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Thanks for taking a look at my little hodgepodge of a blog.

Take a ganger at the bottom of the page to see the Categories. That will help to make sense of my short journal entries.

The format and subjects of my blog has changed through the years as it's my log of S.N.McKibben's writing journey.

You've now been sufficiently forewarned, happy reading!

The late Update

8/11/2016

So this is late because I usually update my blog at 9:00am. I'm posting the same day, just not the same time.

I don't think anyone really cares.

Well, except me.

Usually, I write, edit, re-read, put aside and re-read my blog post for typos and coherency. Today, not so much. I've been pondering feedback of my wonderful beta readers on Seducing Sensei. They all have themes. I'm also very, very glad I gave them the opportunity to help me make this story better. Even those that think they aren't doing much and think they can't point me in the right direction they are so very, very wrong...

I am a much more resilient writer than some may think. I also have a read-between-the-lines third eye. Everyone's comments have been helpful. Yes, everyone's. This does not mean I'm changing the story to everyone's whims. I am however taking into account consistent themes.

Here are some of the changes I need to make:

Scott needs resolution with his family.
Ending too lackluster.
Show the pressure Itsuma is under from the expectations of his family. Show how he doesn’t want to go back to Japan and why.
Show Mori knows they are 18 years at the beginning.
Maybe expand on Scott and Mori talking after the first sex scene about Itsuma and why he did/does what he does.
Change Scott’s reaction to Mori coming to his “rescue” to be more as though Scott is trying to protect Mori.
Write Kai's story next.

These are not all the changes. I know there will be more. But what I love about this process is that I can ask my readers if I'm on the right track. Strike the right track part. Replace with where I go off the rails. Because I do. I'm one of those writer's that gets it wrong the first time. Guidance from readers saves me. That's my way of saying thank you.

Thank you.

When a beta reader goes off on a tangent it's awesome. Not only do I get to torment, but I've given you the feels.

Torment might be the wrong word.

Nah...

Suffer.

I really am a horrible person.

And I'm here to bring you all along for the ride. Point, laugh and say, "At least I'm not as bad off as you."
It's true. I went to Austin, the weird capital of the US, and even they thought I was too weird. *shrug*

So back to being grateful...

Without input writing can be a huge mirrored box. Over and over again. Beta readers help writers grow, stretch and learn more about themselves. So...thank you...for being tormented by a too weird for Austin pervert.

God, I hope my niece and nephews never see this blog (or come across my novels).

So that's it for the Seducing Sensei update.

On the Pyromage project I've gotten 17,600 words in a .docx file. I've got about 20 pages of notes/scenes in the livescribe book. So that's about another 5K. And I keep writing.

I've decided to do something different with Pyromage, but that is for another update. There is a reason why I was late with this update and I feel the hand of Editing (like the hand of God) pulling me back into the abyss of publishing. Troll River Publishing has a lot going on this month. You can take a look here if you want to see the newest releases coming out! Go ahead! A least those authors don't torment their beta readers...or do they?

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Seducing Sensei Cover Mock-ups

7/21/2016

Now that I'm working on another project, letting the first draft of Seducing Sensei rest, it's time to put together other elements like... the cover.

Since Zoe did the illustrations for the trailer, I thought, why not have her do the illustration for the cover. But, I have a few reservations about an illustrated cover.

First, I didn't want the book to look like a comic or manga. But I've seen other book covers for M/M do this type of style. Not that I'm copying them because I think I'll have the success they do, but because I think an illustrated cover will set the right mood.

Second, I didn't want an illustrated cover that might draw the wrong reader. This isn't a children's book. Look at the excerpts. Tell me I'm wrong. Go ahead. I'll wait. Look at the excerpts. Oh...they are found here and here.

Done? So we're in agreement, right? Good. Okay...

Third, I'm not sure an illustrated cover would convey the right tone. (Note: tone and mood are not the same thing.) Both set your expectation, but this story was written with yaoi in mind so an illustrated cover sets that up.

Ultimately, I chose to go with an illustrated cover because of branding. The cover, book trailer and teasers will all have the illustrations Zoe created. It's just makes sense with that point of view. I'll go with Zoe again when I make the next books so I have an all around brand with the Notice Me Sempai series.

You can see from Zoe's first attempts it doesn't give any impression that this is an all male menage. At least not really. The above picture is adorable. They look like they're posing for the year book. But the cover says this could be a story about three humorous friends, their lives, their differences and how they relate. That's not this story.

This cover on the right looks like it could be about a humorous story, but again that's not this story.

In a perfect world, we could show all the characters faces because all three "heroes" are main characters. All three are vital to the story.

These past illustrations are not the cover. None of the characters traits are shown. Yes, Mori is a teacher, but he's a flawed person weak to physical contact.

Itsuma is a bigger than life character whose ego fills the room before he even steps inside.

Scott is the lovable dude that everyone can't help but protect--even if he is way taller, way beefier and just larger in every way.

This cover to the left is suggestive, but I wanted blatant. I wanted readers to understand this has got sex in it.

What we have to the left is sweet. It gets a message across, sort-of, but I'm not sure that the message warns readers about how sexually graphic this particular story will become.

* Separate note * I love Mori's eyes in this one. He's adorable both in the book and the illustration Zoe created. Mori is very flawed, but I've tried to make him as likeable as possible. I think looking at him and his mannerisms help relate to him. We'll see what beta readers say.

I needed a cover that could give me their character traits, besides teacher and students, that I'd like to put as the representative to my story. So then Zoe shows me this...

No, it doesn't show all their faces. I might still want that. But this at least screams, there's sex in here. The blatantness -- yes, my new word blatantness -- is what I was going for. I gave Zoe the okay for this one. Here's why.

It shows Mori's weakness, it shows Itsuma taking the lead like he always does, and it shows Scott's eager but gentle way. Those are my characters. Oh, for those who don't know the order from left to right is Itsuma, Mori, Scott. The best character illustrations of them are found here.

So Zoe's got the okay from me and I've got a rough sketch. The next time you see the cover will be for the cover reveal. For now, try to use your imagination for detail, color and shading. Until next time!

XOXO ~ Stephy

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Seducing Sensei Update

7/7/2016

My god, you must be sick of me giving updates of my latest work. However, the picture you see above is the last panel of Zoe's story boarding for the trailer of Seducing Sensei. Now all I have to do is...

...put it all together.

Here's what we have so far:

Music

Artwork

A title.

That's easy...Seducing Sensei. I'd thought of the title Teacher's Pet, but I think I'll save that one for a later book.

Combine my 87 images to the music and we'll have a trailer. Holy hell it's been fun. I think Zoe made the process awesome. She kept feeding me images every week. After panel 40, my face was turning red and I was a total fan girl...

What to do now:

Hire someone to put these all together. This YouTube video is what I'm going for:

PLEASE BE WARNED!!! THE VIDEO IS YAOI
(MALE ON MALE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS)
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
DON'T CLICK UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE THIS

Yeah, sorry for the warning but some people don't take my dirty blog seriously sometimes. Anyway...

So all this work and still no video, yet. But there will be!

As for the rest of the book. I've penned the last word of the first draft and have put it in the drawer to simmer. Don't freak...I'll leave it in there for a few weeks, bring it out, edit it over a week, then send it out to the betas!!

But as soon as I shelved it and could think about something else, my paranormal, fantasy, dragon story reared its sexy legs up and...it too is an all male menage. Hell if I know what's going on with the inner workings of my head but there you have it. I don't even know what genre to call this one other than all male menage dragon story. It's been in my head since 2014 and it's never let go. So...I'll be posting about that one until I have more news about Seducing Sensei. I'll send out an email to all my peeps so if you want to be apart of my crew, scroll to the top and sign up for my readers group list. You'll get a free story too--just to see if we're compatible. If not, no worries!

