Lex Chase's Blog, page 30

L.J. LaBarthe uncovers the clues in “Body On The Beach”

Today, L.J. LaBarthe is guest posting on my blog talking about the roaring 1920′s of Australia and uncovering the mystery in “Body on the Beach” from the “Under the Southern Cross” anthology for Dreamspinner Press.

L.J. LaBarthe Takes The Floor

My latest release is called “The Body on The Beach” and is set in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1920. It is a m/m romance murder mystery, and is part of the Australian anthology I put together for Dreamspinner Press. The authors involved in this project are Isabelle Rowan, Meredith Shayne, RJ Astruc, myself and newcomer Robyn Walker.

My story covers not only the murder mystery, but the subjects of immigration, the need for absolute discretion by the gay community, fan-tan games run illegally and opium dens. In 1920, Adelaide was as diverse a city as anywhere in Australia. My research has shown that people came from all over the world to start a new life here in this country, and Australia is a huge multicultural nation.

In “The Body on The Beach,” the main protagonist is Billy Liang, son of Chinese immigrants. He was born and raised in Australia, went to university and was elected by his countrymen to be their liaison and spokesperson for the police and local government. This role was traditional in Adelaide at the time; in 1888 until the early 1900s, the spokesman was Chinese businessman Mr. Way Lee.

Billy’s love interest is an Australian man named Tom, who is also Billy’s family lawyer. The two of them live in Billy’s house, and hide their relationship from the outside world. The only people who know about it are Jian, Billy’s butler and assistant, Bessie, the maid and Hui Zhong, Billy’s wife. Many Chinese men married women in order to continue the family line while having lovers of both sexes, this was a tradition, which is shown in China’s history.

The murder itself is based loosely on an unsolved murder from the 1950s in Adelaide, one that has fascinated me for ages. It’s called the Taman Shud case or the Mystery of the Somerton Man. (More information for those interested is here: http://www.policejournalsa.org.au/0004/16a.html)

The history of Adelaide in the twenties fascinates me, particularly as I’m the child of immigrants myself. It was not all doom and gloom—a newspaper article from 24th February, 1912 talks about a celebration for Chinese Day, when the Chinese businesses closed and there would be fireworks and in the evening, a banquet dinner with toasts being celebrated.

Chinese immigrants—and those from Italy, Greece, Romania, Russia, and all over the world—worked hard and contributed to society. The Adelaide Markets, once situated in the east part of the city center, are now on the south side, and still run as they did when they were established by market gardeners who sold their produce there. Those market gardeners were Chinese, Greek and Italian immigrants and the legacy of their market gardens continues today.

Despite the illegal fan-tan games, which ran for years, despite numerous arrests, and the sale of opium, which was illegal and also resulted in numerous arrests, the Chinese community prospered and became as vital a part of the Australian multicultural landscape as any citizen of the country. This is something I touch on in my story as well, the games and the opium were a constant thorn in the side of the police and the businessmen and the spokesperson for the Chinese.

Finally, I want to share some of the amazing photographs from the era, all are public domain and from the State Library of South Australia.

Brighton beach in 1920. This is how the beach where the murder and part of the investigations in “The Body on The Beach” looked during the story.

 

From 1907, a display of goods from Chinese market gardeners in the East End Markets.

 

Group photograph of the members of the Kuo Min Tang in Adelaide, 1920.

 

*~*~*

L. J. LaBarthe can be found in the following places:

Twitter: @brbsiberia

Blog: http://misslj_author.livejournal.com/

Web: http://www.ljlabarthe.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lj.labarthe.9

 

“The Body on The Beach” is the latest release from L. J. LaBarthe. It’s a m/m romance and murder mystery, set in Adelaide in 1920. It is part of the “Under the Southern Cross” anthology put together by L. J., which features work from Isabelle Rowan, Meredith Shayne, RJ Astruc, L. J. LaBarthe and newcomer Robyn Walker. The anthology is five Australian m/m stories by five Australian authors and is out with Dreamspinner Press in March/April. Stay tuned to http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=116 for more information.

Ten Facts With L.J. LaBarthe

And now for something completely different. L.J. was kind enough to sit down and offer ten fast facts about her.

1)      Complete this sentence: When all the little girls wanted to be princesses, I wanted to be _____________________.

A vet. Or a racehorse jockey. I grew too tall to be a jockey, so I settled for being a vet. And then I discovered how lousy I am at science. So I became neither vet nor jockey.

2)      The first R-rated (over 18 – Not X rated) you had ever seen in the theater was? And what was your reaction?

“A Clockwork Orange.” And if I remember rightly, I thought the following. “These seats are bloody uncomfortable. I have short leggies, I can’t reach the floor. OMG this film is looooooong.” Upon reflection, I think this film may actually be the source of my phobia of things happening to my eyes.

3)      Favorite cartoon character and why?

Atom Ant. There is no why.

4)      What’s the one song on the radio (or your playlist) that no matter what you’re doing, when it starts, you stop what you’re doing and get choked up?

