Anna Butler's Blog, page 15
July 24, 2019
“MIGRATION” : Queer SciFi’s latest flash fiction anthology with GIVEAWAY
Queer Sci Fi has just released the annual QSF Flash Fiction anthology. This year, the theme is “Migration.”
MI-GRA-TION (noun)
1) Seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.
2) Movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions.
3) Movement from one part of something to another.
Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorite 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.
Buy The Book here:
Other Worlds Ink | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
Giveaway
Queer Sci Fi is giving away a $20 gift Amazon certificate with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win
Excerpt
Each year, hundreds of writers send in stories for the Queer Sci Fi flash fiction anthology. Here are the opening lines from some of the 120 stories chosen for the 2019 edition Migration:
Darkness has substance. It is tangible; different shades within the black, sounds, a taste. It is accompanied by self-awareness of time and thoughts, even when other senses fail. —Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker
The sky has been screaming for five straight days when the shrimps come to take us away. They’ve been boxing up the others and hauling them off. Now they’re here for us, soaking wet, dragging cords and crates behind them. —Shrimpanzee, Sionnain Bailey
Allister always had faultless hair. He’d comb and gel it to perfection while gazing in the mirror. One day a pair of eyes stared back. —Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr
On her sister’s wedding day Ari noticed that one of her ears had migrated to her hand. It was right after her high school crush, Emily, arrived with Cousin Matt. —Playing It By Ear, Aidee Ladnier
The wound was fatal. Their vessel wouldn’t live much longer. This is what came from leaving loose ends. Frantically they sought out a new vessel to migrate to. —The Essence, by L.M. Brown
That night, we were sitting in the bed of her daddy’s old pickup truck and the radio was playing the best song. We had a pack of cigarettes between us and her hand was almost touching mine. The wheat field was silver in the moonlight. When they came, we weren’t surprised, just disappointed that our time was up already. —Our Song, by Lauren Ring
Willow said she was my wife, but I knew it wasn’t her, not the right her, anyway. Sure she looked like her with olive skin and bright pink hair. She even smelled of mango flowers, just like I remembered, but there was something about her smile that was slightly off, something about when she said she loved me that didn’t sit well in my old heart. —They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre
Agnes is eight when she first sees the river. Cutting its way through town, the only thing she knows not coated in coal dust. She sticks her toes in, comes home with wet socks and a secret. See, the river hadn’t been there yesterday. —Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz
Terry twirled in her green synthsilk dress, looked at her reflection, liked what she saw. She felt good in her own skin, for maybe the first time. —Altball, by RE Andeen
The thing was in the corner. It had come through the window and had slid down the wall. Scratch went the sound. The noise of a hundred nails clawing at the wood. Nails of white bone. Alex pulled the sheets up quickly, covering every inch of skin and hair in a warm darkness. —Whose Nightmare, by Jamie Bonomi
Authors
A hundred and twenty authors are included in Migration:
Butterflies, by A O’Donovan
The Return, by A.M. Leibowitz
A New Spring, by Aaron Silver
Universal Quota, by Abby Bartle
The Call of Home, by Adrienne Wilder
Starfall, by Adrik Kemp
Playing it By Ear, by Aidee Ladnier
Rabbit, by Amanda Thomas
That Does Not Love…, by Andi Deacon
Inborn, by Andrea Speed
Saving Ostakis, by Angelica Primm
A Dawn Wish, by Antonia Aquilante
Diaspora, by Ariel E. James
Transmigration, by Ashby Danvers
Across the Mirror, by Ava Kelly
Between, by BE Allatt
The Speck, by Bey Deckard
The King of the Mountain Cometh, by Bob Goddard
Before and After, by C. A. Chesse
Home, by C.A. McDonald
Too Much Tech, by C.L. Mannarino
Ze Who Walks Into the Future, by Carey Ford Compton
The Gate, by Carol Holland March
Our Last Light Skip, by Chloe Spencer
Passage, by Christine Taylor-Butler
The Perils of Pick-Up Lines, by Colton Aalto
Parched, by Crysta K. Coburn
Changeling Dreams, by Damian Serbu
Destinations, by Dave Creek
Another Job, Another Planet, by David Viner
Thiefmaster Rosalind’s Apprentice, by Devon Widmer
A Weight Off Their Shoulders, by Diane Morrison
Once a Year, by Dianne Hartsock
Mettle, by Die BoothForever Bound, by E.W. Murks
They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre
Til Death Do Us Part, by Elizabeth Anglin
Little One, by Eloreen Moon
GBFN, by Emilia Agrafojo
The Long Distance Thing, by Ether Nepenthes
Call My People Home, by Evelyn Benvie
Jace vs. the Incubi, by Eytan Bernstein
A New Tradition, by Foster Bridget Cassidy
The Curious Cabinet, by Ginger Streusel
Ready, by Hank Edwards
The Albatrosses, by Harry F. Rey
A Boy’s Shadow, by Helen De Cruz
Portrait of a Lady, by Isobel Granby
Beam That Is In, by J. Comer
The Hunt, by J. R. Frontera
Repeating History, by J. Summerset
Neil’s Journey, by J.P. Bowie
Homeward Bound, by J.S. Garner
Whose Nightmare?, by Jamie Bonomi
A Moment of Bravery, by Jessie Pinkham
Laetus, by Jet Lupin
Where You Go, I’ll Follow, by Joe Baumann
Ambrose Out of Ash, by Jonathan Fesmire
Shooting Modes, by Joshua Darrow
TerrorForm, by Juam Jocom
The Curse, by Jude Reid
Throwing Eggs, by K E Olukoya
Fly, by Kayleigh Sky
The Keep, by KC Burn
Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr
The Risks and Advantages of Data Migration, by Kim Fielding
Irreversible, by kim gryphon
Looner, by Krishan Coupland
The Essence, by L.M. Brown
Our Song, by Lauren Ring
O Human Child, by Lisa Hamill
Goodbye Marghretta, by Lou Sylvre
Choices, by LV Lloyd
Endangered Species, by M Joseph Murphy
Planet Retro, Unplugged, by M. X. Kelly
Elemental, by M.D. Grimm
To Wish on a Love Knot, by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
Firebirds, by Marita M. Connor
Breeding Season, by Mary Newman
Kooks at Home, by Matt McHugh
Spring, by Mere Rain
Into the South, by Mindy Leana Shuman
Not How We Planned It, by Minerva Cerridwen
What Is Left Behind, by Monique Cuillerier
How Far Would You Go for the One You Love?, by Nathan Alling Long
Innocence, by Nathaniel Taff
Heart and Soul, by Nils Odlund
Tides, by Patricia Scott
Killer Queen, by Paula McGrath
Genesis, by Pelaam
If Pigs Could Fly, by Penelope Friday
Click, by R R Angell
Be Kind to Strangers, by Raina Lorring
Altball, by RE Andeen
Far From Home, by Riley S. Keene
Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker
Night Comes to the Bea Arthur, by Rory Ni Coileáin
MIG Ration, by S R Jones
Going Back, by Sacchi Green
World Behind and Home Ahead, by Sara Testarossa
The Call of the Suet, by Sarah Hadley Brook
Research & Development, by Shaina Phillips
Into the Void, by Shannon Brady
The Silkie’s Dance, by Shannon West
Seal Hunt, by Shirley Meier
Shrimpanzee FIRST IN BOOK, by Sionnain Bailey
The Woman With No Name, by Siri Paulson
Memories of Clay, by Spencer Mann
Simulacrum, by Steve Carr
The Experience, by Steve Fuson
Flight, by Steven Harper
Birds of New Atlantis, by Stewart C Baker
Lurching Forward, by Sydney Blackburn
Spores of Retribution, by Tray Ellis
Skin Hunger, by Treasure Nguyen
Elvira, by Trevor Barton
Ever After, by Warren Rochelle
Into the Light, by Wart Hill
Dryads, by X Marduk
Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz
June 8, 2019
Madeira Desouza’s “Baja Clavius” – With Giveaway!
Madeira Desouza has a new gay erotic sci fi tale out: Baja Clavius and he’s here today to tell us why he doubts he’ll ever see his book on screen.
This controversial science fiction adventure depicts gay male time travel agents with very bad behaviors. They are violent and immoral men.
A few hundred years from now, these time travel agents work within a top-secret agency located beneath the crater Clavius on the moon. Their time-travel missions take them to Earth in the past where they ruthlessly manipulate man who are targeted for their roles in the outcomes of historical events such as the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback
So, Madeira, would you want to see Baja Clavius turned into a feature-length film?
I chose the science fiction genre deliberately so that my novel would turn out to be emotionally challenging and not at all “safe” in the intellectual or visceral sense. Baja Clavius is a science fiction about time travel, but if nothing else is true, Baja Clavius is typical of the bara underground art genre because I depict gay male same-sex feelings and sexual identity with masculine, muscular males that is sometimes violent and exploitative. Such is not the stuff of your typical Hollywood film.
My target audience is gay males, but I suspect that straight females will enjoy it because straight females are known to enjoy stories and images of man-on-man relationships and even sexual activities. I tend to doubt that this science fiction novel will ever become a Hollywood movie—and that’s fine with me–because this is unfilmable on many levels.
However, I have seen contemporary productions on streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix that I think push way beyond the normal “limits” of science fiction storytelling for a mass audience. The Black Mirror series of Netflix is one such example that sticks out in the positive sense with me. So, I believe Baja Clavius could be excellent as a miniseries on streaming services such as Amazon or Netflix where one typically cannot find traditional censorship of science fiction themes or character development.
Madeira
Giveaway
Madeira is giving away a $20 Amazon gift certificate with this tour. Enter via a Rafflecopter giveaway
Excerpt
Yesterday I was lost and I died. Today I am alive again. I accept the truth about foregone tomorrows and my resurrections from the dead.
I do not claim to be a believer in a deity or a religion. Yet, I have personally experienced being repeatedly brought back to life after death. Something far more powerful than us human beings resurrected me. And now, everything I have learned about living, dying, and then coming back for more is presented here.
I have been coerced into creating this journal of my experiences. I will suffer if I am less than completely truthful. I will be held prisoner until I have completed this in full.
I work for a top-secret international agency that is so deeply concealed nobody could possibly find it. Baja Clavius is the name of the international base of operations where I live. It is from that base that I travel in time to work assignments on Earth.
Desperate efforts by others to censor this work all have ended in failure. Just to confuse you, others have circulated conflicting versions of this. But I defeated all my enemies who wanted to prevent you for seeing this.
I begin by sharing my memories of being back in my home state of Arizona—on foot trudging through the desert under dark, threatening thunderclouds that do not diminish the hottest day I have ever felt in my entire life. Through an unexpected break in the storm clouds, I see bright white sunlight and the most magnificent color of blue sky. Up there above me a haunting full moon commands my attention.
Sticking out of the landscape under the ominous skies is a mechanical structure apparently made mostly of wood. As I walk closer to the device, it looks to me as though it was created specifically to slow down the process of hanging a man by the neck so that he will experience extended agony before his death.
Hung from a thick brown rope wrapped around a wheel wench is a muscular, shirtless, and barefoot man with his arms unbound struggling desperately to stay conscious as his neck is crushed in the noose. I see his high cheekbones and long dark brown hair that is tied behind his neck into a queue. I watch his bare feet kick the sky.
I notice a pair of unattended video cameras on tripods positioned nearby on the desert floor pointing toward the hanging machine. Why would anyone go to the trouble of videotaping this man’s death by ritual hanging?
I know that I have met him previously. But this man whose name I cannot remember somehow seems to hold a distinct place at the very center of faulty recollections in my brain.
Off in the distance fifty meters or so to the west of my location, I can see four men wearing cowboy attire running away. I must have scared them away when I approached. But they left that helpless man to die on their hanging machine.
He is someone who seems obviously capable of having put up very considerable resistance against this merciless fate. His powerful body attracts my full attention. He looks like he is about thirty years old—the same age as me. His legs wildly swing in all possible directions as I reach the hanging machine. He desperately tries to reach his hands up to his neck as if it somehow were possible to free himself from the noose. But that is impossible! He groans when he sees me as if to try and tell me something.
His faded blue jeans are too tight for him. I stare at his bulging crotch as he dances in the air at the end of a rope. I marvel at his incredible masculinity contrasted with utter vulnerability. This man looks strong and tough. He must certainly be capable of protecting himself against anyone with success. But, not now.
He cannot save himself. He is simultaneously very manly and totally defenseless. This precise opposing combination of traits is, I’m sure, why men watch executions of other men.
His deep, dark eyes remain open, defiantly staring outward into the eerie sky. He resumes his kicking, but much more forcefully now.
His tight blue jeans emphasize his growing bulge. He has attained a full erection ahead of what will be his final ejaculation into his jeans. There is intense humiliation on his face. His body jerks wildly. As he shoots his last load in his pants, his neck cannot withstand the crushing force of the noose. I am stunned because I did not expect to see his body spasms, kicking, and curling of his toes.
Very suddenly, he just stops struggling. His body no longer can fight back against the effects of gravity and the noose that has applied fatal pressure to his vulnerable neck. I watch him desperately try to open his mouth to breathe, but he has no life remaining in him. I am overwhelmed with intense anger and shock as I slump to the ground. I cry without any shame for this stranger. I feel stunned by my sexual attraction to him. It is as if I have lost someone who has been very significant to me and to my life.
Even though I feel instinctively that I have suffered memory loss, I can remember where I work. I especially remember being inside some kind of cylindrical blue machine.
The inside of the circular blue glass machine was filled with a milky white liquid. It was translucent and unpleasant. It smelled like chemicals. I was naked. I felt like I was drowning. But I knew I was not going to drown. Something has taught me that I cannot die. I know with absolute certainty that I do not know death. I live on and on. But, I have so many questions that I cannot answer. Why am I repeatedly resurrected? Will I live forever?
Author Bio
Madeira Desouza is a gay male author. He focuses upon telling stories about mature, masculine men who are sexually attracted to other mature, masculine men. He steers clear of several deeply embedded traits of American gay culture that can be found in film and in print–eccentric or flamboyant behaviors, alkyl nitrites, dance music, trendy clothing, trendy hair, gay men who think age 30 is old, and so forth.
Desouza’s creative works belong within the bara genre. This little word is shortened from barazuko. Translated from Japanese, it means rose-tribe, which is a code phrase for gay men. Originated in Japan decades ago as gay men created works for other gay men, this genre has not yet been widely embraced internationally. Perhaps this is because bara bara depicts same-sex feelings and sexual attraction to masculine, muscular men who sometimes behave in aggressive, violent, or exploitative ways towards one another.
As both a storyteller and digital artist Desouza explores conflicting and opposing compulsions that all men have. On one side there are impulses men have towards sustaining life, engaging in love, and being attracted to others. In the opposing direction are impulses men have towards being aggressive, engaging in violence, and, causing pain and death. For centuries, artists and storytellers around the world have found inspiration in these two opposing human compulsions that no man is able to resist or impede merely by his conscious will alone.
Author Website: https://bajaclavius.com/
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/madeira.desouza
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/desouzaofvegas/
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/machodesouza
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masculine_men_images/
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Madeira-Desouza/e/B008HL3B3C/
June 4, 2019
Bobbie Rayne & Steph Marie’s “Eeli – The Brotherhood of Ormarr 3” – with giveaway
Bobbie Rayne & Steph Marie have a new MM paranormal dragon rider book out, book three of the four-part Brotherhood of Ormarr series: Eeli.
Eeli~
I’ve been training my entire life for this; I need to be the best, the best fighter, the best dragon rider in the entire brotherhood. This is what I was born for. The only problem is that my bonded dragon, Bodhi, and I can’t seem to get it together. One minute I think we’re connecting properly, and the next she’s taking off, leading me to the one guy I don’t want to know: Slash. He’s basically the opposite of me in every way, and I don’t get why he’s suddenly everywhere I turn, but I can’t deny how he makes me feel when he looks at me.
Slash~
Three years ago my sister and I had to come to a new town and started new schools without our parents’ unconditional love and support. My uncle’s an uncaring drunk, so I’m doing the best I can to keep us both clothed and fed with only an after school job. If I didn’t have her to live for, the loneliness would be excruciating. Now, with only a few months until graduation, I’ve suddenly made a friend because of my sister, and another guy keeps stumbling into me who I think needs help: Eeli. I don’t understand why no one else sees how oddly he’s behaving, but I can’t deny my attraction for him is growing with every mishap.
Eeli is the third book in The Brotherhood of Ormarr series. While each book focuses on a different couple, the overall story arc continues in the next instalment. For maximum enjoyment, we suggest reading in order. Eeli is a m/m NA romance, and is recommended for adults 18 years and older.
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | Goodreads
About the Series:
Being a dragon rider for the Brotherhood of Ormarr is filled with adventure, but danger can lurk behind every corner with the Order of Amsel set out to destroy the riders. Azaran, Zale, Eeli, and Malachite have spent their whole lives training, but will it be enough?
The brothers lost their parents years ago to assassins, but they’ve never been able to figure out who was behind the attack. Follow the journey of these dragon riders, along with their faithful dragons, as they find their mates and discover clues that will lead to the final epic showdown.
