Saturday, January 30, 2016

Rainbow Snippet for January 30-31, 2016

Greetings, Snippeteers. A tasty treat for your snippet-reading pleasure from the WIP:

Bryan adjusted the rabbit ears for the tenth time, and the old TV generated a vague picture that had more resemblance to ants swarming a piece of bread than the folks on a talk show. The clarity of the sound matched the picture, and he shut it off. No wonder the previous tenant had left it behind.

The elderly man in apartment three had offered his day-old newspaper. Bryan had read what he could around the areas where Mr. Biondi had cut out articles, cartoons, and recipes. He’d left the crossword half-done, filling in the easy words.
 
Another fifteen minutes, and he’d make another attempt at checking out what lawn and garden supplies Mrs. C. had in the garage. Should be long enough for Jace to clear out of the back entryway.


 

Friday, January 29, 2016

Truth or Dare: Featruring Remy and Jamie from Crash Pad and Beck and Zach from the Concepts Series

Truth?
Or Dare?
Risk or reward?
A morsel for your Friday reading pleasure, over at the Loose Id Blog. TRUTH OR DARE featuring Remy and Jamie from Crash Pad and Beck and Zach from the Concepts series. Secrets will be revealed...
http://loosenyourid.com/whitley-gray-coldhearted-crash/ 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

What I'm Working On--Six lines for Rainbow Snippets


This is from the WIP, currently known as GT.
God, what he wouldn’t give to run like that again. When he’d been whole, he’d taken it for granted: running, sports, mobility in general. As a paramedic, he’d witnessed all manner of deformity and considered himself sympathetic, able to relate. Being on this side of it had slammed home how little he’d known about life with pain and disability.
He hadn't had a clue.

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Saturday, January 16, 2016

My Sexy Saturday #124: Two Sexy Guys: Meet Beck and Zach from Coldhearted Concept

Welcome to the blog of Whitley Gray—cops and doctors in hot water. And My Sexy Saturday! Here are seven paragraphs from my new romantic suspense Coldhearted Concept.

Anticipating a much-needed weekend together, Beck gets a call from Zach.

“I’m not going to make it this weekend,” Zach said.

The pleasant expectation Beck had built all week collapsed into a black hole of disappointment.
Not again, damn it. A month of relative solitary confinement—thirty days without a visit. Beck stalked through the warren of packed boxes cluttering the house. Damn it to hell. He struggled to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice. “This is the fourth weekend in a row you’ve canceled.”

“I know.” Instead of an explanation, there was silence.

This could only be… Aw, fuck. “Don’t tell me it’s a callout case.”

“ViCAP got a hit matching one of my assignments.” The words were filled with apology.

Beck felt the need to punch something. He tried to avoid sounding pissed off. “Christ, they’ve got other profilers. Can’t Ruskin handle it?”

Zach heaved a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I did the original profile, and Sands is insisting. It’s just one more case.”

One more case. The same refrain, fracturing their time together.
~*~
Coldhearted Concept is available at Loose Id,   All Romance Ebooks, and Amazon


More about Coldhearted Concept:

Detective Beck Stryker has a lot to juggle: his long-distance relationship with FBI profiler Zach Littman, the family issues of cop widow Marybeth Halliday and her two boys, and the ups and downs of being out and proud. To top it off, Beck must work with his closeted ex-lover Van on the case of a skeleton discovered in the woods.
FBI profiler Dr. Zach Littman has been working on an exit strategy for months. Every time he’s on the brink of resigning, Minneapolis Unit Director Sands comes up with “one more case,” one that only Zach can manage. It’s a situation that frustrates Beck. Zach has promised he’ll leave the FBI and profiling behind—as soon as his Colorado medical license comes through. It may be easier said than done. Zach has reservations about uprooting his life and moving to Denver.
A killer leaves a grisly invitation insisting Zach participate in a deadly game, the rules of which are known only to the psychopath. It’s clear he won’t stop until he’s taken out Zach. It’s a race against time for Beck and Zach to capture the killer before the psychopath finds Zach and declares Game Over.

~*~ 

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Saturday, January 9, 2016

Painful Lessons and S.C. Wynne

Today S.C. Wynne stops by and gives us the skinny on her terrific new release, Painful Lessons.
What’s your name and your major? Brett Bridgeworth. I’m majoring in business because that’s what my dad wants.

Is college everything you’d hoped it would be? I have to say it’s more than I hoped and scarier than I imagined.

What is your biggest problem? Jeremy. No question it’s Jeremy.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d be more confident. Like Sam. I never would have gotten involved with Jeremy if I wasn’t such a needy mess.

Do you prefer playing sports or video games? Video games. Duh. I’m not the most athletic guy.

Who is the person you dislike the most? Jeremy.

Is there anyone special in your life? Sam. I’ve never had anyone care about me like Sam seems to. It’s almost too good to be true. But I’m trying not to think like that. I’m trying to be more open to good things these days. Sam is a good thing.