God, I have a lump of coal for a heart, because there isn’t one. There are songs I love, and songs I hate, and songs that make me want to smash the stereo because of my loathing, but nothing that chokes me up.

5)      I’m coming over to your place for dinner. What do you cook for me? What is it?

Probably my chicken fettuccine. Which is fettuccine with a tomato and cream sauce with chicken, mushrooms, garlic, chili and basil.

6)      Vegemite? Really? What are you people thinking?

Really. We were thinking that Marmite is a travesty upon all breakfast spreads and thus, a spread made from brewer’s yeast is far superior.

7)      Where would I go to get an awesome cup of coffee in Australia besides Starbucks? Do you even have Starbucks down there? Do you have any Australia-only flavors you can share?

Australia has a huge café culture, so you could go pretty much anywhere—there are Italian cafes all over the place who make amazing coffee. Most cafes here aren’t part of chains like Starbucks—we do have them, but you’re more likely to get a fucking awesome coffee from one of the many cafes around the place. If you were in Adelaide, I’d take you to Cocolat for coffee. And amazing cake. Or The Chocolate Tree or Bracegirdles.

The coffee chains we have are Gloria Jeans, Hudson’s, Cibo (which, in my opinion, is ridiculously expensive for pretty average coffee, cake and food.), Michel’s Patisserie and Billy Baxter’s to name a few. The best café that we used to hang out at all the time was San Marco, in the city, on the corner of East Terrace and Rundle Street. It’s not there, anymore, which is sadness, as not only did Marco do the BEST cappuccinos in town, their focaccias were amazing and their pastas and pizzas were delicious.

8)      What is the thing all the tourists do but the locals wouldn’t be caught dead doing?

Cuddling a koala. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the stink of koala piss out of your clothes?

9)      Do you have any pets? What are they and what are their names? Are they your furbabies?

I do! I have a six year old black and white cat named Castiel. He is indeed my furbaby, though he alternates between being adorable and a little shit. Here is a photo!

10)  What is the most bizarre local fair you have? (We have The Mullet Festival which celebrates the hairstyle and the mullet fish. We also have bathtub rowing races. Yeah. People take a tub, put it in the ocean, and try to row to shore without it sinking. I don’t know either.)

The Tunarama. Okay, there are loads of weird and hilarious festivals, but the Tunarama was the one that sprang first to mind.

The Tunarama celebrates… tuna. Yes. There is a tuna throwing competition, where people allegedly from all over the world take turns to toss a bloody huge tuna, as part of “The World Championship Tuna Toss.” The person who throws it the farthest distance wins $3000 and a chance at being the world champion tuna thrower. I don’t know, either.

It’s held in the town of Port Lincoln, and began in 1962. It’s a festival with parades, food, wine, tuna, tuna throwing, fireworks and a dance with a thing called ‘steakorama’ which the website tells me involves eating a lot of steak, drinking a lot of beer and listening to a lot of music.

I don’t know why they call it ‘steakorama,’ to me, that seems like every weekend in Australia.

Anyway, if you or your readers are curious, here is the official Tunarama website, where you can learn all you ever wanted to know about tuna and the throwing thereof. http://www.tunarama.net/

The post L.J. LaBarthe uncovers the clues in “Body On The Beach” appeared first on Lex Chase.

Elizabeth Noble Takes Us To The End With “Collared Souls”

 

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“Collared Souls” is the fourth book in the “Sentries” series by Elizabeth Noble from Dreamspinner Press.

Dreamspinner Press author Elizabeth Noble may appear like an unassuming veterinary nurse, but in fiction she delights readers with post-apocalyptic worlds and the will to survive. Her new release in the long running “Sentries” series is the fourth volume called “Collared Souls” is due out April 3, and she elaborated on the next chapter in the characters Todd and Nick’s lives.

“The story takes place in the future, several hundred years after a natural disaster drastically alters society and things as we know it,” she said via email interview. “There is sex, monsters, horses, fights, betrayal, something for everyone. The series centers around Todd Ruger, a very special kind of hunter and his slave Nick. Bonded as children they become true comrades in arms, fighting side by side against foes both seen and unseen. Bound by love, they are mates for life, each willing to do what it takes to protect the other. Fourth in the series is titled ‘Collared Souls’ and our guys go back to the village where Nick was raised. There they not only discover personal history, but uncover a conspiracy that could determine the fate of a war.”

The World of Sentries

When it comes to the intricate worldbuilding featured “Sentries,” Noble maintains it’s not necessary to plot out every blade of grass, every star in the sky, or need hands-on experience in knife fighting. Wait. Knife fighting?

Noble offered the answer.

“I have a friend who is disturbingly good at things like knife and fist fights, so I have to credit her with making mine flow so well. Actually I’m afraid not to…,” she said with a laugh.

Senseless violence aside, Noble elaborated upon another kind of violence such as natural disasters and how they factor into “Sentries.”

