Meet William: Week Five

 (Please go to the post below for the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia)

It’s week 5 of the LHNB thread hop over on the Goodreads' M/M Group, and this week it’s: “If someone is going to run in to your MC by accident, where would your MC most likely be? And what would it look like?”

Well…. There’s no other way around this… I’ve got to mention it, and it’s giving something away about Will that’s going to change things slightly, but—

Like any foster dad with a seventeen-year-old in the house, Will would mostly be found stuck behind the steering wheel of his Rover saying, “Where to now, kid?” Quickly followed by, “There’s such things as buses, y’know,” and then, “Ejector seats come as standard in this car.”

If you were to run into him, it would probably be into the back of his car as yours kisses his bumper, of course followed by a few choice swear words as Will stands there scratching at his head, surveying the damage. With just a few small hours to himself, he’d offer a shrug, a smile, then just point in utter defeat at his foster kid, who’s now there going: “Ouch. That’s gonna cost, Wills. I told you to take the A6.”

***********

Extract:

“Have I convinced you yet?” Ignoring all other bikes on display at the bike show, James started to pace the motorbike as Will forced himself to focus on the leather seat that creaked under his own touch. “Come on.” James was almost dancing, and Will knew if he left the kid hanging on any longer, he would swing into full mosh-pit mode: all energy and a will to get noticed kicking in.

“After that stunt this morning?”

“Uh-huh, like that is it?” James gave a sniff to his nose, then giving a cry—he fell to his knees and gripped at Will’s leg, his head hugging close to Will’s hip. “Don’t leave me, please, Dad,” he cried at the top of his voice, and Will instantly tried to shove him off as he grimaced a smile at the people who turned heads in their direction. “Dad, I love you. And, my room—I’ll promise to pick up that one lone sock up off my cold—damp—”

“Get up—”

“—carpetless, cell of a windowless room—”

“Get up,” Will forced through his teeth, not knowing whether to laugh or run and hide underneath several thousand rocks with how people were staring.

But James wasn’t finished. “Even though I share that small room with five, like—eight, eight other of your shirtless, shoeless off-springs. We all love you, Dad, s—”

“For goddsake, Jay, pleeeease.”

Giving a grin up at Will, James pushed to his feet and started to dust down Will’s jacket, then he looked at the onlookers. “Okay, move on. Nothing to see here.” He waved the bewildered bunch away, and they carried on with a few shoulder shrugs and wide-eyed glances back at them. “Mmmm,” said James, now patting his own jeans down. “Don’t do the whole ‘look at me, I’m gorgeous’ thing too much, do you, Will?”

“You’ve got enough showmanship for both of us,” said Will, fighting off the burns to his cheeks as the sales rep finally came over, now the man had stopped wetting himself with laughter over in the distance.

“So.” The salesman grinned at Will. “I take it that this young chap’s got his eye on this bike?”

Will rolled his eyes. “The whole pleading thing a usual around here, is it?”

The salesman nodded. “You’d be surprised. Although the men are usually older, and a lot bigger too.”

**********
Week 6 will be the final week, but it's title reveal time, *does a little title reveal dance* as well as being Will's favourite childhood memory. It would be good to see you here, or especially over on Goodreads where this story will be a free read in June.





Picture "Fashion Shot Of A Young Man" courtesy of:  Photostock:FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Meet William: Week Four

It’s week four of the LHNB thread hop, and this week it’s all about time-machines: where would your characters go, and who would they see if they could. Hmmmm, I think I know the answer to this one. Note: poor William's still tied to the bed.

********

Jack: Right, Will, [knocks on the bedroom door again] in between getting the kids off to school, I had time to build a time machine.

Will: Really?

Jack: [Chuckles] Nah, just kidding. But as the author, I can whisk you off to any period in time you want to be, or if there’s someone you’d like to meet. So, what’s your pleasure, Will?

Will: [Stays quiet]

Jack: Oh... sorry. [winces] Stupid question; anything other than that time, okay?

Will: [sighs uneasily] Okay, I’d like to go back to my run a few days ago.

Jack: I can understand that; you like your freedom. And old grumbas in there doesn’t give you much privacy, does he?

Will: Grumbas?

Jack: Cross between grump and a bast—

Kidnapper: Do you want me to gag you as well, Jack?

Jack: Humph. No. Oh, [waves] hi there.

Kidnapper: Bye there.

