The Story Behind the Story: Thank You, Ranch Romances by Deirdre O'Dare

I know a lot of readers are almost burned out on excerpts and the typical new release ballyhoo. Maybe it has been overdone? I cannot speak for all readers or even the larger part of them but I know I really like to get a peek behind the scenes and find out why an author chose to create a specific tale. What inspired her? What motivated him? Why this plot, this setting, these characters? So that is a favorite thing for me to share with all of you when it’s my turn to “say something” on the AQP blogs about a new work of mine.

Thank You, Ranch Romances is a special story to me. In a way, it is my own personal thank you to a real world magazine that helped brighten some of my hours very long ago. I grew up in a rural area, lived and worked in a ranch-type setting and other than the hours I spent in school, my social life was quite limited until I left home. In those days before the internet, mobile phones, texting/sexting and many things we now take for granted it was not easy to reach out beyond your immediate world.

I discovered pen pals in my mid teens and rode the heck out of that hobby horse for some years! I started with the kids’ section of Western Horseman magazine and moved on to the very real Ranch Romances pulp mag which lasted well into the 1960s. Although none of my contacts became long term romances, I do still have a couple of girlfriends who started as pen pals in those days. The temporary boyfriends-by-mail that I enjoyed saw me through lonely days until I met my first and later loves and future husband the more conventional way. 

First I have to admit my description of the “lurid” cover the first lead character notes is a notch off factual. Ranch Romances was one of the tamer pulps when it came to covers. The detective mags were the most notorious for the “dames in dishabille” style of cover art. The cover Trace (Trace Edward Zaber, part owner and cover artist for Amber Quill) did for my story is spot on, however. I wish I still had some of my old copies; they’d do well on eBay!!

Okay, now to the rest of the how and why. When the “getting connected” theme emerged on our list of potential PAX ideas, I had a vague thought of something much more modern. Then I wrote a short essay for my memoir writing group at the local senior center and this idea hit me right between the eyes! Yes! A “mail order bride” situation where one party ends up with a surprise. Perfect. It took some research to be as true to the era I chose as possible but I don’t think I pulled any major faux pas. Hope not anyway as I do value historical accuracy, even in nostalgia set tales.

Once I had this setting, I had to wait a short while for characters to appear. Wade came first, a rancher in a backward corner of New Mexico, my current home state. Okay. Why would he be seeking someone? Then the scene of his wife’s funeral emerged and I had that answer. Since this is a gay romance, who will respond to his ad? That’s when Darnell stepped out of the shadows.

My chosen era was much more restrictive and less gay-friendly than the very worst scenario in 2015. To be true to this time, there were a  lot of things I could not have these two do but I knew that even then, men did meet and fall in love and find ways to share their lives. Darnell brought a past with him which he shared with me. I knew he was the right guy to make this story work. Wade’s children had key roles to play, too, and in some ways they became the most real to me of all the characters along with Buck, the old cowboy Wade keeps on the payroll out of sympathy and respect. I did know him or some men very similar in those distant days. So, a tip of the Stetson to the past!

That’s the capsule version of the why and how of this story. It is a step outside the mainstream and the expected, perhaps, but those of you who have read Deirdre O’Dare before know that is almost a hallmark of my stories. I like to tackle a few social issues, some unusual plot twists, characters that may be unexpected and a bit unique. Readers tend to either love or hate my tales. I am okay with that for to paraphrase P.T. Barnum, you can’t please all of the people all of the time!  Enough seem to enjoy my work that I will keep on keeping on with it for as long as I can. Writing has been a lifelong joy to me and although I do not even pretend to be an exceptional writer, I know I am a natural born story teller, courtesy of the blood of many Celtic ancestors who were bards and tale weavers in the old traditional way of those folk.  Sit down now by the fire here and let me weave a little 1949 magic for you, even if your grandma was just a wee tyke in those days… 

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Thank You, Ranch Romances by Deirdre O'Dare is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post, making sure to include your email so we have a way to contact you. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!

LATEST PAX RELEASE - Perfect Connections

Genres: Gay (M/M) Erotic Romance

The titles listed below comprise the Perfect Connections AmberPax™ Collection. Buy all five together and receive a 35% discount! To purchase any of the titles individually, click on the covers below to go to the books' separate pages. 

Making a Wish by Shawn Lane Extended Amber Kiss (Gay)

Mates, Inc. by Hurri Cosmo Novella (Gay)

Not Without My Phone! by Heidi Champa Novella (Gay)

Textual Attraction by K-lee Klein Extended Novella (Gay)

Thank You, Ranch Romances by Deirdre O'Dare Novella (Gay)

 

In conjunction with our newest release, we will be having a giveaway! Any comment made from today throughout the week (11/22-11/27) will be eligible to win the entire pax collection. A winner will be picked at random on Saturday from all comments received.

