Sorry, you must be a member of this group to do that.
Sol Crafter's Blog, page 6
February 10, 2014
Valentine’s Day Gift Hop
Valentine’s Day is here again, another chance for coupley romance, or another night spent hanging out with the rest of the Lonely Hearts Club. Either way, it’s a time of year when chalky candy hearts taste a little bit sweeter and their messages of “CALL ME” and “LET’S GET TOGETHER” seem a bit more apt.
Valentine’s is the time of year when everyone hopes to receive a card and some candy from the person they like the most. Or jewelry, if you’ve already caught that special someone. It’s a time of candlelight and romance, when the temperatures are low outside but the heat is kept warm inside. It’s a time of curling up with a willing partner, or going to bed with a good book or a movie.
And this year, it’s a chance to enjoy the Valentine’s Day Gift Hop and all of the great prizes being handed out. Including a Kindle Paperwhite and a new adult romance basket.
So use the form or comment below, saying whether you would prefer an m/m or m/f short story, and on February 16th you’ll receive an email.
Entries are for adults 18+, stories may contain explicit sexual situations and adult language. They are Valentine’s themed romance, no BDSM or kink warning, featuring consenting adults.
[contact-form]
Remember to leave a comment to be entered into the grand prize drawing. I’ll try to catch any stragglers, but you don’t want to miss out on a chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite or a gift basket of fabulous romance ebooks.
The post Valentine’s Day Gift Hop appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
February 5, 2014
Seattle 4th and Union: moment of loud.
Happenings happening in Seattle.
The post Seattle 4th and Union: moment of loud. appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
January 31, 2014
What, you don’t know Beatrice the Biologist?
Is there any wonder why I’ve fallen in love with the Beatrice the Biologist webcomic?
Now we all know why our alien overlord bugs will keep us around. Mobile food, plus clever fingers that can reach into various places.
link: http://beatricebiologist.com/
The post What, you don’t know Beatrice the Biologist? appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
EXCERPT: Fierce [Simon Peters, mm, movie star]
Title: Fierce
Frameset: Shame
Universe: Simon Peters
Genre: movie star, mm, abuse survivor
Blurb: In Shame, Simon faced a harrying experience and even after years he’s still dealing with what he went through. He’s just getting back into the world and he’s finding good friends to help him deal with what happened.
Author: I find myself really liking Colby Jackson. He’s this great guy that is reaching out to help a friend. He never flinches and he always steps up to defend Simon. And I honestly think that friendship is something Simon needs.
I wasn’t planning for Colby Jackson to be anything more than a throwaway character, but he’s made himself something more. Even if he doesn’t become Simon’s BFF, at the end of the day he’s a good friend, something that Simon never had before.
EXCERPT –
There was the scuff of footsteps on sand and he turned his head to see Colby approaching on his left.
“Hey, man, what you doin’ by yourself?” Colby asked, leaning against the control panel for the scaffold.
Simon shrugged. “Just being all broody and sad-faced.”
Colby stared off into the distance. He was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt with a pair of expensive sunglasses pushed up on top of his head. “Are you changing your mind about wanting to do this series?” he asked without even a hint of condemnation.
“What? No!” Simon shook his head. “I’m really having fun on this project. I just…” He glanced around and lowered his voice, “I was just realizing that I’m lonely.”
Colby gave him a surprised look. “I thought you were dating Adam?”
“What?” Simon’s cheeks flooded with heat. “Where did you get that idea from?”
Colby shrugged. “You always spend all your time with him. I thought it was a thing.”
Simon couldn’t help a flare of paranoia as he wondered how many other people thought he had a “thing” with Adam. That old insecurity rushed through him, that urge to find some girl to pretend to date so there would be no rumors. Then he remembered he didn’t have to hide his sexuality anymore. Everyone in the world already knew.
“I’m not dating Adam,” he said. “We’re just friends.”
“Yet you look at him like you want it to be something more.” Colby rubbed his chin. “I don’t know what to tell you. I honestly thought there was something going on between the two of you.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing.” Simon couldn’t help a twinge of regret. Adam was funny and smart and good-looking; it was Simon that was having all the trouble with thinking about being anything more than friends. “Besides, I don’t think he swings my way.”
Colby gave him a flat look. “Fishing for compliments now, are we?”
“What do you mean?”