So now, whip-lash back to S.S. (Seducing Sensei) I'm putting all the updates of SS in chronological order for posterity purposes for later. One day, we'll look back and smile.
http://www.snmckibben.com/a-dirty-blog/good-luck-finding-a-book-trailer
http://www.snmckibben.com/a-dirty-blog/storytelling-vs-genre-writing
http://www.snmckibben.com/a-dirty-blog/current-events-notice-me-sempai
http://www.snmckibben.com/a-dirty-blog/seducing-sensei-update

In other things to do before this book comes out...I need:

Cover
Beta Readers/Crit Partners
Line Editor
Marketing Plan

All of which is underway shortly. Zoe is working on the cover. I'll prolly have a cover reveal. But before that even, I'll have beta readers/crit partners look at the story and then a line editor. After that editing we'll get a copy editor. Then it will go up for pre-order and a marketing plan will ensue. But I'm so excited! I have my trailer almost there. Everything is coming together. Ahhhh...the birth of a book. Thanks so much for following me on the journey!

Until next week!!

XOXO ~ Stephy

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Seducing Sensei Update

6/16/2016

Still chugging along with Seducing Sensei. I've got about 60 panels out of the 90 or so expected. We've gotten very perverted after panel 40...it's awesome. But I thought I'd have the first draft finished by June and we've gone over the deadline. Partially from other work--wait, no, because of other work and responsibilities. But I've given you another teaser so I can be inspired to complete this story...

I'm starting the illustrations from the last blog teaser here. But the excerpt is part of the book that is further down the story line. (Please understand this is a first draft and you may find grammar errors. I'll be having this edited by a professional and certain passages may change when released.) Enjoy!

Excerpt

Thank god. I was given time to recuperate.

“You’re a damn animal.” Scott pointed at me, but glared at his friend. “Look, you’re scaring the crap out of him.”

“Oh bullshit.” Itsuma spit. “You saw him the other day. Stop projecting.”

“Itsuma!” Now that I had half my wits about me I could say what I wanted.

“What?” Itsuma crossed his arms and looked at me.

“If you do this, are you willing to face the consequences?” Crap. That didn’t come out right. “I want to help you.”

My Prince raked lascivious eyes up and down my body. “I bet you do.” His eyes landed on my middle and he smirked.

I looked down. Holy shit. My cock was hanging out and waving a stiff salute. I quickly buried my eager weasel back into my jeans. The kid would have me undressed in a nanosecond if he hadn’t stopped. I couldn’t really say I resisted all that much.

“No, I mean, what you do for fun…it’s dangerous.”

“So you think this is a gag?” Itsuma puffed out his chest.

Scott’s eyes widened. “Mr. Reis, we don’t do that. I mean you’re the first.”

The first to pin down and give a blow-job? My heart went pitter-patter. So I was the only one they’d teased. Good.

Itsuma’s face filled my vision. “You don’t take me seriously at all, do you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “A little hard to when all you do is play games.”

“Only because you’re a snob.”

“Excuse me?” I might be privileged, but I worked hard. How he could rile me up was annoying.

“You wouldn’t lower yourself for someone like Scott, right?”

“He’s a student,” I said. “So are you.”

Itsuma leaned a hand on the pillar behind me, blocking my escape. “Just so you know, we’ve already talked about it.”

“We?” Talked about what?

“Scott and I,” Itsuma said. “We know the consequences. But we want you, so we don’t care.”

What’s with the ‘we’? Made sense though. Itsuma was the talkative one. Scott was more like the quiet mastermind type. I was just trying to figure out where all this was going.

Until next week! Happy reading!
XOXO ~ Stephy

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Current Events - Notice Me Sempai

5/5/2016

So this is just a brag session. I'm here to tell you about the cool things I'm doing with Zoe, the illustrator, and the book trailer for Seducing Sensei.
I've formed a series of this particular world in my head. There are three side characters in this story that I'd like to explore, but that's for later. Right now I'm calling it the Notice Me Senpai series.

I like the way Zoe has taken this part of the story and made it really work. I'm only going to show the PG parts here as this is an M/M/M (all male menage). I'll include the narrative from the book but please don't hold me to high spelling and grammar standards as your getting a glimpse of the first draft. Take a look!