Thank You, Ranch Romances by Deirdre O'Dare

Rancher Wade is struggling to hold his life together after his wife’s death leaves him with two small children as well as a ranch to run. In desperation, he puts a letter in a pulp magazine, announcing that he’s seeking a housekeeper and nanny to help him manage his home. The last thing he expects, however, is the young man who steps off the train in response to the ad.

Darnell is at the end of his rope. The war is over and jobs are hard to find, especially to one who has few skills other than cooking and keeping house, learned while he helped his abandoned mother keep their family intact. The letter he finds in a discarded magazine seems a godsend, so he jumps at the opportunity. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with young Ben and Winnie, but he also develops a huge crush on the rugged and manly Wade, who seems to be everything Darnell is not. Dare he dream that Wade might find him attractive, too?

In the 1940s, the vernacular used toward people such as Darnell are crude and insulting. Prejudice abounds, and he feels its keen cuts. Can he make himself a place in the lives of the family he has adopted, or will hate and suspicion send him fleeing?

Genres: Gay/Nostalgic Contemporary (1940s-Era)/Cowboys/Western
Heat Level: 2
Length: Novella (18k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...The young man seemed perpetually calm and even-tempered. Wade had never heard him raise his voice to the kids, but they both treated him with respect and even some affection. As he watched, Winnie wiped up the last bit of egg with her biscuit and scrambled from her chair to help clear the dishes from the table. She handed them to Darnell while he stacked them in the sink, preparing to wash them. She said something about her new dress Wade could not quite make out, then smiled widely as she did a little pirouette.

A pang shot through him, something he could not quite label jealousy or even envy although he knew it was close. He was big and gruff and had no understanding of a small girl’s needs and wishes, like the importance of a pretty dress and having her hair neatly combed and braided every morning. Somehow, male or not, Darnell did. Wade figured he was a decent dad, but as a mom, he had none of the necessary attributes, none at all.

He got up to head back out to go on with his day’s work. Something made him pause. “Thank you, Darnell. You’re doing a great job as a housekeeper and I appreciate it.”

A wave of color washed over the other man’s face, and he looked down at the sink, now full of hot water and suds. “I do the best I can. Disappointing you is the last thing I want to do. Most of my effort is for the children, too. I know they miss their mother, especially Winnie.” He glanced down at the little girl, his expression almost tender. “I can’t take that place, but I can do some of the same things for them.”

“You do dang good,” Wade replied, perhaps in a gruffer tone than he intended. For an instant, he had the awkward and inappropriate urge to bend down and kiss Darnell good-bye as he’d always done to Winifred when he left the house to get on with his day. He gave himself a hard mental shake and then headed for the door, driven by the spur of urgency to escape that mad idea.

Heading out to the inner pasture, Wade caught his favorite cowpony, a rangy bay gelding he called Stormy. The horse had been wild as a colt and earned the name, but he’d settled down to be one of Wade’s most reliable mounts. The name no longer fit, but he wouldn’t change it. He cinched on his saddle, swung up, and headed out. There had been some rains finally, and he hoped the grass in the upper area of the ranch reflected some growth due to the moisture. If not, he’d have to look into supplemental feeding soon. That would take a bad bite out of his profit when he sold the yearlings come fall.

Despite his efforts to put the kiss that hadn’t happened out of his mind, it clung there like a hungry tick on his old dog, Blue. And when he managed to shove aside imagining what Darnell’s gentle-looking mouth would feel like under his, other things about his unorthodox housekeeper and nanny edged in. Like how neat he always was, how pretty his dark hair looked with the sun catching its surprising reddish highlights, and how fetching his rear end looked now that he was wearing proper Levi’s instead of those pleated slacks. Wade had caught him bent over at the door of the chicken coop reaching for an egg the other day and gone hard as a branding iron at the sight.

Damn it all. This was getting way out of hand. He should send Darnell back where he came from, but he knew that would break Winnie’s heart and probably upset Ben almost as badly. The kids both adored Darnell. Maybe he should go visit Lavina again—although that was about as appealing as chasing the old half-Jersey cow he kept in the horse pasture to supply milk for the kids. Flossy was a good cow, but he sure wasn’t into that!

Which led him right back to Darnell again. Well fuck! He didn’t use that word a lot and never in front of women or children, but it seemed to express his frustration. Maybe he could take the other man out on a ride someday soon and stop in a hidden meadow up on the side of the mountain. Then he’d get this crazy itch taken care of for once and for all...

