"Apples" and Oranges

Recently, while beta reading a crit partner's story, I was reminded of a practice I picked up early in my writing career, that lingers today. While I sincerely hope I've grown as a writer, some old habits didn't need changing.

What am I talking about? In a word: apple.

Yes, your read that correctly: apple.

"What do apples have to do with writing?" you ask.

Nothing, and everything. But if I send a manuscript to my betas without at least one occurrence still left in the text, well, it might not be my manuscript.

You see, sometimes while writing I need to go back to a previous chapter, do a find and replace, or otherwise leave my current location. Or, I may not have yet decided a name for Lucky's new coworkers.

Enter apple. It's great as a placeholder, as I can do a search on it, and get right back to where I was, or simply replace with the name once it's decided. One of my crit partners has begun to use that word too, and I don't know if I should be elated or sorry that I've taught her my habit.

I'm not sure quite why I chose "apple" for this purpose, but it's not broke, so I don't intend to fix it.

I just have to be careful that I don't hit "replace all" or someone might order a "David" pie at a local restaurant.

What I'm Reading: Megan Derr

Although I'm busy writing my own novels, I'm still the same avid reader I always was, only, I get most of my stories via audiobook these days, due to an otherwise mind-numbing commute.

Because I love fantasy, I recently discovered an author who'd somehow managed to stay off my radar for years: Megan Derr. I've read several works my Megan lately, which I hope to talk about soon.

Devouring books like I do, it's hard to find something totally unique these days, but yet I did, in Dancing With the Devil (Dancing with the Devil #1)

I have a new favorite couple: Chris White and Sable Brennus. It's amazing how these two play off each other, each having a personality you'd likely want to attribute to the other. They are so perfect together. Demon lord Sable is so calm, easygoing, and spoils Chris rotten, totally smitten from their first meeting, from the first time he called Chris "Beautiful". Despite his rags to riches story line, Chris remains...well...Chris, cynical, snarky, and willing to tell the city's most powerful man to shut up. However, he deeply loves Sable, and I really love how the author was able to keep him in character even as he gave his heart. The story is oddly told, in a series of cases, as Chris is a private investigator in a paranormal world. Though he tries to come across as hardened and sarcastic, Chris can't help being softhearted toward those in need. Through these cases, we meet an amazing cast of characters, from spoiled rich girl Phil (love the pet pixie!), to Doug, an imp who captured my heart, to sorcerers, witches, ghost dads, goblins, and many more. At first the way the cases were laid out threw me, because one might be in their present day, then the next from years ago, but as I absorbed the story, I was impressed by the creativity, as I am with all Megan Derr stories. The end result is that, now finally having the whole series of events, I'm going to listen to this book again with the full knowledge of how the relationships end up. Yes, sigh. Doug got his happy too. I'd hoped for Phil to find someone, but don't think anyone could adore her as much as the pixie she saves and takes home. I enjoyed this work as an audio book, and the narrator did a perfect job of capturing the characters, Sable, Chris, and Doug in particular. It seems the next installment stars different characters, and that's cool, but here's hoping for another glimpse of the Dance With the Devil #1 gang. I must admit to listening multiple times to chapters two and ten, for the lovely romantic development between the two main love interests. Sable. Sigh. Though he calls Chris "Beloved", I don't recall him saying, "I love you." He doesn't have to. It's abundantly apparent.

Welcome Michael Rupured

Today I'm honored to present a guest post from a marvelous author and friend, Michael Rupured, telling us about his newest novel. I've been a fan of his ever since I read Until Thanksgiving and Whippersnapper. 

He's also great company on road trips. So please welcome him to the blog!

The Queens of the Gilded Lily

The Case of the Missing Drag Queen is a lighthearted mystery set in 1982. Much of the action takes place at the Gilded Lily in Lexington, KY where our hero, Luke Tanner, tends bar for drag shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Writing a story set in my hometown with a large cast of drag queens was almost as fun as a good drag show.

