Kayla Jameth's Blog, page 13

The 777 Challenge

Seven lines from the 7th page of each manuscript, starting with the seventh line.
Apollo's Men #1, Alexios' Fate:
Lykos wore an intricately patterned chiton. Black and green Greek keys meandered along the selvages of the crimson linen. The folds of cloth fell from where the garment was pinned over his left shoulder with a bright bronze fibula to below his knees, leaving his right shoulder bare. A wide ox hide girdle supported a sheathed sword at his waist. Soft leather sandals encased his feet, supple sheepskin laces winding up calves like tree trunks. Alexios half expected him to wear a laurel wreath at his brow.
Even if his clothing hadn't marked him as the king, Alexios would have known by the way the older man held himself. Confidence and raw power spilled outward from him in an irresistible current, his authority clear for all to see. Gray touched his wind-tossed hair and beard and showed in the wiry curls on the side of his chest the chiton left bare. Lykos' broad shoulders and the corded muscles of his exposed arms and legs told the story of a life spent defending his kingdom.
Apollo's Men #2:
With a discomfited growl, he threw himself down on the pillows. Changing his mind, Alexios grabbed the drinking vessel and downed the contents in one long pull. Even then he couldn't swallow the knot in his throat no matter how he tried. A trickle escaped his mouth and ran down his chin.
He set the kylix down with a clatter, breathing heavily. He could feel the thick wine moving sluggishly through his blood. Maybe that would calm him some.
Lykos gazed at him, unspeaking. Speculation and some kind of understanding crossed his strong features.
From the Ashes:
"I don't need to go to the ball," Cinder started to say when she interrupted him.
"Oh, nonsense, dear. I promised to see you happy, and I won't let a little shyness on your part keep you from meeting your prince. He's been waiting for you, you know." She gently shooed him toward the front courtyard.
Prince? He didn't need a prince. He was a man. A princess would be nice, but what would he do with one of those?
"I really can't go..."
Morning Star:
Opening his mouth, Mark took Adonis' cock to the back of his throat, burying his nose in the nest of curls at its base. The sound that ripped from the other man's throat sounded almost painful. Knowing what it would do to the other man, Mark moaned his own appreciation as the cock in his mouth throbbed and twitched. More precum flooded his mouth.
Sucking hard enough to hollow his cheeks, Mark pulled back up. He swirled his tongue around the edge of the crown before pressing into the inverted v on the underside. The fingers in his hair clenched and pulled him down again. He repeated this several times before Adonis reverted to form and began fucking his face.

From the Pen of...

[image error] Just finished editing Morning Star, the story inspired by this photo. It will appear in the Breathless Press birthday bash freebie collection releasing in August.

On another front, From the Ashes has a tentative release date of January 4th, 2013. I'm looking forward to editing and seeing how my story changes along the way.

Book two of the Apollo's Men series is about half way through the first rough draft. As usual, I'm spending as much, if not more, time on research than the actual writing. I guess it's a very good thing I love the research!

Finally, I have a story line called Fan Service that the owner of Breathless Press and I are discussing making available in an unique format that I thing fanfic readers will enjoy. More on that later if we hit upon a good format for doing it.

Red+Blue Is Up for BOM at Goodreads M/M Romance Group

The latest novel by my good friend and mentor, AB Gayle, Red+Blue is up for Book of the Month (BOM) at the Goodreads M/M Romance group. Of course, I voted for her.

I'm about 70% through the novel and am enjoying it immensely. It is the first in her Opposites Attract series.

Here is the link to vote for Red+Blue:
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/67355-new-author-book-of-the-month-poll-the-nomination-categories-are-ge


Blurb:Fresh from backwoods Minnesota, actuarial student Ben Dutoit is ecstatic to land a job with Sydney Sutherland Family Insurance, one of the few companies that offers life insurance to people in the high-risk category. The fact that he gets to work in Gay Central, aka San Francisco, is just the icing on the rainbow-colored cake. Ben sets himself just three goals: be out and proud enough to participate in the Pride parade; seek out the company of like-minded souls in the clubs; and maybe, if he’s lucky, fall in love.
But the men Ben meets are everything he’s not: suave, confident, sophisticated, and sexy. Unlike redneck Ben, they’re blue bloods from blue states, born with status, wealth, and the responsibility that comes with the package.
Ben’s still wondering if red and blue can mix when he discovers what risk really means. The global economy tanks. The job he looked forward to is in jeopardy, and every dream Ben ever had is threatened, especially love, the biggest dream of all.

