A Book by Any Other Name . . .
Thanks, Sid and Dani, for letting me visit your gorgeous space! You have a great thing going here and I’m happy to be a tiny part of it today.
I just love a knock-out title. As a reader, a great title can grab my attention as much as fabulous cover art, and when I figure one out as a writer I feel clever. A title has to pull a lot of weight in a short space and it has to serve the story—that’s a lot to ask from less than a sentence!
The title of my new release came to me before I had any idea what the story would be, but as soon as it formed in my mind I had to write a story with the title Curious Sustenance. That’s not my usual m.o.—not by a longshot. Usually I start with characters and a little idea of what they’ll be going through, and if the title doesn’t suggest itself within the first few thousand words I end up struggling to figure something out. But this title has a story all its own.
I’m a music junkie—so moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1989 turned out to be perfect timing. After a little time to unpack, I was surrounded by the hard rocksound journalists nicknamed “grunge” and fell in love with the music of Alice in Chains. (They’re more metal than grunge, but that’s a ranttopic for another time.)
Fast forward to the early years of the 21st Century and my boring office job.I’d plug headphones into my PC and listen to AiC’s entire catalog every day, for days and months on end, while processing spreadsheets and updating databases. It was awesome. This title suggested itself from a line in the song “Hate to Feel”(Alice in Chains, Dirt, “Hate to Feel”, words and music by Layne Staley):
Used to be curious, now the shit’s sustenance
Staley was talking about addiction and, in a way,that fits the story. An addiction is a compulsive need, a habit that’s out of control; eating fit that description for Ross until about eight months before the story begins. Food filled a need that, even though he had a family and friends who loved and accepted him, he couldn’t meet otherwise.
When Janet brings Ross to the club for the first time, to say he’s curious would’ve been a bit of a stretch if they’d only hung out for drinks and then gone home as Ross hoped. Once he sees the mysterious rope artist, though, curious becomes an understatement. Even though he has an amazing time, Ross has no reason to think of himself as kinky or even particularly adventurous.
I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but sustenance comes in many forms. What’s that saying—man does not live by bread alone? The spirit needs many things to be happy, and you can’t know what will feed yours until you explore the possibilities.
What sustains you? What are you curious about (even if you may never try it)? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Curious Sustenance!
But first, an excerpt! This one takes place shortly after Ross and Miles’s chance meeting at Powell’s City of Books. Catch more excerpts on my ‘A Little Side of Kink Blog Tour”—each stop features a different taste of the story.
***
He watched as Miles sipped his coffee, his eyes wandering again to the window across the street.
“So what do you do? When you’re not….”
Sweeping people off their feet with your smoky gaze and tapestry bag of silken rope.
Miles turned his attention to Ross. His eyes had changed, and Ross saw the man he met before, the one who strode up larger than life and twice as tasty, and mesmerized him right out of his clothes. Again he became very conscious of his own skin, remembering the way the ropes created just enough friction to drive him wild.
“I create meditation spaces, Zen gardens. You?”
A moment passed in which he couldn’t move, aside from the trembling in his thighs.
“I’m a motivational speaker. Sort of. I teach corporate types why they should treat other people with respect.”
“Do you like it?”
“Most of the time. It’s better than hoping to find a non-hostile cube farm to call home.”
Miles smiled wide. Ross thought that when he was an old man, he’d have deep laugh-lines on his face and they’d probably make him even more handsome. Miles was about to speak when his body jerked and whatever it was took a back seat to “excuse me.” He stepped away to answer his phone, and Ross tried not to listen. He wasn’t gone long, and his expression when he returned pulled Ross from his seat.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry, I have to go.”
He looked genuinely sorry—even more so than Ross felt, which was quite sorry. Miles looked away, and after a moment, Ross followed his gaze to the second-floor windows again.
“We’ll have to do this again.”
Ross shivered because he didn’t think Miles was talking about sitting on hard chairs and drinking coffee in a funky café. All he could do was nod and then appreciate the view as Miles rushed toward the door.
***
BLURB:
He never knew boundaries could be so sexy.
Ross Jenson is looking forward to a little midmorning delight to celebrate making Lifetime in Weight Watchers, but after he spent eight months losing ninety-eight pounds, what his lover gets him is a triple-layer chocolate cake. When Ross refuses to eat it, the newly minted ex leaves the country and dumps him via e-mail, with three sentences and a link to a chubby chasers web site. A few days later, Ross’s best friend and workout buddy takes him to her favorite club for drinks. Ross is shocked when he realizes it’s a sex club but warms to the idea in record time when a mysterious Japanese man and his silken ropes sweep him off his feet. Ross has never thought of himself as adventurous, but he can’t stop thinking about the man who makes his bones feel like gummy worms.
Warnings: This book features a corporate sensitivity trainer with an agenda, an awesome gal-pal, an unconventional sex club, a mysterious Japanese rope artist, and another taste of Portland, Oregon as seen through my twisted mind.
Buy Curious Sustenance at Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4392
“A Little Side of Kink” Blog Tour:
November 15: The Novel Approach
November 20: Guys Like Romance Too!
November 21: Cup O’ Porn
November 21: Release Party on the Dreamspinner Blog!
November 24: 1-4 p.m. PST/4-7 EST: Goodreads Chat Event
November 26 Joyfully Jay
November 29 Sid Love
November 30 It’s Raining Men!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charley Descoteaux has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough. In exchange, they let her sleep once in a while. Every guy deserves a beautiful love story even, or maybe especially, the ones who would usually be in the supporting cast. Home is Portland, Oregon, where the weather is like your favorite hard-case writing buddy who won’t let you get away with taking too many days off, and in some places you can be as weird as you are without fear. As an out and proud bisexual and life-long weird-o, she thinks that last part is pretty cool.
Rattle my cages—I’d love to hear from you!
Photo Credit: music, music [phil h] via photopincc; Silent Music Variation 1, AdrienSifre via photopincc
What sustains me? My spouse and kids, holidays/traveling, reading, cooking fun food.
Thanks for the blog and giveaway!
Thanks for commenting, Jen! I hope you had a lovely day yesterday! 😀
Thanks again for having me, Dani & Sid! 🙂
I’m endlessly fascinated by hockey, even though it’s been known to destroy me come playoff time. Cooking, Muppets, record stores, coffee, and travel are also reliable interests of mine!
Hi Trix! Sports are great stress-busters for me too. I love NFL football, even when I don’t get the outcome I want! 😀
Thanks for commenting!
Music and books sustain me, they help me cope with the stress in my life.
You can’t go wrong with music & books, IMO!
Thanks for stopping by, Jill!
That is a great question! I would say that my husband, dogs, reading, and travel are what sustains me. Thank you for the post and the giveaway.
Thanks, Allison! I’m enjoying the answers. Now I’m thinking about travel–to a warm place! 😀