The Brotherhood of Ormarr series consists of four books, each with its own HEA. While each book focuses on a different couple, the overall story arc continues into the next installment. For maximum enjoyment, we suggest reading in order. This is a m/m romance series, and is recommended for adults 18 years and older.
Other Books in the Series:Azaran (book one) | Zale (book two) | Malachite (book four – releases June 10th)
Giveaway
Bobbie & Steph are giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour. Enter via a Rafflecopter giveaway
Unique Excerpt
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“Morning.” I finally lifted my head to look at him, and he sent me the sweetest smile which set my nerves entirely at ease.
He lifted his hand and hesitated for a few seconds before very gently brushing my hair off my forehead. I closed my eyes at the soft touch and a smile perked up my lips of its own accord. He leaned in, knocking my nose with his, then pressed his lips against mine in a barely-there kiss that set off butterflies in my stomach. He pulled back way sooner than I wanted, so I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.
“Christian,” I whispered, and his eyes softened.
He kissed me again, harder this time, and I tasted his stale breath, but I didn’t even care because it was Christian, my mate, kissing me and making everything inside of me feel alive.
“Oomph,” we both gasped suddenly when Bo jumped on us.
“Bo!” I yelled, but then Christian laughed, and I laughed with him.
Bo scooted up in between us so her butt was on my shoulder but her head was nuzzling both our necks. Christian chuckled and pet her head and neck, saying, “She must’ve been feeling left out.”
I sighed. “She was. She gave us privacy last night, but now she wants all your attention.”
No. We can share.
Gee, thanks. I snorted.
“What?” Christian asked.
“Oh, she said we can share your attention.”
He chuckled. “That’s nice of her since I plan on stealing all your attention today anyway.” He shot me a smile that I returned as he continued petting Bo while she rubbed her cheeks and snout all over his face and neck.
“Sounds good to me. Do you have something in mind?”
He shook his head. “Not really, but maybe we could go flying again or something.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
He leaned over for a smiling kiss.
“We should probably get up and get seeing my brothers over with.”
He groaned. “They’re going to be relentless, aren’t they?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fun.”
I snorted, then peeled myself away from him even though I never wanted to move. We both took turns in the bathroom—I made sure to brush my teeth so I didn’t stink him out—and we headed out of the safety of my bedroom and upstairs toward the loud chatter coming from the dining room with Bo wrapped around Christian’s shoulders and his hand in mine.
As soon as we rounded the corner, Zale smiled that shit-eating grin and said, “Oh, there are the lovebirds! I didn’t think you’d make it out of the bedroom at all today.”
“Eww,” Kyla said as my brothers all laughed.
Zale looked around the table. “Who won the bet for making it to breakfast? I had them down for sneaking food in the afternoon.”
Malachite lifted his hand. “I had that one; I win.”
“Ha ha ha, you’re so hilarious, guys,” I said sarcastically with an eye roll all the while my cheeks flamed hot. One glance at Christian and I saw his face flaming, too. Fun.
Malachite stood and moved over a seat, pointing at the two chairs beside each other. “Here you go; wouldn’t wanna have to rip you apart so soon.” He smiled at me, so I punched him in the shoulder with my free hand. “Ow. What the hell, pipsqueak?”
“Stop embarrassing us on purpose.”
“I was being nice!” he said with a laugh.
Rolling my eyes again, I pulled Christian over to the two seats and reluctantly let go of his hand so I could grab plates and forks. Then I filled his plate up with pancakes, bacon, and eggs and set it in front of him.
“Thank you, Eeli.”
I sent him a smile before filling my own plate.
Zale grabbed a pancake as he sat across from me, still wearing that smile I wanted to smack off his face. “So, little bro, where’d you guys go last night? Did you have fun?” He waggled his eyebrows.
I picked up a slice of bacon and threw it at his face. He must not have been expecting it because it hit him right in the nose and everyone cracked up laughing.
When Zale picked up the bacon and cocked his arm back to throw it at me, Doc said, “Don’t you dare start a food fight. I’m not cleaning it up!”
Zale frowned and blew out a breath, setting the bacon down, but his smile turned a little evil as he leaned forward and mock-whispered, “You better watch yourself, Eeli. You’ll never see me coming.”
Davis barked out a laugh that made Zale elbow him, so I shrugged and said, “Whatever. I can take you.”
“Oh, it is on, little man. It. Is. On.”
I laughed and was relieved to see Christian laughing along with me.
I couldn’t help but lean over to kiss his lips. It was a small, chaste kiss, but we still got a bunch of whoops and whistles thrown at us that made us both laugh. I gave his smiling lips one more kiss before focusing on my food.
After we finished eating and clearing the table, I walked over to him, put my arms around his waist, and looked up at him. “I’m really, really glad I kidnapped you, Christian.”
Author Bios
Bobbie Rayne grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and still lives there today. She’s married to her very patient husband, and they have two amazing sons together, as well as two crazy dogs. She spends her time writing, driving her kids all over town, and helping run the PTA.
Her children are one of the reasons she loves YA so much, and one reason why she thinks it’s important to bring LGBTQ+ main characters into fiction. Writing YA has always been a dream of hers, and she truly believes that writing it is good for her soul. Her family means the world to her, but coffee might be high up on that list, too, so if you bring her some, you just might end up with a new best friend.
Author Website: https://notarobooks.com/
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/bobbie.rayne.9
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/bobbierayne.author/
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbierayne/
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18522828.Bobbie_Rayne
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/bobbierayne
Steph Marie is a proud mom of two teenage daughters and her pup. She’s always had a love for words and what they can do, their ability to create and transform life. She’s shared her words and stories with people in her immediate life, but never considered writing and publishing Young Adult until her oldest daughter said she wished all teens had the ability to sit around her kitchen table and talk. That night a series was born, and characters haven’t stopped popping up in her head wanting their story told yet. Her favorite things in life outside of her family are a huge cup of coffee, a blanket to snuggle under, and a delicious piece of cake–if you’re nice, she’ll even share.
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/steph.marie.3760430
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephmarieyaau6
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmarie.author/
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17730330.Steph_Marie
Author Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/stephmarie
May 28, 2019
Author Interview: Michelle Frost’s fantastical Zale, The Brotherhood of Ormarr 2 (plus giveaway!)
Michelle Frost has a new MM paranormal dragon rider book out, book two of the four-part Brotherhood of Ormarr series: Zale, and I am delighted to host her here today to tell us a little more about the way she writes. First, let’s just sit back and admire that cover, because it is a thing of great beauty. Love it! There’s a lot going on in this post, so use this handy dandy navigation list to jump to where you want to go…
About the book
About the series
Author Interview
Giveaway
Excerpt
About the author
About The Book
Davis~
It was just another job—at least it was supposed to be—but snaring the feisty blue dragon I’d been contracted to collect and her rider in my trap changed everything. Hunting dragons was my job, and I was damn good at it. I’d never missed a target. Never failed to make a delivery. So why was every step toward turning over my bounty suddenly a struggle? No quarry had ever managed to get under my skin, but something in Zale’s haunting blue eyes called to me like nothing ever had before.
Zale~
When Itsaso and I were kidnapped, we fought like hell but found ourselves at the dragon hunter’s mercy. He locked my dragon away, leaving me to face captivity alone. Now, all I have to rely on is the training that’s been drilled into me every day for as long as I can remember and biding my time, waiting for Davis to make a mistake. Or my brother’s to find and rescue us. But something happened the first time I truly looked in Davis’s eyes, dark pools as deep and enchanting as the sea, and I realized I was in so much more danger than I thought. How could a ruthless dragon hunter be my perfect mate?
Get It On Amazon
About The Series
Being a dragon rider for the Brotherhood of Ormarr is filled with adventure, but danger can lurk behind every corner with the Order of Amsel set out to destroy the riders. Azaran, Zale, Eeli, and Malachite have spent their whole lives training, but will it be enough?
The brothers lost their parents years ago to assassins, but they’ve never been able to figure out who was behind the attack. Follow the journey of these dragon riders, along with their faithful dragons, as they find their mates and discover clues that will lead to the final epic showdown.
The Brotherhood of Ormarr series consists of four books, each with its own HEA. While each book focuses on a different couple, the overall story arc continues into the next installment. For maximum enjoyment, we suggest reading in order. This is a m/m romance series, and is recommended for adults 18 years and older.
April 16, 2019
Natsuya Uesugi’s “The Seer of Ice and Sky” – with Giveaway!
Natsuya Uesugi has a new queer dark fantasy book out in his “The Seer of Grace and Fire” series: The Seer of Ice and Sky.
Surviving the devastation of DarkFall, Timorn is now rightful King of Faerie. With evil lurking at the fringes between the kingdoms of the humans and the elves, the dark mage Dalannin travels to Dragonreise to forge an alliance with the Dragon King.
