Guest Blogger MA Church

Welcome back my good friend and fellow author MA Church! She's going to tell us about her participation in the Reluctant Romance anthology, and I'm also over at her place, talking about the same thing! Two for the price of one, eh?

Michelle, I hope you don't mind, I invited a few friends. They want to show their appreciation for our fiction  by dancing for us. While we get comfortable, why don't y'all go ahead and start.

Hey everyone! My name is M.A. Church, and I’m a new member of the Wednesday Briefers group. We’ve released two anthologies—an M/F called Reluctant Romance-Guys and Girls. http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-reluctantromanceguysandgirls-836958-144.html and an M/M anthology. I’m part of that one—Reluctant Romance-Guys and Guys.

In the story, Changing His Mind, my main character is Zane Davis. He’s very shy, and having been burned once by an ex-lover, he’s hesitant about jumping into another relationship. He has a very good reason for his feelings. Thanks to a vengeful ex outing him, he’s having problems at work.

I thought it would be fun to ask Zane a few question lol.

~So Zane, when Neil approached you at the pool had you noticed him before?

Zane: Are you kidding me? *Laugh* He’s hard to miss. And oh my God, he was the hottest guy at the pool. Plus, I noticed the looks he kept shooting my way—I just didn’t return them. When I’d get in the pool, he’d get in and follow me around. When I got out, he got out. Anytime he tried to talk to me I made an excuse and left.

Neil: And aren’t you glad I didn’t give up, babe? See, I knew he was avoiding me, but I’d seen how he looked at me, the interest in his eyes. I’m not exactly known for being subtle; I finally managed to pin him down and talk to him. He was checking out some M/M books on Amazon. If I remember correctly he was looking at a certain author I’m a huge fan of. We got to talking and I kinda tricked him into a date.

~Ah yes, the ‘non-date’ date I believe you called it, Zane. But still you went—why?

Zane: He didn’t give me much of a choice. *Rolls eyes* And honestly, there was a little part of me—just a little part, mind you—that wanted to go. But there was a much bigger part of me that was wary. My life was a mess at that point, thanks to an ex who outed me at my job. It wasn’t a known fact I was gay, and there were repressions from that. The last thing I needed was someone in my life, but Neil wouldn’t take no for an answer.

 ~Do you want to tell us about that?

Zane: Well, I don’t want to give the book’s plot away, but let’s say the ones giving me fits came around eventually. And well, some didn’t. My career took a hit, but I came through it okay.

Neil: Their loss, if you ask me. And all over whom he likes to sleep with. *shakes head* Which is me, by the way.

Zane: *laugh* You were like a bad penny, you kept turning up. Thank God.

~How are things now with you two?

Zane: Neil’s lease on his apartment came up, and we decided to move in together. Things are going good.

Neil: Which means he’s working all the time. I’m thinking he needs to take a vacation soon, maybe in October. I may have to check into that. Maybe drag him down to some cabins somewhere and have my way with him for a few days.

Zane: Oh my G—

Neil: *Laughs* You’re trying to stop saying that so much, remember, babe?

~Hmm, sounds like you may be plotting something, Neil.

Neil: *Big grin* Now that would be telling. But I will say check back with me in a few months, say in… October.

Zane: But, but, but… Neil! I have a deadline and—

Neil: Shhh. Remember the plot.

~*Laugh* Okay then, something to look forward to! Thanks, guys, for letting me interview you. We’ll be talking soon lol.

Neil: So, hadn’t you better get back to it? Last I looked you left Zane and me at an interesting point.

~M: *Blush* Um, yeah. Sorry about that. LOL.

Hope everyone enjoyed the little view into Zane and Neil’s relationship. There are a lot of great stories in both anthologies. I’ve had a blast reading through them! The Wednesday Briefers have another anthology planned for October, and my boys will be back for that. ;)

~M

M.A. Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football, racing, and spending time with her family on the lake.

But her most beloved hobby is reading. From an early age, she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later non-human and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her into the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would write a book.

By sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. A new world opened up and she fell in love. Thus the journey started. When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.

Visit her at:

 http://machurch00.blogspot.com

Buy Links:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-reluctantromanceguysandguys-836962-144.html

http://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Romance-Guys-Erotica-ebook/dp/B008D6HVY6/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1340388477&sr=1-10&keywords=Victoria+Blisse

Thanks for stopping by, Michelle, now let's get this party started!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Guest Blogger Sara York

Today please welcome my friend, fellow author, and fellow Wednesday Briefer Sara York, who's going to tell you a little bit about the latest Bigger Briefs anthology. Have a seat, Sara, I'll make something to drink, and you can go ahead and start.

I love writing short stories. Recently the Wednesday Brief’s crew has taken to writing shorts. My first short experience with the Wednesday group was a twisted tale of another time when passions and emotions were suppressed by the government for hundreds of years before the government changed its mind and allowed the people to stop taking the drugs. The Passion Bringers were created to help people learn to feel. You can find Passion Bringers in Wicked Watchers: Looking at the Lads.

