Category Archives: Writing Stories

What I’m working on—July 2019

First, if you missed it, Will’s Hope is out! It’s the latest Wolves’ Heat book and it’s one long damn book. :D If you didn’t miss it and you picked up a copy, thank you so much! I really hope you liked it as much I do, despite how crazy long it is. :)

Also, the 11th R’H’ani story came out in June, One to Tame, just in case you missed that one! This is a series that’s just moving right along. I love the stories and doubt I’ll ever stop writing them. It’s a series of hot, hot, hot romance set in a world that doesn’t really do monogamy so the guys get to play around a lot in ways they wouldn’t in a different world. :-)

I think I’ve said before that I do usually work on more than one story at a time. It’s just the way my creative process works. When one thing needs mulling time, I move on to another for a while. At the moment, I’m working on the next two R’H’ani Chronicles stories, volumes 12 & 13 while Of Relations and Ships rests for a bit. That book is still probably going to be my next novel release. It’s much closer to being finished than anything else I have.

As for the R’H’ani stories, one of those stories has a title and the other doesn’t. The funny thing is that the title for the 13th story was supposed to be the title for the 12th, but it just didn’t feel right to me, and then as I was writing on the 13th, I realized that was the story that title went with. So the 12th story remains untitled at this point. I just haven’t come up with anything that fits it yet, so I can’t really talk about it by name. But both stories are really close to finished at this point, and I’m hoping they’ll be out by the end of the month. So yay for that!

The next Wolves’ Heat book is fluttering around in my brain, and I’m thinking I might be able to get it written within a six month window of the release of Will’s Hope. Maybe. Assuming it doesn’t turn into a ridiculously long book like Will’s Hope did. :D

I much prefer to write shorter, but I always let the story decide for me what length it needs.

One big project I’ve been tinkering with is a set of maps for the New Canton Republic, Hend & Yurt, and Wolves’ Heat books. This is a project that’s probably going to take a good long while to come to fruition but I’m pretty set on the idea. I love maps. And of course they’ll be going in the front of the books, if this happens.

Finally, unless something happens to derail my plans, I will be releasing The King’s Deception and Taken with Tony in 2019. Not sure when, yet, but I’m working on them and I am feeling confident that I’ll get them finished up this year.

In the Works for This Year

I mentioned in the last post I wrote that I was working on a new book for the New Canton Republic series. I’m also working on (or planning) a new book for the Wolves’ Heat series and the next two R’H’ani stories. (It’s about time we find out what’s going on with that election (and Mateo!)). :)

I can’t make promises, but I’d love to know what you’re most interested in seeing from me this year….

Let me know!

What’s Next? An Update

I wasn’t sure when I started Mason’s Regret if it would be the next book I ended up finishing because I’m really bad about working on more than one book at a time (or good, however you look at it!), but I can say pretty confidently now that it is the one that’ll be next.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, and I can say this: it has not gone exactly how I thought it’d go because Mason has been AWESOME. :D Maybe I shouldn’t say that about my own character, but if you expect objectivity from me about my guys, you’re dreaming. ;)

I can’t wait to share this book when it’s done. :D

I can’t make promises about a delivery date but what I said in my last post still holds true. I’m really thinking it might be ready in just another month or so.

Then, it’ll be on to Of Love and Zembores and Taken with Tony. It’ll be a competition to see which one gets done first, for sure. The King’s Deception can’t be left out, but I’ll be honest, it’s going really slowly for me for reasons I can’t quite nail down.

And I’m definitely going to get to more R’H’ani Chronicles stories. I have Mateo’s story, One to Tame, in the works right now, but it’s also going really slowly for reasons I haven’t figured out.

I gotta admit, I’m a mood writer. If I’m not in the right headspace for a story, I find it really difficult to get going on it. On the flip side, if I’m there, a book can go really fast (for me). (Let’s face it, fast for me is still pretty slow.)

Anyway, I hope this update is helpful. I don’t know if anyone really wants to know these things or not, but I love to talk about my books, so there. :D

Still Working on the Next Book

I’m sorry to say I’m still working on the next book. I’ve tried to arrange things so I can write more and release my books a little closer together, but I’m afraid I still haven’t figured out the best way to speed things up without giving myself a panic attack or something. :o So far I’m finding that I’m kind of stuck at my current speeds.

But… never give up, never surrender! :D (Who else loves that movie?) I’m going to keep trying and I hope I’ll be able to get Of Monsters and Love out soon enough not to disappoint anyone too much.

 

 

Cam’s Fortune Is Coming This Month

I don’t have the exact date settled for the release of Cam’s Fortune, but it is coming out this month. November. Only a few months after I’d hoped to have it ready but… I can’t regret it because I’ve loved writing this book! Cam is another favorite and I can’t believe how many imaginary people I’m now in love with. ;)

It’s only going to get worse, because I already love Gerald and Luis and Egan and Mason and Olly and Reed and Ethan and so many others and most of those stories are just floaters in my eye. But hey, if you want me to stop writing these books, send me twenty million USD in big bills and I’ll think about it (while I write the next book). ;) Otherwise, I’m just going to keep writing. There are so many stories left to tell in this world!

All joking aside, I’m very sorry if you prefer books that aren’t an integral part of a larger series, because I don’t think I can write those kinds of books.

This doesn’t even feel long enough to be a post. :o Here it is anyway!

I Finally Have a Tentative Title for Another Wolves’ Heat Book

Can a book title be a spoiler? If you think so, you might want to skip this post, because I mention several. I’ll leave a bit of extra space so you don’t see anything you don’t want to see. :)

I’ve been playing around with this title for nearly six months to be honest and I keep coming back to this one: Gerald’s Lot.

Gerald is a piece of work, for sure, but he has secrets galore and he’s not at all who he appears to be to everyone else. I absolutely LOVE Gerald and I think his story is going to be so much fun to write. You’ll get more hints about him in the upcoming Cam’s Fortune. (I’m still aiming for late August! I’m going to try my best to have it out then but sometimes my ability to gauge the passage of time isn’t so great.) :D

I also have another title I’m leaning toward: Mason’s Regret. (As a reminder, Mason was one of the twins in Ian’s Choice (Ian kicked his butt, lol), and he’s also Matthew’s cousin.) :D He also has a mate—and if you’ve read all the books in the series to date, you’ve met him and you don’t even know it, because this is one pairing that did not work out so well at the end of the previous heat season (Ian’s Choice and Devon’s Gamble).

I’m not 100% committed to these yet, but writing about them here has made me realize just how badly I want to write these stories. :D

For this series, for some reason, I have to have titles first. It and my Hend & Yurt series. The titles give me the motivation to write the story, but I have no idea why.

I’m still stumped on a title for the upcoming New Canton Republic book, but I figure something will eventually come to me! For those books, I’ve never had a title before I was almost done with the story. I will say I really like where this story has gone so far! I just wish I had any idea what to call it so I could post a title for it on the site. :)

I want to also mention the new page here on the site called “Gift.” I’ve put up coupon codes that will get you free copies of the first two stories in the R’H’ani Chronicles. :D I love that little series, and since I’ll be putting out more stories in it soon, I wanted to give anyone who hadn’t read it a chance to try it. The first story really doesn’t do the series justice in my opinion. The world is so much more complex than the first one has the chance to show but the second one does a much better job with that. The third story is one of my personal favorites, but the fourth is a close second. I also happen to adore the fifth and six too! Really, I just love them all. :D I cannot be objective about my stories, sorry. ;)

Psst… If You Read and Enjoy M/F Romance, I’ve Published a Book under a Pen Name

If you read and enjoy male/female romance, I’ve published a book under a pseudonym this past weekend. The book’s called Alpha Next Door and it’s paranormal romance. You can find details at the website for my pseudonym Lynne Sterley or go straight to the book at Amazon (it’s not published anywhere else at the moment). There’ll eventually be a male/male book in the series that I’ll probably “co-write” with myself. (Sounds crazy, I know.) If you read this book, you shouldn’t have any trouble figuring out who’s getting that story. I already adore him! ;)

Since I wrote this book under a pseudonym, I’m not announcing it to the new release list, but I did want to mention it in case anyone was interested enough to check it out. Thank you so much if you do! :)

I’ve Titled That Gay for You Book “Gay for You”

I’ve titled that gay for you book I started Gay for You. I had a different title in mind but that’s not the one that stuck, so… Gay for You it is! ;)

The book is in the works for sometime this year and I’ll update when I have a better estimate of the release date.

Gay for You is a contemporary male/male romance story. This book could be the first in a series of books, because these guys have lives and friends and enemies, and friends and enemies sometimes get to have stories too. ;)

Gay for YouHe married his best friend for money and revenge. He might not get the last laugh.

Dayton Royce has a grandfather that’s determined to rule his life, even from the grave. The only way Dayton can get his hands on the inheritance that rightfully belongs to him is to marry—his grandfather’s will has seen to that. But Dayton’s never been good at following orders, and he has no intention of bowing to his grandfather’s dictates any longer. That’s where his best friend Alex comes in. Alex is gay, and Dayton’s grandfather despised their friendship—and Alex.

Dayton’s found a way to get what’s his and give his grandfather the middle finger one last time: he’s going to marry Alex instead of one of the girls his grandfather wanted him to marry. The only problem? This is one marriage of convenience that’s turning out not to be so convenient after all, because Dayton’s starting to feel things for Alex he never thought he’d feel.

:D

Anybody want to read this? I have to say, I’m getting really excited about this one! Dayton and Alex are mighty fine. ;)

My next Wolves’ Heat Book Will Be Salvadore’s Luck and Then There’s That Gay for You Story I Might Write

I have to admit that Salvadore has really surprised me! He’s a bit different than my other guys, I think, but not so much that I don’t just adore him, the same as the rest.

Sal’s possibly just a bit more damaged, IMO, and he needs someone very patient! The problem is, heat season isn’t exactly a time when any of my wolves have a lot of patience to spare. So … there’s some conflict there, of a most delicious kind, IMO. ;)

I’ve been having so much fun with Sal’s story. I really hope that excitement comes through in the book.

I’m not exactly sure when Salvadore’s Luck will be ready, but I’m still hoping for a late 2014 or early 2015 release. I don’t believe it’ll be out any later than early Feb. I can’t promise that, but I’m pretty confident. :)

I want to write all the stories. In my world, everyone deserves love and I want them to have it! I’d love to release faster so I can write all the stories I want to write, but … they come as they come and I have to abide by the demands of my muse!

I don’t think The King’s Gambit is going to be delayed much longer. It’s just that Geran’s a little more complicated than he led me to believe when I started this one and so the story’s been a bit different than I expected—and taken me a lot longer to write than I expected, even though it’s still not a really long story, not like the Wolves’ Heat books or the New Canton Republic books.

Also, I have another possible story in the works that’s been bugging me for the last few months, a contemporary “I’m gonna thwart my asshole granddad who thinks he can control my life by making me marry somebody so I can claim my inheritance but I’ll show that homophobic old bastard by marrying my gay best friend instead” story. :D Oops.

Here’s an excerpt of the beginning I sketched out a month or so ago. (It’s very rough!)

Copyright © 2014 by Odessa Lynne

Dayton Royce stared across the desk at the executor of his dead grandfather’s will while acid burned its way up his esophagus.

Through gritted teeth he finally said, “For how long?”

“One year and three days.”

Such an odd number. But his grandfather wouldn’t have liked the roundness of one year, nor the oddness of three hundred and sixty-five days, so one year and three days it was.

Son of a bitch. He clenched the arms of the chair just a little tighter, his fingers biting into the padded leather that covered half of the sleek wood.

“And I don’t get a penny until I do?”

“You do not.” Calvin L. Richardson sounded bored.

Dayton admitted that maybe he should have stopped repeatedly asking the same couple of questions about ten minutes ago.

Calvin Richardson raised the stack of papers and tapped the edge sharply against the top of his desk, effectively neatening the papers and signaling his intent to move the meeting along.

Dayton leaned forward in the chair, dropping one elbow to his knee for support. “And there’s no way I can get out of this if I want any of that money?”

Richardson’s sigh fluttered the edges of the paper in his hands. “Mr. Royce, your grandfather didn’t want you to have a way out and he used every legal tool at his disposal—which was considerable—to make sure you had to abide by the terms of his will before you could inherit the assets he left for you, including his significant fortune. If you want those assets, you’re going to have to marry someone and stay married for one year and three days, no exceptions.”

Dayton fisted his hand. “I hate that dead son of a bitch.”

Richardson’s expression didn’t waver. “I have an appointment scheduled, and I’m already going to be late. Have a good day, Mr. Royce. Come see me once you have a marriage certificate.”

Dayton ground his teeth together and pushed himself up out of the chair. He didn’t bother offering Richardson a handshake on his way out. Richardson didn’t seem to care.

* * *

“We could … uh, marry, you know.”