“In order to make this sort of story line plausible I had to reinvent society and the world,” she said. “I did that, in part, by using the Wyoming Supervolcano. There is more to that particular part of the story and ‘Collared Souls’ gives us much more detail on the how and why things went the way they did including the evolution of sentries and how the slave industry was established. Basically, I had a good idea of the geographical location of the story, what it would be like in terms of climate and if there were any changes from how it looks now.”

Between just winging it and hoping for the best, and having ideas, Noble explained the difference.

“I had the basics of the society and added to that and developed it from there as the story progressed,” she said. “I worked out the generalities, and allowed the world to evolve as I wrote. Societies, people and planets are not static, they change. I try to allow that to happen in the creation of my worlds.”

Noble gave her biggest tip for authors new to building extravagant worlds.

“Know what you want and be flexible in the worldbuilding,” she said.

Redefining Masters and Slaves

Nobel maintains “Sentries” isn’t the typical Dominant/submissive book, and she went out of her way to make her own twist on Masters and Slaves.

She offers the origin of Todd and Nick, and well as the origin of “Sentries” as a whole.

“I was reading the posts on a LiveJournal community where people searching for a certain story, or type of story leave messages,” she said. “I read a post where someone was looking for a story featuring an arranged marriage between the two main characters. The very next thread was someone looking for a story about two people who knew from the time they were very young they were always meant to be together.”

You could say the rest is history, but Noble had some logistics to work out, she explained.

“My use of an Owner/Slave relationship is a bit different than most,” she said. “Todd, the owner, was forced into his role as a child. His slave becomes the center of his world, the true partner and family he’s always yearned for. Nick, the slave is smart, educated and prides himself on being an asset to Todd. The Owner/Slave system was one thing I did put a lot of thought into and had all sorts of details worked out beforehand. While there is a D/s relationship little of that is because one is an Owner and one is a Slave. It’s more of a result of the fact it’s something these guys like.”

She elaborated further on the twists and turns she made the standard Dominant/submissive model most readers know.

“As the series progresses it becomes more and more apparent that the roles each plays within their relationship have come about because of each man’s personal wants, desires and likes,” she said. “Their sexual relationship, as is most couples’, is independent from their jobs and place in their society. I think they would have the same sort of relationship if there was no Owner/Slave element to the story. There is a lot of variation on how slaves are treated by various people, not everyone has the same opinion and I try to show that.”

What does this mean for Todd and Nick? Noble continued.

“Nick wears a collar and has Todd’s initials branded into the inside of his wrists,” she said. “To him they do not symbolize captivity, but the partnership he has with Todd. Slaves receive varied and extensive educations in order to be an asset to their eventual owners. I think one aspect that sets them apart from other slave books, is Nick is very accepting and proud of his position. It is Todd who was forced into becoming an owner and struggles through the times he has to act as Nick’s master not his mate.”

The Future for Noble

Noble says with her constantly full schedule, she lives by the productivity apps such as Microsoft OneNote on her smartphone to keep her on task. She lamented she almost never uses her phone to make calls. But what’s on her phone besides her life? Noble dished on her upcoming projects.

“I’m currently working on the fifth book of the ‘Sentries’ series, ‘Tethered Pair,’” she said. “Most of the book takes place on an old time riverboat. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure of mine to write that type of story. There are gamblers and demons to name a few things.”

But if that wasn’t enough, Noble says she’s also cooking up an urban fantasy series with Dreamspinner Press author Anne Barwell called “Sleepless City.”

“It’s an urban fantasy that involves vampires—good and bad—and some werewolves. We hope to start releasing them this year,” she said. “The first book, which Anne is writing is ‘Shades of Sepia.’ Anne is very nice to work with. She’s very open to ideas and we spend a lot of time in chat plotting and planning the series and our books. She and I both like paranormal books, movies and TV and the whole thing sort of blossom out of our mutual interests and tastes. We had many of those ‘I’d like to read a series like this’ sort of conversations. The idea of an urban fantasy with the vampires was hers, and I just sort of horned in on it.”

Where to Buy

The first three books of “Sentries” by Elizabeth Noble, “Marked Yours,” “Together Bound” and “Chained Hearts” are available at Dreamspinner Press. The fourth novel “Collared Souls” is due out April 3. You can buy and pre-order here.

Dreamspinner Press author Elizabeth Noble may appear like an unassuming veterinary nurse, but in fiction she delights readers with post-apocalyptic worlds and the will to survive. Her new release in the long running “Sentries” series is the fourth volume called “Collared Souls” is due out April 3, and she elaborated on the next chapter in the characters Todd and Nick’s lives.

“The story takes place in the future, several hundred years after a natural disaster drastically alters society and things as we know it,” she said via email interview. “There is sex, monsters, horses, fights, betrayal, something for everyone. The series centers around Todd Ruger, a very special kind of hunter and his slave Nick. Bonded as children they become true comrades in arms, fighting side by side against foes both seen and unseen. Bound by love, they are mates for life, each willing to do what it takes to protect the other. Fourth in the series is titled ‘Collared Souls’ and our guys go back to the village where Nick was raised. There they not only discover personal history, but uncover a conspiracy that could determine the fate of a war.”

The World of Sentries

When it comes to the intricate worldbuilding featured “Sentries,” Noble maintains it’s not necessary to plot out every blade of grass, every star in the sky, or need hands-on experience in knife fighting. Wait. Knife fighting?

Noble offered the answer.

“I have a friend who is disturbingly good at things like knife and fist fights, so I have to credit her with making mine flow so well. Actually I’m afraid not to…,” she said with a laugh.

Senseless violence aside, Noble elaborated upon another kind of violence such as natural disasters and how they factor into “Sentries.”

“In order to make this sort of story line plausible I had to reinvent society and the world,” she said. “I did that, in part, by using the Wyoming Supervolcano. There is more to that particular part of the story and ‘Collared Souls’ gives us much more detail on the how and why things went the way they did including the evolution of sentries and how the slave industry was established. Basically, I had a good idea of the geographical location of the story, what it would be like in terms of climate and if there were any changes from how it looks now.”

Between just winging it and hoping for the best, and having ideas, Noble explained the difference.

“I had the basics of the society and added to that and developed it from there as the story progressed,” she said. “I worked out the generalities, and allowed the world to evolve as I wrote. Societies, people and planets are not static, they change. I try to allow that to happen in the creation of my worlds.”

Noble gave her biggest tip for authors new to building extravagant worlds.

“Know what you want and be flexible in the worldbuilding,” she said.

Redefining Masters and Slaves

Nobel maintains “Sentries” isn’t the typical Dominant/submissive book, and she went out of her way to make her own twist on Masters and Slaves.

She offers the origin of Todd and Nick, and well as the origin of “Sentries” as a whole.

“I was reading the posts on a LiveJournal community where people searching for a certain story, or type of story leave messages,” she said. “I read a post where someone was looking for a story featuring an arranged marriage between the two main characters. The very next thread was someone looking for a story about two people who knew from the time they were very young they were always meant to be together.”

You could say the rest is history, but Noble had some logistics to work out, she explained.

“My use of an Owner/Slave relationship is a bit different than most,” she said. “Todd, the owner, was forced into his role as a child. His slave becomes the center of his world, the true partner and family he’s always yearned for. Nick, the slave is smart, educated and prides himself on being an asset to Todd.The Owner/Slave system was one thing I did put a lot of thought into and had all sorts of details worked out beforehand. While there is a D/s relationship little of that is because one is an Owner and one is a Slave. It’s more of a result of the fact it’s something these guys like.”

She elaborated further on the twists and turns she made the standard Dominant/submissive model most readers know.

“As the series progresses it becomes more and more apparent that the roles each plays within their relationship have come about because of each man’s personal wants, desires and likes,” she said. “Their sexual relationship, as is most couples’, is independent from their jobs and place in their society. I think they would have the same sort of relationship if there was no Owner/Slave element to the story. There is a lot of variation on how slaves are treated by various people, not everyone has the same opinion and I try to show that.”

What does this mean for Todd and Nick? Noble continued.

“Nick wears a collar and has Todd’s initials branded into the inside of his wrists,” she said. “To him they do not symbolize captivity, but the partnership he has with Todd. Slaves receive varied and extensive educations in order to be an asset to their eventual owners. I think one aspect that sets them apart from other slave books, is Nick is very accepting and proud of his position. It is Todd who was forced into becoming an owner and struggles through the times he has to act as Nick’s master not his mate.”

The Future for Noble

Noble says with her constantly full schedule, she lives by the productivity apps such as Microsoft OneNote on her smartphone to keep her on task. She lamented she almost never uses her phone to make calls. But what’s on her phone besides her life? Noble dished on her upcoming projects.

“I’m currently working on the fifth book of the ‘Sentries’ series, ‘Tethered Pair,’” she said. “Most of the book takes place on an old time riverboat. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure of mine to write that type of story. There are gamblers and demons to name a few things.”

But if that wasn’t enough, Noble says she’s also cooking up an urban fantasy series with Dreamspinner Press author Anne Barwell called “Sleepless City.”

“It’s an urban fantasy that involves vampires—good and bad—and some werewolves. We hope to start releasing them this year,” she said. “The first book, which Anne is writing is ‘Shades of Sepia.’ Anne is very nice to work with. She’s very open to ideas and we spend a lot of time in chat plotting and planning the series and our books. She and I both like paranormal books, movies and TV and the whole thing sort of blossom out of our mutual interests and tastes. We had many of those ‘I’d like to read a series like this’ sort of conversations. The idea of an urban fantasy with the vampires was hers, and I just sort of horned in on it.”

Where to Buy

The first three books of “Sentries” by Elizabeth Noble, “Marked Yours,” “Together Bound” and “Chained Hearts” are available at Dreamspinner Press. The fourth novel “Collared Souls” is due out April 3. (http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_423

 

The post Elizabeth Noble Takes Us To The End With “Collared Souls” appeared first on Lex Chase.