I’ve seen hundreds of drag shows and watched thousands of drag queens perform since my first trip to a gay bar in 1979. The venues ranged from a cleared dance floor for shows in smaller clubs to the showroom at the Connection in Louisville with a grand stage and theater-style seating for several hundred. Talented performers who really know how to put on a show were the inspiration for the queens of the Gilded Lily.

Ruby Dubonnet, the headliner at the Gilded Lily, is the Pride of the Bluegrass. She’s a seasoned professional with a huge following and a penchant for highly dramatic performances. Nothing is the same after she disappears.

Pixie Wilder, the Trailer Park Fairy, takes Ruby’s place as the headliner. She’s tiny for a guy and a bit of a redneck with a thing for rhinestones, short skirts, and country music. Some of Ruby’s loyal fans think Pixie is behind Ruby’s disappearance.

Simone (the Dirty Duchess of Broadway) and Kitty Galore (Queen of the Cathouse) round out the cast of regular performers at the Gilded Lily. Guests include Cammie Towers (Sophisticated Lady), Mimi Von Sant (Madame on a Mission), and drag king Butch Manley (Man About Town). More stars come out for the big Halloween bash.

Luke Tanner, our reluctant hero, doesn’t want to get involved. Pixie talks him into helping her clear her name. The harder he tries to walk away, the deeper he gets sucked into The Case of the Missing Drag Queen.

Blurb

Broke, saddled with a mountain of debt, and dependent on his Aunt Callie's support, aspiring writer Luke Tanner has returned to Kentucky to put his life back together after a failed five-year relationship.

On his twenty-fifth birthday, Luke meets diminutive Pixie Wilder, a long-time performer at the Gilded Lily. After headliner Ruby Dubonnet doesn’t show up, Pixie takes her place as the star of the show—a motive that makes her a suspect in Ruby’s disappearance.

Luke reluctantly agrees to help his new-found friend clear her name. He and Pixie set out to find the missing drag queen, and in the process, put themselves in danger.

Cover Artist:

AlexandriaCorza

Buy Links

Amazon

Barnes& Noble

DSP Publications

eBook: 

Paperback:  

Author Bio

Michael Rupured writes stories true enough for government work about gay life from the 1960s to today. This life-long Southerner was born in Fayetteville NC, grew up in Lexington KY, and after 18 months in Washington DC, moved to Athens GA where he’s lived since 1999. By day, he’s senior faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia. He’s an avid fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, the Kentucky Wildcats, and any team playing the Florida Gators. In his free time, Michael tinkers with his garden, plays with Toodles (his diabetic chihuahua), and keeps up with his many friends around the country. Previous novels include Until Thanksgiving (thriller), No Good Deed (mystery/thriller), Whippersnapper (regional), and Happy Independence Day (historical). Visit his website (http://rupured.com), follow on Twitter @Crotchetyman), like his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichaelRupured/)  or shoot him a message (mrupured@gmail.com)

What I'm Working On

I wish I could write faster. So many folks have told me they're eagerly awaiting Bo and Lucky's next big adventure. To that end, I'm working steadily on Suspicion (Diversion 7). Alas, with a taxing evil day job and a three-hour daily commute, I've had to dedicate myself to writing at least 500 words per day just to keep forward momentum.

It's slow going, but the story is starting to take shape. With approximately 25,000 words on the page, I'm roughly one third of the way through the first draft. It still seems the series arc will be complete at nine books, though I'll never give these two up totally.

Also, as I'm heading to GRL again this year, I'm working on some unique swag for attendees. I can't wait to find out what this year's costume theme will be.

Anyway, bear with me folks. I'm writing as fast as I can. You'll get more Bo and Lucky soon!

Great Books, Great Value

Nobody loves a good deal more than me, and with my voracious reading habit, I'm always on the lookout for ways to feed my book addiction. What better way than to grab a whole lot of great books from  favorite authors at one low price?

