Cinco de Mayo and another free book for joining #newsletter this month #newslettersignup #freebook #queerscifi #LGBTQ+

For the month of May, Coil Me Up is part of the freebie giveaway if you sign up for Queer Sci Fi’s Newsletter. They are all speculative fiction, fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, and the like.

Coil Me Up is the the second story I wrote, about a year after Charon’s Dilemma, for the M/M Romance Goodreads group. Thank you to the group for having the platform for the story prompts then and now, and to Aden, who unfortunately no longer writes, for the assist with this story. I was struggling to finish it on time for publishing in the group and they jumped in when I needed the help. It was a lot of fun and I hope that I can collaborate with them again in the future.

It’s been almost 10 years for this story and I’m looking forward to revisiting it and the universe. Perhaps I will finish a sequel. I do like mythology, especially of the Greek and Roman kind, and had started an outline for a second book, with notes for a possible trilogy or continuation of a series. I hadn’t quite gotten that far in the planning/thinking, but you’ll see what I mean when you read it. If you like it and want to see more, feel free to let me know here, in email, or on the various social media platforms.

For the M/M Romance Goodreads group, maybe I will look at the group posts again and see if there are other story prompts to inspire. I’m still a member but it has been many years since I’ve read anything there, nor selected a prompt to create. We’ll see how it goes. I did get my website in order so who knows, perhaps this is the year I put a few more stories out.

~Eloreen

It’s almost the end of April and another free book for joining #newsletter #newslettersignup #freebook #queeromanceink #LGBTQ+ #epilogue

This month, I have Together as part of the freebie giveaway if you sign up for QueeRomance Ink’s Newsletter. These stories are more towards romance with MM characters and Gay literature.

Together is the first story I wrote and published with Amazon and was part of a people of color charity anthology back in 2017-2018 originally called Beautiful Skin. I was proud to be a part of it because stories about people of color, or written by people of color, are beautiful and make the work richer. The anthology is out of print now, but the story is still available. A couple of years later, I wrote a flash fiction ficlit, an epilogue of sorts, as part of a blog tour I did August 2020. Thank you again to Sharita for the idea so many years ago. You will need to read Together in order to enjoy the vignette below.

While re-reading it for this post, I did a little more editing on it so it would flow a bit better. This is version two of the teaser that hasn’t been published before. -wink- Eventually, I will re-release Together with the epilogue. Perhaps I can get my act together this year. 🙂

~Eloreen

Saturday Night Date Night

Victor

It was Saturday morning and my turn to pick what we were going to do for our date night tonight. I thought making plans for two people for semi-regular dates was nail-biting. Try planning a date for three people regularly. We all have such different tastes and personalities that it can be a challenge. Luckily, we took turns choosing. If I had to do this every time, I’d go crazy and probably flail.

“Whatcha doing?” Enrique Cruz, my little writer said faintly but rapidly getting closer, startling me slightly. I quickly closed out of the browser I was looking at so he wouldn’t find out my plans and ruin the surprise. I had set things up to do this thing a few weeks ago with my best friend and business partner, Angela Carter, since I was neck deep on some major software updates that we’d rolled out for our mobile game we had first released a couple years ago. This Saturday night date night was special and too important to not have help. It was the one-year anniversary of myself, Enrique, and our other partner, Miguel Armenta, finally getting together as committed partners to each other. If the three of us could legally marry, I would have popped the question a while ago.

When he got close enough, I turned around in my chair and quickly pulled him into my arms and lap for a quick peck on the lips as a distraction. Except, it wasn’t quick. At all. He deepened it and claimed my mouth like it was going to disappear. Silly man. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Someone moaned. Might have been me. Then I felt another set of hands sliding down my naked chest as I had just gotten up from our bed earlier and didn’t bother to put a shirt on to finish the plans.

I gasped a mumbled explicative as my senses fired up when Miguel’s hands found my nipples and started rubbing them just like I like them. Something was nagging at me though. Something important.

Suddenly, I wrenched my now swollen lips away from En’s assault and placed my hands on El’s to stop his movement. I panted a little while I waited for my brain cells to get online and thing again. Fuck, we didn’t have time for round two.

“Stop.”

They tensed, stilling instantly.

