When I’m NOT Me
Soooooo... my name is NOT Revella
Hawthorne. Well, most of the time anyway. I’m usually SJ Himes, and I write m/m
fiction, romance and erotica under both names.
Deciding to have a pen name came
about first from a need to hide who I was from The Man. Not in a paranoid
sense, but literal. Having a day job that frowned upon anything “inappropriate”
made me wary, and so I chose a name that meant something to me, but was so far
from my real name that I could express myself fully on the page. I saw it as
protecting myself.
Time went by, and as I watched the
country slowly accept and embrace change when it came to equal rights for the
LGBTQ community, I realized I was reinforcing the belief that there was
something I should be hiding. Hiding means you’re afraid, means you’re ashamed
or embarrassed…and I wasn’t any of those, not really.
I was angry. Angry I felt the need
to hide. Angry that I was hiding.
I have nothing to be ashamed of,
and no one has the right to judge me. Not even my employer.
I was lucky. I used to work at a
post where I’d been there for years, and everyone knew me. So when I came out
of the literary closet, I had friends and coworkers who supported me and
encouraged me. That gave me the courage to admit who I was, and let people know
my pen name. I had grown fond of it, and changing it was too much of a hassle.
I didn’t want to hide anymore, so I began to write under my real name (the
initials at least) and I used it as a means to express myself in another way.
Writing as Revella is freeing. My
subject matter is sexy, erotic, full of angst and passion. I can set free my
characters and have them be as sinfully sexy as they want. I can write what
makes me happy.
Writers write what they want to
read. Doubly true for me. When I’m in the mood for sex and lust and the raw
side of things, Revella comes out to play. When I’m after magic and emotion and
the power of plot, I’m SJ. Neither side is better or worse than the other. I
can be me.
Even when I’m not.
***
Bred
For Love Series
The King’s Command is a sequel, to
The Prince’s Consort. Books One and Two of The Bred For Love series, they
follow the story of Percy and Edward as they fall in love, and then face the
consequences of that love.
Nothing is easy, especially since
they live in a world where Percy isn’t even considered a person. Percy is a
breeder, designed and created in lab for the sole purpose of providing rich and
titled men with legitimate heirs, without the hassle of marriage or emotions.
His former master and creator dies before he can claim Percy, and he’s put out
for sale with the common breeders.
Edward is a blood prince, the son
of the current monarch of Cassia. He has brothers ahead of him in the
succession, and their children too, making Edward’s chance of ascending to the
throne nonexistent. He’s the only openly gay son of the king, and wants nothing
to do with a well-bred wife or arranged marriage.
In Book One, Edward goes to
Heritage Breeders to buy his own breeder. He wants heirs, but not the wife, and
only the best and most elite breeding houses supply male gendered breeders.
Once he gets past the fawning proprietor, he’s shown the breeders that best
match his preferences—and that is when he first lays eyes on Perseus.
Their connection is immediate and
powerful, and Edward falls fast and irrevocably in love with Percy. For Percy,
he is shown again and again how lucky he is to have such a kind and loving
master, who wants Percy above all else. When Edward is confronted by the apathy
and disregard his own family feels towards Percy, and their lack of respect for
his new mate, Edward performs an ancient and rare ritual—he names Percy his
consort. Once a privilege reserved for captured nobility and the royal lines of
their enemies, to be a collared consort of a Cassian Royal is an honor that
should leave Percy unassailable and respected.
King Henry, Edward’s father, learns
of Percy’s collaring. He is uncharacteristically angered and confronts his son
over his choices. Edward defends his chosen consort and mate—and leaves the
palace with Percy.
Eventually Nature takes its course
and Percy’s body fulfills its purpose—he bears his master’s seed.
In Book Two, The King’s Command,
Percy and Edward are at the prince’s country estate. Both men are content to
remain in seclusion, and Edward and Percy’s relationship deepens. Percy is
pregnant, but so early along that both men are in awe, whispers between them
and their unborn child like half-dreams and just as sweet.
Yet familial duty and a desire to
proclaim how Edward feels for Percy to the world draws them back to the
capital, and places them front in center in the middle of a royal battle. Given
a royal edict to surrender Percy to men who see him as nothing but an object,
Edward refuses. This places Edward, Percy, and a new friend in danger.
Blood is spilled. Love and family
bonds are tested, and secrets come to light…
The Prince’s Consort Excerpt
“I would prefer a male, smaller than me, handsome, with a degree of intelligence and personality. I’m not interested in having sex with someone who’s no more than an attractive machine that bends over on command, so please take intelligence into account. Although, I do prefer some obedience, as I will be breeding my prospective mate often, so having to seduce or force holds little appeal. I have no need for my mate to have fertile sperm, as I will not be the one carrying the offspring, of course. And I don’t feel like explaining to my staff why my breeder is mounting the maids when I’m not around.”