A Behind-the-Scenes Bit About Return to Atsileigh by Deirdre O'Dare

Return to Atsileigh is a spinoff and semi-sequel to my very first gay romance which was also my first bestseller and in many ways changed the course of my writing career. That earlier story was Treading Dangerous Ground and begins with Jase Hightower leading some young troups in an assault on a totally different planet. It ends with his rescue from the Atsileigh debacle, told from the points of view of him and his future partner. At the time I wrote it, I had no idea some fifty or so Deridre O’Dare Amber Allure tales would follow it over the next decade. But follow they did. Cowboy stories, cop stories, doggie stories and some offbeat tales that defy putting into any box at all. It’s been a wild trip but more fun than I would ever have guessed. Being a part of many PAX collections has been especially rewarding as well as an often-needed spur to force me to plant my posterior in the desk chair and my fingers on the keyboard. 

Not long after Treading Dangerous Ground was released, the idea for Return to Atsileigh began to nibble around the edges of my mind. At first Floyd was a young woman named Florene but that didn’t work. I’m not sure why. Meanwhile, my muse forged off in many other directions while this next step in a promising story line sat there patiently and waited.  I did do another Unifleet tale, Fire on Ice, and even my steam punk/sci fi story Tom Fleet’s Incredible Machine has some links to my ongoing Unifleet epic but Return waited and waited some more.

For this military PAX, I actually intended to write a semi-contemporary story or at the least a nostalgic recent history one. There was Moose and Caboose (nicknames of two boot camp trainees who became unlikely partners) and  Rifles and Guns which takes off on a scurrilous Marine Corps story I learned from my former Marine late husband. Nothing worked. Something was telling me that it was time to get Return out of the box under the bed and make it become real. Both those other stories may have to sit and perk for awhile. In time they too will likely be written but for this time, you all get Return to Atsileigh. 

There is a third tale starting to nag me a bit too. Maybe we’d like to revisit Jace and Balt, now middle aged, and Floyd, Jamison and Nathan as they all have a chance to wreak revenge on the prejudiced and defiant  general who decided to take Atsileigh out without getting proper orders to do so. You think? Don’t hold your breath but it is possible. In fact stranger things have happened—like Return to Atsileigh finally seeing publication and release after about eight years! 

My new editor, who is a gem, confessed she loves Native American characters and sees too few of them. They are a favorite of mine as well. I write about the southwest a lot and when I do, the real cultural and ethnic diversity we have in this area often comes to play. I have had many Native American and Latino characters in that batch of stories I mentioned earlier. I’m not sure how Native Americans naturally arrived in a “space opera” kind of story but at least for me it seems to work. 

Why not? Life on most reservations is harsh with limited opportunities and many of today’s Native Americans as well as prior generations have found their place in the various branches of the military and done heroic things. So in a few centuries, perhaps they would still find a good outlet for the warrior traditions by signing up with the space forces as a number of planetary folk have formed a union and are bent on claiming new worlds and keeping a conflicting group at bay. Somewhere I found the Hightower dynasty and added to it with Floyd and Nathan in this tale. There may someday be others. 

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Return to Atsileigh by Deirdre O'Dare is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post, making sure to include your email so we have a way to contact you. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win! 

LATEST PAX RELEASE - To Love A Hero

Genres: Gay (M/M) Erotic Romance

The titles listed below comprise the To Love a Hero AmberPax™ Collection. Buy all five together and receive a 35% discount! To purchase any of the titles individually, click on the covers below to go to the books' separate pages. 

Air Bear by A.J. Llewellyn Extended Novella (Gay)

Anomalies by Vivien Dean Extended Novella (Gay)

Finding the Way Home by Sean Michael Extended Amber Kiss (Gay)

Goodbye Town by T.A. Chase Extended Amber Kiss (Gay)

Return to Atsileigh by Deirdre O'Dare Novella (Gay)

 

In conjunction with our newest release, we will be having a giveaway! Any comment made from today throughout the week (8/23-8/28) will be eligible to win the entire pax collection. A winner will be picked at random on Saturday from all comments received.

Return to Atsileigh by Deirdre O'Dare

The sequel to Amber Allure’s Best Seller Treading Dangerous Ground...

Some years ago, Hightower’s Betrayal ended the existing settlement of old world Native Americans on the obscure world of Atsileigh. But was Hightower the betrayer or the betrayed?