Timorn’s travelling party sets off on request from an elven emissary but dissent grows as the party passes through the human city of Ekhrine. As they stop at the Ecclesiastical University where the cleric Kabal translated The Legend of Arden prophesy, a demonic aura haunts their path.
Can Timorn forge an alliance with the dragons to ensure peace or will darkness drive a wedge between him and his magical twin Ethesian as they journey through the elven lands.
Transgender heroine.
XLibris | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | Barnes & Noble
About the Series:
A human cleric translating an elven prophecy must bring the work to the high court at Kannon in faerie before DarkFall, the solemn anniversary when all the male faerie newborns were murdered 17 years ago. If the translation does not arrive in time, all is lost. Timorn, a 17-year-old ranger travels the human towns hiring out his services. A mysterious elven woman hires him to take her to Kannon before DarkFall, and only he can lead her with his purple faerie eyes.
The evil Valkyris is amassing an army to attack Kannon at DarkFall insisting she possess the prophecy. Sending her dark mage Dalannin to infiltrate faerie, he marches his demon hordes towards Kannon and sneaks into the palace. Ethesian, the 17 year old faerie daughter of King Ailon plays the dragon lyre, a female magic. Yet recently she has started having prophetic dreams as if she were male. When a lie is revealed, Ethesian is tasked to study magic she must master before DarkFall. Will Timorn reach Kannon before the Valkyris and Ethesian master a magic she shouldn’t possess? Secrets and lies, revelations and wizardry, DarkFall is coming and so too the reluctant faerie who would be king. Learn more in the first book of the dark fantasy trilogy, The Seer of Grace and Fire.
The Seer of Grace and Fire starts the dark fantasy trilogy reviewers have called “Enthralling” and “A beacon of light for readers young and old.” The series continues with the release of The Seer of Ice and Sky book 2. Book 3 The Seer of Flesh and Death will be released in early 2020.
Giveaway
Natsuya is giving away an ARC of book one in the series – The Seer of Grace and Fire – enter via Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4758/?
Excerpt
Timorn squinted as he studied the elven emissary, Arhlamanel dressed in finery, yet his stance and mannerisms were less refined then Ihel’s. He sensed deception. His ranger skill told him the elf was concealing something about his identity,
“I am aware of dragon riders, but not of a dragon king in Arenth,” Timorn said, turning to Eanna, his mother the First Consort, for confirmation. Eanna shook her head, also unaware.
Arhlamanel nodded. “The dragons are elusive and secretive, Your Majesty. Only a few high elves dare to venture up the perilous paths into the ice mountains to entertain them. It is treacherous as the dragons carefully guard the priceless gems within their lands.”
Timorn gripped the arms of the throne, leaning forward. “At DarkFall, we saw an adult dragon. A rider in black sat atop its monstrousg form. Luckily the brunt of its power was stopped before it could let loose with abandon.”
“It is as we heard. Thus, the dragon king requests you come to Akrisia, to the mountains in the North. He has sent me as emissary, in partner with the high elves, to bring you to hear his message. A party of your choice is invited to travel along, including one named Ethesian, who is also summoned. But be warned. One who wad banished many years ago has returned and is making inquiries in the dragon lands. He goes by the name of Dalannin. There is much suspicion amoungst the elves. Do you know of him?”
Timorn gasped. If Dalannin was with the dragons, that could only mean danger. Timorn spoke authoritatively, immediately deciding based on the elf’s report. “Yes, we know Dalannin, and yes, my party and Ethesian will accompany you to Akrisia. Lady Eanna will remain and keep watchful eye on the crown.”
“Yes, my lord,” Eanna acknowledged the decree.
“You must come dressed as a ranger,” Arhlamanel added. “That is how they will know you: by your clothes, your faerie daggers, and your sword. The dragon king and his half-dragon army will join you at the dragon court, high in the mountains. The trek up the expanse is arduous and will require a full day of walking to reach once we arrive.”
“Had Dalannin already recruited dragon riders to his cause? Timorn hoped for a negative answer.
“Unknown your Excellency. I hope, for our sakes and all of Arenth he has not.”
Author Bio
Natsuya Uesugi is a cybersecurity analyst with an MBA in International Management and a minor in Japanese. He is the author of the science fiction grydscaen series, the yaoi novellas and manga graphic noiz and The Seer of Grace and Fire fantasy trilogy. He creates all the illustrations for his books. He enjoys skydiving, cosplay, anime and writing poetry.
Author Website: http://www.natsukoarts.com
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/SeerofGraceFire
Author Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/natsuya_uesugi
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natsuyauesugi
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4558587.Natsuya_Uesugi
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/natsuya-uesugi/
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J6EDQQ6
March 31, 2019
Links to Blog Posts on Writing March 2019
It has been a very long time since I last did a links roundup of all that juicy advice to writers out there. And much as I’d like to claim it, I don’t have any reasonable excuse. So, picture me shuffling my feet and mumbling a bit, and holding out this list of recent(ish) advice posts that caught my interest and that I think are worth sharing. Also, I’ll try and do better in the future. Promise.
General Issues
In Writing, Progress Doesn’t Always Look Like Progress – Chuck Wendig
Self-Rejection: What It Is, Why You Do It, And How To Eject Its Ass Out The Airlock – Chuck Wendig
Genre
Fizzle or Sizzle? How Genre is Fundamental for Story Success Kristen Lamb
How to Write a Mystery Novel – Joslyn Chase at The Write Practice
Legal/Contracting Stuff
How to Prepare and Use a DMCA Takedown Notice – Writers Unblocked
Publishing
5 Tips for Success from an Indie Author By Shaz Kahng
The Indie Author’s Publishing Checklist – Jan Lewis at Fiction University
Top Five DIY Book Layout Mistakes – How indie authors can avoid book design pitfalls
Things to Consider When Considering Self Publishing
Resources
The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2018 – Dana Sitar at the Write Life
48+ publishing resources! at Bookbub
Reviews
In Praise of Negative Reviews and On Bad Reviews
Writer’s Block
How to Write When the Last Thing You Want to Do is Write Janice Hardy
How To… Writing Skills and Tips
Action Scenes
How to Write Kick-Ass Action Scenes (Part 1) and (Part 2)– Laurence MacNaughton
4 Tips on Writing Action Scenes – Janice Hardy
Body Language
Your ultimate body language guide Alex Limberg
Characterisation
The 5 Turning Points of a Character Arc and Sorry, Your Services are no Longer Required: Eliminating Characters from Your Novel Janice Hardy
Character Building: How Story Forges, Refines, and Defines Characters Kristen Lamb
Not Your Mama’s Character Descriptions Margie Lawson
How Much Do You Need to Describe Your Characters? – Janice Hardy
Dismemberment–Taking Characters Apart in All the Wrong Ways – Cait Reynolds
The Ultimate Guide to Character Motivation (Part 1) and (Part 2)– Laurence MacNaughton
8 Tips for Creating Characters -Janice Hardy
Alternative Ways to Describe Character Reactions -Janice Hardy
Secret-Keepers: Generate Page-Turning, Nerve-Shredding Tension – by Kristen Lamb
How To Make Dominant Female Characters Likeable – Lisa Hall-Wilson
Description
One Common Way Writers Weaken Their Descriptions -Janice Hardy
Dialogue
Getting Dialogue Right: How to Use Dialogue Tags and Action Beats – Ali Luke
Bring Your Dialogue to Life – Writer Unboxed
Emotion
Emotion Commotion: Getting Emotion Right on the Page and Putting Wow on the Page! – Margie Lawson
Plotting
Plotting With Layers: 4 Steps to a Stronger Plot – By Janice Hardy
PoV
Using Deep Point Of View Without Dragging Down The Pace Of Your Novel – Lisa Hall Wilson
5 Key Ways to Balance Internal Monologue with Pitfalls to Avoid – Jordan Dane
5 Quick Ways To Shift Description and Setting Into Deep POV Lisa Hall-Wilson
Series
6 Things to Consider Before Writing a Series Janice Hardy
Six Common Problems With Long Series – Oren Ashkenazi at Mythcreants
A 3-Step Plan for Handling Backstory in a Series – Janice Hardy
Sequels
Six Tips for Sequels – Mythcreants
The Difference Between a Sequel and a Scene – Janice Hardy
Fonda Lee: So, You Think You Know How To Write A Sequel
Show, Don’t Tell
7 Ways to Master “Show, Don’t Tell” Laurence MacNaughton
Showing and Telling Particulars by Beth Hill
Storytelling
Pixar Storytelling – 20 Points Writers Can Learn From Animated Stories –
Six Common Storytelling Problems in New Manuscripts at Mythcreants
Structure
5 Ways to Structure (and Plot) Your Novel Janice Hardy at Fiction University
Tips on Writing Scene and Chapter Transitions – Janice Hardy
A Scene Template For New Writers – James Scott Bell at The Kill Zone
A Little About Endings – Philip Athans
Ten Tasks of the First Chapter – Blood Red Pencil
How to Avoid Repetitive Sentence Structure – Janice Hardy
Worldbuilding
7 Tips for Creating Believable Fantasy or Science Fiction Worlds – Janice Hardy
6 Secrets of Science Fiction and Fantasy World Building – Laurence MacNaughton
Seven Things Writers Get Wrong About Language at Mythcreants
Should You Give Non-Human Groups Marginalized Traits? at Mythcreants
Editing
Business Musings: Editorial Encroachment – Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Difference Between a Revision, a Rewrite, and a Redraft – Janice Hardy
The Dangers of Premature Editing: Pruning Our Stories vs. Pillaging Them Kristen Lamb
Perspective: Self-Editing Your Dialogue and Characters and Editing for Authors: 7 Ways to Tighten the Story and Cut Costs – Kristen Lamb
Self-Editing One Step at a Time: How to Identify Dragging Narrative | Weeding Out Unnecessary Adjectives and Adverbs | Searching for More Silly Stuff | Identifying and Eliminating Your Habit Words | Cleaning Up Those Dialogue Tags | Analyzing Sentences for Redundancy and Wordiness | Fine-Tuning Sentence Structure | Read Your Manuscript Aloud – at The Blood Red Pencil
Marketing
Advertising
10 top book marketing articles of 2018 – Bookbub
20 Top BookBub Ad Designs Readers Want to Click
Understanding Pay-Per Advertising – By Marcy Kennedy
How to Write Attention-Grabbing Promo Copy for Books at Bookbub
Biggest BookBub Ads mistakes authors and publishers are making.