In Reluctant Romance: Guys and Guys my tale is a gut wrenching story of Brad and Rick who keep Missing Love. Of course the pain and agony of losing the one man Brad thought would bring him happiness is only soothed when Rick takes over.

The attraction and love in short stories may come about quickly, but there is no less emotion at play. Working in the emotions with small clues is paramount. I love getting my characters to that place, where they can’t help but tumble into a relationship. Where there is something so desperate, so amazing, or so devastating that they turn to another, maybe they see something different and bam, they are in love.

Love is one of those qualities the is so hard to know why it happens. Attraction happens. People try to pinpoint why two people are attracted to each other but it’s almost an incomprehensible quality that is hard to comprehend. The color of a person’s eyes, their hair color, the way they walk, all of it plays into attraction and falling in love.

Here’s a short excerpt of Missing Love

Missing Love

By Sara York

“Please, I’m begging you, don’t go.” Brad stumbled forward; his eyes stung from the tears he’d cried, his nose ran, and his head throbbed. Getting Rick back was the most important thing he’d ever do. Life would end without Rick. The guy was his all in all, his rock, his true love, and his world. They’d spent years together, had too many firsts together to even count. And yet Rick was walking away, ready to end their relationship, all because of a fight. Fuck, they’d fought like dogs for years, but they still loved each other.

“Brad, give it up. I’m done.” Rick stood across the room, ramrod straight, his mouth tilted down in a scowl. “You aren’t what I want anymore. I have other needs and you don’t fill the bill.”

“I don’t understand. Tell me what I did wrong.” Brad stumbled on his way to reach Rick; falling to his knees, he grasped onto Rick’s pants front. “Please.”

Rick brushed off Brad’s hold, his face flush, his eyes flashing with contempt. “You aren’t enough.”

“But what about our history together? We’ve been together for years. Doesn’t that mean anything?”

“Fuck Brad, I didn’t want to have to say it, but you’re giving me no choice. I’m seeing someone else. I’ve been fucking this guy for the last six months and quite frankly, he is so much better than you.”

Brad’s heart stopped and his vision dimmed. He tried to stand, but fell back onto the floor. He felt like he’d been hit by a truck, or a wrecking ball, and tossed on his ass then run over, again and again. Rick’s words tromped through his mind, destroying him, but he couldn’t make sense of them. “You what?”

“You heard me. I’m done with you. I’m fucking another guy. Okay. I’m moving in with him, it’s more than just fucking. I’m in love with him.”

Brad’s brain stalled and he sunk to the floor, unable to move. Unable to think, he sat like a lump and watched the only person he’d ever loved walk out of his life. The sun dipped below the horizon and Brad didn’t move. Darkness overtook the room, mirroring his heart. Dashed on the rocks and slammed by waves of pain he didn’t move, didn’t think; he just sat.

The doorbell rang, yet Brad ignored it. Pounding, more of the doorbell, and finally his phone, but Brad couldn’t respond. His whole world had shattered and if he moved he might fall apart, breaking into a million pieces, allowing the wind to carry him away like sand brushed into nothingness.

Night turned to day and his body rebelled against him. He ran in search of the bathroom. Lying next to the toilet after expelling every ounce left in his stomach from last evening, which wasn’t much, the emptiness threatened to overtake him. He struggled to the cabinet and pulled out the Swiss Army knife he’d had since he and Rick took their first camping trip together at the young age of eight. They’d been friends for so long, finally becoming lovers in their teens. The years flashed through Brad’s mind and he remembered each significant event. He cradled the knife in his hands, wondering where he’d gone wrong.

The doorbell started up again, then the phone. Someone yelled from his front porch and for a moment he thought of opening the knife, ending it all, but he couldn’t, not without trying to get Rick back.

Brad crawled to the entryway, grasped the handle and pulled the door open, half expecting to find Rick—knowing he wouldn’t be there, but wishing like hell his lover had come back to claim him. Of course that made no sense since Rick had a key. But the person at the door wasn’t Rick. Instead Thomas stood on the porch, his face red and his eyes narrowed. Brad sank to the floor, his back against the wall.

“Why didn’t you answer?” Thomas barged in, slamming the door behind him. He pulled Brad up off the floor. “For fuck’s sake, you stink like shit.”

Brad said nothing. He allowed Thomas to strip him down, soap him up in the shower, then dress him in sweats and a T-shirt. Brad didn’t resist, didn’t say anything, just did what Thomas asked and found himself in bed. The days blended together, Thomas always there, helping him get through the day, forcing him to go into work, forcing him to eat. Brad dropped twenty pounds and he looked like shit. He moved through life without living.

Six months after the breakup, when the fog finally lifted, he looked at himself in the mirror, wondering who stared back. He showered, dressed, and even shaved without Thomas telling him to. On his way into the kitchen, he ran into a bleary eyed Thomas leaving the guest room.

You can pick up Reluctant Romance at Amazon and AllRomanceebooks.

For more information on Sara York books visit http://sarayork.com

Thanks for stopping by, Sara, and thanks for being a part of the group!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie