When Life Catches Up

Photo by Child Is A Rebel

I have not entirely fallen off the face of the earth, I promise.

I've just finished writing a free short that will go up on the Goodreads M/M Romance group in another month. I'll announce that here when it's live. Eventually it will be available to download for free, but at first the only way to read it will be to join the Goodreads group. There are over 100 stories, all for free, just this year alone.

I have started outlining a revision of Sugar on the Asphalt, a short I sent in for an anthology call to Bottom Drawer Publishing earlier this year. That's the major project I'm working on right now. It needs a new title among other things.

At the same time I'm looking to move, change jobs, start surfing, get further into weight training, continue physical therapy for my shoulders, and I should have edits back for Spring Tide in the next month or so for Less Than Three Press.

I  have quite a few Alex/Lance blogs that are ready to post but unformatted. I have at least one advice column for Pen to Published ready. I also have a few very short pieces of fiction I'll be putting up in the next few weeks just to shake things up. I just need to carve out some time to format and get those posts up here!

I know I left my spare time-turner around here somewhere.

Twitter: The Social Network Your Mother Warned You About

Original photo by Anonymous

For a long time I didn't really get it. What could you possibly say in 140
characters that someone would be willing to listen to? I already regretted joining facebook, all my former high school "friends" wanted to reconnect but all they ever talked about was what crap they ate for dinner and why couldn't they loose any weight. Condense that into 140 characters and it doesn't suddenly become interesting. 

So for a while I drifted around twitter without actually committing. When I did jump on the ship it was after finding [this list] of twitter chats for writers. Well if writers are on twitter talking about writing, I wanted to be a part of it.

Twitter is largely a bipolar tool. On the one hand it's tailored around a character count so small that you deliberately cannot engage two people in a deep and meaningful conversation. It almost wants you to shout into the abyss instead of engaging people in a personal way.

On the other, as a crowd voice box and under the lens of mob mechanics, a very powerful conversation can be had at the speed of Internet. News of an earthquake will span the globe faster than the physical earthquake. There's something very awesome about that.

Twitter Solo

• Post updates of writing progress
• Ask questions of experts
• Post witty writing excerpts
• Small talk with other writers
• Congratulations and condolences
• Keep an eye on publishing houses and agents

Twitter Groupo

Encountering a twitter chat for the first time can be overwhelming. If you follow along in real time you may not be able to read fast enough to even follow what's going on in the discussion. It only takes about five excited people to get a conversation going so fast you can't get a word in edge-wise. Add a decent moderator with some prepared questions to keep the discussion on track and you can easily be swamped. 

There are a few different ways to engage in a twitter chat: tweetdeck, twitchat, and the like are all designed around following a hashtag at a certain speed in order to facilitate extended conversation. One downside to twitter: the hivemind is always on. There isn't much going back and reading what happened yesterday or last week. Twitter is NOW so without a string of hashtag remarks to follow there's not a lot of organization.

So you've found a chat, you know what the conversation is about. What now? Just jump in! The best upside to twitter is how informal every relationship is. No one needs to be introduced to anyone else and comments are public so just start saying something! Pick a side in a debate or bring up a point in conversation, see who responds. Like what someone is saying? Retweet it. Don't forget to use the hashtag somewhere in your comment or the other folks in the chat won't see it. (Remember, they're following along the same way you are: tracking a hashtag.)

You'll find that others will bring up points faster than you can type them. This is a benefit! This conversation is between seven, twenty, maybe two hundred people. You can literally tap into a collective mind in a way simply not possible in other venues. Anyone can say anything all at the same time and you can choose if it's worth reading or not.

Some regular chats also transcript the event, so that comment about Twitter not having a past is only half-true. Some of these transcripts may be worth reading, but file that under blog work. :D 

Zodiac: Inception Pt. 57

Original photo by jGlidePhotoATL

This flash fiction is part of a series. Follow Alex Drake from the day he joins Zodiac, through the trials of basic training, broken and mended hearts, to the day he becomes Motocross, elite Scorpio sniper. 

