Susan Trombley's Blog, page 5

So, some crazy things have been happening in my life, and...

So, some crazy things have been happening in my life, and they all started around the same time. For one thing, The Scorpion’s Mate and Into the Dead Fall have gotten a LOT of attention and wonderful feedback! I’m so honored and amazed that so many people have taken the time to read my stories and then share their thoughts about them in reviews and posts.

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That kind of feedback is inspiring. When I published those books, I had sequels in mind for both, but I didn’t know if I would get to work on them any time soon, because I wasn’t certain how much of a market there would be for them. I’m not going to lie; these books push boundaries, even for those who like alien romance. Sometimes, I would get concerned that I was pushing those boundaries too far, and a lot of my hesitation about sharing them had to do with that concern.

At the same time, I wanted to do something that I hadn’t seen before. Something a little different. Sometimes, different doesn’t always work for readers. Sometimes, certain characters will rub them the wrong way, and the feedback isn’t as positive. I’ve learned to live with that.

Quick Update

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Just a quick update, because it’s Monday, and there’s no way I’m going to have the time to write my regular blog.

Why don’t I have the time, you ask?

I’ve hit the 50,000 word mark for The Kraken’s Mate (the sequel to The Scorpion’s Mate) and I still got a ways to go, but yeah, it’s taking up all of my free time for the moment. I mean all of my free time. I actually dread the computer at this point, not because I don’t want to write, but because I can’t seem to stop, and I’m really bad at setting limits on this sort of thing. I look at the clock, promise myself I won’t spend more than an hour typing, then check it again after a really intense scene and like six hours have passed and my fingertips hurt!

So then, I say okay, I’m going to stop right after I finish this scene. But that scene inevitably leads to another, and another.

And that’s where I’m at. So, if you’re wondering what I’m up to, there you have it.

This has been a crazy week!

Last week, I published The Scorpion’s Mate and the bonus novel, Into the Dead Fall, without huge expectations, and then I immediately went on a week-long family vacation.

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Now, family vacations are supposed to be work-free (not that I really consider my writing to be work, but still…) I’m supposed to be totally disconnected from my writing, so that I can connect with family. So I leave my laptop at home. Then I suffer for days and days with ideas that have to be scribbled on napkins (but that’s a complaint for another blog).

I still check my email though, so when my truly awesome reader, Cindy (fingers-crossed that you don’t mind that I called you out

Woohoo! Finally!

I’m finally able to announce that The Scorpion’s Mate ebook is now available on Amazon! Phew! It feels like it’s been a looooong haul to get this book finished and published, but I’m very pleased with how it turned out.

And in addition, I’ve added the bonus of a second full-length alien romance, because I really wanted to share it with my readers.

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Here’s a description of both books:

The Scorpion’s Mate (Book 1: Iriduan Test Subjects)

Claire has never really fit in with everyone around her, but she’s carved out a life for herself using her own unique style and artistic ability to support herself on the Internet. The last thing she expects is to be abducted by aliens and dropped into a research facility, where a genetically-engineered alien soldier chooses her as his life-mate.

Thrax’s pheromones are compelling, and his status as a fellow unwilling test subject makes them allies, but Claire isn’t certain she can trust someone who is convinced she belongs to him, when all she wants to do is find a way to return home to Earth—a place that her devoted alien can never follow, because there’s no way the scorpion-like alien would ever be able to pass for human.

Still, she’ll accept help where she can find it, so she doesn’t hesitate to escape with Thrax from the facility, though their time running from their pursuers in the warrens beneath the research facility will forever change Claire, and could make it impossible for her to return to Earth.

But will there be anywhere else in the galaxy they can go where their love will be accepted?

Plus a BONUS Full-length novel:

Into the Dead Fall

Though she was raised by a survivalist, Alice was not prepared to be ripped from her dimension and dropped without ceremony into the massive junkyard of a parallel dimension.

She’s wounded, alone, and lost in a world her mind struggles to comprehend. When a strange, four-armed alien comes to her aid, saving her life, she has no choice but to accept his help.

She finally starts growing comfortable around her leonine companion, until another warrior intervenes to save her when creatures from the Dead Fall attack them during their exploration, making everything much more complicated.

Alice still doesn’t understand what either of the warriors is saying, and if she can’t find the right words to soothe her beastly new protectors, they’ll end up killing each other.

Author’s Note: 18+  These books contain scenes that are not suitable for younger audiences. It should also be noted that the alien heroes in these books look alien in many ways, and their cultures and mating habits might not be for everyone.

I’m also excited with how the cover turned out. For anyone who reads the book, you might understand why it was impossible to accurately depict the hero on the cover using stock images, so I had to get creative. I’m thrilled with what the designer came up with! Claire may be trapped in a research facility, but she’s also walking on stars. I love the imagery, and the way it perfectly symbolizes her situation after being abducted.

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This book (actually two books) is only .99 cents! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited. I hope you’ll check it out.

The Right Girl

[image error]I’ve finally reached the point where I can devote my full attention to Book 4 of my Shadows in Sanctuary series—Uriale’s Redemption. I have to say, it is the one book I have been both looking forward to, and dreading. Uriale is a complex character that doesn’t fit any of the traditional “romance” molds. He began life in my books as a villain, and a despicable one at that. In the early drafts of Lilith’s Fall, he was almost cartoonishly bad, his only positive feature being his incredible looks.

The original concept behind the entire series was to flip the angel/demon paradigm on its head. I wanted my angels to be monsters, and my demons to be complex, free-willed beings, capable of choosing their own path, whether it be good or evil—instead of being inherently evil. One of the core ideas was to challenge the concept that looks (or any aspect of ourselves that we cannot control) define our character.

The angelic beings—the adurians—are creatures of light. They have golden skin and pure white wings. They are beautiful, powerful, and worshipped by humans as the epitome of virtue.

In contrast, the umbrose are creatures of darkness and shadows. They hide from the light, and are demonic in appearance, with bat-like wings, all-black eyes, and horned spurs on their elbows. They are viewed by humans as the representatives of all the dark temptations that lead them into corruption.

I’m a sucker for a monster that turns out to be a good guy. I’ve mentioned in a previous blog how much I reject the notion that Ugly is Bad (like the wicked stepsisters in Cinderella), and the same holds true for “monstrous” being inherently evil. Thus, this concept followed naturally from that desire to upend the traditional narrative (and the shortage of books, movies, and video games that explore such a theme).

However, I didn’t want to fall into the trap of going to the opposite extreme, with the umbrose being the “good” guys, and the adurians being the “bad” guys. For one thing, these kinds of one-dimensional characters are just not interesting. Instead, I tried to add nuance to the characters of my umbrose heroes. They are individuals whose values might be shaped by their culture, but who make also make choices based upon their own personal desires, experiences, and traumas. Not all of those choices are virtuous or good either.

I had my heroes worked out. I knew who they were, and how I wanted them to be. My villains were less clear at first. Since I was working against a preconception of virtue based on their angelic appearance, I thought I had to counter that with repulsive behavior, and to a certain extent, I did. However, since the adurians are free-willed as much as the umbrose are, I needed a reason for them to be as they were. After all, I don’t believe evil happens in a vacuum, and the whole point in this series was that evil was not actually inherent. So there would be no more reason for Uriale to be evil than there would be for Ranove, or Balfor to be so.

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The adurians were a primary antagonist in Lilith’s Fall, but I didn’t get to spend as much time in their perspective as I might have liked, simply because this wasn’t a book about them. In the second book, we see a bit more of Uriale, but only a bit, and we learn a bit more about Anata’s madness. But only a bit. However, by this time, I had a much deeper grasp on these two characters and the forces that had shaped their villainy. Anata—as monstrous and sadistic as she is—is a tragic figure from a deeply tormented background. Uriale, proud, arrogant, and certain that there was no challenge he could not win, thought to save her from her own spiral into madness by claiming her as his and bonding his mind with hers. Rather than save her, the bond pulled him deep into her corruption.

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By the time the third book rolled around, I was left with the broken pieces of a potential hero, still wearing the fragments of his villainy like the feathers molting off his shattered wings. I have a long row to hoe, because I’d painted him in such a bad light from the beginning, and by the end, his hatred had only made him more antagonistic to those I had made into heroes.

When I initially plotted out his story, last year, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and who I wanted to pair him with. I love a good contrast, so I was picturing Uriale—who had become undeniably evil—with someone who was unquestionably virtuous. This contrast would be even more pronounced when I took into account the difference between this new person and Anata, who had become so sadistic and cruel. In fact, I wanted the exact antithesis to Anata—the opposite of a fierce, mad warrior-woman who thought only of herself, because she’d been convinced at a young age that survival meant always looking out for number one.

Then, I sat down to write said story. And immediately hit writer’s block. The romance just wasn’t happening.

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And that’s when I started getting worried.

You see, I had convinced myself that I could treat Uriale like any other romance hero. I could give him a good woman and let her change him from a bad boy into the kind of guy the girls sigh over. But I’d been wrong.

