J.L. Jensen

11:42 am - State of my Stories - January 2008

The state of the union... er... stories I'm currently writing:

Currently in Print

Finding the Divine: The Hierophant

Length: Novella; part of Torquere Press' Arcana line.

Purchase link:http://tinyurl.com/2gonoq

( Work safe blurb under cut )

Two become One by J.L. Jensen

Length: Short story; part of Torquere Press' Halloween Sips

M/M, supernatural, explicit

Purchase link: http://tinyurl.com/3xvpqu

( Work safe blurb under cut )

Indigenous in Animal Attraction

Anthology edited by Vincent Diamond

Purchase link: http://tinyurl.com/3c455m

( Work safe blurb under cut )

Out of Print

Prospecting

In progress

Cowboys & Indians: a series of at least two novels and more than a few short stories.

The first novel's about Joe, who's half Nez Perce, and Cody, who shows up looking for a job.

The second novel's about Jay, a young Ojibwe Pow Wow dancer and Damon, a horse trainer traveling the rodeo circuit.

The short stories are:

Prospecting (now out of print) is about Nathan and Mike. </p>

Aquamarine Waves is about Nathan's brother, Brian and Mitch, the jewelry designer he asks to make a birthday present for his mother.

Thunder Bay is about Jay's brother Jeremy meeting Matt.

Pride - Damon's nephew falls into the heart of a hunky firefighter/EMT during Gay Pride.

There's a story about Damon's cousin Paul who falls for Pete, a bronc rider. There's a story about Tony and Trey (who look like twins) and how they wound up working at Joe's ranch

Other stories I'm working on:

A Rock band/roadie story.

A story about a dog walker asked to look after a human dog.

A story about a Japanese Rock star and his body guard

A story about a half-Japanese businessman and his ex-brother-in-law

A story about a gay ex-porn star turned professor

Current Mood: exhausted

10:55 am - Torchwood quotes

Well, I'm a bit late, but I did promise to share some of my favorite bits of Torchwood

( Warning: Spoilers behind cut! )


I can't wait for episode two!

Current Mood: amused

10:03 am - Torchwood Season 2

I admit it. I'm addicted. Any series that has an openly omnisexual character (Captain Jack Harkness) and has same sex kissing? Rocks!

Season 2 Episode 1 was broadcast on Jan 16, 2008 in the UK. It will be broadcast on BBCAmerica January 26. Watch it!

To whet your appetite, here are some screencaps

( Pictures behind cut )

Current Mood: nerdy

10:37 am - Two Become One is now out!

Colin gets one night a year with his dead lover Duncan. It's not enough, but he makes the best of it, using a pagan circle to help bring Duncan to him, reveling in being able to touch once more. This year turns out to be a bit different for Colin, with a revelation he never expected instead of his usual night of passion. Can Colin accept all he learns and learn to start a new life?

Two Become One can be purchased at Torquere Books.

You can buy ALL 26 Halloween Sips at 15% off!
http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=686

Or you can get 15% off when you buy ALL the Halloween releases (Chosen, Shifting Back, the Sips, and Kiernan's Satyr-Day Night Fever) together!
http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=685

Current Mood: bouncy

08:38 am - Good news and bad news...

Well I've gotten good news and bad news this week.

The good news is that a short story I wrote for Torquere's Halloween Sips package was accepted. It's an eerie little story that includes magick, the Celtic new year (Samhain), sex with ghosts, possession by a god, karma, and rebirth, among other things. It's called "Two Become One", so check it out!

The bad news is that I managed to break a bone in my foot when I was going downstairs and missed a step 2 stairs from the bottom. I thought the ankle was sprained, but the pain didn't stop, so I went to the ER and they discovered I'd broken or cracked the navicular bone in my right foot. So, I can't drive! The only plus is that I don't have to have a cast - only a pneumatic walking boot - for six weeks. I guess I'll have a chance to finish up a few more stories!

Current Mood: uncomfortable

01:11 pm - New links to stories

</p>My publisher, Torquere Press has a new web store.</p>

That means there are new links for Animal Attraction and my Arcana story, Finding the Divine: The Hierophant

I'd almost finished a story for the Emperor Arcana card when I was told that the sales from my first two stories for Torquere, Prospecting and Finding the Divine: The Hierophant were not strong enough to give me a spot in the line (it's for 'established' Torquere authors only). So I'm now looking for a publisher for it, the sequel and a companion story. Later on, I'll be posting some exerpts here that I originally posted on the Torquere Social Yahoo group.

