Friday, June 17, 2011

Taboo Tens: Day Seventeen Lisa Worrall

Greetings fans! 


Day seventeen is here and we have the talented Lisa Worrall here with a guest post!


Take it away Lisa!


****



Firstly, I’d like to thank Michael for inviting me to share some of my thoughts with you all.  I’m a little nervous and have been pondering what on earth I would say.  I finally came up with giving you a teeny peek inside the twisted annals of my mind, but then I was afraid that once you were in there, you’d never get out (it’s a bit like the Hotel California, you can check in, but you can never leave!)  I eventually decided to tell you how I came to find my niche in this genre, and I’ll try not to send you to sleep.


I began reading fan fiction in August 2009.  I’d heard of it before then and a good friend of mine was very into reading it and another had written some.  I must admit that the first time I read a piece, I was sat there with my jaw hanging open when I got to the bits where, well...the character’s jaw was hanging open, if you catch my drift.  Then when I’d confessed to said friend that I had paddled around in the writing pool for years, she suggested that I write some M/M especially for her birthday.  I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but after much prodding, I had a go and was surprised at how much I liked writing it.  So I wrote another, and another, and another. 


I made quite a few friends in the fan fiction world and one of the other writer’s suggested that I write a story for one of Dreamspinner’s submission calls.  I scoffed, but she encouraged me throughout and the first piece of work I submitted, Halfway House, was accepted and published in their Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose.  I enjoyed the buzz and excitement of having my name in print and I have been typing like Tigger on speed ever since.


I now have several short stories under my belt with Dreamspinner Press and my first book, A Nanny for Nate is being released by Silver Publishing.  I am also involved in an anthology with four other extremely talented writers, Patricia Logan, Sue Brown, GA Hauser and Sammy Jo Hunt, entitled Chasing the Dream, due for release by Silver Publishing on the 17 September 2011.  To be in the line up with writer’s of this calibre is kind of amazing to me and I still have to keep pinching myself.


Here is a little taster of my latest short story and the upcoming A Nanny for Nate, which is released tomorrow.



Running from the Past – Release date 15 June 2011 – Dreamspinner Press

It had been like a scene from a cheap romance novel.  The other man’s gaze had followed his progress across the floor, and he had continued to circle a non-existent stain on the bar-top with a cloth while he’d waited for Ford to take a seat on one of the barstools.  Ford had ordered a beer and allowed himself the luxury of studying the man from beneath lowered lashes while the amber liquid flowed into the glass.  Noah was easily over six feet tall and muscles rippled beneath the tight-fitting black tee he was wearing, and dark jeans clung to the firm curve of his ass.  An ass that Ford took his time tracing with his gaze when the bartender turned to ring up the beer on the till.  Dark, wavy hair curled around his collar, shaggy bangs falling into his face as he worked, soft strands brushing against high, sharp cheekbones.  When Noah had slid his change across the bar, Ford had looked up into bluey-green eyes, that darkened slowly as his gaze was returned.  He’d been unable to stop his eyes from dropping to settle on those full lips, knowing from the way they lifted in a smirk that Noah was completely aware of what was going through his mind.  Fortunately for Ford, the same thing had been going through Noah’s and it was after closing that night that he’d got his first taste of those lips on his.


After four months of dating, Noah had moved in with him into his tiny two story house and they were happy, happier than Ford had ever thought possible, and he could barely remember what life had been like without the other man in it.  He’d never imagined in his wildest dreams that he’d be sitting on the couch on a normal Tuesday night, wrapped around Noah, his hands buried in soft curls as the other man’s mouth ravaged his lips and long fingers conformed to the globes of his ass, when they were interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.


He’d stood up, complaining good-naturedly that if Mrs. Myrtle’s cat had got stuck up that tree again, she could stay there all night for cock-blocking them.  But it hadn’t been Mrs. Myrtle, or her cat, it had been his father.  Will told him that he’d received an irate phone call from Petie Jorgensen over at the post office. Petie had been watching an episode of America’s Most Wanted and had recognized the picture of a wanted fugitive - living in their little town. Ford had laughed and asked if Mrs. Myrtle had finally been caught for industrial espionage, his smile fading when Will’s hand had slipped slowly around his shoulder and said the two words he wished he’d never heard. 


“It’s Noah.”


A Nanny for Nate – Release Date: 18 June 2011



Nate looked out of his bedroom window again. He felt a little nauseous, mainly because he knew Pop was going to be so mad he would probably be grounded for the rest of his life. He grabbed his cell phone off the table and scrolled through his contacts for Marcus, not that it took very long since he only had three other numbers stored in the little phone book: Pop, Uncle Clay, and Grandma.


"Hey, what's up?" Marcus' voice sounded tinny as it bounced off towers and networks before it reached Nate's ear. "Has he killed you yet?"


"No," Nate hissed back. "I'm scared. Jake's gonna be here any minute, and Pop's gonna figure it out!"


"Nathaniel," Marcus drawled with all the confidence of a nearly-ten-year-old. "Your Pop is just going to think he put the letters in the wrong envelopes. He'll think he's the one who made the mistake. He's never gonna guess it was you."


"Us!" Nate insisted.


"Hey, I didn't do nothing," Marcus said, his tone filled with innocence. "All I did was tell you how to steam open the envelope. You're the one who swapped Jake and Melanie's letters."


