TEASER TUESDAY: Falling Through

FallingThroughIt’s Teaser Tuesday time! Today I thought I was gonna write a little something about Falling Through.  I had such great plans…

Falling Through is just a short little thing, 12k or thereabout, and I first wrote it to be part of an anthology but it didn’t feel right so I pulled it and Debbie over at Beaten Track Publishing took mercy on it. I had a whole world painted in my head with ghosts, and evil queens, and power imbalances and with James Dean of course, but other writing projects came in between and I never continued it. Now I only have a vague idea of what it was I wanted to write because stupid as I sometimes am I didn’t write it down.

I still intend to write a sequel, or several, because I do love these characters, it’s just that every time I think about it a wave of panic washes over me because what if I fuck up the story I had in my head? The one I can’t even remember properly.

There are too many stories in my mind. I have a list of 14 stories I need to finish, and that is the list of the started stories, the list of want-to-write stories is even longer *sigh*. It’s not really surprising that some stories fall behind but that doesn’t mean it isn’t frustrating.

Still, I do have a crush on Larry.

Larry shook a cigarette out of the pack, rolling it between his fingers before raising it to his lips. He wanted to stay with Travis, wanted to sit next to him on the sofa, wanted to reach out and touch him. Even if he could never touch Travis, he wanted to spend his time watching him.

Larry didn’t care much for people’s appearance these days. Everyone on TV had an unreal look about them, but Travis was nothing like those people.

Larry’s favourite thing in the whole world was summer nights. If the temperature was high enough, Travis went to bed naked. Larry spent those nights lying close to him, memorising every little ridge, every dimple. Had he been able to, he would’ve turned on the lights and mapped out every tiny little birthmark, every scar marring his skin. And no, it didn’t make him weird. Shadows did that…probably. What else would they do at night?

Larry slumped on the sofa. He didn’t know much. He didn’t know how anything worked anymore, didn’t know what he was allowed to do, and not allowed to do, and he couldn’t very well ask anyone.

But it didn’t matter. Sixty years he’d been loitering in this flat. Sixty years without a purpose—disheartening, if he let himself think of it. It was time he took some responsibility. If he and Travis were going to continue to live here, he needed to help out somehow. He would stop moping around and actually do something, even if it meant he would be sapped and had to spend some time in the Nothingness.


30274488Travis is running himself ragged. He’s trying to keep two jobs just to pay his rent. If he has to flirt with some creepy old women at the pub to get a little extra tip money then so be it. One day, he’ll have someone special waiting for him when he gets back home from work, or is that too much to ask? Right now isn’t the best of times to get a boyfriend anyway since Travis is going mad, but one day… Every so often, Travis gets the feeling of not being alone, and sometimes, he sees things. But he tries to stay positive; maybe there’s a strapping young fella waiting for him in the looney bin.

Larry’s existence was dead boring until Travis moved in. Now he spends his time watching Travis, fantasising about touching him, kissing him… Their movie nights would be a bit cosier if Travis knew he was there, but sometimes, you have to settle for what you can get. As far as roommates go, Travis is the best Larry has ever had, and it isn’t Travis’s fault he can’t see Larry – no one has been able to since the day he died.

When Travis loses one of his jobs, both he and Larry fear for their future. Larry can’t imagine being without Travis, and Travis is desperate to find a way to pay his bills. While Travis searches for a solution to his money problems Larry has to decide if he’s willing to risk existence as he knows it for a chance of a better life.

books2read.com/FallingLarry *

Falling Through


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | The Paranormal Detection Agency by Anne Brooke

ThePNRDetectionAgencyI’m gonna be real quick today because the sauna is getting hot and my girls are getting impatient – every Friday my husband is home we have ourselves a sauna. But first, some reading. This week I’ve read The Paranormal Detection Agency by Anne Brooke.

Jack Atkinson is running an agency where he helps people out with their paranormal problems. Aaron Riley has a paranormal problem…or several, but one really big, he doesn’t really believe in ghosts and stuff but at this point, he’s willing to do anything to get the problem in his kitchen sorted. Sparks fly while Jack is trying to help Aaron.

The Paranormal Detection Agency is a short fun read with a little of a paranormal mystery to it. I really liked Jack and the unusual creatures that showed up in during the story. If you like paranormal stories and want something a little different you should check it out.

books2read.com/DetectionAgency *


51wrcyoh1ol-_sy346_When paranormal investigator Jack Atkinson meets new client Aaron Riley, he doesn’t expect the level of attraction he instantly feels for the man. Neither does he expect the kind of haunting Aaron describes, which Jack is determined to solve.
After their first official client meeting, the two men launch themselves into a passionate encounter, which Jack is keen to continue. Aaron’s attentions, however, are focused on the need to rid himself of the ghosts haunting his new home.
Jack and his trusty assistant and aunt, Miranda, investigate further, and soon discover how family secrets can run deeper than even Jack imagined. Will the truth destroy Jack and Aaron’s budding relationship, or are they strong enough to survive it?


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | The Gate

The-gateToday I’ve read The Gate by A.L. Lester – a story that’s a little outside my comfort zone…or I don’t know if comfort zones have anything to do with it. But I usually run for the hills when I see something about WW1 or WW2. And I hardly ever read historical, and I don’t really do demons if I can help it (though I’ve read a few good ones) and gates make me think of demons and fae. So why I picked this one up, I don’t really know, but I did. I should perhaps point out that I’m not sorry I did.

Matty comes home from the war to find out his brother is dying. The local doctor thinks it’s cancer, but it’s not. The brother is obsessed with his books and papers, and before he dies he tells Matty to keep the gate shut and burn the books. Matty doesn’t really listen, though, and one night Rob lets him know there is something strange going on.

I liked that we get to see the beginning of a relationship between Matty and Rob while they’re trying to solve the mystery with the books, the gate, and the death of Matty’s brother. The story is short but well written – give it a try!

books2read.com/The-Gate


36949972It’s 1918, and Matty returns home to the family farm from the trenches only to find his brother Arthur dying of an unknown illness. The local doctor thinks it might be cancer, but Matty becomes convinced it’s connected to the mysterious books his brother has left strewn around the house.

Matty confides his suspicions in his friend Rob, a hired hand on the farm and potential lover. Rob has found something that looks like a gate of some kind, something Arthur referenced in his papers which may rest at the heart of his illness. But a gate to where?

This short story introduces the world and characters in A.L. Lester’s novel, Lost in Time.