Where to Put the Heterosexuals

Snippets of conversations from the past week or so:

“Which one of you cowboys made a woman cry?”

“I can do Greek, I’m easy.”

“I like the naked guy with the angel wings better than the naked guy lying with the wolf.”

“But why was she dressed like a cave girl?”

“What was up with that goat?”

“So where are you going to put the heterosexuals?”

I’ll address the last statement because it has to do with a dilemma I’m facing with one of the novels I’m working on. I could explain the other snippets, but they don’t make much sense even after putting them in context. They were all part of various work-related conversations.

A Soldier’s Fate, is not just a continuation of Rik and Vincent’s story. There is a strong subplot revolving around Bobby’s becoming a soldier and falling in love. This has been a dilemma because most of my readers and, frankly, the strongest sales have been from the gay community. I’m not saying that there would be no interest in Bobby and Ellie from that community, but I can’t have Rik and Vincent viewed as mere supporting characters. Thus, I’ve had to keep a close eye on how I’m developing the story and not let Bobby’s story overwhelm the novel. Then again, I do have a lot of material in my head concerning those two characters that I don’t want to abandon. I’ve decided to take advantage of the website and put the material there as bonuses. Now, there are schools of thought dictate that writers should write the novel and let it go where it will. That is a valid argument, and I am a veteran of mixing genres as I see fit and hoping the readers will follow. However, A Soldier’s Choice has done very well thus far, and the feedback I’m getting is the readers really love being with Rik and Vincent. I don’t think it would be fair to them to give them less than what they’re looking for. Hopefully, I’ll be able to have the best of both worlds by putting the bonus material online.

The Legacy of Surrender is well underway. The main plot revolves around Princess Kirsi and the handsome and mysterious Prince Ruark who washed up on a riverbank near her home. He comes from a far away kingdom with assassins at his heels and a grave problem for which he needs extraordinary assistance. For Nikulainen and Sarianna, the dilemma is how much their stable kingdom should involve itself in the affairs of a far away land. They must also face the possibility of losing their beautiful, beloved daughter to the enigmatic stranger. Meanwhile, Prince Alkarin is coming into his own as a Captain of his father’s elite guard and quite a rake amongst the ladies. This novel is shaping into a story in the vein of the previous Surrender titles. It mixes impending disaster with desperate romance. This one also pushes the notion of sensual possession to the absolute limits.

Alas, I cannot do an exerpt from either. Both books are still largely in long hand. My wrist is already protesting the amount of typing I’ve done today. That nun who tried so very hard to teach me touch typing in high school would be cackling her head off at how important that skill has become to me – if she’d had a sense of humor. At the time a pooh poohed the secretarial arts. What did I know?



Hopefully, I’ll be able to input more material by next week.

Blog Delay due to Injury

I've sprained my wrist badle enough that I can't type. I'll have an extra long blog over the weekend or next week.

On Mantasy and Possession

Book Trailers

The audio clips from A Soldier's Choice were causing bandwidth bedlam on the website. Thus, I pulled them, made them into booktrailers and put them on Youtube, where they have plenty of bandwidth. I only kept the ones that were spicy. Here are the links:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uETejx10OT8

and

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NYj67zQL6_E

Possession

This is an early blog. Our weekend plans are completely in the air, so I thought I'd post tonight. The subject this time are what certain words mean in the realm of romantic ficiton and in real life. The term possession and possessiveness has been coming up a lot, because of the Soldier's sequel, A Soldier's Fate and the Surrender Three-quel, Legacy of Surrender (yes, it is a title change - we thought we could keep the blank of Surrender theme going). The description of this blog even uses the term possession.

Possession is a tricky business. In fiction, especially the romances that I write, a possesive lover is a wonderful thing. My men are never overbearing or jealous (they have absolute confidence in their lover's fidelity and devotion), but they are focused in their attention on their beloved. And they don't like their beloved touched unduly by others. Their gazes are intent. They are ever ready to claim what is theirs. In A Soldier's Choice and the upcoming sequel, Rik and Vincent are loathed to be separated from one another. They are happiest within arms length of each other. And woe is he (or in the case of the sequel, she) who has the foolish notion of coming between them. The key to writing these characters as romantically possessive and not psychotically so is a matter of degrees of intensity. It helps that the lover is willing to be so intensely possessed (that's part of the whole surrender notion in all of my erotica). Then, there is the degree of fierceness. Nikulainen may not want Sarianna's servant bathing her, but he would never try to skewer his Grandfather for embracing her. During The Price of Surrender, Nikulainen's realtionship with older brother, Armas is such that he allows him to protect Sarianna in his absence. Yet, he still quietly bristles at all the attention she receives during daily royal audiences. Vincent and Rik are very possessive of each other after going through so much to have their relationship, but each has many people they are close to. There are even more that are attracted to them for various reasons. Rik came up with the notion of reclaiming one another from outside touches as a way to cope without getting violent. It's a fun way for them to cope.

Now mind, gentle readers, that this is possession in the fantasy world where the owning is mutual and benign. I could never stand a smothering boyfriend, and I always thought the song 'I'll Be Watching You' was creepy and scary. I do not advocate possessiveness other than in between the covers of a book.

Mantasy

No, dear ones, I'm not misspelling again. It's a term Stephen Colbert used this week to describe the life of Matthew McConaughey. I also thought it was a whimsical term for m/m fiction. It's also the name of a gay porn movie (Mantasy Island). If that doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will. We like Mr. Colbert so much that Sybaritic Press offered him a contract for his erotic sci-fi novel, Stephen Colbert’s Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Adventure. It would have been our longest title. As yet, he has not accepted.

Damsels, Teasers and Excerpts

First, let me do a little cross publicity. Sybpress’ newest author, Brenda Petrakos has a website up complete with performances of one of the stories from Stories from the Inside Edge. Go to: http://sybpress.blogspot.com/ for the details and links.

The fiction is proceeding at a good pace. I’m better than a third of the way through writing A Soldier’s Fate on paper. I’m more than half way through the novel in my head. My non-genre short story is going well though more slowly. I have a deadline of sorts now. Marie is looking for short stories for the end of July. I hope it’ll be in good enough shape by then to submit.

I’m really jazzed about the inspiration I found for Surrender’s Destiny, the third of the Surrender novels. I was watching a show called Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives . In the one on damsels in distress, I heard a story of a Scottish Princess who noticed a good looking man on her property while out riding. She scooped him up and carried him off. No one knows what happened between them, but two weeks later, they were married.

Since the Surrender books deal with possessing and owning men by lovely royal women, this gave me a wicked idea for how Princess Kirsi snares her man. That notion has also given me some white-hot ideas for love scenes. Makes me long to warm up the old riding crop. But, I digress. I’ve also figured out what big brother Alkarin has been up to, and even how to end the story. It won’t be done in time for the fall book fairs and conventions, but I will have a release date and some excerpts for a promotional CD. Of course, I post excerpts here.

I’m learning from the promos that have resulted in the most sales. My personal author’s page is getting a make-over. And I’m going to have separate pages made for each title or series of titles, so I can advertise them in their niche market without hassle. Separating A Soldier’s Choice to its own site has enabled me to advertise it on yaoi sites and gay erotica sites. The ad campaign is a few dollars a month, but has resulted in the best sales I’ve ever had for a title. I’m going to do a page for the Surrender Titles and advertise them on mainstream romance and fantasy sites in the same fashion and see what happens.

Speaking of excerpts, I’m finally posting a taste from A Soldier’s Fate. The book is still on notepads, so I’m typing from notes. This is really rough and unbeta’d.

“So what’s with all the books?” Vincent asked.

“It’s your employee handbook,” Remak replied. “You should each have a copy.”

I placed mine on the large pile of papers accumulating at my elbow while Vincent leafed through his. My focus was on the schedule.

“After the spar tomorrow, Vincent will meet with Chef Jean. We’ll meet with the generals and brief them on the parameters of the study,” I said. “Vincent, do you think you can join us at some point?”

Vincent glanced up from the book. “Dunno. I have a lot to cover, and I don’t know what chef Jean has in mind. Who wrote this section on interacting with Altereds?”

“That would be Dr. Auerbach,” Remak replied.

My lover’s irritated tone prompted me to pick up my copy and look for the apparently offensive passage. In the Dos and Don’ts section under Sudden or Unwelcome physical contact was a caution that such actions could insult in one’s face being melted off.

“I think the book has to cover the worst case scenario,” I offered.

“I have never melted...”

“There was that sergeant’s glasses,” I countered.

“He got them off in time.”

“True, but a civilian in similar circumstances could sue,” I said.

“And that’s not the worst I could do,” he muttered.

“Hardcase,” Remak said patiently. “The language in that section was chosen to disabuse civilians who may be tempted to touch either of you or any Altered.”

“Secretaries who want to pet your hair,” I suggested because that was what I was thinking about.

“Oh,” he frowned. “Well, bollocks to that.”

Sonja Becker entered the room as Vincent slammed the book shut. Her cool, efficient demeanor had returned. She smiled as she took a seat. Vincent still glared at her. He moved closer to me as we began the meeting.


***

All through the evening, I attempted to remove my suit jacket or tie to get comfortable. Each time, Vincent glowered at me with clear disapproval. Thus, we put everything away in the new apartment, ate then cleaned up still buttoned up in our suits. Bobby noticed this. He rolled his eyes before heading off to his room for the evening. I heard him say something about soundproofing in the new place. Vincent was putting away his knives as Bobby’s door closed. He looked at me intently.

“I’m going to reclaim you from her,” he said softly. “Come with me, now.”

More to come next week! Yes, I am aware that I am evil.

Familiarity and Potential for Contempt

The first rule of every writing class is to write what you know. That makes perfect sense. The characters drawn from reality have more depth and complexity than ones formed solely from the imagination. Long time readers of mine have been given cause to wonder about the extreme adventures I’ve written about in my erotica. My male readers wonder how I know so much about men to write in a characters head. Well, I admit to having some escapades that give me a thorough grounding in the wilder side of erotic relationships. And I do know a lot about men. For a long time in my twenties, my circle of friends was mostly guys. I was the gal pal of the group. I had a ringside seat to their dating and their friendships and how they viewed life and the world. I listened very carefully and was given a lot of insight. Consequently, I remain friends with most of my exes. And I learned to write male characters who are very real. As for the gay men, I’m a long time fag hag. I have close friendships with gay men. And they talk a lot, too.

As for the settings in my novels, I certainly didn’t spend any time in any of them. However, I went to Journalism school as an undergrad. I was trained to research a subject thoroughly in order to write about it with authority. That’s an easy skill to transfer to fiction. Much of the fiction I write springs from reality. I read a lot of histories and biographies before I wrote ‘the Privateers.’ Even though it is set in space, I had the script read by a leading expert in pirate lore. In the Gunslinger, the heroine is reading a dime novel about a real life gunslinger. I drew that from the real life of Kit Carson who came to the rescue of a woman kidnapped by Apaches. He found her body, unfortunately, and amongst her belongings was a dime novel about him. The research gives reality to the story and often helps fuel the plot.

I’ve been having a blast with the research for A Soldier’s Choice sequel, A Soldier’s Fate. That has included everything from military cooking and nutrition to historic resistance movements and undercover espionage techniques. It’s quite a lot of fun, and the novel is coming together nicely.

But writing what you know can be a minefield when it is a story about one’s own family. I’m working my way through a story about my mother. Though it is fictional, the events are real. And with any family based story, history can be revisionist and feelings can be hurt easily. It’s really hard to explain the notions of creative license and artistic vision to irate relatives at a reunion. In many ways, this story will be my most controversial work where they are concerned. They flat-out don’t understand the erotica. Aside from worries over the reaction looming over the story, the writing is hard. Grief never really leaves. Though the story itself is not sad, I find myself crying a lot. That makes for slow going. But I’m pleased to finally tell her story.

I’ve cried enough today for lost Mothers. I’m off to roast some garlic.

Big Fun Concludes -- More on New Novels

Month of Fun Concludes

It has been a great month celebrating the 47th birthday. Most of the Moth of fun involved consuming a wide variety of my favorite foods and beverages. There was the amazing chocolate truffle cake that was also a work of art, and the cinnamon cream cake from the Corner Bakery. We even made a batch of wonderful ginger spiced cookies and chocolate chips to end the month. But I didn’t gorge myself on sweets alone. I am a carnivore who had a really fun month. I made my own Carpaccio to share with Marie. I steamed Alaskan King crab claws to have with champagne on the night of the actual birthday. I like to think that the crab came from Sig Hansen and his crew on the Northwestern. The odds are pretty good that it did. Wherever it hailed from, it was delicious. I really like those crazy Norsemen on The Deadliest Catch. I also like the Norsemen on New Scandinavian Cooking, but that’s because one of them looks like Sean Bean. But I’m digressing.

Back to the food. I also had a papusa from the local El Salvadoran bakery café. I got hooked on that tasty snack while temping at a factory where a lot of Salvadorans worked. I also learned to make Hungarian Goulash there, but that’s another story. Finally, we managed to visit the French Bakery Café a few times for their wonderful breakfasts and sandwiches. I’m surprised that I didn’t gain thirty pounds for 31 days of fun, but there is a long walk as part of most of my commute during the week and also on the weekends. I haven’t made headway in the wait loss area, but I’m not losing ground. There were some big fun events like the movie screening and audition I wrote about earlier. I became an anime character with a great figure! But I also had some really fun quiet moments with friends watching old movies on TV at home. Considering how upset I was at the beginning of the year, May was a really fun month.

Writing Updates

We were really tied up with a new title release this week. Our author, Rachel Kann, has a hard deadline she has to meet. Her book was part of that deadline, so we had to focus on getting the galleys corrected and to the printer. I haven’t had time to input any of the Soldier’s Choice sequel, so no new excerpt this week. I hope to have the time this week. Meanwhile, I was confirmed for panels at Dragoncon. One of them happened largely because of Richard Hatch. I wrote about him in the Dragoncon blog last year. That panel would be an ideal place to talk up the Surrender novels. Thus, the third installment is underway along with everything else. It has no title yet, but I have half the plot worked out. It’s Kirsi’s story, but her brother Alkarin will be prominent. There will be more fantasy magic in the story as well. I’ll share the story when it’s fully fleshed out. May has been great for writing as well. The Muse attack has not relented, but somehow the stories are advancing at a respectable clip. This makes me very happy.

It’s time to do my cooking for the week. If I can, I will post excerpts mid-week.

The Senior Set and Smut and Who IS Our Audience?

On Monday, Sybpress did its thing at the Santa Monica Book Fair. I do the official report here. It's an event for the literary and poetry set on the Westside of LA. It was interesting to get a good look at the other small presses in our area in an intimate setting. Our main competition in the literary prose and poetry arena was in that room. It's very difficult for small presses that publish prose and poetry to have a presence nationally or internationally save for Pushcart consideration. We sell our titles primarily at these kind of events or other sponsored readings. Our erotica is a different matter. Genre fiction has a lot of internet venues on which to advertise and in the care of male/male erotica, there are niche brick and mortar stores that will carry our product.



Places like this bookfair are where the two halves of Sybpress collide. Everyone who was checking out our newest literary author, Brenda Petrakos, also picked up our other new title, Connie Bailey's delicously naughty Bawdy Yarns. Most of the browsers had silver hair and well worn faces. I inwardly had a fit each time this happened. It was much the same reaction I have when my Mother-in-Law announces she's read something from our erotica line. I had a strong urge to leap across the table and snatch the tome from curious hands. But this crowd was unique. Many still wore some paisely or had some leather fringe in evidence. I realized that this silver haired crowd was likely a part of the Summer of Love. I doubt anything within the covers of our racier titles shocked them. Jon reasoned that they probably did much of what we write about. That they didn't throw the book aside like it burned flesh should have clued me in.