Newsletters
Author Newsletters: The Good, the Bad & the PLEASE JUST STOP! Kristen Lamb
Pricing Strategies
5 Ways That Playing with Pricing Can Sell More Books – Penny Sansevieri
Promotion
Promotion is NOT Platform & Ads are NOT a Brand: Know the Difference – by Kristen Lamb
10 Ways to Promote Backlist Titles – Chyrs Fey
11 creative ways authors have announced their book launch! – Bookbub
How to promote your book for free! – Bookbub
Exactly When Is the Best Time to Begin Your Book Marketing? – Penny Sansevieri
Sales
The Evolution & Devolution of Sales: Why Your Books Aren’t Selling Kristen Lamb
Strategies
6 Top Ways for Indie Authors to Make Self-published Books More Discoverable and More Competitive on Amazon – Jyotsna Ramachamdran
Social Media
Blogs
Why Should Fiction Writers Blog? – Anne R. Allen
How To Make A Pretty Facebook Page by David Gaughran
Strategy
10 Tips for Authors on Using Social Media from a Literary Agent
Five Tips for Increasing Sales Through Social Media (NSFW) – John G. Hartness
Technical Stuff
Cover Design
12 questions to ask when hiring a book cover designer at bookbub
How to Get a Great Cover for Your Self-Published Book – theryanlanz at A Writer’s Path
The Latest Trends In Cover Design: Think Pink? – PJ Parrish at The Kill Zone
3 Ways to Get Book Covers on a Shoestring Budget – J. Kathleen Cheney at Fiction Uni.
3 Signs Your Book Cover Design Misses The Mark – Liesha Petrovich at The Write Life
Blurb
Better Book Descriptions in 3 Easy Steps – Sue Coletta at The Kill Zone
How to Build an Author Website: The Complete Guide » – The Write Practice
Websites
How to Build an Author Website: The Complete Guide » – The Write Practice
Review of the 10 best website builders – Robert Mening
March 18, 2019
Elin Gregory’s “Midnight Flit” – with Giveaway *and* a Review!
SUCH a treat! Midnight Flit, Elin Gregory’s latest book in The Carstairs Affairs series, was published a few days ago. Seriously, it’s the best thing I’ve read in about a year. I love Miles Siward and Briers Allerdale, and their rollicking 1930s adventure on a train crossing Europe will blow your socks off, it’s so good. Here’s a bit more about it, and the review I’ll be posting up on Amazon and Goodreads in the next day or two.
About The Book
Book Two of The Carstairs Affairs: Miles Siward and Briers Allerdale return for another thrilling Jazz Age adventure.
“Silk stockings on expenses.”
Miles’s aristocratic mother has information of importance to the British Government and he must escort her home from Bucharest immediately, but their plans go violently awry and Miles and Lady Siward find themselves on a train to Belgrade – where Miles’s lover is posted. Since their pursuers are looking for a man and a woman, might two women slip past them unnoticed?
“Is anyone on this train who they say they are?”
Briers doesn’t know whether to kiss Miles or punch him but is delighted to accompany him and his mother on their journey. All he has to do is keep an eye open for their enemies – but who exactly are they; the enormous Russian, the sinister priest, the handsome jazz pianist, or maybe the winsome young movie star? And his mother-in-law might just be the most terrifying of all!
All aboard for the ride of a lifetime, with a cast of characters you’ll never forget.
Publication Date: 14 March 2019
Series Title: The Carstairs Affairs (Get book 1 “Eleventh Hour” here: Universal Link)
Genres: Historical Romance, Spy Thriller
Publisher: Manifold Press
Buy Links
Price £4.45 / $5.75
Manifold Press | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo
Excerpt
[image error]Secret Intelligence service operative, Miles Siward, is preparing for a mission with the assistance of his gentleman’s gentleman, Pritchard.
“Do you miss working for Father?” Miles asked after a moment. “I feel bad that I’ve never asked before, but I was so grateful when you agreed to come back with me and run my little establishment that I suppose it never occurred to me to ask.”
Pritchard paused, his hands full of snowy linen. “Lord bless you, sir, no. Ronald and I were heartily sick of exchanging letters by then, and maybe seeing each other once a year – your father’s commitments allowing. To be offered the chance to come here, with private accommodation provided, was a Godsend. My only worry was that a relationship started in the trenches and continued on paper might not weather more frequent contact.”
Ronald – professional stage manager, natty dresser, a full head taller than Pritchard – was perhaps a little shrill, but one had to be shrill to be heard in theatrical circles. From what little Miles had seen of Pritchard and Ron together, though, they seemed blissfully happy and he wished them well and envied them with all his heart.
“I’m glad,” he said. “Going from valet to His Majesty’s Ambassador in Bucharest to the man-of-all-work of a clerk seems such a come down.”
“We both know that you are far more than a clerk, sir,” Pritchard grinned. “And speaking of more, Bucharest is not that far from Belgrade. While you are there, will there be any chance of meeting with the master?”
Miles snorted. “You mustn’t call Briers that, it only encourages him. He’ll turn up in plus fours and a monocle next, you wait and see!”
“It’s meant affectionately, sir.” Pritchard gave him a serene smile and tucked a rolled black tie and a pair of silk socks in beside the shirt.
“I know, and he loves it.” Miles paused in smiling contemplation of Briers Allerdale – tall where Miles was short, dark where he was fair, a hard-bitten field agent where Miles spent a lot of time at his desk − and thanked his lucky stars that opposites attract. “But sadly I am only going for one night, solely to retrieve Ma and bring her home safely in time for her appointment. A side trip is completely out of the question.
“I understand, sir.” From the sympathetic glint in Pritchard’s eye, Miles knew that he did understand, very well.
Giveaway
Enter this Rafflecoptor to win an e-book version of Book 1 of the Miles and Briars series: “Eleventh Hour”.
Review
[image error]Great things happen on steam trains. Murders, stolen diamonds, revolutions, spies… there’s a long-standing British literary and cinema tradition featuring moody shots (filmed in black and white, natch) of a locomotive venting steam at night against a faint halo of light from a distant lamp in some johnny-foreigner-sort of Belle-Epoque railway station where agents of a foreign power lurk in the shadows, threatening the beautiful heroine and handsome, clean-cut hero. Think Richard Hannay fleeing London on the Flying Scotsman, or Miss Marple on the 4.50 from Paddington, or Miss Froy thwarting foreign agents in The Lady Vanishes. There’s a jolly good reason why the Hogwarts Express is steam and not a high-speed bullet train. We Brits don’t see the romance of bullet trains, but steam locos pull at our heartstrings and fire the imagination.
Just a glimpse of that puff of steam and we know we’re in for a treat. We know there’ll be spies and beautiful girls, unexplained corpses and creepy, louche characters wearing soft hats and belted raincoats and probably played on screen by Peter Lorre. There will be upright ex-soldiers, and international agents working for murky Bureaux d’Intelligence in even murkier East European capitals. There will be actresses and sirens, matrons and (probably) nuns. There will be drama, and guns and bombs and possibly a communist uprising. And in the background, one can almost hear the noise of the slow rise of Germany and the coming of the Second World War.
