T nT's Confidential:Freddy Mackay

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another installment of T n' T Confidential! Today's visiting author is the lovely Freddy Mackay *applause*

Freddy is the author of several male/male novels such as, Tears for Christmas, Moving Mountains: A finding peace spin-off or Beginning Again: Finding Peace #1 and participates in Silver Publishing's Silver Shorts. 

Welcome Freddy,  tell us a little about Incubation, Book 2 of The Finding Peace series.

Incubation picks up where we left off in Beginning Again. David is in the hospital, and everyone else is trying to figure out how to help him when he gets out. It also addresses the fallout from David’s attack and introduces new characters. We meet David’s abusive father for the first time, and get a glimpse of his mother.

Bobby, Chris, Austin and all the others want David to feel protected and loved. To do so, they get the house ready for David and want him to move in to create a family, something David feels he no longer deserves.

In addition, we continue the struggle Jackson has with his sexuality and confusion. His battle with himself opens up his character in this book.

Ultimately, we are seeing the evolution of the relationship David has with the people around him and how their lives change because of David’s attack.

How did you come up with the idea for this series?

Too be honest, I was sitting in a class… bored and reading. I could remember thinking I’d like to see a series that addressed a group of friends and their struggles to finding themselves and coming to terms with who they are as a person. I wanted to see a series that didn’t have limits but still found peace for those involved in the story.

Book 2 has a “to be continued ending”, according to your blog your working on Book 3, how far along are you? Will we be hearing more of the characters soon?

The to be continued is misleading in certain respects. This book covered what it needed to. As part of a series, elements are addressed or finished off, but others are left open, as in any series and will be taken care of as we progress.

Book 3 has been outlined and started. I’m about 25 K into it. It will probably be longer than Incubation, which was around 99 K. So I would estimate I’m ¼ to a 1/5 done with it. The third book will probably not come out until next year. Sorry (*ducks and hides*). But the conclusion of David’s main story arc will be in this book.

Though the backstory involving the older characters, Jun, Henry, Neil and Abby will be submitted soon. (FINALLY) So people will have a chance (hopefully) to see what started the story in the first place.

I counted 13 ongoing writing projects on your blog! How do you find the time to keep up with all of them?

I blame the Silver Shorts for having so many WIPs. As a Silver author we get weekly prompts and they inspire me. It’s like “Oooh! Guess what? I could write this! Yay! …. Oh crap, that’s another story isn’t it?” I’ve had to ignore those emails recently so I could focus on finishing up Incubation.

I have outlines or rough outlines for most of my WIPs. A have a few I wanted for submission calls so they have priority, but are no means the only ones I work on. I have a few short stories I work on when I need a break from my heavier stuff. They are for fun and allow me to get back to a happy place.

What I try to do is alternate what I’m writing on so I don’t get burnt out with the story. I usually have the table of the characters pulled up to reference and the outline. Plus I’ll go reread what I’ve written.

But, honestly, whichever story muse is the loudest gets the most attention.

My goal is to finish up outstanding WIPs before letting the Silver Shorts distract me again.

What are your writing habits?

I like to reread what I have written then start writing from the last point in the story I was working on. I take a break periodically, and if I need to, switch stories so my brain doesn’t overload. I do listen to music sometimes. Having a beat helps, I don’t really ‘hear’ the music. My favs to write to are Ben Harper and Queen.

Tell me:

• One favorite book: Shadows Fall by Simon R Green and The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (I know, I cheated)
• One movie: Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid with Steve Martin and Carl Reiner
• One city: Bangkok – I love the temples there and the people
• One color: Orange
• One smell: Indian Spices from my cabinet
• One moment in time: All we ever have is one moment in time therefore could not pick one. If we’re talking about a time period I would like to visit, I’d say mid-to-late 1800s.

Any words for your fans?

Thank you.

For all those who picked up David’s story, you will not be disappointed. Though I do ask for patience. My fingers only move so fast, much to my continuing frustration.

I strive to better my writing and stories because of the people who appreciate and read them. I am always happy to hear what people think of my stories. So don’t be shy :)

Links to find and/or bug me :) :

http://freddymackay.blogspot.com

http://freddymackaysshorts.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/freddy.m.mackay

https://twitter.com/FreddyMacKay

‘Running Excerpt’

Lying in his hospital bed after everyone's visit, David stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do and where to go. He had been in the hospital for two weeks already and was well on the path to recovery. The afternoon had been an enlightening experience. To have Austin yelling at him, telling him that his attack hurt everyone and not just him… the open emotions on Austin's face had David in awe. His friend, everyone who had been there, wanted David to be well, to be happy, and had mourned what had happened. It didn't look like they were going to leave him. Bobby, Austin, Chris… everybody planned on sticking around even after he had kept secrets about his sexuality and had been attacked.

David's fingers twitched and his breathing quickened. Memories of his… incident resurfaced, playing vividly in his mind's eye. Fighting the images, David's arms flew out in front of him, meeting nothing but air. Confusion swamped David when nothing hit back. His heart pumped hard; his temples pounded with his ragged breathing.

Fuck. David forced air into his lungs. What the hell is happening to me?

Damn, he really needed to get a grip. David had no reason to be feeling so out-of-sorts. The hospital would keep him safe and taken care of, and it seemed his friends would be sticking around. At least for now. David wasn't sure how long everything would last. It scared him to think about what would happen if they got fed up with everything and rejected him. They were refusing to back down and insisting to be a part of his life. David didn't know how he felt about them staying.

"David?"

He jerked, frightened, before he realized who was in the doorway. Nancy, his favorite nurse, stood just inside the room, one hand on her hip.

Nancy's concerned green eyes bore into him.

David cleared his throat. "Yes?"

Her warm hand touched his sweaty face.

When did I start sweating?

"You okay, David?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I just—"

Nancy smiled. "You had a lot of commotion today, didn't you? Way more than you're used to right now."

"Yeah." David gulped, trying to get his dry throat working. "It was… I dunno."

"Overwhelming?" offered Nancy, no censure or pity in her voice.

David did a shake-nod.

"You didn't expect them to be so worried about you, did you?"

"I… I guess not."

Nancy arched an eyebrow at him but said nothing, just patting David's cheek instead. She looked at his dinner tray and sighed. She pointed down at his not-even-half-eaten plate. He shrugged.

"Is the food hurting your throat?" Nancy poked at some of the items on the tray.

"Sort of," lied David. He didn't want to say his appetite was nonexistent. The omission would open up all sorts of questions, and David hadn't gotten his own thoughts straightened out enough.

Sighing, Nancy picked up the food with one hand. "I'll try and find something soft for you to eat."

David gave Nancy a smile.

She squeezed his arm then turned, leaving him alone in the room and back to his own thoughts. She was right. Having everyone in the room had been overwhelming. Nancy pegged that one on the nose.

Bobby, Chris, Austin, Jackson, Eddie, Jon, Becca, and Ito had made it more than clear they wouldn't let him go. How was he supposed to keep everyone safe? All of them had their own lives. What if one of the attackers or friends of the gang who… hurt me… decided to go after the boys or Jon and Becca? David knew he never wanted to step another foot in his dorm room again. He would bet the bathroom had bloodstains, and even if it didn't, David would feel like the blood was still there.

How could he go back to the dorms? David shook his head, his hands clenching the bed sheets, the fabric rubbing between his fingers. No, he knew there was no way. He wouldn't feel or be safe, and worse, the boys would be in danger.

David needed a safe place to go, but on a campus like CRU, would there be one? His heart sank the more he thought about what life on campus would be like. David had wanted anonymity and peace, to just move on. After being attacked, he wasn't sure he would have either.

Maybe I should consider transferring.

Cringing, David remembered the hassle he went through to get into CRU. David sighed and rubbed his eyes. He didn't want to have to deal with all that shit again. Not to mention he was in the middle of the semester. He couldn't just leave… could he? He had to finish the fall semester out at least… but… David groaned. Finishing the semester meant the dorms, and he couldn't go back to there. The whole thing turned into one nasty circle and he didn't see a way of getting out of the circus his life had become.

His head pounded. Frustration made his chest tight and his breathing sharp and quick. He wouldn't be safe in the dorms. Who knew about campus? But to David, that didn't really matter. What really worried David? How Bobby, Chris, and Austin would face everyone. They didn't need crap getting thrown on them for having been associated with him.

Austin said they'd get through everything together. Even Dr Ito, Jon, Becca… everyone wanted to work through David's attack and the fallout together. David just didn't see how.

The attack had been on him. He had to deal with it. Not them. They would be caught in one giant mess of political posturing, and David didn't want that kind of life for his friends. Things could get ugly. From what Eddie said, Mike grew up locally, on one of the ranches.

No, they definitely hadn't heard the end of this. The ranchers would regroup and come back at him, retaliate somehow. Somebody would get hurt.

Wincing, David's hand went to his chest. A sharp pain seared into his heart. Panic infused every cell.

Fuck it all.

Rubbing at the tightness, different images flashed through David's mind. Some were of his friends. Others, ones he didn't want to deal with, were of him. The agony of his attack, the expressions of pure hatred on those boys' faces—everything came to a screaming halt in front of him.

His friends may want to stick around, but David wouldn't let them get hurt because of him. He had to look for his own place. He'd get an apartment somewhere off campus. It would give him… his friends… some room and keep them out of harm's way.

David's free hand went to the call button on his headboard. Pressing it, he tried to figure out what he would say when one of the nurses responded. He also tried to settle his frazzled nerves and stomach. He didn't know what was going on, but he needed to get himself under control.

"Yes?"

Damn, it wasn't Nancy. "Um, would it be possible to get a newspaper or a local listing? I need to start apartment hunting."

"Sure thing, David."

The crackle from the speakers went silent, and David inhaled a shaky breath. His mind screamed to get the hell out of the room, but he had nowhere to go and didn't understand why he felt such an innate need to run from everything, especially after everyone had been so understanding and supportive.

Excerpt End

Get your copy at Silver Publishing:  https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/products_id/857/

Don't forget that Thursday is another T n'T day and author MA Church is stopping by!