Category Archives: Whip-it Wednesday

Guest post by Edward Jakab

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I asked Edward Jakab, author of “Fearless”, to participate in the “next big thing” self-interview. Here are his answers.

1) What is the working title of your current/next book?

Well, it depends on which book you’re asking about. I am currently working on two items simultaneously. “Mine” will be the sequel to “Fearless.” And “Chosen” is an entirely different project. So I don’t confuse you, I’ll talk about “Mine.”

2) Where did you get the idea for that book?

Fearless ended in such a way that it just called for a sequel. I’ll admit, I did that on purpose. Starting college and living on my own for the first time in my life has given me many stories to write about.

3) What’s the genre of the book?

Gay young adult.

4) If you could pick actors to play the lead characters in your story, who would you pick?

The actors I can see playing my characters in “Mine” on the big screen would be:

Jacob = Logan Lerman

Drew = Ezra Miller

Nicole = Dana Davis

Austin = Spencer Boldman

Superman = Taylor Lautner

5) How would you describe your book in one sentence (10 words or less)?

Life gets in the way.

6) (a) How will your book be published, submitted through the traditional route to a traditional publisher or will you be handling it yourself through Indie Publishing methods? (b) If you’re an Indie Author, will you be publishing through your own Indie Publishing company or in a collective with other Indie Authors?

I’ll be self-publishing through Amazon.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of this book?

I haven’t entirely finished it yet, to be honest with you.

8) What other books within your genre are similar to yours?

There aren’t any like mine. (See what I did there? Pun.)

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A few boys…

10) What about your book will pique the reader’s interest?

The hidden code, finding out who this book is inspired by or written for…

Edward Jacob’s book can be found at à http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096CQ2SW

Edward himself can be found on twitter at https://twitter.com/EddieBtVS

 

Poison Ivy

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Sometimes its easy to see the flowers:

But not so easy to see the weeds and poison ivy:

Poison Ivy

Have you ever sat among the spring flowers to dream and relax, only to realize the next day that you were also sitting in poison ivy? Well, that’s what being with Jason was like…

Jason was my best friend through grade school and high school. Well, not really my best friend, more like my only friend. We shared a back yard that over looked the park, a car (when I finally got one), our class notes (well, mostly mine), a girlfriend (well, she started out as mine, then transferred to Jason, sigh), clothes (ah, he didn’t like me wearing his stuff, but…), beer (my dad’s), ciggys (all mine)…well, I think you get the picture. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get the picture until my senior year.

Jason was the baseball team captain at our high school. In our senior year he led the Muskies to the state finals. Although we only got as far as  consolation–4th place–, he was heralded as a small town hero. It didn’t hurt that he was also handsome and assumed to be wealthy, as he was the son of our small town’s banker. What he possessed in knowledge of sports and magnetic attraction was only somewhat moderated by what he lacked in mental capacity and agility. Even though I was valedictorian, Jason and I were neighbors, so maybe it was only natural that we ended up being friends in school. What seemed odd was that our friendship lasted on into college.

I decided to go to State University because Dad worked for a living and thought his son should as well. While we weren’t poor, neither were we wealthy. Dad was conservative when it came to school loans as well as his views on his children working for their education.

Jason decided to go to State University because they gave him a full four year scholarship to play baseball. They didn’t realize, as both Jason and I did, that it would probably take him eight years to get his bachelor’s degree in PE.

One Saturday night in June, Jason asked me if he and I could be roommates at State.  We were working on a six pack of Bud Light from Dad’s garage refrigerator stash and had been laying on the hillside between our houses that overlooked the city park. . I was a little taken aback because I figured our friendship would end when we both went our separate ways in the fall. “Why would you want to room with me, Jason? Won’t you have a plethora of baseball jocks whose minds work hand in glove with your own?”

“Well, jeeze Nickers–he had called me Nickers ever since Mom dressed me in what she so lovingly called “young man nickers”–that’s ‘zactly why I wanna room with you. None of those jocks is gonna know how to teach me nothing. You been tutoring me since kiddygarten.” Of course that little speech made me proud of my years of work.

I thought about the many weeknights the two of us spent holed up in Jason’s room, him listening to music in his left ear, drinking diet Mountain Dew and texting with his left hand, while I read the highlighted notes from our chemistry, algebra, world history, English literature, or whatever class for which we were studying, to his right ear. I would alternately beg him to listen or ask him questions that he alternately ignored or answered wrong. When the day of the test came, I would pass with flying colors and he would pass with a D+ or C- or maybe he would just flunk. Then he would be assigned extra work or maybe some cretin of a teacher would give him a take home make-up exam. A take home make-up exam, just what I needed.

“Well, I guess there’s no harm in us being roommates, Jason.” Acting like that was the answer he had expected all along, Jason said the beer was making him cold and asked to borrow my sweater. I took it off and threw it at his head while he laughed and punched me in the arm. Ow, crap, that was right on top of the bruise from the last friendly punch he shot me two days ago. Well, at least we knew where we stood with each other.

As Jason buttoned my sweater over his worn baseball tee shirt, he undid his shorts and slid them down his hips. I rolled over to relieve both of us, as I did most Saturday nights we hung out together. As I did, I pondered the next four years of rooming, and tutoring, this small town baseball star. And I smiled to myself, even as I began to break out in hives and itch.

Floating Boat House, Philippines

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The two of them paid their pesos for the floating relaxation and pushed off from the shore.  It seemed that the tall young man was in charge, even though he looked with smiles and deep brown eyes at his mate with every question they were asked. They had waited nearly five years for this. Alone on the raft, the lake was quiet and free of people.

The day was clear and still. It was early, because of schedules neither one of them could control, but seeing this spot of beauty, which stuck in both their minds for so long, had been their agreed upon first stop. The white hot sun was at 11 o’clock in a flaming blue sky and heat waves were starting to shimmer off the slightly green colored water.

The first thing the older man did was drop the curtain that directly faced back to the shore. He knew it would make his lover more comfortable, plus he was so very warm in this unknown climate and he needed to take off his traveling shirtf. He knew the smooth brown prince would laugh at his pale skin, but this too would make him happy.

“My dear, should we eat the picnic I packed?” The prince beamed at his beloved and gestured to the bags he had been carrying during their trip to the recreation area.

“No darling, I plan to devour you with my eyes for some time first and have you squirm under my adoring stare.” The snarky smirk crept back onto his face, just like it had a dozen times since his prince picked him up.

This brought the smile he had intended and they both settled in to visit in a position they had never tried before, touching bodies, so that they could feel each other’s heat, smell the slightly musky odor of man and feel the perspiration sliding down the other’s neck and back.

“You know I’m exhausted, puss puss…I will lay and listen to your banter with my eyes closed.” With this, the older, silver haired king turned to lay his head in the lap of his long time virtual lover.

The smooth brown prince, who had a generous and very comfortable–for the most part–lap, leaned back and started to tell his king the story of the last five years…in person.