Hit The Ground Running

For those who wonder (And I even include myself in that) why I do not and can not write consistently enough to come up with more than a book a year, it is because I have "life obligations."

I got home from GRL and the first thing I did was clean up the dead, bloated body of my lizard. It was very sad (and gross), but I had a feeling when I left he was going to die. He hasn't been looking good. He had a very seizer-type episodes and hasn't been eating. It is very sad, but at least he is not suffering. 

I got home at 1pm, cleans up the lizard, unpacked some, but I had to run back out. My son's "senior night" for soccer had been postponed last week due to rain and moved to last night. I therefore had to make sure aI got there in time to decorate the field with balloons and hang up the posters that each senior on the team had made. There was also a dinner I help set up for and serve. All these things take time and I live 20 minutes from the school. So I left, bought balloons, zip ties for the posters, and made it to the school. Did what I had to do and then rushed home to pick up my other 2 children who arrive home on the bus at 4 & 4:15. Then, at 5:30 we went BACK to the school to watch soccer! Drive, drive, drive, that is all I seem to do.

This is, sort of, a typical day. There always seems to be things that involve lots of driving, which prohibit me from reading OR writing.

Case in point, I have to leave here at 12pm to pick up my son for a Dr. Appointment. The Doctor's Office is 45 minutes away. I wanted to read over my MS today because Misplaced Affection is done, but in the editing stage. I want it to be the best it can be for you readers! But I will run out of time to read because I have to be driving. I am also out of bread, ham, cheese, milk etc because I wasn't here over the weekend and no one thinks to go get food except me.

This year however, has been the most balanced so far. There have been times in the past when I have been on a pendulum and it swung all the way to one side--the "family" side, or the "writer" side. On the writer side, although good for banging out 265000 words in 8 months, my family was completely neglected. And then on the other extreme I was completely dedicated to my family and forgetting how much fulfillment I get out of writing. I forgot to take care of myself and let the writer "out" and became tense and irritated. I NEED to write. It is therapy. But one side or the other doesn't help me. I need to find a happy medium where I can take care of my family, but also satisfy the writer in me. 

This year has been the best so far.

True, I have still only written ONE book. Misplaced Affection was started in late November for English class last year and I completed the story right before GRL in early October. (NAMES took 14 months to write.) But I DO THINK that when readers get it in their hands they will find it was worth the wait. Misplaced Affection, or "MA", might be my best writing yet. I am waiting on the verdict from my betas. I am striving to raise my own bar and push to write better, cleaner, and more concise. You know I ramble! I want to do less of that.

But writing and blogging and family and dinner and laundry and conferences and _____ (fill in the blank) take time. I am looking for the happy medium. This year seems to have balanced out nicely so I hope that 2015 will also go well. I have several conferences planned out, so all I need to do is make sure my family is taken care of while I am away.

I am also trying to hop back in to blogging. 

I took a break. Do you notice? I have been paranoid and worried about saying things online for fear of who is "watching" and waiting for me to say things that they disagree with. I don't like the idea of being "watched." From you my readers it is different. You are here to see what is going on in my life because you wait for the next book, you want to get to know me better, or maybe you like to hear me ramble about my daily thoughts. IDK. Whatever the reason you are here, it is different that OTHER people reading my posts as a way to "catch" me doing something wrong. This is what I am paranoid about. I have lived in fear a very long time. Well, it seems long but really only 4 years. In 4 years, I have been trying to let go of fear. This is not an easy task.

Many of you even walked up to me in GRL to ask how things are going with me and told me you are praying for me in this new "church" situation. That is so encouraging to me. THANK YOU! To know, hear about, and feel your support is a wonderful thing. I need you. And as I told a few people it is a DAY TO DAY thing. Depends on the day how I feel, but I am moving slowly not wanting to make waves. This situation also effects my family. I am not in anything ALONE. And I have also found, this time around, that I am not alone in my struggle. YOU ALL are there with me. Again, THANK YOU! This is an emotional trial of sorts because I am a religious person. (of sorts) I don't want to leave my congregation and therefore I want to take it slowly. If they ask me to leave, fine, but I am not going to jump ship because I am uncomfortable. I feel I need to be there. 

Anyway…. I hope to be editing this week. I also need to out line my up coming projects and see what is most feasible to get out quick. MA is very angsty so I want to write something funny next.  I also have two projects that were previously published and are no longer available. I received the rights back and with some "Wade Kelly" tweaking, I'd like to get them back out there too. One was a paranormal novel about a faerie, and the other a paranormal short about a vampire. The vampire one I would dlike to extend into a full length horror. Well, maybe not full blown horror. I am not THAT dark. More of a comedy that has "horror" moments. It IS a vampire and mine are not sparkly. I also need to write Corey's story, and work on getting Rob and Russell a story. Don't ya think?

So LOTS going on in the near future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be back again this week with highlights of GRL, so stay tuned.

Love and kisses,

Wade

Gay PRIDE as a Straight Woman

I've been doing a lot of thinking. I think a lot. And often, I think it is because when I am SUPPOSED to be writing, my mind brings up little diversions to distract me. Like this morning with the NEW IDEA for another book! Like I need more of those. My mind is overwhelmed as it is! Anyway… This is JUNE. Gay Pride Month. And although I am not GAY, nor am I bisexual, I do support people who are LGBTQ etc… WHY? I have been thinking about this and trying to come up with what "Pride" means to me as a straight woman.

Nothing really. In and of itself. I am not LGBT and therefore I do not have the same deep down sense of PRIDE in the ability to be myself, in the open, love who I want, and not cower in shame. I don't. Not really. My life is not the same. I can not compare my struggles to that of the LGBT community over decades, centuries, etc… But I do however take pride in knowing people who do. I am very proud to have made some wonderful friends over the past few years who have taught me so much about love and what it means to truly love someone.

So why do I side with EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL? Because I think the world needs to see more love.

I don't know what the statistics are for divorce. I don't. But I do know it is staggering. I think it is ridiculous that people even try to use the argument about gay marriage "destroying the sanctity of marriage" when DIVORCE is what is killing the sanctity of marriage. And this is "Christians" and non Christians alike. Don't take that stand when your numbers are failing. That's just stupid. I have been married for 22 years. And what I have noticed as I look around and pay attention, because that is what I do, I am finding more and more couples my age that have been married the same amount of time. I'm talking SAME-SEX couples. They my not have been "officially" married because many states are only recently getting around to legalizing it, but they have BEEN TOGETHER the same amount of time. They are COMMITTED to one person, same as me. And do you know what I also noticed? More and more (Straight) couples I thought would be together forever, have gotten divorced. Therefore, that "sanctity of marriage" line doesn't work on me. One think I know is that marriage is hard and for 2 people to stick it out through thick and thin it is not easy. And if straight couples can't do it, why tell the same-sex couples they can't? Because they ARE!

Some of the most loving relationships I am glad to be friends with are Will and Jeff. I LOVE how sweet and romantic they are after so many years. Their commitment and love is an inspiration. YES, even to a straight woman! Because it is about LOVE.

Other couples I know online, but don't actually "know" all that well, but I am so thankful for Facebook etc so I have the opportunity to get to know them in the future:
Andrew and Mike
Andrew and Dominic.
Kage and HH
Michele and Jenn
David and Marc
Rick and Bruce
J. Scott and Mark
Ken and Andy
Jay and Andreas
Paul and Dennis
K.A. and her partner ( I forgot her name)
Ryan and his partner
as well as younger, committed couples like:
Michael and Anthony
Domenico and Serhan
TJ and Eric
and two of my favorite people: Matty and Brad

Many of the above have done posts recently about Gay Pride and what it means to them. Because of this, I have been pondering what it means to me.

There is a lot to say about how I feel but I don't know that it will all make sense. My brain hops around a lot. PRIDE… what does that mean to me as a straight woman?

The Gay Pride festivals and parades that go on now, in recent years, are the expression of being able FINALLY to be out of the closet by choice. People do still chose to keep their sexuality a secret, but more and more I think folks are finding they don't HAVE TO. They are now taking PRIDE in who they are without fear. I look forward to a time when all people can do this and not have to fear judgment, ridicule, and harassment. To find the love of your life is not a given. And if you do find love, I don't think you should be persecuted for it.

I think I have stated somewhere before that I am a Christian. Yes, I am a conservative, straight, married, Christian woman who believes in gay rights because I see them as HUMAN rights. To me, this is not a religious battle or matter, it is about being HUMAN and realizing people want and need to love. I don't believe love comes easy. I think HATE comes easy. I think selfishness comes easy. But I think LOVE takes more effort. Love at first sight can happen, it happened to me, but just being in love for the first or 20th time doesn't mean it will last all by itself. Love and commitment take work. And in my opinion, If two people, same sex or not, find the strength and courage to commit themselves to one another, then STOP persecuting them because of love. There are plenty of other things to go after! How about other countries who KILL people for loving. Huh? People are beaten and jailed in other countries simply for showing feelings for the same sex. That's just dumb.

Gay Pride? What does that mean? I think I also take Pride in a country that is rising above other parts of the world and allowing same-sex couples to join together LEGALLY and show the world the commitment they had most likely for YEARS before they could have it on paper. I have a piece of paper too. It states I am not an individual, but part of a couple. It makes a difference. To me. I am not in this life alone. I am in it with my husband. (And my 3 kids) We are a family. I take pride in that, so I support others as they strive to unite and feel that same pride. I have MY family, and I think they should be allowed to seek to create theirs!

Gay Pride…. I personally have lived a double life in the past. For years, I lied about myself and what I wrote and what I felt all because a handful of men thought writing a gay romance novel was the most evil thing ever and that I had influenced a few boys to be gay. (I made them gay… LOL) I shut down and split myself. I was one way (wife and mother) around everyone, and then when by myself I got to let the writer out. But I hid what I did for years. Out of fear. I was essentially "closeted" so I could continue to write what was passionately rising in my heart. I had stories I HAD to tell. Hence, When Love is Not Enough came out of my pain. Jimmy was me. Unlike Jimmy, I was not suicidal. My therapist even agreed. But I felt a deep sense of pain and aloneness from losing ALL my friends that year. I felt alone. But I also felt like I had a calling and gift from God. I even told the one pastor who demanded I repent and delete my website etc, that he should pray my story changes as I saw it as a gift from God. I was writing comedy then (book here) and my story DID change. I felt pain and loss and fear and aloneness and persecution… all things that maybe others out there could relate to. Because of what I went through, I saw things and dreamed things that would never have happened except that NOW I felt them. I think my story include persecution because that is the world I live in right now. I write about suicide, hate crimes, and bullying, because that is where the world is, and I add the HEA because that is where the world needs to go!

Does that mean I can relate to being in the closet as a gay man? Um, NO! Definitely not. But maybe I can imagine it enough to write passionately about a subject that I hope will die out like the dinosaurs. I dream of a world where people will call it "history" when referring to times when two men, or two women hid their relationship.

Gay Pride?…… something maybe I aspire to. People march in parades to show pride for being who they are. In recent years I have been striving to do just that. I want to be myself all the time, in front of everyone. I WANT to take pride in being who I am. Isn't that the essence of PRIDE?

Who am I? I am a straight, white, married, Christian, woman who writes M/M romantic fiction, and believes in Human rights and rights for the LGBT community to love and marry like everyone else if they chose to. Commitment should not be denied.

Pride is about being PROUD of being who you are all the time without apology.

I'm trying to be that. Are you?

xoxo

Wade

Rainbow Book Fair 2014 and my upcoming "events"

Howdy. Yesterday I attended the 6th Annual Rainbow Book Fair in New York City. I have been there before, but NOT as an author with actual "fans" and people who come up and say, "I really liked your book." That was surreal and thrilling. People recognized me, either from Facebook, or from my book covers and asked if I was Wade Kelly. OMG! What a rush. I swear I was on an adrenaline high most of the day!

I did a reading from JOCK. I read a shortened version of page 28-30. (Cole and Ellis' first kiss.) Lynn, my wonderful friend, recorded it, but we are having a delay in posting it because of the file size. (I'll post soon I hope.) It was very fun. I was nervous, but Lynn said I did well. I was super happy that My friend and fellow author Jeff Adams got to the fair in time to hear me read. He is such a dear man. It meant a lot to have these two wonderful people in the audience as I read, knowing they were there for me. I just adore my friends!

Anyway… I really had a great time at the fair. I met LOADS of people! I talked all day!!!! People were friendly and open to stop and talk. I did a drawing for a free audio book and a man named John won. (I emailed him directly.) I was chuffed to have 19 cards in my raffle for the audiobook :) On the raffle card there was an option to be kept up to date via e-mail, 13 of the 19 checked YES. Of the "yeses" 10 had never read my books. I find this a fun fact! I had people stop by and find me interesting enough to get e-mails and they had never read my books before! YAY!! So cool. I only hope I am not too boring and they don't "unsubscribe" too quickly.

Overall, I had a positive experience at the book fair and afterwards Jeff, Lynn, and I joined the NY author meet up group to have drinks at the Ivy on 8th ave. (Group included authors Damon Suede, Taylor Donovan, Kate McMurray, reviewer Monique Thompson, Madeline, Deb, Tina, and other people I can't remember the names of.) I had a delicious cosmo with my dinner. It was a noodle dish with chicken and a ginger sauce. oh my. We talked, laughed, cried a little (well, I did) and then called it a night. I am such the partier that I was in bed by nine! hahahaha.

So, first conference where I went as an AUTHOR, done. CHECK!!

Next up… Rainbow Con in Tampa!

To kick this event off, Rainbow Con is having a "blog hop" like many do. On April 1st, I will be featured on Pants Off Reviews by Darien Moya. (I told him I loved his name.) So stop by there on Tuesday to see what I have to say about Rainbow Con!!!

I also started some of the edits on Names Can Never Hurt Me. I got the blurb edit. Small, but better than nothing. Dreamspinner is backed up with lots of book edits so they are behind on mine. Oh well. I guess they just have too many of your favorite authors writing books to keep up with. That is a good thing! Be patient. As soon as I have cover art and a date and editing news I will let you know!

Next, after I post my blogs and write a blog for Mr. Moya, I will be editing chapter 1 of Misplaced Affection and posting it. check back soon, or subscribe to the right in the box that looks like:

BRB,

Wade :)

excerpt from my WIP

Okay, I'm doing it. I'm giving you an excerpt of what I'm writing. This is my WORK IN PROGRESS. My question would be, does this make you want to read more, or are you bored already?

Title: Misplaced Affection.

Description / blurb:

Two best friends, one huge secret, and a wedding that stands in the way.

Flynn Brewer has a secret, (two secrets)—he’s gay and he’s in love with the boy next door. Flynn’s known for years how he felt, but he’s kept his secret because he’s convinced that telling his best friend, Jack, could destroy their relationship. And then, when Flynn finally works up the nerve to tell him, Bronwyn and her sister enter the picture and mess up everything. Flynn couldn’t say the words now. Not when “I love you” sounds like a lame attempt at hiding his jealousy over Bronwyn. Besides… so cliché.

Jackson Mitchell was every girl’s heartthrob and every boy’s wet dream. Quarterback from high school turned horticulturalist, Jack had a personality that could sell anything, do anything, or be anything. Except, he couldn’t sell the truth—to himself. He’d been living a lie ever since his best friend Nate, Flynn’s brother, died ten years prior. And just when he thinks he’s ready to talk about it, and tell Flynn how he feels, he meets a girl and gets swept away.

 Years later, both friends stand ready at a wedding neither one wants to go through with. The best man, dying on the inside as the only man he’s ever loved commits himself in marriage—to a woman; and the groom, going through the motions of what is expected of him, even though, in his heart, he’d rather be saying “I do” to someone else. At this point, only God could intervene to avert disaster.

EXCERPT:

Prologue

April 2014

She loves him. I could see it in her eyes—that deep sense of longing—as she peered over her shoulder toward the ushers, family members, and friends who gathered to prepare for the day’s festivities. As workers from the cottage set chairs in rows on the grass and hung strings of white lights in the trees, “Ophelia”, as Jack called her because she looked like she had stepped out of a painting by that title, wandered farther away picking flowers and occasionally wiping the tip of her nose. Why had I noticed? Why would I care? Because I felt the same disconnect as she wore in her expression. Only, my reaction wasn’t to pick flowers it was to sit on a folding chair on the edge of the activity and sulk.

It was no surprise to me that Amelia is in love with Jackson Mitchell; after all, he has the kind of smile that lights up a room and personality enough to power a city. Jack is vivacious and charismatic and able to draw people in with a glance. Everyone loves Jack, so I couldn’t blame her for falling hard. The only trouble I foresaw rested on her assigned position as Maid of Honor. How would the sweet “Ophelia” handle walking down the aisle on “Prince Hamlet’s” wedding day only to step to the left, and allow room for his bride to join him at the altar? I didn’t know.

I could imagine how hard this was for her. I had been there at the restaurant last July, expecting wings and an exchange of college stories, when out of the blue our annual birthday dinner turned into an engagement party. I certainly hadn’t expected it. I distinctly remembered Amelia’s squeal of delight because it pierced my ears and caused me to promptly cup them, but her high-pitched cry and enthusiastic joy had been immediately followed by vain attempts to hide her tears. I had had my own issues that day, my own internal debates and misgivings, but I would never forget the look in Amelia’s eyes as she caught me watching her. Her joy had been as bittersweet as mine.

Luckily, Bronwyn mistook her sister’s sadness and jealousy for happiness and hugged her until she smiled again. Poor girl. She should have said something. I should have said something. But the words got stuck in my throat as I watched the happy couple, Jackson and Bronwyn, hugging and toasting. Bronwyn asked her sister to stand beside her at the alter two second before Jackson turned his charm my way. Keith kicked me under the table as I helplessly agreed to be his best man. I had never been able to refuse Jackson any request in the past, so it stood to reason that I wouldn’t have been able to change the course of history now. Of course I accepted.

Acceptance—fuck—look where it got us nine months later; an outdoor wedding straight out of a Shakespearian play complete with strolling minstrels, flutes, mandolins, Victorian gowns, puffy shirts, and poet hats. Stupid hats, they messed up my hair. I didn’t want to be here. My only solace was that Amelia was as unhappy as I was.

As I watched her stroll along the opposite edge of the wooded garden, picking flowers and sampling wild raspberries, I thought to myself how beautiful she was. Her luminescent auburn locks tumbled down her back, tendrils lifting in the slight breeze, and beckoning those around her, including me, to touch, caress and become lost in the alluring tresses. She had tucked flowers in her flowing mane as a weaver might include jewels among his threads, which made her even more stunning. She looked remarkable in her billowing white gown, and I knew without asking that she longed for Jack to notice. But he wouldn’t. Jack’s eyes were set on the fiery redhead who waited beyond the willow tree for the minstrels to start their strumming.

Our “Ophelia” would never garner “Hamlet’s” attention as she did in the Shakespearian play, which was why she chose to pick flowers instead of attending to her sister, the bride-to-be, Bronwyn Pierce. Amelia gathered her skirts and created a basket in her arms and filled it as she went with red poppies, white daisies, and blue cornflowers. Oh, to be so carefree and peaceful at a time like this. She looked so serene, but on the inside I knew she was falling apart. Amelia was a casualty of war in a sense, mourning the loss of her heart with the impending words “I do”. So as she stepped barefoot through the grass weeping in silence and collecting flowers like a child, I watched and shed my own tears, mirroring her sorrow, empathizing with her pain, and dying inside because the same woeful revelation suffocated me—I was in love with Jackson as well.

Fuck! The revelation hit me like a truck on a highway. Keith had been right all along.

I curled forward over my legs and cradled my face in my hands. What a mess. Less than two hours to go before this stupid wedding and I realize I’m in love with the groom, Amelia’s in love with the groom, and the poor bride is obliviously readying for, possibly, the world’s most clichéd wedding, and the worst part, if it could get any worse, was the unsettled notion I had that Jackson was actually gay.

What was I supposed to do with that?

I sat back and scanned the scene again after rubbing the weariness from my eyes cheeks. Most people seemed joyous. My dad was talking and laughing with Jackson’s aunt—one good by-product of this event. But those of our core group, seemed to feel the tension. Kelly and Grace weren’t laughing; they were texting. Keith, my ex, was sitting on the opposite side of the chaired area near them but not with them, arms folded, scowl firmly affixed to his face. I wasn’t even sure why he’d come today except that maybe Grace had threatened him.

Tom and Greg were most likely with Jackson, my best friend, where I should be since I was supposed to be his best man. But how could I look Jack in the face after what had happened after the bachelor party last night?

Oh God. “I’m probably going to hell,” I whispered, thinking about what we had done. As a tear forced its way from the corner of my eye I thought out loud, “How did things get so fucked up?”

Anniversary of JOCK!!! and the last day of 2013

Hello, hello.

This has been a great 365 days. My Roommate's a Jock? Well, Crap! came out Decemeber 31, 2012. Today it is on sale at Dreamspinner for $5.59. Who out there has NOT read this book??? Don't put it off any longer. Hop over to Dreamspinner today and buy it. Better yet, buy a paperback and I will sign it the next time I see you. I will be at 4 conventions this year! FOUR!

MARCH - We have the RAINBOW BOOK FAIR in New York.
APRIL - RainbowCon in TAMPA
MAY - HUGE ONE…. I'm going to RT Booklovers Convention in New Orleans
OCTOBER - and we are back full circle to the conference that kicked it all off… GRL!!!!

This book was a huge hit for me! It showed me that I CAN write something funny and popular and that I can write quickly. I don't know if you follow my blogs and remember what I write, but the latest one I signed a contract for took over a year to finish writing. JOCK took a little over two months. True, it is 87k and NAMES is 118k, but the key is that I CAN write a story in a few months if I put my mind to it! JOCK showed me I have that capability. JOCK also brought readers my direction in a way that When Love is Not Enough did not. Of course, there are a fair number of you readers who bought JOCK and then discovered WLINE. And I am so glad for you!!! 

I tend to be a slow writer. I'm sorry. One of my "New Year's Resolutions" is going to have to be WRITE FASTER!!!!! Writing faster and more consistently is a resolution for my dedicated fans. Thank you for your continued support! As you know, if you are friends with me on Facebook, I live in Maryland. I am open to meeting for coffee or something. I plan to go to Leesburg, VA sometimes soon. And when I am at these conventions I mentioned, please come up and say HI and give me a hug. (If you like.) And IF we are friends on FB and I do not connect your name with your face, it might be because your profile picture is of a flower, or a pile of Dalmatian puppies, or something, and I am not connecting your name with our conversations. Bear with me. I'll catch on.

As far as 2014… What do I hope to do?

MEET MORE PEOPLE. Fans - YES. Other Authors - YES! 

Who do I want to MEET in person??

Tina Marie. She is a wonderful friend, Beta reader, and reviewer.

Cody Kennedy!! Yes. I most definitely want to meet Cody in person and hug him.

Elizabeth North. I would like to meet the person responsible for giving me a chance.

Kage Alan. I think  he is hilarious and very nice. I want to hug him too.

Lisa Hinsley – An author who has battled cancer for so long it is exhausting just to think about it. She has an amazingly tenacious spirit. I respect and admire her.

Jeremy Shipp - A bizarre mind and a fascinating online personality. I'd like to have coffee or a cruller with him ;)

Beth Bellanca - terrific online friend. :)

Paul Richmond. I kind-of met him in like 2012 but I didn’t introduce myself so I want another chance..

Ryan Field. - He is a wise person who seems to have something to say about everything. His blog is very informative! So yeah, I want to meet him.

Zathyn Priest. Although I do not see myself visiting Australia anytime soon, Zathyn seems very nice :) But if I don't fly to AU, then that also rules out meeting Lily Lamb. :(

Ashlyn Kane - One of my all time favorite authors!! (I voted for her in the Goodreads M/M Choice Awards.) I was disappointed that she was in Germany (I think) during GRL.

SJ Frost - Another of my favorite Authors.

Jay Bell - One of my favorite authors and ONE SWEET GUY. I can not imagine is is any less kind in person then he is online. I'd love to give that guy a hug! (But, I'm also not flying to Germany. Oh well.)

Matt Boston- Seems like a terrific guy! He survived jail after all!! I'd love to meet Matt, Brad, Sam and Rick. A great bunch of guys with big hearts!!!

Daisy Harris - She is friends with friends and I don't know how I haven't met her yet. :)

Serena Yates - Large presence online. Book reviewer and writer. Like to meet her but UK is too far!
Margaret George - also in the UK. Unfortunately. I guess a have to plan to join the UK meet up of authors one of these years!
And if and when I do, Ijeoma!! is on the list! Lovely woman with a huge heart for those who are oppressed and hurting in the world.

As well as other who comment often that I'd like to hug: Kazy Reed, Deeze Brown, Tame Anna, Cassandra Carr, Terry Ferris, Pamela Pelaam-One, Macky Holding, Marie Siders, Mika Milette, Meike Durr (Darn Germany), Ashlyn Forge, Helen Jacobsen, Paul Wright, etc…

Melanie Tushmore, Alan Chin, Jayden Brooks…

So … that 's a short list. I realize I needed to include more people but I got tired of typing.

Also on the "wish list" as it were for meeting people. The celebs I'd love to meet include Davy Wavy, Tyler Oakley, Sean Paul Lockhart, and Dan Feuerriegel. (odd combo, I know.)

Anyway… who is on your list for 2014??

What are YOUR resolutions?

I want to write more!

Celebrate JOCK's anniversary by re-reading it, recommending it, buying it (if you haven't), or telling me your FAVORITE SCENE!! Ellis and Cole need the love ;)

And remember, this is the last day to vote on the M/M choice awards on Goodreads. JOCK and The Cost of Loving are in many categories. (And WLINE is up for favorite M/M novel of all time!)


~ Later taters
Wade

GFY - What does that mean anyway?

Dear Thomas, I know I can be confusing when I answer a post. Heck, I can be confusing while holding a conversation, but bear with me. I read your comment on a previous blog post and it got me thinking about what GFY means. I have found the "GFY" category on Goodreads and a loosely written definition and I get it, GFY = Gay For You. So, in part, I understand what it means. But what does that REALLY mean?

I'm writing a post in hope people will respond with their thoughts on the matter. (*hint, hint. Please comment.) Gay for you. Does that mean that a person is perfectly fine being straight until that one person happens alone and they realize: wait, I'm gay. Because that is what the notion sounds like to me. And, question, does that really happen?

I'm throwing this question out there because I wonder. I question. I think… probably. But I have never actually, in person, MET someone that this happened to. GFY. Did this happen to YOU??? Let me know. Personally I write about a lot of things that I IMAGINE really happen. Given the vastness of the human mind, why not? There are a zillion people out there. If I can THINK IT, I bet there are people who live it.

From a writing perspective… I think I have thought about this theme before I knew there was a real category. I think giving the human experience and the vast emotions and feelings and thoughts we have, that GFY can and does happen. Thomas had expressed a particular fondness for that theme. Actually, I have found from reading books that fall in the GFY theme that I like them too. I like the possibilities that things are not predictable. That lives can change so drastically once you meet that certain someone. I like that LOVE can do crazy things in a person's life.

Have I written GFY. I don't know. Have I? Unintentionally maybe. Not sure. Thomas asked about Names Can Never Hurt Me and it made me think about it. You know Thomas, I think I might have. You will have to let me know. NAMES has some angst, although on the "Wade Kelly" scale it is probably around a 5/10. (Where WLINE would be a 10/10.) NAMES, I think, is more about character development and change. Maturing. And possibly GFY. It's about meeting that "someone" who changes everything and makes you see things differently. About meeting the person you would change FOR.

Yesterday was 4 weeks since I submitted it. Thomas asked if I submitted to Dreamspinner. I didn't say because I didn't know if I should. What if they reject it? Would you want to know DSP rejected it? I didn't want to make them look bad. BUT, who else would I submit to initially? DSP IS my publisher. I always start with them. Perhaps, I will branch out and try other publishers and diversify, as it were. IDK. Maybe. For now, it is Dreamspinner. So yes Thomas, I submitted to them on November 3rd. The last manuscript took 5 weeks to hear back that they wanted it. So I am hoping to hear something soon. I really miss my characters. Nick and RC. I miss them.

I didn't want to reread the MS because I tend to change things and I didn't want to do that too soon. When it is close to the editing date, I will probably reread it and make notes of what I want to change. Then add them in the first edit round. BUT, that all hinges on acceptance and a contract and an actual EDIT. Right now, I got nothin'. Waiting. Continual waiting. I hate waiting.

I was trying to write, but I had an English project to do. I made a power point presentation this weekend. It is the first one I have ever done so GO ME! I've never needed to make one before. I did interviews and collected my data to present to the class. It should be fine. I only have one class today, and the last one on Wednesday and then a final next week. Then grammar class is over. Sadly. I liked the class. I will miss the people. I learned a lot. I hope to use what I have learned and write better. IDK. I'll try.

So Misplaced Affection should be back on track this week. I still have the same word count just over 19k. BIG GOAL is to kick some butt on it this month.

Fingers crossed. I'll blog, or shout out to everyone when I hear back from DSP. In the meantime I will worry and obsess over it. I'll worry NAMES is boring. (Although Thomas told me it isn't possible.) and I'll worry it is too long. (Tina has told me the more words the better. lol) And I'll worry that it is just not good enough. Worry worry worry. It is what I can't stop from doing. Why does waiting have to be so hard to do?


Oh, and btw, A SHOUT OUT TO CODY KENNEDY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope it is a super terrific one!!


Laterz ya'll.

WADE

Naming Characters

Sometimes this is the hardest thing for me. Not because I can’t think of a name, but because I often pick the SAME names I already have in other novels. I tend to like names that start with D, T, J, C, and N. I have a list of names on word doc, but it only works when I LOOK at it. I’ve been stumbling along because I named one of my recent characters “Tory”. I like it. Short version of Victor in my current WIP. The problem is that I JUST wrote Names Can Never Hurt me and one of the characters is named Corey. Corey and Tory… I’m not much on rhyming names one book right after the other so I figured I needed to change it. Status on facebook and people chime in with suggestions. Some good ones by the way, but also ones that reminded me of my list so I updated it today and discovered I repeat names. Not good.

Latest culprit? Nicholas. Apparently I love that name. I used it three times in various forms. It won’t really cause too much of a problem I don’t think, but it did get me to see that I need to pay attention to naming characters. The problem that you readers can’t factor in, is all the other novels I have planned out or partially written that you haven’t learned the names of the characters yet. AND, the newer ones I added to the list.

Published:

When Love Is Not Enough – Jimmy (Jamie), Matt (Matthias), Darian. But also Dan, Cheryl, Joan, Scott, Jason, Kevin, Anna, Emily, Kenny, and Joey.

The Cost of Loving-  Jimmy (Jamie), Matt (Matthias), Darian. But also Dan, Cheryl, Joan, Steven, Hannah, Scott, Jason, Kevin, Bob, Billy, Lori, Ian, Tommy, Anna, Joey, and Fred.

My Roommate’s a Jock? Well, Crap! – Cole, Ellis, Rob (Robin), Russell, Sara, Lori, Marcus, Mike, Brian, Ben, Brice, Stan, Bethany, Jonathan, Brad, Garrett, and Meredith.

Submitted: Names Can Never Hurt Me – Nick, RC (Raffael), Paul, Corey, Marcy, Tara, Tyler, Terrell, Julie, Laney, Dawn, Elaine, Annia, Cathy, Jennifer,

Newer ones (by me) you may not have read (because they were published in ’09 & ’10 under a different name) …

Sculpting Clay – Clay, Taran, Javier, Vincent, Geena

All I Want For Christmas – David, Nicholai, Joey, Jack , Tyler, (mention Tony)

Books I am working on:

Current WIP: Misplaced Affection – Zach, Flynn, Keith, Gwendolyn, Amelia, Greg

Others:

Road Trip Recipes – Avery, Cash, Crimson, and three girls I can't choose a name for.

Blue Jays – Jayden, Alex

Love Trust and Learning to Live Again- Jimmy (Jamie), Matt (Matthias), Darian. Also Dan, Cheryl, Joan, Steven, Hannah, Scott, Jason, Kevin, Bob, Billy, Lori, Ian, Tommy, Anna, Joey, Fred, Ben, Sara, Ariana, Kyle,

And then the paranormal books. Sci-fi, and fantasy:

My Lover Sucks - David, Nicholai, Joey, and more people.

And a sci-fi/fantasy series with characters: Jackie, Tony, Dominicq, Tadhg, Keegan, Marcellus, Anna, Moyra, Catherine, Cecilia, Tighernan, Edonnon, Molly, Larisa, Galen, Maya, Max, and others…

I have lots of stuff going on. If I can keep up the consistancy, next year should be a good year!

I think I'm doing well. What started as an English paper of 1200 words (over her requirement by 900 words) is now over 16000 and keeps on coming. I have chapters outlined that I haven't had a chance to write yet, but I have the ideas in my head. I am confident. I wanted to write 50k in november but I don't see it happening. It's okay though. I am writing at my own slower pace, but I AM WRITING. That is the key to writing. Haha- DOING IT! And the last 467 words I did for a paper due on Monday were chilling. Made me cry. Very powerful in my opinion. I think I am improving. 

So yeah. That is all for now.

Catch ya laterz,

Wade

Throwing You A BONE - for the hard core fans

Okay, I have danced around being "found out" far too long.

Years ago in the fateful year of 2010 when I was persecuted by my church for writing what I do, I had to hide. I disappeared. You have all heard this. But what was I doing? What had I written before the hammer came down? Who was I before I was Wade Kelly?

When Love is Not Enough was born out of grief and depression. I was told to STOP writing. Could I? I tried. But I am a writer, it is what I do, it is what I think, it is how my brain functions 24 hours a day. I am always thinking about writing if I am not at my computer doing the actual writing. So it was back in 2010. … or back up a month or 2… December 2009.

In December 2009 I published my very first short story in the Dreamspinner Advent Anthology Mistletoe Madness. Title? All I Want For Christmas. Many people have even read this but do not know it was by ME. Why? Because I had to change my identity. The church did crappy stuff. I closed myself off from everything. I could no longer be the person and penname I was in 2009, but I had to delete everything--delete my life. In some ways it felt like dying to me. (I have no other reference for dying.) I chose a different name: Wade Kelly. However, before that, I was ….. *drum roll* Linda Reilly.

I wrote All I Want For Christmas:

Spending Christmas in New York City was supposed to be for fun, not to fall in love, but when David Gilden’s buddy thinks it’ll be funny to crank-call a stranger, David’s perfect, cookie-cutter life takes an unexpected twist. He’s been in denial for years about being gay, and with just one kiss, he realizes all he wants in life is to be with Nicholai Markoff. Even if he knew ahead of time the mysterious stranger was a Vampire, being in the man’s bed would’ve still topped David’s Christmas wish list—and he was Jewish!

Not only this short, but a full length paranormal m/m romance. Sculpting Clay.

When Taran Lorenz enters Clay Stevens's life, Clay is still reeling after his long-time partner, Javier, abruptly ended their relationship. Taran gives Clay the motivation to start living again, but Clay’s insanely jealous ex threatens to nip their relationship in the bud... only Taran won't give up, even when Javier gets their mutual employer, the manipulative billionaire Vincent Torres, to mark Taran for “removal.”

It's the start of a fight on three fronts: Javier confessing his continued love for Clay while he tries to run Taran off, Taran fighting to be loved and accepted for who he is—not what he is—after magically returning from the dead, and Clay trying to figure out how he got stuck in this fairy tale of monumental proportions and where he can find the happily-ever-after ending.

So if you want more Wade Kelly words, but hate to wait the long wait for Names Can Never Hurt Me, here is your chance. Before I was Wade, I wrote as Linda. I have updated my website to reflect this.

Why tell you now? Um, because I am letting go of fear. I only fear they inconsiderate people who de-friended me and my entire family in 2010. Where I am now, I feel different. Most people IN MY LIFE NOW already know what I write. Not all of them understand WHY, but they know. I shouldn't have to remain hidden. And…. little secret…. I have 36k written on the FULL LENGTH sequel to All I Want For Christmas. And it is a funny vampire romp with a little horror and angst. It HAS to get written, right?

So yeah, if you want another "Wade Kelly" novel, check out these titles. They are older. Yes. You'll have to let me know what you think. And whether under the name "Linda" or not, they are MY WORDS. My question now it, how loyal are my fans? Are they willing to give the paranormal stuff a chance when the name on the cover isn't WADE. Will you talk about it, PM your friends, and spread the word that I have other books out there? Will you show support for the slowest author around and read my older stuff while you wait for Names Can Never Hurt Me to come out? And my largest pondering would be, "Will Sculpting Clay or All I Want For Christmas hit the Dreamspinner top 25 again, these many years later, because I have the best fans ever who want to read my words?" Can it happen. The challenge is there.

>>DREAMSPINNER


~Wade


PS: I know I write like molasses, but I promise to produce more in 2014!! Onward and upward!