It was an interesting revelation and comes on the heels of some discussions I've had with our erotica authors recently. Who is the audience for Sybpress m/m erotica? Most of our authors assume that it is the same audience that reads fanfic and slash. That's reasonable since the authors come from there. We do get some buyers from that arena, especially when an author with a following first publishes. They are a small fraction over all. We get another small percentage from romance readers who frequent websites devoted to reviewing such titles. That's been sticky, because the majority of romance readers are really skittish about m/m. We really had an eye opener on that at the last Romatic Times Booklovers convention. We advertise on some romance sites, but very carefully. However, the majority of our sales are to gay men. It's about 90 percent of our buyers, according to our tracking service. The only bookstores that carry our titles right now are gay and lesbian bookstores. It's an interesting relationship, because they still can't quite wrap their minds around women writing this stuff. I and my fellow female m/m writers will be speaking at major gay conventions this year to talk about the phenomenon. While we court the fandom base and attend conventions and advertise with entities that are friendly to the works, our main ad bucks go to the guys.

I know I promised an excerpt from the Soldier's Choice sequel, but I'm too tired to input. It will be in the usually scheduled Sunday blog. And there definitely will be a third installment of the Surrender novels. More on the why of that and what it has to do with Richard Hatch later.

The Muse Attacks!

This week has been marked by a huge increase in creative activity. I know that I have preached in the past that a writer shouldn’t wait for the muse to strike to write, but there is another side to that argument. Sometimes, the muse gets very active on more than one work of writing. That can be tiring, but it’s not a moment to be squandered. Thus, I am working on A Soldier’s Choice late at night, the third Surrender book is generally percolating in my brain. I have nearly worked out the plot for that one, but I’m far from putting pen to paper. And I am writing my first non-genre (not erotica, not romance, not fantasy or scifi) short story since Grad School. I’m not sure what I will do with it, but it seems to need to come out right now. Thus, I work on it during my various commutes. It’s difficult, because the subject makes me cry. Then, to add to the fun, Jon and I have been kibitzing about a script we’ve been researching for well over a year. That started after a long chat with my brilliant friend Sarah. We’ve just about reached the tipping point for research and theory and are ready to finally write the danged thing. I hope I’ve finished one or two of the previously mentioned works before that point pops up.

I never fight the Muse when this explosion happens. Sometimes, this kind of surge causes me to find solutions to previous problems with the work. I may not remember those solutions if I don’t implement them when they occur. Time becomes the main problem when the creativity surges. I have other duties and responsibilities that I have to tend to, so something must be sacrificed. Usually, that’s sleep. I write until the wee small hours of the morning until I am literally falling over on my sofa. Then I get up early to get various bits of business out of the way, so I can write a little more before running out the door. The works are shaping up slowly, and I am – for the most part – on top of everything else that’s going on right now.

I keep hearing in the news that 40 is the new 30 or something like that. Oh, how I wish that was true. Last week, when getting ready for the movie screening, I was plagued by acne (Acne!) and cramps. I was plagued by the very same things that plagued me at age 17. I don’t think it’s fair that I don’t have that 17 year old’s body. Actually, I would have preferred the 27 year old body (still a size 8 but with actual curves). When I think about it I’d like some other 27 year old’s body – preferably one of those fine shirtless things that jogs or rollerblades past my house. What was I talking about?

Since tomorrow is a holiday, I will be spending some of it working online. Part of it will be spent at the Santa Monica Small press Book Fair. See the Sybpress Blog for details. Anyway, I will be posting excerpts from the sequel to A Soldier’s Choice at some point tomorrow.

Big Fun

It isn’t often that my Month of Fun overlaps with business. That usually only happens at the Marche du Film in Cannes. Last week it happened three times in Los Angeles. One was the weekend event I’ve written about in the Sybpress blog Seeing the performances of Brenda’s incredible stories was a wonderful treat for someone who is a writer and a publisher. I count that as quite a treat.

Another happened earlier in the week and involved an audition. Those have seldom been any fun, let alone something I’d call a treat. However, this was both. We’re planning on shooting some short films as proofs of concept for funders and distributors interested in our features. We’re starting with the most developed of the small features, a romantic western called The Gunslinger. Here’s the short version from the Dragoncor Productions website.

The Gunslinger is the story of Shadow Smith – a wanted man who has been wrongfully accused of murder. He has had no end of confrontations over his ill-deserved reputation. While in New Mexico, he rides into a range war to confront a gunfighter who has been using his name. He can’t allow anymore killings associated with that name than he already has. Instead, of a would-be gunslinger, he discovers K.D. Delaney, a beautiful young woman posing as Shadow to fend off two factions that want her land. The real Shadow stays because he can neither resist the fight nor the woman. K.D. is strong despite being wracked with grief over her father’s recent death. And she gives him the first home he has known for a long time. If they survive the superior numbers and weapons against them, will they be able to prevent the law from hanging Shadow?

Because we wrote it, it is a twisted romance. There is a wild subplot involving the fictional Shadow Smith in some really awful dime novels and how KD has fantasized him into a character that no one could live up to. Thus we needed a tall, good looking man (I know, who doesn’t) that can really act and is willing to do the short for the tens of dollars we’ll be paying.

Travis did such a wonderful job with the audio excerpt of Rik on the website for A Soldier’s Choice, he was our first choice for Shadow. And he was willing to audition. Even with all he had going for him, he was not a shoe-in. I had a good feeling though. He asked some really good questions after reading the script and the short. So early one morning last week, I watched him become Shadow Smith before my eyes. Even though the KD he was ready with was Jon, not a lovely blond, he still bowled me over with his version of my sardonic and charming desperado. He was very charming, a little shy and very, very sexy. That was definitely a treat for the day. I can’t wait to shoot the short.

The third business related treat was a movie screening. Every event like that is, at its heart, about business. This was an advanced screening for Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End for the crew and some of the cast. My date was one of the actors in the film, Ho-Kwan Tse who played both, Hadras and a crewman from the Black Pearl. The screening was at the El Capitain Theater. I’ve always wanted to see the inside of that theater, but the ticket prices are really steep there. The film itself was a blast, and that’s all I can say without major spoilers. Seeing a film with crew is really different. They don’t react to scenes the way a regular audience does. They laugh at odd scenes because of some inside jokes, I assume. And they cheer folks like the stunt guys. It was a most interesting experience along with a great film. Thus this was a big week in the whole Month of Fun.

During all this excitement, I managed to fill notepads with the sequel for A Soldier’s Choice. I am distressing my boys, so that is distressing me. But there are some really hot scenes developing as well. I should have excerpt in the next week or two.

Book Launch and Blog Delay

I had a big week and weekend of fun to write about. I also had a big Sybpress event on Saturday. I had to report on that before doing my blog. I'll post mine tomorrow. Meanwhile, read about the book launch and upcoming bookfair.

http://sybpres.blogspot.com/
Spread the word and come on by!
DL

Ya Gotta Have Friends

Warning, the following paragraph contains some general whining. You may skip ahead if this is distasteful.

This has been an unusually difficult blog for me to write. The first attempt came out much too dour. The second was too strange – even for me. I think all of the stressors from the beginning of the year are catching up to me. The manifestations have been numerous. Lately, it has been physical. I think I could sleep for a week and not make a dent in the fatigue. And I always seem to be on the verge of a very bad cold. There is too much that needs to get done, and I have no energy to do any of it.

