Tag Archive: Rainbow Snippet


Rainbow Snippets, June 4, 2016 — “Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound”

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June 4, 2016

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Happy Pride Month, fellow Snippeteers! For my first offering for June (June?!?!? Where is this year going?) I’m pleased to offer six sentences from my just-completed WIP (yay!!!!), “Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound” — which, if you haven’t seen prior snippets, is my contribution to an anthology commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, with stories rewriting, or based on, the authors’ favorite Shakespeare plays. My play is The Tempest, and my story is about Clarence Limont, a fading star of the London Shakespearean stage, playing Prospero, and Jaymes Stafford, a young American actor playing Ariel, and dazed at the opportunity to work with one of his idols. And to set the scene, it’s just before midnight, and Clarence and Jaymes are in the alley behind the off-off-Broadway theater in which opening night will be occurring in less than 24 hours. And, of course, the best line is the Bard’s…

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“What is it?” Almost, Clarence reached out to wipe away the streaks along Jaymes’ soft cheek – soft, he knew it would be soft – but his hand was shaking, and he let it fall. “Why do you cry?”

Jaymes was silent for so long that Clarence wondered if he were going to answer at all. And when he did speak, his voice scarcely rose above a whisper. “I weep at mine unworthiness that dare not offer what I desire to give, and much less take what I shall die to want.”

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And a couple of links —

First, back to Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA+ goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And rather than single out one of my books, I’m just going to gently urge y’all toward my Amazon author page, where you can find SoulShares and oboroten’ and even a bit of science fiction! http://ow.ly/77L3300V2Ad

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Rainbow Snippets, May 28, 2016 — “Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound”

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May 28, 2016

Rainbow Food

Happy Memorial Day weekend, Snippetteers! — here’s a bit of Clarence to accompany you into summer! (I needed seven sentences this time, rather than the prescribed six — hopefully no one minds? *winks*) This scene is set at the first blocking rehearsal for the Perchance to Dream Theatre Company’s production of The Tempest. Clarence Limont is the production’s Prospero, a major (but slowly fading) star of the London stage who has taken on the role as a favor to the director, an old school chum; Jaymes Stafford is the production’s Ariel, a recent college graduate who has quite captivated Clarence. And Troy Miller is Caliban, an arsecrumb of the first water and the particular bane of Jaymes’ existence. I picture Clarence as a slightly younger Ian McKellen (he’s in his early sixties, but at the moment is feeling considerably older); Jaymes’ mother is of German and Scottish descent, and his father is Jamaican; I can picture him perfectly in my mind, but unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a photo that does him justice. You’ll just have to imagine him for yourself — tall, lean, tawny, with an angular face and big dark eyes, and a cloud of tightly-kinked dark-blond hair. And quite shy, usually, in the presence of a Giant of the London Stage…

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By God, he felt a moment of genuine excitement, gesturing into the wings, Prospero bidding, coaxing Ariel forth for the first time in the play. And when Jaymes allowed himself to be teased out, as light-footed as a spirit in battered trainers, it seemed the excitement was mutual. Or at least contagious. Clarence was willing to settle for contagious.

A snicker came from the opposite wing, and Jaymes’ slight, sweet smile dissolved. Clarence didn’t need to turn to identify the culprit as Troy. The arsecrumb had been stepping on everyone’s lines, all through the reading process, and apparently was set to continue his winning ways, a dyspeptic God’s gift to the Bard’s canon.