Celebrating Male Lovers includes both sweet and hot m/m romance, long or short. Sometimes the couple is already established, sometimes it's the birth of a new love.

Husbands and lovers, detectives and singers, shifters and body switches.

5 contemporary and 5 fantasy or near future stories.

Pay a minimum of $5.99 USD and receive all 10 ebooks.



What you'll get:

Flux by Olivette Devaux
Body Heat by Devyn Morgan
Diversion by Eden Winters
Undercover Star by Jackie Keswick
With Wings by Z. Allora
Tail Slide by P. D. Singer
Stolen by the Werewolf by AJ Tipton
Ciaran and Harith by Barbara G. Tarn
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk
In Dreams by Annie Reed

Hurry on over to Bundle Rabbit and get yours today!

For the Love of Cosplaying

Some may not know that, in addition to being a writer, I'm also a huge cosplayer, primarily in the Star Wars universe. At comicons, you might find me in Jedi garb, not recognize me while I'm in stormtrooper armor, and coming soon, I'll be an imperial red guard.

Over the years, I've also been a vampire, French courtesan, and a steampunk bounty hunter, complete with dagger hidden between my shoulder blades.

Mistress of the City of Possum Kingdom, Geargia

Getting vampy with D.H. Starr

Public service announcement: beer loosens the adhesives and drinking can be hazardous to your fangs. 

Recycling a costume from vampire to French courtesan (with the lovely Elisa Rolle)

All cleaned up. 

Steampunk Dorothy and Cowardly Lion with the man in my life. 

Steampunk bounty hunters

Champion of the light side

Dark Side love

Right now my red guard costume is a bunch of velvet stretched out on dining room table, but I'll post pics when it's done. 

Kayla Jameth Guest Post

Hey, y'all! Today I'd like to welcome Kayla Jameth to Magnolias and Men. I recently had the privilege of reading her latest work, Save a Horse, Dive a Cowboy, a shifter story involving a character from Native American culture. 

I had a few questions. Now, without further ado, I turn my blog over to Kayla. 

***

Hello, Eden. Thanks for hosting me today. That wasn't… um, just the Imperial March playing, was it? What a lovely place you've got here. Everyone should have a Stormtrooper standing at their beck and call. He won't… um, fire that… will he?

Just my luck to find the only blog with one of those guys. Probable can hit the broad side of a barn too.

E: You were saying?

K: Uh… Nothing! Nothing…

E: I hear you are following in Pam and my footsteps and now have your own shifter story.

K: Yeah. Possums, otters, and bears. Oh my! So I thought I'd add a mustang to the mix. I hope he fits in with the rest. He might be a bit leery of the bear, but should be fine with the rest.

E: Interesting. Tell me more about this shifter.

K: Charlie "Hoss" Running Horse is a Native American mustang shifter. He and his lover Shep have been together since high school. Jointly, they run the ranch Shep inherited from his father. Until one day, Coyote takes a shine to Shep and decides Hoss must go.

E: A western with Coyote? That sounds intriguing. Did you have much trouble researching it?

K: Not really. I grew up on a farm and then later went to Texas A&M University to become a veterinarian. I haven't practiced large animal medicine for many, many moons so I did have to go back and make sure I remembered some of my terms correctly. 

I spent most of my time researching scuba diving and Coyote tales. A&M wasn't big on either of them.

Coyote is an interesting character. He's either the Creator Spirit or a trickster depending on the source of the tales. I went with the latter. Even as a trickster, the way he is depicted varies. He can be foolish or sneaky or, upon occasion, evil. He's a shapeshifter.

He wanted Shep, but came from an era where warriors took what they wanted. Sometimes there was little to distinguish between wives and captives. So the poor thing has no idea how to woo anyone. Needless to say, he does a shit job of it.

Coyote steals the medicine horseshoe that allows Charlie to shift, trapping him as a horse. Now Shep must find some way to rescue him before it's too late.

