Scene from What Love Means

August 9, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

My novel What Love Means is about boys and spelling bees. This is a scene from the beginning after Max’s sister April wins a small spelling competition at her school and wants to train for the harder bees.

This excerpt contains a little bit of material from the book but is mostly an extended scene that didn’t make it in the final version.

***

After April won, I walked over to where she stood with a crowd of her friends. She had a gold star sticker on her shoulder for winning. I gave her a high five. Her friends scattered. They had a hard time being in my direct vicinity without blushing to death.

“Will you help me prepare?” she asked.

“The real thing is different. It’s a lot harder,” I warned. These were easy vocabulary words that anyone who studied had a shot at. It was different when there was a whole dictionary to choose from and kids who wanted it just as badly.

“I want to do it,” April said firmly.

“Kids study a lot for it. It’s all they do,” I warned.

“Give me a word,” she ordered.

“What?”

“Give me a challenging word. Come on,” she urged.

We had a mini stare-off before I relented. “Alright… how about ‘sputnik’?”

A boy near us giggled at the word but she didn’t even hesitate. I thought a little harder this time, then tried again. “Salve?” My favorites had been Salvic, German and Old English languages because I thought they were the most fun to say.

April got it again.

“What about shrieval?” Okay, maybe that one was a stumper. It was an old English word used for sheriff.

She nailed it without hesitation and smiled confidently at me.

“How do you know that?”

“I’m smart,” she said like it should be obvious.

“I never doubted it,” I assured.

“Good, then I should have no problem competing.”

It dawned on me. “You stole my old workbooks,” I accused.

“Borrowed.” She waved that off. “I’ve been training.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

Well, she was right. 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.

“Alright,” I relented. “It looks like you’re going to be a spelling champion.”

Check out the full book here.

Pool Boy – Summer Love Affair

August 6, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Colin Goodwin objects to the notion that he is Cinderella on general principal since he’s a guy. But aside from the different gender, maybe it makes sense. Wyatt Monroe is certainly Prince Charming. That’s what Colin thinks when his boyfriend whisks him away for a romantic vacation.

The normally hard-working teen thinks it’s finally time to have some fun. Except for one problem. His boyfriend isn’t around very much…

But someone else is.

Colin doesn’t want to complain. The glamorous vacation home has everything: a fully stocked kitchen, a lovely garden, and an impressive swimming pool. And where there’s a pool, there’s a pool boy.

Instead of Prince Charming, what if Colin belongs with the stable boy instead? Or in this case, the pool boy. Can the sensible, careful teen take a chance and follow his heart even if it leads him into another man’s arms?
***

Colin’s coming of age story includes flirting, friendship, romance, and humor. This gay young adult story is about 45,000 words.

The book is available for purchase and on Kindle Unlimited here.

Pool Boy

August 3, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I tried and somehow managed to release three books for the summer. The latest one, Pool Boy, made it to the number one new book in LGBT Romance for teens. Getting that little orange sticker (even for a moment) feels great. I captured the moment for posterity of course.

Thank you to everyone who got the book!

Beach Bum

July 10, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

pexels-photo-457882

I live by the beach. I go to the beach occasionally, but I picture lounging in the sun and reading a good book and I can’t actually do that at the beach. I have a dog and I love my dog and my dog loves going with humans wherever they go and especially to the beach.

Or more specifically, my dog loves walking, finding food people have left behind on the sand, and jumping on people. She doesn’t understand relaxing on a beach towel. I could try anyway but she would whine the entire time. I had to put her in her kennel a few times when older relatives were around and she’s a dachshund so she’s stubborn as hell and she made noise the whole time.

Basically, I can’t leave her behind. I could but that would be really mean and she would know and give me sad eyes when I came back.

My aim is to write three books for summer, which seems like a pretty achievable goal when I’ve already written two. I haven’t solely been rambling on about the beach because the second of my summer novels is called Beach Bum.

Beach Bum

5122gc0gwll Charlie Powell doesn’t date.

Until he meets Bryce Davenport.

Bryce Davenport writes appointments in a day planner, pays attention in class, and tries his best at anything he does. And his name is Bryce Davenport, which is pretty pretentious.

Charlie should find him repulsive, but Bryce is sweet and bossy and a million things that make Charlie’s heart beat a little faster and his palms sweat.

The problem?

Bryce has goals and ambitions. Charlie spends his days lounging at the beach. Bryce plays sports and loves staying busy. Smoking marijuana probably isn’t a sport, but Charlie would excel at it if it was.