“Please,” Colby shook his head, “I’m straight and even I think you’re really good-looking. And Adam? Well, he looks at you the same way I look at Ilsa Berman.” He whistled breathily, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
“You’re terrible,” Simon laughed. Ilsa was an incredibly beautiful model with flawless skin and long locks of white-gold hair. It was kind of flattering to be told he could be on the same list as her.
Colby looked around, making sure no one was nearby, then gave Simon an intent look. “You should ask him out. I don’t think he’d say no.”
“He hasn’t made any indication that he has any interest in me as anything other than a friend,” Simon said.
“Yeah, but that’s because you’re you.” At Simon’s expression, Colby shrugged. “Come on, man, you had some serious shit go down in your life. You’re obviously not over it yet. And Adam doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would make a move on someone that doesn’t seem to be interested. He’s waiting for you to make the first move.”
“And how do you know that? Have you talked to him?” A nervous churn went through Simon’s belly. It was disturbing to think that there had been a secret meeting where he was the subject of a big discussion.
“Naw,” Colby waved his hand, “I would never talk about you behind your back. But even though I don’t know him that well, I know enough about the guy to realize that he has a thing for you, a real and honest thing. He looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars.”
“That’s positively poetic.” Simon brushed the hair off his forehead. “You sure you don’t want to write that down or something?”
Colby made a face at him. “There are times when I think you just can’t help being a complete and utter bastard. Have you thought about getting help for it?”
Simon bent to scoop up a handful of sand and flung it in Colby’s direction, watching as most of the grains blew away. Some hit Colby’s pant leg and stuck. “If anyone here needs help for their personality flaws, it has to be you. Dick.”
Colby grinned. “You know it.” He stepped away from the control panel and raised his arms over his head, stretching mightily. The fabric of his tee shirt pulled tight, showing off his muscular chest and arms; he’d rightfully won Sexiest Man Alive last year. “You wanna get something to eat with me?”
Simon wasn’t really hungry, but he stood up with a shrug. “Why not?”
They walked side-by-side toward the catering tent and it felt nice to know that Colby really was a good friend. The kind of friend he’d never been able to appreciate back when he was a self-involved twat.
/EXCERPT
The post EXCERPT: Fierce [Simon Peters, mm, movie star] appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
January 29, 2014
Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade
– Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade was supposed to be out on the 14th, but I went back to fiddling with it and screwed it up. There’s a reason I don’t give hard self-pub release days. I’m terrible at being able to let it go.
The Jagged Blade mix so far:
Heroes & Villains: Black Friday [square]
I Saw An Execution Once [short]
Forgot the Can Opener [short]
Clyde [short]
Inquisitor Jang: The Wilding [square]
Bird of Paradise [square]
Slipping Through the Cracks: Normal Again [square]
Patient of Interest [short]
A Cuckoo In the Nest [square]
Altredes: One [serial novel]
I’ve taken out a couple of stories, added one, and yet I still feel as if there’s something missing. Some key element that will tie things together.
I’d rather hold off a few days or weeks and make something I love versus rushing. (I’ve already got a few that I’m reworking. I don’t want this to be another one.)
- I have been building up my universe. I’ve been writing notes on all the different events taking place to make the Worlds develop as they do. I’ve written brief outlines for a bunch of stories already.
Of Blood => The aliens attacking are the Hex. They are led by a rebel MaretHex (Lord) that fled exile to take over a primitive world. He has his thousands of followers and their ships. They conquer Earth.
The human resistance keeps fighting against the occupiers even while society moves on. Vampires and Others decide that to save their world they’ll have to reveal themselves to the humans. They join the war to reclaim Earth.
The battle commences and it is bloody and violent.
The post Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
January 13, 2014
Cover Reveal: Jagged Blade, by Harper Kingsley
Here’s the cover for Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.
I really like it ^_^
Here’s an excerpt from “Bird of Paradise,” one of the stories in Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.
Candles flickered while incense burned. Paradise kept her bandaged face turned to the wall no matter who came to visit. She felt like a hideous monster as the bruises healed back into flawless flesh, yet her marred face was destined to remain a gruesome sight with the thick gash slashed out of her cheek.
The trainees brought her trays of food that she largely ignored. She picked at the tastes she enjoyed while feeling incapable of gathering the energy to even bother with the less tasty foods. She was tired of ashes in her mouth.
Paradise hugged her legs against her chest and closed her eyes. She would give herself a couple of days in which to feel worthless, then she would pick herself back up again and get back to the living of her life. No longer an Elite Courtesan, but still a member of the Pleasure Guild. The Matron would find her a position, or if she chose to retire there would always be her monthly stipend.
