What Are Plot Stallions You Ask?

     Happy Saturday everyone! I hope that you had a great week. ;-)

     I was in a bit of a quandary as to what I’d be blogging about this week when a reader from FB asked me about my writing process after I said something about my characters hijacking a story. I actually had to think about it for a few minutes, because I really didn't know how to answer that question. So I thought I’d let you guys know just how my scrambled mind works while writing, or try to at least. 

     Now I know a lot of other writers talk about plot bunnies. How sweet. I don’t do bunnies, sorry, so I call mine Plot Stallions, running powerfully through my head like a runaway stampede. My style is anything but sweet. Furry? Yes, but I don’t see it as sweet perse. 

      How I come up with a plot-line comes from all different kinds of places. P.O.W. was from a snippet I saw on the news. Hawk ‘n’ Harley came from a blond guy riding a

Harley Davidson down the street. Sasquatch was a fond memory from my misspent youth, brought on by a yellow and white Ford truck that I saw in a parking lot, so a lot of different sources. 

      The characters are usually from a combination of people I've known at some point during my life. Sometimes a character will develop a personality and an agenda of their own. When this happens, which is often, they take over the story. Whatever outline I may have had goes right out the window. At that point it is their story and they are going to tell it their way. This is exactly has happened to the work in progress (WIP) I am currently working on. 

     I swore that I would have this book done before the first kick-off of the college season. Yeah, well, that didn't happen. The story got hijacked. Took on a life of its own and the characters just went nuts. Just as I was about to wrap the story up, put a nice happy ever after ending on it, they decided to run off and fuck all night. Twenty-something year old's can do that, and they do! Sheesh. Now the ending is out the window and they have changed everything. All I can do now is hold on and go with it. 

     I only sit here, stare out the window as they force me to type out their story. Now I’m at their mercy and the only way to get them to shut the hell up is to just get their story told. So here I sit waiting for them to get their shit together so I can move on. It will get done, I promise, but I now have no idea of how this is going to end now. 

      On another note, something else I was asked that had to do with the “edginess” of my stories. For this I’m going to talk about a recent review for Sasquatch. There were two reviews from some gay men. (Thank you Lucas and Wulf. You have no idea how important your reviews were to me.) Now let me tell you, getting a good review from a gay man is highly important in this genre. They live it. They know how it is. They know when a sex scene is realistic or not, so yeah, those reviews are important. At least they are to me! 

    We men tend to be very visual animals, so yeah, we want to like what we see. Yes, I said animals. Most men I know, myself included, seem to have heightened sense of smell during sex. The pheromones go crazy and we sniff and snort like dogs. Damn, I love that. Sex is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be down and dirty. No matter how much you ‘make love’, in the end, it is heart-pounding, sweaty and physical. If it isn't  then he ain't doing it right. 

     One female reader said that some of the sexual practices in Sasquatch “squicked” her out a little. Hell, I had to go look up the word! LOL For those of you who don’t know what it means, basically it means grossed out. This reader was referring to feltching and snowballing… I think. If you don’t know what those practices are, then go look it up. There are plenty of websites out there with visual examples, if you know what I mean. But, this is the real deal folks. It is a particular fetish that isn't for everyone, but we men are nasty creatures and…well…it is what it is. And yes, it is real. And yep, I have fun with it...all in my head of course!  

     Trust me, gay or straight, I don’t know of a man alive that has not been curious

enough to taste their own spunk. It’s just the way most of us are made.

Curious creatures/animals. Just like I know that most men will scratch their own balls and then sniff their fingers. Yeah, men are pretty much pigs and…well, y’all will just have to learn to live with it. It hasn't changed in eons and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. So in my writing, I try and tell it like it is. Yeah, it can be in your face, gritty and sometimes a little over the top, but hey, its fun! 

     Why am I telling you guys this? This is how I write. This is how I've lived. Full out, full steam ahead. My sex scenes are not going to be for everyone and that is okay. As someone recently said to me, “There are times when you want something sweet and there will be times when you want something salty.” I try to do a balance. I want to have a good story line and not just sex scenes for the sake of having a steamy hot sex scene. There has to be more to it than that. Like in real life, if there aren't any feelings behind it, it can just kinda falls flat. Yeah, sport fucking is fun or was, but when it involves the heart and the brain, it is soooo much better.