Current Mood: tired

04:07 pm - Animal Attraction available Wednesday

I have a story in vdiamond's anthology, Animal Attraction, being published on August 8 by Torquere Press. I've posted snippets at torquere_social. Snippet one can be found here. Snippet two is here. Snippet three is not particularly work safe, and can be found here. Let me know what you think!

11:43 am - Animal Attraction - August 8, 2007

I've just gotten the cover art for Animal Attraction - Very Nice

( cover pic )

The publication date is August 8, 2007. More news and excerpts as it comes closer.

Current Mood: happy

11:32 am - The Hierophant is out on Saturday July 21, 2007

My Arcana story, The Hierophant is being released on Saturday by Torquere Press

A blurb:

Ian MacCormac is a nurse at a regional trauma hospital, who uses Tarot as a tool to find out what's going on in his life. With the hours he works he hasn't really had time to explore his sexuality -- he realized that he was gay in college -- and has just about given up on finding someone. Then one morning he does a reading where The Hierophant, a card he's never drawn before, is the outcome card.

Dr. Roberto Valdez left San Antonio to join the ER at Ian's hospital because he wanted to be able to have a gay relationship without fear of discovery by his large extended family. He's attracted to Ian from the moment they meet and persuades Ian to show him around the town. From the moment Ian does a Tarot reading for him, and Roberto randomly chooses The Hierophant as his significator -- the card that represents him -- their path is determined, even though Roberto doesn't realize it and Ian refuses to admit it.

Current Mood: excited

01:06 pm - Easter Egg Hunt

I posted this on the Torquere Social list, and thought I'd put it here as well. Enjoy.

Current Mood: relieved

12:27 pm - Coming this summer

Two stories I submitted to Torquere Press will be coming out this summer!

My Arcana story - the Hierophant - is currently scheduled for July. It's about an ER doctor and a trauma nurse who discover that they were meant to be a couple.

In August, I have a story in the anthology Animal Attraction, edited by Vincent Diamond. "Indigenous" is about an Ojibwe veterinary medicine student, Jake, who is walking to the library when a Bald Eagle runs into him from behind. Jake's confused when he's attracted to the Raptor center volunteer, Kai, who was exercising the eagle, because the guy isn't Native American - he's from Finland. With help from his grandfather, Jake comes to realize that Eagle brought the two of them together for a reason and that he and Kai have a lot more in common than he realized.

Current Mood: accomplished

04:05 pm - Accepted!

I just got word that a short story I submitted for an anthology was accepted! I'll post more details later, when the publisher announces them.

I've also submitted my Arcana story to Torquere Press http://www.torquerepress.com/.

It's been over a year since I broke my wrist and I'm still not fully recovered. I'm just glad I'm getting back into the writing groove.

What I'm working on now:

Cowboys & Indians: a series of at least two novels and more than a few short stories.

The first novel's about Joe, who's half Nez Perce, and Cody, who shows up looking for a job.
The second novel's about Jay, a young Ojibwe Pow Wow dancer and Damon, a horse trainer traveling the rodeo circuit.

The short stories are:
Prospecting (available at Torquere Press) is about Nathan and Mike (there's a better description at the link than I can give here).
Aquamarine Waves is about Nathan's brother, Brian and Mitch, the jewelry designer he asks to make a birthday present for his mother.
Thunder Bay is about Jay's brother Jeremy meeting Matt.
Pride - Damon's nephew falls into the heart of a hunky firefighter/EMT during Gay Pride.
There's a story about Damon's cousin Paul who falls for Pete, a bronc rider.
There's a story about Tony and Trey (who look like twins) and how they wound up working at Joe's ranch

Other stories I'm working on:

A Rock band/roadie story.
A story about a dog walker asked to look after a human dog.

04:20 pm - Gay Rights

As seen on several other people's journals:

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

We would like to know who really believes in gay rights on livejournal. There is no bribe of a miracle or anything like that. If you truly believe in gay rights, then repost this and title the post as "Gay Rights". If you don't believe in gay rights, then just ignore this. Thanks.

Hands? Guns? After three school shootings in one week, I'd rather see hands!

04:46 pm - Popsicles - A sniblet

This was inspired by a challenge by cbpotts on the Torquere Social LiveJournal torquere_social It’s been slightly edited since the original posting. It features my characters from Prospecting, published by Torquere Press

Current Mood: accomplished

12:58 pm - Stories in my head (and in my laptop)

In addition to Prospecting, published by Torquere Press, I'm currently working on other stories involving characters briefly mentioned in Prospecting.

