Tag: gay fiction

My Next Book

My Next Book

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Were you wondering what projects I’m working on? For the purposes of this post, I’m going to pretend you are. “Hi, Finn, good to see you!” I imagine you said. “You’re looking great today!” Stop, you’re too kind. “I’ve been dying to know about the new book you’re writing,” you fake said.

onelwYour enthusiasm is touching, so I’d be happy to share with you. I’m working on the sequel for One Little Word right now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share a few excerpts soon. The first one involves a fake relationship between the two main characters. The sequel, One Little Lie, also deals with a fake relationship.

It also continues to explore Ryan and Luke’s relationship. In the first one, there’s fake dating, a little kissing, huge amounts of hand holding, and the boys heading towards actual dating. The second one greatly improves upon the amount of real dating and kissing.

Oh gosh, I guess I was being self-centered before. You were so kind asking about me and I didn’t even find out how you were. Can you ever forgive me? Of course you can, because I’m imagining that you’re very accommodating and agreeable. How are you? How’s your life? I can come up with some fake answers or you can let me know in the comments. Either way, tell me about yourself.

The Magicians Best Tricks

The Magicians Best Tricks

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magic-3315128_960_720“Is the trick being lamer than humanly possible?” asked my little brother while we watched a magician pull a never-ending scarf from his wrist. My brother Eli was only 10 but even he had seen that one before.

“Stop it,” I muttered.

“I’m just saying, if that’s what he’s trying to pull off, I’m impressed.” Some of his friends laughed at him and the magician took a little bow. I found him online. He went to a different high school and was an amateur; everyone had to start somewhere.

He pulled a quarter from behind someone in the front row’s ear. I hid a laugh when the magician frowned after the kid took the quarter and wouldn’t give it back.

“You wanted a magician for your birthday,” I reminded him. I wasn’t sure why I’d been the one tasked with handling his party. Mom said something about being a good big brother. Dad said something about proving I was responsible if I wanted a car. I think they just didn’t want to do it themselves. Eli was a tough critic.

“I wanted the guy I saw on TV,” he complained.

“Sorry we couldn’t book Criss Angel,” I muttered sarcastically. My parents hadn’t given me much of party budget. My present to my little brother was trying to pretend like this was quality entertainment.

“Or someone like him.” He looked at the spectacle in front of him with open disgust. “Not this.”

It wasn’t the magician’s fault he was an only child. Or at least his siblings weren’t the right age otherwise he would know that this 10-year-old crowd was too old for the bendy magic wand gimmick. Still, the magician had a smile that never wavered when met with this tough crowd. He also had curly dark hair, rich brown skin, and vibrant eyes. I don’t know. I kind of like him.

Wow. Did he have an actual rabbit for a pet or did he buy a rabbit for his act? Okay, he was a little cliché. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If he was cliché, maybe he’d get me flowers and candies.

The rabbit was smart. The girls at least perked up when the adorable white bunny appeared from the top hat. Eli wasn’t swayed. “It would be better if he pulled that rabbit out of his-“

“Hey now,” I interrupted.

“I need a volunteer for this next trick,” the magician said. “How about the birthday boy?”

“My brother volunteers as tribute,” Eli said quickly.

The magician looked at me and butterflies appeared in my stomach. See, he was good.

I moved to the front and was instructed to pick a card. “Tough crowd,” the guy whispered to me.

“You’re doing great,” I encouraged.

He smiled shyly. “Maybe you could help me practice later.”

Our hands brushed as he took my card and inserted it back into the deck. Electricity. The trick hasn’t stared yet, but I’m already astonished.

via Daily Prompt: Astonish

Excerpt

Excerpt

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I ran my hands up and down his arms while his biceps flexed under the attention like he couldn’t help it. His skin felt warm and electric. Though the drink I had might have dulled my senses some, any fog in my mind melted away by touching him. My body buzzed and responded to him, senses awakening, all demanding to get as much of him as possible. I wanted to feast on his smell and taste and touch.

My hands moved down his thin but toned body, tightening minutely on his waist, and then he was out of my grasp. My stomach dropped but that’s stupid… there were other guys, gay ones or those who got brave enough to experiment after consuming too much liquor. He probably had a girlfriend and was almost definitely some snobby rich kid. I’d find someone else. I could do better. Except something about him felt magnetic; I’d be drawn in his direction the whole night even if he walked away.

Only he didn’t go far. He turned and looked at me. Maybe I imagined the spark of fire in his eyes or maybe he felt the electricity between us too. His body moved close to mine again as both our hands explored this time. He smelled clean, with a hint of something sharper and appealing. Bright blue eyes peeked at me from beneath his lashes as he sent me a smile that was more shy and uncertain than coy, but his nerves didn’t stop him. He held me tight and rocked his hips into mine in time with the music. God, I wanted to devour him.