     So there you have it. The scrambled brain that clanks around in my head. Now you might be able to better understand some of these whacked out stories I write. Have a great Labor Day weekend for those here in the States and a wonderful week. 

     Till next time, 

     Max ;-)

p.s. Not being restricted by Goodreads on what photos I can post has really been like a breath of fresh air. Enjoy!

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig!

     Good day everyone. Welcome to a little piece of my world. Sorry I didn't get

Why is it I never see hitchhikers like this?

anything posted yesterday, but I was wiped out from my drive back to Atlanta from Florida. I must say I had some seriously mixed feelings about coming back ‘home’. I really don’t feel that Atlanta is home for me. Not sure it ever was. Oh well…anyway, I can’t wait to move to Florida and make that my permanent residence! 

      Before I go on with some fabulous news, (YIPPEE!!!) I need to take a moment to welcome all Goodreads friends, members and readers. Why? Well this week I got a nasty-gram from Goodreads informing me that they have blocked the link. 

      “we've (they/GR) removed your external blog feed from your author page”. 

      In short, Goodreads member will not be allowed to access my blog from the Goodreads site because last week…gasp…I featured a photo of a MAN’s naked backside! 

      “We're contacting you because some of your recent blog posts were flagged by Goodreads members.” 

      So in other words, a few people/members from GR didn't like the view of an adult man’s furry butt and decided that it shouldn't be connected to GR in anyway. So be it. Rarely, if ever do I post photos of naked men on here. Suggestive, yes, but almost never nude. I've always thought that the mystery was sometimes sexier. But because of a few haters, of which there are many on GR, they have made it even more difficult for GR readers to access my little blog site, that with time I’m sure, would corrupt the moral fiber of the world. Yeah, I have THAT much power. 

      Now I guess I could go and grovel to GR and say how sorry I am and that it will never happen again, but guess what? Nope, not gonna do it. I will not censor myself or my little blog posts just to conform to GR and their merry little band of hate-mongers. So to them I say…. 

                          Here, have some dick! 

      There are some really nice, personable, polite, intelligent readers on GR and it really is sad that a few can ruin the fun of the many. It is just a sad state of affairs. I always believed that if you saw something offensive the best way to deal with it was not to look at it. Kinda simple really, if you ask me. Oh well, it is what it is. Moving on… 

      Now onto the wonderful news I got yesterday! 

      Hawk ‘n’ Harley was voted Book of the Month on Sid Love’s review site. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that. Who would have ever guessed that my little short story would have had such an impact? I loved the story and enjoyed the hell out of writing it, but to be quite honest, I never really thought it would go anywhere. It was K.c. Wells who pushed me into self-publishing it. I can’t thank her enough for her help and getting it done. And a huge thank you to everyone who read it and voted!

     I've been working on a few things lately, but because of the hectic schedule I was dealing with while in Florida, I just haven’t had time to sit and focus. Now that I am home, in my own space I hope to get some more work done. However, I did manage to get all the edits from MLR done on P.O.W. I even got to see a few mock-ups of possible covers. To say I’m excited is such a major understatement. Knowing that it is more than likely going to be released in my hometown during GayRom Lit blows my mind! 

      Kris Jacen asked me to think about a single, one time gift to give out during the Man Love Romance party at GRL. I really haven’t got a clue as to what would be a good gift. At first I thought of an apron with the Marine Insignia on it since P.O.W. is about  Marines and I am a retired chef, but somehow it feels a little lame. Can some of you give me some ideas? What would be a really fun and appropriate give-away at GRL? With all the creative minds out there I am sure I will get some decent ideas. Please, help a guy out here. 

      Time for me to jump off here and get some things done. K.c. Wells will soon be landing in Atlanta and I can’t wait. She’ll be here for three days and we are going to have a blast! Woo-Hoo!!! 

      Till next week folks! 

      Max ;-)

Where Did That Come From?

     Hey everyone, sorry for the delay on the blog. I normally post on Saturdays, but I've recently had some kind of bug that is going around and I couldn't get it going yesterday. I'll try and do better next week.

     Just for the record, doing a blog, at least for me, isn't at all easy. I struggle with trying to keep it fresh and interesting each week. Not an easy task. But wait, you’re a writer! There is a big difference in falling into my imagination and letting things go the way of hot nasty man-sex and reality, which for the most part is pretty boring on my end. 

      So I've asked around a bit and asked readers and reviews what they like to see on a blog. What I got back was a bit surprising. Readers were interested in the author and how and where the inspiration came from for a book. Well, the author part is pretty easy for me. I’m a hateful, reclusive, old, curmudgeon who tends to keep to himself. There, that was easy, HA! The second part isn't quite so easy. 

     Because Hawk ‘n’ Harley was recently nominated by Sid Love for Book of the Month (OMG, am I dreaming here?) I will use it as an example: Dan, our dedicated, geeky teacher was easy. I know this teacher. He loves his kids more than anything each and every year. He gives and gives and gives. Where most people would collapse, he finds it inside himself to still give more. If you think back and try and remember just one teacher that you had that made a difference in your life, he would fit that same mold. On top of that, he is just an all-around good guy. 

     Harley was also fairly easy. He was a combination of myself at that age and my great-nephew. Both of us were more than a little hyper and voracious readers. And just to prove to you how much of a bastard I can be… I gave the little devil a set of drums for xmas when he was four years old. Yep, pay back is a total bitch. 

      Now Hawk was a little more difficult. He was a culmination of several people. First a little bit from a guy named Mike that I lusted after as a young teen. He was a biker, blond and hunky as hell. Of course my mother looked at him like he was some kind of danger to all of mankind. As with Hawk, Mike was basically a big teddy bear. Then there was a little bit of a guy named David, who is basically Sasquatch, another short I did. That is where most of the tattoos came from and piercings. There’s a smidge of my cousin, another Mike, who adores his young son and also has that same kind of quirky sense of humor. He’s a great father. 

      I originally wrote this as an anthology piece for Ravenous Romance, but it didn't have the required menage element, so was rejected. It was suggested that I throw Red into bed with the two, but that didn't sit well with me, or them, more importantly. It just didn't fit. 

      Voices. For my fellow writers you know exactly what I’m talking about. For those who are not, I will try my best to explain it for you. I heard each and every voice clearly in my head. They told me their own story. Their individual personalities came through, loud and clear. Here’s a funny for you – I didn't even know Dan

had a hairy body until Hawk took his clothes off! And yes, they wrote their own sex scene. I just happened to be the medium on that one. 

      It was Harley who wrote the epilogue though. That was all about him. I've been asked to do a full novel of Hawk ‘n’ Harley. If they decide to talk to me again I might take on that challenge. They were a lot of fun to work with, especially Harley. He is quite the character. 

      A quick reminder: A review is like tipping your waiter. An author loves it when you comment on their work. 

      Have a great week everyone! 

      Max ;-)

     If you've not read Hawk 'n' Harley, you may get it here.
                                             Hawk 'n' Harley

Yep, I'm still in Florida!

     Howdy from sunny Florida…again. Let me first tell you, it is fucking hotter than hell

This is the road that runs along the
back where I will be living.

here. Yesterday as twelve noon the heat index was 102! As K.c. Wells said, “Bloody Hell!”. My sentiments exactly, Ms. Wells. 

     I am sorry to report that I’ve not done a lick of writing at all this week. I’ve been too busy playing field hand to do anything else. What you may ask? Well, let me tell you what I’ve done this week: I’ve bush-hogged about 10 acres, loaded, then unloaded and then stacked 160 bales of hay. Fed five horses and a mule twice a day and doctored one every day, fed those nasty-ass chickens.

This is Commander, whom I've already
written a story about for Ravenous Romance.
Yep, the plot stallions are running here.

Mucked out stalls and re-hung two gates. To finish off my week, today I get to power wash the inside of the barn! Woo-Hoo, lucky me. UGH, I’m fucking tired and the day here hasn’t even really started yet. 

     Why am I even telling you this? Well, this is all fodder for upcoming writings perhaps. The plot stallions continue to roll through my head. No if I live to get it written, that remains to be seen! 

     Good thing is that I will be heading back to Atlanta on the 16th so that I can be ready for the best-selling author K.c. Wells, who will be visiting from the UK. YAY!

Yep, this is the barn that is getting a power-wash today!
Yippee! UGH.

I’m so excited to see my friend. I will, however, miss Florida and can’t wait to get moved down here. It is such a relaxed and laid back place compared to the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. I really never realized how tense I was while there. Amazing. 

     I am hoping that I will be able to get back to my football story by the first of the

I'm ready for some football!

week when I plan on having a little more spare time to write. 

     So until next week folks, 

     Max ;-)