After lunch, I hadn’t given the scene much thought until, at around five o’clock, both Itsuma and Scott Cooper walked in my class room.
My little troublemaker owned the space when he walked in. One might have mistaken him for a Japanese prince of some small unknown province. Only royalty of a tiny country would have that much self-admiration. Don’t hurt yourself squeezing your ego in the room.
Standing with feet firmly placed as if he were on the first place winner’s podium stand, Itsuma’s energy exuded confidence. I glanced at him with what I hoped was my best disparaging look.
Behind him Scott Cooper twirled a wrangler’s rope with expert precision. The loop circled Scott in meticulous up and down motions. He danced a cowboy’s jig with the rope as if he’d been born to raise cattle. With those boots, jeans, button shirt and cowboy hat he should be on the back of a horse.
The kid looked at me with those beautiful green eyes, effortlessly continuing his rope hopscotch. Those eyes weren’t those of a child’s, but of a man who’d seen a lifetime of evil and decided he was here to save everyone. It was heart shattering to look into his soul, and yet, Scott instilled hope in my heart. Like a survivor, he threw off an air that people could overcome the worst of times. As if he were living proof.
In contrast, Itsuma’s inflated ego and Cheshire smile set off all my warning bells. I wasn’t afraid. Inwardly, I was reprimanding the chubby that sprang as soon as the duo stepped across the threshold of my classroom. I’d waited way too long to find a partner. Maybe after this I’d go to the bar to relax. Find someone to help keep my head on around this jail-bait of mine. That was it…I just needed to let out this frustration.
I stood, pulled out my drawer of no-no’s and set out Itsuma’s iPod on my desk. Then I placed the two pieces of his headphones next to the iPod.
“If I take this again,” I said. “You’re not getting it back.” I pulled out the new package of ear buds and set them next to his equipment.
Itsuma picked up the unopened accessory and laughed like I’d told the best joke he’d ever heard. “Sensei, you sly fox.”
The sound of his mirth tickled my heart. Craptastic. Now I knew why this “prince” slipped under my skin as easy as getting under a bedspread. Intense attraction. Yep, definitely going to the bar tonight.
Itsuma wiped the amused tear under his eye and said, “I was wondering why a math teacher would have wire cutters in his pocket. You planned this from the start.”
“What? No!” Had I? “I bought the new headphones at break.” I thought the gesture would soothe any harsh words he might throw my way. “The wire cutters were just coincidence.”
Scott stopped his deliberation, folded up the lasso and sat on one of the student desk tops. Pull up a chair and some popcorn. This should be a fun show, cowboy.
“Thank you for replacing my property, but I want something for my pride,” Itsuma said.
My mouth ran off before I could think. “Great. The high and mighty emperor gets ass-hurt for being called-out for his lousy attitude.”
“Scott,” Itsuma said. Molten lava burned in The Prince’s eyes. “Close the doors.”
The cowboy stiffened and stood up. “Zuma, come-on man.”
Something about Scott’s plea heated my blood. It was almost as if he were telling me to run.
“No,” Itsuma said. “I won’t be humiliated. I want a piece of my honor back.”
Japanese and their honor. No out for me. That was fine. Let’s go.
One moment Itsuma was grinning like an innocent fool, and the next battle-ready eyes pierced my soul. He spread his legs out like a mixed martial arts master and lowered himself to fighting stance.
This kid’s capability to go from normal to death-con five was a bit unnerving. But if he thought I was his bitch, he was in for a surprise. I wasn’t the co-captain of the wrestling team in my day because I waved pom-poms around.
From behind my desk I assessed the challenger. I may look like a complete math geek, and I was, but I was not your average nerd that sat on my ass all day. His provocation pulled at my dignity. Fine. I’ll be your huckleberry. I rolled up my sleeves and rounded the desk.
“Zuma!” Scott said.
“Stay out of it.” Itsuma came at me with a power strike. He’d had training. His form remained balanced. He was also fast.
I dodged a side kick and a few flying fists.
My specialty was up close and personal. At the moment I was at a disadvantage. All I could do was block and dodge until I could find my opening. That was okay. Let him tire himself out. The kid was smart though. He realized I was trying to get closer and he pushed me back with his flying feet. Just one more fancy spin and I’d have him. Oh, fuck yeah. This was as much fun as Nationals. Having Itsuma as a dancing partner freaking turned me on. He was awesome. His form beautiful. I could watch him for hours making these high flying, black-belt moves.
The Little Prince was energy incarnate. Still I smiled, dodged, blocked and watched his technique. Then it was my turn. I couldn’t say he made a mistake, just that he must thought I didn’t have any offensive moves. Maybe he thought I’d trained in Judo. I wasn’t that passive.
Finally, I snuck in from behind when he went for a side kick. With a head lock I crumpled Itsuma like a piece of paper. My hands clasped together while he tried to finish his fancy spin.
“Give up,” I said. “You won’t win.”
“Fuck you,” Itsuma spat out.
“Do you yield?”
“Hell no.” Itsuma struggled.
We grappled, but every move he made I anticipated. I kept him locked down. He wasn’t going anywhere. “If you don’t yield,” I said. “You’ll force me to choke you out.”
“No,” Scott said. “You won’t.”
The rough leather of a lasso clenched down around my ankle.
“You will not hurt my friend,” Scott said. He yanked my leg. Standing wasn’t an option. He’d pull my balance from under me. I went down on my right ass cheek. Itsuma gasped for air. Shit. That was a new one. I was going to get beat to hell.

