The End is coming….

Many years ago, I wanted to write. I enjoyed crafting stories, making the characters do the dance. I found it liberating and fulfilling. And then stuff happened, and the magic that I found vanished in a puff of angsty teenage smoke.

Decades passed, and with the exception of two porn stories (don’t ask, I won’t tell), I never wrote another thing. Until I had a dream. Two young men–Taylor and Jackson–and a story that grew between them. When I wrote it down, a few people–Eden Winters and Anne Tenino–told me I should try to make an actual story out of it. So I did. It became the first story I ever sent out. While I was waiting for Harmony Ink to get back to me to let me know if they would publish it or not, I found a call from MLR Press for stories relating to music in the 80s. My first song was already taken. Then I found 500 Miles by the Proclaimers, and the story laid itself at my feet. I decided I’d give it a try. And it was accepted! It became my first contract, which was shortly followed by a contract for Pitch.

I received some really nice comments on the stories (and, of course, a few not so nice ones), but by and large, people seemed to enjoy them. So I figured I’d give it a go, see if I could possibly do some actual writing. And here we are, a couple years later, and I’ve found a renewed spark. It’s kept me wanting to continue writing. And by golly, I missed it so bad.

Now I’ve got nineteen stories out there. Hard to believe! But my favorites? The Collars & Cuffs series I cowrote with K.C. Wells. Our first collaboration was Someone to Keep Me. It took us a little time to find out footing. We each had different ideas about things, but we found a common ground and each made concessions in order to get the story done the way we were both happy with. Now I know that Ben and Scott aren’t everyone’s favorite. Scott is lost in a sea of leather. Ben? He wants what’s best for Scott, but he’s convinced himself it’s not him. They’re not perfect. They weren’t meant to be. We wanted to watch them grow over the course of the series. We think we did okay. Scott will still not be for everyone, but Ben explains to Jarod a little about their lives, and we think it’s important that people keep it in mind. Scott is not now, and probably never will be, the perfect little submissive. He feels so much, it overwhelms him at times.

Then came Jeff and Damian. This was a huge departure for the C & C world. Damian used to be a Dom, but when he lost his sub, Oliver, to cancer, he withdrew from the lifestyle. When Scott finds Jeff, the person who he believed had brought him over to England, they discover what happened to him at the hands of Curtis Rogers, and they want to help. They take him to Damian, who wants so badly to guide him that he’s willing to try something new for both of them. Domestic Discipline. At first Jeff rebels, but he comes to see that Damian isn’t doing it to hurt him, but to give him the structure he so desperately needs. Finally he understands that what Damian is offering him is a lifeline to pull him out of the morass he’s sinking in.

Our next couple was Eli and Jarod. Okay, I have to admit something here. The opening scene of the book, where Jarod’s life is destroyed crushed my heart. It turned it into dust and blew it away. I wrote the initial scene, but K.C. took it and made it sparkle and shine. I got comments from people that they’d never cried from an excerpt before. This one hit them in the feels, and we were both supremely proud of what we accomplished.

And now on July 18th, the final book in the Collars & Cuffs series will be out. It’s called ‘Endings and Beginnings’. We draw to a close the stories of may of the club members, while leaving a few little dangling tidbits to entice you. (And if that’s not cryptic.)

We hope you’ll join us in the final book, so you can see what happens when:

Alex finds a certain picture in Leo’s desk drawer.

Peter learns some news that threatens to undo everything he and Thomas have built.

Scott and Ben’s special day is here!

Andrew teaches someone the ropes. Gareth becomes responsible for someone rethinking their beliefs.

Damian comforts Jeff when his world is blown apart.

Alan and Dorian come to the rescue.

Eli and Jarod make a decision that will affect more than themselves.

Plus Miles and Pietro help Melissa, Miles’s sister.

And Joe finds that he’s finally found someone in his life he refuses to share.

As the blurb says, “Old love, new love, vows, pain, rage, moving in, moving on…. ”

You won’t want to miss this one, we promise.