"The Outsiders" - New story up on Paradevo's Devotee Stories.

I just posted the first chapter of a new story on Paradevo's Devotee Stories. Please check it out. :)

Am working on a new chapter of "Jenna & Luke". It includes a rather large diamond and Luke asking 'the' question... Will be up soon - stay tuned!


-Mille

'Jenna & Luke' - Chapter 12

By the time Jenna and Luke arrived back at the bungalow it was early afternoon. It was clear that Luke was tired; as many quadriplegics he had trouble with regulating his body temperature and spending a lot of time in the sun wasn’t great for him. Jenna had brought a large umbrella and had attempted to keep him in the shade as much as possible and Luke had said that the sea breeze helped keep him cool too. He still felt rather hot when she touched his cheek.

“Are you okay? You feel a little hot and you look tired.”

“I feel a bit uncomfortable,” Luke admitted. “And I am tired.”

“Come into the bathroom. I’ll try to cool you down with a few cold towels. If that doesn’t work a cold shower might.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Luke said with a small, tired smile. He followed Jenna into the bathroom and watched as she filled the sink with cold water and put several small towels into it. Then she unstrapped the straps across his chest and pulled off his shirt.  When that was done she he placed a rubber sheet behind his back so the backrest of his wheelchair wouldn’t get wet and instructed him to recline his chair a bit.

When Luke was sitting slightly reclined Jenna deftly wrapped a cool towel around his neck so it was covering his shoulders and upper back, and a second one across his upper chest.  She kept replacing the cool towels for the next half hour or so, until she felt him getting cooler.

“You feel like you’ve cooled down,” Jenna stated as she removed what she hoped was the final towel from Luke’s neck.

“I feel a lot better now. Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”

“No need to thank me. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”

“I’m still kinda tired and need a nap. A couple of hours in bed in an air conditioned room sound very tempting right now.”

Jenna nodded as she dried his damp skin with a soft, fluffy towel and then she strapped him into the wheelchair again before she headed into the bedroom.  Luke adjusted his chair so he was sitting upright and followed her.

'Jenna & Luke' - Chapter 11

Six months had passed since Jenna moved in with Luke. To Jenna’s relief she seemed to have gained Maryanne Stevenson’s approval. When Luke’s family had visited them over Christmas she had been much warmer toward Jenna and she had even expressed that she was happy Luke had her in his life. It was a big improvement from the first time they’d met over the Labor Day weekend.

Over the New Years weekend Jenna’s parents and Joanna and Shannon had visited. It was the first time they met Luke and it had gone better than they had feared. Jenna’s dad genuinely seemed to like Luke; they had found common ground in their interest for football. Luke’s behind-the-scenes tales from his time in the NFL had won him over.

Jenna’s mother was more skeptical, but after Luke cooked them a delicious dinner of marinated chicken breasts served with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy and a side of steamed vegetables with only minimal assistance from Jenna she had warmed up toward him.  

The anniversary of their first date was a week away and Jenna had a special weekend planned for them to celebrate the occasion. She had booked a long weekend stay for them in an accessible bungalow at a resort by the coast.

Jenna had done thorough research on wheelchair accessible hotels in Laguna Beach and she had actually gone to visit her top two contenders to make sure they were as accessible as they claimed to be. The first one had been a disappointment. His shower chair would not be able to fit in the shower stall and the doorways were on the narrow side.

To Jenna’s relief the second resort was everything they promised and more. The accessible bungalows were spacious and the furniture was well laid out. The bathroom had a big roll-in shower stall and when Jenna saw the ocean view she was sold. She just hoped Luke loved it as much as she did.

'Blade Runner' - Chapter 2

As Hannah had predicted it had been a long week with a heavy workload and she was more than ready for the weekend and a couple of days of downtime. She had worked long days all week.  Friday was not been an exception; it was close to six thirty in the evening and she still had about an hours worth of work to get through.  With a sigh she pushed her reading glasses back in place and did her best to focus on the report she was typing.

“You’re working late.” A familiar baritone voice got her attention about half an hour later and she looked up into Jason’s smiling face. It was ‘casual Friday’ and Hannah thought he looked quite yummy; he was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a black and white plaid shirt with the top two buttons open and a black tailored blazer.

“Oh…hi, Jason. I’m just trying to get through this so I don’t have to come in tomorrow. After the week I’ve had I need some time off to recharge my batteries.”

“Tell me about it…” he said with a heavy sigh. “I just managed to finish my ‘to-do’ list and I’m ready to head out. Would you like to join me for dinner? I’ve only eaten a couple of power bars today, so my stomach is ready to riot.”

“I’d love to, but I still have about an hour or so of work left before I can leave. As I said I really don’t want to have to work tomorrow.”

“I can wait for you, it’s fine. Do you have any preferences food-wise?”

“I thought you were starving.”

“I’ll live. I know your company will be worth the wait. Now, you didn’t answer my second question.”

'Blade Runner' - Chapter 1

So, I usually don't write 'author's notes' for my stories, but I feel it's necessary for this one.

The main character in this story, Jason Ridley, is loosely based on Oscar Pistorius. I started writing this story shortly after reading Oscar's biography 'Blade Runner' in late 2012.  I was a huge fan of his; I think he did an incredible job of changing many people's perception of disabled people. And damn; he's hot!! 

The Oscar Pistorius referred to in this story is the man I admired before February 14th 2013.

I had the first three chapters written and the outline for the rest of the story pretty much done when the news of Oscar shooting Reeva Steenkamp came out on Valentine's Day last year.  It felt like I'd been punched in the gut and the disappointment and shock took away all inspiration to move forward.

A year later the shock has subsided and new ideas for the story has started coming to me. After I mentioned that I had been working on this story about a year ago in my previous post and I've received a few emails from people that have expressed that they are interested in reading it.

I will start with posting the first chapter and see what kind of feedback it gets. If there is interest I will post the next two chapters as well as start working on the rest of the story.

I'm not interested in starting a discussion about the Pistorius trial on the blog, so any comments regarding Oscar's guilt/innocence etc. will be deleted. If you have views/thoughts you wish to share with me, please contact me in private via email: devoteestoriesbymille@gmail.com. 

A few words to my followers...

First of all; I'm thrilled that so many people seem to enjoy my stories - it's truly humbling. Lately I've received both comments and a few emails from people that are wondering when I'll update my stories.  Thank you!! :)

Lately I've been immensely busy. I'm working 10-12 hour days Monday-Friday and I work at least two, often three, Saturdays a month.  When I finally have downtime I usually feel absolutely exhausted and just feel like veg'ing on the couch. I have ideas for several of my stories and I try to write them as they come to me, but I just haven't had the energy to really sit down to write.

This is the current status for my writing:

"Jenna & Luke" - Chapter 11: 265 words - slowly progressing, have chapter outlined
"The Store Manager" - Chapter 5: 234 words - slowly progressing, struggling
"Finding Unexpected Love" - Chapter 9: 400 words - written in 1st person from Bryan's POV. Not sure if it works for me, so considering re-writing it in 3rd person.

"Unexpected" - Chapter 12: 900 words  NOTE: This is the story I've got up on Paradevo - it's the first version of 'Finding Unexpected Love'.  I plan on wrapping it up pretty soon, so I can focus on my other stories. Have a much longer storyline planned for the 2.0 version.

Unpublished story:
I've also got some new ideas for a story about a double below the knee amputee I started a couple of years ago, a few months after the London 2012 Olympics/Paralympics.  The main male character, Jason, was inspired by reading Oscar Pistorius' biography; "Blade Runner".

Jason is not a professional athlete, but some of his background/personality is based on Oscar (born w.o. fibulas, lower legs amputated before his first birthday, supportive family, lost mother at a young age, doesn't see himself as disabled).

I had written the first couple of chapters and was in the process of outlining the rest of the story when Oscar shot Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year and the shock and disappointment I felt when the news came out made me lose all inspiration to write that story.

For some reason some ideas for the story have come to me recently. I have jotted them down in a notebook and am considering trying to write it out, if it's something people are interested in reading - let me know if you are.


-Mille

"Jenna & Luke" - Chapter 10

Jenna got through the weekend and Labor Day, but Wednesday morning she decided that she needed a break from Maryanne Stevenson. Although her attitude had mellowed a bit, but it was still clear that she didn’t trust Jenna and her intentions and Jenna was getting tired of her snarky comments and sideways glances.  She figured she’d go back to Luke’s house.  That would give her a couple of days to relax and she figured it would be good for Luke to spend some alone time with his parents as well.  She just hoped he wouldn’t be too upset with her.

She looked toward the bathroom door; the shower had just been shut off, so Luke and Kevin would be out in about 10 minutes. With a sigh she picked out an outfit for the day; a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white linen tunic and laid it on the bed with a set of clean underwear. Then she grabbed her well-worn Louis Vuitton duffle bag, a high school graduation gift from her grandparents, and stuffed her dirty clothes into it. She left the clean clothes in Luke’s closet since she planned on coming back to spend the weekend.