R. Cooper's Blog, page 18
January 1, 2012
sensible humans respect a locked door
I promised people some Will and Charlie before I went and got sick and didn't deliver and I feel a bit bad about that. Sadly, I am still too sick to really focus on them, but I decided to offer up a snippet of something else instead, not finished, definitely not published, but hopefully it will be both soon. Once I'm like...not so weak and mopey.
Okay, once I'm not so weak. I'm always mopey. Anyway:
From as yet untitled story set in the same 'verse as "Some Kind of Magic" I give you...Arthur and the Dragon.
The dragon—Dr. Jones, he reminded himself, this was Dr. Jones—pulled its tongue back into its mouth before flaring its nostrils. Out of nowhere, Arthur had two distinct impressions—one, that the dragon was smelling him the way reptiles scented the air, and two—that the dragon found him amusing.
Maybe it was those eyes. He couldn't look away from them once he met them. They were almost all pupil, big, black spaces that shone and had impossible layers, like agate, like molten gold or lava rock, they gleamed as blackly as the silvery onyx of those scales with only a thin circle of pale brown to show the dragon's real eye color. The dragon had long eyelashes, flirtatiously long, Arthur decided, and then felt the heat in the house all over again with a sudden awareness of his body, of how he was standing.
He moved. He didn't think he was imagining the glittering of those dilated pupils, he just didn't know if that meant he was supposed to be lunch.
They'd said that dragons no longer ate people, but Arthur's gut knew that was only mostly the truth. The fluttering in his stomach said that the truth was that dragons didn't eat people anymore unless the dragon was provoked or someone tried to steal its treasure, and as many states operated under the Castle Doctrine that said a man's home was his castle and so he had the right to defend his home and property, that would be totally acceptable in most courts of law.
The problem was more the matter of how much the dragons might enjoy it. All of mankind's uneasy relationship with Beings might be summed up in dragons, worshipped and feared across the globe since the dawn of time.
Arthur's knees were still weak, which made him think about falling to his knees and that the last few lines of one of the books on dragons he'd read, which had wondered if dragons had been praised for their wisdom and benevolence or merely to appease their terrifying hunger.
Hunger. Arthur was hot, dizzy, and breathing too fast. This dragon wanted to consume him whole, he was suddenly certain of it. His chest tightened, his heart thundering even as his mouth went dry, so he reached out, for what he wasn't sure, but vaguely recalling childhood stories about knights battling dragons, and hoping, wishing, for any kind of defense. A shield maybe, since he couldn't, wouldn't, use a sword.
The moment he moved, the dragon's mouth fell open wider in what Arthur could only describe as a grin and then those long eyelashes swept down over one eye in a definite wink.
"My apologies," the dragon rumbled slowly as a hint of smoke scent carried down to Arthur, who was aware that he was gaping. "But I thought it best that any applicants confront the beast, as it were, head on."
Maybe it was the quiet British accent, or the soft apology, or maybe just that bold wink, but Arthur put his hand down and cleared his throat so he at least wouldn't seem as stupid as he'd probably looked a second ago.
"Dr. Jones?" He let out a long breath and watched Dr. Jones angle his head at him for another moment, in a move not unlike a cat, perhaps a Cheshire cat with that grin, before he moved back in an oddly sinuous motion. Only when he turned did Arthur even register the statue on a table behind him on the landing. It was a stone gargoyle. It had to be there as a joke.
Arthur opened his mouth to ask, but the dragon was moving away, heading down the stairs and unless Arthur came forward, he couldn't keep it in sight. He flicked his gaze back to the gargoyle, which looked dusty even at a distance, and which had the same relaxed grin that was strange for a creation designed to guard and warn and frighten.
He heard footsteps and turned right as the dragon came back into view, or rather, Dr. Jones did. He had changed into the form dragons usually took when dealing with humans, into a human body, albeit one that would never be mistaken for a true human.
His skin shimmered. It was the only word for it. It shimmered, as though the sleek black of his scales was just beneath the surface. His nails, both finger and toe as he was barefoot, were shorter now, blunt, but still darkly tinged as if he had nail polish on. In place of his feathery mane was black hair which he was smoothing away from his face as he walked.