Edward listed off his requirements, watching as Mr. Wimble slowly stopped typing, and began to stare at him in some consternation. Edward wasn’t going to apologize for that last statement, either. He’d seen the results of an unruly and fully fertile male breeder decimate the staff at one of the estates neighboring his out in the country, knocking up several of the maids and female upper staff that had contact with him. His neighbors eventually had him removed after it was discovered what was going on, and Edward never found out exactly what was done to the breeder, but he could guess he wasn’t at some farm working the fields. Castration and slavery, or death. That type of breeder was one of the very rare, non-child-bearing male breeders, called ‘sires’, who were hyped up with testosterone and temperamental, usually used by the breeding houses to continue the in-house stock lines. Edward wondered at the time how the breeder ended up out in the country at a noble’s family estate, but the current Court was full of fools, so he really shouldn’t be surprised.
He had strict needs he wanted met. Any potential mate would be the parent of his future children, so slacking on the finer details wasn’t an option. Not for a royal, and not for him.
“I have several candidates that may fit your needs, Your Highness. Are you interested in viewing today? I can have them pulled from the stables within the next hour for your inspection if you care to wait. Shall I summon a maid for luncheon?”
The
King’s Command Excerpt
He pulled the sheet up to Percy’s chin, and smoothed it down over his chest and stomach. He rested his hand on Percy’s abdomen, amazed as he always was when he thought about it, that his child grew inside his mate. A child, his and Percy’s.
Percy was a breeder, and Edward mourned for a brief second that his mate’s ice-blue eyes or sweet smile would never be gifted to a child of theirs, his consort’s DNA only minimally transferrable to any offspring he may have. The vision of a little girl, with Edward’s dark hair and Percy’s bright eyes flashed for a moment in his mind, but he pushed it away. Percy would gift their child only enough DNA to be viable and grow, and his smile or entrancing eyes would never be handed down to a new generation.
Yet it was enough that there would be children; Percy had a tender heart, and a need to love. Edward wanted sons and daughters, the more, the merrier, and he knew Percy would want and love each child with everything in his small frame. This first child of theirs would not be the last. Hartgrove Court was a huge estate, a working farm and manor, and large enough to support a big family and plenty of staff. It had been gifted to Edward through his late mother’s dowry upon her death, property given to all her children not in the direct line of succession. Edward was thankful his mother knew him well, since the manor and farm went to him and not his more urban-centered siblings. Edward felt a pang of grief, faint now after all these years that his mother, the late Queen of Cassia, would never know her future grandchildren.
Edward made himself leave Percy’s side, the doctor’s words to him about how Percy’s pregnancy may come with complications worrying him. Since Percy was a first-generation design, crafted by the late Master Cartwright of Heritage Breeders, there was no blueprint of sorts in place for how Percy would handle pregnancy. Cartwright had made Percy for himself, though Edward was selfishly glad that Cartwright died before Percy was mature enough for breeding. Percy was his now, forever, and the only touch he would know would be Edward’s.
Revella Hawthorne Bio and Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Revella-Hawthorne/e/B00VKSP2SG/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13845899.Revella_Hawthorne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Revella-Hawthorne/742177039236198?fref=ts
a Rafflecopter giveaway
5 Stars on both books!
Mpreg.
I mean, what more can I say lol? If you’ve read my
books, then you probably know I love mpreg. As I told Revella’s (who is also SJ Himes) personal
assistant, mpreg is kinda a thing. But what really gets me going is when the
science behind the pregnancy is explained and not glossed over. Trust me, it’s
not as easy as it sounds. It helps to have a bit of a scifi geek lurking in you,
lol. And that’s what made the book for me. The science is fictional, but
realistic. Ahh, but that’s a bugger to pull off, and Revella did. In spades.
The blurb explains the setting clearly. This story is
set in an AU (alternative universe) and there are genetically altered men
reared in the labs who become “breeders” when maturity is reached. Percy, one
of the main characters, is a breeder. One of the owners of Heritage Breeders
created Percy for himself… and then the owners dies. Oh, but Percy is very,
very special. He’s what they call a First Generation. And this becomes very
important through both books. No, I’m not going to say why, lol.
Prince Edward has gone to Heritage Breeders. The
prince needs to sire a child and doesn’t want a wife. In fact, Edward prefers
males. From here, the story takes off. There’s action, intrigue, and evil plots
to separate the prince and Percy. But beyond all that, this is a love story.
Percy will win you over and make you want to cuddle him close. His innocence is
enduring. Which, considering how he was raised and what his purpose is, is
astounding.
The flow is fast paced and engaging. My mind didn’t
wander. I was so wrapped up in this book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The King's Command (Bred for Love #2).
If I thought the pace was fast in The
Prince's Consort (Bred for Love #1),
this showed me how wrong I was, lol. Percy is pregnant, everyone from the king
on down is interfering with the two lovers, and Edward and Percy are being
hunted and are on the run. Secrets are coming to light, but not fully
explained… yet. (That king is either insane, or so desperate it’s scary. What
he does to Percy… yeah. Scary.)
So… want a well-written mpreg that’ll engross you?
Then check this out. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat for book #3!
~M
