That's right! I said winners! As in more than one lol. Since I had such a great turn out it seems fair to pick more than one winner lol.
*Cue drum roll*
Juliana and Cannd are the winners! I'll be emailing you both shortly! Congrats! And a big thank you to everyone that took part. :)
~M
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Follow the Rainbow Book Review Blog Hop
Hey guys! Over this weekend the Follow the Rainbow Book Reviews Blog Hop will be taking place. I’m really excited to
be taking part in this hop. To hop from one blog to another use the highlighted
link above.
What
writing GLBTQ literature means to me.
Until a few years ago all I read was het sex, and it
was always the same ole same ole. Frankly, I was getting bored. Then I found
GLBTQ and a whole new world opened up. It was new, exciting, sensual, and oh my God,
was I hooked. I’d never read anything like it.
My main area of interest is in the genre is M/M. Yes,
reading about two men making love turns me on, but it’s more than that. My
interest brought me to a new awareness of just how far we, as a people, still
have to go in the matter of equal rights. And I’ve seen how narrow-minded our
legislating body can be in regards to what they consider ‘not normal.’
*Sigh* I’ve met people through my writing and heard
stories that’ll rip your heart out. And the only difference between us… I’m
allowed to marry and they’re not. That’s the tip of the iceberg, granted. But
my point is because I’m straight a lot of the rights granted to me are denied
to people who just happen not to be straight.
They bleed the same damn color as I do… but because they are considered ‘different’
by the people in power, GBLT folks have to fight for what I took for granted.
And that’s just wrong.
Contest:
Okay, now for the contest!
1)
Join my blog, or let me know if you’re already a member.
2)
Just comment. It can be about anything. If you join my blog (or have joined
already) and comment, I’m offering a choice of one of my books to the winner. As
always, I have a plan B lol.
3)
Leave an email address. Please remember to do this. Without an email
addy I can't send you your prize! :)
The hop ends Sunday, and I’ll be contacting the
winner Monday by email. Please check out the other blogs in the hop; there are
some fab prizes being offered.
~M
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Guest blog by Tali Spencer
Hey everyone! Today I have Tali Spencer visiting, and she’s
doing a guest blog on her latest
release, Sorcerer’s Knot, from
Dreamspinner. Make sure to check out her blog; she's doing a giveaway too!
When Life Serves Up a
Monster—Guest Blog by Tali Spencer
Have you ever wanted
something really, really badly? So much you can’t think of anything else?
You know, the kind of thing
that’s the one and only thing you want in the world, because if you had that, you know you would be complete?
I think all of us have been
there. That kind of wanting is especially powerful in young people who’ve suffered
broken homes or other life events that have left them feeling that something’s
missing from their lives. But it could be any of us. If we could just find that
one thing, win the love of that one person or open that one door, all our problems
would go away. Think about how many of us obsess about a love interest, the one
person who will make us whole. Or we might fixate on getting our dream job,
going to a certain school, gaining entry into an elite group… or even getting
published… something just at the tips of our fingers.
So we put all of our energy
toward that goal. We put aside everything that does not advance our mission. We
barely even notice we’re missing out on other things because we’re so focused
on reaching our dream. And when we reach that goal, when we finally get what we
want, the one thing that will make our life perfect… we find out it’s not the
answer.
In fact, it’s a tentacle
monster.
Maybe the monster is a
marriage that didn’t turn out like a fairy tale. Or a job that’s soul-killing,
without a future. Or learning that having children isn’t a picnic of cooing giggles
and cuteness. As often as not, achieving the dream comes with a damn lot of crazy
baggage we never signed up for. And instead of enjoying our triumph, we
sometimes find ourselves fighting for our lives and wondering what the hell we
got ourselves into.
The good news is we all get
to go through this. I don’t know too many people who haven’t done battle with
at least one tentacle monster of their own desiring. I’ve encountered three such
monsters so far—defeated them all, thank you for asking—and wouldn’t be
surprised to run into another. Why? Because I’m a dreamer and believe with all
my heart in things like true love, human kindness, and happiness ever after. I
never see the monsters coming.
But I just wrote this post to
illustrate how I came up with one of the themes of Sorcerer’s Knot, which is about Cian, a young, ambitious wizard who
sets out to acquire a power that’s been forbidden to men for a very good
reason. It’s also the tale of Muir the Scarred, the man Cian must either seduce
or defeat if he is to get hold of that power. And yes, there is a tentacle
monster.
Blurb:
In a world where pleasure
unlocks even the best-guarded magic, Cian has a long list of magical
talents—and an even longer list of sorcerers he slept with to acquire them. He
even seduced a dragon. There’s just one arcane power left for him to master:
command over the sea. Now Cian has learned where to find Muir the Scarred, the
only man known to have mastered that power—and he is determined to wrest it
from him by whatever means necessary.
But completing the task isn’t
so easy. First, Cian’s boat is wrecked on the shores of Muir’s desolate
island. Then he learns an enchantment will keep him there forever. And when he
tries to seduce Muir, he finds himself being seduced by the mysterious sorcerer
instead. But the source of the power Cian seeks is also trapped on the
island, and it will stop at nothing to break free, even if that means forcing
pleasure—and magic—from Cian's unwilling body.
Excerpt:
Cian began to remove his
garments, one by one. He knew what he looked like without them, what peeling
away layers of borrowed raiment would reveal. What he wore was scavenged,
mismatched, salvaged from the sea or left behind by previous houseguests. None
of the items suited his coloring. He yanked off his boots first, glad to rid
himself of stiff, stained leather and missing nails. The wool jacket he
shrugged off his arms was rough and patched, though the soft shirt beneath looked
shabby only because it lay against skin as creamy as the ocean’s finest pearls.
Lastly he unknotted the rope he’d used as a belt and pushed down his trousers,
leaving only the draped and tucked linen of a loin wrap.
“I have something you want
more than food,” he said.
Though the sorcerer did not
speak a word of protest, Cian knew he’d guessed right. Half-formed desire gazed
back at him from those pitch-dark eyes. Half-formed. What else lingered there
issued a warning.
“I was wrong,” said Muir.
“You may well eat tonight after all.”
“I’m not a whore, but I’m not
a beast, either. I can’t live on grass. If my hard work won’t earn me food,
maybe soft work will. I don’t want to leave here to toil in the village or on
one of the farms, never repaying my great debt. I want to stay with you.”
“With me?” Muir smiled ever
so slightly. He resumed stirring his soup, but he was listening. “You have no
idea what you are asking, or offering. What will you do if I send you away?”
“Come back. Like a dog.”
Something predatory leaped
over Muir, anger throwing off everything about him that was false. He ceased
stirring his soup and strode to where Cian waited, stripped to a loincloth. He
grasped Cian by the hair at the back of his neck and pulled him off-balance
against him, mouth descending to capture his lips with a ferocity that made
Cian gasp. And then that gasp too was taken, Muir’s tongue pushing it back into
Cian’s throat as his free hand explored the smooth, offered flesh.
Instead of triumph, Cian felt
fear, but it was a wild fear, exhilarating, the kind of fear that led men to
hunt beasts capable of rending them with horns and claws. His cock hardened,
tenting the loin wrap and pushing into the other man’s thigh. Muir’s power was
within his grasp. He had sunk the hook and now had only to pull the man in,
exhaust his senses and weaken his mind. Little by little, he yielded, giving
himself over to that roaming hand, allowing Muir full access to his mouth. The
man tasted like cherries, honey, and salt.
Cian wound his arms around
Muir’s chest, pulling him tight and reveling in his scent. He smelled the sea,
heard waves crashing. His moan vibrated the tongue now probing his surrender.
With his hands, Cian explored Muir’s broad shoulders, grabbing handfuls of
coarse wool, trying to undress him. Was Muir’s body scarred also? He dreaded
what he might find, but he craved it too much to care. The path to power lay
through Muir’s body.
He ground his groin against
Muir, inhaling sharply when he felt the thrust of the man’s erection. Hard,
long, and thick, rubbing against him with a summons he yearned to obey. For far
too long, he’d denied his own urges. His mouth broke from Muir’s when the
sorcerer grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down, onto his knees.
Mouth wet and puffy from being kissed, Cian looked up to see Muir rip at the
lacings of his robe so the long-sleeved garment fell down over his arms and
thighs to the floor.
Muir the Scarred was well
named.