His face. Arthur's thoughts stopped for a moment, frozen. He should never have taken this job. Whatever he'd been expecting, this strong, handsome figure with bedroom eyes hadn't been it. There was stubble along his jaw; he looked like the kind of dangerous yet sexy man who always had five o'clock shadow, that kind that would rasp and burn against skin and leave it red and used, or so Arthur had seen in movies anyway.
Arthur could stop shaving for days and have nothing to show for it. He had the faintest possible trail of blond hair on his lower stomach it was true, but that was as dangerous and sexy as he got.
His gaze dropped, had to, because the man must have been naked as a dragon and had obviously just quickly stepped into some sweatpants on the way downstairs. The idea of him naked was an image designed to knock the breath out of Arthur, he was sure. He blinked in surprise at the lack of chest hair until he remembered what he was dealing with, only to immediately wonder how all that skin would feel against his, if the man's hair would be as feathery and soft-looking as his dragon mane.
He shivered, then banished the thoughts with a shake of his head.
Despite how rude he'd been, and stupid, to stare so much, when he looked up he found the dragon giving him the same up and down. The dragon's tongue came out, darting into sight just for a moment, wet and pink and non-forked, and then he inhaled. He offered Arthur a slow smile. Arthur could only guess at what he smelled like. Sweat, he would guess, from the bike ride and from nerves. Hopefully not so aroused that it was noticeable. He resisted the urge to check his armpits, but only because he doubted that it would matter.
Dr. Jones's eyes were all pupil again, just for a moment. "You didn't run. I do like that."
"You…You do?" Arthur's mouth was inexplicably dry. A few minutes ago he'd been petrified and now all he could think was that he refused, absolutely refused, to embarrass himself anymore. The man was a historian. Once Arthur got over his appearance, he was going to remember that most historians were full of themselves and often boring and he was going to feel very foolish.
Anyway, there were more important things here than a sexy scruff and a cultured, if rumbling, voice that hit Arthur like hot coffee on a cold morning. Like a job with a tremendous opportunity that he couldn't ignore or risk losing.
But that smile, no, that grin, that Cheshire cat grin, made him frown.
"Then you shouldn't scare people."
It was a mistake. Arthur tensed, waiting for some furious reaction to his scolding even as he was forced to admit that he had in fact, just scolded a dragon as though it was his baby sister, but after a second of silence, Dr. Jones's gaze seemed to turn to liquid.
"Did I truly frighten you, pet?"
Okay, once I'm not so weak. I'm always mopey. Anyway:
From as yet untitled story set in the same 'verse as "Some Kind of Magic" I give you...Arthur and the Dragon.
The dragon—Dr. Jones, he reminded himself, this was Dr. Jones—pulled its tongue back into its mouth before flaring its nostrils. Out of nowhere, Arthur had two distinct impressions—one, that the dragon was smelling him the way reptiles scented the air, and two—that the dragon found him amusing.
Maybe it was those eyes. He couldn't look away from them once he met them. They were almost all pupil, big, black spaces that shone and had impossible layers, like agate, like molten gold or lava rock, they gleamed as blackly as the silvery onyx of those scales with only a thin circle of pale brown to show the dragon's real eye color. The dragon had long eyelashes, flirtatiously long, Arthur decided, and then felt the heat in the house all over again with a sudden awareness of his body, of how he was standing.
He moved. He didn't think he was imagining the glittering of those dilated pupils, he just didn't know if that meant he was supposed to be lunch.
They'd said that dragons no longer ate people, but Arthur's gut knew that was only mostly the truth. The fluttering in his stomach said that the truth was that dragons didn't eat people anymore unless the dragon was provoked or someone tried to steal its treasure, and as many states operated under the Castle Doctrine that said a man's home was his castle and so he had the right to defend his home and property, that would be totally acceptable in most courts of law.
The problem was more the matter of how much the dragons might enjoy it. All of mankind's uneasy relationship with Beings might be summed up in dragons, worshipped and feared across the globe since the dawn of time.
Arthur's knees were still weak, which made him think about falling to his knees and that the last few lines of one of the books on dragons he'd read, which had wondered if dragons had been praised for their wisdom and benevolence or merely to appease their terrifying hunger.