Was I in a mood earlier? I didn’t remember. There’s only dancing, drinks, and him. And life was anything but predictable because he made the first move. I couldn’t say whether we spent minutes or hours on the dancefloor when his lips captured mine and a quick tongue slid into my mouth, greedy and demanding, while his hands groped and squeezed at my ass.

I only had one complaint after that: the night passed too quickly.

-Excerpt from What Love Means

Daily Prompt: Elaborate

Daily Prompt: Elaborate

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I’m trying something a little different today. I found the prompt word in one of my works, so I’m posting an excerpt from where it appears. This is from my book What Love Means.

—

Cal pulled me in for a kiss. When we pulled away, he spoke. “I got you something.” hand-1549399_960_720

The asshole never knew when to quit. Was that why he didn’t take me anywhere nice? He got me some stupid trinket that was worth a small fortune instead?

“I don’t want or need presents,” I started arguing.

“Just let me—”

How could someone so smart be so dumb? “Cal, you know I don’t like—” You throwing your weight and money all over the place. I didn’t say that as he held his hands up insistently.

“I didn’t get you anything elaborate.” He shrugged. “It’s more, I don’t know, a gesture.”

What was Cal’s idea of ‘not elaborate?’ “Is it a pony? I won’t be mad if it’s a pony since April wants one.”

—

via Daily Prompt: Elaborate

Max and Cal

Max and Cal

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Max and Cal  from What Love Means are opposites who parted on bad terms. When they meet again, things aren’t easy between them. They’re torn between despising each other and wanting to jump on each other. They have a constant push and pull because they’re both trying to fight an attraction. That’s always a fun dynamic to write and read.

Here’s a snippet from the book:

“Couldn’t we just try to get along?” he asked. “No insults, no pushing buttons, no… flirting.”

Flirting was the whole point of tonight! I pushed down a crabby retort about him being a wet blanket. “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” I offered lightly.

The milkshake I ordered came with one straw and I pushed it closer to myself on the table while sipping from it. I sucked on the straw as lewdly as possible, making exaggerated hums of appreciation before removing my lips with an audible pop.

His eyes widened, but he didn’t comment on it. “I didn’t peg you for a strawberry milkshake kinda guy.”

I’m a big fan of fruit? No, too corny. I shrugged. Who didn’t like strawberry? “Anyone who says strawberry isn’t the best milkshake flavor is wrong or lying,” I responded neutrally but ran my hand up and down the long glass, fingers skating over the cool surface.

Cal looked away for a second, letting out a frustrated huff. I grinned but was surprised when he met my eyes a second later. “You know, two could play at this game.”

 

 

 

Deleted Scene

Deleted Scene

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Another deleted bit from What Love Means.

“You are so stupid,” April told me while trying to swing her leg back and kick me.

“We had rules for tonight,” I said very seriously. “And this game has too much reading.”

Cal and I opted to watch rather than play any of the arcade games, trailing behind the kids and holding stuff for them instead. We’d banned all talk of spelling, bees, and linguistics and headed to the most fun place for kids we could think of. This place was half arcade, half junior amusement park with games, laser tag, and go karts. Bright lights and merriment filled the air.

April and Brendan were about to play some action game with fake orange guns. I jumped forward and covered both their eyes when a long-winded backstory involving chunks of text filled the screen. Reading was kinda like spelling and that was not allowed right now.

“We won’t know how to play,” April argued, throwing her elbow back when she had little luck with her leg. She nailed me in the stomach.

I grunted and let her go but kept my hand over Brendan’s eyes. “You shoot the monsters. Do you really need an instruction manual for that?” I quipped.

The smile threatening Brendan’s face turned into an actual grin as April threw herself into us and the three of us collided with the machine. After a brief tussle, I ‘surrendered’ with my hands up and moved away from them. I said, “I hope the monsters eat you first, April.”

Brendan smiled again and then their focus was taken by the creatures filling the screen. I didn’t really care about the ‘no spelling, no talking’ about spelling’ rule we instituted. I just wanted to cheer up Brendan and his frowning brother.

What Love Means Excerpt

What Love Means Excerpt

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

 

Here’s an excerpt of What Love Means. Both of the main characters have a sibling who competes in spelling bees, and this takes place at a spelling club meeting.

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Cal

This was the perfect chance to spend quality time with my brother while getting my mind off the breakup. And the guy from the party. I had to get him out of my mind. I thought about him more than I wanted to admit.

Did it seem so intense because of the alcohol? Needing someone so badly and feeling such pleasure at his skin on mine couldn’t possibly be real. I didn’t even know his name! Still, it had been heady. Maybe because it was new? Feeling coarse skin scrape against my jaw. Meeting muscles instead of soft flesh. How he backed me up against a wall with easy strength. His demanding mouth and hands…

Freaking hell. I was thinking about it again!