Of late, I’ve needed to spend time chatting or hanging out with my writer friends. They are the only people who really understand the occasional flare-ups of angst and sadness that can overwhelm a creative mind trying to cope with the business of their work or the people who read it. I have many wonderful and close friends who are not writers, and they try to understand when I’m like this. But only a writer understands feeling the feeling of complete vulnerability and fear after something is sent out to a new editor or published or awaiting review. Sometimes there is a great sadness when something is finished. I compound this problem by working with other writers who all have similar issues. I had been troubled by my inability to cope with all of it. But then, I got some sage advice from the incredibly talented and wise, Sarah Freligh. I give you better than a shout out, my friend. Readers should check out one of her poems and bio here. Though as creative as they come, she is also very practical and really down to earth. I was given a new perspective, and I’m grateful.

My other creative friends helped me bring in another year in their own ways. From Craig, I received a great hug and something to make me laugh. He is my favorite Jersey Boy (a great compliment considering my second favorite is Bruce Springsteen). Craig has a way of always knowing when I need to laugh. While I was at Borders, I could never go through a whole shift angry if he was working as well.

Then there is the wonderful Marie, my co-publisher. She brought me the loveliest and most delicious gift for my birthday. It was a tiny and perfect chocolate truffle cake that I relished. And over much champagne and reinforcements, we watch a great old film and laughed about our past decades – decades! I was encouraged to write the third novel in the Surrender series. I definitely am feeling that pull. But I must spend a little more time with my soldier-boys. I have to have that done for YaoiCon in October. Marie reminded me that times have been pretty good since moving out here. Our little Press is breaking even (very big in the independent press world). And we’ll be doing more traveling because of it. I am writing more than I ever have in the two decades since I got the MA in Creative writing (decades, I tell you). And I am largely happy with the work. I am even considering something ‘literary’ after all these years. Life am good (no, it’s not bad grammar, it’s a reference to an Adventures of. Superman ep, Little-big-head man.

The month of fun continues this week with a visit by a tall, dark and naughty actor-boy and a really fun time at the cinemas.

I'm an Anime!

I'm working on the new blog. I have a lot to cover and am a bit under the weather. But I thought I'd take a moment to share my new image. This is courtesy of Anne Cain, who did the cover for 'A Soldier's Choice.' I'm really pleased atthe waist-line she gave me! I'll piost the rest of the blog tomorrow, hopefully.

'Cheesesteaks', Mutants and Strangulation

The So-Called Philly Cheesesteak

I begin with a rant of sorts. Jon and I are from Philadelphia which is home to the steak sandwich, known to the rest of the country as the Philly cheese steak. We learned to live with that slightly incorrect usage. In Philly, it’s a steak sandwich and it doesn’t necessarily come with cheese. You have to ask for that. So, first the term is wrong. Then, there are the increasingly strange variant on this sandwich that are puzzling. The last ones are outright annoying. Philly steak sandwich meat is never put on a hamburger like Dominos Pizza.

While the products are really appalling, the advertising features a Philly accent that neither of us has ever heard south of Brooklyn are worse. I’ve only seen an outsider get that strange, nasal tone right twice. Once was in the Jack in the Box ads for their odd variant on the steak sandwich. The other was from Toni Collette, an Australian actress who played Haley Joel Osment’s mom in The Sixth Sense. I could have sworn she was from south Philly. And the last thing, for those restaurants out here or places other than Philly who manage to get the steak sandwich in the ballpark, they shouldn’t cost more than $6.99. It’s made from the cheapest meat on the planet or it should be if it’s authentic, and is supposed to be a cheap meal option. I’ve seen it for as high as 10.95 in other states. Ridiculous! We’re lucky enough to live near Markie D’s, owned by a man who hails from our fair hometown. He does a good job at a fair price AND he has Tastykakes. Joy! The first time we went there, he asked us what part of Philly we came from. I asked how he knew. He said we knew how to order one, and we called it a ‘so-called’ steak sandwich when we ordered. That meant we knew what a real one was supposed to me. The only thing they need to have is Federal Pretzels and Habersett’s scrapple (it’s sound awful, but them’s good eats) and I’d be in nirvana.

On the food topic, I’ve been having fun with recipes for the sequel to ‘A Soldier’s Choice.’ One of the sub plots involves food, and one character is nearly obsessed with it. Thus, there are already a lot of recipes in this novel. I’ll have to another bonus cookbook. I’ll be attempting two of them this week as part of my continuing birthday celebration. They are more elaborate than my usual efforts, but they are worth the try. I’ll reveal how I did next week.

Mutants, Vampires and Atlereds

The sequel is going well. I was worried that I was getting too involved with the inner workings of the Foundation for Altered Development and it’s headquarters. It is, after all, erotica. Those details weren’t any where near being erotic. However, I hit upon a very valid reason for the characters’ behavior early in the book that causes a crisis in their relationship. This relationship problem flowed organically from the details of the job and the organization they work for. That was one of those unexpected and magical moments that sometimes happens to a writer. It gave the conflict more depth and edge than I’d imagined. Now I’m struggling to keep up with the characters as the scenario are moving forward in my head. It’s a lot of fun. And the erotica is fitting in seamlessly which pleases me as well.

The other surprisingly seamless element in the sequel is the explanation of how Altereds happened. I am fusing a futuristic story with a vampire story. However, at the heart of Demon Under Glass is science. WARNING: Geeky Stuff follows. The Vampire, Simon Molinar, is not of the undead. He is an altered human. We proposed that a virus caused a genetic mutation. The Delphi Project was formed to research how he worked and if the mutation could be generated in other humans. What we figured out is that the results of the Delphi Project’s research was used on dozens of subjects over a number of years, primarily in this country. The descendants of the experimental subjects who really developed Molinar’s traits manifests one or more of them (speed, strength, senses, etc) as children. The military uses the Delphi Project’s old research to further Alter the subject and enhance those traits and cause others to manifest. None of the Altereds have the thirst for blood. Molinar’s real identity of a vampire has been concealed in the years since Delphi was shut down though rumors persist. The sanitized version was that he was a genetic oddity who came to believe he was a vampire. The report calls him a sociopathic serial killer who eventually escaped the facility to an unknown fate. I had to figure out all of this because Bobby hears the rumors told to call new Altereds. Also, in trying to change how Altereds are treated through the medical procedure, Rik and Vincent discover that the practices dates back to the original experiments on Molinar. This sounds very techy and geeky, but it was fun to work it all out as a writer. You can check out the trailer for the film which really covers how the experiments works, and is fun to watch this link.

Month of fun update

Yesterday, I treated myself to a manicure and a dinner with one of the actors who did the voice of Vincent on the website for A Soldier’s Choice. An outing with an actor is always fun, but usually exhausting. We had a rollicking good time though there was some hubbub when Vic found out that I’m doing panels with Travis (the voice of Rik on the website) at conventions. They have some sort of rivalry that they claim is friendly see this link. And I’m in the middle getting strangled. They are both way cute, so the consternation they cause is well worth it.

More to come...

Spring in LA and Me Without a Net Gun

Updates

This was a productive week. On the publishing front, we have one title that will soon be a proof, the last step before publishing. As soon as we get galleys back, we’ll be publishing two more titles. We have scripts for the film shorts. I found a costume designer for Gift of Surrender that is reasonable, and we have a hair stylist who can do the hair pieces. We even found a suitable location, I believe. The other two shorts are in the audition stage. And we’ve made some progress on the big film project, The Privateers. It seems I am doing Yaoi Con with the voice actor who did Rik Heron on the website for A Soldier’s Choice. And I may be doing a panel with him at Dragon*Con and a separate panel with Richard Hatch on writing sex scenes in Science Fiction. Those have not been confirmed. And I actually began working on the sequel to A Soldier’s Choice. I should be posting excerpts in the next week or two. I’m loving being with the characters again.