Once again she cursed Lord Gentle Valor and his mad desire to see her bleed. If she concentrated, she thought she could still hear the sound of his mad laughter as he’d carved up her flesh. She’d screamed so loudly she’d damaged her throat, but at least the guards had rushed in to save her life.
Her career was destroyed, but she would live. She would let that be enough.
I will not be defeated by such a mindless beast, she vowed. She was stronger than anything he had done to her.
The post Cover Reveal: Jagged Blade, by Harper Kingsley appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
January 2, 2014
Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes
Thank you to everyone that has sent me a birthday message today.
Unfortunately, Facebook has locked me out of my account and is saying my computer is not my computer, which is why I can’t thank anyone on my timeline 
So, thanks to Xakara, Imari Jade, Melanie Tushmore, Fernanda Parente, AJ Llewellyn, Cuqui Luna, Patrick Wendling-Markwell, Blaine D. Arden, and any other well-wishers on this, the day I was born so many (many) years ago. You all are fabulous ^_^
Hopefully the Internet situation will sort itself out here. Everyone in the neighborhood is having Internet trouble, so it’s not just us. At least it means the phone company will be out and about, working around the clock to get things working again.
Other things of note:
– I’m excited about the new movies coming out on Netflix this month. Namely, Kick-Ass 2, which I’ve been waiting for.
– I’ve got a good start going on All That Remains, the third book in “Heroes & Villains.” It’s set four years after Allies & Enemies. I can’t really say a whole lot at this point without spoiling A&E some, but the outline is pretty bad ass.
In case you didn’t know, “Heroes & Villains” follows a three-act structure. Heroes & Villains is Act One, introducing the characters and the setting. Allies & Enemies is Act Two, showing the confrontation and setting up the climax. And All That Remains is Act Three, the resolution to everything brought up in the first two acts.
Each novel can standalone, but together they make one story — the chronicles of the supervillain Darkstar.
– Paradigm Shift is starting to look beautiful (:P) and will be coming out on time (February 2014). Park is even more bad ass than I thought he was going to be. Plus there’s all that stuff with Zero I’ve been splicing in here and there, little tasties that make a lot of sense if you read the upcoming Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade (January 2014).
The post Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
December 26, 2013
Mistletoe Hop Winners
I’ve picked my winners and you’ll be the first ones to get Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.
Winners list:
Katherine S
Regina M
KT A
Karen O-G
Holly L
Booklady
Catherine L
Shelly H
You’ve all been great. Expect to receive a Smashwords coupon when Jagged Blade goes live.
Have another taste:
EXCERPT -
He could still remember being that nervous kid sweating at his first audition. His hands had been slippery against the hard plastic chair and he’d known he was going to be a dripping mess by the time he was called in. Except Simon had come and sat down beside him and given that trademark smile that had already brought America to its knees.
Colby had been shocked that Simon Peters would even speak to him, much less give him helpful advice. Yet every time they’d run into each other after that, Simon would always greet him by name and pass along recommended parts. It was because of Simon that Colby had gotten his career off the ground before his grandmother’s deadline was up.
Without Simon’s help, Colby would be running the family store. He owed the guy all that he had.
The post Mistletoe Hop Winners appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
December 23, 2013
Harvey Wasserman talks about the dangers of Fukushima Unit 4
This is one of those things that news networks aren’t talking about when they really should be. A blurb scrolling past the bottom of the screen doesn’t mean a whole lot.
I don’t know if this will really affect the tuna we eat — as bananas have been known to contain more radiation — but I honestly feel concerned. Irradiated water is washing up on the west coast of the United States. People in Japan are swimming in the water. Plant and animal life may be affected.
This is not the kind of problem that should be handled by a for-profit company that has already held back and lied to the public about how things are going. This is something that should be handled by people with know-how and concern for the public health. There should at the very least be some kind of over watch on the situation that has thus far not been provided.
Do we really want a situation like they had in The Host?
Harvey Wasserman:
The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima
At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task.
They need 125,000 signatures. Go check it out.
The danger of huge radiation releases from Fukushima 4 has taken on a new dimension; the world community must step in!
The post Harvey Wasserman talks about the dangers of Fukushima Unit 4 appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
December 19, 2013
Mistletoe Hop: Dec 20-23
Christmas Trees. Holiday Music. Sugar Cookies. Glitter and Bows. And Best Of All … the Mistletoe. Romance books enhance our holiday traditions. Who doesn’t love to cuddle under a warm blanket near a fire place on a cold day and read? Hop around with us to celebrate the best romance books of the season.
