E.E. Ottoman's Blog, page 5
September 10, 2013
Like Fire Through Bone: Writing Characters who are Eunuchs
Writing eunuchs as characters.
It started I think with an article on dick size over on Jessewave. Someone there made the comment, which everyone else agreed with, that "size didn't matter as long as the guy had a dick." ... which is problematic for all sorts of different reasons.
People went on for a few comments about this mandatory dick issue until someone said something about eunuchs and how that was the only way you'd have an m/m romance story without dicks in it (not quite true). The com...
September 8, 2013
Choosing a Publisher and Working With Them: What I Look For and What I Don't
The fact that yet another m/m romance publisher has bitten the dust, very publicly, reminded me of this article I wrote several months ago about choosing a publisher and publishing bad behavior.
So at this point having worked with several publishers I would like talk about what I look for in a publisher and some behavior I can't stand. This is the process I go through when choosing a new publisher to work with and also some behavior I've experienced from publishers which have made be question...
So at this point having worked with several publishers I would like talk about what I look for in a publisher and some behavior I can't stand. This is the process I go through when choosing a new publisher to work with and also some behavior I've experienced from publishers which have made be question...
September 6, 2013
Like Fire Through Bone: Fantasy Inspired by Christian Folklore
Vasilios Eleni has learned to make the best of life as a eunuch and valued slave in the household of a wealthy silk merchant. When he begins having dreams of a demon who steals away children and eats them alive, Vasilios's well-ordered life begins to unravel. General Markos Özdemir has been ordered by the Emperor to investigate the kidnapping and murder of children from the capital, but he’s become frustrated with lack of progress. When he learns of Vasilios’s dreams he begins to suspect they...
September 4, 2013
Lime and ginger cordial and summer gimlets (cordial and cocktail recipe)
let's talk about cooking again, or to be more accurate, let's talk about cocktails.
My drink of choice has been a gin and tonic since I was an undergraduate. Over the past year however, I have become fond of the dragonfly which is gin, ginger ale and a squeeze of lime. Over the summer though while poking around for another delicious looking gin cocktail I came across the great gimlet debate.
I will admit I've never had a gimlet before but when I was reading over a list of gin cocktails it jumpe...
My drink of choice has been a gin and tonic since I was an undergraduate. Over the past year however, I have become fond of the dragonfly which is gin, ginger ale and a squeeze of lime. Over the summer though while poking around for another delicious looking gin cocktail I came across the great gimlet debate.
I will admit I've never had a gimlet before but when I was reading over a list of gin cocktails it jumpe...
August 26, 2013
16 Questions I Ask Myself While Writing Sex Scenes
So unlike a lot of romance author's I've spoken with I really love writing sex scenes. Not only that I also really love reading a well crafted sex scene.
However in my personal opinion nothing kills a story faster than a bad or boring sex scene. It turns out that sex is actually rather hard to write.
So I've come up with a series of questions I ask myself and some tips I keep in mind, which I hope helps to keep things interesting and fresh.
Does this story need a sex scene?
Sex scenes are g...
However in my personal opinion nothing kills a story faster than a bad or boring sex scene. It turns out that sex is actually rather hard to write.
So I've come up with a series of questions I ask myself and some tips I keep in mind, which I hope helps to keep things interesting and fresh.
Does this story need a sex scene?
Sex scenes are g...
August 24, 2013
As an Author Asking Why ...?
You know what sucks?
It sucks that we live in a society that severally disadvantages, makes unsafe, renders invisible and in general does its level best to oppress large subsections of the population.
The thing is we do. So how as a writers do we keep from unintentionally supporting this opression?
We stop the rendering invisible part of it. This is the part that, we as writers and artists, have direct control over. The power is in our hands.
Yet actually doing it is harder then it seems. One min...
It sucks that we live in a society that severally disadvantages, makes unsafe, renders invisible and in general does its level best to oppress large subsections of the population.
The thing is we do. So how as a writers do we keep from unintentionally supporting this opression?
We stop the rendering invisible part of it. This is the part that, we as writers and artists, have direct control over. The power is in our hands.
Yet actually doing it is harder then it seems. One min...
August 18, 2013
Release Schedule for the Fall
So while this summer was fairly quiet on the things-published-by-me front, this fall will see a bunch of book releases. The tone is also going to be a little different this autumn. All the rest of the books I have planned to come out in 2013 all have dark tones and deal with more serious subject matter than is my usual.
August: It has technically already happened but on August 14th Your Happy End came out from Less Than Three Press.
By day Jun is co-owner of a comic book shop. By...
August: It has technically already happened but on August 14th Your Happy End came out from Less Than Three Press.
By day Jun is co-owner of a comic book shop. By...
August 15, 2013
Like Fire Through Bone
Vasilios Eleni has learned to make the best of life as a eunuch and valued slave in the household of a wealthy silk merchant. When he begins having dreams of a demon who steals away children and eats them alive, Vasilios's well-ordered life begins to unravel. General Markos Özdemir has been ordered by the Emperor to investigate the kidnapping and murder of children from the capital, but he’s become frustrated with lack of progress. When he learns of Vasilio’s dreams he begins to suspect they...