Skylar M. Cates Gets The Scoop With “Exposed”

 

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Skylar M. Cates turns up the heat in “Exposed” from Dreamspinner Press.

Dreamspinner Press author Skylar M. Cates says her ideas come to her most often when she’s swimming laps. Which could be considered peculiar because in her debut novel “Exposed” her main character Daniel is a golfer. Residing in South Florida, Cates claims she’s from all over previously pitching her flag in New Jersey to Arizona.

She’s a mother, a writer, and formerly a Christmas elf in one of those smelly candle stores. She’s rallied support to keep the oceans clean, and she’s taught poetry to Alzheimer’s patients. From A to Z, to there and back again, Cates has done it all and maintains her superpowers are top secret.

Cates’ novel “Exposed” follows Daniel and Rafe. Daniel lives in a life of privilege from being a professional golfer. Rafe is a journalist looking for dirt on Daniel and quickly gets in over his head. And then things really heat up.

On Golf

But here’s the question, of all sports professions, why golf? Cates explains.

“I actually prefer and know more about team sports, but I realized quickly that would never work for the novel,” she said via an email interview. “Daniel would never walk away from his team! I needed a solo sport. I needed a sport, too, that made tons of money. I had a pretty short list at that point: tennis or golf.”

Instead of tennis, she reveals how she got to golf.

“I had read a few romance books with tennis players, but I had not seen one about a golfer,” she said. “I was fortunate that my good friend is a golf fan and guided me with some of the information. Additionally, I wanted to explore the price of fame.”

On Making Words

Cates in one word describes herself as “Mayhem” and elaborates on what happens when she’s overcome with the urge to get words onto the page.

“I can remember getting pretty obsessed,” she said. “I’d think about Daniel and Rafe constantly. I’d wake up in the night with a scene. Or I’d be swimming laps and some of their problems would come to me. I always had to get out of the pool, dripping wet, and write it down. I’d burn dinner, forget laundry, and miss phone calls. I was in what my husband calls my ‘zone.’”

On Revision

Despite forgetting the crescent rolls in the oven, Cates went on to talk about what most writers dread: Revision. She says she doesn’t have a “set number of times” she revises, but claims there’s several passes involved.

“If I were to read Exposed right now, I’m sure I’d want to take it back and revise it again,” she said. “I feel rather protective of it. Yeah, though, at some point, you just have to say, ‘I did the best I could right now’ and let go.”

And in the revision process, Cates found an issue with the plot. She explains what it took to solve it.

“One big pain in the ass was Rafe’s being on the yacht,” she said about a particular plot point of “Exposed.” “Getting him on was difficult. At one point, I thought about having him just work in Daniel’s household, but that was totally wrong. For one thing, the press would get in too.”

Cates took the time to mull it over and came to a solution.

“More importantly, I quickly realized I needed them in a very intimate setting,” she said. “The yacht was tough though. My first draft had Rafe having way too much introspection because he was on the yacht without a friend. In my second go, I added Hector onto the yacht. I realized that I needed to give Rafe a friend to confide in. I revised the entire thing from there.”

On The Future

As Cates balances family life with her writing life, she talks about what else she has in the works.

“I’m working on one about a guidance counselor and his wonderful, slightly wacky family,” she said. “I enjoy books with crazy families, but families who love each other too. The other main character is in the military and needs some love.”

“Exposed” by Skylar M. Cates is available for purchase in eBook or paperback at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

The post Skylar M. Cates Gets The Scoop With “Exposed” appeared first on Lex Chase.

St. Patrick’s Day “Infects” Andrea Speed

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The “Infected” series by Andrea Speed is available from Dreamspinner Press

Today on this St. Patrick’s Day edition of LexChase.com, I’m going ridiculously off the rails with author Andrea Speed, writer of the award winning “Infected” series for Dreamspinner Press and “Josh of the Damned” for Riptide Publishing. Born in Seattle, but settled in Tacoma, Washington, Speed prides herself on her acerbic wit, and as she says on Twitter is “constantly waylaid by jackassery.”

Speed, who confesses Andrea Speed is indeed her real name, has said she occasionally considered the pen name “Seamus O’Puddin.” When Speed was a child and all the little girls wanted to be princesses, she wanted to be Shaft. She theorizes probably Rick Ashley’s agent would care if a tree fell on his client. Speed also maintains the opening of Pixar’s “Up” is emotionally brutal.

She claims in a parallel reality, she is made of fudge. Okay….

And here is where our torrid tale begins.

“Infected” and “Josh of the Damned”

Thankfully maintaining her legal name, and in all seriousness, Speed tells us what “Infected” is about.

“‘Infected: Prey’ is all about Roan McKichan, an ex-cop turned private detective in a world where a werecat virus has changed society,” she said via email interview. “He’s one of the few ‘virus children,’ born with the virus, who’s functional and non-mutated. He’s trying to live his life and help his fellow infecteds if he can, but there are obvious challenges. He’s after a killer, and dealing with a “cat cult” that worships the virus and pretty much hates him.  Not that he’d have it any other way.”