Floyd Jaxon, Nathan No Horses, and Jamison Hightower, nephew of the earlier Hightower, meet as cadets at the Unifleet Training base. They alternately razz each other and share in some steamy interludes as they are drawn into the growing plot to mark Hightower’s Betrayal with a return to Atsileigh.

Can their budding friendship withstand the dangers and demands they must face? Will Nate’s contempt for the Hightower name destroy any chances for a long-term connection among them? The future looms ahead, filled with threat and promise. How the three young men grow to deal with it and each other will impact them all...

Genres: Gay/Science Fiction/Futuristic/Action/Adventure/Menage (M/M/M)/Group Sex/ Exhibitionism/Public Places
Heat Level: 3

Length: Novella (19k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...Floyd drew his right arm out from under his own body and stretched it down along his side. And also Nate’s, since there wasn’t a breath of space between them. Floyd heard Nate suck in a fast breath as he began to dance his fingers along Nate’s ribs and then slipped them into the waist of his pants, wiggling them along the top curve of his ass.

Nate did have a nice ass—hard and compact, but with enough muscle to shape some pleasing contours. A lot of the girls had noticed it, and some of the guys. Nobody called him “duck butt” although the thought might have crossed a mind or two. For a tall, lean man, he had a great rear view.

Floyd felt the near-silent chuckle shake Nate’s body. It didn’t take two breaths for him to catch on. His left arm wormed its way down to slide under Floyd’s body, into the hollow where his right leg met his torso. That put Nate’s fingertips right there, close to the throbbing prick that betrayed his arousal.

“Something we can do to pass the time, eh?” Nate’s whisper came very close as he angled his head toward Floyd’s. Then the tip of Nate’s tongue traced along the edge of his ear, a moist, tickling tease. The shiver went straight south. Oh man, maybe this was not such a good idea after all…

But he had to admit he’d been thinking about sex with Nate, just not the notion of doing it in a place like this, outdoors and in the presence of a third person. Jamison appeared to be oblivious to what was going on, at least so far, but he didn’t seem like the dullest tomahawk in the medicine bundle. He’d figure it out quickly enough. Then what might happen?

Floyd was probably glowing in the dark, he felt so damned hot. Nate was really good at this. He’d probably seduced a hundred would-be lovers into willingness; he was that kind of a man. Floyd would be just another feather in his bonnet, but what the hell. They were all certified disease free. No worries. Sex was fun and one of the cheapest forms of recreation anyone had.

He pushed his hand deeper under the rear of Nate’s pants and slipped his fingers into the crack of Nate’s ass. Nate wiggled now, and as he turned on his side, Floyd shifted his hand to the front and went to work on Nate’s zipper. He could feel the throb of Nate’s cock under the cloth and freed it to spring into his hand. Yeah, two can play this game.

Nate took another quick hard breath and stilled his exploring hand, as Floyd wrapped his fingers around him and squeezed. Then Floyd slid the circling clasp from the base to right behind the head and back down his prick again.

Floyd had shifted until he lay almost on his left side, his back to Jamison. At that moment, Floyd felt Jamison close behind him. The other cadet had moved, too, without a sound. From shoulders to knees, his body now meshed against Floyd’s. He could feel Jamison’s erection against his butt, each heartbeat reflected in a twitch that seemed a little more forceful every time. Warm breath gusted across Floyd’s neck, and a hand eased the braid of hair aside so lips could find skin. Warm and soft, Jamison’s mouth nibbled along the tender area there.

Dee-lish!! Floyd bit his lip against the whimpers of delight that crowded his throat. Too much excitement. It’s just too much!...

A Cop and a Con by Deirdre O'Dare

Years ago when I was trying to learn the craft of writing romance fiction, I came across someone’s statement about creating conflict between the couple that was critical to developing a powerful story. “If your hero is a fireman, then the heroine should be an arsonist.” 

I was like, “Whoa, that’s heavy stuff!” It seemed almost ludicrous but the idea took root. I have not always followed the precept to the letter but it certainly adds a lot to a relationship story if the parties have something else in their lives that puts them on completely opposite sides or distant ends of the spectrum. How can love find a way through such a barrier? 

The vague idea of A Cop and A Con had been bouncing around in the back of my mind for some time. After all, if one principal is in law enforcement, how much more opposite can you get than a former prisoner? The character of Ike came to me first. I’ve been out in some blizzards, and yes, they do sometimes happen in the high desert. It may not be Rocky Mountain or Arctic severe but a person can still get hypothermia and be just as dead if he doesn’t get shelter. I could feel Ike’s agony fade slowly to numbness as he struggled on, still trying because he is a determined man and also determined to save the little dog he had found. So what help was going to reach him in time? 

That’s when Perry began to take shape. I’ve had law enforcement folks in my circle of family and friends for a long time. I really identify with the deputies, rangers, border patrol and other officers who are out patrolling on their own in “the big empty.” That’s my name for all those miles of miles that stretch across the west, still not urbanized or civilized and in many cases, even less inhabited than they were fifty or a hundred years ago. So here comes Perry. He’s a dog person, too, and he really values his canine partner, even if she is unofficial. He also has a personal grudge about drug dealers as the reader will learn during the story, so he is out on a bad night looking for them. Instead, he finds Ike…

As I do with most of my tales, I wove a lot of odd little details and local color into this story. The county and towns I feature do not exist, yet their analogs are familiar and very real; I’ve been there. For example, I’ve witnessed vanishing mining towns over the years. While none of my homes were ever eradicated to the extent Esperanza has been in this story, I’ve talked to folks who did know this kind of displacing event. I don’t think Ike’s shock and pain are unique. While I don’t like maudlin and try to avoid anything close, that does not mean powerful emotions cannot emerge. I felt Ike’s; I hope my readers will too. Certainly Perry feels it and the pull it exerts on him. He has his ghosts too..

While none of the people in this or any of my tales are “real” in that an actual person is portrayed, every one is a composite of many, both the good guys and the not-so-good ones! They are built from the characters I’ve been privileged to know or witness in my many years living in this wonderfully diverse region. The southwestern area of the US is full of characters, both tragic and heroic. And some just quirky. They mix and meld in my weird writerly brain and come out again on my pages. 

I always want the details to be so real and vivid that even if my reader has never been south of Denver or west of the Mississippi, he or she will feel like they have when they finish a read. The people? Well, a story without characters would be very empty and without purpose, so I hope they are memorable too. They are all real, live folks somewhere and they certainly ‘live’ for me once they begin to take shape and tell me their stories. 

Of course there are often dogs, too. I can really picture Badger although I do not know a dog exactly like her. Rojo is very much inspired by my own little guy, the first small dog I ever took to heart, the one who sleeps on my bed! My Rojo is dachshund and spaniel, not Chihuahua but that is a minor thing. Although this tale is not part of my Canine Cupid series, it could be since it carries on the tradition of dogs helping to bring their people together. 

I know all the “Cop” stories in this PAX will be memorable and unique, but I suspect this one may be just a little bit different than any of the others. I admit to being an off-beat author. Readers like it or hate it, but I’m okay with that. Try me and this one, you just might find something to like. 

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A Cop and A Con by Deirdre O'Dare is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post, making sure to include your email so we have a way to contact you. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!

LATEST PAX RELEASE - Strip Away the Badge

Genres: Gay (M/M) Erotic Romance

The titles listed below comprise the Strip Away the Badge AmberPax™ Collection. Buy all five together and receive a 35% discount! To purchase any of the titles individually, click on the covers below to go to the books' separate pages. 

Always the Perfect Moment by K-lee Klein Novella (Gay)

A Cop and a Con by Deirdre O'Dare Novella (Gay)

I Love You, Goodbye by A.J. Llewellyn Novella (Gay)

On Bryson by D.J. Manly Extended Novella (Gay)

Unobtainable by Shawn Lane Extended Amber Kiss (Gay)

 

In conjunction with our newest release, we will be having a giveaway! Any comment made from today throughout the week (8/9-8/14) will be eligible to win the entire pax collection. A winner will be picked at random on Saturday from all comments received.

A Cop and a Con by Deirdre O'Dare

When a cop and a newly released convict cross paths, few cons can expect anything but a cold shoulder and mistrust. Struggling back to the home he knows no longer exists, Ike Hernandez meets a cop who seems to be different. He isn’t sure he can believe the kindness he receives will continue. Still, he wants to learn to trust again and regain his lost self-respect.

Perry Parker became a law enforcement officer because he wanted to help people. He’d seen first-hand the results of poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, a crumbling economy and the insidious effects of peer pressure and bad examples on the youth. He’d watched hardship trickle down to crush the youngest and weakest. He found there was not a lot he could do, but now and then he discovered someone he could help. Would the lost man with the little dog that he picked up one bitter cold and stormy night be one of them?

