Viki Lyn's Blog, page 6
October 27, 2014
Halloween #FreeRead
This is the pic I used for my current desktop image. Yum.
Vina and I couldn’t resist writing a free Halloween read with Vince and John. Both dressed in appropriate costumes, they take John’s niece and nephews trick or treating. 
If you would love to win a black T-shirt with one of the Orbus Arcana book covers – then you can enter at Emily’s blog!
Cheers!
Viki
October 21, 2014
Five Days of Art
This will be a short post. I just returned from a five day immersion into art. I attended the Artisan’s Expo in Santa Fe. So this morning I’m catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, emails and projects.
I’m serious about art and five days in Santa Fe infused my creative heart.
Taking a breather from writing has been good. I love writing love stories, but I also love expressing through mixed media and paints, and teaching the creative process.
Creativity is a wonderful thing in any form you choose to express yourself.
Cheers,
Viki
October 15, 2014
Free Read – Can You Love The One You’re With Without Falling In Love?
I’m not known for m/f love stories, but I started out writing m/f romance. I have two m/f books that I’ve recently published with Musa, so if you so inclined, Formula For Love is free today at Musa Publishing!
Blurb:
Kenneth believes everything—even love—can be solved logically, until he meets a flower child who challenges him at every turn
Kenneth Hailey, an uptight conservative mathematician, believes he’s in control. After all, every problem can be solved in a deliberate and logical manner. Even love. When his fiancée dumps him for his best friend, he leaves Manhattan for the West Coast. What better place to forget his past. It’s 1967, and San Francisco is the place to turn on, tune in, and drop out.
But is he ready for Rose Red?
Rose Red, a free-spirited flower child, challenges Kenneth, thrusting him into her world of love-ins, protest rallies, and rock concerts. Kenneth finds himself falling down a rabbit hole, hanging on for dear life.
Old habits die hard, and he retreats, but Rose Red has other plans for him.
Excerpt: Formula For Love, copyright 2014, Viki Lyn
Rose patted his hand. “Forget it. You already said too much. You think girls don’t have the brains for math. We’re too emotional for such discipline. So do you want to sleep with me?”
Kenneth choked, and a spray of coffee spurted across the table, barely missing Rose. He wiped up the mess with his napkin, while muttering an apology. “I might be behind the times, but I like to be the one to invite the girl to bed.”
“If I waited for you to make the first move we’d never get past first base.”
“There’s the unwritten teacher-student rule.”
“You said our paths would never cross, so why worry about it? Do you always follow the rules? We can bend them a little. I’m not talking about a relationship here.”
“You’re talking about loving the one you’re with.” He smiled at himself for using her phrase. The sunlight broke through the window and Rose’s hair shone a burnished copper. Luscious, silky hair he’d like to touch again. “What do you mean by bend?”
“We can sleep together, and since we’re not looking for love, and we’re not each other’s type, and don’t want to—”
“—form any attachments.”
Rose sat back and crossed her arms. “Are you going to let me finish my sentence?”
Kenneth sank in his chair, uncomfortable with the conversation, but riveted.
“Yes, since we don’t want any attachments,” she continued, “it would be ideal. What do you say?”
He scratched his chin. “So I’m going to love the one I’m with after all? I don’t know.”
Rose waved off Kenneth’s worried expression. “Sex can be fantastic, and I’m horny, been without it—”
“—for a day?”
October 13, 2014
The Name Game
Naming characters is a challenge. There are some ‘go to’ sites that I use for finding names. It’s best if I have an idea of what I want the character’s name to represent. website is great source, if you can ignore all the pop up ads! At this site, you can sort by gender and nationality, then search for a specific meaning. Another cool thing is the special category page which have names for fairies, dragons, magic users, directions, twins…
In Love’ Last Bite, I had to come up with a name for a female magic user. In the WIP, I randomly made up a name, but now that we’re writing our first draft, I needed a name I could live with. I’ve already named the twin sister in book 1 (For The Bite Of It). She is a priestess in Vincent’s court and is named Vadoma, so I wanted to keep with the slavic roots.
According to the website, this is the meaning behind Vadoma: Possibly a Romani feminine form of Russian Vadim, a name which some etymologists believe must have its root in Slavic vadit, vedet, or wiedziec, meaning “to know,” because pagan magicians were called veduny, “the knowing ones.”
Search parameters: Slavic roots or Russian roots, and a name that has a meaning of magic.
I first searched under Slavic Female names but didn’t find a name I liked. Next I searched under Russian female names. One name stood out—ISIDORA. It is the feminine form of Russian Isidor and means “gift of Isis”. Isis is the Goddess of Magic. This name was the one!
Vadoma and Isidora has a nice ring to it, yeah?
Cheers!
Viki
October 9, 2014
Interview with Remy Marshall from Crash Pad
Remy Marshall is in the building! And, wow, he’s quite handsome, isn’t he!
Remy, what made you decide to go into Emergency Medicine? A couple or things, I suppose. My dad is a doc—an orthopedic surgeon. Growing up around medicine, I gravitated toward it as a career. But orthopedics didn’t interest me as a specialty. I’m more of a medicine doctor than a surgeon.