So that's what I have to report this time! In the spirit of my Notice Me Senpai mood I've got a video I found and wanted to share :)

~ Until next time!
Enjoy!

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Good Luck Finding a Book Trailer

3/17/2016

So, I'm doing the second most expensive book trailer I've been involved with, the first is Elizabeth SaFleur's "Lovely" trailer (left).

This one we did just the two of us, but she likes this fan made one better (below).

(I don't blame her)

These book trailers are fun to do and inspire me to see what other creative ventures I can expand on doing. I'd come across a really fun video and wanted to do something similar. I set off to have a song commissioned. For me it came out great! I personally love the song. You can listen to it below.

Now that I'm doing one for my own story I wanted to do something I would enjoy watching. Full disclosure here, it's an all male menage which means it's for the GBLT community. Sorry gang, I'm still writing M/F romances but really wanted to do this one. It's about a teacher and two students. Anyway... I went to upwork, put up my project details, scanned through 17 or so artists and found Zoe. She does The Last Cowboy comic. Her colors are vibrant and she's got a fabulous story.

She's also doing my story-line for the book trailer. I'm so excited. I know. I know. Book trailers may or may not bring in readers but this one is a labor of love. I feel lucky to have found Zoe (as this is the month of luck). She's talented and dedicated. She loves this stuff and I can't wait to finish this story and give you a book trailer to go with it. For me, when Zoe showed me the sketches I thought she immediately caught the essence of each character.

Now that we are beginning I'm seeing the rough drafts and the finals. It's awesome to watch.

So another exciting day of a working writer. If you want to hear my ramblings, listen below. I'll update you next time!!

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This pen = 6,800 Words

6/10/2015

I'm a dinosaur. Unlike the word processing writers of the world I still write on pen and paper.

I salute you, you Scrivener efficient organizers!! May you collect pieces of internet in your scrap ideas and find the best story on a white screen. You will never run out of ink.

This is why I'm a dinosaur. But I'm a bad-ass dinosaur like the one on above because even though I still write with pen and paper, I'm replacing my pen every two days. That's many words. :)

For those who are bad-ass dinosaurs, like myself, I can tell you there is nothing like a bic. Gel pens are wonderful but they last me a day. I was so frustrated having to replace my pens so often I decided to see how long -- or how many words -- one of these gel pens lasted.

6,800 words later I found my answer. W.T.H. Do people just not write a lot? Do you, my dinosaur friends, have this problem? What do you write with?

And now, an excerpt from one of those pens...on a 5X8 flashcard...

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Sex Scenes...Why does it take me longer to write one?

5/20/2015

Excerpt of Seducing Sensei

Writer's Warts and all...my unedited world spilling out onto the index card. Yes, I've gotten into the habit of writing my unedited, crude, whatever is in my head stories on paper. This gives me permission to be cheesy, misspell everything, to turn off my evil editor, and write what ever comes to mind.

See the red squiggly lines of spell checker don't let my inner editor rest. Yes, I could turn it off, but this suits me. I like writing with pen and paper. However, I've noticed that sometimes it will take me twice or even three times as long to write a sex scene. Does anyone else have this problem?