Jack. Smartass. Will, your run? You’d like to go back to the forest?

Will: Hell yes, please.

Jack: Okay. Let’s see what we can do.... [scribbles with pen] Hah. Here we are. You’re on your morning run. See? [looks at Will still standing there with a blindfold on next to her in the forest] oh, you can’t see. Sorry. Let me take that off for you. There we go.

Will: You could have given me some clothes too, y’know.

Jack: Yeah, well. [Says very quickly] Oh look, here’s the point in history you wanted:

*******

Extract:

A few hours into Will’s run, the halfway point came up close to lunch, and Will let himself rest against a huge stone as he took another sip of water. Off to the left, the old, disused mill with its rustic wheel had been given an island all to itself, or at least a decent river that ran almost like a moat around it. A small waterfall nudged at the millwheel, trying to give it some life, but the wheel only whimpered a protest that barely carried on the breeze. Air and water would only move it so far before the wheel gave up, creaking back into its slow drowning. Will and the mill had stared at each other a few times over the years, sometimes leaving Will with a slight chill, that feeling of not being as far away from life as he’d like. The blackness of the windows glistened like a widow refusing to let her grief fall, mouth quivering against the loss of life, of love, of history. He’d hated this place as a kid, and now it just reflected how tired he felt. Like the millwheel, life seemed to want to push him around despite his will to just fade into the background.

Flicking the lid back on his water bottle and then clipping it to his jogging bottoms, Will pushed away from the stone, then from the mill. A few blackbirds flew from the trees, crying disgust at his interruption, and Will nodded an apology. “Sorry, lads. Your turf, right? Not mine so—humph.”

Will hit the forest floor, tasting nothing but dirt and grunting away the leaves from his face. A curved root jutted from the ground, and it sat there grinning a little too proudly with Will’s running shoe jammed there in its mouth. Will sat up and grabbed at his shoe. Wincing at the ache in his ankle, he rubbed at his foot first, not liking how the deep throb called cut to his running day. “Just like you to fall and have no one around to fall for, Will,” he mumbled. Managing to wiggle his running shoe back on, Will sighed and pushed up off the forest floor.

Barely even managing to straighten to his feet, Will grunted as an arm slipped around his waist, forcing him to hit the floor again, this time his shoulder and hip taking the brunt of the ground as he landed on his side. Legs came around his, holding him still, just as arms crushed a bear hug around his ribcage. Will cried out, and a crunch of twig was heard above his head just before a blindfold was roughly pulled into place, turning Will’s world black. The man crushing his ribs, he came with a friend, and one who was content enough to kick at Will’s shoulder and force him face-first into the roughage. Will’s arms were wrestled behind his back, tied, then as dirt-filled fingers dug into the side of his mouth, Wills lips and jaw were forced open and a gag pinched into the corners of his mouth. Will grunted, and a hard breath roughed his ear as something sharp, cool, and very dangerous pressed against his cheek.

“Keep real still, beauty, and real quiet.” The knife twisted slightly, now scratching a path down Will’s jaw, to trace the curve of his throat. “Or struggle,” whispered a voice. “But I guarantee you won’t like me by morning if you do.”

Will stilled, his hard breathing the only stress-release point he allowed himself.

“Oh, I like you like that.”

********
Kidnapper: Hey. [stops Will from running blindly over to help his past self] No you don’t, pup.

Will: [struggles] Who the hell invited you along?

Kidnapper: Life’s not all about you, Will. Oh [grabs Will by the back of the hair] eyes forward, no peeking.

Jack: [to Kidnapper but covering eyes with her hand] So where would you like to go, then?

Kidnapper: Well, I did miss an episode of Top Gear a few days back.

Will: What? Bloody Top Gear? Just friggin great. [To Jack] I get out of this, we’re having a serious talk, Jack.

Jack: What [gives innocent face] -- you don’t like Top Gear?

Will: Jack.

Jack: Sorry, I know this is hard. [Winks] But who said you're getting out of this?

*********

Kind of leaves in you a strange place with these, lol. I don't like looking my main leads in the eye.

Anyway *chuckles* there are other fine stories in the making on the Goodreads M/M Group. Next week's topic will be [runs off to Absolute Write to find out] Ah, yep: "If someone wanted to meet your MC, where would be their best chance of running into them?" Hmmm that'll be interstin'. But we're getting close now to having these free stories available on Goodreads. I'm looking forward to seeing the cover reveal.