Trails of annular blemishes
ribboned the pale skin of Muir’s previously hidden torso and limbs. Knotted
ridges and rings of healed tissue, some half the width of Cian’s hand, strung
along a serpentine path that curved from the sorcerer’s right shoulder,
puckered over thick muscle and lay flat upon his breastbone, then continued
down the ladder of his left side; more trails of ringed scars appeared under
his arm to curl down his ribs and wrap around his hips. His cock, too, as long
and thick as promised, was embellished with smaller variations. Ring-shaped
cicatrices of pale rose encircled the dusky shaft, a swirling pattern at once
shocking and strangely beautiful, like jewels embedded under the skin.
Muir reached down and ran his
fingers through Cian’s hair. “I haven’t had a man as pretty as you in some
time.”
Saturday, August 18, 2012
And the winner is...
Malissa, you were the winner from the Goodreads chat!
If you have Priceless don't worry, I have a plan B lol. Congrats!
~M
If you have Priceless don't worry, I have a plan B lol. Congrats!
~M
Goodreads chat for Priceless
Hey y'all! I'm doing a chat at Goodreads today at 3 Eastern. Stop by and join the fun! There will be a giveaway involved lol! And if you already have a copy of Priceless, we'll do something else!
~M
Saturday Snark
Hey
guys! Today’s little bit of snark comes from Nighttime Dreams which is due out in November. Just a reminder:
Bryan, a good ole country boy at heart, was the sheriff from Nighttime Wishes.
Make
sure to check out Marie
Sexton's blog for the other links! ~~~
Bryan
kept his eyes on both aliens. What was going on? They looked ready to square
off. “Hey, I have no intention of harming Shawn—”
“Oh,
only us?” Daroshi snapped as he turned to look at Shawn.
Zing
sliced his hand through the air trying to stop what was fast building into
another useless conversation. “Regardless—”
Bryan
gripped the knife. “He didn’t fucking
ambush my ass after I went to all the trouble of covering for you guys—”
“We couldn’t very walk
in the front door!” Daroshi hissed. “In case you didn’t notice we don’t look
human.”
“Nor did he stun me!” Bryan yelled.
“Dear gods, come on
Shawn,” Ziang muttered.
Daroshi pointed his
finger at Bryan. “You stunned my
commander first—”
“I had two big ass
aliens after me, of course I tased him! What did you expect after the way you
busted through the window? You think I was going to offer you a beer? And fuck,
my house is probably gonna burn down since I left the damn stove on!” Bryan
bellowed. “Son of a bitch, I left the damn stove on!”
The door to Medical
opened and Shawn walked inside with Blayno guarding him. He had heard most of
the conversation from outside.
“Huh, I did tell you he
wouldn’t come without a fight.” Smirking, Shawn took in the flushed faces of
Daroshi and Bryan. “Think I also warned you to disarm him.”
Daroshi threw his hands
up in the air. “Gods! Are all humans like this?”
“Only the ones half
scared out of their minds.” Shawn turned to Bryan. “How’s it hanging, dude?”
Friday, August 17, 2012
TGI Friday
Here it is Friday again! Yay, time to start the weekend! I hope y'all had a good work week, and resisted the urge to knock any fellow co-works up side the head lol. ;)
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael_harold/5455283250/">Michael Taggart Photography</a> via <a
I guess y'all saw I redid my blog again. LOL, yes again. I had a new header made so I switched things up. I'm rather pleased with the result! Maybe we'll call this my 'gray period' lol.
Okay, I'm off to work some more on Shadows in the Night. It's up to 38K, can you believe that??? I'll see you guys tomorrow for Saturday Snark. :)
~M
Labels:
TGI Friday
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Captive Heart by Tali Spencer
Hey everyone, come on in and have a seat! Today I have my good friend Tali Spencer visiting with me. She's talking about writing in general and her latest release Captive Heart, which is being released by Resplendence on August 15th.
Plus, she's giving away a free copy of Captive Heart to someone who comments on her blog post between now and 12 a.m. on Saturday, August 18th. So, let's get to it lol!
~M
~ What's your guilty
pleasure?
~If we were to come to
your house for a meal, what would you give us to eat?
Plus, she's giving away a free copy of Captive Heart to someone who comments on her blog post between now and 12 a.m. on Saturday, August 18th. So, let's get to it lol!
~M
~So tell us about yourself. What got you interested in writing?