Read more ›

What Love Means Excerpt

What Love Means Excerpt

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quote2

“This isn’t spelling, it’s chemistry. We have it. Why fight it?”

“That’s so cheesy.” It was but I didn’t care. It was true. We stared at each other and just when I thought I was going to drown in the sexual tension or he was going to kiss me right here in public in a middle school cafeteria, he broke away. Good, I still wasn’t anymore decided on the subject. I protested because it felt like I needed to, because I worried it couldn’t be as easy as he made it sound. But what if it could be?

I wasn’t considering his offer. I just. I wasn’t not considering it. Shit.

“You can tell yourself whatever you want,” he said lowly, “but this tension, this energy between us, it isn’t all one sided.”

It was hard to deny that when just his deep voice close to my ear sent shivers up my spine. So instead of pretending there was nothing between us, I just said, “It’s not a good idea.”

 

 

I expected Max to scoff, leave my side, or maybe get pissed off. He only squeezed my hand softly, eyes fixed on the stage. A small smile quirked his lips up. I got the feeling he didn’t mind that I hadn’t given in. Why didn’t he care?

Max had a thrill-seeking, daredevil streak in him that made flying down the road on a tiny piece of metal exciting when there were bigger, stronger pieces of machinery out there that could flatten him in an instant. He probably cranked the throttle and went fast, over the speed limit definitely, and pushed his bike to the limit. That all meant he’d like the chase. Shit. I couldn’t say yes yet, but I couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t want to say no. It seemed like he was up for the challenge of wearing down what little resistance I had. I’d never been pursued before. Shit, maybe I was a bit of thrill seeker too. I’d been too busy burying myself in books to realize it, but here I was, on the verge of something with him and so eager for it even if I couldn’t quite give in. Yet.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I was becoming certain I wanted whatever it was.

– What Love Means

Out takes

Out takes

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Not everything made it into my novel What Love Means. Here’s a part that was cut:

“You’re sure you want to do this?” I had to check one more time. “Like totally, completely, possum-tive sure?”

April used to think the word ‘positive’ was possumtive when she was a kid. Maybe because she was obsessed with possums. She thought they were adorable and wanted one as a pet. She was the only kid I’d ever encountered who loved possums. She was unique, so of course she’d be the kid in her class that liked spelling bees instead of whatever the other children enjoyed.

She nodded seriously. “Possumtive.” Then, she smiled. “Plus, I’ll be even better with your help.”

I stared at her as she tried to stare back seriously without grinning. Crap. I didn’t want to give in. We both knew I would.

The Five W’s

The Five W’s

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Here’s what you need to know about my book What Love Means using the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why.

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Who: Finn Manning. Me! That one was easy enough. And I’m not an egomaniac by putting that one first, it’s just how the list goes.

If you want to know a little more about me: I’m a queer author who writes queer fiction. I’m in my early 20’s and I live on the West Coast in North Carolina. I have two nephews I adore, a dog I spoil, and my interests include Zumba, going to the beach, and working my way through a giant queue of books and TV shows. I’m currently reading Reasons to Love a Nerd Like Me by Becky Jerams and just got done watching the latest season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I planned on watching season five of Arrow next but started Wild, Wild Country instead because Netflix told me to.

What: What Love Means is a gay YA romance. Without falling back on my fancy synopsis, it’s about two old friends who parted on bad terms. Max and Cal are about as opposite as can be. One is rich and the other is poor, one is an uptight academic and the other is a bad boy with a motorcycle, one is brunette and the other is blonde. You get the idea. Aside from mutual lust, the only other thing they have in common is that they both have younger siblings. When the kids both start competing in spelling bees, Max and Cal must confront their past and find out whether they could have a future together.

When: It’s contemporary, so it takes place now. The main characters are beginning their senior year of high school.

Where: New Jersey. Let’s see, the action takes place in many locations. There’s a party at an abandoned warehouse where our heroes have a chance encounter that makes sparks fly. There’s one tiny apartment and one fancy ass mansion. Max has two uncomfortable conversations in two coffee shops. A sexy scenario happens in the least appealing place Cal can think of: his old middle school. An emotional conversation happens in what Max considers the worst place for a serious discussion: the parking lot behind the auto shop where he works.

 Why: My previous work, One Little Word, involves the classic jock-nerd dynamic. I wanted a similar opposites attract scenario without doing the same thing, and I love spelling bees. That led to the concept of two old friends meeting again years after their last bee. One of them is the studious, hardworking teen one might expect would come from the spelling bee (i.e. an uptight nerd for those who aren’t familiar with spelling bees) and the other has gone through a complete transformation and become the dangerous, carefree rebel that first character really shouldn’t be attracted to, but dammit, he is anyway.

What Love Means is available now on Amazon.