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And, finally the usual couple of links:

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook — your destination for many more LGBTQIA+ goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And just for today (May 28) my Russian shapeshifter novella, WOLF, BECOMING, is on sale at Dreamspinner Press for 25 percent off, as part of their birthday sale (but even when it’s not on sale, it’s a heck of a deal!) http://ow.ly/F34d300GBFc

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Rainbow Snippets, May 21, 2016 — UNDERTOW

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May 21, 2016

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Hello, Snippetteers! I’m getting ready to send UNDERTOW off to my editor, so I thought I’d give you a little piece of it before I hit that “send” button. The POV this time is Conall’s (that’s him in the picture, everyone’s favorite ginger Fae), on his way back to see to Rhoann, who he left in the Pool in Central Park the night before (Rhoann being a Water Fae and a shapeshifter and wanting to spend his first night in the human world in the water, pleaseandthankyou.) Fae, by the way, hate being in enclosed conveyances. There’s something fundamentally disorienting to them about getting into a little box in one place, sitting still, and getting out of it in another place entirely. Conall has the ability to become incorporeal and fit himself inside his scair-anam‘s body, but even being able to travel that way doesn’t make the prospect of a train trip very palatable.

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Bad enough he’d thought it was a good idea to stash a newly arrived Fae in the middle of Central Park without supervision. Then, distracted by Cuinn’s story, he’d gone off to Washington Square Park in the wee small hours of the morning to meet up with Lochlann and Josh and Garrett, to do the by-now-familiar choreography necessary to ward the wellspring there. And then he’d been exhausted, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Josh to face the train ride home alone, so he’d Faded and gone with him, wrapped up in the comfort of his scair-anam’s strong body and warm heart but a bundle of raw nerves trapped in a rolling tin can nonetheless.

And then Fiachra had called, just past ten in the ever-loving morning, to say oh by the way, our new Fae is a shapeshifter and kind of casual about public nudity.

Four strikes. Am I out, or am I supposed to punt?

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And, finally, a couple of links, as usual!

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA+ goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And, for those of you who prefer to do your book-buying somewhere other than Amazon, here’s the link to all six of the currently available SoulShares novels at Riverdale Avenue Books’ Web site, where you can get them in whatever format you like: http://ow.ly/NyuB300rGfE

Oh, and if you’d like to check out my stop on the Hop for Visibility, Awareness, and Equality (and have a chance to win some books and trigger a donation to Lambda Legal), here’s the link — the Hop runs through tomorrow, and my page has a link back to the rest of the Hop, too: https://rorynicoileain.com/2016/05/17/hop-for-visibility-awareness-and-equality/

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Rainbow Snippets, May 7, 2016 — UNDERTOW (SoulShares #7)

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May 7, 2016

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Hello, Snippetteers! — I took a day off work this week in an attempt to finish UNDERTOW (which was technically due, um, Sunday). Didn’t quite get there — but some very wonderful things happened to our lads. And one of my favorite passages was touched off by nothing more than Lucien’s smile. (Just remember — Lucien was the head bouncer at Purgatory, and Mac was the lead bartender.) Enjoy!

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Mac had overheard guys at the club calling Lucien’s smile ‘ugly-handsome’. “That bouncer – he smiles at you, and you don’t care what he looks like any more.” He’d schooled the shit out of the more obnoxious patrons, and just shrugged afterward when Lucien asked why he’d been doing his job for him. And the rest… well, he’d just smiled, and kept his thoughts to himself. Lucien was Lucien. He was Mac’s light, and his love, and his life.

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And a couple of links to round out the week —

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for many more LGBTQIA+ goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And WOLF, BECOMING, where old Russia meets new, and wolves are not what they seem: http://ow.ly/Fzal3000Jil

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Rainbow Snippets, April 30, 2016 — UNDERTOW (SoulShares #7)

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April 30, 2016

RBGEquality

Welcome to this week’s Rainbow Snippet! *winks* Just had to give a little bit of a shout-out to one of my personal heroes, the Notorious RBG.

This week’s Snippet goes all the way back to the beginning of UNDERTOW, the first time Rhoann sees Mac. Mac’s in the ruins of Purgatory, which is where Lucien was injured (Lucien was the head bouncer at the club, before it was destroyed at the end of MANTLED IN MIST, and Mac was the lead bartender); he’s just found the duffel bag Lucien used to keep a change of clothes in, and he’s in tears over a t-shirt he found in the bag. “Feel safe at night – sleep with a Marine.” And Rhoann is watching from hiding.