Cinder Has a Home!

The manuscript I've been calling Cinder now has a home with Breathless Press. I don't have a release date yet, but will post it as soon as I have one.

From the Ashes
Cinder never thought that he could rise from the ashes of his life, but an unexpected encounter with a woman claiming to be his fairy godmother may be just what he needs. Finding himself flung into his very own fairy tale, she sends him off to meet his Prince Charming. But was the gown really necessary?

Review of Alexios' Fate

Don Bradshaw of Hearts on Fire Reviews gave Alexios' Fate four out of five hearts.

"I found this to be a great, well researched and well written book... Ms Jameth threw some good plot twists and turns which made the story more real to ancient Greece... Ms Jameth has crafted a great start to what I hope will become a great series."

For the complete review:
http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=4907










http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/335132572

Introducing Red + Blue by AB Gayle

It's always a pleasure to host Ms Gayle. I enjoy her wonderful stories and she usually brings some fine looking men with her! She also brought a copy of her latest work, Red + Blue, for one lucky commenter.
My first contact with Ben occurred one October morning a couple of years ago. I was lying in bed, wandering half asleep in that inspirational dream world where you just wish you had mind-captcha to record all those great ideas that vanish as soon as you get up. Suddenly, this voice inside my head piped up, “I gather your shit scared because you don’t know what you’re going to write about for Nanowrimo.”
Now, contrary to public opinion, I’m not quite ready for the insane asylum, and don’t normally speak out loud to people who aren’t really there, so my reluctant affirmation of “Spot on” was more mental than verbal. I had recently signed up for the National November Writing Month and was starting to panic about the required minimum of 50,000 words. However, don’t ask me how Ben knew of my predicament.
“I can help you.”
His voice sounded so certain, so real, that I checked under the bed to make sure I was really alone. Nope. Only dust. Makes mental note to stop spending so much time staring at the blank computer screen and do some housework! Oh, well. Looked like a little white pill was going to be on the menu tonight!
“How are you going to help me?” I muttered to myself, snuggling back under the covers.
Ben set off on this convoluted tale in which the names Jason, Mick, Adrian, Carl and Chris cropped up at regular intervals. Still, not willing to admit I was really hearing things, I focussed more on the young man’s accent instead. Every now and then, a slow drawl would break through, as if he was going to great pains to disguise his place of origin. Unfortunately, I’m no Professor Higgins and unless the speaker is from Brooklyn or the Deep South, most Americans sound the same to me. He stopped for a moment to take a breath.
“Where are you from?” I interjected before he could start up again.
There was wariness in his reply. “Minnesota.” Before I could get a chance to mention that I’d been there and to find out which part, he was off again, telling me that he was living in San Francisco now and his adventures there would make a great story. From the sounds of things, he was young, possibly early twenties, and ...the penny dropped...gay.
Okay, that sounded promising. “Sounds interesting,”  I hedged. I hadn’t really been paying attention. “Why me?” Those words would occur again and again over the next few months, normally accompanied by a few handfuls of hair being torn out. However, I distinctly remember his first reason.
“You know how you were thinking the other day that a lot of m/m romances are about alpha males in dramatic professions like fire-fighters, cops and soldiers...”
Obviously, someone who only existed in my imagination would be totally cognisant with my every thought, so this time I didn’t bother wondering how he knew.
“...and you were bemoaning the fact that none of them were real men in everyday jobs....”
Momentarily setting aside his offhand dismissal of some wonderful romantic heroes, my affirmative response was guarded. I could tell I was being softened up for something terrible. “And...?” I prompted.
“And your website www.abgayle.com says you like a challenge....”
“True.” Unfortunately, I was never one to take the easy option. “Put me out of my misery.” I begged. “ Where do you work?”
“For an insurance company.”
An insurance company?????? “What the...? Are you an accountant?” He’d warned me it would be a challenge, but really? Visions of Monty Python skits, featuring men in bowler hats, carrying briefcases and furled umbrellas flashed through my mind. Was I about to write the gay version of “Ethel the Aardvark goes Quantity Surveying?”
“No!” His voice almost broke, so strong was his indignation at my unvoiced cynicism.
Woops. Note to self. When carrying on a conversation in your head, the other person knows exactly what you’re thinking.
“I’m an actuary. Well, studying to be an actuary at any rate. You do know what they are, don’t you?”
As it happened, I did. Both the ones I knew were super intelligent, but not nerds. Good at sports. Definitely not your typical bean counter. Maybe I could do this. “But stories need conflict? Where’s the drama? Where’s the pathos?”
“Conflict? There’s plenty. Most insurance companies discriminate against gay men, by not letting them purchase life insurance once they’re diagnosed as having HIV.” He proceeded to tell me a tale of how one company had even been taken to court when they refused to pay out on a policy because the guy died of AIDS.
“My readers will be yawning after five minutes if I tell them all that, Ben.”
I almost felt the air around me move as he mentally let out a deep sigh. “I know, but things like that matter. It makes gay men feel like their life’s not worth anything once they become positive. Don’t forget that contracting HIV isn’t a guaranteed death sentence anymore and insurance companies have limited cover for people with other terminal diseases.”
“It’s still not a topic for a romance.”
He was silent for so long I thought at first that I’d scared him off. But I should have known better. Ben is persistence personified. Even though this interview was not taking place in the real world, I felt an instant empathy for the young man. His heartfelt passion and righteous indignation were palpable, real. I stretched out an imaginary hand. “Tell me a little bit about yourself. Maybe there’s a story there. What about the guys you mentioned. Are they your boyfriends?”
“No!” he spluttered indignantly and smothered a laugh. “Well, not exactly. I work with Jason, Carl and Adrian, Mick is a friend and Chris is one of my brothers.” His tone became reproachful as he added, “Just because someone is gay doesn’t mean they want to get into bed with every man they meet.” An infectious cackle burst out. “Only the good looking ones!” 
He dropped some pictures into my mind. I scanned through them. Nice eye candy.











