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Marcus Lopés

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Writing Off the Grid

The End of the Road

April 6, 2023 by Marcus Leave a Comment

This is a continuation of ‘A Hard Reset‘

Michael threw open the door and walked heavy-footed down the corridor, half a dozen files tucked under his arm. He ignored Derrick—he’d actually forgotten that he was there—and headed towards the elevator. Three hours of being grilled behind closed doors about the Agency’s investigation into the Romero-Denault Affair, and having to dumb down his answers, had him wound up. He appreciated now that there had been twenty feet between him and Neil Sampson, because if he’d been any closer he might have shown the Minister some of his own interrogation techniques.

“Director Reid…” [Read more…] about The End of the Road

Filed Under: Short Stories Tagged With: gay fiction, short story, spy thriller

Leave Your Baggage Behind

April 3, 2023 by Marcus Leave a Comment

leave your baggage behindRoutines are great. It’s because of a great morning routine, modified slightly over the years due to changing day jobs, that I’ve managed to write as much as I have. But even when a routine is good, you can get stuck in a rut. And you might not even realize it. Why? Because you haven’t been able to leave your baggage behind.

Life on the Other Side of Social Media

When I was on social media, I tried to create and share content that was not only engaging, but hopefully inspiring as well. I had spent a good part of my life trying to outrun the doubt implanted in my mindset as a kid. My first foray into the arts was through music, and when I thought [briefly] about the idea of a music career, my mother was totally against it. As far as she was concerned, and she was very vocal about this, all musicians were ‘drunks and druggies.’ That was not the future she hoped for her son. [Read more…] about Leave Your Baggage Behind

Filed Under: Motivation, The Relentless Writer Series, Writing Life Tagged With: live your best life, motivation, relentless writer, writing life

Just Be Yourself

March 27, 2023 by Marcus 1 Comment

just be yourselfTo become relentless means a lot of different things. I’m once again going to refer to Tim Grover’s book, Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. In it, he asks this question: “What would it feel like to just let go of all the external pressure and expectations and just be yourself?1

Just. Be. Yourself.

It’s not easy being yourself in a world that expects you to be on-call 24/7. It takes a great amount of confidence and focus to tune out the noise and everything that is being thrown at us. But have you ever thought that, in trying to keep up with the pressure and expectations, that maybe you’ve lost yourself somewhere along the way? That you’ve forgotten who you are and what you’re trying to do in the world? [Read more…] about Just Be Yourself

Filed Under: Motivation, The Relentless Writer Series, Writing Life Tagged With: motivation, relentless writer, writing life

A Hard Reset

March 22, 2023 by Marcus 3 Comments

This is a continuation of ‘The Sit-Down‘

“You don’t have to sneak out.”

Michael, seated on the grey sofa, looked up after he’d finished lacing up his shoes. His gaze latched onto Sam, who tightened the belt of the white bathrobe that stopped just about his knees. “That’s not…” He massaged the back of his neck as he stood. “That’s exactly what I was hoping to do, Sam…”

Sam crossed to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “It was nice to be with you one last time, Michael. I don’t know why you came to me last night, and I’m not going to ask, either.” He offered a faint smile. “You don’t love me. We weren’t together long enough for that. It’s always fun being with you, but your heart…it still belongs to Brian. Give him a chance. It may be cliché to say, but you have something a lot of people would die for. You and Brian have a second chance.” [Read more…] about A Hard Reset

Filed Under: Short Stories Tagged With: gay fiction, short story, spy thriller

Get into the Zone

March 20, 2023 by Marcus Leave a Comment

the zone

When you stop to ask, “Why?” and are open to hearing the answer, everything changes. The answer isn’t always what we expect it to be. And instead of feeling right, it ties our stomach and intestines into reef knots. It mimics the most unbearable case of constipation, the kind that forces you to bend over in pain. While there’s not over-the-counter relief, the cure is simple: go into the zone that holds you to your why. [Read more…] about Get into the Zone

Filed Under: Motivation, The Relentless Writer Series Tagged With: inspire, motivation, relentless writer, the zone, writing life

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