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The scent of salt water, human tears, struck Rhoann like the crash of a storm-wave.

“Lucien…” The human’s voice broke.

Rhoann watched, rapt, heedless of his own tears. Wanting to heal the human’s heart. But that was no Fae desire, and no Fae could give the gift of such a healing.

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And, as always, a couple of links for you!

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA+ goodies — https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And WOLF, BECOMING — where mythic fantasy meets modern Russia — http://ow.ly/4nhmV8

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And, finally, a look at my muse for Mac. Mac is, of course, older than the amazing BT Urruela (and I claim no copyright in this images, that would be the equally amazing Michael Stokes) — but apart from a few years’ difference in age, this is definitely how I picture Mac. Enjoy!

Mac

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Rainbow Snippets, April 23, 2016 — UNDERTOW (SoulShares #7)

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April 23, 2016

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Hello, Snippetteers! This week’s seven sentences (maybe I ought to write fewer two-word sentences…) take place right before Rhoann (a half-Royal Water Fae, for those of you new to the SoulShares) starts healing Lucien, who’s been in a magickally-induced coma for months. Thing is, his healing only works in water – which means he’s had to change Lucien, enable him to breathe water. Which meant changing Mac, Lucien’s partner and Rhoann’s SoulShare, so Mac could be with Lucien during the healing. At the moment, all three of them are at the bottom of the Pool, in Central Park; Mac is holding on to Lucien, while Rhoann has moved off a little way to get some privacy, to prepare for the healing.

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Mac looked up – he couldn’t help himself – to where Rhoann hung motionless in the water, arms wrapped around himself, his blond crest of hair waving gently in the water like a fin. The most gorgeous man Mac had ever seen in his life. Magical, which for some reason that was beyond him made perfect sense instead of being something out of the X-Files. Shy – but he kissed like there would never be another kiss to say what needed to be said. And he looks cold. Or lonely. Or scared.

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And here are my usual couple of links for y’all:

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook – the place to hook up for more LGBTQIA+ goodies, this week and every week: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And if you’d like to meet Mac and Lucien, here’s a link to MANTLED IN MIST (SoulShares #6) on Amazon: http://ow.ly/4n1fv3 or at the publisher’s Web site: http://ow.ly/4n1fA9

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Rainbow Snippets, April 16, 2016 — UNDERTOW (SoulShares # 7)

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April 16, 2016

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Good morning, Snippetteers! — I’m afraid this morning’s Snippet requires a bit of setup, and once again I’ve gone over my sentence limit. But I wrote this last night — it’s from UNDERTOW — and as I was writing it, I knew I had to share it with y’all. *winks*

So, the setup… The first speaker in this snippet is Rhoann, the half=Royal Water Fae. He’s preparing to heal Lucien, Mac’s partner, who has been in a coma for several months. But Rhoann’s healing powers require water to work — in fact, he and Lucien are going to have to be under water the whole time. So he’s had to change Lucien, so that Lucien can breathe water the way a Water Fae can. But Lucien is water-phobic, so Mac has insisted he has to come along, so he can be there for Lucien. (Truth be told, he’s also more than a little nervous about his partner waking up from a coma in the arms of a drop-dead-gorgeous naked Fae.) In the snippet, Rhoann is getting the three of them ready to be taken to the bottom of the Pool, a small lake in Central Park in New York City, where he’s taken up residence. (The second speaker is Mac.)

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“You will wish to remove your clothes. And Lucien’s…”

“Hospital gown.”

Rhoann arched a brow. “I have seen gowns. My mother wore beautiful gowns. That –” He gestured at the faded scrap of wet fabric bunched around Lucien’s extremely hairy barrel chest. “That is not a gown.”