Picture "Fashion Shot Of A Young Man" courtesy of: Photostock:FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Week Three: William (Goodreads' LHNB "Dear Author" Free Short Story)

It's week three of the LHNB thread hop, and this time it's Paper or Plastic (yep, I had no clue either, lol). The Short Story has officially been finished and handed over to the wonderful Goodreads' team in the M/M group. It should (hopefully) be available in June. But for now...

Jack: [Knocks on door] Paper or plastic, guys?

Kidnapper: Jack, I thought you’d got the hint to go home.

Jack: Just one more question, I promise. Paper or plastic?

Will: Paper or plastic what, Jack?

Jack: shopping bags. What do you use when you go shopping? Paper or plastic? Which one, guys?

Kidnapper: Because I do the whole skipping down a shopping aisle throwing food into a basket?

Jack: Alcohol, then. Paper or plastic bag for your alcohol. You look the type for that.

Kidnapper: My throat.

Jack: Ohhhhhkay [mumbles something about psycho]. And you, Will – paper or plastic?

Will: A knife to cut through this rope?

Jack: Ah. Still an awkward time, is it?

Kidnapper: Yes.

Will: No – no. Stay. Talking’s good.

Kidnapper: Go away, Jack.

Will: [shouts] Wait. Paper -- paper. And there are two in my house – next to my phone, you know, my phone and access to a few cops?

Kidnapper: [Chuckles] Go away, Jack. Me and Will need some alone time.

*********

A little extract (names have been disguised to protect the oh so very wicked):

“Would it be so bad?” the man breathed into Will’s ear. “If I took you now, like this—” His hands traced along the ropes, then found Will’s bound hands. “—would it really be so bad if I took you bound down like this?”

Picture "Fashion Shot Of A Young Man" courtesy of: Photostock:FreeDigitalPhotos.Net

Meet Will: Week Two (LHNB thread hop)

It's week two of the Love Has No boundaries thread hop over on Goodreads, and this week it's "Tell us three things that we won't discover about your main character from the story". This was a hell of a lot of fun to do as I was able to interview Will when he was... slightly exposed (perks of the job!). 

And without further need to keep Will covered:

*********

Jack: So, Will. It’s really good to meet you. How are things going between you and Mr. Kidnapper?

Will: [Shifts uncomfortably on the bed] It's a little… tense.

Kidnapper: [Grunts a chuckle from over in the corner]

Jack: Ah. I should mention that Mr Kidnapper has graciously allowed an all access pass to Will today and Will's, well, slightly overexposed.

Will: You noticed that, huh? Any chance you can untie me from the bed? Maybe pass me the sheet back?

Jack: Uh, well, I’m kind of under strict orders from the guy in the corner not to interfere, touch, or even let my eyes wander below waistline. Sorry.

Will: [Manages a chuckle] How’s that going for you?

Jack: He blindfolded me to make sure. [Whispers to Will] He’s taking this really seriously, isn’t he?

Will: Yeah, just a touch. [Whispers back] You sure you can’t untie me, lend me a jacket — bake a cake with a razorblade in it for him to choke on?

Kidnapper: [Gives a deliberate half laugh, half cough]

Jack: You wouldn’t need the razorblade, not with my baking skills, anyway. [Straightens in chair] So, hmmm, Will. Now may not be the best time, I realise this, but I’m interested to know a few things about you that we’re not going to find out during this whole mess.

Will: I don’t think personal details are wise, what with, y’know, the whole ropes, kidnapping, and “guy tied to a bed” scene going on here. But… thinking on it, I am a sucker for happy endings, one where the antagonist is incarcerated, even seriously worked over in jail by other thugs — huge muscled thugs with baseball bats.

Jack: Ohhhh-kay, so away from this situation, you’re maybe open to a heated debate on the pros and cons of the English judicial system and the effectiveness of rehabilitating criminals back into society?

Will: It’s certainly moved up on my list of priorities.

Kidnapper: [Chuckles softly]

Jack: Anything else?

Will: I suppose I could go for my favourite colour… of baseball bat. Which would be white, by the way, just to accentuate any other colours it could come into contact with.

Jack: [Chokes a laugh] So. Things are certainly a little… tense, then? What would you normally be doing to relax away from life issues like this?

Will: [sighs heavily] I could go for a Friday-night movie-night right now.