I’ve always loved the spaces between words and images. Like many writers, I dabbled as a child, but I was also considered artistic and loved science. My first dream was to be a doctor. I never really thought about being a writer, though, until a ninth grade English teacher gave me a copy of the first book of Tolkien’s Lord of the Ringstrilogy, and I read it and realized fantasy was that perfect space where words create images. So Mrs. McPeak from El Paso, wherever you are now, thank you. I haven’t stopped writing since, though I’ve hit a few detours along the way.
~If there was one
piece of advice you could give a new author, what would it be?
If you want to have a career as a writer, not be a hobbyist,
educate yourself about the business. I meet a lot of new authors, really
talented young writers, who approach getting published very casually, when in
fact publishing is serious business. Writers who learn the ins and outs of that
business will be better able to weather the ups and downs. And I’m not kidding
when I say getting a book accepted by a publisher is only the tip of the
process.
If you want to be published, learn the etiquette and how-tos
of submitting to publishers, editors and agents: seemingly small details really
can send your manuscript to the top of the pile—or straight to the bottom. Do
yourself a favor and learn how to research potential markets, read and
negotiate a contract, understand how a publishing company works, and ferret out
the basics of distribution and promotion. That’s all stuff you need to know.
Seriously, my advice is to relax about the writing. Enjoy
the writing! Tell the stories you love and have fun with building your skills
as a writer. Get a good beta reader or two. But learn everything you can about
the business end for when you decide to make that jump into the big pond. Acquiring
that knowledge now will pay off for your career down the line. I’ll step off my
soapbox now.
~How much of your
personality and life experiences are in your writing?
All of it. Literally all of me and all of my life is in my
books. Not all in one book. Not all in one character or setting or plot. Some
parts are in books no one but me has read yet, and maybe no one ever will. But
the places I have lived, or have visited… they’re in my fiction, my settings, and
my worlds. The people I have hated or worshipped or loved… they’re in there,
too.
If you know me at all, you may recognize a bit here, a quirk there.
Julissa has my utter faith that people are basically good. Vorgell, my
basically cheerful nature. Gaspar has my way of putting information together.
Lukacz has deep roots in my childhood. If you know me really, really well, you
may identify bits and pieces of my sons, my father, my husband. They show up a
lot. :D I believe all fiction is
autobiographical… it’s just a matter of to what degree.
~Is there anything
you’d like to tell? Maybe something in the works you would like to
promote? Feel free!
In addition to Captive
Heart, I have two M/M novellas coming out soon. Sorcerer’s Knot, a magical tale of wizardry and ambition—and
tentacles!—will be available on August 22nd from Dreamspinner Press.
The other is a long novella, The Prince
of Winds, an Arabian Nights flavored fantasy of adventure and romance,
coming from Dreamspinner as a September release.
If you’re in the mood for
something really different, I have a demon story set in the Andes that will be
coming out in October in the “Devil’s Night” anthology from Storm Moon Press.
I have so many, I can’t decide. If I have to go with just one,
make it Celebrity Apprentice—the best damn train-wreck on TV! Donald Trump says
the most amazing, idiotic things… sexist, racist, crazy stuff.
And I don’t
think he’s any of those things, by the way, he just says them! And the B list
cast of characters always includes a few loop jobs who go bat shit insane. You
can’t make this stuff up.
~ What was your favorite character to write, and why?
I absolutely loved writing Gaspar. He’s an emperor, and weighed down by responsibility, but he’s also a loving, passionate man—and he wants to rescue his sister, who has been kidnapped by Julissa’s brother. So he conquers a country. He’s overjoyed by his victory, anticipating revenge on the brother… and this lovely young woman, who he thinks is a servant, falls into his lap and he thinks, “Why not?” So he entices her into bed. Being on top of the world makes a man horny. Except the world delivers one of its famous“gotcha” punches and Gaspar discovers bedding Julissa has made both their lives complicated.
His range of emotions was fun to write. Triumphant, furious, vengeful, remorseful, playful. That Gaspar is playful is something I, at least, find sexy. But he has to be serious a lot and that part doesn’t suit him so well. He’s also self-conscious about his looks, because of his nose and having being rejected for marriage by several princesses. Gaspar’s got a lot of me in him, poor guy.