Springtime
It is spring in Los Angeles. And while it is not nearly the same as springtime in Paris, there are certainly lovely things to behold. The flowers here are bold in their spring colors. There are vibrant reds and yellows and purples bursting from gardens. The air smells like honeysuckle or night blooming jasmine. It never ceases to surprise me how pretty LA is in the spring. And then there are the half-naked men. One doesn’t have to be near the beach to see them jobbing or skating down the street. Jon often jokes that I need a net gun as I watch those male lovelies pass by. You see, even when they are walking, most are faster than me. Forget about catching them when they are jogging or skating. Once in a while, a situation will arise where a tall, lithe young thing will stop to do his stretches and, heaven help me, bend over to touch his toes. I’m certain he knew I was ogling him. But even when stationary, these boys would be hard to handle without an effective projectile restraining device. To my delight, Mythbusters episode 77 featured a net gun. They were trying to catch pigeons. Don’t ask. It was a little loud for pigeons, but the net did deploy consistently. However, it was really big and unwieldy. I need something easy to conceal, or the boys won’t come near me. Yes, I have an entirely warped mind, I know. But this all a part of how I appreciate the beauty of spring. And speaking of the local cute critters, we found there is a wacky squirrel on this block. He’s got quite a pretty, bushy tale and is kind of bizarre like our squirrel in Playa. Each week, there is something to make me feel more at home.

Month of Fun
This week begins the month of May. Since I turned 40 a while back, I keep the month of May as a month-long celebration called the Month of Fun. I do something for myself each of those 31 days to celebrate my birthday. I encourage everyone to do the same. It doesn’t have to cost lots of money, just a little treat. I have desserts I wouldn’t usually have. I make sure I enjoy a couple of sunsets. I’m lucky that May is a big movie premier month. I will count Spiderman 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End as my treats. I’ll get a manicure and a massage at some point. I do that sort of thing. Do the same in your birthday month.

I began the weekend filled with melancholy. My e-mail is filled with the details for this year’s Marche du Cannes and the Cannes Film Festival. We were planning on attending this year, but the fates in filmmaking, and condo conversion conspired against us. I am really missing the singular loveliness of Paris in the springtime (cliché, perhaps, but true). I even find the city beautiful in the rain. I really miss the food and the light in that city. I even miss the subways with commuters who could give New Yorkers a run for their money. I miss the TVG train with its lovely baguette sandwiches and beautiful countryside complete with the world’s prettiest and happiest cows. And of course, I miss Cannes with its lazy cafes and beautiful sea and sky. I am running out of herb de Provence (and Thyme and Tarragon and Basil) purchased there. I need a fix! Ah well, I shall have a chocolate truffle and remember.

Many things are happening at once. I’ve been researching costumes and hair and locations for the Gift of Surrender short. It looks like everything will be in place for a June shoot. I’ll start a photo blog of the process as soon as we start costume construction. I’ll also post the script as soon as it’s finalized.

Major spoilers ahead for those who haven’t read A Soldier’s Choice! And an excerpt from the bonus chapter follows.

I haven’t been online very much with Jon on the PC working on the various titles and promotional materials. I’m online to check e-mail and look at artwork of half naked men (for Sybaritic Press business only). So, my spare time is spent with pen in hand working on the sequel to A Soldier’s Choice. Of course, I have no title yet. I’ve had to do some research before starting. I always research before I begin a new novel. Even romances need a basis in reality, in my opinion. I needed to know about the current state of military food since it is one of Vincent’s obsessions. Of course, there is a website dedicated to military cooking , but I needed first hand information from those who have had to eat it. I found some accommodating ex-soldiers willing to share their thoughts (the internet is a wonderful thing). I was surprised by the information I found. The website reveals a great deal of thought and effort amongst those who prepare troop meals. And there was as much praise for the quality and variety of meals as there was criticism of the same. That information caused me to re-think one of the main threads of the novel. Why do villains always have to be complicated?

The timeline of the novel encompasses from the January after A Soldier’s Choice ends through the end of Bobby’s first mission as a fully trained Altered soldier. There is much in the way of angst along with my usual twisted humor and numerous hot scenes. My beloved soldiers are besieged by all manner of being both well-meaning and not. I have my characters sketched out and the entire plot dancing in my head. I’m off in a moment to finish the first chapter.

And now, here is an excerpt from the bonus chapter of A Soldier’s Choice. The boys realize that Christmas is a mere few days away at the end of their adventures in the novel. Shopping proves dangerous from the attentions of amorous females and abundant mistletoe. The boys have to use their best military skills to keep away unwanted lips. This scene is after they return home.

We were keyed up from the Mistletoe op even after a big, tasty chicken dinner. Sometimes it’s hard to turn off the adrenaline after being on alert for hours. We used the energy to decorate the tree and the house. There was something calming about weaving the string of tiny lights along the trunk of the tree then matching symmetry and color while gently hanging the delicate ornaments on the slender tree branches. Vincent also fastened ornaments along the garland on the mantle and around the doorframe. We picked glass ornaments in deeps reds and green and gold. The candles were also deep red or green. The whole place looked festive and inviting, but not gaudy. With the fire going, our home made me feel warm and happy inside. The Grevens felt the same way. The young men both had soft expressions full of wonder. Vincent hugged me close.

“Thank you for making this home for us,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” Bobby said softly. “This mean a lot.”

I motioned for the younger Greven to join us and hugged them both. Some deadly weapons we were. Then, I smiled. My heart felt fuller than I could ever remember. I also felt very right.

My lover was very quiet for what remained of the evening as we reclined entwined on the sofa, but I said nothing until Bobby went to take a shower before bed.

“You’re troubled by something,” I said quietly.

“I feel like a jerk,” Vincent replied glumly.

“Why?” I asked stifling a chuckle.

“I don’t like smelling anyone else on you,” he admitted. “It pisses me off even though I know there was no help for it. I mean I know you can smell them on me, but you aren’t pissed off about it.”

“I’m not happy about anyone touching you,” I replied, kissing his temple. “But I can’t say that I’m pissed off. I don’t know how people keep from touching you. Must be the scowl.”

Vincent snorted.

“ I do know how we can get past this intrusion, and I know we’ll enjoy it.”

“How?” Vincent asked, peeking at me through that fringe of blonde hair.

“We shower together, and you take every trace of them away. Then, you re-claim me in bed,” I said softly against his temple. “And I do the same.”

That got his attention. He shifted in my arms to really look at me. His eyes had a very wicked glint in them.

“And every time this happens...”

“We reclaim each other,” I said softly.

He smiled at me. It was a very wicked smile. “I really like this plan, Colonel. Will you write a report about that?”

“Brat,” I muttered, swatting his ass.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he said. “I’m claiming you first.”

“Like that’s a surprise.”

Vincent was very serious about obliterating any trace of another’s touch on my skin. He was very gentle but extremely thorough spreading thick lather over my face then rinsing it off. I laughed when he lavished the same attention on my body. I believe he wanted to clean any area on my body those women were even thinking about touching. Still I enjoyed the thorough exploration and gladly returned the treatment on his lithe, elegant muscles and smooth, tawny skin.

The meticulous shower was not the end of my lover’s reclamation. He even had me brush my teeth and extra long time and gargle with a stronger solution of mouthwash even though I insisted that no tongue had breached my lips. Once I was cleansed of all evidence of the incursions on my person, I was dragged across the livingroom and shoved onto the bed. Thank goodness that Bobby had retired to his bedroom. I really don’t think Vincent cared what his brother saw. I’d never seen him that intent on having me.

What I didn’t expect from my lover was being straddled and my wrists tied to the headboard. I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, but I was still startled. Vincent sensed that, and gently caressed my face and body until I calmed.

“I saw you like this once, but you still had pants on” he murmured as he ran his hands gently over my torso. “Do you remember?”

“Yes, my one and only undercover op,” I murmured vaguely, lost in his touch.