“Still, not enough conflict, though.”
“What about the fact that everything gets affected by the recent global financial crisis?” A note of desperation had crept into his voice. “That’s really made life difficult. Adrian and Carl have been tearing their hair out, making sure the business survives.”
“Yeah, but my readers don’t want to be reminded of things like that. They want exotic settings. Not dreary offices.”
“What about Northern Californian vineyards and millionaires’ mansions on Long Island?”
“Still, not sold. Sorry, Ben.”
“Is the Quetico exotic enough? That’s why I approached you. You’ve been there. You know what it’s like.”
“True, but canoeing isn’t sexy and sex sells.”
“Well, now you come to mention it, there is some sex in the story. Let’s face it. I am a twenty three year old gay guy. Naturally, there’s sex.”
A conglomeration of images filled my head based on what he had told me so far. His personality shone through his words. Full of life, vibrant. Still, readers are pretty hard to please.
“Maybe if you send me an outline and a picture of yourself.” Naked preferably, I added mentally and immediately kicked myself. He must have heard that!
“Okay,” He sounded shy and a bit hesitant. “I’ll send a recent one that my brother, Chris, took when we went paddling last year. It’s a bit goofy and only from my waist up.”
I blushed and told myself to stop being a perv. “That’s fine!”
Then he sent me the photo and the introduction. Well, I couldn’t not write the rest of the story, then, could I?









