It's National Novel Writing Month or as the cool kids call it, NaNoWriMo. If you're reading this blog, you probably already know what Nano is. If not, let me give you a quick breakdown.

National Novel Writing Month is when writers across the globe - budding, published or otherwise - commit to writing 50,000 words in the month of November. It's a challenge to help writers get those words down with the goal of having a (semi) finished novel at month's end. My friend Monica first hipped me to it back in 2010.

Now I know what you're thinking. Christa, you're already published several times over. Why do you need to participate in NaNo? Well my friend, the answer is two-fold. First, I want to work on my writing speed. I can finish a book, but I take too long to do it. I'm hoping that by participating in NaNo, I can get focused and write straight through, without stopping to ponder and agonize over my draft for a month.

I also want to participate because I'm writing something vastly different from my published books. I'm finally, finally FINALLY writing the historical fantasy that I've been wanting to do for several years. Since I've only published contemporary so far, I almost feel like I'm starting over. So I've got all the nerves that go with writing a first book.

So what's my WIP about? I'll tell ya. Last week I did a Twitter meme: 1 Like = 1 Fact about My NanoWriMo Work In Progress. I'll share them here as well.

1) I changed the ethnicity of one of my main characters because I wanted to use gorgeous Willy Carter as a muse.

2) I have to research birds for this WIP even though I'm terrified of them & don't even like to look at them. I'm already regretting this decision.

3) I came up with the idea for this story four years ago. I gave Hero #2 two swords because Lancelot looked cool with them in King Arthur.

4) This WIP is trope-tastic! I researched tropes like Body Guard Babes, Big Heroic Run & After Action Healing on TV Tropes. It's gonna be a total popcorn fest and I already love it.

5) The geography of the kingdom is based off the bluffs that Cahokia Mounds & later, St. Louis, Missouri were built on.

6) I'll be writing my first on-page deaths of named characters. I'm already in mourning for them.

7) I latched onto Sheith from Voltron as an OTP (One True Pair) ship because they fit the Tol & Smol dynamic of my WIP's main characters. They also share a lot of their tropes. I've got a whole blog post on this coming later.

8) I was originally going to have the king's posse all with shaved heads. But decided later that was boring looks-wise.

9) My cast of characters is very diverse.  In my WIP's world, people travel, settle & marry without regard to race

10) I'm researching cults & mass suicides like Jonestown. The series will get a little dark sometimes.

11) Hero #1 is straight-forward & naively expects everyone around him to be the same. He also wears tight, black leather pants. Meow!

12) Much to the disgust of warriors, battle & death often influences the fashion of the court.

13) I'm writing this in multiple Point of Views - three or possibly four. Eeeeek!

14) I almost named a character after one of the dudes from Jodeci but decided to name him Cornelius instead. I'm not actually sure that's better.

15) I'll be writing my first on-page lesbian couple. I plan to give them their own book in the series in the future.

16) Hero #2 is demisexual, which influences his 'warrior monk' personality.

17) I haven't discovered the character flaws for Hero #2 yet. So far he's perfect. And perfect characters are usually boring, so I'd better find out his issues STAT.

I only made it to 17 on Twitter, but I'll do a few bonus facts here so I can have a nice even Twenty.

18) I'm considering doing another story within a story type deal. Like I did with the Supreme Might of Love. We'll see. I'm still pondering.

19) The opening scene arose from a tweet I posted several years back, where I joked I was going to write a fanfic spin on The Hunger Games with the men oiled, sexy & fighting in loincloths.  My OG OTP were going to be the main characters in that fic. If you dig you can find out who that is. Or if you've been around me since 2012 you already know.

20) Throne Sex.

And that's it! I'll be checking in this month with more news on my Nano WIP. And hopefully by November 30, I'll have 50,000 words to start my first historical fantasy.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading!
Love,
Christa

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It’s time for another Sneak Peek! I’m close to finishing Book five in the Cuffs, Collars and Love series. If you read An Officer’s Submission, there was a flashing sign hint on who the next story would feature. And if you guessed Hector and Miguel, you’re correct! I have a title, but I’m not one hundred percent sold on it yet. The manuscript will be sent to my editor next week and I’ll have a tentative release date and firm title after that. In the meantime, here’s your (unedited) Sunday Sneak Peek:

*****

The next morning, Miguel got up as usual to make Hector breakfast before he left for work. He was tired, he'd laid on the couch all night, but he hadn't gotten much sleep. He'd still been wide awake when Hector had returned from his drive. But he figured the other man needed his space after what happened between them, so he'd pretended to be asleep. He was hoping that this morning maybe they could talk before Hector went to work.