“Sorry, nothing’s wrong, loves.” I kissed En first to reassure and then turned my chair, vaguely noticing that at some point the screensaver had kicked in and my chair was sideways. Someone must have moved me to get to me, the little minx.

“Mornin’,” I gave El a kiss on his impish lips to reassure him as well. They both relaxed and then I had a double lap full of my men. Good thing I had splurged for a high-weight computer chair.

“I’m sorry, my dears,” I started after they settled. “While I would love to go back to bed, we need to get ready for tonight’s date.”

Miguel glanced at the clock on the screensaver. “It’s only 11 am.” He turned back to me, confusion in his blue eyes. Then they cleared and narrowed. “What did you plan?” He stood up to get a better look at my facial expressions.

I was so close. I really couldn’t hide anything from El. Both of them really, but especially El with his sharp litigator mind. It’s why I had Angela make the arrangements in the first place. I was about to see the details of said plan when En came into the room.

“Nothing,” I said innocently. Not really, and it wasn’t working for either of them if their disbelieving expression where anything to go by.

“Uh, huh,” En said flatly, and stood up too. Yeah, that didn’t work either. En was a sharp observer too. They put their crossed arms on their equally naked chests nearly at the same time. That was hot.

I broke down. “Ok, there is something going on with tonight’s date night, but I actually don’t know what the details are yet.” I looked at them sheepishly. Out of habit when I got embarrassed about something, I looked down pulling my dreads forward and tried to hide behind them.

“Look at me,” El said with love and reassurance in his voice. I felt his hand gently lift my chin so I would look at him. When our eyes met, he continued. “I love you. You know we will love anything you have planned for us.”

“Yes, but I wanted it to be a surprise,” I sighed. “It’s why I had Ang make all the arrangements with my contingencies in case there was something on my initial list that wouldn’t work.” I had several options and back up plans to keep this particular date a surprise that I had to keep myself in the dark too.

En interjected, “You are fine, honey. I love you, too.” He put his hand on my neck and his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes content as they both returned to my arms and lap.

Speaking of lap, we needed to get moving if we were going to get started on this afternoon’s activities. “Let me up,” I said as I gently pushed them to their feet.

“There’s stuff starting in an hour or two and we are ending at The Melting Pot downtown.” I said the last thing absently missing the expressions on my men’s understanding faces as I went back to the computer.

“Fuck me, he’s proposing,” En blurted out at the same time El sucked in a breath shocked.

I paused from logging in. Damn, they really did know me well.

It’s March… when did that happen? #freebook #newslettersignup #queerscifi #anniversary

I looked up and it’s suddenly it’s March. I had signed up to be one of four authors to provide a free book as a four-pack when you sign up for Queer Sci Fi’s Newsletter. Great place to find wonderful queer spectrum books and stories. Check it out!

Join the queer sci fi email list...
Four book covers Imperfect Illusions by Vanora Lawless, No Shelter But the Stars by Virginia Black, Charon's Dilemma by Eloreen Moon, and Warring Lions by Astrid V. J.
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This is the first story I wrote and published way back in the Goodreads.com MM Romance Group days 10 years ago (this month actually) where authors would get prompt suggestions and you would pick the prompt you like and write a story to be published there later on. It was fun and I did it the following year year but life got in the way.

If you are a reader of my blog, you’ll know that I will eventually edit this story, possibly put a new cover on it, and rerelease it. Perhaps I’ll do that this month as an anniversary of publishing for the first time. If you do join the newsletter, read my book, and want to know more, have suggestions, or like it, let me know. I’m open to suggestions for revamping it. Perhaps even a sequel. You can stalk, I mean, follow me on social media, or email me eloreen at eloreenmoon dot com for any feedback. If I like any suggestions for updating and/or a sequel, perhaps I’ll include it and send you a free copy of the book in question when complete. -smile-

~Eloreen

#amediting and #amwriting Attempt for publication of a WIP #musings

*taps the microphone*

*nervously starts*

I’m considering submitting to a publisher a story I had been writing off and on (mostly off) since 2012 as story falls within the Special Submission story request they want for 2016. That’s kind of cool. My story was inspired by a different submission call but I didn’t finish it in time. Maybe they will accept it, maybe the won’t. But it would be fun to try. If I get it in early enough, maybe they will publish in January… nah, I’m not going to be that lucky. 🙂