Elin Gregory is one of the best historical novelists I’ve read. She grounds this second adventure of Briers Allerdale and Miles Siward in the frenetic days of the early thirties, when the world was slowly realising that it wasn’t living through a well-earned peace, but merely the respite between two devastating wars. And she has all this—all the scheming and heroism, principle and immorality, duplicity and danger—and she has it down *pat*. And, bless her, she nods to Hannay et al and sets this wonderful adventure on a steam train scudding across central Europe in the middle of the night. What’s more, she manages all this without hitting her reader over the head with historical facts and figures, yet still makes this world work so well and feel so real and have the authentic 1930s flavour.
I won’t say much to spoil the plot, except that it involves Briers and Miles in their alter egos of Brian and Millie Carstairs, Miles Siward’s wonderful mother and his even more wonderful manservant, plus assorted other characters, doing a midnight flit from one of those murky east European capitals. And a midnight flit on a steam train, with almost every single character and situation I mentioned up above.
Except perhaps for the nuns. I missed the nuns.
The relationship between Briers and Miles is sensuous and sweet (rarely explicit, but it doesn’t need to be), against a backdrop where danger lurks at every railway signal box en route. The pacing of the book is excellent. The last third goes with a bang and is just not-put-downable-AT-ALL, and the quirky twist at the end… well, let’s just say that Le Carre would be delighted with the way this book ends and the promise it holds out for book 3.
Because there has to be a Book 3. And the sooner the better.
Highly recommended. Because… well, bliss, and trains, and spies, and high-heels, and steam, and guns, and bangs, and loving relationships. Hannay would be proud.
About Elin
Elin Gregory lives in South Wales and works in a museum in a castle built on the edge of a Roman Fort! She reckons that’s a pretty cool job.
Elin usually writes on historical subjects and enjoys weaving the weird and wonderful facts she comes across in her research into her plots. She likes her heroes hard as nails but capable of tenderness when circumstances allow. Often they are in danger, frequently they have to make hard choices, but happy endings are always assured.
Current works in progress include one set during the Great War, another in WW2, one set in the Dark Ages and a series of contemporary romances set in a small town on the Welsh border.
www.elingregory.com
www.facebook.com/elin.gregory
@ElinGregory
www.elingregory.wordpress.com
February 19, 2019
J. Scott Coatsworth’s “Ithani” published today – with a giveaway!
The final MM sci fi book in J. Scott Coatsworth’s “Oberon Cycle” trilogy is out – “Ithani”!
About the book
Time is running out.
After saving the world twice, Xander, Jameson and friends plunge headlong into a new crisis. The ithani–the aliens who broke the world–have reawakened from their hundred millennia-long slumber. When Xander and Jameson disappear in a flash, an already fractured world is thrown into chaos.
The ithani plans, laid a hundred thousand years before, are finally coming to pass, and they threaten all life on Erro. Venin and Alix go on a desperate search for their missing and find more than they bargained for. And Quince, Robin and Jessa discover a secret as old as the skythane themselves.
Will alien technology, unexpected help from the distant past, destiny and some good old-fashioned firepower be enough to defeat an enemy with the power to split a world? The final battle of the epic science fiction adventure that began in Skythane will decide the fate of lander and skythane alike. And in the north, the ithani rise…
Buy Links
Ithani Buy Links
Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner Paperback | Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
The rest of the series:
Book 1: Skythane:
Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner Paperback | Amazon Kindle | Amazon paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
Book Two: Lander:
Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner Paperback | Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads
Giveaway
Scott is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and ten copies of “The Stark Divide,” the first book in his other trilogy, his other trilogy, “Liminal Sky,” with this tour.
Excerpt
Venin stood under the dome of the chapel, the waters of the Orn rushing past the small island to crash over the edge of the crater rim, where they fell a thousand meters to the broken city of Errian below.
The Erriani chapel was different from what he was used to back home. The Gaelani chapel in Gaelan had sat at the top of a tall pillar of stone, open to the night sky, a wide space of grass and trees that intertwined in a natural dome through which moonlight filtered down to make dappled shadows on the ground.
This chapel, instead, was a wonder of streaming sunlight, the columns a polished eggshell marble with glimmering seams of gold. Red creeper vines climbed up the columns, festooned with clusters of yellow flowers that gave off a sweet scent.
Both were bright and airy, but the Erriani chapel lay under a dome supported by fluted marble columns, a painted arch of daytime sky and the rose-colored sun blazing overhead.
The last time he’d gone to chapel had been with Tazim, before his untimely death.
Long before the troubles that roiled the world now.
Something drew him back. A need to reconnect with his past. To bridge the gap between then and now, between who he was and who he had become. Taz would have liked this place.
The chapel here had survived the attack, while much of Errian had not. The city below was a jumble of broken corrinder, the multistory plants that were the main building stock for the city. They would grow again, but the sight of the city’s beautiful white towers laid low struck him to the core.
So had Gaelan looked, after the flood.
Venin turned back to the chapel and unlaced his boots, baring his muscular calves before he approached the fountain that splashed at its center. The cool flagstone beneath his feet sent a shiver up his spine, and green moss filled the gaps between the stones.
Some builder whose name was lost to time had tapped into the river itself to make the fountain run, and the water leapt into the air with a manic energy around the golden statue of Erro, before falling back down to the pool.
Venin knelt at the fountain’s edge on one of the well-worn pads, laid his hands in the shallow water, and let his wings rest over himself, making a private place to pray.
Erro and Gael, spare us from danger and lift us up into the sky with your powerful wings. He gave Erro deference, being that this was his chapel, but he hoped Gael would hear him too. The god of his own people had been known to intervene in mortal affairs before, and if what Quince had told them about these ithaniwas true, they would need all the help they could get.
Venin’s wings warmed.
He looked up in astonishment to see the statue of Erro giving off an intense golden glow. His mouth dropped open, and he stood and stared at its beautiful male curves and muscles. Maybe the gods were answering him.
Venin reached up and touched the statue’s outstretched hand. The shock knocked him backward onto his ass, and he hit the ground hard, slamming into one of the marble columns.
Venin groaned, stunned, and reached back to feel his wings and spine. He seemed to be in one piece.
Taz would have laughed his ass off at the whole thing.
After a moment he sat up cautiously. He wrapped his arms around his legs and stared up at the statue, his chin on his knees.
The glow was gone.
Did I imagine it? He stood and felt the back of his head. A lump was already forming there. That’s gonna leave a mark.
Something had changed. Venin didn’t know what yet, but he was sure of that much.
He pulled his boots back on and laced them up. With one last suspicious glare at the statue, he turned and stepped out of the chapel, taking a deep breath of the moisture-laden air.
Then he leapt into the sky to soar down to the broken city.
Author Bio
[image error]Scott lives with his husband of twenty five years in a Sacramento suburb, in a cute little yellow house with a brick fireplace and two pink flamingoes out front.
He inhabits in the space between the here and now and the what could be. Indoctrinated into science fiction and fantasy by his mom at the tender age of nine, he quickly finished her entire library. But he soon began to wonder where all the queer people were.
After coming out at twenty three, he started writing the kinds of stories he couldn’t find at Crown Books. If there weren’t many queer characters in his favorite genres, he would will them into existence, subverting them to his own ends. And if he was lucky enough, someone else would want to read them.
His friends say Scott’s mind works a little differently than most – he makes connections between ideas that others don’t, and somehow does more in a day than most people manage in a week. Although born an introvert, he forced himself to reach outside himself, and learned to connect with others like him.
Scott’s stories subvert expectations that transform traditional science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something different and unexpected. He runs both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark.
His romance and genre fiction writing brings a queer energy to his stories, filling them with love, beauty and power. He imagines how the world could be – in the process, he hopes to change the world, just a little.
Scott was recognized as one of the top new gay authors in the 2017 Rainbow Awards, and his debut novel “Skythane” received two awards and an honorable mention.
You can find him at Dreamspinner here, Goodreads here, on Amazon here, on QueeRomance Ink here, and on Facebook here.
February 9, 2019
Joe Cosentino on acting and murder, and his latest Nicky and Noah mystery
Joe’s a regular here at Love That’s Out Of This World, and if I must confess to having favourites, then yeah. Joe’s mine. He always has something interesting to say to begin with, and he’s led such an interesting life that I’m always delighted when he comes here to share some of it with us. And when he says “Mind if I come along and talk about when I used to be an actor, and how I use that to commit murder… so to speak?”, then I just hold out ‘gimme’ grabby hands. So here he is. Talking about murder, and acting, and the latest mystery starring Nicky and Noah. I mean, who can resist a film title like When the Wind Blows Up Your Kilt It’s Time for A Scotch. Not me.