“I couldn’t figure out why the target did that to you,” Vincent said with a frown.

I arched into his touch with a moan. “Do you know now?”

“Yes,” he replied. His voice had quite an edge to it. “Now, I really want to kill him. I tried before, but because he had hurt you.”

“I hurt him pretty good, believe me,” I moaned in reply. “He didn’t get what he wanted, love. Forget him...reclaim me...please, Vincent...”

He was driving me absolutely crazy. Thankfully, I got through. Vincent finally kissed me, deeply and possessively. The kiss was almost rough in its intensity, but his hands were gentle. He caressed my face lovingly once he pulled free of the kiss. His fingers ran over my forehead then down my cheeks, his eyes intent upon me. I wondered what he was thinking before he kissed me again. Then, I couldn’t think at all. My focus narrowed to his lips and his hands on me.

All of Vincent’s considerable focus was unleashed on my captive body. He used all his knowledge to arouse me quickly. He stroked, and licked and sucked me until I was writhing wantonly beneath him.

“Now, love...please...”

“Say it, Rik. I need to hear it...” he rasped, positioning himself between my legs.

“Yours, love...I am yours...” I moaned before he pushed into me.

Lord, how he could fill me and move me with the lithe, strong body. No one else could make me feel the way Vincent did, wanted and needed, possessed and loved. My gaze locked with his as he had me. I let him see all that I was feeling as the power arced between us.

“God, Rik...I love you...”

I came then, in a near blinding flash. I felt my lover follow, gasping my name in that helpless way I couldn’t get enough of hearing.

I was barely aware of anything when I felt my wrists being freed. My arms wrapped around Vincent of their own accord, and he snuggled closer to me. For a while I couldn’t speak. I simply held him, breathing in his scent. Some time passed before I could form thought coherent enough to voice.

“Have you reclaimed what is yours?” I asked while stroking his back.

“Hmmm, yeah...”

I smiled at the contentment in his voice.

“How long have you wanted me that way?” I asked softly.

“Since the night of the rescue. I’m embarrassed considering what was done to you,” He replied against my shoulder. “It’s the only way I thought I could have you.”

“Hey, what you wanted and what he wanted were two vastly different things,” I replied reassuringly. “And that tact may have worked just fine. I’m no saint.”

Vincent looked up at me then. His eyes were glittering with mischief. “I know you aren’t. You want to tie me up or hold me down. That’s why you always have me by the hair or pressed against a door.”

I actually blushed under that gaze. “I spent a long time wanting to contain you. It’s a hard habit to break.”

Vincent rose up on his knees. He held the robe belt in his hand. “Do it, then. Take me.”

“So soon? You are insatiable.”

“You keep saying that, but you never complain,” he smiled. “That’s why I didn’t suck you off. I wanted you to do me.”

“Very considerate,” I murmured dryly, snatching the bathrobe belt. “Don’t lie down. I want to be able to touch all of you that I can.”

I maneuvered around on the mattress until I was kneeling behind Vincent. I gently took his wrists in hand then quickly tied them at the small of his back. The first thing I did was nuzzle the skin between his shoulder blades then lick down the length of his spine.

“You have the most beautiful back,” I murmured against his skin.

Vincent tried to reply, but the sounds turned into a gasp when I nipped the flesh along one of his hips. I was really enjoying this. My mercurial lover was contained and compliant. I grasped his forearms to keep him still while I explored the smooth tawny planes of that elegant back to my heart’s content.

“Please...Rik...” He murmured after a long while.

He had been so patient. It was time to give him what he needed. I took him from behind, so I could press my face against the nape of his neck. He didn’t mind the press of our bodies against his bound wrists. In fact, he pushed back against me to have me deeper within him while I stroked his erection. We didn’t last long. I didn’t care. It was the second time in an hour that I came so hard, I couldn’t see. The energy surge sizzled along our nerve endings, exhausting us both. It took almost every bit of will I had left to untie Vincent and maneuver our lax bodies under the blankets.

“Such a freak, getting off on my back,” He murmured with a sleepy smile.

“Pot, kettle, brat,” I replied with a soft chuckle.

“I am yours,” Vincent sighed.

“I know, love.”

Well, I’m going back to my notepad.

Blogging from the Edge

I've posted a legnthy and crazy blog on the Sybpress Blog 'Notes from the Edge.' It's some rambling insanity about my lurid work history in LA and what I'm doing when I'm not an author, publisher or movie mogul. Ha! You can read all about it by following the link.

Meanwhile, I'll be blogging here tomorrow!

New Novel and New Film Shorts

Welcome new folks to the blog. I'm seeing more and more far flung addresses on my statcounter. The people who find me through google searches, I hope you aren't too weirded out by what you discover. Those looking for info on Playa del Rey Condos, sorry I wan't more informative on the topic. I'm none to pleased with the condo situation in LA as it caused two months of insanity with the two tiered move. Though I am happy to report that the LA city council approved much higher moving fees for those whose palces are converted to condos and they closed the loophole that allowed the company who took our building to avoid paying the moving fee. Doesn't help us, but it won't happen again. For those who find me from Asia and the Middle East, happy reading and I'm willing to try to cut through the confusion I'm certain my ramblings cause.

I've taken to writing lists for everything. I've had to do it to make sure I don't forget small but important things while trying to get the big things done. I'll make sure I get to meetings for various projects, but I'll completely forget there is absolutely no food in the house. We just finished buying cleaning supplies for the new place. I don't know how many times I've left a market since moving here and realized I hadn't bought a broom. The key to list though is to not leave them at home when you go out and to actually pull them out and look at them while running errands. It's been that kind of crazy. I'll detail some of the mayhem on the Sybpress Blog as it has to do with book publishing. I'll be sure to post a link for

that blog here later.

All in all, save for the recording session with Travis, I have not been a happy publisher of late. In recent days I've questioned the sageness of even opening the business to more authors. However, I had a very pleasant task of meeting the actors who will bring Nikulainen and Sarianna alive in the film short for Gift of Surrender. Brent is very blonde and pretty and lanky and graceful. He's also willing to have his eyebrows shaped and his hair weaved for such a short film. While Lisa is a stunning dark haired beauty with a great deal of sparkle to her personality. She, too, was looking forward to the big romance hair weave -- and the cape.

Both have very nice voices. Brent is soft spoken and even seems a little shy like my Nikulainen. And Lisa has a lovely voice to go with her lovely 26 in waist figure (I could just slap her for that, but she's also very sweet). They looked fabulous together and were excited about the book. I gave them their own copies to study though I declined to post-it note the love scenes. It will be several weeks before we actually shoot something. That's how long it will take to work out the locations, the construction of the sets and have the costumes made. Though it is only a five minute film when finished, the amount of planning is almost the same as a full length feature. In fact, taking time to really plan and shop around makes the film cheaper to shoot.

And while thses characters are coming to life, my soldier boys are continuing their exciting lives in the sequel to A Soldier's Choice. I've worked the plot for the book out in my head. Now it's a matter of finding the time to write it. That's not that difficult. We only have one PC right now and Jon has dibs on it to do the layout and covers for the three novels in the Sybaritic pipeline. He's on for hours, so I can't really work on anything but cooking or my writing. There really is a limit to how much CSI: Miami I can watch. I'm hoping to have the novel done by June or July. I'll be posting excerpts here for sure.

Now, I'm off to the movies. My brain needs a break and I believe that Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is just the ticket for that.

Crossovers

It looks my film life and my author life are going to crossover. We are doing R&D on creating five minute shorts from a couple of the novels. I've just finished a 5 page script for a scene from Gift of Surrender. This would be filmed along with two scenes from romance scripts that we were marketing. They do not have novels written yet. It's a project we've been trying to pitch for more years than I care to think about. They are historical or fantasy romances for the direct to DVD market. The folks currently looking to fund this want a proof of concept short. That is, a five minute or so short that shows what thefilm will look and feel like production value wise. I don't mind doing them. I think they would help drive book sales. And, I enjoyed hearing the voices for A Soldier's Choice so much that I'd really enjoy seeing the characters from one of my novels. We have a potential actor for Nikulainen and I think I have a Sarianna. We'll have to see how they look in an audition.