What’s your favorite meal, and do you fix it yourself or have someone fix it for you? Every meal is my favorite meal. I like everything. I eat anything. Just ask Sam. He can’t keep up so he picks on me instead.
~*~*~
BLURB:
As a freshman both in love and in college, sometimes there are painful lessons to be learned.
 
Excited to begin his first year of college, Brett Bridgeworth has just one problem: he sucks at math. Luckily there’s the sensual and mysterious math tutor, Jeremy Price, to help him out. It isn't long before Jeremy is tutoring Brett in more than just pie charts, but it isn’t until they split up that Brett discovers Jeremy’s twisted, obsessive side.
 
 
Sam Hawthorne is two years ahead of Brett, and they share a strong mutual attraction. When Brett breaks it off with Jeremy and gets involved with Sam, disturbing things start happening. It soon becomes obvious Jeremy isn't willing to let Brett go without a fight.
 

EXCERPT:

That was the night I met Jeremy. He was barely visible in the dark, leaning against a birch to the side of the path.

“Don’t look so sad, pretty boy. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.”

His voice was sultry, deep, and it startled the hell out of me because I had no idea anyone was there.

I pretended I hadn’t almost peed myself and started to walk away without answering, but his voice stopped me.

“Wait up. Are you Brett?”

He approached now, and I was surprised he knew my name. In the dingy yellow light of the streetlamp, I could see he was slender, with wide shoulders and black hair that brushed his collarbone. He had a sexy, dangerous vibe about him, and I took a step back as he reached me.

“Let me guess. Ted didn’t mention I was coming?”

I squinted at him, mystified by why this beautiful vision thought I should know him. “Ted?” Yeah, remember your roommate, dummy?

He smiled and flashed perfect white teeth. “I’m Jeremy,” he said confidently. “You look exactly how Ted described you.”

I put a hand to my blond hair, wondering what Ted had said about me.

“Ted said you’re looking for a math tutor.” He didn’t seem to mind at all that I was tongue-tied.

I think I’d mentioned once to Ted that I should get a tutor, but I’d never really pursued it. And yet here before me was the most delicious tutor anyone could ask for. My pulse sped up as I took his smooth hand in mine and something came alive inside of me.

“Oh, yeah. I do need help. I’m horrible at math.” He still held my hand, and I had the sensation of energy passing between us. I remember being hugely relieved I didn’t gasp like a little girl at the electric shock.

“But I needed to meet you first.”

Jeremy pulled me closer, and his gaze never left my mouth. I should have known then that he was acting odd for a math tutor, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, and I was blinded by a cloud of youthful lust.

“I don’t take on just anybody. I want you to know that.”

I remember I instantly felt special and impressed he was even considering me. I look back on it now, and it immediately strikes me that most math tutors weren’t in such high demand that they would pick and choose their tutees so stringently. But for whatever reason, I didn’t think twice about how strange he was. I was simply flattered I had been deemed worthy.

Later I was able to see I’d been chosen for reasons that had nothing to do with my being valuable. No, no. Far more attractive to Jeremy was that I reeked of need and a desire to matter to someone. I’m sure that’s why he wanted to meet me first before he agreed to help me. His type can smell self-doubt a mile away. My palpable insecurities were like blood in the water to a great white.

~*~*~

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Friday, January 1, 2016

Building a Better Villain

One aspect of writing crime is coming up with the bad guy. The badder, the better. But he can’t be pure evil—he has to have…heart.

I love writing villains. They’re wicked, they’re motivated by selfish ideals, and they’re unapologetic. Nothing sweet about them. A villain is vinegar. Pure puckered-up wickedness, right?

Um, not quite. Under that dastardly exterior beats a very human heart.

“No,” you say. “How can a bad guy even have a heart?”

Well, before he was a villain, he was just a guy. A man with a past, which shaped him and made him who he is today. Some of those experiences were positive, and the antagonist needs to have some of those positive traits. Some were negative, and resulted in psychopathology—adverse outcomes and negative traits. Add in a little predisposition to be unbalanced, and voila! Evil incarnate.

I started with a few positives—artistic ability, intelligence, good with kids—added a past involving parental criticism and unhealthy obsession, and topped it off with an inciting event, to get the antag started down his road to ruin. He’s sympathetic but still not a very nice guy; he knows what he’s doing isn’t socially acceptable, but his own goals take precedence. A villain you love to hate.

There were times he seemed too plausible, like someone who could really be out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to execute his plan. Sometimes I had to take a break and get a little perspective.

Here’s a little snippet from Coldhearted Concept:

The knife he could relate to. There was something arousing about the way it slid into the skin, about the way the blood welled in the cut. The past October, Beetle had completed his trials and reached the point in his metamorphosis where he’d been ready to advance his education.

The first one had been a novelty, back before he’d known what he was doing. It took time to adjust to the feel of the knife going into a sentient being—so different from carving cold, dead skin. The utter control and domination he’d exerted over the live girl had generated a much more gratifying response.

The female’s crescendoing screams of pain and terror had aroused him unbearably, as had the naked fear in her eyes. Especially the eyes. The Technicolor contrast of pale skin, silver blade, and crimson blood… Addictive.  
~*~*~

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