Pursuing tales about a new drug dealer in his county, Perry starts to doubt the man he’s befriended, but he still feels Ike is a decent person. When the real dealers seek to take advantage of the convict’s past, it takes Perry and his unofficial canine partner and the little stray Ike had adopted to save the day. Can a cop, a con, and two dogs make an unorthodox family?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/Interracial/Multicultural
Heat Level: 2

Length: Novella (23k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...“Yeah, there’s a low level cartel jefe based in this area, answering to a higher one in Las Cruces. Everyone knows that, or almost everyone. And he has minor honchos, at least one or two in every little village. They’ll let the freelancers alone for a while, but if they start getting too big, they’re erased. Four or five small-time hoods have vanished, a couple of the bodies found later. No way to solve the cases, really. They go cold. We haven’t got the manpower to work on them very long. And to be honest, everyone is almost relieved when one pusher is out of the picture.”

Ike nodded, just a single sharp jerk. “Still, folks know what I am, and they’re suspicious. I can sense it. And this stuff about some dude called El Feo…he worries me.”

Perry found himself gazing intently into Ike’s dark eyes, absorbing the worry and other nameless emotions churning inside him. Then, before he quite realized what he was going to do, much less why, he hauled Ike closer. He suddenly found his mouth grinding against Ike’s, tasting the spices the other man had used in the dish he was cooking, a hint of coffee and the mint gum he often chewed.

For a few seconds, Ike kissed back. Then he went tense in Perry’s hold and jerked free with a desperate twist. He took two fast stumbling paces backward, breathing hard.

Perry almost staggered, shock roaring through him. “Oh, man, I didn’t mean, didn’t expect—oh fuck, I’m sorry. Why in hell did I do that?”

Ike’s mouth opened and shut a time or two, no words emerging. Finally, he croaked what sounded like, “It’s okay. I mean I— Well, just forget it. It’s all right.”

“Anyway,” Perry said, turning to head back out, “I’m on duty for two more hours and will prob’ly be late. I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have something on this Feo guy by then. I know you’re no drug pusher.”

Ike didn’t say anything at all. He turned back to the stove and didn’t glance around once.

With his back to Ike as he reached for the door, Perry felt a compulsion to explain. “Yeah, I’m gay. I guess I never said, did I? Still, I won’t do anything like that again unless I know you expect it and want it.”

In Perry’s one fast look before the door shut between them, he got a good view of Ike’s reverse half. Shit, he didn’t think Ike had gained much weight but he had a damn fine ass. Now that he wore jeans that fit, the back view was fine.

When Perry got back into the idling SUV, he realized his hands were shaking. At first, he wasn’t sure he could control the vehicle. His heart pounded until it felt like it might burst right through his ribs. What in the devil was he thinking of, grabbing Ike like that and kissing him? Within the confines of his dark brown uniform pants, his cock throbbed, so hard it, too, felt about to bust free...

Midnight Cowboys by Deirdre O'Dare

“What was it like in the sixties, Grandma? Was it as wild and crazy as it sounds? Was all that drugs, sex and rock n’ roll stuff for real? What about the war and the draft? Didn’t people just choose to enlist or something?”

Have you ever heard this from a teenager in the family who has perhaps finally seen “Hair” on TV on an old movie channel or come across some tattered psychedelic record albums in your stash?  Maybe you don’t remember that era yourself. After all, those who do are no longer the proverbial “spring chickens.”  (And what the heck is a “fall chicken” may I ask?)

When the idea to do a PAX of stories set in the sixties first surfaced many months ago, my antenna went right up and I knew I wanted to do one. For a month or two, I wasn’t sure what I would write about but then one day Riki popped out of that dark, hidden storage space where writers keep ideas or where ideas lurk until we need them. I could just picture him and in a few instants he became totally real. Then the issues and troubles and dreams of that time and place began to crowd my thoughts as well. I wasn’t at Woodstock but I do remember those times…

Next I had to find a foil for Riki. The two young men would have to be total opposites, at least on the surface. All at once here comes Jerry, a proper nerd. He’s way out of his element which was a very small and conservative town in the “piney woods” of east Texas whereas Riki called New Orleans home. Jerry’s folks were almost poor while Riki’s were very well off. Other than being of a similar age, the two had almost nothing in common. They were as different as Jerry’s beat up Volkswagen bug and Riki’s red Corvette.

Once they both started talking to me, the fun began. Their story took some twists and turns I had no idea were going to happen until they did. That is my modus operendi when it comes to writing. If I start out with an outline and all kinds of markers, roadmaps and schematics, the story is DOA. It’s got to come new and raw to me just as if I was reading it for the first time. I truly do feel as if I am taking dictation while the characters sometimes argue and try to shout each other down as they tell me what happens. That’s the excitement to me. Later I have to go back, edit and sometimes tweak things a little bit to bring it all into a neat package but the outline—if any, such as a synopsis--is always written after the story. Just the way I used to do for term papers back in my own school days long, long ago!