Jack: Care to elaborate?

Will: I grew up with Friday nights being “Movie Night” at home. Kind of liked to watch my mom and dad sit there together on the sofa as I claimed the floor and two buckets of popcorn.

Jack: Any particular movies? Flavour of popcorn? And why the hell two?

Will: Movies? Any really. [Goes quiet] It was just good to see my parents together. As for the popcorn, it’s got to be toffee: one big enough to share, another smaller one for me.

Jack: [smiles sadly] You like to have a little piece of the world set aside for yourself?

Will: Mostly just set aside to share with the right…

Kidnapper: Say it.

Will: [Falls quiet]

Jack: Yet you don’t mention any brothers or sisters in there, Will. I take it you’re an only child?

Will: Yes. Just me. Although I did have a—

Kidnapper: [a door creaks open] Out.

Jack: But… but Will, he... you. I haven’t even started on you yet.

Kidnapper: Yeah? Tell it to someone who gives a—

Jack: [Door slams conveniently shut] Oh, right. I see. [Shouts] I take it you didn’t get any Friday night movie nights with your parents, and you’d rather steal popcorn rather than share?

Kidnapper: Get lost, Jack. Busy here.

**************

There are some other great thread hops going on over in the M/M Group on Goodreads: handcuffs, Doms, Elfs, Knights, lovin' in the poppy fields etc.... It's all continuing for a few more weeks before the stories are released.

It's pretty close to my heart, because we're able to give readers insights into the writing process and comment/interact along the way. And we get to tailor a character and story to a particular reader's need.



Picture "Fashion shot of a Young Man" courtesy of Photostock: FreeDigitalPhtos.net

Meet William: M/M Story Extract (Free Story Coming From Goodreads LHNB Dear Author Challenge)

A few authors from the Goodreads' M/M Group have banded together to create a thread hop that will lift the sheet on our characters from the Love Has No Boundaries short stories that will soon be availble for free download.  Kind of an all-access pass for readers to see what's hidden beneath the M/M sheets.

This week it's week one, day six of the thread hop, and the theme is an extract, (next week it will be: "Three Things We Won't Find Out About Your MC From The Story").

Fancy a teaser? My picture is a guy bound almost naked to a bed *waggles eyebrows*, and all the pains and troubles that come with being held captive:


Where do you go to, Will? Extract:

*************

“I could take her off your hands.”

Sat in his car, William just about caught the soft voice as he turned the Rover’s engine over. Jake from a few doors down was out for his evening run, and he offered Will a shy smile as he glanced at the motorbike on Will’s drive. He stood just a few feet away from the car, moving slightly from foot to foot as if ready to bolt at the slightest word from Will. “She’d get a good home,” said Jake, nodding at the motorbike as Will let the window fall all the way down.

“Humph, well, I’ll....” Jake always offered; Will always promised to get back to him. Will never did, and something in Jake’s kind eyes said he didn’t mind. He understood. Will hated how everyone understood, especially when he couldn’t figure a thing out of this whole mess for himself. “Can... would you just keep an eye on her for me whilst I’m away, please?” he asked instead, burying the need to move the gears into first as the need to get away ate at his insides.

“Always,” said Jake. He looked like he’d say something else; he’d looked like he’d been on the verge of saying something else for the past year, but Will fell back into the security of a safe distance, giving just a quiet thanks, this time adding a promise to pick Jake something up for all of his troubles. “You know where I am if there’s any, y’know, problems.”

“Yeah,” said Jake, avoiding any eye contact now. “You take care, Will.”

Will nodded. Dorset offered a whole week of running; no motorbikes, no houses that should have been homes, and no sweet men from a few doors down wanting a little more than simple friendship. All Will needed now was to disappear into the background, maybe be forgotten, just become lost in the echo of wild heath and harbour.

*************

A member's only forum, but they love new members (and are soon to offer up loads of free m/m short stories, ranging from contemporary romance to BDSM) Found Here

It would be good to see you there.





Picture "Fashion shot of a Young Man" courtesy of photostock. FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Peer Support

In the next few weeks, the Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia will be kicking into high gear. This post is just to raise awareness that the blog sign ups for the GLBTQ writing and publishing community is open until 10th May.

Whether you're a writer, publisher, cover artist, or reviewer for GLBTQ, please come along, show your support, and sign up for the blog @ Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia






Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net