You’ve been training for a marathon. Is that something you’ve always wanted to do? I’ve actually run marathons before. For the last year I’ve been training hard, getting my endurance up and my time down. My goal is to win in my age group. My friends think I’m trying to prove something to my old man, but it’s really all about meeting a personal goal.
The first time you met Jamie you seemed kind of smitten. Did that surprise you? Yeah. It did. He’s attractive, but there’s also this scrappy independence there that just blows me away. Most of the guys I’ve dated in the past like the money and prestige that go along with dating a doctor; I never felt like they were interested in just me, like they’d drop me if the bucks and the job weren’t factors. But Jamie doesn’t care about that stuff. In fact, my job almost put him off considering any sort of relationship with me.
How is the future looking? Pretty good, as long as Jamie stays off rollerblades.
~*~
Blurb for Crash Pad
Physician Remy Marshall has two loves: Emergency Medicine and running. Work doesn’t leave much time to meet guys, and most seem more interested in his bank account than him. With a week off to train for a marathon, Remy plans to make the most of his precious vacation. The last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jamie Sutton is new to the area. He hopes to make a fresh start after leaving an abusive relationship with an orthopedic surgeon. He’s got a new job as a massage therapist and wants to meet some nice guys. Against his better judgment, Jamie decides the best way to meet a cute rollerblader he’s seen in the park is on wheels.
With attention on his watch and not where he’s going, Remy crashes into Jamie and fractures the first-time rollerblader’s ankle. Jamie has no one to help him after the injury; Remy proposes Jamie stay with him. Jamie is reluctant, but it’s a better option than staying with the odd guy in the neighboring motel room. As the two get acquainted, Jamie’s past comes calling. Remy discovers the prize he really wants isn’t a medal in a marathon, but the man right in front of him.
~*~
This sound like a great book and one that I am going to pick up and read. To read more about the author, Whitley Gray, visit her website.
October 6, 2014
Monday Snippet
Got your attention!? Vina and I are writing Book 3 – Love’s Last Bite. This will complete the Vince and John romance arc. Here’s snippet of the WIP – of course this is not edited and is subject to change. Vince is handing John a split opened coconut shell:
Vince shook off his brooding thoughts not wanting to waste another precious second of his time with John. He handed John a half shell, complete with a broken piece to use as a scoop. “Nothing like fresh meat.”
John rolled his eyes. “God, you need new material.” John shoveled a large piece of the tender white coconut flesh into his mouth. “But, damn, this is the best thing I’ve tasted.”
“Oh? Now where have I heard that before?” Vince slapped his forehead and pretended to think. “Wait, I’ve got it. That was right after I came in your mouth yesterday.”
“Fishing for a compliment now?” John mumbled through a mouthful of fruit.
“I don’t need to. I know what I have,” he teased, loving the camaraderie, and wanting it to last a bit longer. His news was about to shatter the peace between them.
September 29, 2014
Expression of Peace and Love
One of my favorite sites in Prague was visiting the Lennon Wall. The history of the wall goes like this [from Wikipedia]:
In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime of Gustáv Husák. Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as “Lennonism” and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism.
The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of global ideals such as love and peace.
The wall is owned by the Knights of Malta, who allowed the graffiti to continue on the wall, and is located at Velkopřevorské náměstí (Grand Priory Square), Malá Strana.
[image error]
September 22, 2014
Orbus Arcana Setting
I am writing a new scene in book 3 of our Orbus Arcana series where I need to describe the city of Verno to our readers. The last 2/3′ of Book 3 – Love’s Last Bite – takes place in Verno, the capital of Order of Boreas of Orbus Arcana. The setting is as important as the characters. My job is to pepper in the description so the reader feels the pulse of the place.
Vina and I have created a fantasy vampire world of ice and snow. Since Vincent is Italian, we placed his beloved city in an ‘alternate’ Italian Alps. We added an imaginary sea and voila, a new region was created.
Although vampires embraced some technology, and are aware of the advances of the human world, their cities and government remain steeped in history and their towns reflect their need to hang on to the past.
These photographs show towns in the Italian Alps. We use these photos as a reference when describing Verno.
As you can see, Verno is a very romantic city with the river cutting through town, and the royal palace perched on the hill.
Cheers!
Viki
September 8, 2014
Kindle Countdown and Free Read
For The Bite Of It is a Kindle Countdown for the next few days and priced at .99 cents. I also checked Blue Skye, and it’s still at .99 cents (should have been back to full price) so take advantage if you haven’t picked up the first book in the Woodland Village series! Such deals.
The second book of the Orbus Arcana series is out with great reviews. A Bite In Time continues Vincent and John’s rocky path towards love. Their relationship is never smooth going.
September 6, 2014
Breaking News
I now have another website with my writing partner Vina Grey. I’m still keeping this one, but Vina and I created a website for our m/m vampire Orbus Arcana series, and future book projects. So check it out! And follow our blog to keep informed of contests we are will have throughout the year.
Happy Reading!
Viki Lyn
