Sebastian Nothwell's Blog, page 19
August 27, 2023
Solar Fantasy - Aubrey & Lindsey Retold - Ch. 3 up on Patreon!
Scene 2 of
Solar Fantasy - Aubrey & Lindsey Retold
is up on my Patre♡n! Please enjoy this sneak peek and join me for more.
~
“‘And in the throbbing engine-room leap the long rods of polished steel.’”
Aubrey’s heart stuttered in his chest. He hardly dared to flick his eyes toward the gentleman.
But the gentleman only smiled an all-too-charming bashful smile. “Forgive me—I was feeling poetical.”
Aubrey, who had never felt poetical in his life until this evening, managed a pale imitation of that smile in return.
The seclusion of the engine room served to heighten other aspects of Aubrey’s senses. He had not realized, in the midst of the party, that the gentleman had a scent. A slight masculine musk, along with the warmth of his body, standing so close to Aubrey as he did now, bypassed his brain to speak straight to his baser instincts. This warmth was rivaled only by the warmth of the gentleman’s voice and expression, which did still more curious things to Aubrey’s heart. The atrophied organ fluttered against his ribcage disconcertingly. The thought of curling around the warmth sent a hungry shudder over his skin. It’d been so long since he’d felt more human contact than a brief handshake. The mere suggestion of an embrace felt intoxicating. He had intended only to speak with the gentleman, but now that he stood so very near, and with no one else around…
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey - but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
~
“‘And in the throbbing engine-room leap the long rods of polished steel.’”
Aubrey’s heart stuttered in his chest. He hardly dared to flick his eyes toward the gentleman.
But the gentleman only smiled an all-too-charming bashful smile. “Forgive me—I was feeling poetical.”
Aubrey, who had never felt poetical in his life until this evening, managed a pale imitation of that smile in return.
The seclusion of the engine room served to heighten other aspects of Aubrey’s senses. He had not realized, in the midst of the party, that the gentleman had a scent. A slight masculine musk, along with the warmth of his body, standing so close to Aubrey as he did now, bypassed his brain to speak straight to his baser instincts. This warmth was rivaled only by the warmth of the gentleman’s voice and expression, which did still more curious things to Aubrey’s heart. The atrophied organ fluttered against his ribcage disconcertingly. The thought of curling around the warmth sent a hungry shudder over his skin. It’d been so long since he’d felt more human contact than a brief handshake. The mere suggestion of an embrace felt intoxicating. He had intended only to speak with the gentleman, but now that he stood so very near, and with no one else around…
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey - but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
August 20, 2023
Solar Fantasy - Aubrey & Lindsey Retold - Ch. 2 up on Patreon!
Scene 2 of
Solar Fantasy - Aubrey & Lindsey Retold
is up on my Patre♡n! Please enjoy this sneak peek and join me for more.
~
As Lindsey glanced over the room once more in his search for Carlisle, his gaze halted as if compelled. He hadn’t found Carlisle—but what he did find quite drove the thought of Carlisle from his head.
In the corner by the door stood an angel.
His skin had the soft translucency of palest marble, as if he’d sprung fully formed from beneath Bernini’s chisel, or been breathed into life by the sculptor’s kiss. His dark frock coat, of some fifty or sixty year’s vintage, accentuated the bone-china shade of his flesh, as did his hair, black as rain from a thundercloud, sweeping down across his high brow as if slashed by a painter’s brush. Sharp features filled his heart-shaped face, with lips like Cupid’s bow, and cheekbones that could carve out a man’s heart. His eyes, large and dark, flitted about the room, their heavy lids granting every glance a compelling sensuality. The full eyebrows contracted into an expression of furtive concentration, alert and intelligent, such as a master of chess might wear when considering how best to eviscerate his opponent. He stood considerably shorter than all the other men in the room, with such a delicacy of features that outshone every lady present.
Then the dark eyes met Lindsey’s own, and with a shocked gasp—the first breath he’d taken since he’d spied the enchanting stranger—Lindsey realized he’d been staring.
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey - but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
~
As Lindsey glanced over the room once more in his search for Carlisle, his gaze halted as if compelled. He hadn’t found Carlisle—but what he did find quite drove the thought of Carlisle from his head.
In the corner by the door stood an angel.
