Guest Blog – A Conversation with Droje by Jessica Freely
Today we’ve got a great guest post from author Jessica Freely, giving us a sneak peek behind the characters of her new book, Unlawful. She’s running a contest, and there’s an excerpt below the jump. Enjoy! - Reesa
In a world where being gay is unlawful and slavery is legal, two men fight for their lives, for their desires, and for justice. Larke is a corporate lackey with a secret. Droje is a freedom fighter on the run. Each spells trouble for the other, but the passion between them will not be denied, no matter what the risk.
Hi everyone and thank you for stopping by. I particularly want to thank Michelle and Reesa for having me over. Thanks guys!
Please be sure to leave a comment because I’ll be giving away a book from my backlist to one lucky reader! The contest will end on Sunday Feb. 3 and the winner will be chosen using random.org.
So yesterday at Tara’s blog, we had a conversation with Larke, in which he revealed some things that Droje doesn’t know. Now, it’s Droje’s turn.
A Conversation with Droje
A muscular man with short blond hair, dressed in sweat pants, a T-shirt, and a hoodie is staring at me. “So Larke tells me you’re our author.”
It’s a little intimidating. “Uh. Yeah.”
He nods. “So you’re the one responsible for Larke living under constant threat of discovery.”
“Well…”
“And for Zenesco’s monopoly on everything.”
“Yeah.”
He leans forward, brows furrowed. “And for uncontracted labor.”
“True. But I also created people like you, and Cam, and Sunshine to do something about it.”
He takes a sharp breath and pauses. “And Larke.”
“Him too, if you can convince him your cause is just.”
He lifts one corner of his mouth in a half smile. “Don’t you mean if you can make me convince him?”
“I like to give my characters their own heads. Anyway, this is getting a little too metaphysical. Let’s talk about Larke.”
“What about him?”
“What do you think of him?”
Droje looks around. “Can he hear me?”
“No.”
He nods and appears lost in thought for a moment. He smiles. “Well, the truth is, I’m nuts for him. He’s… well, you’ve seen him, he’s beautiful, but that ‘s not all. What he did for me was so brave, and what he did with me… a total stranger… that was risky. But I don’t think he ever thought of either of those things that way. I don’t think he was like, “I’m going to do this reckless thing now because it’s what I believe in.” He just did it because that’s his nature. He’s stronger than he knows, more courageous.”
“Wow, sounds like you’re head over heels, Droje.”
He laughs. “Yeah. I am, and that scares me because my life is not exactly built for settling down, even if we were allowed to–”
“Since when do you stop at what’s allowed?”
“True. But that’s my choice. Corp Sec’s after me. I don’t want to put Larke in danger.”
“Aren’t you the one who points out that he’s already in danger, every day, just because of who he is?”
His chest expands with a deep breath. “Yeah.”
“So.”
He shrugs. “We hardly know each other. Maybe he doesn’t want a steady guy. Maybe I’m just a good fuck to him.”
Now I’m smiling. “You’ll have to find out about that from him, because I’m not telling.”
Check out an excerpt from Jessica Freely’s new novel, Unlawful below the jump.
Naked, cold, and hurting, Droje lay curled in a ball on the hard concrete pavement of the alley. He’d escaped. Nothing else really mattered.
A relentless drizzle pelted him with icy needles. He shivered and tried to find a more comfortable position behind the dumpster that hid him from view of the street. His efforts were useless; tortured muscles would not allow him to rest.
He needed shelter, food, and water, but he had nowhere to go for those things. His home would be watched and even if he had clothes and money, a public place would mean instant recapture. Going to the home of one of his friends would only bring Corp Sec down on them all—an even worse betrayal than the one Droje had already committed.
No. He’d run as far as his beleaguered body could carry him, and now he was done.
Another seizure flooded his nerves with hot agony. Fucking Whole Truth serum—not only did it make you spill your guts like you’d met the business end of a filament saber, but it had this lovely little after effect as well. His already cramped muscles contracted in bone-shaking spasms. He bit down on his moans and prayed for death.