Part 57

Warnings: D/s, sexual content

Alex woke the third time Lance slid his hard shaft deep inside. He was on his stomach, legs splayed, mid-moan when he returned to consciousness. It was early, but Alex couldn't imagine a better alarm clock. Why on earth had he waited so long to keep Lance overnight?

His erection throbbed against the mattress. Alex tucked his legs up and knelt on hands and knees. Lance gripped his hips. His thrusts slow and deep. "Hands on the wall." He grumbled.

Alex complied. He arched under the assault and groaned aloud. They hadn't done slow since Sean-- Alex stopped that thought and focused on his own breathy gasps.

Lance leaned in harder, "Yeah, let me hear you."

"You feel good."

Lance moved his hands down to the globes of Alex's ass. He spread his cheeks. "I like the way you take my cock."

Alex leaned back, "Faster."

"Beg."

"Please, I want you--"

"Say my name."

"Lance." Alex couldn't lean any further without his hands coming off the wall. He made a frustrated noise in his throat, "Please, Lance!"

He still didn't pick up the pace. His shaft drove deep and too slow. "Do you like waking up with my cock inside?"

"Yes!" Alex trembled, close but not enough.

"Do you want this to happen again?"

"God, yes."

"Then listen." Lance shoved his dick hard and held himself deep. "Yesterday you broke a rule. What was it?"

Oh, fuck. Alex shook, excited and just a little worried. "I came first."

"And what's my rule?"

"Don't come before you."

"So you know the rule, then?" Alex let out a shuddering breath. Lance leaned over him and dug his fingers into Alex's hips. "Answer me," he whispered.

Alex breathed, "Yes, I know the rule."

"This isn't the first time you've broken it, so I'm changing the rule. You don't get to come at all unless I say so." Lance slid his hand down across Alex's stomach and gripped his shaft and balls. "This? It belongs to me." 

He jacked his hand up and down across the head of Alex's cock. The tight friction worked him up fast and hard. Alex bucked up into Lance's hand, "Oh, oh, please, yes, please." Lance let go. "No!" Alex shot a hand down to his cock.

"Hands on the wall!" Lance barked.

Alex slapped it back up and snarled at the pillow. "Please, please, please, Lance." He begged earnestly now. "Fuck me. I'm so hard for you."

"And you're gonna stay that way." Lance pulled himself free and thrust so slowly back in Alex thought he might scream in frustration. "You broke my rule. Today, you don't get to come."

"Lance, please!"

"Ahh," Lance laughed as he groaned, "First, I'm going to take your ass here on the bed." And he did so. Slowly.

Alex squirmed. Lance slapped his thigh. It wasn't gentle. The sound broke in the room and Alex whispered, "Fuck, yes."

"Afterward, we'll take a shower and I'll suck your dick while I jack off again." Lance ran his hand gently down Alex's back, a veneer over his wicked words. "Throughout the day I will find you and I will use you in one hole or another." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And maybe, if you're very good, I will wake you up tomorrow with my cock."

Alex whimpered. "Please, yes." Lance's voice stuck in his head. There was going to be a print on his thigh, he was sure. 

"Tomorrow you will beg me to let you come." Lance said.

"Yes." Alex breathed.

"Good. Sit up. Hands behind your head." Lance lay himself down as Alex assumed the requested position. He settled down on Lance, straddling him backwards. "Will you be good?" Lance stroked the length of Alex's thighs.

"Yes, Lance."

He reached up to hold Alex's threaded hands behind his head. His other hand gripped one thigh. "Ride me until I come."

--//--

Read more in this series every Monday at 9am.
Next: Part 58 or All Chapters

For more in the Zodiac world check out Closer Than Touch.

Buy It: $3.99 LT3Press: Here Smashwords: Here Amazon: Here B&N:Here All Romance: Here Rainbow: Here Weightless: Here Bookstrand: Here

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