Guest Post from Joe: Using My Acting Background for Murder
About Drama Castle, with buy links and excerpt
Praise for the Nicky and Noah mysteries
Using My Acting Background for Murder
Nicky and Noah mystery book seven: Drama Castle
by Joe Cosentino
I am definitely a drama queen.
Not only do I become emotional at the drop of a jack strap, but after majoring in drama (in more ways than one) at college, I acted opposite stars like Rosie O’Donnell (AT&T industrial), Nathan Lane (Roar of the Greasepaint musical onstage), Bruce Willis (A Midsummer Night’s Dream onstage), Charles Keating (NBC’s Another World), Jason Robards (Commercial Credit computer commercial), and Holland Taylor (ABC’s My Mother Was Never a Kid TV movie). When the Academy Award statue didn’t appear at my doorstep, I moved on to become a college theatre professor. I used all of those experiences in writing the Nicky and Noah mysteries, where the settings are warm and cozy, the clues and murders (and laughs) come fast and furious, and there are enough plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning faster than a conservative politician taking away people’s health insurance (as Nicky would say). At the center is the touching relationship between Associate Professor of Directing Nicky Abbondanza and Assistant Professor of Acting Noah Oliver. We watch them go from courting to marrying to adopting a child, all the while head over heels in love with each other (as we fall in love with them).
In Drama Queen (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Novel of the Year) Nicky directs the school play at Treemeadow College—which is named after its gay founders, Tree and Meadow. Theatre professors drop like stage curtains, and Nicky and Noah have to use their theatre skills, including impersonating other people, to figure out whodunit. In Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention) Nicky and Noah don their gay Holmes and Watson personas again to find out why bodybuilding students and professors in Nicky’s bodybuilding competition at Treemeadow are dropping faster than barbells. In Drama Cruise it is summer on a ten-day cruise from San Francisco to Alaska and back. Nicky and Noah must figure out why college theatre professors are dropping like life rafts as Nicky directs a murder mystery dinner theatre show onboard ship starring Noah and other college theatre professors from across the US. Complicating matters are their both sets of wacky parents who want to embark on all the activities on and off the boat with the handsome couple. In Drama Luau, Nicky is directing the luau show at the Maui Mist Resort and he and Noah need to figure out why muscular Hawaiian hula dancers are dropping like grass skirts. Their department head/best friend and his husband, Martin and Ruben, are along for the bumpy tropical ride. In Drama Detective, Nicky is directing and ultimately co-starring with his husband Noah as Holmes and Watson in a new musical Sherlock Holmes play at Treemeadow College prior to Broadway. Martin and Ruben, their sassy office assistant Shayla, Nicky’s brother Tony, and Nicky and Noah’s son Taavi are also in the cast. Of course, dead bodies begin falling over like hammy actors at a curtain call. Once again Nicky and Noah use their drama skills to figure out who is lowering the street lamps on the actors before the handsome couple get half-baked on Baker Street. In Drama Fraternity, Nicky is directing Tight End Scream Queen, a slasher movie filmed at Treemeadow College’s football fraternity house, co-starring Noah, Taavi, and Martin. Rounding out the cast are members of Treemeadow’s Christian football players’ fraternity along with two hunky screen stars. When the jammer, wide receiver, and more begin fading out with their scenes, Nicky and Noah once again need to use their drama skills to figure out who is sending young hunky actors to the cutting room floor before Nicky and Noah hit the final reel.
Now in Drama Castle, Nicky is directing a historical film co-starring Noah and Taavi at Conall Castle in Scotland: When the Wind Blows Up Your Kilt It’s Time for A Scotch. Rounding out the cast are members of the mysterious Conall family who own the castle. When hunky men in kilts topple off the drawbridge and into the moat, it’s up to Nicky and Noah to use their acting skills to figure out whodunit before Nicky and Noah land in the dungeon. Nicky and Noah are joined by their best friends and fan favorites Martin and Ruben, and by Noah’s eccentric parents. And book seven adds a number of captivating new characters like Brody Naughton, the hunky head of Housekeeping with a red beard and roving eye for the oldest Conall brother, Barclay, and for Donal Blair a waiter in the castle’s Great Hall dining room. Each of the three hunky Conall brothers (Barclay, Magnus, and Fergus) have a surprising secret, and Noah makes a shocking personal revelation.
It is my joy and pleasure to share this seventh novel in the series with you. So take your seats. The curtain is going up on steep cliffs, ancient turrets, stormy seas, misty moors, malfunctioning kilts, and murder!
About Drama Castle+ Buy Links and Excerpt
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DRAMA CASTLE (the seventh Nicky and Noah mystery) – a comedy/mystery/romance novel by JOE COSENTINO
Theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a historical film at a castle in Scotland, co-starring his spouse, theatre professor Noah Oliver, and their son Taavi. When historical accuracy disappears along with hunky men in kilts, Nicky and Noah will once again need to use their drama skills to figure out who is pitching residents of Conall Castle off the drawbridge and into the moat, before Nicky and Noah land in the dungeon. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining seventh novel in this delightful series. Take your seats. The curtain is going up on steep cliffs, ancient turrets, stormy seas, misty moors, malfunctioning kilts, and murder!
Buy links:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/910555
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1129964877?ean=2940155897439
Excerpt
Noah and I made our way up the gigantic poplar wood staircase. After standing all day and evening, the thick burgundy carpet on the steps was a welcome cushion to my tired feet. Noah admired the intricate molding of lions in various positions on the staircase, walls, and pewter chandelier above us. “Nicky, the castle must be much more crowded when open for business.”
“I prefer having it to ourselves.” I pinched his firm bottom and he giggled.
On the second floor, Noah and I headed down the long corridor and knocked on Mom and Dad’s door. Dad opened it, wearing a T-shirt and Bermuda shorts.
“Dad, we’re in Scotland, not the Caribbean,” Noah said.
“A vacation’s a vacation.” Dad welcomed us into his room. “This is some place, huh?” He gestured to the large canopy bed. “And look at that!” Poking my arm, he added, “You planning on giving it to Noah in the caboose tonight?”
Noah turned scarlet.
Dad laughed uproariously. “How are my two boys?”
“Tired.” I sat on an ornate bench.
“Stay and watch TV with me.” Dad opened a giant oak wardrobe revealing a flat screen television.
Did they have those in the eighteenth century?
He sat next to me and ran a hand over his bald head. “Braveheart is on tonight.”
Noah sat on a wide oak chair opposite us. “Dad, you’re in Scotland. Why not do some sightseeing?”
“No sights can beat the locations in Braveheart,” Dad said.
The door opened, and an iPhone covered my face. “What a cute picture of you two boys. Do you like my new iPhone?” Mom texted and then smiled proudly. “Judy from Wisconsin says her son and son-in-law, Tommy and Timmy, have never been to Scotland.”
Dad laughed. “Lucky for Jack. He’d have gotten stuck with the bill.”
“How are my boys?” Mom kissed every inch of our faces.
I wiped Mom’s tangerine lipstick off with a handkerchief. “How are Tommy and Timmy?”
“They’re worried about their little adopted daughter from Vietnam. Poor Dung gets under everyone’s feet, and Judy and her husband Jack keep stepping on Dung!” Mom sat on the canopy bed and adjusted the tie of her tangerine robe. “I think Tommy and Timmy are spreading Dung too thin with baby classes in sign language, swimming, and art.”
“All paid for by Grandpa Jack,” Dad added.
Mom patted her dyed blonde hair into place. “Dung is a sweet child, but no kid is as gifted and talented as our grandson.”
“Amen,” Dad said while readying the television remote control.
“Speaking of Taavi.” Noah looked around the room. “Where is he?”
