Monday, July 25, 2011

Photos by Dan Skinner!

Photo by Dan Skinner, owned by Erica Pike ^.^

Last night I made an amazing investment - I bought two photos by Dan Skinner! He's my favorite photographer by far. The one I posted above is for my Twitter, blog, and the website I'm working on. The other one is for a series of short stories I'm working on and it will be revealed when I start selling them.

Isn't it beautiful?

Pure work of art!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Gay Lit Galore

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Oh my goodness, will you check out my banner above with all the pretty books I've read this year! Wow, I never read that many YA books last year when I was writing YA. I guess I really got sucked into this category. I still have 22 more to-read on my Kindle and 18 marked extra to-read on Goodreads. 

I'm still stuck in contemporary, although I almost only read YA paranormal the past few years. I've finished all of Ethan Day's books, I'm working on the rocker Conquest series, discovered a hilarious William Maltese and his Diary of a Hustler, and then there's this short story, One of Those Days, (currently free on his website - definitely one to read) that really surprised me and makes me want to buy everything by Zathyn Priest.

I did read one short werewolf story, One Wild Wish by Devon Rhodes, so I'm kind of excited to start exploring that genre. I mean, what's more masculine than two buffed wolves thrashing around, rrraawwwrrrr. 

I can't wait to read more.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Royal Research

Written on May 19 2011

My favorite gay musician and public figure, Paul Oscar (image)


Isn't it great when you enjoy writing a story so much that the words just fly off your fingertips? That's how it is for me right now (yay!). I have written 46,000 words in three weeks and I probably have around 10,000 to go before Eric's story is complete. I might even complete it over this weekend! 

There is so much more humor in this one, because that's the kind of guy Eric is. People who see me writing and giggling crazy at the same time must think I'm mad, but I don't care, because I'm loving every minute I spend on this story and I think I'll get a little sad once I'm done. All I can say is that I have a very good feeling about this one. 

I've had to do quite a bit of research, because it deals with more external matters than the other one. There's also this little fact that I don't live in America, so I had to do a whole lot of research on gay rights over there (hetero rights and gay rights are the same over here - church weddings and everything...except for blood donations, I suppose. I think they're following international regulations). May I just mention here that our Prime Minister is lesbian? That's how tolerant my people are. I'm not bragging, I just hope that the rest of the world catches up soon!

I have also had to research a lot about school systems, hospital bills, and a little bit of drug abuse. Also stylish furniture, popular music, sexy male actors, and trendy clothes and hair products (because Eric's a pretty fashionable guy). Then, of course, there were sex positions, pleasure spots, and body hair (I came across this hilarious article about a guy who decided to shave his butt for the first time. I guess I can link it since this is a +18 thread - but I must insert a warning here! It's groooss. And I mean gross, but oh-so-funny. I laughed so hard that I cried). 

I don't know how many hours I've spent all in all on research, but may I just say thank goodness for the internet

First Novel Manuscript Completed!

Written on May 4 2011
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I just finished my first full-length manuscript in the gay genre. I have written other manuscripts in other genres, so it's not a complete first novel. But there's nothing like the feel of accomplishment when you close the newly completed manuscript.

This one is about a romance between two roommates (Adam and Jesse) in a college dormitory. Basically one of them is gay and the other straight and has a girlfriend, but there's this passionate tension between the two guys. The big question is if Jesse can come to terms with flushing his future plans down the drain to be with Adam or not.

The genre is gay (duh) erotica, but there's a whole lot of romance, humor, and a bit of drama (isn't there in every gay novel?)

I have started on an independent sequel starring Eric, the minor character from Adam and Jesse's book. Adam and Jesse will also make appearances, but I decided to write a book about Eric instead of a sequel around the other two, because Eric became such a strong and interesting character that he demanded a book of his own. I absolutely love that guy.

I had a lot of fun writing Adam and Jesse's story, but I think I'll have even more fun with this one.