His skin had the soft translucency of palest marble, as if he’d sprung fully formed from beneath Bernini’s chisel, or been breathed into life by the sculptor’s kiss. His dark frock coat, of some fifty or sixty year’s vintage, accentuated the bone-china shade of his flesh, as did his hair, black as rain from a thundercloud, sweeping down across his high brow as if slashed by a painter’s brush. Sharp features filled his heart-shaped face, with lips like Cupid’s bow, and cheekbones that could carve out a man’s heart. His eyes, large and dark, flitted about the room, their heavy lids granting every glance a compelling sensuality. The full eyebrows contracted into an expression of furtive concentration, alert and intelligent, such as a master of chess might wear when considering how best to eviscerate his opponent. He stood considerably shorter than all the other men in the room, with such a delicacy of features that outshone every lady present.
Then the dark eyes met Lindsey’s own, and with a shocked gasp—the first breath he’d taken since he’d spied the enchanting stranger—Lindsey realized he’d been staring.
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey - but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
August 16, 2023
Book Signing and Author Reading - Bookstore Romance Day at LALA BOOKS in Lowell, MA!
Save the date! Come to LALA BOOKS on Saturday, Aug. 19th, to celebrate BOOKSTORE ROMANCE DAY with local romance authors, including...
♡ Patricia Barletta
♡ Laura Brown
♡ Amber Cross
♡ Lori DiAnni
♡ Elena Markem
♡ Sara Marks
♡ Janet Raye Stevens
♡ ...and yours truly, Sebastian Nothwell!
WHEN
Saturday, August 19th
WHAT
11am - Writing Romance Panel
2pm - Romance Trope Bingo
4pm - Author Readings & Book Signings
WHERE
lala books
189 Market St
Lowell, MA
Can't wait to see you there!
♡ Patricia Barletta
♡ Laura Brown
♡ Amber Cross
♡ Lori DiAnni
♡ Elena Markem
♡ Sara Marks
♡ Janet Raye Stevens
♡ ...and yours truly, Sebastian Nothwell!
WHEN
Saturday, August 19th
WHAT
11am - Writing Romance Panel
2pm - Romance Trope Bingo
4pm - Author Readings & Book Signings
WHERE
lala books
189 Market St
Lowell, MA
Can't wait to see you there!
August 15, 2023
Solar Fantasy - Aubrey & Lindsey Retold - Now on Patreon!
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey - but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to "drawer fic" - aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting...
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Future posts will include...
♡ Shakespeare's Henriad with elves and dragons (mm)
♡ what if a Welsh vampire dated an English baronet and a Portuguese whaler together and also it was Victorian times (mmm)
♡ Gilded Age murder mystery in small-town Massachusetts (mm)
♡ Hold Fast 2: Hold Faster (mm)
See you on Patre♡n!
April 16, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 4.16.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King – available now wherever fine books are found!
~
Butcher cleared his throat and held out his left hand. Dark lines wore through his weathered palm like tree-rings, and his long fingers bore more than a few calluses. It looked more like a sailor or farmer’s hand than the hand of a thespian or an aristocratic eccentric. “Tonight I join the Wild Hunt to slay the beast that has devoured the children of the Court of Moons. If you will venture out with me, I will show you that all I spake of rings true.”
This, then, was the trick. No shell hidden beneath a cup or ha’penny pulled from behind an ear. Just a fairy tale to lure Wren out of the city. To what end, he couldn’t fathom.
Yet even as his rational mind supposed that such an adventure could only end in mugging or murder, his Romantic soul stretched its withered wings and soared at the notion of leaving the suffocating fog of Staple Inn behind to venture out into the wilderness beneath the full moon.
Furthermore, if he did end up murdered, it meant he’d never have to copy out another account-book again. And if he must end in murder, Wren supposed he’d rather have a strapping specimen like Butcher slide the knife into his heart.
~
~
Butcher cleared his throat and held out his left hand. Dark lines wore through his weathered palm like tree-rings, and his long fingers bore more than a few calluses. It looked more like a sailor or farmer’s hand than the hand of a thespian or an aristocratic eccentric. “Tonight I join the Wild Hunt to slay the beast that has devoured the children of the Court of Moons. If you will venture out with me, I will show you that all I spake of rings true.”
This, then, was the trick. No shell hidden beneath a cup or ha’penny pulled from behind an ear. Just a fairy tale to lure Wren out of the city. To what end, he couldn’t fathom.
Yet even as his rational mind supposed that such an adventure could only end in mugging or murder, his Romantic soul stretched its withered wings and soared at the notion of leaving the suffocating fog of Staple Inn behind to venture out into the wilderness beneath the full moon.
Furthermore, if he did end up murdered, it meant he’d never have to copy out another account-book again. And if he must end in murder, Wren supposed he’d rather have a strapping specimen like Butcher slide the knife into his heart.