And yes, I am considering a short for A Soldier's Choice as well.

New Place, New Book and 'the Juliet Syndrome'

We are finally home! We moved in last weekend and it’s taken this long for the place to not look like crazed pack rats are in residence. Yesterday, we donated a lot of things accumulated over the nearly eight years in Playa del Rey. It was some good stuff and went to a great thrift store. All in all, the experience was liberating. There aren’t any wacky squirrels that I’ve noticed. But there are many wacky young children. One is marching above my head in the apartment upstairs. They’re all adorable and the noise isn’t distracting. Our office is set up and we’re finally working. I was really surprised at how little we were able to get done during the five weeks in the temp spot. Our lives and work has gotten too complicated to function in a really stripped down environment. Of course, that means we’re woefully behind on everything career and business related. Yet I’m not as stressed as I was two weeks ago. The important things are in place. And later today, I will be cooking up a storm – at peace with my cutting board and sauté pans.

On the writing front, I’ve been mulling over my leading men from the Yaoi novel and where to take them next. Save for the attempts on their lives, day to day life for Rik and Vincent in A Soldier’s Choice is idyllic. They spend a lot of time in each other’s arms. They eat great food and have a lot of ‘naps.’ The only stress they have – aside from the people trying to kill them – is negotiating personal boundaries with their family and friends while keeping a suitable supply of food and firewood. In these conditions, it is easy to have a perfect relationship. Most of their world is each other. As I consider the sequel – and I am with the novel doing so well – I have to put the couple through the trails everyone faces adjusting to work and daily life with an intimate partner. Of course, there are still forces trying to destroy them, but the big enemy is everyday life. Vincent is, at heart, still the volatile young man that Rik was always trying to reign in, and Rik is still the imperious bastard that Vincent has to take down occasionally.

The next novel will be filled with conflicts for the couple. They have to establish personal boundaries with each other at work. That will be a battle. Each man has to make his own way at the new Foundation. Each has personality traits that make the transition a challenge. Bobby becomes a large source of contention as he formally enters the service and seeks a relationship of his own. The hardest issue for them to overcome is being separated for lengths of time when they are almost physically addicted to being within arms reach of each other. Their staff will certainly find it a constant source of conflict. Then again, all that fighting means a lot of really great opportunities for making up.

One of my frequent soapbox topics is what happens after the curtain comes down on the couples in romances. I always love a happy ending, but I also try to make sure the reader understands that the couple will always be working on their relationship. One of the issues I argued about with fanfic writers was the death story. In certain genres, there is a fascination with them. I was told death stories were the ultimate romance story. I called it ‘the Juliet Syndrome.’ I felt killing one of the couple was ca cop out. Of course, the romance is perfect. The pair never had a chance to face day-to-day life together. I don’t find the day-to-day dull. Each day brings an opportunity for a new situation to find drama, humor and eroticism, frankly. This certainly will be the case for Rik and Vincent. Breaking in their plush offices will represent many opportunities for sensual mayhem. As I said, this is all in the early stages. For now, I must put on the publisher hat and get some titles out.

There is one audio excerpt (Vincent’s) up on ‘A Soldier’s Choice’ Website. Getting Rik’s done has proven to be a challenge even with Travis being in the same town as we are. We’re hoping it will happen this week. Believe me, everyone will hear about it when it happens.

No contest for this week. I’m trying for a very special set of prizes, so I have to put it off again. Stay tuned!

New Blog Soon

We have found a new permanent home, but all remains in disarray. I'll post a new blog on Sunday with much news and musings and a great new contest. I'm off to unpack more boxes.

Important News for Booklovers

The literary community may be about to suffer a major loss. Please, read the following Blog from one of Sybaritic's editors.

http://blog.myspace.com/mariepoeticdiversity

Thanks!

The King and I, Theoden, that is.

This has been an odd week, even by my standards. We’ve been living in a furnished, temporary housing situation with intermittent internet service (it’s cut out on me twice trying to post this blog) and a so-called bachelor’s kitchen. I believe this means that bachelors do not cook very much. I didn’t think I’d miss really cooking as much as I do. I didn’t realize it until I was chopping onions for hamburgers last nigh, that cooking is my best therapy. Little wonder I’ve been on edge for the last month. It’s been difficult to keep on top of all the projects we have on any given week when ¾ if our lives is in storage. We have two novels and two anthologies in the publishing pipeline, and that’s just the erotica side. The poetry side has a bunch of titles that need development.

On the film front, there are three projects I would call active and viable. One of the biggest ones lurched forward last week. We went public with the website (http://theprivateersfilm.com) and announced the cast we’ve signed so far. The biggest coup among the cast is signing Bernard Hill, King Theoden from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He signed on the strength of the script and despite his management’s hard line stance on contract points. We were really pleased, we really liked the man when we got a chance to meet him and we have long admired his work. Having him gives us more leverage with the other big names we’re after. Going public at this point is a move that often happens in development to indicate to the reps of actors we’re negotiating with that we are real and serious. Turning up the heat on this project means that I have to send a lot of letters via messengers and talk on the phone a lot. I usually do all of this very tiresome work while chopping leeks and garlic or sautéing something fragrant and wonderful. It’s been a tense week. And the upcoming week will be a lot more of the same.

On the positive side, one of the two recording sessions for A Soldier’s Choice was completed. I have heard Vincent speak, and it was very exciting. He sounds just like I imagined, which would make sense. The actor who did the character that inspired Vincent did his voice. What’s impressive about his performance was it was done by remote control. He is in Texas, so he wasn’t directed in the performance. He went by my vague notes (he’s 21 year old, gorgeous soldier who is war-weary) and the text I sent. We’ll have his excerpts up on the website by the 15^th. A scheduling conflict kept us from getting Rik Heron’s excerpts on Saturday. We’re very hopeful that we’ll get him on Wednesday morning. He is very game to do his excerpts, so I believe it will work out. I’ll post a blog and photos after it happens.

There won’t be a contest this week. I’m working on a special prize for the next blog. We had two winners with the last contest and one from the anniversary chat. All of those have been posted.

Stay Tuned!

Blog Delay

I won't be posting until this weekend. We're having some upheavals in our personal and professional lives that are keeping me pre-occupied. I'll post after the recroding session.

Anniversary Blog!

Old Business

The bonus chapter for A Soldier’s Choice is complete. I’ve sent it out to those who have purchased the book. I believe I’ve sent it to all who have won an e-book. Please, let me know if I’ve missed anyone. I still have one winner who has not contacted me with an e-mail address.

Blog Party Chat Reminder

The chat will be this Sunday at 4pm PST (that’s 7pm EST) in the chat room on: http://soldierschoice.com/dlchat.htm

Though the chatroom is on the Soldier’s Choice website, the chat can cover any of the novels, fanfiction, my work in film. I’ll try to answer most questions though I ma deny everything later. Also, my internet connection is fragile. I may disappear from the chat at any point. It’ll take a minute or two to get back. Be patient. But do come out and have some fun.

Pop Culture References – No, It’s Not Your Imagination

As I explained in my blog of 08/29/2006, I am a pop culture maven. References to things I like to watch tend to end up in all of my writing. In the most recent version of The Privateers, there is a funny and pivotal scene that is fueled by an obscure reference from one of the Thin Man movies – and not even a well-known film from that series. It tickled Jon and me, so in it went. I’ve been asked by some very sharp readers, who also watch entirely too much TV, whether what they were seeing in my work was a reference to a film or TV show. I was really impressed by the fanfic reader who spotted the Pooty Tang reference in a Due South slash story. But I was most disappointed that no one noticed the All Simpsons installment of The Secret Logs of Mistress Janeway. I mean, I can see readers missing the Eddie Izzard or Invader Zim references in the later Logs (63 and 64), but how do you miss the Simpsons? Ah well. The answer to the questions raised is, if you think it’s a reference, it probably is. And yes, there are some in The Gift of Surrender, The Price of Surrender and in A Soldier’s Choice. Find them, and I’ll give a big prize!