The bedroom door opened. Miguel nervously tightened his grip on the spatula as he listened to Hector's footsteps approach the kitchen. He took a deep breath and turned around with a bright smile on his face. "Good morning! I made pancakes. And uh, I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Don't worry about it." Hector didn't even look at Miguel as he went over to the cabinet and took down his stainless steel travel mug.

Miguel watched as he filled his cup from the pot of hot coffee. After a moment he tried again. "Do you think we should talk about what happened last night?"

A muscle jumped in Hector's jaw. "Just leave it for right now, okay?"

Miguel immediately nodded and backed off. "Okay. I made bacon too," he said unnecessarily. The bacon was there on the table, plain as day.

"No time for breakfast today. I'm running late. Call me if you need anything." Hector left without once looking at Miguel.

When he was gone, Miguel slumped against the counter. What in the hell had possessed him to give Hector a blow job? That was about the dumbest thing he could have done. Yeah, Hector had obviously been turned on and gotten off, but as far as Miguel knew, he'd lived his entire life as a straight man. Having his dick in the mouth of another dude was going to fuck with his head. By putting him in that situation, Miguel had probably ruined the friendship they'd been rebuilding. More than likely, Hector was going to come home and tell him to get his shit and get out of there.
 
*****

Yikes! What went on there? You can find out later this summer! In the meantime, catch up with the first four books in the Cuffs, Collars and Love series available in Amazon KU.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Christa

Visit my website: www.ChristaTomlinson.com
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Book IV of the Cuffs, Collars and Love series is now available.
Amazon - Amazon UK

Hey, it's Sunday! This week I'd like to share with you an unedited excerpt from my WIP - part two of Logan and Clay's story. Enjoy!

     "Come here." Clay followed the gentle pull Logan gave his hand to drop down to the couch and straddle his lap.
     "You're my lover. My submissive. It's my right and my pleasure to protect you always." He brought a hand up, his thumb sliding across the metal collar that circled Clay's neck. "I won't let anything or anyone hurt you or take you away from me."
     A thrill shot through Clay at that declaration. Logan was unapologetically possessive of him. It had caused problems early on in their relationship, but they'd worked on it and come to an understanding on boundaries. Now, he was able to revel in Logan's possessiveness and caring, because he knew it wouldn't get out of hand. Clay pressed his forehead to Logan's and closed his eyes. "I love when you talk to me like that."
     Logan's hand moved to grip the back of his neck. "Do you?"
     His eyes still closed, Clay nodded.
     "Tell me why."
     "Because it makes me feel like the most important thing in your world. I've never felt like that with anyone."
     "It's true. You are the most important thing to me. Having you in my life, wearing my collar, means everything to me."
     Clay opened his eyes and looked into his lover's gaze, seeing the sincerity there. Not that he doubted him. Logan had proven time and time again how much he loved him. "I feel like I don't deserve you. Like I don't do enough to show you how much I love you in return."
     "That's not true. You don't have to do anything to deserve me. I'm with you because I don't ever want to be with anyone else."
     "Well, maybe I can show you tonight." He brought a hand up to rub the pad of muscle on Logan's chest. "Physically."


Awww, they're so lovey-dovey. For now... *insert evil author laugh* I've got a title and a sexy cover and I can't wait to share them with you. Hurry up 2017! If you haven't read The Sergeant series, catch up with the first three books.

Thanks for reading!
Christa
Originally posted on the Cafe Risque Blog
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads
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I’ve reached the point in my manuscript where I’m ready to share with everyone what I’m working on. I’m writing the sequel to The Sergeant! Logan and Clay are two of my favorite characters and I feel like they have a little more to say in their lives. So I’m giving them a second book. It’s nice to work with them again. I know them so well that their story and dialogue flow very easily for me. That’s a huge bonus when writing!

But – because of course there’s a but – it also hurts to write this story. As much as I would love to, I can’t write 80,000 words of happy-happy fun time for Logan and Clay. Which means my boys are going to have to have more drama in their lives. Nooooo! But I know they’ll work it out somehow. My goal is to have the conclusion to their story out in mid to late January. I’ll have a more specific date next month.

In the meantime, you’re welcome to check out the start to Logan and Clay’s relationship in The Sergeant. Or, if you’ve already read The Sergeant, you can stop by my site and read a couple of sexy-sweet one-shots I wrote for Logan and Clay HERE. Just scroll to the bottom of the page.

Thanks for reading!
Christa
Originally posted on CafeRisque.com