The first novel I’m writing was originally going to be an anthology submission, but it kept growing and was soon way beyond the word limit. It centers around Joe and Cody. Joe is half Nez Perce Indian, one quarter Saudi Arabian and one quarter Norwegian-American. He’s a very successful Arabian Horse breeder and has started breeding Nez Perce Horses. He lives in Northern Nevada, about a day’s drive south of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation in Idaho, where his grandfather, Henry Smith, lives. Joe has known he was gay since he was a teen, and his family accepts him. Cody is a corn-fed Iowa boy who was kicked out of his home at 16 when his father discovered he was gay. His family bred Quarter Horses, so Cody found jobs working with horses wherever he could until he saw a picture of Joe. He was so intrigued by Joe that he made his way to Northern Nevada and asked for a job, not even knowing if Joe was gay. Joe finally has to tell Cody he’s gay when he’s asked to help two 18-year-old Nez Perce boys, who are a couple and have been getting hassled, by letting them intern on his ranch as a part of the Nez Perce Youth horse program. The two boys, Tony and Trey, look almost identical and are known as ‘the twins’ even though they are only distant cousins.

The second novel is an expansion of the story I finally submitted to the anthology and involves Jay, a full-blooded Ojibwe teen, who has been dancing on the pow wow circuit since we was young and Damon, who trains Quarter Horses in South Dakota. The first part of the novel centers around Jay, who has been badly hurt in the past and hasn’t dealt with it at all well. He meets Joe, Cody and the rest of the characters from the first book at a pow wow in Nevada. They help him through a major crisis and start him on the road to healing, which allows him to meet his soulmate, Damon. Damon has his own problems stemming from a long-term relationship that went sour. Together they help each other grow beyond their hurt and Jay discovers his own ‘magic’.

Prospecting was the next story I wrote, followed by a short story about Jay’s brother, Jeremy, called Thunder Bay, set on the North Shore of Lake Superior, which I really need to expand and revise.

After Thunder Bay I wrote Nathan’s brother Brian’s story, which is a prequel/continuation to Prospecting.

Then I started on the Twin’s story which tells how they wound up at Joe’s and then parallels Joe and Cody’s story.

Finally, I’m working on a story I hope to submit to Torquere about Damon’s cousin, Paul, and how he found his partner for life.

Anyway, that’s some of what’s on my plate at the moment.

07:57 pm - Finally, an update and a exerpt from my story, Prospecting!

On Jan 30, just as I was about to start promoting my short story, Prospecting, life thew me a major curve ball. The night if the 29th we'd had freezing rain & snow. My 'day job' hadn't sanded or salted the sidewalks around the contract parking lot I use, even though the sidewalks around the building I work in were treated. When I reached a spot where the sidewalk started to slope towards the road both feet slipped forward and I sat down really fast. My icon shows the result - the X-ray shows my left wrist, from the top, after surgery. I spent most of Feb. in a daze, on painkillers, unable to concentrate enough to type!

In any case, the pins were removed on March 2, and I am slowly getting back into the swing of things (but it's rough typing one-handed!)

I'm still waiting to hear if Torquere is interested in publishing the sequel, Aquamarine Waves. If they aren't, I'll think about posting it here.

Well that's about all the one-handed typing I can do for tonight, more anon!

Current Mood: sore

10:01 am - Introductions

To borrow from the bio I submitted to my publisher, Torquere Press (http://www.torquerepress.com):

I started out writing a historical romance, family saga, based on The Phantom of the Opéra and wound up discovering, reading, and writing gay erotic fiction. I do a lot of research for my stories and have a whole bookshelf full of research material on France, the Paris Opéra, singing, gemstones, Native Americans, horses, etc. When three of my characters decided to go into a M/F/M relationship, I had to research the interpersonal dynamics and physical aspects of the relationship and in the process I discovered the world of gay erotic fiction. Some of the authors whose stories I really enjoy reading are A.B. Guye, D.W. Simon, Josh Aterovis, Jourdan Lane and Sara Bell. Corresponding with and 'beta-reading' for several online authors finally gave me the push to start writing and submitting my own stories.

Prospecting, which is being published by Torquere Press in February in their 'Cherry Bomb' line, is my first published work outside of contests. I have written two SF&F stories that were published in short story contest anthologies, using the name Jaylyn Jensen. I have a hard time writing (and reading) stories with unhappy endings, so most of my stories eventually have happy endings. I also tend to write family sagas (see above) so several of the characters mentioned in Prospecting feature prominently in their own story, which isn't quite finished yet because they keep telling me more!

I'll be using this space to keep my readers and friends updated on my current writing projects and (hopefully) future publication dates.