Praise for the Nicky and Noah mysteries
“Joe Cosentino has a unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless, and his use of farce, along with his convoluted plot-lines, will have you guessing until the very last page, which makes his books a joy to read. His books are worth their weight in gold, and if you haven’t discovered them yet you are in for a rare treat.” Divine Magazine
“a combination of Laurel and Hardy mixed with Hitchcock and Murder She Wrote… Loaded with puns and one-liners…Right to the end, you are kept guessing, and the conclusion still has a surprise in store for you.” “the best modern Sherlock and Watson in books today…I highly recommend this book and the entire series, it’s a pure pleasure, full of fun and love, written with talent and brio…fabulous…brilliant” Optimumm Book Reviews
“adventure, mystery, and romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet….I can’t find anything not to love about this series….This read had me laughing and falling in love….Nicky and Noah are my favorite gay couple.” Urban Book Reviews
“For fans of Joe Cosentino’s hilarious mysteries, this is another vintage story with more cheeky asides and sub plots right left and centre….The story is fast paced, funny and sassy. The writing is very witty with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour….Highly recommended.” Boy Meets Boy Reviews
“This delightfully sudsy, colorful cast of characters would rival that of any daytime soap opera, and the character exchanges are rife with sass, wit and cagey sarcasm….As the pages turn quickly, the author keeps us hanging until the startling end.” Edge Media Network
“A laugh and a murder, done in the style we have all come to love….This had me from the first paragraph….Another wonderful story with characters you know and love!” Crystals Many Reviewers
“These two are so entertaining….Their tactics in finding clues and the crazy funny interactions between characters keeps the pages turning. For most of the book if I wasn’t laughing I was grinning.” Jo and Isa Love Books
“Superb fun from start to finish, for me this series gets stronger with every book and that’s saying something because the benchmark was set so very high with book 1.” Three Books Over the Rainbow
“The Nicky and Noah Mysteries series are perfect for fans of the Cozy Mystery sub-genre. They mix tongue-in-cheek humor, over-the-top characters, a wee bit of political commentary, and suspense into a sweet little mystery solved by Nicky and Noah, theatre professors for whom all the world’s a stage.” Prism Book Alliance
“This is one hilarious series with a heart and it just keeps getting better. I highly recommend them all, and please read them in the order they were written for full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
About Joe
Bestselling author Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah mystery series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle; the Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland with Holiday Tales from Fairyland, the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings (NineStar Press); and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Chair of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily married. Joe was voted 2nd Place Favorite LGBT Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards, and his books have received numerous Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
January 30, 2019
Don Travis and Abaddon’s Locusts – with Giveaway!
DSP Publications author Don Travis has a new gay mystery book out: Abaddon’s Locusts.
When B. J. Vinson, confidential investigator, learns his young friend, Jazz Penrod, has disappeared and has not been heard from in a month, he discovers some ominous emails. Jazz has been corresponding with a “Juan” through a dating site, and that single clue draws BJ and his significant other, Paul Barton, into the brutal but lucrative world of human trafficking.
Their trail leads to a mysterious Albuquerquean known only as Silver Wings, who protects the Bulgarian cartel that moves people—mostly the young and vulnerable—around the state to be sold into modern-day slavery, sexual and otherwise. Can BJ and Paul locate and expose Silver Wings without putting Jazz’s life in jeopardy? Hell, can they do so without putting themselves at risk? People start dying as BJ, Paul, and Henry Secatero, Jazz’s Navajo half-brother, get too close. To find the answer, bring down the ring, and save Jazz, they’ll need to locate the place where human trafficking ties into the Navajo Nation and the gay underground.
About the Series: BJ Vinson, a gay former-Marine, ex-cop licensed private investigator tries to pick his cases carefully, but prior loyalties or his sense of justice or something always gets in his way. He finds himself traveling all over his beloved state of New Mexico with his companion Paul Barton to mend other people’s problems.
BUY LINKS:
DSP Publications (eBook) | DSP Publications (paperback) | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Google Play
Giveaway
Don and DSP Publications are giving away a $10 DSPP gift card with this tour. For a chance to win, enter via Rafflecopter
Excerpt
Prologue
Two men gazed down at the sleeping youth sprawled across the mattress. The older, his pleasant features blemished by a glint of cruelty in his dark eyes, smoothed silver wings of luxuriant hair at his temples before handing over a number of $100 bills to a young Hispanic almost as handsome as the boy on the bed.
Now fully clothed, Silver Wings exuded the authority of a player, of someone who counted. “Fucking beautiful. How old did you say he is?”
“Eighteen. Barely. Know that’s older’n you usually like. But he’s a rare one, no? As lindaas a woman and as macho as a man. He took care of you, huh?”
Silver Wings rubbed his eyes as if remembering the last hour. “Fantastic. Must have worn himself out. Does he usually go comatose?”
“Ah, that is the drug. He claims he gets a bigger bang by charging up. But you benefit as well, no?” He eyed his companion. “He is yours for $25,000.”
Interest flickered and died. “Tempting. But my household isn’t set up for that kind of arrangement. I prefer to call when I feel the need. Even if that means sharing him.”
“You don’t take him, then we move him south.”
“South? To Mexico, you mean? Juárez?” That wouldn’t be too bad. El Paso was a short hop, and Juárez lay just across the border.
“At first, but then we gonna trade him up.”
Silver Wings understood the human trafficking language of trading up, but it was unusual to move members of the “family” out of country these days. “In Juárez? Sounds more like trading him down.”
“¡Órale! There’s some big money in Juárez. But a bigwig in the Middle East went apeshit over the kid’s pics. He wants him. And for a lot more than twenty-five. I only give you that price to let you know how much we ’preciate your help.”
“Middle East, huh?” Silver Wings licked his lips. “Put off that transfer while I see if I can work something out.”
“Two days. Then I gotta move him. You know, easier to ship him overseas from Mexico than from the States.”
Silver Wings’ voice hardened. “You can do better than that. Give me a week to reorder my life. I’d like to visit him a couple of times. Usual fee, of course. That gives you reason enough to hold him here.”
“Okay, but not no more’n a week. I got people to answer to, you know.”
“I’d like him again tomorrow night, but it will have to be late. I have a dinner meeting.”
Hispano lowered his head. “As you wish. All you gotta do is call me.”
Silver Wings left the motel reluctantly. What would take place in that room now that they were alone? Just thinking about it raised a bead of sweat on his upper lip.
His mind returned to the offer he had received. The boy was expensive, and the economy was still struggling to recover from the Great Recession of 2008… but it was only money.
Chapter 1
Monday, August 9, 2010, Albuquerque, New Mexico
I parked the Impala in front of my detached single-car garage and sat for a moment trying to figure out the cacophony on the radio. I’d failed to reset the station after Paul and I went for a rare game of weekend golf at the North Valley Country Club. Paul Barton was the sun in my sky, but I still struggled to understand my companion’s taste in music. Now something called “Alejandro” by a gal proclaiming herself to be Lady Gaga committed assault on my classical-music-loving ears. As I switched off the noise and stepped from the car, a high, uncertain voice snagged my attention.
“Yoo-hoo, Mr. Vinson. BJ!”
Mrs. Gertrude Wardlow, the late-afternoon sun catching in wayward strands of her white hair, waved at me from the foot of her driveway. She had lived in the white brick across the street for as long as I could remember. Mrs. W. and her husband, Herb, had been with the Drug Enforcement Administration from the time it was formed in 1973 until their retirement. Some ten years ago, Herb passed on to his reward—an urn on his widow’s mantelpiece. I walked out to meet her in the middle of Post Oak Drive.
“I’m so glad I caught you.” She fiddled with frilly lace at the neck of her lavender blouse. “A man on a Harley has been driving up and down the street. He stopped at your place twice. Rang the bell and then rode off.”
No doubt she was recalling the time when two thugs on another motorcycle attempted to gun me down. When she’d yelled to distract their murderous attention, they shot up the front of her house, scattering her husband all over the carpet.
I touched her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m not involved in any gang disputes at the moment. Not that I know of, anyway.”
Her smile turned impish. “That was an interesting day, wasn’t it? I just thought you should be aware someone was trying to contact you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. W. I’ll be on the lookout.”
After exchanging pleasantries, we parted. I mounted the steps to my front porch and paused to enjoy the welcoming aroma of tea roses my late mother planted. No evidence of a note on the door or in the mailbox. That meant the mysterious biker would probably return. I went inside and forgot the matter as I removed one of Paul’s casseroles from the fridge and got out a pan of rolls. I enjoyed their yeasty aroma almost as much as I liked their yeasty taste. Our household mantra was Paul Barton, freelance journalist, whips up gourmet meals; B. J. Vinson, former Marine and ex-cop turned confidential investigator, burns toast.
We planned to stay home tonight and watch an episode of a new gumshoe program on the tube called The Glades. Matt Passmore, the guy who played the detective, was a way-cool customer who Paul claimed should be my role model. I’d no sooner set the dishes to heating than a rumble on the street caught my attention. A moment later the doorbell rang.
Author Bio
Don Travis is an Okie turned New Mexican. Each of his B. J. Vinson mystery novels features some region of his beautiful adopted state as prominently as it does his protagonist, a gay former Marine, ex-cop turned confidential investigator. Don never made it to the Marines (three years in the Army instead) and certainly didn’t join the Albuquerque Police Department.
He thought he was a paint artist for a while but ditched that for writing a few years back. A loner, he fulfills his social needs by attending SouthWest Writers meetings and teaching a free weekly writing class called Wordwrights at the North Domingo Multigenerational Center, an Albuquerque community center.
Author Website: http://www.dontravis.com
Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/donald.travis.982
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/dontravis3
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