Uriale happens to be a royal pain in the rear. He just wasn’t interested in this new woman. She was too good. Too virtuous. She didn’t understand him—and on her end, she couldn’t get over his past, while still being true to her character.

So, I went back to the drawing board and reread all the books in the series to get everything fresh in my mind. It occurred to me that a character I’d been saving for another book might be just the thing for him. She is probably one of my favorite characters in the entire series, and I knew her story would be interesting… but as I got about 6000 words into it—before I even introduced Uriale—I realized that she wasn’t for him either. She’s got her own story, and a very special hero in the future.

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Once again, I went back to the drawing board, and by now, I was starting to panic. In a powwow over pizza with my daughter (who has never read any of these books since she is quite a bit too young) I laid out the general story (glossing over the darker and more salacious bits, obviously) and asked her what kind of character sounded right for my hero.

Her immediate suggestion made complete sense (in the “emperor has no clothes” way that kids make sense), and I wanted to smack my forehead for not thinking of it before. It was a mistake to try and create a wholly virtuous character from a loving background, with a supportive family. I needed a misfit with a troubled past. Someone who could at least begin to understand Uriale, and who was not so above reproach herself that she couldn’t forgive him.

In a few hours, I’d knocked out six thousand words, because that’s how driven I now am by this character and the story. I still have a long way to go, and it’s still possible that I will hit another roadblock, and make another overhaul, but for the first time since I plotted out Uriale’s story, the characters feel right, and I’m back to being excited about writing this book.

I have to admit that I consider this book one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever taken on in my writing. Because of how difficult it is to write his story, Uriale has become my nemesis as much as he is to the umbrose, but I’m also a bit in love with him.

Out of My Comfort Zone

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Anyone who has been following the “Aliens that Look Like Aliens” thread on the romance forums of first Amazon and then Romance Forums, has probably seen my skeptical comments on multiple-partner romances. Sometimes called ménage romances or reverse harems, they usually involve a female heroine with multiple male heroes.

When I started out reading romance as a young adult, this wasn’t a thing. At least, not in the romances I ever saw, though it was probably quite common in erotica even then. Now it is relatively common, particularly in the paranormal romances that I’ve been seeing in the last five or six years.

My attitude towards this hadn’t changed as rapidly as the market for it. Don’t get me wrong! I don’t judge anyone who likes this type of romance at all. Believe me, I’m not one to judge others for what they like. When I first started asking for recommendations for alien romance where the aliens actually look alien, I got some pretty judgy comments, myself. You like what you like, and don’t care if other people don’t. In my case, I wasn’t a fan of multiple-partner romances, but I was happy to see recommendations that others could enjoy, because it kept the thread alive and even allowed it to grow. Win-win for everyone!

Of course, over time, some of those recommendations began to peak my own interest. The stories sounded amazing, if I could only get past my initial objection to the concept of the hero sharing his heroine with one or more other heroes. I started reading a few, only because they received so much buzz that I couldn’t ignore them any longer.

And you know what? I liked some of them. The stories were really good. The characters were well-defined. The intimate scenes were often quite tastefully done, certainly in comparison to what I was expecting.

Of course, I found some that were not to my taste, but I realized that I could try something that was out of my comfort zone, and it wouldn’t necessarily be a negative experience. I don’t think I will ever be a huge fan of this type of multiple-partner romance, but I know that now, if I see a recommendation for a book that sounds interesting, but has this trope, I will still be willing to check it out.

But, I am a writer as well as an avid reader. I like to explore situations that I’m not always comfortable with in real life with my writing. Sometimes, I like to push my own expectations. Sometimes, I like to challenge my own boundaries. Writing gives me the freedom to explore different concepts and perhaps gain an understanding of different perspectives.

And after reading some of these multiple-partner romances, I had come to certain conclusions about what I liked—and what I didn’t like—about them. So, I set out to see if I could write one that had all the elements that I liked, but avoided those pitfalls that soured me on the romances I’d read.

About three years ago, I was deeply inspired by this very challenge, and even better, I had a world I wanted to set it in. A world that seemed ideal for this type of relationship to grow and thrive. I had dreamed up this world as a pocket-dimension of another universe I had created—the very same universe where my upcoming alien romance is set.

The book came together surprisingly fast. I knew what I wanted it to be, and what I didn’t want it to be, and the characters and their backgrounds had already been created for another story that I never ended up writing. Within a month, I had a complete, 70,000-word manuscript.

That I was never going to publish.

It sounds crazy that there could be anything I’d be afraid to publically attach my name to after the unconventional nature of some of my published books. Yet, there it was. Back then, I was hesitant to put this particular manuscript out there, because I feared it would be just too bizarre, too “out-there” to be acceptable. Not just because of the multiple-partner romance aspect, mind you, but also because the heroes are the least like humans of any of the heroes I’ve ever written.