E: Poor Charlie! I hope Shep succeeds.

Excerpt:

They turned west, riding into the sunset. Well, soon enough it would be a sunset. Right now it was just really bright sunlight boring into Charlie's eyes and obscuring his vision. He'd have to focus on the trail to avoid laming himself. Good thing he could rely on Shep to guide him around any real dangers.

Dust puffed under his feet and settled on his legs. That and his dried sweat made him itch. He couldn't wait to get in the shower.

A sharp pain on his rump startled him into bucking and kicking.

Shep shifted his weight forward and followed his every move. "Whoa, Hoss!"

Charlie stopped so suddenly, he felt the horseshoe shift again.

Just a deerfly. Now he felt like an idiot. Fortunately, horses couldn't blush; although, he'd heard that rabbits could.

He turned his head and met Shep's eye, hoping to convey his apology, earning him another pat on the shoulder.

"I'm okay. But it was good practice for saddle bronc riding. Should I enter this year?"

He tossed his head and crow hopped, but didn't budge Shep. He could have tried a little harder, really bucked; after all, his partner had a good seat. The horseshoe thumped against his hoof and he stopped. This business with the shoe was getting worrisome.

A fly buzzed behind him again and this time he settled for swishing his tail. He hated the damn things. At least it wasn't a horsefly. Those things were vicious.

"Maybe you should use more of that fly repellant you call aftershave."

Haha... Charlie snorted and considered making Shep walk home.

Shep shifted his weight forward. Charlie took the hint and set off. Clip, clop, clip, clop... The trip home always seemed to take longer than reaching their goal.

Something dust-colored darted across his path. He threw his head up and reared, startling like some green-broke colt. His hooves struck the ground on either side of a quivering jackrabbit. The poor animal screamed and brushed against his fetlock as it made a dash for the scrub bordering the trail.

A fluffy little bunny. How flipping embarrassing.

He stood with legs braced, still snorting. His rib cage expanded and contracted spastically under the girth.

"That was close. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Shep slung a leg over and dismounted. He smoothed gentle fingers over Charlie's legs and examined his hooves. "Other than the horseshoe, I think you're fine."

Shep picked up a stone and tried to pound one of the nails back in. A partial success, but they both knew it would work its way back out again.

His breathing slowed, but he could still feel the adrenaline burning in his veins. Maybe a lope would take the edge off.

"Feeling better?" Shep scratched between his ears, calming them both.

He nodded and gave a breathy sigh, nuzzling against Shep's chest.

Shep uncapped the canteen and took a few swallows. Then he took his hat off and smacked it against his leg, sending up a puff of dust. He poured water into his sweat-stained Stetson and held it up for Charlie.

He drank the salty water in a few quick draws.

Clapping the hat back on his head, Shep mounted. Once he had settled, Charlie took off at a lope.

"In a rush to get home?"

Charlie snorted and stretched out. He still had some relatively smooth flatlands before he reached the outcroppings. When the last of the frantic energy began to ebb, he dropped down to a jog, and then a walk. He felt a little better.

More rocks littered the ground. Soon boulders took their place. He could see the stone outcroppings ahead. Shep's deft hands on the reins helped him make his way through the maze where a stone bruise could leave him lame.

Before they reached the outcroppings, a snake slithered out in front of him. The unmistakable buzz of a rattlesnake filled the air. Heat flushed his skin and then a chill filled his veins. What. The. Hell?

He didn't have room to jump the rattler. Once more he rose in the air, pivoted and came down outside the irate serpent's strike range.

"Back! Get away from it!" Shep shouted.

Charlie agreed with him whole-heartedly. He started backing, ears flicking forward and then to his rider, trusting Shep to guide him with little movements of the reins.

"Just like we practiced it for that reining class," Shep encouraged.

Yeah, they'd done this before. Nothing difficult, just tighter quarters and the risk of being lamed if he stepped wrong.