Introducing RedSome men can wear red, some can’t. Being a redhead, I avoid it like the plague. The color suits my buddy, Jason. With his tanned olive skin and dark hair—thanks to his Spanish mom—when he wears red, you start looking for the charging bull. His ass looks great in tight black matador pants too. Pity he seldom finds an excuse to wear them. Mind you, in his dark pinstripes, he can double as a GQ model any day. He has that mandatory slim-hipped sexiness and the pout to match.
I, on the other hand, always look exactly like what I am—a country bumpkin. As for tans, I gave up trying after overdosing on UV as a kid, hoping my freckles would join up. All I got for my trouble was sunstroke, a face as red as a lobster, and a walloping from my dad.
Jason hails from Long Island but never talks about his folks much, always more interested in tales of my family. When we first met, he kept bugging me to do some Minn-speak. “Say, ‘Ya, sure, ya betcha’, Ben.”
I told him to suck my cock for supper instead. Geez, one of the reasons I came to San Francisco in the first place was to get away from Minnesota. Why would I want to advertise where I came from once I got here? Yessiree, Bob. My older brothers might be happy staying there, but I wanted out. That’s why I jumped at the offer of a summer internship when a rep for Sydney Sutherland Family Insurance came scouting around college back in February. My talent for number crunching gave me the chance to follow my dreams to Gay Central.
I met Jason in a bar in the Castro not long after I arrived. There I was, talking to my friend, Mick—well, I’d known him for ten minutes and he was still speaking to me, so that made him a friend in my book—anyway, Mick had asked me to ride on a tandem with him in the upcoming Pride Parade when this good-looking dude in a silky red shirt and black leather pants elbowed him aside and pulled me onto the dance floor. He acted like he knew me, but it wasn’t until I was fucking him into the mattress two hours later that I finally figured out he was one of the firm’s top-gun salesmen.
You see, my traineeship role as an actuary keeps me apart from the snake-oil peddlers and their expense accounts. I assumed they were all conservative breeders with a wife and 2.5 kids, struggling to stay afloat with too much gearing on their five-bedroom McMansions and Porsches. It was real good to find I wasn’t the only gay guy working for the firm.
I hadn’t recognized Jason, but my hair makes me stand out in a crowd. Being six-two in bare feet also helps. Jason claims he’s six foot, but hey, that’s only if he’s wearing his high-heeled Cubans.
We don’t broadcast our relationship at work, although he always pinches my ass on the way to his weekly meeting with Adrian Sydney Sutherland, the head honcho of the western division. For some reason, my daily visit to the water cooler coincides with the time Jason walks past. No, wait, I remember—we planned it that way. Heh. Lucky no one has ever caught on. I think the boss saw him grope me a couple of times. The clichéd narrowed lips and hard eyes when he glanced our way indicated that something upset him, but maybe it was just acid reflux.
Thank you for joining me today AB Gayle. It's always fun to find out how a story came into being. And what an unusual tale you have spun for us today.
Ms Gayle is offering a copy of Red + Blue. Just comment below and leave your email address. A winner will be chosen at the end of the week. Good luck everyone! The rest of us will have to wait until May 25th to order our copies, print and ebook. I know I am looking forward to reading this story.

Hop Against Homophobia

Back in the early 80's when I went to college, I had a close friend, Mike, who I hung out with every weekend and most evenings. We always hit the parties and danced all night. But at the end of our sophomore year, we both transferred to different schools. I because I needed a less expensive school. And he because the college asked him to leave.

Mike was pissed off about it. I was there for him, but he made it clear that he didn't want to discuss it.

Years have passed and one day I stumbled across his FB wall. We said hi, but it had been decades so we left it at that. I did however take a look at his info. I think I now know why he was so pissed off.

Mike is gay. I had no idea at the time. In fact, I was a young naive country girl so I would have never thought to wonder if anyone was gay. Now I think I might have figured it out, but who knows? Mike was my friend and that was good enough for me.

I think he was asked to leave the college because he was gay. It was a very small private college and I think the "right people" had been made aware of his sexuality. If I had known, I would have been pissed off too.

I guess I just don't understand what the big deal is. I don't get the fascination some people have with what's going on in someone else's bedroom. What does it matter? It's no one's business what others do as long as it isn't causing harm.

Gay individuals aren't trying to peek into my bedroom, so I think it's only right that I return the favor. It's the good old Golden Rule. And the world would be such a better place if they still taught that concept in school.

For more links go to the Hop Against Homophobia page: http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/

For a chance to win an ebook copy of Alexios' Fate, please comment below with your email address.

Five Naughty Facts about Iron Age Greece

Zeus and his lover Ganymede
My story Alexios' Fate takes place in Iron Age Greece. The setting is Thrace, the portion of Greece closest to the ancient Persian Empire, modern day Turkey. Alexios lives during the opening years of the 5th Century BC. He lived in a very different world than we do.
Some of the more interesting differences include:
1. Dildos were common in Greece. They were made of wood or stone. Men frequently gave them as gifts to their wives when they had to be gone for wars or other extended trips. This was viewed as a way to keep her from straying.
2. Pederasty, or the practice of mentoring, was at the core of the Greek homosocial culture. An older aristocrat took a younger man of the same social class under his wing. Most such relationships had a sexual aspect to them; although, the extent of this varied with the social expectations of the polis and the inclination of the partners.
The Greeks did not have a word for homosexual. Men had sex. The gender of their partner did not matter. What did matter was their relative status and penetration. Penetration was for social inferiors (ie women and slaves). Equals were expected to refrain from penetration. Thus intercrural sex was the norm for pederastic relationships.
This was by no means true for lovers; although, the stigma attached to penetration still applied. Men could be lovers, but were still expected to conform to the prevalent cultural expectations of what a man was.
3. The Theban or Sacred Band was made up entirely of men and their male lovers. It was commonly thought that men who were lovers would fight more fiercely in the defense of their home and lovers. For what man could stand to have his lover think him a coward?
4. The Olympian Games were held in honor of Zeus every four years. A PanHellenic truce was declared so all the Greek city-states could compete.
Athletes competed in the nude. One ancient source attributes this to a woman successfully winning the foot race. In an effort to see that women wouldn't be able to impersonate a man and thus compete, all future Olympian Games were held in the nude.
Only uncircumcised/uncut men could compete, as it was considered rude to go uncovered.
5. Beards were considered a sign of virility in ancient Greece. Just look at how much time the men spent on them, preening. They kept their beards carefully trimmed and would oil them and tease them into ringlets for special occasions.