Hunger. Arthur was hot, dizzy, and breathing too fast. This dragon wanted to consume him whole, he was suddenly certain of it. His chest tightened, his heart thundering even as his mouth went dry, so he reached out, for what he wasn't sure, but vaguely recalling childhood stories about knights battling dragons, and hoping, wishing, for any kind of defense. A shield maybe, since he couldn't, wouldn't, use a sword.
The moment he moved, the dragon's mouth fell open wider in what Arthur could only describe as a grin and then those long eyelashes swept down over one eye in a definite wink.
"My apologies," the dragon rumbled slowly as a hint of smoke scent carried down to Arthur, who was aware that he was gaping. "But I thought it best that any applicants confront the beast, as it were, head on."
Maybe it was the quiet British accent, or the soft apology, or maybe just that bold wink, but Arthur put his hand down and cleared his throat so he at least wouldn't seem as stupid as he'd probably looked a second ago.
"Dr. Jones?" He let out a long breath and watched Dr. Jones angle his head at him for another moment, in a move not unlike a cat, perhaps a Cheshire cat with that grin, before he moved back in an oddly sinuous motion. Only when he turned did Arthur even register the statue on a table behind him on the landing. It was a stone gargoyle. It had to be there as a joke.
Arthur opened his mouth to ask, but the dragon was moving away, heading down the stairs and unless Arthur came forward, he couldn't keep it in sight. He flicked his gaze back to the gargoyle, which looked dusty even at a distance, and which had the same relaxed grin that was strange for a creation designed to guard and warn and frighten.
He heard footsteps and turned right as the dragon came back into view, or rather, Dr. Jones did. He had changed into the form dragons usually took when dealing with humans, into a human body, albeit one that would never be mistaken for a true human.
His skin shimmered. It was the only word for it. It shimmered, as though the sleek black of his scales was just beneath the surface. His nails, both finger and toe as he was barefoot, were shorter now, blunt, but still darkly tinged as if he had nail polish on. In place of his feathery mane was black hair which he was smoothing away from his face as he walked.
His face. Arthur's thoughts stopped for a moment, frozen. He should never have taken this job. Whatever he'd been expecting, this strong, handsome figure with bedroom eyes hadn't been it. There was stubble along his jaw; he looked like the kind of dangerous yet sexy man who always had five o'clock shadow, that kind that would rasp and burn against skin and leave it red and used, or so Arthur had seen in movies anyway.
Arthur could stop shaving for days and have nothing to show for it. He had the faintest possible trail of blond hair on his lower stomach it was true, but that was as dangerous and sexy as he got.
His gaze dropped, had to, because the man must have been naked as a dragon and had obviously just quickly stepped into some sweatpants on the way downstairs. The idea of him naked was an image designed to knock the breath out of Arthur, he was sure. He blinked in surprise at the lack of chest hair until he remembered what he was dealing with, only to immediately wonder how all that skin would feel against his, if the man's hair would be as feathery and soft-looking as his dragon mane.
He shivered, then banished the thoughts with a shake of his head.
Despite how rude he'd been, and stupid, to stare so much, when he looked up he found the dragon giving him the same up and down. The dragon's tongue came out, darting into sight just for a moment, wet and pink and non-forked, and then he inhaled. He offered Arthur a slow smile. Arthur could only guess at what he smelled like. Sweat, he would guess, from the bike ride and from nerves. Hopefully not so aroused that it was noticeable. He resisted the urge to check his armpits, but only because he doubted that it would matter.
Dr. Jones's eyes were all pupil again, just for a moment. "You didn't run. I do like that."
"You…You do?" Arthur's mouth was inexplicably dry. A few minutes ago he'd been petrified and now all he could think was that he refused, absolutely refused, to embarrass himself anymore. The man was a historian. Once Arthur got over his appearance, he was going to remember that most historians were full of themselves and often boring and he was going to feel very foolish.
Anyway, there were more important things here than a sexy scruff and a cultured, if rumbling, voice that hit Arthur like hot coffee on a cold morning. Like a job with a tremendous opportunity that he couldn't ignore or risk losing.
But that smile, no, that grin, that Cheshire cat grin, made him frown.
"Then you shouldn't scare people."
It was a mistake. Arthur tensed, waiting for some furious reaction to his scolding even as he was forced to admit that he had in fact, just scolded a dragon as though it was his baby sister, but after a second of silence, Dr. Jones's gaze seemed to turn to liquid.