The title came along almost simultaneously with the characters. As I acknowledge in an author’s note in the book, the iconic film did not come out until 1969, two years after my story takes place. However I am sure the term was already in the vernacular to some degree and it just has a sixties feel. It fit and I chose to use it! Anyway, I invite readers to step through a time portal and experience the sixties through the lives of two young men coming of age at that time, whether it is your first visit or a nostalgic look back.

If you recall “smoking dope, snorting coke and trying to write a song” or “Purple Haze” or Kent State, flower power and “make love, not war,” this bud is for you. Somewhere I expect there is a Riki and a Jerry, maybe still together after all these years and still doing something related to  music, perhaps in Nashville or LA or even a place that only exists in their world. Do you think? I’d like to believe that, anyway.

*_*_*

Midnight Cowboys by Deirdre O'Dare is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!

LATEST PAX RELEASE - Ooh, To Be Back in the 1960s

Genres: Gay (M/M) Erotic Romance

The titles listed below comprise the Ooh, To Be Back in the 1960s AmberPax™ Collection. Buy all five together and receive a 35% discount! To purchase any of the titles individually, click on the covers below to go to the books' separate pages. 

Laurel Canyon by A.J. Llewellyn Novella (Gay)

Midnight Cowboys by Deirdre O'Dare Novella (Gay)

Silences of Fallen Stars by Vivien Dean Novella (Gay)

The Stonewall Inn: Settling by D.J. Manly Extended Novella (Gay)

Woodstock Gave Me You by J.D. Walker Extended Amber Kiss (Gay)

 

In conjunction with our newest release, we will be having a giveaway! Any comment made from today throughout the week (4/19-4/24) will be eligible to win the entire pax collection. A winner will be picked at random on Saturday from all comments received.

Midnight Cowboys by Deirdre O'Dare

Two young men from different backgrounds end up roommates at a state college in west Texas during the latter part of the turbulent ’60s. In the course of their developing relationship, both get an education while treading near the edge of risk and ruin in a time when “anything goes.”

Riki is the black sheep of a wealthy family with one final chance to avoid the draft or disinheritance. His dream is to become a hot guitarist with a rock band, but his weakness for recreational drugs might become a stumbling block. Jerry is a true son of Bible Belt America, happy to be in college and perhaps rise above the lower middle class level of his family. He has to grow rapidly through his shock and meld into the times that had not yet found his small-town roots.

When the two men form an unlikely friendship, will it develop into a deeper bond as they experience drugs, sex, and rock ’n’ roll? And will that bond bring them to the brink of disaster, or lead them down the path to maturity and knowledge?

Genres: Gay/Nostalgic Contemporary (1960s-Era)/The Arts/Voyeurism
Heat Level: 3

Length: Novella (18k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...“Let’s get outta here,” Riki said, all at once. “I ain’t sitting in this shitpit room another minute. I hear there’s a bar in that classy hotel across the border where you can pick up hot older chicks and they’ll pay you for some fun instead of the other way around. If I’m gonna keep gas in my car, I gotta bring in some bread. You better get into some different rags, though. Nobody wants to be seen with a dork.”

Jerry wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “Women paying to get fucked? Man, that’s weird shit. I never heard of that. So, can I borrow a pair of jeans and a shirt? This is really all I have, and I can’t afford new—er—threads right now.”

Riki shrugged. “Sure. We’re close to the same size. Jeans might be a little short, but better than those khakis. Yuck. You done with that paper?”

“Yours is. Mine’s almost. I can finish it in the morning.”

Jerry lost no time in changing, then the two of them clomped down the stairs. On a week night, the dorm was quiet. Still, nobody locked the main doors so they could come and go as they chose. At least the men had more freedom than the girls. He’d heard their dorms were locked at nine on weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday.

They took Riki’s ’Vette across the Rio Grande after Jerry kicked in a couple of dollars for some gas. They found the bar, all right…a joint called the Purple Panther, much more of a classy cocktail lounge than a simple, small town saloon. It was in a pretty choice-looking hotel, too. Once inside, they stood out like a couple of whores in church. Most of the people there were men and most wore suits and ties, like guys who worked in the big oil company offices and probably drove Caddies and BMWs. The women were really foxy, although most of them seemed tall and there was something a bit odd about them. Although Jerry couldn’t put a finger on it, they just didn’t seem quite right. Well, maybe rich women really were different. After all, how many did he know?