Yet, I loved their stories, their worlds, their cultures and influences. I wanted to share them!

Ironically, while I was hesitating to share my own story, other authors were putting out books with heroes that were just as alien, if not more so and from cultures that were just as unusual, with even more polyamorous romance, and the authors were becoming wildly successful with them.

In fact, by now, my heroes are nothing new (they are different, but the inspirations I used have been used by other authors as well.) Whenever I see a new book come out with elements that are similar to the ones in my book that made me afraid to publish it, I want to kick myself for being a coward! I should have put this out years ago! I should have had the courage to do so, and perhaps I would have been the trailblazer, instead of the one trailing behind.

The thing is, I left my comfort zone to write this book, but I was still safe because no one would ever see it. I didn’t take the real risk. I didn’t put it out there. I’m thinking about changing that.

Since this book is connected—although tangentially—to The Scorpion’s Mate, I’m thinking that I will add it as a bonus book to that one. As in, I’m still a bit of a coward. I’m too afraid to let it stand on its own, but the upside is that anyone who reads The Scorpion’s Mate will get to read this one as well. Honestly, I want to share it, and I had even debated publishing it on this blog as I did Morbidon’s Bride, but I don’t like to publish 18+ content on my blog. So, into my other book it will probably go.

I would love to get feedback on what you all think. Do you have trouble leaving your comfort-zone? In reading, or writing? Do you challenge your own tastes and interests to try something new that you’re uncertain about? I’d love to hear your stories about that.

Why No Twitter?

[image error]Perhaps the most universal advice an indie author will get is that they need to be on social media to build a platform. For me, this is like saying to a person terrified of water that they have to learn to swim before they can be successful.

I am, by nature, an introvert. I have a ton of social anxieties that go way back to when I was in elementary school and the target of pretty much all the school bullies. Because I was an introvert even then. I was also the classic nerd: socially awkward, glasses, acne, poor fashion choices, and an obsession with academic excellence that other kids despised.

I spent my childhood daydreaming. Dreaming up stories. Oftentimes, it was the only escape I had from the social nightmare of school. Back then, video games were about hand-eye coordination, so I wasn’t very good at them (I’m better at that now, but still prefer RPGs over action platformers), and we only had one game console that my older brother dominated anyway (he was very good at them, so I rarely got a chance to practice).

This left books and daydreams as my only escape, and I used both liberally. I needed these outlets, just to get through each day. I would spend every second that I had with my nose either buried in a book, or scribbling notes for a story. You can imagine how popular this made me.

More Updates

I’m very excited to announce that The Princess Dragon, revised edition, should be available as an ebook within 72 hours. I’m still waiting on the final print cover files so that I can publish the print edition, but I’ve never been a patient person, so I had to go ahead and publish the ebook edition as soon as I finalized my cover with the designer. And what a cover it is! I absolutely love it!

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I sure hope you’ll check it out, and if you like it, maybe even leave a review.

I should note that unlike my other series, Shadows in Sanctuary, the intimate scenes in my fantasy novels are not graphic, so I don’t usually put the 18+ warning on them. I don’t know if that matters to some folks, but I’m sure that there are some readers who would like to know this.

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The Princess Dragon

The kingdom of Ariva has lived in the shadow of Thunder Mountain for generations, the citizens forbidden to trespass there for fear of an ancient black dragon sealed within. Princess Casiondra is convinced that magic and all things related to it—including dragons—are nothing but superstition, and aims to prove it.

When she’s cursed by a wizard and transformed into a dragon herself, there’s nowhere else she can run to but Thunder Mountain, where she soon discovers that the black dragon is all too real. Convincing Tolmac that she’s an orphaned dragon who never learned how to “dragon” properly is the easy part. Protecting herself from falling for the noble beast who takes her under his wing to teach her the ways of dragonkind might be a task beyond her abilities. As her subterfuge with Tolmac guarantees her safety with him, there’s the question that hangs over her head. Just how long will the wizard’s curse last?

When the southern kingdoms unite to conquer Ariva, Sondra must choose between the devoted knight she’d left behind and the enigmatic dragon who doesn’t know she’s really just a human princess in disguise.

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This is so exciting for me because I had republishing this book on my list of resolutions for this year. I’m also really looking forward to releasing The Scorpion’s Mate. Unfortunately, that release will be somewhat delayed due to the cover design, which won’t be completed until at least mid-February. Sigh. However, I’m really hoping to have it out by the end of February.

