Red, blue…and brown?

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Charley Descoteaux

Happy Snippet Day!

Now that the witches are out in the world i’m turning my attention to my August release, Buchanan House, a nice, normal contemporary ERom. I’ve shared from it before, but not for a while.

Since it’s 4th of July weekend, here’s a slightly holiday themed snippet. Eric, the MC, is a chef so–fair warning–i’ve been told that reading this story will make you hungry. I must be hungry right now because the food sections are calling to me louder than the smexy ones. Maybe next week… 😉

Eric greeted his bleary-eyed family with coffee and chocolate chip-blueberry pancakes with strawberry compote. Everyone sat around the long table and made appropriately quiet yummy noises to save the slightly hungover Nathan and Paulie from the pain of the full force of their appreciation.

“You guys have to tell me how you like this breakfast. I’m thinking of serving it opening weekend.” The table’s complement pointedly looked away from him. The only explanation Eric could think of was that the food didn’t fit the theme. “Fourth of July weekend?”

“Red, blue, and brown doesn’t scream Fourth of July.” Alex seemed to be startled by her own voice.

“But they’re delicious,” Nathan purred.

Thanks for reading!

Check out more flashes of fiction at Snippet Sunday, you’ll be glad you did!

Back to the coast…

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Charley Descoteaux

Happy Snippet Day!

I hope you’re not experiencing the annual holiday crash, but if you are, i can personally attest that mass quantities of milk chocolate fudge provide partial relief.

Okay, enough of that. Plenty of time to freak out in three months when my birthday rolls around.

For this week’s snippet i’m going back to the Oregon Coast story. I need to feel better about it before i go back to editing. Hopefully this won’t backfire.

The working title is Welcome to Buchanan House, and this is the first time Eric sees Tim Tate… handyman… superhero… surfer dude!

Timothy Tate knocked on the front doors at eight o’clock sharp. Eric had barely been up long enough to start coffee, and Nathan had yet to emerge. They’d slept in one of the rooms on the first floor. The official reason was to keep from having to clean two rooms, but the unofficial reason was to talk into the night like they had back in middle school. Slumber parties for thirty-somethings. Somehow that didn’t make Eric feel any better about meeting this Timothy person.

But opening the door sure did.

Tim Tate was as tall as Nathan, so six-one, he had curly black hair and eyes so dark you could get lost in them.

“Morning.” He wasn’t much for smiling, though.

Thanks for reading!

Check out more flashes of fiction at Snippet Sunday, you’ll be glad you did!

Handyman… super hero… surfer dude…

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Charley Descoteaux

Hi folks, and welcome to my snippet.

Turns out it’s a good thing i missed signing up for WeWriWa this week. I wanted to share a little something about the handyman, but had a very hard time finding 8 sentences, or even 10, that made sense. This week’s is a little long, hopefully not toooo long.

The handyman is Tim Tate–his alliterative name and the way he handles his tools inspire Nathan to call him a super hero (although not to his face). In this snippet, Eric and Nathan are in their backyard, taking a break from Slacker Day activities to check out the lone surfer who, of course, turns out to be the handyman extraordinaire. They are in a fairly secluded area…

Eric thought he should stop spying on Tim but couldn’t bring himself to lower the binoculars. Tim seemed more relaxed than he was at Buchanan House, his walk more athletic, graceful. On workdays Tim wore comfortable, almost loose jeans, and T-shirts either under a flannel or over a thermal. In a wetsuit, he almost looked like a different man. Eric had tried to get a feel for what the body beneath the clothes looked like, without being caught staring, but hadn’t enjoyed the level of success he’d hoped for. After seeing Tim in a wetsuit, Eric knew his fumbling guesses hadn’t even been close. The suit clung to Tim’s broad shoulders and chest, tapering to trim hips only to bulge again over his defined thigh muscles. He looked like a god.

“Mm-mm-mmm, that is a tasty dish.” Nathan bumped his shoulder into Eric’s.

Before Eric could respond Tim unzipped the top of his wetsuit. Eric stood, transfixed, as Tim peeled the top half from his body and let it hang around his waist like the bib on a pair of overalls. It was like watching a live-action ad for Men’s Fitness Magazine. Tim’s upper body was sculpted to lean perfection. His hair sent drops of water sliding down his chest, and Eric thought about licking the salt water from his warm skin, peeling the rest of the wetsuit away, and—

Thanks for reading!

If i suddenly disappear for a week or so I’m probably in the editing cave, working on the PNR. My deadline is Jan. 2, and the first pass could begin as soon as next week! I anticipate more work and less sleep than I’m used to. 🙂

Okay, enough from me, off you go to sample the fine snippets elsewhere. Check out Snippet Sunday, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A quick guide to the parts of speech…

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charley Descoteaux

Happy Happy Weekend!

Why does the week after a long weekend feel so blasted long? It’s not fair.

Anyway, last week I introduced you to two of my new-ish characters, Eric and Nathan, of the ORCoast story. Nathan muddied the waters a bit when he called Eric darling, so (despite how I love muddying the waters in general) this week’s snippet should clear things up.

The guys have just hired a handyman to help them fix up the camp, and he’s tall, dark, and handsome—of course! More on the handyman later (promise). For now, here’s the important bit. Handyman just went into the kitchen, and—

Nathan glided out shortly thereafter, like it was scripted; he leaned close and whispered in Eric’s ear. “Oh, em, gee, he can handyman me anytime.”

“Handyman isn’t a verb, Nathan.”

“It is in his case.” Nathan made a growling noise and winked. “But you saw him first, so hands-off.”

“I didn’t say—”

“You never say, so I’m saying it for you.”

Thanks for reading!

One more thing, then I’ll let you get on to more snippets!

If you’re reading this on 12/06 or 12/07, there’s still time to grab my short story “Comfort” at ARe while it’s free. It’s a second edition, originally published in December of 2012. You can check it out here.

Okay, that’s all for me–see you in the comments!

You know the drill, stop in at Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!

And now for something completely different…

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Charley Descoteaux

Hola lovelies!

Thanks a million for all your comments on the witch story. It’s waiting in line in the editorial queue at Dreamspinner, so this week I’m posting from a different story. I thought I’d shared from this one before but can’t find any evidence of that.

This snippet is from the book I’m calling The Oregon Coast Story for now, in which two friends buy an abandoned hotel in central Oregon and turn it into a tiny west coast version of P-town. It’s a contemporary with a little drama and a little angst, and more than a little sexy-times. If all goes well it’ll be released in September of next year.

Eric is MC #1 and we’re in his POV; Nathan is the BFF.

“This place is falling down. I can’t believe you dragged me all the way out here.” Eric crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Nathan.

Nathan laughed. “Did you just harrumph out loud?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t ask a question, darling. But if you had, I’d say we’re here so we might as well get out and look around.”

Thanks for reading!

Have fun while you hop around and check out more snippets. You know the drill, stop in at Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday!