Da'Kharta Rising's Blog: Thoughts of a Slightly Social Anti-Socialite, page 8

FWJB #HowAStoryGrows

Yo what’s poppin’! The SASS here, peeking my head out of my cave to host the one I call Rosie: C. Desert Rose.

She has a new work coming out, entitled From Whence Jasmine Blooms. I did want to interrogate … I mean, ask questions … of the cover, but Rose, never one to be traditional, decide to tell the back story. Who doesn’t love a good origins story?

While she’s doing that, I’m going to work on my recipe for chocolate fang cookies.

Rose, you’ve been here before. You know what to do.

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One day I woke up with an image stuck in my head—I couldn’t shake it. The picture was vivid and it felt profound to me, as if it were tied to something that was on the cusp of being realized.

Some may call it a vision or revelation. Honestly, I’d be pushing the envelope too far if I said that it was divinely inspired, for I can’t say that with certainty. But one thing I can say with absoluteness is that I saw this depiction in my mind’s eye as clear as day.

That day I met with my publisher and her representatives and talked a little bit about this image I’d had stuck in my psyche. Immediately the graphic designer put pen to paper and perfectly duplicated the picture I’d seen. It was a flower laying atop a dark surface, but in the background was a transparent, hardly noticeable hourglass.

“Rose, what’s it for?” she asked.

“I have no idea.” I replied sincerely.

The VP interjected. “It’s for a story, obviously.”

“What story? I don’t have anything I am working, nothing outlines. Nothing.”

“You will.” she retorted assuredly.

“Um, okay. I guess.” saving the image I set all these thoughts side and continued on other things that I’d been working on.

 

Then I had a dream.

The night had fallen and in their quiet neighborhood crickets sang their evening tune. The wetness left behind from the night’s prior rain fogged the windows slightly.

A pink pegasus with a unicorn horn and a rainbow mane picked her up at the sliding glass door located in the dining room. I already knew why she was there.

After a furious fight with my father at that very moment my brother helped calm me whilst sitting at the dining room table. With the corner of my eye I caught sight of the luminescence that alerted me of the pegasus’ presence.

When I stepped outside I realized that I was not alone.

“Do you see this?” I asked my brother.

“Yeah.” he responded, simultaneously flabbergasted and stupefied.

“So this isn’t in my head …?”

“Nope.”

The pegasus neighed impatiently. A whimsical woman seated on the pegasus’ back extended her hand towards me. “Come. We’ve got no time to waste. You have a long night ahead of you.”

In that instance, from an indiscernible distance down glid another pegasus—this one with yellow fur—with two girls on her back.

In a state of disbelief I grabbed the angelic lady’s hand and mounted the creature.

“Come now ladies, prepare yourself for the flight. It may be a bit turbulent.”

The girls on the second pegasus murmured amongst each other, chattering about the adventure that awaited them all. I said nothing.

With a nod of the head, the pegasus beat her front hooves, took a few leaps forward and just as simply ascended into the air.

Closely behind was the yellow pegasus.

Unmoved, and as if these things were an everyday occurrence, the magical lady spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Hold on tight!”

I gripped the lady’s waste as hard as I could.

The lady spoke again. “My name is Amelia-Aurora. I was sent to get you. In approximately 50,000 feet you will feel a shift in your vision. You will no longer perceive things as a human. You will instantly obtain angelic vision and see things as we do.”

“So …” I gulped. “you are an angel?”

“Of course. What else would I be?”

I nodded. A second later, my vision went blurry, static and then refocused. Then the whole of the world was now painted in a hue that resembled night vision goggles.

“At this point your vision should have changed.”

The girls on the second pegasus confirmed. I nodded again. “Ehem … yeah.”

“One thousand more feet and we’ll traverse The Wall.”

“‘The Wall’?” Asked one of the girls.

“Yes, the clouds.” Just as promised, in a matter of seconds we were floating amongst the clouds. Skillfully, Amelia-Aurora navigated the beast. We traversed The Wall and made it to the Heavenly Gates.

That’s when I woke up.

After several days of discussion with my fellow authors and under the impression that the story could be a contribution to an anthology I began to write it. In the story I supplemented myself for a character called Jasmine and as if by pure instinct the rest of the narrative just came to me. I wrote the entire story in the matter of a week.

A few days later the All Authors VP read a portion of the story and said, “There it is. The story that goes with the cover.”

She was right.

That was when “From When Jasmine Blooms” was born—a coming of age story of a girl on a time sensitive adventure to discover her purpose in the world.

 

Amoresels Book Release #SteamyShyt

Today we celebrate the release of a new anthology by author Synful Desire.

What is “Amoresels”?

“Amore”, Italian for love.

“Morsels”, a yummy tidbit.

“Amoresels” is a short story anthology that takes the reader on a trip to all sorts of sexy scenarios. In “Amoresels” there is no fetish too crazy, and no desire too taboo. From the everyday to the not so common, Synful Desire takes the reader on quick trips to all things sensual.

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The most savory and steamy can be found in the tiniest most unexpected locations.

 

Amoresels is an erotic flash fiction anthology crafted to satiate the rush for the ultimate stimuli quickie. Ranging from tantalizing teasers to eye opening kinks, Amoresels is a bold, unapologetic cornucopia of sensual liberation.

 

Featured stories include:“The Desktop Surprise”, “The Gamers’ Disruption”, “Laundry Day”, “Taste on the Move”, “GFY”, “Bookworm”, “Build-A-Mate”, “The Infomercial Purchase”, “House of Mirrors”, “Tree of Lust”, “Curves Gym”, “Suds and Such”, “Moments in Time”, “Moments in Time”, “Full Circle”, “Whale of a Sale”, “Scentacular”, “Pleasure’s Blur”, “Party Monster”, “Royals’ Delight”, and “Amoresels”.





 

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Why Is Amoresels so Rebellious? #ABT

Yo! What’s fryin’? My sun in all of this heat! This is why I try and stay in my cave. All. Summer. Long.

While I was lounging in the shadows drinking my blood … I mean, fruit punch … there was a knock at my door. Who could even think of disturbing my quiet time?

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Yoo hoo! Da’Kharta are you in there?

How many times have I told you to call before showing your happy tail up over here?

Actually I did call but it says your mailbox is full. Don’t you ever check messages? Besides, did you forget you were hosting me today?

What? (checks the calendar)

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Shit! (Takes clutter and shoves it in the nearest closet) Give me a second. (Thirty seconds later) Desire, well look at you! Aren’t you peachy, as always?

Da’Kharta thanks! Promise I won’t be long. Then you can’t get back to doing … um, whatever it is that you do.

Bet. Matter of fact, you’ve been here before. I’ll let you do what you do. I’m going to finish my drink and catch some Z’s. Let yourself out, will you?

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Wow! What hospitality! You would think she’d be worried about someone stealing her stuff. However, there isn’t much to steal.

Anyway, hello Awesome Visitors! Let’s Talk! A few days ago, I revealed the cover to my upcoming project “Amoresels”. In case you missed it, let me bring back this darling cover:

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Check out the imagery. The nice white teeth. The lovely lips. The watering of anticipation. The nice yummy cherries. It almost makes you want to eat the cover, but please don’t.

“Amoresels” isn’t literature that is for the timid or for those who want their stories predictable. In that way, it’s tiny yet rebellious in its content.

With “Amoresels”, it was a return home. A return to my roots as a contemporary erotica writer. I’m that person who turned a cup of coffee into a fixture of satiation. Then, as I progressed in my career, I wanted to flex my creative muscle. Dabble a bit into contemporary drama, contemporary romance, romantic comedy, and a tiny bit of science fiction. Heck, I would not have even believed it, if not for “Return to Hues”. But … that’s a story for another day.

At some point, after your travels, you have the inkling to return home for a visit. That is what ended up happening with me. This itch which needed attention took place in between two other projects. One being the story I contributed to Pleasure Prints entitled “Onus” which got released last month. The other being the story I’m working on for the next Concordant Vibrancy anthology. Yet, it had been some years since I’d released anything without another author’s work being attached to it.

I did know that if I was coming “home”, I didn’t want to do the usual. I wanted work that paid homage to “Kona” in length but to be riskier in the erotica sector and still mark my signature. I challenged myself to write about the topics that could raise eyebrows, give side eyes, and produce shocked faces.

I knew in doing so that “Amoresels” would not strike the appeal of everyone. This is more for the die hard. The ones who aren’t afraid of something different, something bold, and something robust with the human components of sexuality.

For those, this work will satisfy.

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Fire …

 

Here’s a musical selection while I get some thoughts together on this subject.

A while back, in conjunction with the release of Concordant Vibrancy 4: Inferno early next year, one of the participants posed this question: If you could define your writing career in terms of one of the stages of fire, which would it be and why?

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I would have to say that I’m in the growth stage.

I’m relatively new to the whole publishing scene but I never operated on a formula. At least not the typical wagon wheel some authors have to adhere to. I don’t think you can force creativity; it has to come from an organic space.

I am not a deadline driven person. They don’t work on me. Wait … let me elaborate. The deadlines I have for myself don’t necessarily coincide with the textbook ones for publication.

Let’s take the Transcendent Choice collection for example. I released the 1st book “Boundless Limits” about four years ago, give or take. Under the usual publishing formula, the 2nd, even the 3rd book should have been out by now. For me, each work has to be pristine, so even if it’s ten years before the 2nd book comes out (it won’t be, but still), it has to be perfect by my specifications. Otherwise, I won’t release it.

I don’t have many works out individually. Besides “Boundless Limits”, there’s “S.K.A.R.” and my freebie “Vocal Remedy”. That is going to change with the development of the When Karma Speaks series. It will be a total of 13 episodes and all are set up to be standalones. At my core, I consider myself to be a horror writer, concentration in psychological terror, but I have branched out to do paranormal, even some dark comedy, as will be seen in my contribution to Concordant Vibrancy 4: Inferno.

Once I get more of my writings out to the public, I may enter another stage in my writing career. However, I have the distinct feeling I will be in the growth stage for a very long time, and I’l cool with that.

DR

 

Ask The Amoresels Cover #TheLips

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The most savory and steamy can be found in the tiniest most unexpected locations.

Amoresels is an erotic flash fiction anthology crafted to satiate the rush for the ultimate stimuli quickie. Ranging from tantalizing teasers to eye opening kinks, Amoresels is a bold, unapologetic cornucopia of sensual liberation.

Featured stories include: “The Desktop Surprise”, “The Gamers’ Disruption”, “Laundry Day”, “Taste on the Move”, “GFY”, “Bookworm”, “Build-A-Mate”, “The Infomercial Purchase”, “House of Mirrors”, “Tree of Lust”, “Curves Gym”, “Suds and Such”, “Moments in Time”, “Moments in Time”, “Full Circle”, “Whale of a Sale”, “Scentacular”, “Pleasure’s Blur”, “Party Monster”, “Royals’ Delight”, and “Amoresels”.

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The lips look very real. Do they belong to the author?

Hmmm … that is a very interesting question indeed. I would like to believe so, but I don’t have eyes, so I can’t say for sure. However, imagining that a random picture of lips was used on the cover is just as weird a concept. To make me feel at ease, I’m going to go with yes. I’d hate to be accused of theft.

Why are the cherries on the cover?

That’s my question too! I honestly think cherries are overrated. Sure, one can stick the tip of the tongue between the stem and the whole balancing act crap is sexy. However, other fruits can be sexy, like strawberries, watermelon, red grapes … just saying. Maybe the author likes cherries or feels the target audience likes cherries. For the record, I don’t.

Would you have picked this font for the cover?

The font is my favorite actually. It’s pretty fun. I want to be a fun cover.

Do the different colors hold any significance to you or the author?

I don’t spend time rummaging in the author’s brain so I’m going to speak for myself. Red represents passion. Green represents energy. Yellow represents happiness. Blue represents trust. It all goes together, I think.

If you could take a trip into the mouth on the cover, what would the inside look like?

The teeth would be well kept. Nary a cavity in sight. If it’s very early morning, minty from Listerine mouthwash. As the day moves on, the scent of coffee beans. Occasionally, some chocolate, if one’s in the mood for something sweet or low salt kettle chips if needing something salty. It’s not unpleasant, that’s for certain.

Other than cherries, what could have been the fruit on the cover?

Strawberries. Watermelon (sans the seeds). Red grapes. A peach or plum could substitute if none of the other three are available.

Are the lips on the cover drooling, or are they just that juicy?

Perhaps it’s a mix of both. That’s my take.

Apart from lips, what else could have been the main image?

Eyes would have been nice. Or even just one eye, serving as a mirror to reflect what’s inside. But I may have been miscategorized as a horror book. I don’t like scary things. No, scratch that! Lips were the safer bet.

Greeting, Cover. It is a pleasure. How impressed and/or satisfied are you with the content of the pages between you?

I like being warm. I am warm all the time. Not sure what was put in here but it gives me a fuzzy feeling.

If you could represent different content, what would that be and why?

You will probably laugh but a children’s book. Some of the primary colors children use are in play and it’s nice for children to have feel good stories to combat things in the world that can make them sad, angry, and depressed. It would put smiles on their faces. I’d probably change my title though. Maybe “Heartbeats” or “Joyous Bits”.

 

Pleasure Prints Book Release #HOTP

 

 




AND BOY DO WE HAVE A GOOD REASON TO CELEBRATE!

All Authors has been waiting 3 years to release this publication and the joy is beyond words!

Blurb:
Divergent Ink is the mesh of different frames of thoughts, various interpretations of one core question that yearns for universal expansion. Although the subject matter may change every year, the purpose of the Divergent Ink series will remain the same. The second book in the Divergent Ink anthology series, “Pleasure Prints”, revolves around the following question:

Where is paradise?
 
Six Divergent Inks exploring “ Pleasure Prints “. Will the destination cause one to sip a tropical cocktail or cock an eyebrow in amazement?

Featuring:

Adonis Mann: Desperation and delusion are a marriage of emotions. Sentiments collide when three lives tell their tales. Hypnotizing and melancholic are the days of the souls who pursue the “Odyssey of Rhapsody“.

C. Desert Rose: Helena can be cumbersome and crude, while her life is at a standstill, she likes it that way. Amidst the orange glow of office lights and a steaming cup of hot chocolate, Helena learns that life is a series of “Fleeting Moments“.

Da’Kharta Rising: For Masato, there’s no time like the present. Is no limit too great to accomplish “Masato’s Zion”?

Synful Desire: Cecilia Teflon knows she doesn’t have much time left. Before she leaves this earth, she must make a confession. Will this revelation grant her entrance into spiritual paradise? Explore the twists and turns of “Onus”.

Queen of Spades: Axana has always lived a very careful life but a lucrative advertisement shreds her comfort zone. Paradise is where one least expects in “Axana … Unscripted”.

Y. Correa: Myth or memory, which can it be? A life so scripted can be less than desirable. To go or to stay, it is that question that leaves, “Nalani at Heaven’s Gates“.

 

#PPBT: Interview with Y. Correa

Yo! What’s the deal? I’m just sitting on my cozy couch living my best life. One thing that I’ve tried to shy away from is Author Interviews. Mainly, because I feel like people ask you the same stuff repeatedly. I don’t know about the rest of you but that gets mad boring after a while.

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It’s the Pleasure Prints Blog Tour (#PPBT) and it’s getting close to the end. When Multi-Genre Dibble Dabbler Y. Correa decided she wanted to do an interview, I wanted to make my questions as interesting as possible as well as the co-interviewer in the mix, Paranormal Powerhouse C. Desert Rose.

I’ll let you be the judge on how well we did. Enough of this Infomercial. Let’s get on with the questions.

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I’ve heard you say in the past that you have a love affair with words. Where did this saying come from and why?

First of all, hello, Rose. I hope you are doing well.

To answer your question, the saying comes from the truth.

Much like paint is a painter’s first love, words are a writer’s. But not just any writer, but a writer who can appreciate the beauty in words. It takes a special kind of mind to see the allure in the sounds, meanings and use of a word.

For example, I could say, “Lucy was pretty.” and that could work just fine. But it makes a story humdrum. However, if I say, “Lucy’s countenance was like sun rays grazing flowers in a chromatic field in a mid-summer’s day.” the image suddenly becomes majestic.

That is why I love words.

Being forced to pigeon-hole yourself into a single genre, what would that be and why?

Man, that is a hard one!

I guess if I am forced to choose just one, I would say science fiction. The why is because I’ve always been attracted to science and a lot of my stories are heavily sci-fi connected, although they are all mash-ups.

Your usual MO is to give the readers an ending they would not expect. When writing for anthologies, do you fit that same profile or do you feel the need to conform to mainstream storytelling?

Actually, I never really saw it that way. I didn’t even really think I had an MO, if you will. I just wrote the story that my mind dictated. So, I would have to say no to your question, but I could be wrong. Maybe I do use the same formula.

Random Question One: Favorite superhero and why?

Wolverine, always and forever. I have loved Wolverine since before the movies were ever talked about. I loved his personage and anti-hero ways since he was just a scribble of an idea in a comic book.

Do you consider yourself a rebel? If so or if not, why?

I think I am in rebel in a lot of ways. Not obnoxiously rebellious. Just rebellious enough to make people look and think. My life is all about making people think about the things they do and why. So if I have to rebel a little in order to accomplish that, then so be it. Plus, I honestly don’t really care what people think about me, so …

Going “Unscripted” w/Queen of Spades

Yo Queen, I have a craving for some Magnum chocolate ice cream. You want anything?

No I’ve already eaten. Should I wait for you to get back?

Nah, I don’t have anything you’d be interested in stealing. Feel free to do your thing. It is your day on the Pleasure Prints blog tour. If anyone tries to stop by, just grab the blade underneath the Unwelcome mat and stick it through the slot. That scares off most. Except those Witnesses. They are persistent.

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Greetings everyone! For those of you who have been reading and supporting Pleasure Prints, many thanks. For people who are just joining the fray, All Authors is in the midst of its Pleasure Prints blog tour. Today is my feature day where all things are “Unscripted”.

I would like to discuss my favorite three parts of “Axana … Unscripted” as well as the reasons behind the choices.

Excerpt One

She surveyed the landscape. The grass was high, tinted yellow with neglect and saturated with candy wrappers, beer bottles, cigarette butts and ripped condom wrappers. A repugnant scent—a mixture of rotten eggs and raw sewage—gave foil to an otherwise clear day. If Axana were to guess, various neighborhood miscreants had taken liberties in the outward redesign of the grey building. However, the artistic direction lacked sync. The left side of the building—doused with profanity. The right side of the building—devotional mosaics of fallen comrades.

One portrait was of a little boy, who looked no more than six years old. His eyes were so big, his gaze so innocent and full of wonder. Axana wandered closer to the image and rubbed his button nose and robust cheeks.

What was this boy’s story? Why was his spirit called so soon?

 

With this, I wanted to paint a clear picture of the element that Axana was walking into. Although some people may be used to it because it’s what they see every day, this scene is not familiar to her, which is why it gives her tremendous trepidation. I also referenced the mural of the little boy to recognize that so many of them are taken from us too soon due to external elements. However, I leave the reader to come up with one’s own story as to the little boy’s demise.

 

Excerpt Two

Axana strutted over to the window. For a fleeting moment, she thought that Zube was studying her movements, but dismissed it just as quickly. She busied herself with different poses until he barked, “Don’t do any of that. It looks stupid.”

“What?”

“Axana, this isn’t a modeling shoot. I don’t need you to work the camera. This needs to come across as natural.”

Axana huffed, her forehead dimpled with lines of confusion. It was always championed that women tended to not know what they wanted. They had not come across Zube.

Zube placed his camera back on the tripod to approach her.

“Axana I wasn’t calling you stupid. I’m just saying that life isn’t staged so it doesn’t make sense for you to pose. You must behave as if the camera isn’t here. Look out of the window, think about how you are feeling and make it visual enough for me to capture … whatever that is, even if it’s unpleasant. For example, how did you feel when you first arrived here? I don’t imagine it’s an emotion associated with walking the runway.”

In this exchange, I wanted to capture the camaraderie between Axana and Zube. Both of them have awkwardness in different ways. Axana is slightly sensitive to Zube’s directness, and Zube does not have the eloquent finesse to deliver his request until in hindsight.

There is also a microscope on the operation of life. When one takes pictures for Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and the like, we have time to make things pretty and perfect. Yet this is not what Zube is going for at all. Life is not staged or pretty. It often flows without opportunity for what’s appropriate or correct.

 

Excerpt Three

He didn’t answer, just pointed to the bed and instructed her to get comfortable. Just pretend he’s not here was the mantra Axana placed in her brain. Yet, she felt exposed. It had been a while since she’d been in this state of dress around anyone.

The more she attempted to dilute Zube’s presence, the more amplified it became. The silhouette manifested itself into him, adopted all of his features. The sensations pulling her closer to this fantasy rattled her rationale. Axana’s body was no longer her own. Some primal entity operated as her puppet master.

Axana’s eyes smoldered with lust while she looked into Zube’s camera lens. One brassiere strap, of its own volition, slid off her shoulder. One hand, originally on Axana’s thigh, slid closer to her secret treasure.

 

A tightrope is present between suppression and surrender. What is it about Zube that makes Axana’s cautionary wall feel comfortable enough to crumble? Is he that damn fine? Is it his art? Or seeing multiple sides to him? Perhaps, it’s just been a minute since she’s been sexually shaken up and she throws caution aside, thinking that she only lives once. Did they just kiss or go all the way? Those questions I left unanswered on purpose, for there’s really no wrong answer.

For more of Axana and Zube, don’t hesitate to pick up Pleasure Prints.

Peace.

 

The Challenges of Creation (Special Guest Synful Desire)

Man, this week is going to be the most I’ve posted to this spot in a minute. What can I say? I keep having folks popping over.

Today, Synful Desire is stopping by on her feature day to talk about the struggle related to some of her characters in “Onus”.

Desire, it’s sometimes a pleasure.

Sometimes? Da’Kharta, surely you jest! You know you’re always glad to see me. You just don’t show it,for fear it’ll destroy your image.

Whatever chic; you know I’m not down for all this small talk. Let’s get into the onus of “Onus”.

I see what you did there. Don’t make it a habit.

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Hello everyone! Let’s talk “Challenges”.

With “Onus” I stepped out of my usual formula in quite a few ways. Today I will outline them as well as share a few excerpts from my contribution in Pleasure Prints.

Having a main character that is significantly older

Most of the main characters I create tend to be close to my age group, a bit younger, or slightly older. My main character is Cecilia Teflon. I do not reveal the number but there are ways you can tell that she’s up there in age with the following passage.

Excerpt

Cecilia flashed a look of trepidation at the Malacca cane leaning next to the metal bedpost. Her son-in-law Gordon had bought the contraption during one of his travels overseas, boasting it to be one of the best “in her condition”. Cecilia grew to hate every time Gordon coined the phrase. Gordon may have believed he was doing Cecilia a favor, but it was quite the opposite. Cecilia was a “give it to me straight” type person, like the generations of Teflon women before her. In Cecilia’s opinion, nothing should be sugar coated except the tops of doughnuts and the bottom of an iced tea glass.

The Malacca cane reminded Cecilia of the steady decline of mobility. On most days, she was able to slide along with considerable ease. Yet, for the past month, the cane was more of a dependable leg than her own. Now Cecilia wished that the telephone was on her nightstand rather than the rickety desk which had seen better days.

Forty-seven steps … an eternity for liver spot covered legs riddled with all the “ritis”, primarily Mr. Osteo. Add to that a “weakened” heart function and a “decompressed” lung function, Cecilia thanked Heaven to get anywhere at all, even if it was just to the toilet.

Balancing the supplemental characters’ weight vs. Cecilia’s narrative

To prompt Cecilia’s decision to share her narrative, I needed to create extenuating circumstances involving ones close to her. The granddaughter she has the most love for is Amber Moon. I needed to take time to give Amber Moon’s situation some weight without overshadowing Cecilia’s purpose. This blossoms with Amber Moon’s dealings with Geoff and Micah.

Excerpt

(outlining 1 encounter with Geoff)

The more Amber Moon attempted to stew in her anger, the less logical it seemed. Perhaps the reason why she reacted in such a way was because he spoke a truth she didn’t want to admit. Had Amber Moon forgotten the difficulty in appealing to Café Wysteria now that she was part of the circle? Weren’t there moments she felt the same as Geoff and Shannon?

Amber Moon nervously continued down this path of thinking. What was it about Geoff that made her so defensive? Truth be told, Geoff wasn’t a bad guy. If so, he could have easily left her out there. This captivating man set off a myriad of emotions—aggravation, adoration, and arousal.

Even with the minuscule disagreement, Geoff’s presence accelerated her pulse. The aching of neglected desire resumed.

Excerpt

(outlining encounter with Micah)

Amber Moon leaned against him. His body wasn’t as defined as Geoff’s but he was no slouch. The smell of Mr. Persistence—highly delectable … musky with a splash of citrus. Nothing about this individual’s personality was a ten but toxicity often morphs what’s important and what isn’t.

His hands cupped Amber Moon’s ass and pulled her closer.

His nose inhaled her scent. “You smell so good,” he whispered.

Not Geoff’s voice. Deeper but still sensual.

They continued to sway together. Mr. Persistence’s lips nibbled Amber Moon’s earlobe, then traveled the length of her neck before returning to the earlobe.

“Kiss me,” he commanded.

Amber Moon struggled to stay focused on Geoff. In the alcoholic haze and the warmth of her “right now”, Geoff was too distant to be a factor.

Excerpt

(outlining the tumult in Amber Moon)

Amber Moon could have told Micah right then about Geoff. Selective laryngitis developed for many reasons.

One, Micah was quite the performer and had connections which could open additional doors for her. It wouldn’t be wise to burn a bridge.

Two, Amber Moon could relate to Micah, for they had a similar background, not one of privilege like Geoff.

Three, Geoff was away, and Amber Moon held no guarantee that he was being faithful. If Geoff strayed, Amber Moon would not be as scarred, and her betrayal, in its most optimistic form, could be categorized as payback.

Absent the Hennessey and the club scene, she and Micah enjoyed a lyrical connection: they bantered over all types of topics. This mingling with the recognizable put her at ease. On top of that, Amber Moon’s confidence soared when interacting with Micah, for she was the more intelligent of the duo. That rarely was the case when with Geoff.

Subtracting my feelings from the characters’ actions

For me, it can be a struggle to not get overly emotional about certain characters. As an author, one has to do her best not to get invested and let the characters tell their tale as they want to tell him. Geoff is the prototype of the quintessential good guy, the one a lot of women always speak of wanting. Amber Moon has that guy, even asked the Universe for redemption, the Universe granted it, and things toppled downhill. However, I couldn’t base Amber Moon on what another woman would, could, or should do. Amber Moon had to do things in her own way, no matter how she’d be judged in the eye of public opinion. I prefer my characters honest than fake, unless being fake is the purpose in the story.

Despite the challenges, I love the end result of what was created. Please check out “Onus” and all of the other stories in Pleasure Prints.

Da’Kharta, this has been fantabulous, as usual. But next time, have some food! Talking about my writings always makes me hungry!

You sure you don’t mean … um, never mind. Thanks for stopping by.

DR

Character Speak “Dad” (Masato’s Zion)

Yo! What’s awesome people? The Pleasure Prints blog tour, that’s what! Guess what today is? Today is my feature day.

In addition to being here, I did a bit of stalking on my fellow authors’ sites to talk about “Masato’s Zion”. Therefore, after you get through reading what the “Dad” from the story wants to discuss, pop on over to visit:

Y. Correa

Adonis Mann

Queen of Spades

Synful Desire

C. Desert Rose

I don’t like to keep people waiting so let’s get down to it. Like you, I am chomping at the bit to see what this character has to say about his character. Get it?

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I got an invitation to come here and speak, although I’m not sure what you want me to speak about. I’m a typical man, one who is focused on providing for his family in the best way possible. Oftentimes, that involves staying later hours and sacrificing downtime.

It is not easy having your own business, especially one that is high in demand. Yet the great thing about it is that because it is high in demand, there is enough work to go around. The struggle is being as competitive with prices while still being fair to workers under one’s employ. I have been fortunate that price has yet to interfere with profit, even as the cost of parts has begun to rise.

The challenge is having people who are as well verse with the new school cars as the old school. Some of my workers are intimidated with the technology placed in the latter model cars. They function more as portable computers than anything. One of my oldest mechanics deem them “spaceships on Earth” and think these cars are “too smart”. Each time he hears of cars driving and parking themselves, it makes him cranky and nervous at the same time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Old School retires in less than five years because he’s unwilling to work on the newer cars. He’d be missed. Almost everyone here knows him and brags about his work.

I do stay late to do research after the manual and administrative parts of my profession are done. I want to ensure I get the best price on needed parts. The better deals I get with inventory, the better pricing I can offer my customers. If I do not, the customers have to take up the slack. I want to avoid that at all costs.

Being in my office does get a bit warm. Unfortunately, my AC unit works a bit too well and makes me a bit too cold. What helps me is taking a shower so I don’t smell my extra funk. I keep telling myself that I have to get more man-friendly products if I’m going to continue to shower before heading home. Unfortunately I keep forgetting, so I’ve used one of my co-workers ex-girlfriend’s Bath and Body Works products in the meanwhile. He told me to throw it away ages ago but I never got around to doing so. Luckily, it’s almost gone.

My wife understands how time consuming being the owner of an auto shop is. It’s hard for me to read my son. I have asked my wife if anyone at school has noticed anything suspicious going on with Masato. They cannot get enough of Masato. I would puff my chest out in pride, yet I know his success cannot be contributed to me. I don’t engage with Masato enough. By the time I get home, his door is already closed. I don’t want to disturb him in case he’s asleep.

I do love Masato but not sure if it’s in his favor being an only child. A few years ago, my wife brought up wanting a daughter, but I was too tunnel visioned with the business. Now that opportunity has come and gone. She never brings it up anymore. It would have been nice to have a girl to spoil.

Gee, look at the time! It often escapes me. I best be headed home. I’m not sure if I aided in any way with your project. All I did was ramble and talk about work. That makes me pretty boring in the scheme of things. In any case, good luck with it.

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You definitely have put a twist on this “Dad”. I didn’t think “Masato’s Zion” could get any more intriguing, but I ain’t mad at it!

Before I get me some liquid enjoyment, check out the other participants in the Pleasure Prints blog tour on their days as well. If not, I’ll have to send Karma after you.

DR