okay, I feel…liberated. Sounds hokey I know, but I didn’t realize until that moment how much was pent up inside me. I feel light.” He laughed and Sunny had to smile with him. His laugh was deep, light hearted, so completely happy.
“I’m glad,” she said simply and laid her hand over his. “I’ll get your coffee. This calls for a celebration.”
He turned his hand and grasped hers, holding her in her seat. “It needs more than coffee to celebrate. How long is a courtship supposed to take anyway?”
“Well now, let me see. You took me out to dinner...”
“Three times,” he emphasized.
“A corndog at the Cornucopia doesn’t count,” she protested, trying her best not to grin.
“Okay, twice then, but snacks ought to count too.”
“All right, I’ll give you the corndog. This is a small town, not many places to eat. Now where was I? Oh yes, you’ve fed me and you did bring me flowers.”
“Mrs. McGregor’s probably sorry she met me. I think I’ve stripped her garden.”
“It’s her own fault. Where’d she hear about this courting thing anyway? Lila’s, that’s where, and she was just being nosy.”
“No, I think she was being kind. She was excited. Sunny, you don’t realize how people feel about you in this town. They want you to be happy.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Do I make you happy?”
“Good Lord, where’d you learn that? You’ve been watching too much TV.”
“Cottage doesn’t have TV. I made it up all on my own.”
He grinned and her insides did a slow melt. The green was blossoming in his eyes, a sure sign his emotions were involved. One black brow was raised, giving him a roguish look. Two dimples had popped out and his smile was so beautiful. The masculinity of his dark face with its high cheekbones was emphasized by the curls framing it, of so dark a black that they gleamed with highlights. Unthinking, she put up her free hand and brushed the curls off his forehead. He caught the hand in his and now he held both her hands, his grasp warm and strong.
“A gift, I haven’t given you a gift.”
“I don’t need gifts, Cas. You couldn’t give me anything that would mean more than…”
Her voice faded as he released her hands and removed the Celtic cross from around his neck.
“No,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “I’ve loved three women in my life,” he said in a louder voice, fumbling behind her neck to fasten the chain. “And two of them belong to this, or it belonged to them. However you want to look at it. I want you to have it. I love you, Sunny and right now it’s all I have to give you. Besides my heart, and I think that’s always belonged to you.”
“Oh, Cas.” She felt overwhelmed and teary. “You do know how to court a woman.”
“Good. It’s something you don’t want too much practice with.”
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sing a Little Song
His name is Cas and he's been running from an abusive, sociopathic father.
Her name is Sunny and her life has been at a standstill for years.
In the town of Nevis, framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains, two people come together and must face their pasts if they wish to make a future. Will a small town accept this young drifter who has captured the widow's heart? And will the violent explosion of his past catching up with him, tear apart the only happiness he's known?
Releases on Monday.
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