~
April 9, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 4.9.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance collection, Tales from Blackthorn Briar, a sequel to Oak King Holly King featuring hurt/comfort and many happily-ever-afters - available wherever fine books are found!
~
“I’m sorry,” said Wren as their lips parted.
Shrike furrowed his brow. “What for?”
“It’s my fault you lost your chance at the white hart.”
Shrike continued staring at him for another moment or two. Then his hand came up to brush Wren’s hair off his brow and trail down his cheek in a tender caress.
“I did almost lose my heart,” Shrike murmured. “But he is found again, and reawakened, and now all is well.”
~
~
“I’m sorry,” said Wren as their lips parted.
Shrike furrowed his brow. “What for?”
“It’s my fault you lost your chance at the white hart.”
Shrike continued staring at him for another moment or two. Then his hand came up to brush Wren’s hair off his brow and trail down his cheek in a tender caress.
“I did almost lose my heart,” Shrike murmured. “But he is found again, and reawakened, and now all is well.”
~
April 2, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 4.2.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King – available now wherever fine books are found!
~
“Larkin had fled across the countryside,” Shrike went on. “More concerned with the knights gaining on him than the path ahead, he fell through a fairy ring. He stumbled through the forest—he knew not for how long—until he heard a child wailing and followed the sound until he stumbled upon me. I remember I had fallen out down from the tree. The other fledglings had pushed me out of the nest.”
“The other fledglings?” Wren interrupted.
“Aye,” said Shrike, confused by Wren’s confusion.
Wren hesitated, not wishing to offend, before he ventured what felt like the obvious question. “Were you born a bird?”
Much to Wren’s relief, Shrike didn’t appear offended. Merely befuddled. “No.”
“But you were born in a nest,” said Wren. When Shrike confirmed this with a nod, Wren added, “From an egg?”
“Aye,” Shrike said as if no one had ever questioned it before.
Wren supposed such circumstances were common in the fae realms. That conclusion didn’t prevent his mind from reeling. “Do all fae come from eggs?”
“Some do. Others grow in flower buds, or on the under-sides of leaves, or beneath toadstools, or in hollow logs—or sometimes in bonfires or particularly sooty chimneys. And,” Shrike added with a sceptical twist of his mouth, “some are born from other fae in the same manner kits come from vixens, or a fawn comes from a doe.”
“Or as human babes come from human mothers,” said Wren.
Shrike’s eyes widened with dawning horror.
~
~
“Larkin had fled across the countryside,” Shrike went on. “More concerned with the knights gaining on him than the path ahead, he fell through a fairy ring. He stumbled through the forest—he knew not for how long—until he heard a child wailing and followed the sound until he stumbled upon me. I remember I had fallen out down from the tree. The other fledglings had pushed me out of the nest.”
“The other fledglings?” Wren interrupted.
“Aye,” said Shrike, confused by Wren’s confusion.
Wren hesitated, not wishing to offend, before he ventured what felt like the obvious question. “Were you born a bird?”
Much to Wren’s relief, Shrike didn’t appear offended. Merely befuddled. “No.”
“But you were born in a nest,” said Wren. When Shrike confirmed this with a nod, Wren added, “From an egg?”
“Aye,” Shrike said as if no one had ever questioned it before.
Wren supposed such circumstances were common in the fae realms. That conclusion didn’t prevent his mind from reeling. “Do all fae come from eggs?”
“Some do. Others grow in flower buds, or on the under-sides of leaves, or beneath toadstools, or in hollow logs—or sometimes in bonfires or particularly sooty chimneys. And,” Shrike added with a sceptical twist of his mouth, “some are born from other fae in the same manner kits come from vixens, or a fawn comes from a doe.”
“Or as human babes come from human mothers,” said Wren.
Shrike’s eyes widened with dawning horror.
~
March 26, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 3.26.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King – available now wherever fine books are found!
~
In the moonlight, and without his hood, Wren could see Butcher’s ears quite clearly. Now there was no mistaking them for waxwork. He could see, as well, the black woollen tunic Butcher wore and how it clung to his muscular frame, tied off with a belted leather gyrdel at the waist and hanging down not much farther than that. Nothing covered Butcher’s thighs save medieval hose, likewise black, and his black cavalier boots came up to his knees; a motley assortment of costuming eras in a monochromatic assembly.
Wren shut his mouth but kept on staring in wide-eyed wonder at his new surroundings. He’d never seen so many stars in his life. Had seen none, in fact, since he’d moved to London. The silence was new to him as well. Moreso than the muffled angles of Staple Inn, the forest had no wagons rattling endlessly over cobblestones, no people shouting, no bells ringing, none of the millions of incidental human sounds that tumbled all on top of each other every minute in the city. Just the rustling of pine needles in the wind.