And then on the other side, she explains the premise of “Josh of the Damned.”

“‘Josh of the Damned,’ Josh is a nightshift convenience store worker where the store is situated right next to the mouth of hell. So along with drunks and fellow nightshifters, he sells burritos to zombies, has to chase werewolves out of the parking lot, and deal with all sorts of things that aren’t in the employee handbook.”

In Honor of St. Patrick

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, in a strange awkward way—just go with it, Speed shares one of her bizarre holiday gifts.

“Lottery tickets,” she said. “I can’t think of a more useless gift. ‘I couldn’t be bothered to think of anything you might like, so here’s some scraps of cardboard I spent a buck apiece on.’”

With drunken frivolity as the business of the day, Speed answers the burning question just how many Irish Car Bombs would it take the star of “Infected,” Roan McKichan, hop up on the bar and bust his best Gangnam Style horsey dance.

“Since I haven’t heard the song—really, I’ve just heard maybe a few seconds at most— and I can guarantee Roan hasn’t, we’d probably have to skip the Car Bombs and go straight for the peyote,” she said.

Posing to Speed the hypothetical question that toy makers Kenner or Mattel have a fit of madness and create a toy line for “Infected,” she explains the product line.

“Transforming Roan doll, goes from lion to human,” she said as her first product. “The Panic playset, with flashing lights, dance floor, and shirtless bartenders—Dylan not included. Paris action figure that comes with his own stuffed tiger,” she said and continued to envision her master plan. “The Seattle Falcons Rink playset with dolls that have real punching action. For the older kids, there’s a Holden action figure that comes with several slutty outfits, a whip, and his own butterfly knife. There should also be a line of Roan’s t-shirts.”

And in the event Speed ever considered changing genres for “Infected” and going with superheroes, she elaborated on Roan and Paris’ heroic identities.

“Well, obviously, Lionman and The Tiger,” she said. “Because [Roan is] a lion man, and Paris is a tiger. And these names would piss Roan off no end, so there’s a good reason to adopt them.”

In Honor of Irish Music

Because the Irish are known for their music, Speed makes her picks between U2 and The Proclaimers.

“Aren’t the Proclaimers Scottish?” she asked. “And can I choose none of the above?”

And then explained her choices between the not so Irish musicians, Blue Öyster Cult and Wu Tang Clan.

“Ooh … now see, that’s a toughie,” she said. “BOC invented their own symbol, and actually has a couple of decent songs. And the Wu Tang Clan is a classic as well, and who doesn’t remember the time Old Dirty Bastard changed his name to Big Baby Jesus? Can Wu Tang cover Godzilla? I’ll settle for that.”

Wait… Zombies?

Okay, stay with me here. So, obviously the drunkenness would give way into the zombie apocalypse—because it would, trust me. And instead of picking members of the “Walking Dead” cast such as Crazy Rick, Annoying Andrea, Magnificent Michonne, or the Deadly Daryl, Speed makes her choice of who she’d want to spend the end of the world with.

“Wolverine,” she said as her top pick. “He doesn’t need weapons to kill zombies, he has them in his hands, so he’s never going to be disarmed. Also, he’s a badass, and quite possibly immune.” Second on her list? “Buffy Summers. Slayer, yo. Go kill. This is what she was born for. I’d be willing to take Faith instead.” As for third? “Ripley. You know, from Aliens? Human, but terribly resourceful, and she never leaves a comrade behind. And frankly, zombies are going to be a walk in the park next to acid spewing aliens.” Fourth? “Hunter S. Thompson. Because I need at least one real person in the group, and he’s always going to know where to find the booze and drugs.” And the rounding out the team? “Doctor Who. Because he could get us the hell out of there.”

If this hasn’t scared you off you can purchase “Infected” at Dreamspinner in both eBook and Paperback HERE, and “Josh of the Damned” at Riptide Publishing HERE.

The post St. Patrick’s Day “Infects” Andrea Speed appeared first on Lex Chase.

Stay Sharp, Hero! It’s Pawn Takes Rook Release Day!

Pawn Takes Rook #1 by Lex Chase from Dreamspinner Press

As of midnight EST, Pawn Takes Rook is out! You can find it here at the Dreamspinner Press site, here at Amazon, and here at Barnes & Noble!

Pawn Takes Rook Release Party Facebook Chat

Today is a huge day for me. This evening at 6:30 PM EST I’m being put in charge of the Dreamspinner Facebook Page and hosting the first ever Release Party. Dreamspinner’s never done one before, and they always had the chat on Saturdays. So I’m praying I don’t screw it all up. I’ve got my topics typed up and my excerpts ready to go. So drop on by! There will be goodies, giveaways, excerpts, lots of laughs, and a ton of Pop-Culture Hunt Clues! And maybe an Ikea reference or two. Because Ikea, people.

If you still need to know the rules of the Pop-Culture Hunt you can find it here!

Reviews for Pawn Takes Rook

Now that we’re 12 hours into the release of Pawn Takes Rook, the reviews have started popping up.

The biggie is Mrs. Condit Reads gave Pawn Takes Rook their highest rating of 5 Sweet Peas! You can read it here and don’t forget to comment to enter the giveaway!

And then over on Live your Life, Buy the Book gave Pawn Takes Rook 4 stars! You can read about that one over here. The amusing part is the reviewer gave Pawn Takes Rook one chili pepper in the heat rating and wanted more steaminess. I laughed because it’s not a particularly steamy book.

Finally, the surprise review came from Pixie Mmgoodbookreviews over on Goodreads where she gave Pawn Takes Rook 4 stars! And you can take a gander at that here. I found this review particularly interesting because she expressed a fondness for Captain Chivalry. Maybe there’s hope for him yet!

Pawn Takes Rook Featured This Week

Then this happened on the Dreamspinner Press website.

Like, oh em gee, right?

Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour Dates and Stops

Where can you find more info about Pawn Takes Rook? On the Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour! At the various stops you will be able to find Pop-Culture Hunt clues, but only the stops before March 30th!

Where have I been? Where am I going? Here’s the list!

3/5 – Anne Barwell’s LiveJournal – Pop-Culture Clue Given
3/9 – Cate Ashwood’s Casting Couch – Pop-Culture Clue Given
3/10 – JP Barnaby’s Blog – Pop-Culture Clue Given
3/13 – Release Party on Dreamspinner’s Facebook Page – Oodles of Pop-Culture Clues To Be Given! And a Giveaway!
3/17 – Jessica Skye Davies’ Blog – Pop-Culture Clue To Be Given
3/20 – Kim Fielding’s Blog – Pop-Culture Clue To Be Given
3/30 – Cate Ashwood’s Blog - No more clues!
3/30 – Deadline for Pawn Takes Rook Pop-Culture Hunt Answers!
4/6 – LJ LaBarthe’s LiveJournal
4/11 – Skylar M. Cates’ Blog
4/18 – Andrew Gordon’s Blog
4/27 – Chris T. Kat’s Blog
5/1 – JR Loveless’ Blog
5/3 – Kool Queer Lit – With a Giveaway!
5/10 – Live your Life, Buy the Book – Also a Giveaway!

The Ultimate Pawn Takes Rook Review

The ultimate Pawn Takes Rook review comes from the one source that matters most: My Mom.

She loved it.

The post Stay Sharp, Hero! It’s Pawn Takes Rook Release Day! appeared first on Lex Chase.

The Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour Continues!

Where does the time go! Pawn Takes Rook comes out Wednesday! Oh my god! Freaking out!

Today, I’m at JP Barnaby’s blog answering the burning question of ‘Why Superheroes?’ Why don’t you stop by and say hello! There might be a Pop-Culture Hunt Clue in it for you. ;D

Yesterday, I was over on Cate Ashwood’s Blog taking my spin on her Casting Couch. What do I have to say? Horribly nerdy things. But why don’t you check it out! A clue might be waiting for you….

And if that wasn’t enough, I’ll be attending Gay Rom Lit 2013 in Atlanta as a Supporting Author! It’s this October 17-20th and I’m psyched. If you can swing it, why don’t you clear off your calendars to check it out? Both signings are open to the public!

The post The Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour Continues! appeared first on Lex Chase.

Pawn Takes Rook Pop-Culture Hunt Official Rules

 

As part of the release of Pawn Takes Rook, the first book in the Checkmate series, the staff at Dreamspinner Press and I decided to do an extra special type of giveaway game.

Pawn Takes Rook Pop-Culture Hunt

There are 57 pop-culture references in Pawn Takes Rook. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be releasing clues on my Twitter Account, my Facebook Account, my Facebook Author Page, on the Pawn Takes Rook Release Party Chat on Facebook, various stops on the Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour, and the Dreamspinner Twitter Account might be chipping in as well. Look for the Hastags #PawnTakesRook or #PTR.

All you need is a copy of the book, which you can pre-order here!

How It Works

With each clue, you will need to decode the reference, and find the reference in the book.

In a Word DOC, RTF, or TXT I will need a complete list of answers that include: The sentence verbatim where the reference appears, the page number you found it, and your reading device–since page numbers vary slightly between devices.

When you have all of your answers, email them to me at lex.chase@nomadchronicle.com

Your deadline to get the answers in is March 30, 2013.

The Grand Prize

Whoever gets all 57  or the closest to it will win the Grand Prize!

One Grand Prize Winner will receive:

A $25 Dollar Visa Gift Card
A signed Pawn Takes Rook postcard
A Pawn Takes Rook Themed Hand Sanitizer
A hand drawn sketchcard of Hogarth
A hand drawn sketchcard of Rook
A signed Black Pawn Figurine
A signed Red Rook Figurine

Red Rook and Black Pawn Figurines

 

Bonus Clue!

#24 Oh my Dayum! Songify made a video about a man singing the odes of this tasty chain

Collect the clues, and find the answers! Deadline March 30, 2013!