On The Anniversary of the Blog

I’m actually surprised to have written a whole year of blogs and almost one every week. When this was suggested to me by publicists, I wasn’t keen on the idea at all. I’m not really sure if it has helped my books sales, but I have enjoyed the experience. I am really flattered to have readers from far flung places around the world, and I hope that you all will continue to enjoy my lunacy. I hope to speak with you at the chat!

Leading Men, Excerpt and Moving

Chat Change

My wonderfully astute husband pointed out that I am usually insane after moving. He thought it prudent to move the chat until after we’re settled. I agreed. Thus, I will be chatting on Feb 18th on either the Sybpress site or the Soldier’s Choice site. I’ll post an announcement as the time gets closer. I’m also going to hold off on contests and save them for the chat.


Moving

The move has been more traumatic than the others partly because this has been our longest residence since coming to LA in 1995. And mainly because we weren’t willing to move. Condo-conversion has forced us to go sooner than we’d planned. Despite our complex’s odd location (convenient only to LAX) and the constant rhythm of jet engines, we’ll miss this place. It had critters besides strafing hummingbirds and wacky squirrels. There are snowy egrets and falcons and even a fox that lives on the airport grounds. Then again, we knew the time was coming to leave Playa del Rey. It has been developing at a frenzied place. Traffic and parking are becoming impossible. A new place will have new energy. I’ve opted to look on the move as a positive thing. Though the bare walls and magnet-less fridge make the last days of transition depressing. Let’s talk about something that’s more fun.

Leading Men

I’m talking about the literary kind, not the actor kind in this instance. I find it very hard to let go of Vincent Greven and Rik Heron from A Soldier’s Choice. My bonus chapter is actually long enough for three chapters, and still those naughty boys are murmuring seductively in my ear to let them continue to play. I certainly love my other male characters, but something about this pair has me completely enthralled. They were such fun to write. The guys are sardonic as well as sexy. They are as funny as they are brave. But I think it’s their vulnerability that makes me want to stay with them. As soldiers, Vincent and Rik are the most dangerous and talented the military has produced, but in matters of the heart, they are relatively untried and fragile. They often get things wrong and suffer for it – especially with those closest to them. For example, one of Vincent’s oldest friends has a lot of trouble coping with his relationship with Rik in this excerpt:

It took a mere five minutes more to tell my squad of over six years that we were retiring. There were not many questions. Perhaps that was because they would still be seeing me fairly often. Perhaps it was because they had felt my detachment some time ago. They wished us luck and promised to throw a lewd party at some point. There was nothing to do but return to my office to move out some of my things.

We had just piled a number of my personal belongings on the couch when the door slammed open and closed leaving what looked to be a furious Jenn Saxl in the room.

“It’s bad enough that you drag Vincent into your twisted games,” she snarled. “You have to have Bobby, too?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Vincent bristled. “Nobody dragged me anywhere. I went to him on my own.”

“Like you had a choice,” she spat. “This...pervert...has controlled you since you were a kid.”

I was spared snorting out loud at that by my lover’s derisive retort.

“If you think that about our past, you weren’t paying close attention,” Vincent all but shouted in a full-blown Greven tantrum. “He never laid a hand on me that way until two weeks ago. Fuck, I was twenty-fucking-one before I was ever kissed!”

Jenn had sense enough to cower a little in the face of that fury. The room was crackling with his power.

“But why does Bobby have to be involved?” she demanded.

“Rik and I became his legal guardians today to protect him,” Vincent snarled. “He’s manifested.”

Jenn gasped. A lot of wind was taken from her sails. “How can either of you protect him when you’re part of the military?”

“We retired effective today,” Vincent said. His own anger subsided as the threat to me lessened. “We need to keep him close until he decides what he wants to do.”

Vincent’s voice was normal, but I knew he was an emotionally worn and trembling.

“Enough,” I said quietly.

My lover looked lost without anger to fuel him. I took him in my arms and held him tight. His arms nearly crushed me. Jenn was riveted on us as I wordlessly comforted him.

“I am so sorry that this has upset you,” I said to her as I gently stroked Vincent’s hair. “This should have been handled more delicately. We wanted to do this differently. But know this, Vincent is who I live for. I will protect him and make a place for his loved ones in our lives. Ms. Saxl, Jenn, rejecting them will hurt them deeply and yourself as well.”

Jenn sank onto a free space on the sofa and began to cry softly. Vincent pulled away from me to kneel in front of her.

“I’m sorry, Jenn,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse from shouting. “I knew how you felt, but it was hard to say anything. I’m lousy at this stuff...and I didn’t want to hurt you. That’s the last thing I wanted.”

“Good job, genius,” she quipped between sniffs.

She was quiet for a moment. “At least you’re back to normal – temper and all.”

Vincent chuckled. “I’m sure Rik is thrilled to see that.”

I snorted and went back to filling boxes.

“I’m sorry, too,” Jenn said. “I just saw Bobby’s empty room and realized you’d both be gone. I freaked and now...I’ve outted you to the squad.”

Vincent shrugged. “It was going to be all over Central command by this afternoon when the Generals get our retirement letter.”

“And we weren’t planning to hide it,” I added easily.

Jenn relaxed for a few seconds, and then she flushed bright red. “Oh God. We were yelling about Bobby manifesting. He won’t be safe!”

“He’s fine. That school is locked up tighter than a bank vault,” Vincent said. “And we dropped off the guardianship paperwork with them. Nobody can pick him up but us.”

“Besides, if I know my Lieutenant, the squad didn’t hear most of that,” I said, opening the door.

As I expected, Remak was alone in the bullpen.

“Thank you, Ouida,” I said.

“Not at all, sir. If I may, Miss Saxl and I would like to go to lunch,” she said.

Jenn looked up then smiled. “Yes, I would like that.”

“Will you come see as at home?” Vincent asked. There was a plea in his voice.

“Yes...yes, I will,” she said softly. “Bye, Vincent...Colonel.”

I shut the door, and found I had Vincent in my arms. His head tilted back and his lips parted. I couldn’t help but kiss him deeply and slowly. He clung to me humming his pleasure.

“Thank you for protecting me,” I whispered above his lips.

“I live for you, too,” he murmured, kissing me again. It was a sweet, tender kiss. “I want to go home. We should be napping or something.”

“I want that, too...especially the or something,” I replied with a smile. “But we have to get your brother and his furniture.”

“Let’s have an expensive lunch then,” he sighed.


I suppose it’s the dichotomy of a physically strong yet emotionally vulnerable men (who happen to be gorgeous that’s so appealing). I get to arrange a lot of comforting and protecting between them. Fortunately, the novel is doing very well. I’ll likely do a sequel. That makes me happy, but I really do have to let them go for the moment and be a film maker and a publisher for a while. Once we’ve moved, that is.

Year Anniversary Blog Party!!

Believe it or not, the Blog will be a year old on February 11th. To
celebrate, I'm having a chat on my website February 11th. I'm not sure
of the time right now.  I just tested the chat program and it works,
so we'll upload it this weekend. We can talk about most things I'm up
to (film stuff, the publishing stuff and my novels). I may even answer
such things as:

Why WAS that anime voice actor in my livingroom?
Who did I have that $100 breakfast with?
What is it with me and possessive men?
What happened to that squirrel?

And there will be instant contests with prizes!!

So stay tuned for the url and time.