Riki ordered drinks, and they sipped them, lounging against the bar, while they scoped out the room. Finally, an older man approached them. Good-looking for an older guy, well dressed in a silvery-gray three-piece suit, crisp white shirt and extra wide, striped tie. Slim and dapper, he looked elegant and distinguished with his silver-dusted hair and a neat mustache.

“I haven’t seen you boys here before. Looking for some action? A little fun?”

Riki’s glance followed one of the women, a leggy blonde. The man chuckled. “No use wasting your time there, sugar. She’s not a she, if you know what I mean. Some of the men like the illusion until they get down to business. You couldn’t afford that one, anyway. Lucky for you, you don’t have to. A friend and I can show you a better time and make it worth your while.”

When Jerry felt his heart jump into his throat, he tried not to show his shock. This was not what he had expected, although he wasn’t sure he could perform with a rich lady, either, even for money. His experience was seriously limited...

A Game of Hearts by Deirdre O'Dare

Most of us have at one time or another played the card game by that name. I never was very good at cards because I’d start daydreaming about a story and forget what had been played and not… And I am not a happy loser. I can lose so easily, even at Fish or Old Maid with my kids and now grand kids but that’s another tale! Still, that was the title my story seemed to want.

Only this story has nothing to do with cards or really much with games except for those that people play as they begin to dance around an attraction that takes them by surprise. It’s especially hard when it comes out of the blue and gob-smacks you when you’re still nursing old hurts or maybe insecurities from that bad baggage so many of us carry through life. How can one overcome such obstacles and build a lasting partnership? Ah, therein lies the tale.

I would be the first to admit this is an off-beat story. I’m not even really sure where the original germ of an idea came from. Maybe it was when my kid brother died very suddenly of an aneurysm and someone at the hospital asked if I would agree to his being a donor for anything they could take to help someone else live or live better.

I did not hesitate. I knew Alex and how he’d feel about this. It would even ease my anguish a small bit if I felt his sudden and seemingly senseless death might help another person live or at least experience a better quality of life. I agreed and it was done although I am not sure what exactly was utilized other than the corneas which allowed someone to see again.

Perhaps it was even earlier when I critiqued the start of a friend’s novel where a woman received a kidney transplant and very soon had an urgent desire to go to China. I do not recall any of the details of that story which I thing was never completed but these two events started that insidious “what if” process that afflicts most of us who write.

Heart transplants have been going on for some time. I dimly remember one of the early ones being in the news. As I recall it was done in Arizona at the UofA medical school’s teaching hospital. We all know that ascribing the emotion of love to the heart is medically absurd but the myth persists and the connection of “hearts and flowers” permeates our celebration of Valentine’s Day and other romantic situations. So, the odd notion came to be: what if. What if someone’s lover died suddenly and traumatically and that person’s heart was implanted in another body? What if the surviving partner later came to meet the person to whom the heart had been given?

Since some time had to elapse, I decided the survivor would have to be some years older than the other man who had the donor heart. When the Silver Foxes Pax came along, I knew at once that this story would work there. At that time, all I had was the prologue in which the original lovers are parted by death. That unfinished tale had haunted me for some time; now I had cause and a need to find out--what happened next?

First I had to move ahead ten years with my original hero, DeVore. I gave him a new life where although very reclusive, he had to appear in the busy world on occasion. I still didn’t know what was coming until he looked across the crowded reception and met another man’s eyes… I felt that jolt just as he did. Who? What? Why? And from there the tale unfolded.

I still can’t say whether it is possible or not. Could the recipient of a donor organ gain some minor bit of the former person into the life he or she now had? Would there be some subtle connection, some similarity or link that transcends normal reality? I still don’t know and perhaps never well, but for the time being, I satisfied my “what if” questions and I hope that DeVore and Tim have found their answers as well. And of course that you my readers will also be satisfied with the way this game of hearts played out.

If any of you have a personal transplant experience, I would really like to hear about it and your take on this odd premise. Feel free to email me privately.  I know few ever learn the identity of the person from whom their new organ was received and that is probably for the best. I can see a lot of difficult situations arising otherwise. This secrecy and privacy is best for all concerned although I suppose one would always wonder—who did my loved one’s gift help? To whom do I owe my life or my new capacity and what were his or her survivors like?

If you, like me, have been one of those survivors, I salute you. The Donor Network, as I have experienced it, is very supportive and helpful to the bereaved folk left behind. I hope they have helped you as they did me to come to peace. It’s been almost ten years now for me as well. I cannot meet a new brother but I know he did not die completely in vain. I hope his gift of sight has been treasured and is still giving joy.

*_*_*

A Game of Hearts by Deirdre O'Dare is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!