Read excerpts from some good books. Enter each of the author contests. Tell us what you like to read during the holidays. Find some new-to-you authors to ring in the New Year with.
For the Mistletop Hop I’m giving out eight copies of my newest collection “Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.”
As the title suggests, it’s a collection of short stories and vignettes. Included are a couple of Human Pets Verse vignettes like the excerpt, and the short story Black Friday which is set in the Heroes & Villains universe and features a young pre-Starburst Vereint Georges.
Most of the stories are gen, though there are some genhet, mm, and ff. Hopefully there’s something for everyone 
There’s a rafflecopter after the excerpt, so please feel free to enter. Otherwise, follow the Linky at the bottom and check out the rest of the hop.
Good luck to everyone, and happy holidays!
Reef had been alone with only alien company for so long he thought he’d already lost his mind. There were some days when he had to force himself up out of bed, fearful of what would happen if he was thought to be sick. He really didn’t want to be put down.
He forced himself up and was cheerful and affectionate toward the Owner. It earned him tasty treats and lavish attention that were a lot better than the old mattress pad and dry kibble he’d had to put up with at the pet shop. The Owner would feed him real food, meat and vegetables, and even though everything was blandly prepared, it was positively gourmet when compared to the kibble and tepid water. He could almost get himself to believe that everything was going to be okay.
It was strange to think that he’d been free once. He’d been a kid with parents and a house and a future that had stretched before him with possibility. He’d still thought humans were going to turn it around, right up until he was marched onto a ship and sold on the galactic slave market. And then he’d learned to follow the commands he was given and keep his head down.
The Owner wasn’t so bad. He was one of the big furry bear ones versus the more sinister lizard ones that had conquered Earth and eaten his parents. The Owner had seemed to think Reef was fascinating and exotic; for the first few months he’d constantly checked what Reef thought was a book on pets. He’d read a few pages and then try to teach Reef simple tricks.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Reef could understand what the Owner was saying, but his ears just weren’t built to handle the bear speech. Every once and a while he could make out a sound or two, but for the most part he just saw that mouth open and close and he had to figure out what was happening from the rather erratic gestures.
Reef had taken to teaching the Owner various broad gestures that he’d decided would mean certain things. He wished he could use sign language, but he didn’t know any and he wasn’t sure the Owner would pay attention anyway.
Over the past two years he’d come to realize that the Owner was some kind of rich socialite or something. His clothes were different from other bear-things and the way he held himself was different. He also seemed to be really attractive to some others of his species, because there were always dozens of males and females hanging around and Reef was pretty sure there was sex happening in the house when he was locked in his kennel. And to the Owner, Reef was a purse dog.
Reef had seen the way humans and animals from Earth were treated. He guessed they were so new on the market that they cost a lot of money and were currently some kind of status symbol. Only the richest of aliens were buying them. He supposed he should be flattered that he’d cost a ton of money, but mostly Reef just wished he could go home.
Until the day he found himself being led on his leash through some kind of market and the Owner took him to a fenced in area full of people. He’d never imagined how emotional it would be to see other human faces. He’d nearly forgotten what a face other than his own looked like.
He was momentarily frightened that he was being resold. He liked being the Owner’s pet. It was so much better than being locked in a small cage at the pet shop, shivering and naked as only purchased humans were allowed clothes. Then he realized that the Owner was going to buy another human. He wouldn’t have to be alone.
From the gesture the Owner made, Reef saw that he was supposed to help pick the new human. He was being allowed to choose his new companion. It was a frightening and heady prospect. Who was he supposed to save? How was he supposed to know who he would get along with from this desperate group of strangers? He almost wanted to turn away.
“Reef! Is that you, Reef Galloway?”
Reef traced the shouts and his breath caught for a second. Then he screamed, “Ryan!”
The other was older than the last time they’d seen each other and seemed to have filled out some in the interim, but there was no doubt in his mind that that was Ryan Bellows. The boy he’d had a crush on back before the end of the world.
The post Mistletoe Hop: Dec 20-23 appeared first on Harper Kingsley.
All content copyright HarperKingsley.net unless otherwise stated.
Please do not steal my words. In a hundred years they are all that will be left of me.
Sol Crafter's Blog
- Sol Crafter's profile
- 9 followers