Character Interview with Alexios and Galen

Recently my friend Deanna Wadsworth interviewed Alexios and Galen. Here is what they had to say:
[image error] Alexios:
So you turned 18 and have to take a mentor. Can you tell us who those candidates might be?
My father invited a few kings from the neighboring city-states.
King Andronikos of Maroneia is a merchant. He's all soft from easy living. All he can talk about is trade routes. Even though he spoke of training guards for his caravans, I don't think he does it. He doesn't seem very exciting.
King Theocritus of Abdara is a braggart who needs to leave other people's belongings alone! <Scowl>
King Philon of Doriscus is an old man who seems nice. He gave me some good advice.
King Lykos of Aenus is a sexy warrior. <Blush!> I mean... he is strong and you can tell he leads his own men into battle. I could learn to be a great general from him, conquer my own kingdom even! He also has a navy.
What happens after you choose a mentor?
Since my mentor will have to be a king, I will go to live in his house.
Why a king?
Because a mentor can't just be my equal. The only person here in Dicaea who has the social status to be my mentor is my father. So Father invited some kings to my coming-of-age celebration. He's trying to force me to take a bride as well. <Grimace>
I'll probably return with one of the kings to their polis when they leave here. Then I will start learning how to govern a kingdom. And hopefully learn war instead of trade.
You have grown quite fond of your slave Galen recently, can you tell us how that happened?
I'm not really sure how that happened. I mean he is my slave and we have been together since we were kids. I think for a while when I was younger, he may have been my only friend. He's just always been there for me.
I never really thought of him as anything other than a brother. I think I have always loved him, but I didn't know it. Do you know what I mean? He was there when no one else was. He was the one who picked me up and tended my wounds. How could I not love him? But I just thought that was how everyone felt about their companion.
But when I found out how my father and the other men had been using him, I got so angry. I didn't realize that it was jealousy until later when Theocritus couldn't keep his hands off Galen. It made me mad to see Galen treated that way, as if he was nothing more than someone to warm that vile narcissist's bed!
That's when I decided to protect him and keep him just for myself. I think that made him really happy and that made me feel good. It still took me a couple of days to figure out how I really felt about him.
I like seeing Galen happy. His smile makes him so beautiful. I just wish I had noticed earlier.
You've just taken Galen for your lover. What are you going to do about him when you leave with your mentor?
Why take him with me, of course! I'm not going to leave him here where others can have their way with him. He's mine!
Now if it wasn't confusing enough with all the men in your life, apparently you've caught the eye of one of the gods, Apollo. What is he after?
Does anyone ever know the mind of a god? All anyone can do is try not to catch their attention. It never bodes well when one of the immortals takes an interest in a man. They are either meting out punishment or are seeking to bed you.
I hope he loses interest in me soon.
[image error] Galen:
Now Galen, how did you come to be Prince Alexios' slave?
I've been his slave for just over ten years now. I was just a kid back then, only ten years old. I was the second oldest of five children with another on the way. My parent's just couldn't feed us all. My father was a potter and was teaching my older brother and me his trade. I wasn't very good at it.
My younger siblings were too young to bring much coin and my older brother was already helping my father. So they had to sell me to feed the others.
<Gasp!> Your own family?!
<Shrugs> It happens all the time. Poor families can't feed their children and have to make hard choices. At least, I had plenty to eat, warm clothes, and somewhere to sleep with the prince. I could have been sold to someone much worse. Or I and my family might have starved.
The prince bought you?
No, actually his father did. I think I was a birthday present for an unhappy little eight-year-old prince. I was really only expected to play with him and keep him out of trouble at first. I did have some other chores while he was with his tutors and such, but I spent my days mostly with him. I even learned reading, writing, and mathematics with him.
<Chuckle> He said that if he, a prince, had to suffer through it, so did his slave! He always was a handful.
How long have you known him? What can you tell us about him?
I've known him for half my life. <Indulgent Smile> At first, he was just another younger brother for me to take care of. He treated me so well that it was easy to love him as one.
He didn't have many friends. It's hard to have real friends when you're the prince. Everyone is either jealous or trying to use you. So he clung to me and somewhere along the way I quit just loving him like a brother.
It's pretty risky to fall in love with a prince, what were your concerns?
Well, I couldn't just throw myself at him like all the nobles' sons could. Even the female slaves could make eyes at him and do their best to draw his eye. All I could do was try to let him know how I felt about him with everything I did. And hope that he noticed.
It was so hard to see him naked every day and not be able to touch him. <Blush!> I can't believe he couldn't tell I was... <mumble> aroused.
I think I had finally given up on him. I mean, he had only ever been with girls. Hadn't even looked at any of the nobles' sons who courted him. But then he got into an argument with his father when that last king arrived and suddenly he's asking me if I know how to service him?
I was so ashamed! I didn't want him thinking of me like those other men had. I'm not just a vessel for them to slake their lust in! And I didn't want him thinking that I was a defiled slave good for nothing else. I was afraid he would cast me aside because I was no longer good enough to even be his slave.
<Pause to Stare Off into Space> But he was angry. Not at me! But at everyone who had ever touched me. <Eyes Wide with Wonder> He wanted me and didn't care what I had been forced to do. He was angry with his own father for my sake.
<Whispers> And then he said he loved me.
With King Lykos in the picture are you afraid of what that can mean for you and Alexios?
I may just be a slave and he is a king, but I won't just let him have Alexios!
I know that Alexios wants him to be his mentor. I'm no fool; I know how mentors are with their erômenos. But Alexios says he loves me and I will be the one who has his heart even if I have to share his body with the king. <Looks Around, Nervous but Defiant>