"What if he tries to make Jake leave as soon as he gets here?" Nate questioned, peeking through his curtains again.


"Jeez, don't you know anything?" Marcus said derisively.


"Huh?"

"If he tries to send Jake away, cry like a baby," Marcus retorted. "Works every time."

* * * *

"Nate!" Parker called up the stairs. "Come on, buddy! Your cheerios are getting cold!" He stood in front of the ornate mirror hanging on the wall next to the front door and attempted to tie the navy silk tie looped around his neck. Sliding it beneath his collar, he had just managed to get the knot straight when the doorbell rang, causing him to jerk his hand to the side and nearly garrote himself. "Shit," he cursed beneath his breath and padded the few extra steps down the hall to answer it. "Mela —" Parker looked into dark brown eyes and the words froze on his tongue. "You're not Melanie," he said lamely.


"Nope," Jake said with a smile. "Not enough boobage."


Parker frowned, his gaze taking in the suitcase and huge sports bag at Jake's feet. "Um…what are you doing here?" he asked, even going so far as to look over Jake's shoulder to see if Melanie was standing behind him.


It was Jake's turn to frown as he stared down into confused green eyes. "Your letter said you wanted me to start on the 24th," he replied, picking up the bag. "It is the 24th today, isn't it?"


"Yes, yes, it is, but —" Parker trailed off when Jake shoved the bag into his hands, then bent to pick up the suitcase.


"Phew, I thought for a minute I'd got my dates mixed up," Jake grinned, pushing past Parker and striding down the hallway. "Kitchen this way?"


"Yes," Parker opened his mouth and then shut it again, turning with the bag in his arms and kicking the door closed. "Wait a minute, Jake. What's going on?" Now the shock of finding Jake on his doorstep had begun to wear off, his tone was firm as he slipped into lawyer mode. His eyes widened when he entered the kitchen and found Jake pouring himself some coffee from the pot Parker had made earlier. "What are you doing here?"


"I'm reporting for duty, of course," Jake put down the cup and the coffee pot and pulled out an envelope from his back pocket, his voice confused and unsure.


Parker dropped the bag onto the kitchen floor and took the envelope from Jake. His frown deepened as he read the letter in his hands. What the hell was going on? He'd offered Melanie the job. He'd narrowed it down to Jake and Melanie and then sent a letter of apology to Jake and the two other contenders, and a letter to Melanie confirming her appointment as Nate's nanny. How had this happened?


How the mistake had happened didn't matter right now, just the fact that it had — the letter in his hand was the one he had meant to send to Melanie and instead he must have unconsciously put it in the envelope addressed to Jake. He'd tried to be cool and addressed the letter itself to 'congratulations' instead of heading it up with Melanie's name. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Shit! Holy shit! Double fucking shit! How had this happened? Never mind how it happened, a little voice snapped in his ear. How are you going to fix it?


"Parker?"


Jake's voice broke through Parker's fog and he looked up. "Jake, I'm really sor —" he managed to get out before the human whirlwind that was his seven-year-old son flew into the kitchen and literally jumped into Jake's arms with a yell.


"Holy moly," Jake huffed, his long arms coming around the small boy so he didn't end up on the floor.


"Jake! I told Pop you were my favorite!" Nate yelled, hugging the big man fiercely. He wriggled out of Jake's arms and threw himself into Parker's, knocking the letter from his father's hands. "Thank you, Pop, I seriously love you right now! Can Jake take me to the park after school? I promise I'll do everything he says and I'll do my homework as soon as we get home."


Parker listened to Nate babbling in his ear and his green gaze locked with Jake's twinkling brown eyes. He felt his stomach sink. Shit! How could he send Jake away now? How could he let his son down, again — when he'd already had so many disappointments in his short life? What was he going to tell him? That the thought of having the gorgeous man currently standing in his kitchen, actually living under the same roof was making his belly fizz and tingle in a way that both filled him with anticipation and fear? Yeah, definitely the way to go, genius. Parker hugged Nate tightly and swallowed.  He didn’t really have a choice. "Well, that's up to Jake, buddy, but it's okay with me — if it's okay with Jake."



*****


Great post! Fan fiction is how I got my start! I love it and still write it for friends from time to time. 


Both books sound great and I wish you nothing but success, Lisa.


I thank you for coming on!


Join us tomorrow when my guest will be my good friend, Blak Rayne!

8 comments:

S.Lira said...

TY for visiting Lisa!

Lisa Worrall said...

TY for having me :)

Anonymous said...

Great look inside a twisted mind. Tee hee. At least it doesn't echo.

GA Hauser said...

Uh, I don't really even know what fan-fiction is! Talk about out of the loop. I think I've been living in my 'twisted' head too long. The honor is all mine in doing the antho with you! Can't wait to have it in me hot leetle hands.

Thanks for sharing your work, Lisa!

Lisa Worrall said...

@ Patti - smartass!
@ GA - can't wait to see it either.

Angel Martinez said...

Nanny for Nate...on the TBR list...love what I've read so far :)

She said...

Enjoyed both excerpts. Can't wait to find out what happens in each.

Jen B. said...

I think I finally have my link to this site straightened out. I have missed so many posts! This introduced me to two books I had never heard of. The blurbs/excerpts were great.