#orchidscript writes sometimes

[orchidscript]

A Wash of Color | Orchidscript

1700 miles out of his comfort zone, TK Strand is willing to do anything to get his journalism career back on track. He volunteers to write an article deemed ‘impossible’ by the rest of the staff, putting himself on a collision course with Carlos Reyes, Austin’s most popular – and reclusive – artist. When getting to know the man turns into something more, TK finds himself staring down the barrel of an uncomfortable choice: use the article to earn back his credibility and walk away, or rediscover his self worth somewhere else.

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[orchidscript]

Demimonde is now available as paperback!

1993: Andrew Fox was only looking to make friends. After a full year floating through day to day life at St. Acacius, he's determined to pad out his social circle. When achieving that goal involves an eighty-year-old ritual and saddles him with something not of this world, Andrew has the choice to run away or face it head on.

St. Acacius' Preparatory had been a fixture of the Midatlantic Region since 1799. Founded to serve and shape the children of the local elite, the academy has developed generations of forward-thinkers guided by core values of integrity, equality, community, and stewardship. Beyond the brochure, St. Acacius has been the epicenter of local lore, of rumors and strange happenings; hauntings, witchcraft, monstrous sightings, and unexplained disappearances.

Available for purchase on Gumroad, and on Amazon for Kindle and now Paperback!

Thank you so much for your support! If you enjoyed, please leave a review or a comment — I would love to know what you think!

[orchidscript]

WIP Wednesday- Thursday!

Thank you to @cha-melodius and @rmd-writes for the tags that I was too sleepy to see yesterday -- so I’m making good on them today! I’ve got a lot of WIPs, but this is the one I’ve been most excited about this week (as Chamel can definitely attest to, lol). 

So, the RWRB kids and some art theft. How’s about it?

Alex knew he should move quickly, go and talk to Srivastava before lunch so things didn’t go too cold too quickly. But something nagged at him – a nebulous, rolling sort of annoyance at the back of his skull. This person, whoever they were, had pulled the known alias of one of the most famous forgers and thieves in the last three decades. If that wasn’t flagrant hero worship, Alex didn’t know what was.

He grabbed a piece of scratch paper, crumpled it, and tossed it blindly over the bookshelves dividing his desk from his partner’s. 

A moment later: “Hello, this is Special Agent William Abbott, art crimes division. If you could stop throwing things at the tone, I’ll get back to you ASAP.”

Alex snickered. “Fuckin’ snarky this morning.”

“What do you want, Alex?” Liam rolled his desk chair back to better see him, face pinched with exhaustion.

“You closed the Hawthorne case, right?”

Liam nodded. “All night stakeout Saturday into Sunday. Why, what do you want?”

“Oh what? No will I regret asking this time? I’m touched.”

“I always regret asking. I’m being efficient.” Liam rolled his eyes. “Seriously, what do you want? I’ve got paperwork.”

“Would you go get a statement for me?”

“In exchange for what?”

“A break from the paperwork?” Alex tried.

Liam shook his head.

“A break from the paperwork and a nice, quiet view of Park Avenue?”

Liam rolled his wrist, indicating keep going. 

Alex huffed. “Fine. A break from the paperwork, a nice walk on Park Avenue, lunch and the next happy hour on me. That good enough for you?”

Liam pursed his lips, then nodded. “Tell me what I’m doing?”

“A violin worth a pretty penny got stolen on the Upper East, either overnight or first thing this morning. Last person one the premises were the theft reporter and someone they interviewed.” Alex passed over the top sheet. “They used the name James Bishop, and it can’t be a coincidence.”

Liam’s eyes raised to his hairline. “Bishop?”

Alex made a face, then spread his hands apart. “And I can’t be in two places at once.”

No pressure tags to @xthelastknownsurvivorx, @cricketnationrise @clottedcreamfudge and @stutteringpeach if you’ve got something you’re dying to share 💜💜

[orchidscript]

Hello hello! 26 and 56 for the fic writer asks please! ❤️

Hello! Thank you so much!!

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

I don’t know. I think I wish A Delicate Balance, my RWRB actors AU, got less play… mostly because writing it was a pain and I think I’ve written better stories. I kind of don’t understand why it’s my most read fic, truth be told.

