Try rounding up a list of books that share commonalities with the one of you’re stories — perhaps they inspired your writing, or approached similar themes and/or problems.
There are a number of books that I love and that helped inspire some of my writing, but as I sit here, I’m trying to think of some of the early books. The ones that helped set me on the writing path.
I started writing on 2007 after devouring as many gay romances as I could find. It was like a window opened up and I just couldn’t get enough. I bought books on Amazon and second hand just so I could keep reading. These stories touched a part of me I didn’t knew existed and after reading them for months, I decided to try to write. The rest is history.
The Tin Star by J L Langley
Adagio by Chris Owen
A Summer Place by Ariel Tachna
Spare Parts by Scott and Scott
The Tales of the City stories – Armistead Maupin
There are so many others, but its hard to remember them all. These are the books that stayed with me after all these years and really helped get me started.
“Can I help you?” he asked a little warily.
“Richard, this is Dustin. He and his partner are our neighbors.” Anne seemed tired. Richard’s smile brightened, and some of the tension left him. They shook hands, and Dustin motioned to Patrick, who joined them.
“And you must be Dustin’s partner?” Richard said as Patrick approached.
“No. I’m one of their hands. Dustin and Marshall own the ranch.”
“Patrick was able to get the air-conditioning working,” Anne said, and Richard’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, thank you so much.” He shook Patrick’s hand with both of his. “You’re a godsend.” He released Patrick’s hand and his smile grew wider. “Since the house is cooling, can we get you anything?”
“A doggie!” one of the boys cried, and just like that, Pal jumped out of the now open truck door and raced over to the porch.
“Pal, stop,” Dustin called. Pal stopped running so abruptly he skidded forward in the dirt on his butt. He turned, probably wondering what he had done wrong, mouth hanging open in the heat.
“Boys…,” Anne cautioned, the pitch of her voice rising fast.
“Pal is great,” Dustin said quickly. “He’s super friendly and he wouldn’t hurt anyone.” As if to prove the point, Pal inched forward and paused at the edge of the porch. Anne relaxed, and the boys came forward. Pal lifted his head and slowly climbed onto the porch as though he expected to be scolded any second. “Pal, come back here.”
“Anne,” Richard said softly, and she nodded. The boys walked closer, and Pal rolled over. That seemed to be the icebreaker. The boys sat down to pet Pal, who soaked up the attention like a sponge.
“I’m sorry,” Dustin said. He hadn’t wanted to cause any trouble.
“It’s okay,” Richard said, taking Anne’s hand.
“Yeah. It’s okay.” Color rose in her cheeks. “I’m….” She seemed to reconsider what she was going to say. “The boys sure like him.”
“Pal has been with me since he was a pup, ten years ago. He just loves attention and children, as you can see.” Pal was still on his back as the boys rubbed his belly.
“Where are my manners?” Anne asked. “Our older son, Oliver, is seven, and the younger one, who just ended up on his four-year-old butt, is Noah.” She smiled now, and Richard did the same. Pal rolled over and sat next to the boys, who petted him no end. It was a wonderful scene, and Dustin watched the boys as they played. He sighed and tried to keep the sound to himself. The past was the past, and it needed to stay there.
I enjoy the Carlisle Cops series.
My favorite is definitely between Fire and Water and The Good Fight.
new author for me
Eyes Only For Me