"Did I truly frighten you, pet?"
December 23, 2011
Popping in to say Merry Christmas and happy 3rd night of ...
Popping in to say Merry Christmas and happy 3rd night of Chanukah (or whenever this post appears elsewhere) and to offer this to anyone who has suffered through a "review" like this.
Dot Dot Dot
From![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1383282744i/6477371.gif)
senor_coconut_1
Dot Dot Dot
From
senor_coconut_1
December 18, 2011
Okay so I know I sort of promised a Will/Charlie thing fo...
Okay so I know I sort of promised a Will/Charlie thing for Christmas, but I was an idiot and managed to eff up my health enough this Christmas that I'm lucky to even be up and awake and not medicated right now, so that probably won't happen. I'll make it up to peeps though...maybe in January.
December 11, 2011
I have good news but I can't get excited about it at the ...
I have good news but I can't get excited about it at the moment, I don't know if that's because publishing an actual book and not a short story is scary (scary!) or because the combination of cold medicine/back pain medication is making me a little loopy.
Damn. I need a nap.
But Will and Charlie! Woo hoo!!!
I don't think I can make soup right now. Maybe it's time to go crazy on Christmas cookies the way I did at the dolla store this morning. Hmm.
Or shit. Maybe just some tea and passing out.
Damn. I need a nap.
But Will and Charlie! Woo hoo!!!
I don't think I can make soup right now. Maybe it's time to go crazy on Christmas cookies the way I did at the dolla store this morning. Hmm.
Or shit. Maybe just some tea and passing out.
December 6, 2011
c'mon on get my love it's for youuuuu
No motivation today. Blah. One of those days where, between work and writing, I'm thinking hiding under the blankets is a better idea than attempting to do anything. Humanity, sometimes you make me sad. (Also: reading a bad story isn't like rape. Not even a little bit. It's like reading a bad story--an entirely voluntary act that you can stop at any time. The fact that such phrases are casually tossed around by people thinking they are being clever and witty makes me wonder once again why ignorance is always so much louder than knowledge and compassion.)
Way to bring everyone down, self. Maybe I should have a 90's En Vogue/Cathy Dennis/Expose dance party before my brother comes over to show off his adorable baby kitten? (Okay, some of it is late 80's).
And some rum balls. I should have some rum balls. (Eleven AM you say? Pish posh I say!)
Or I could be good and focus on at least finishing this scene of fluffy dragon/librarian fluffity fluff. Hmph.
Way to bring everyone down, self. Maybe I should have a 90's En Vogue/Cathy Dennis/Expose dance party before my brother comes over to show off his adorable baby kitten? (Okay, some of it is late 80's).
And some rum balls. I should have some rum balls. (Eleven AM you say? Pish posh I say!)
Or I could be good and focus on at least finishing this scene of fluffy dragon/librarian fluffity fluff. Hmph.
December 3, 2011
don't be scared i've done this before
I am home and should be working on real grown up work business but I don't wanna, no matter how adorable might be. Anyone on LJ right now wanna play? Commentfic or something?
December 2, 2011
Goodness everyone has me so flustered I'm considering doi...
Goodness everyone has me so flustered I'm considering doing that flapping thing that women do as though it's going to cool their face down.
I really wasn't expecting...anything. I don't know what to do now. *flail*
And, hey Lada, hey girl hey. Love you, you, nothing if not consistent thing you.
I don't know what icon to use, so Elizabeth hugging Leicester it is.
I really wasn't expecting...anything. I don't know what to do now. *flail*
And, hey Lada, hey girl hey. Love you, you, nothing if not consistent thing you.
I don't know what icon to use, so Elizabeth hugging Leicester it is.
December 1, 2011
must stop watching vids of Chris Evans
So here is a cute video. Classic films! Dancing! I was hooked in the first second.
Happy Feet (High Heels Remix) in case the embed doesn't work. (Will is so pleased right now. Blonde Venus is one of the most cracked out movies ever).
Also, like my favorite dancing video ever (at the moment): watching two champions go at it...wait...that sounds wrong. You know what I mean.
Max and Thomas Swing Dance
Also, what? No. I don't get spazzy on days when I have something coming out. No no no. Not at all. Also, my coffee maker just died. Thank God I had tea.
Happy Feet (High Heels Remix) in case the embed doesn't work. (Will is so pleased right now. Blonde Venus is one of the most cracked out movies ever).
Also, like my favorite dancing video ever (at the moment): watching two champions go at it...wait...that sounds wrong. You know what I mean.
Max and Thomas Swing Dance
Also, what? No. I don't get spazzy on days when I have something coming out. No no no. Not at all. Also, my coffee maker just died. Thank God I had tea.
November 27, 2011
you ask difficult things of me, Arthur
Why don't I have a foodporn icon yet????
(oh right, because I am lazy and haven't made one) Should it be of pie? Or maybe cheese? Hmm. Pocky?
I really feel bad for those people getting updates when these posts crosspost to Goodreads. I am so boring and random. :P
All this time worrying about doing a sequel to "Let There Be Light" and instead something set in the "Some Kind of Magic" universe strikes me instead. Ain't that a B? in the words of Rick James. But you know...pretty dragons and their librarian boyfriends need love too.
I have something coming out next week but really I am distracted I can't think of how to properly promote it. Not to mention I suck at that. I did read an article on good reviews and why people don't leave them, somewhere, but the tone came out more "begging friends to leave positive reviews" than "denouncing those who get caught up in their own cleverness and snark and lose sight of their reviews" which I think was the actual intention. If people want to make names for themselves as the mean, hateful, "clever" reviewers, that's fine. I've seen Please Don't Eat The Daisies I know how that ends. :P
(oh right, because I am lazy and haven't made one) Should it be of pie? Or maybe cheese? Hmm. Pocky?
I really feel bad for those people getting updates when these posts crosspost to Goodreads. I am so boring and random. :P
All this time worrying about doing a sequel to "Let There Be Light" and instead something set in the "Some Kind of Magic" universe strikes me instead. Ain't that a B? in the words of Rick James. But you know...pretty dragons and their librarian boyfriends need love too.
I have something coming out next week but really I am distracted I can't think of how to properly promote it. Not to mention I suck at that. I did read an article on good reviews and why people don't leave them, somewhere, but the tone came out more "begging friends to leave positive reviews" than "denouncing those who get caught up in their own cleverness and snark and lose sight of their reviews" which I think was the actual intention. If people want to make names for themselves as the mean, hateful, "clever" reviewers, that's fine. I've seen Please Don't Eat The Daisies I know how that ends. :P
November 20, 2011
Special offers notice, and dammit, now I will have to buy something.
"Have to". Silly me. I want to, and now I could buy something with all the sales. I don't need to buy presents for other people, do I? Not really I mean, isn't my love enough? I know I'll just write them some pron or boyfluff.
Anyway, back to the promoting, for anyone else looking for bargains...
Dreamspinner is having a We Are Thankful Sale, 20% off everything on the web site through Nov. 30 *AND* there's a code on their Facebook page for 15% off one order of any size over the next year.
And then every purchase between now and Nov. 30 enters people in a drawing for a Kindle Fire, to be drawn on Dec. 1. Which I ought to buy something today so I don't have to read stories on my computer all the time when I do read.
Dude. Fiddler on the Roof is on tv and I got sucked in again and now I'm depressed and cold. Dammit! It's definitely time for porn and/or boyfluff. I think I have a wishlist somewhere of books to buy. Somewhere.
Also, this is completely random but the Red Riding Hood trilogy...is it good and worth watching?
Anyway, back to the promoting, for anyone else looking for bargains...
Dreamspinner is having a We Are Thankful Sale, 20% off everything on the web site through Nov. 30 *AND* there's a code on their Facebook page for 15% off one order of any size over the next year.
And then every purchase between now and Nov. 30 enters people in a drawing for a Kindle Fire, to be drawn on Dec. 1. Which I ought to buy something today so I don't have to read stories on my computer all the time when I do read.
Dude. Fiddler on the Roof is on tv and I got sucked in again and now I'm depressed and cold. Dammit! It's definitely time for porn and/or boyfluff. I think I have a wishlist somewhere of books to buy. Somewhere.
Also, this is completely random but the Red Riding Hood trilogy...is it good and worth watching?