I’ve been rereading all of my Shadows in Sanctuary books to prepare for Uriale’s book, and I’ve also gone back to all my notes on the world. I’m eager to get started writing his story, which I’ve already outlined. It should be a wild ride. He’s always been an interesting character to me.

Usually, when I complete a manuscript in the first draft, I like to let it sit for a week or two so that I can return to it with a fresh mind for revising it. I think that what I will do this time after I finish Uriale’s Redemption, is to work on revising and editing Morbidon’s Bride. It would be nice to publish all four books by this summer so I can focus my efforts on a couple of pet projects that I’ve been wanting to play around with.

My plans are ambitious, I know.

Moving Right Along

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I honestly can’t believe it’s already January 8, 2018! Where has the time gone?

Of course, I haven’t been sitting idle this whole time. ;D Last year was a time of writing. That’s pretty much all I did for most of the year, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I wasn’t bold enough to share my work, deciding it was never “just right.” One manuscript in particular has given me so many problems that I even sought professional help (for it, not me.

Be Bold

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It’s a New Year, the first blush of endless possibilities. For creating, for transformation, for improving the lives we already have. Like the first page of a new book, today holds the potential to lead to an amazing story, or a disappointing one. The only difference is that we have some control over how our story goes.

I’ve made resolutions every New Year’s Eve since I could write, and last night was no different. After the preceding three-month trifecta of stress, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to change how I approach the obligations and even the pleasures in my life. Organization and time management are key!

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I haven’t blogged or even looked at social media for more than a second for at least a month—maybe longer. The reason: I’m not good at splitting my attention. This holiday season was all about family, which meant my passion for writing and engaging with other readers and writers had to take the back burner, along with two books I had intended to publish by the end of the year. (Those two books are very close to done, I just need covers, but more on that on the next blog.)

I’m eager to return back to my trusty keyboard and get back to work. I was happy to store all the beautiful holiday decorations away, as I usually am by this time of year, because it means I’m starting fresh on a new chapter in my life.

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So do I keep my New Year’s Resolutions?

To be honest, not all of them. When I was young, we would write them and put them in envelopes to open the following New Year’s Eve kind of as a surprise to everyone what we had resolved to do. It was an entertaining way to pass those last hours of the old year, but not very useful to hide away your resolutions so even you forget about them.

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Thus, I took to posting them in my office where I could see them every day, figuring that daily reminder would keep me focused and motivated. Unfortunately, when you see something every day, you tend to stop seeing it at all. It becomes part of the background.

So this year, I decided to do something I’ve never done before. Instead of just making resolutions, with general statements like, “lose weight, save money, get organized,” etc., I have made a plan for each resolution with mini-goals beneath that first general goal. For example, I’d like to do some home improvement/decorating this year, so below that resolution, I listed the projects I hope to get accomplished. Then I made the next, very important step. I added deadlines. Yikes! I know right? Deadlines are terrifying!

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How it feels, coming up on a deadline.

However, unless someone is paying you, you can generally ignore them, and this detailed plan of mine has as much a chance of being ignored as any previous year’s plan, so I added the last feature and put a bunch of reminders in my phone that will pop up at the appropriate times during the year to motivate me to get to work on those self-imposed deadlines.

But this year’s resolutions aren’t all about “doing.” Some of my resolutions are about “thinking.” And that is the point of the title. It’s time for me to be bold. Not that I’m a timid person by any stretch of the imagination, but as a perfectionist, I can often become crippled by my self-doubt and harsh internal critic. I tend to be overcautious in what I do and how I do it in order to avoid failure. This has led to many missed opportunities in life, and it also keeps me from creating at the rate I’d like to create. Not just with my writing (although that is the most important) but also with many other hobbies I like to pass my time doing.

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This year, I want to be bold and run the risk of failure and criticism without fear. I will publish books that I’ve worried about their reception, and take what reviews might come, remembering that any review means the book has been read by someone else besides me, which is already an accomplishment in itself.

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean I will put books out there that are unedited, or haven’t been through extensive revision, but I will not do as I have done up to this point and spend months agonizing over tiny things or worrying that parts of the book will put some readers off. I will share the genuine story as much as I can, and stop worrying about what people will think. And more importantly, stop worrying if it will fail.

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Even as I avoid it like the plague, I understand that failure is often as important, if not more so, than success. It is in failure that we learn those life lessons that stick with us the longest. Avoiding failure, as I have always tried to do, not only keeps us from achieving everything we’re capable of, it also means we live an incredibly boring life in the process.

So this year, I resolve to be bold, (and spicy