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And, to conclude, my usual coupla links —

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook — for more LGBTQIA goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And WOLF, BECOMING, my Russian shape-shifter novella from Dreamspinner. (I just had an idea for another related story — if you’ve read WOLF, and would like to see something else set in that same world, please let me know!): http://ow.ly/4mLkyA

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Rainbow Snippets — April 9, 2016 — “Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound”

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April 9, 2016

Good morning, Rainbow Snippetteers! — today’s Snippet is from a short story I’m working on as my Camp NaNoWriMo project this month. I’m taking part in an anthology of m/m stories based on Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets; each author has picked a favorite play, and the stories all incorporate the plays in some way. I chose The Tempest, and in my story, “Deeper Than Did Ever Plummet Sound,” we meet Clarence Limont, a renowned Shakespearean actor from London who is beginning to think it’s time to pack it all in, but he’s agreed to play Prospero in an off-off-Broadway production of The Tempest as a favor to the director, an old school chum. And he just might be about to recapture some of the magic of the theater….

In this snippet, Clarence has just arrived for the first “table read” of the play with Jeremy’s company, an all-male Shakespearean company. (I’ve had to go a few sentences over my six, I fear — I hope you’ll forgive me the indulgence…)

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Interrupted conversations and awestruck stares seemed to hang in the air as Clarence wrestled out of his too-heavy wool coat, and he stifled a sigh. Sometimes he wondered how far from the London stage he would have to get before he could be just Clarence Limont, and not the Clarence Limont.

The Battle of the Burberry over at last, he dropped into his folding chair, a good deal more slowly than he would have liked. No doubt the younger men around the table thought him decrepit… well, he’d earned a certain amount of decrepitude, he supposed.

Jeremy rubbed his hands together briskly, beaming. “Now that we’re all here, I’ll say it again, gentlemen – good morning. And, obvious though it is, welcome to the first table read for our production of The Tempest.”

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And now for a couple of links —

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And HARD AS STONE, the first book in my SoulShares (m/m urban fantasy erotic romance) series: http://ow.ly/10tKrr

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Rainbow Snippets, April 2, 2016 — FIRESTORM (SoulShares #4)

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April 2, 2016

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Hello, Snippetteers! — your six sentences for today come from FIRESTORM (SoulShares #4), which is Cuinn and Rian’s story. By way of a little setup, Cuinn has just extricated himself and Rain from what could have been a thoroughly nasty situation in the Fae Realm, by the quickest means possible. Which involved opening a portal between the Realm and the human world (Cuinn’s the only Fae who can do that) and dragging Rian through it, bare-ass naked and dripping wet. And they land in Purgatory, Tiernan Guaire’s nightclub, pretty much right under Tiernan’s nose….

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“You can quit staring now, your Lordship.” Or I can sandpaper your eyeballs, he barely managed not to add. SoulShare jealousy. Which he needed right now like he needed a third testicle. In the middle of his forehead. “Lord Tiernan Guaire, of the Demesne of Earth, meet Rian Aodán, Prince Royal of the Demesne of Fire.”

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And a couple of links for y’all —

Rainbow Snippets, on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA goodies — https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

And if you’d like to read more of Cuinn and Rian’s story, here’s FIRESTORM — http://ow.ly/10dAOV

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Rainbow Snippets, March 26, 2016 — UNDERTOW (SoulShares #7)

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March 26, 2016

Rhoann12

Hello, Snippetteers! — things don’t get much more WIP-ish than this. Here’s a snippet I wrote last night. Seven sentences instead of six — my apologies, but I think you’ll see why I needed the extra sentence. All I’m going to say by way of a lead-in is that the first speaker is Rhoann, the half-Royal Water Fae. And that this is Rhoann’s first kiss.

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“Am I doing this right?” Mac felt Rhoann’s lips moving, breathed in Rhoann’s breath.

And Mac laughed. Even knowing these few moments were all he was ever going to have of the Fae, he laughed. Joy fizzed under his skin, all through him, in a way it hadn’t in months. “You’re doing it perfect.”

“Show me how to make it better than perfect.”

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And a couple of links for y’all —

Rainbow Snippets on Facebook, for more LGBTQIA goodies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/
MANTLED IN MIST, SoulShares # 6 (in which we become much better acquainted with Mac and Lucien): http://ow.ly/ZXcCQ

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