The post Pawn Takes Rook Pop-Culture Hunt Official Rules appeared first on Lex Chase.

The First Stop In The Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour!

Pawn Takes Rook #1 by Lex Chase from Dreamspinner Press

Today, I’m at Anne Barwell’s blog discussing a fondness for the 1980′s and sharing a bit about Pawn Takes Rook!

Don’t forget to pay attention for the Pawn Takes Rook Pop-Culture Hunt Clue! Grand Prize is a $25 Visa Gift Card and some fine swag!

Come On Down To Anne’s!

 

The post The First Stop In The Pawn Takes Rook Blog Tour! appeared first on Lex Chase.

Maya Tayler Finds The G-Spot With “Push & Pull”

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“Push & Pull” by Maya Tayler: An erotic slippery slope of what fidelity truly means.

Maya Tayler’s offering to the world of erotic fiction, “Push & Pull,” blows the load of what readers expect in the genre. That’s not to say it’s bad. Hardly. The tale of her protagonist Claire Reynolds is in complete control of her own pleasure even when she thinks she isn’t. Hired to test the fidelity of men, you can imagine how many ways this can go wrong in all the delicious ways.

Claire gets in over her head with our hero Liam, who has his own kit-n-caboodle of secrets. Liam is not only hot, but he comes off hot-n-heavy, rough-n-ready, and takes what he wants when he wants it. Still, it’s not Liam with all of the control. Claire absolutely is.

It’s refreshing to find an erotic story that is more about the woman’s pleasure and not about the man giving her what she thinks she wants. Claire knows exactly what she wants, and she knows how to get it and she doesn’t apologize for it. At long last, an erotic story that doesn’t set Women’s Lib back a century or so!

Tayler has confessed while she’s longtime writer, she’s new to writing erotica and it shows in little ways. For starters, some of the word choices are geared far more to getting a reaction out of male readers rather than female readers. Though your mileage may vary on that point. It’s been shown word choices geared at men are more direct and vulgar, word choices for women are a little more, how shall we say, softer?

If you’re not prepared for it, the sex of “Push & Pull” is front loaded into the story and may turn some readers off as a “Porn without Plot” tale. If you stick with it, and get through it, you will learn there is indeed a tangled plot, and you worry for the well-being of Claire and Liam. And the cliffhanger ending will leave you craving to know what happens next in this series of short stories.

My only overall complaints about the story are two points: As a short story it doesn’t stand on its own. It’s not a self-contained unit but instead a chapter in a longer story. Which I believe is Tayler’s intent, but if you’re looking for a complete short, you’re out of luck, she hooks you in with needing to know what happens next. I have to admire the shrewd business tactic. Tayler knows her audience, and she knows how to keep them paying for it.

The second point, and this is a small thing, the sex in Liam’s apartment at one point has the most impossible sex position I have ever seen. I had to diagram it with stick figures to figure it out and it still didn’t make sense. I know the actions portrayed are possible, but not the way the people are placed in the scene. Tiny thing. Tiny. Don’t think about it too much because, hey, hot sex!

“Push & Pull” by Maya Tayler is available for Kindle on Amazon.com for 99 cents.

The post Maya Tayler Finds The G-Spot With “Push & Pull” appeared first on Lex Chase.

Cover Reveal: Pawn Takes Rook

Pawn Takes Rook #1 by Lex Chase from Dreamspinner Press.

Ever get that week where everything that can possibly go wrong did and then finally something went unbelievably right? That’s today. The nail-biting, anxious email refreshing, real life invading dreams, and so on… It’s here. The wait is over. The cover to Pawn Takes Rook exists in the world.

And it is magnificent.

My cover artist was changed at the last possible second. Instead of Shobana Appavu who I’ve salivated over having art from her for years, I got assigned to Paul Richmond. Paul is he assistant art director with Dreamspinner, so needless to say I was quite honored. He took a simply terrible thumbnail sketch I had sent in with my packet and made something marvelous.

I mentioned on Facebook, it’s like that moment in “Will and Grace” where Grace, an interior designer, makes over the arrogant out-n-proud Jack’s apartment and he gasps and says “I always dreamed of living in Jeanie’s bottle but it’s this!”

Rook, in the foreground, looks better (and hotter!) than I had ever imagined. Hogarth, in the background, is adorably perfect and his Pikachu shirt is an awesome touch.

I have a lot going on in my life right now, I’m currently Nurse Lex as my mom recovers from unexpected complications to gallbladder surgery, and in two weeks my dad is getting knee surgery. I had to drop two of my college classes and puzzle out a way to graduate on time while I care for them. It’s one day at a time, and one foot in front of the other.

When I got the cover, I was so emotionally raw and frazzled about everything, I cried. It’s actually taken me the better part of a day just to get the brain power to make this post. But here it is.

Mom said the cover was “beautiful” and we want to get a poster sized print of it to frame. Meanwhile, I just sit back completely at a loss that there’s my cover. Pawn Takes Rook is real. It’s a real book that’s going to be out in the world. I honestly haven’t been dreaming this whole thing since November.

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