Friday Excerpt: True Stories
A friend pointed out recently that people are really fascinated by true stories. He suggested that I might want to think about sharing more of my real experiences with my audience and not just my fiction. I thought that was a great idea. I do get emails and other messages from people curious about my real life and what role disability has played in it. Where do I get the knowledge and confidence to write about disabled characters? Are my novels based on real life? So I picked six stories from my real dating life to showcase in an eBook called True Tales: Encounters with Disabled Men. Here is an excerpt from one of the stories… ### I liked New Jersey a lot. He was a classic nice guy. Soon after we started IMing, he mentioned that he worked for an airline...
Read MoreFriday Excerpt: Coworker Crush
I’ve excerpted from this story before, but that was when it was still in progress. It is finished and on sale now. My first blind lead! *** The next morning I go into work early. When I open the door, the room is dark. No one has come in yet to turn on the lights. But then I see the back of Adam’s head outlined as my eyes adjust. My hand is already outstretched towards the light switch, but I stop. Instead of turning it on, I put down my purse and walk in the dark towards Adam’s desk. I reach out and touch his shoulder and he places a hand over mine. “Careful,” he says. “There’s no one else here,” I said, leaning into his back, resting my forehead between his shoulder blades. His hand tightens on mine. “In that...
Read MoreFriday Excerpt: From a new book collection
Paradevo.net is working on putting out a second collection of short stories. The first, Paradox, is 400 pages from a variety of dev authors (and it just made its debut on Kindle, where it is free until tomorrow!) I’ve submitted a story called Faster for the second collection. It will not be appearing anywhere else. Here is an excerpt from it… In the next weeks, my family wanted to talk about it endlessly. Mom, dad, and Melanie wanted to change what had happened with the spell of words. Eric’s neck was broken. Just one simple moment, a freak accident, and his body was damaged beyond any repair. A sunny day and a person out of control of a golf cart and Eric’s life was as different as it was possible to be. I pretended I didn’t care so...
Read MoreFriday Excerpt – A short story in progress
This month I’ve been working on short stories, looking to get a collection together for a new Dev Dreams edition. This one will have more explicit stories. As well as being part of the collection, the stories are going to be available individually as well (and a couple of them already are). This is one I’m working on and hope to have finished very soon. It’s a little different from my usual fare. This one has a blind hero. Here is a brief excerpt: ### Word Count: 370### When I like a guy, I have one trick up my sleeve. The only thing I know to do to get his attention. I invite him to hang out at my place to watch a movie. I sit on the couch next to him and I hope for the best. This has never led to something before, but I keep thinking that...
Read MoreFriday Excerpt: Elizabeth Gives Up
Another excerpt from the new novel Breath(e) Word Count: 477 ### Susan opened her mouth to keep arguing, but Elizabeth guided her out the door with one hand on her mother’s arm, and shut it behind her. This would make Susan happy. Giving up was the best option. It would get her mother to stop complaining. Elizabeth would just stop dating. Lots of people did it and lived their lives without a partner. She could see her future. Alone. She would be the cool “aunt” to her cousins’ children. She’d have an apartment, dedicate herself to work, enjoy late nights watching YouTube videos and touching herself. She lowered her head and smacked her forehead against the closed door. It wasn’t what she wanted. Not that anyone cared what she wanted. Maybe...
Read MoreFriday Excerpt: From New Book
A scene from my just-published novel Breath(e). Word Count: 436 Later that week Ethan and Elizabeth worked side by side in the red-tinged darkness. They worked well as a team immediately. Each time Elizabeth needed something, it seemed Ethan was already prepared with whatever it was. She passed him dripping wet papers and he hung them on the drying line. He let her hand brush against his as she handed them to him and she felt an energy sizzling between them. Her lower body felt like it was slowly melting, a candle dripping from the flame of attraction. She could hardly mix the chemicals correctly because she didn’t want to take her eyes off him. All she could think about was wrapping her arms around his waist, pushing him against a wall and pressing her lips on...
Read MoreProgress Trackers
At proofreaders; available for pre-order
What Is Meant To Be
Second draft
Homework & Homicide (working title)
Second Draft
Book Montage
RFW winner October 7, 2011