The Evolution of Alexios' Fate

When I sat down to write Alexios' Fate, I didn't realize just how busy this young man would be. He was only supposed to have one lover, but somehow along the way collected three. I was working towards a final hot scene that was inspired by this photo.
[image error] The photo evoked an m/m spin on the story of Andromeda, a young princess whose mother's bragging gets her in trouble with the gods. To punish her mother, Andromeda is chained to a rock and a sea serpent is sent to devour her. Fortunately for her, Perseus shows up just in time to rescue her and whisk her off to be his wife.
I intended to write a short story about how Prince Alexios finds himself chained to a rock and awaiting his fate at Apollo's hands. But first his father needed to commit hubris and for that I needed a rivalry.
Enter King Lykos... A man who had once drawn Alexios' father's unrequited passion. A man who I had intended merely to spark a bout of one-upmanship that would culminate in Alexios' father speaking the fateful words that would seal his son's fate.
[image error] Lykos is a mature bear of a man with confidence in spades, exactly the kind of man a youth like Alexios would chose to be his mentor. He is in his late 30s, powerfully built with body hair and a beard. Alexios suddenly finds himself drawn sexually to a man for the first time in his life. Lykos returns his interest, much to Alexios' father's disgust.
Interrupted before they can pursue their attraction, Alexios finds himself alone with his slave Galen. He's never really considered Galen in a sexual light, but he's all hot and bothered from being hit on by Lykos. So he takes a closer look at the slightly older man whom he has known for years and decides to experiment.
Thus begins the romance between the two young men.
The story continued to expand, first from a short story to a novella and then to a novel. As is common with my stories, Alexios' Fate took on a life of its own. Alexios was telling me his story and I rushed to set it to paper as fast as I could.
In the final scene, Alexios is offered up to Apollo and doesn't know if he will survive his fate.
I hope you enjoy reading Alexios' tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Blurb: The mature King Lykos has a sexy confidence that turns Alexios' head. Seduced by Lykos, Prince Alexios discovers a world of men he's never known before.Meanwhile his slave Galen has gotten tired of waiting in the wings. He sets out to woo Alexios and win his heart.Even Apollo can't leave Alexios alone. The young prince finds himself pursued by a god and in danger of a perilous love.How will Alexios follow his heart when he unwittingly wins the favor of a god? Can Alexios escape the fate of Apollo's past lovers and have the man he wants?
http://www.breathlesspress.com/alexios-fate