Sigh. #panicbeginsnow

It just got real. Now I have to research contracts, guidelines, and edit my story so it fits the maximum word count. And maybe email questions, like can it be slightly over the maximum… *head thunk on desk*

Never done this before so this will be a learning experience. I had been waffling on self publishing versus going with a publishing house for awhile now. Then I saw a tweet on this particular publishing house call and it struck a cord in me. Probably will self publish some stories but if it fits, or I get inspired by a submission call, yeah, going to try. The worse that they can do is say no, right? Then it might be polished enough to send to another publishing house. It will be painful if they reject it, but then I can say I tried and then try again. Maybe I can finish a couple of others I’ve got kicking around…

I read the particulars on the special call, and then went back to my story to see if it would fit the theme. Pretty good, I think so. Holy crap, I already had the maximum word count. When did I do that? Oh, last modified date: July 2015… I  must have had an inspiration moment because I thought I had last worked on it in Feb.  🙂 Tells you how much I remembered writing an extra 3k words this summer…

So, I started editing it today to try to scrunch it down a bit without loosing the story. Ending had to be redone since it wasn’t really an ending… and then I made it longer. Back to the beginning and go through it with a fine tooth comb. And finish my gift exchange secret santa purchasing…and research a bit. And I have to have a blurb, and a summary, and an editor.  That’s probably too many and’s. Ugh. I have some beta readers I’m going to send to. Should be interesting what they say. I’ll keep everyone posted.

I’m going to start back on other works in progress too. Not sure when, or how they will get finished. But my (early) New Year’s resolution will be to write more. If I get published, all the better. If this doesn’t work, I’ll at least have experience. And maybe another story will. 🙂 Wish me luck everyone.

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Channakah, and Happy Holidays everyone.

*squeals a bit as she turns off the microphone* Darn things.

-Eloreen

**edited note: I love finding random characters because my cat is laying his head on the keyboard AFTER I publish. Sorry about that.*

NaNoWriMo Musings and a Contest!

Sat down to home-made chili, a Mike’s hard lemonade (strawberry), and will finish beta reading a story tonight.  I hope.

I’ve noodled a couple of my stories off and on over the last month or so in between working full-time.  And now I start to see #nanowrimo preparation starting for some of my G+ friends.  Holy crap! When did November get here?

It’s a bittersweet time for me as I started writing almost a year ago.  So I wondered, what should I do to launch a year of writing?  On November 9th, 2012, I started writing a single story that had clamored in my head previously, and with the encouragement of other authors.  I now have that same story with several chapters, two short stories that are almost complete, and a few more that I have started notes on.  I would like to finish a novel, or several shorter stories, as a salute to persevering despite a layoff, teenagers, a new job, and getting older.  We will not discuss my age.  Consider me 29. 🙂

I would like to celebrate my year of writing by giving away a copy of the story, or stories, I finish next month and when it publishes (not if, when) and a $10 gift card to your favorite online eBook store (All Romance eBooks, Totally Bound [formerly Total-E-Bound], Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookstrand) to buy your next book.  I plan to update my progress on here Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.  I like talking to new people and hopefully, this will get me off the ground and running to finally get off my duff and get published.  Whether it will be with a publishing house, or I publish on my own, I don’t know.  But, that is the fun as I now have a goal.  My writings, so far, are in MM science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal romance genres.  Others might be in menage, contemporary and probably will expand to GBLT.  The sky is the limit.  So, if you like those, leave a comment here and at the end of November, I will randomly pick with an online random number generator.  Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you for your $10 GC and send you the final version of the story that I finish in November.  Be aware that my story may be awhile since I’m sure there will be several rounds of edits to finish, random distractions, and finding a way to publish it.  You have my permission to repost this contest and/or otherwise spread across the internet.  The more the merrier.  Please make sure to link to this specific post so that all comments can be counted.  I’m only going to count the ones made here.  🙂

Thank you for “listening” to me ramble and come help me celebrate.  Teasers to follow!

Eloreen

Countdown!

YAY! Loved the first story. Can’t wait for the next.