Can the beach bum find his happily ever after with the perfect guy or will it all go up in smoke?

~~~

This is a coming of age story that features romance, humor, and growing up. It’s also super gay.

Get the book here!

Loving Lakyn Review

July 2, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 1 Comment

Loving Lakyn

Plot: Lakyn doesn’t want to live anymore, but he grudgingly attempts to make things better after a suicide attempt. His life might be improving: he’s with family who loves him, he finds a therapist he can tolerate and then there’s a boy. Scott’s a lot more enthusiastic and optimistic, but he also has his share of problems. They might be able to get through life together if their combined demons don’t drag them down first.

My Thoughts: I’ve been around for… an amount of years I don’t entirely admit to, but it’s been at least 20. And somewhere in those years, I’ve had my fill of dramatic gay tragedies. I tend to like things happy and lighter when I want entertainment. Some angst is okay, as long as there’s also some comedy.

Loving Lakyn has a lot of heavy elements, but there was enough sweetness and jokes that the darker elements weren’t too much for me. It’s a little bleak but also hopeful, which is a vibe I actually really dig.

It was an interesting read that doesn’t sugar coat things but isn’t completely a downer either. I liked the mix of romance with personal growth story lines and there was plenty of both.

Best Part: The chapter titles were great, though Scott and Lakyn’s relationship was also a highlight. Scott seems happy and well adjusted and Lakyn seems dark and sarcastic, but they’re both drawn to each other anyway and make a compelling pair.

Current Projects

June 28, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

You wouldn’t know it (yet) by checking my titles, but I love series. Series? Serieses? Series’? Multiple books in a group or seasons in a TV show, whatever it’s called. I hate it when stuff ends. I’m always ready for the next thing to sink my teeth into. And the pop culture nerd in me is especially happy when there’s lots and lots of material to obsess about.

That might be why I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve never seen all 45 seasons of it or however many there are, but I’m on season eight right now. I know it’s not the best show in the world, but it’s definitely not the worst, and it’s extremely likable.

Also, as a Hispanic bisexual person from a Catholic family with a father who came around and a mother who didn’t, Callie Torres really, really resonates with me. As the kids say, she’s my spirit animal.

callie-torres-greys-anatomy-tv-female-characters-14685125-333-500 — There were a lot of pictures of her looking all smart and doctor-y and then I saw this one and had to use it.

None of this is especially related to what I wanted to say, which is that I wanted to discuss my current projects. So, here goes,

51-wa7d0hhl-_sy346_1 Watching: Grey’s Anatomy

Reading: Fjord Blue

Writing: The Sequel to One Little Word

That was easy. So, what are you currently working on, whether professionally or personally?

freee boooks

June 15, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello, how are you? I’m going to assume you’re doing fine, that’s great. We should catch up more often. What am I up to? Thanks for asking! I’ve been writing a lot and this month is going by fast. I have no idea how it’s already a few weeks into June. But there’s free books to be had, so here’s some of the giveaways for June.

The Truly, Madly, Deeply giveaway has 51 books in various genres. There’s some fantasy, historical, billionaires and fake relationship stories.

This one has 78 YA reads, with a focus on romance and content suitable for YA readers.

Check it out and see if there’s anything you’re interested in! They’re all free and include previews and full books.

Summer Romance

June 6, 2018 by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

While I’ve watched Death in Paradise at different points in the year, it’s particularly fitting in the summer. Not the death part, but the paradise part. It’s all sunny and there’s palm trees and a lot of it takes place on or near the water. I really don’t know why I started watching a British procedural detective show but it’s on Netflix and I like trying to figure out who did it, which is what I’m doing right now, so I’ll just get to what I wanted to say.

My new book is particularly fitting in the summer but hopefully it can be read anytime. I don’t know if I announced that I have a new book out. So here I am… announcing that I have a book out. It’s called Summer Romance and it’s about… yes, romance in the summer.

Neil’s summer plans consist of wearing an ugly uniform and working at a local grocery store. It’s not glamorous, but it becomes interesting when Carter Ford starts working there too. The nerd and the popular boy never crossed paths before, but they’re equals at the store. Coworkers.

And maybe more?

With Carter around, Neil’s boring summer job might turn out to be perfect.

But it’s not permanent.

The summer will end. Will their relationship end with it?

This short story is a YA M/M love story featuring opposites who attract, secret relationships, and adorable boys with hidden loves of cats and cheesy pop music.