"I've got you. I won't let anything happen." Shep spoke slowly and evenly, soothing the disquiet in Charlie's soul.

When they finally left the boulders behind, Charlie stood trembling.

Shep dropped from his back and pulled his head into a hug. "I'm really starting to hate today." He glanced around. "We'll take the long way. I don't want to risk anything else jumping out at us at this point."

Charlie sighed, but Shep was right. If they stayed in the open, nothing else should happen. If something did while they were cutting through the rocks, they could get hurt. Good thing Shep was a bronc rider or they'd have been in trouble today.

"Thirsty?" When he nodded, Shep gave him the last of the water.

They walked for a while, side-by-side, until Charlie stopped and looked pointedly at the saddle.

"Are you saying I'm too slow?"

He nudged the stirrup with his nose. If they kept on at this rate, it would be dark before they reached the ranch.

Charlie hadn't gone two strides when a roadrunner darted in front of him with... a coyote on its tail. Seriously?! I thought that shit only happened in cartoons.

The coyote slowed and winked at him. Actually winked. Could this day get any weirder?

"You've got to be shitting me!"

The coyote circled Charlie and came up behind them, much closer than he liked. Coyotes usually left larger animals alone, but this one was acting strange. Could it be rabid?

The slinking shadow took another step closer and Charlie cow-kicked. His horseshoe went flying.

"Finally!" A voice he didn't recognize shouted in triumph. The coyote snatched the glittering curve of metal out of the air and ran away.

"Hey! We need that!" Shep tugged on the hackamore, whirling Charlie, and set heels to his flanks.

Charlie didn't even think about it, he jolted into a gallop. He had to have that horseshoe or he'd spend the rest of his life as a horse, slowly losing his humanity.

Burdened with a rider, he couldn't seem to catch up with the coyote. But stopping to offload Shep would only insure he wouldn't overtake the damn thing. At least, this way he could keep the mangy beast within sight and see what it did with his horseshoe.

He did manage to slowly gain on the coyote. If this went on long enough, he might catch up.

Ahead, he could see the cenote coming into view. Was the coyote headed toward the sinkhole?

He caught up with the coyote in time to watch his horseshoe arc into the air and splash into the water. The coyote grinned and disappeared into the brush with a flick of its tail.

Abso-fucking-lutely unbelievable.

Shep's just your average all-American cowboy. He runs his own ranch and rides the occasional saddle bronc. Nothing special there. Unless you look too closely at his boyfriend.

Descended from a long line of Native American mustang shifters, Charlie "Hoss" Running Horse is anything but average.

When Coyote takes a shine to Shep, he decides that Hoss has got to go. With the theft of the medicine horseshoe that allows Hoss to shift from mustang to human, Coyote sets his evil plan to have his way with Shep in motion.

Will Shep be able to save Hoss before it's too late? Or will Coyote's plan come to fruition?

Save a Horse, Dive a Cowboy goes live on December 26^th, just in time for anyone with a new Kindle to read it.

Available at Amazon.

Rainbow Award winning author, Kayla Jameth grew up on the family farm in Ohio. An unrepentant tomboy, she baled hay, raised cattle, and her father taught her to weld before she graduated from high school.

She attended Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University and later, Texas A&M University in her pursuit of veterinary medicine, taking her far away from her rural roots.

But it wasn’t all hard work for her, her sojourn as the princess of the Celestial Kingdom left her with the title "Sir" and a costume closet the envy of many knights, lords, and ladies.

After declaring for years that she was not an author, Kayla now finds herself writing m/m erotic romance outside of Houston, Texas. While you can take the girl out of the country, you can't turn her into a city slicker. Kayla would still rather be outside getting down and dirty with the boys.

She shares a full house with her favorite animals: a dog, a cat, three guinea pigs, as well as her husband, son, and daughter. 

Find Kayla Jameth at:
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