This is a tough one because I tend to write a LOT of AU materials, much of which are based in history or historic events. I’m a nerd and that’s the stuff I’m excited to write, but not everyone likes to read stuff that feels like AP History class. Still I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, so I’m just keepin on keeping on ;)

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

My dialogue. I write most of my dialogue by having conversations out loud, when I’m alone. Communication is something I like to portray well because so often stories rely on poor communication. So I want everything my characters — fanfic or original — say to feel authentic, grounded, and realistic. It also helps with pacing too, finding where you want the pauses to be and what fills them.

[orchidscript]

4, 16 and 40 for the writer asks!

Hi there! Thank you so much, these were so much fun 😊

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

All over the place. Books I’m reading, NPR stories I hear while driving to work, conversations with friends, cocktail menus, even my historic costuming. I used to be a journalist, so I’m kind of a magpie when it comes to ideas or details or even titles I like.

Seriously, I’ve got a fic going rn that was inspired by an 1830s archeologist who probably lied about everything he ever did except for being the first European to see the Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan. Stuff just occurs to me and then I let the rabbit run.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Oh god… actual viable fics with an outline, a title, and a Moodboard? Approximately 5 right now.

Fics that are just vibes or snapshots or loose threads, maybe only a title and an ink color I want to write it in? Like 30.

As for a snippet, I’ll pull from the fic I mentioned above — The Fox’s Bargain — for a little taster:

Shaan placed his hand on Henry's throat and squeezed lightly. "I won't hesitate to go back on this mercy. Do you understand me?"

Henry feels his throat move against Shaan's palm as he swallows. Feels the seriousness in his dark eyes like a ten ton weight on his chest. He pulls in a breath, struggling under the hand. "If I've come to deserve it, then I deserve it. I trust you."

"You shouldn't, captain."

"I don't know you, so I do." Henry lets a corner of his mouth turn up in humor. "I'll make sure you have my sister's address. Tell her how much of an arse I was to get myself killed. She'll have a good laugh."

Shaan pulled his hand away, turning away to cover a smirk. "You're a strange one. Do you know that?"

"I do. My grandmother's been joyously calling me queer all my life. I believe I've lived up to it."

Seriously, if anyone ever needs a title, just ask. I LOVE making up titles and hoarding them like a teeny dragon. Just as @historicallysam ;)

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Honestly, seeing fanart of my work would blow me out of the water. First and foremost. I will be reduced to astonished tears and shower you with gratitude. Time it right and I’ll knit you a sweater, I’m not kidding. That would be so cool.

As for specific images… I would love to see some fanart of Omakase, my chef AU for Red White and Royal Blue. I also have a saucy 1920s AU for Lone Star because Carlos Reyes deserves to be immortalized as a Leyendecker painting… so that would be cool.

Gosh, just anything would knock me flat. So, if you have a notion, go for it. I won’t stop you!

[orchidscript]

3, 17, and 32!

hey there, and thank you! Sorry it took so long for me to answer!

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

I write everything by hand. No joke.

Every single thing I ever write -- fanfiction, original fiction, essay, lesson plan, slide decks for my classes -- is all done first by hand in a notebook. When I type it up, I expand and edit, so that finished doc I consider a second or final draft.

I just, straight up, cannot write initially on my laptop. And, besides, I get most of my writing done during meetings, so if I write by hand people just think I'm taking notes.

Very cursed, I know.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Going back to something I wrote, reading it, and actually feeling proud of it. Like, that deep-seated feeling of "oh, heck yeah, I didn't fuck this up. This is readable and enjoyable too!"

that's a good feeling, and I don't have it often, so when it comes up it makes me happy.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

From my own writing, I come back to this one here: Love was stored inside an egg.

No reason. I just like how that came out and it's the line I get the most comments on from that story. So I see it a lot, and I never expected it to be so impactful. Kind of interesting how something can feel like a throw away line and actually, unexpectedly, hit people in the emotions real hard.

Kind of a nice lesson in how you can't predict the reception of anything once it's out of your hands.

Now, from someone else's writing, I'll give you this: Once for joy, twice for sorrow, a third time you shall die.

This line comes from the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills legend, written by W.H.C. Pynchon in 1898 and published as a serial between April and October of that year. It's entirely falsified, but it's a good story as well as being the only example of Black Dog folklore in the United States. Which I really love.

Plus, the through-line language of poetic omens is something that I really enjoy reading, thinking about, and repurposing in my own writing. Lots and lots of inspiration in there :)

Thank you so so much for asking!