Then he heard it.
An eerie sound, a howl that began low and swooped upward to end in a triumphant blast that echoed throughout the forest as if from miles off. A hunting horn.
Butcher took hold of the stag’s antlers and dug his knees into its flanks. The stag leapt off once more, darting to and fro between the trees at harrowing speed, along no path Wren could perceive. He clung to Butcher’s waist, his chest flush with Butcher’s spine, the closest embrace he’d known in more years than he cared to count.
~
~
In the moonlight, and without his hood, Wren could see Butcher’s ears quite clearly. Now there was no mistaking them for waxwork. He could see, as well, the black woollen tunic Butcher wore and how it clung to his muscular frame, tied off with a belted leather gyrdel at the waist and hanging down not much farther than that. Nothing covered Butcher’s thighs save medieval hose, likewise black, and his black cavalier boots came up to his knees; a motley assortment of costuming eras in a monochromatic assembly.
Wren shut his mouth but kept on staring in wide-eyed wonder at his new surroundings. He’d never seen so many stars in his life. Had seen none, in fact, since he’d moved to London. The silence was new to him as well. Moreso than the muffled angles of Staple Inn, the forest had no wagons rattling endlessly over cobblestones, no people shouting, no bells ringing, none of the millions of incidental human sounds that tumbled all on top of each other every minute in the city. Just the rustling of pine needles in the wind.
Then he heard it.
An eerie sound, a howl that began low and swooped upward to end in a triumphant blast that echoed throughout the forest as if from miles off. A hunting horn.
Butcher took hold of the stag’s antlers and dug his knees into its flanks. The stag leapt off once more, darting to and fro between the trees at harrowing speed, along no path Wren could perceive. He clung to Butcher’s waist, his chest flush with Butcher’s spine, the closest embrace he’d known in more years than he cared to count.
~
March 19, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 3.19.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian fae romance, Oak King Holly King – available now wherever fine books are found!
~
The terrible impact rang out across the field like a thunderbolt cleaving a tree in twain.
Wren’s hands flew to his mouth. The crowd leapt and cheered, surging in a bloodthirsty tide. The young man amidst the milkmaids let out a particularly gruesome guffaw. Wren didn’t dare breathe. It seemed the world had ceased turning the instant the blow fell.
The sword had struck Shrike in the side. The Holly King’s blade came away crimson. And the horrible noise, the crunch of metal against boiled leather and bone—
But Shrike rolled.
At first it seemed as though the force of the blow had thrown him aside, but as Wren watched him tumble, he realized Shrike had purposefully dodged. Not entirely, not quite fast enough for that, but dodged all the same, and when his feet came under him again he staggered upright.
And Wren’s hopes rose with him.
~
~
The terrible impact rang out across the field like a thunderbolt cleaving a tree in twain.
Wren’s hands flew to his mouth. The crowd leapt and cheered, surging in a bloodthirsty tide. The young man amidst the milkmaids let out a particularly gruesome guffaw. Wren didn’t dare breathe. It seemed the world had ceased turning the instant the blow fell.
The sword had struck Shrike in the side. The Holly King’s blade came away crimson. And the horrible noise, the crunch of metal against boiled leather and bone—
But Shrike rolled.
At first it seemed as though the force of the blow had thrown him aside, but as Wren watched him tumble, he realized Shrike had purposefully dodged. Not entirely, not quite fast enough for that, but dodged all the same, and when his feet came under him again he staggered upright.
And Wren’s hopes rose with him.
~
March 12, 2023
Sunday Snippet, 3.12.23
Sunday Snippet from my gay Victorian cross-class romance, Mr Warren's Profession, featuring hurt/comfort and a happily-ever-after – available now wherever fine books are found!
~
The theatre’s interior had cream-coloured walls gilded with gold inlay, framing murals of frolicking youths. Aubrey wondered how anyone could concentrate on the stage with the house so decorated, though his own interest lay in the electric chandelier far above the audience. He tried to restrain himself, but Lindsey caught him looking up.
“The, er, lights,” Aubrey explained. “Electric.”
Lindsey followed his gaze upward. “So they are!”
~
~
The theatre’s interior had cream-coloured walls gilded with gold inlay, framing murals of frolicking youths. Aubrey wondered how anyone could concentrate on the stage with the house so decorated, though his own interest lay in the electric chandelier far above the audience. He tried to restrain himself, but Lindsey caught him looking up.
“The, er, lights,” Aubrey explained. “Electric.”
Lindsey followed his gaze upward. “So they are!”
~