Dayton stared at Alex, wondering where the hell that suggestion had come from.

“Okay, never mind. Bad idea,” Alex said.

Dayton’s heart thudded in his chest and his mouth went dry.

“There’ll be questions,” he said, then had to stop and clear his throat before continuing. “A fucking deposition where I have to swear to tell the truth and then they’re going to ask about consummation.”

Alex’s blue eyes seemed to darken. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Dayton rubbed his hand on his thigh, trying to force away the twisty feeling in his stomach. “Whoever I pick, there’ll be sex, because I’m not losing this inheritance over a fuck.”

“I can’t believe—“

Dayton interrupted Alex. “You’d fuck anybody for sixty-three million in assets and cash, and you know it, so don’t act indignant that I’m willing.”

Alex grinned, but didn’t actually say anything. He didn’t have to.

Dayton smacked the outside of Alex’s thigh. He started to push to his feet.

“I’d fuck you.”

Dayton froze and then dropped back to the sofa, meeting Alex’s blue-eyed gaze with a strong sense of shock. “What?”

“You need to find someone you trust if you’re going to do this without getting stuck in a real marriage, right? Not even a prenup will save you if your bride finds out you’re using her to get your hands on your inheritance, or if it does, I’m sure it’s going to cost you going in. And how will you keep it a secret if she knows what’s really going on?” Alex snorted. “There’s not a girl you’ve dated that you can trust not to screw you over given half the opportunity because your taste in women is—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dayton interrupted. “But I’m not sure I’m ready to do gay sex just to—”

“Ah,” Alex said, a knowing look on his face.

“I’m not afraid of gay sex, goddammit.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I—” But Dayton stopped.

What the fuck was the problem? If he could trust anybody to not marry him for his money, it’d be Alex. He would trust Alex with his life. And when the time came, Alex would divorce him without a complaint once Dayton had met the terms of his grandfather’s will. They would still be best friends. Of course they would.

No complications.

Nothing but a couple of fucks between them so that he could pass a lie detector test—because if he married a man instead of a woman some dick was going to demand proof that he was entitled to that money. Very likely Calvin Richardson himself.

And God above, what better way to make his homophobic bastard of a grandfather roll over in his grave than to do exactly what he said and marry—but a man instead of a woman.

A fitting revenge.

Alex was staring at him with curious eyes. Alex’s patience was one of the things that made their friendship work so well, because Dayton didn’t have a patient bone in his body.

A couple of fucks. No big deal at all. How hard could it—

He coughed, the sudden flash of memory catching him off guard. He knew what Alex’s dick looked like, even though he’d never seen him hard. Alex wouldn’t have to be a grower to have a dick that put half the people Dayton knew to shame.

What the hell was he thinking about Alex’s dick for?

“If you’re not attracted to men, you’re not going to want to be the one doing the fucking,” Alex said matter-of-factly. “So we should just decide now that I’ll be the one in the lead.”

“Oh, hell no,” Dayton said. “I’ve seen your dick. I’m supposed to let you put that up my—”

“Sixty-three million,” Alex said.

“My ass is sacred ground!”

“Your ass is kind of cute.”

“You are an asshole. I don’t even know why I like you.”

“Because I put up with you.”

Dayton exhaled loudly and raked his hands through his hair. “You do.”

“You don’t have many real friends.”

“I don’t.”

“And I will never screw you—”

Dayton raised his eyebrows high.

“—over.” Alex laughed. “Now who’s being the dick?”

“Tony is going to shit a brick when he hears we’re getting married.”

Alex’s grin widened. “Yeah. That thought did cross my mind.”

I have no idea if that one’s going to work, but if it sounds like something you might like to read, let me know! I’ll be much more likely to get around to it if other people are interested. Then again, I kind of need to know what happens—and how big a dick Tony is—and I won’t find out if I don’t write the book. ;)

My Backyard Inspiration for the Wolves’ Heat books

I’m not a good photographer and these pictures prove that, but this is my real life backyard and it’s definitely where I get my inspiration for the forest setting in the Wolves’ Heat books. Lots of oak, and brush, and very few pine, although if you go deeper into the woods, you’ll eventually run into some thick pine forest that’s almost impossible to walk through.

At the moment, the leaves are just starting to turn, but soon everything will be orange and yellow and red and brown. I’ll try to remember to take some photos then and post them.

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Photos © 2014 by Odessa Lynne.