Because you’re very special guests, I would make ossobucco. Or, if there are a lot of
you, I would make a big pot of homemade gravy with meatballs—I’m from
Wisconsin, where we call it spaghetti sauce, but I married a Philly guy and everyone
here calls it gravy—an even bigger pot of gnocchi and a pot of ravioli, and
serve that. There’d be a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, and a big loaf of
Italian bread. And for dessert we’d have cannolis. But if you dropped in
unexpectedly, I’d have to serve up ice cream bars for dessert. The pasta,
gravy, and tomatoes, I always have on hand.
~ Do you have a historical crush and if so,
who is it?
Benjamin Franklin. Not only was he brilliant, interesting,
and a founding father devoted to principles I hold dear, but he sounds like
he’d be fun in bed. My husband knows about my Ben crush. When we were dating,
we visited Ben’s house here in Philly, and there was this man there who would
dress up like Ben and pretend to be Ben. He was sitting under the tree in the
courtyard and we got to talking. Next thing you know, we were just lost in each
other, grinning and laughing. He stayed completely in character and it was like
being with Ben! When I walked away later with my husband, he looked at me and
said, “He was flirting with you!” And I said, “Yeah, and you’re lucky he’s dead!”
~~~~
Blurb and Excerpt for Captive
Heart
A vengeful emperor conquered her country…now he’s after her
heart.
Julissa has only known life as a sheltered princess in
Sebboy's opulent but restrictive society, ruled over by strict parents and the
righteous Prophets of her god. She is all but destined to a marriage of
alliance until her brother kidnaps a foreign princess as his bride, and
Julissa's country becomes the target of the girl’s vengeful brother. Gaspar
Leonnte may have a big nose and be the subject of ridicule at Julissa's family
table, but he doesn't have any trouble conquering Sebboy.
While fleeing the city, Julissa falls into Gaspar's hands
and everything she ever knew changes. When a misunderstanding brings Julissa to
his bed, the victorious emperor sees no reason not to enjoy his pretty captive
for the night. Julissa should refuse him and honor her duty to her family and
Prophet, but how can she fight the passion Gaspar awakens… even if doing so
might mean her life?
Excerpt:
A great noise in the hallway and the sound of fighting
caused Aurelia to shriek and Julissa to leap from her bed and dart, still in
her nightclothes, into the antechamber of apartments belonging to the royal
sisters. Male voices boomed outside the chamber door. She recognized Lorant’s
and flung the door open to see what was the matter. Ilona and Serafina crowded
behind her.
In the dim light from the sconces, she saw Lorant drag a naked
Petraeus to his feet then hurl him hard against the wall. Her older brother’s
bellows of rage filled the corridor. A brace of soldiers propelled another man,
also naked, down the hallway toward the stairs.
“What’s happening?” Julissa couldn’t understand why her
brothers were fighting on the eve of battle. And wasn’t Lorant supposed to be
at the front?
Ignoring her, Lorant slammed Petraeus’ head against the wall
three times until his brother’s hands, which had been grappling with his,
dropped. He threw the unresisting youth to the floor. Only then did he attend
his sisters.
“Go back to your rooms!” he snarled.
“But Peta—” Julissa had never seen her brother, any of her
brothers, naked. To see Petraeus now, so pale and exposed, and also so
helpless, seemed impossible and wrong. “Stop!”
She grabbed Lorant by the arm but could not prevent him from
delivering a hard kick to his moaning brother’s middle. This time, Petraeus
coughed blood.
“I found him being a whore to men!” Lorant wrenched out of
her grasp. “Go back to your rooms, Jules! Father will deal with him and his
paramour, too.”
More soldiers charged toward them from the stairs down which
the other man had been taken. On Lorant’s order, two of them seized the naked
prince and dragged him quickly away. When Ilona and Julissa tried to follow,
Lorant shoved them roughly back into their chamber, so hard they both tumbled,
gowns about their knees, to the floor, where Serafina and Aurelia descended
upon them with cries of concern. But Lorant simply slammed shut the door and
they heard him slide the outside bolt home, locking them in.
Through the door, they heard Lorant ordering the soldiers to
keep them secure. For an hour, they scribbled prayers to every Prophet, burning
them in holy candles, sending heavenward their entreaties that the terrible
screams echoing through the palace cease. In the oppressive silence that
followed, Julissa lay in her bed, comforting a sobbing Aurelia, saying it was
over, that no more soldiers would come. That Peta would be all right. She
stared sleepless at the ceiling until, hearing noises in the courtyard below,
she scrambled from the bed and ran to the window. Through the shutters, she saw
a closed carriage leaving, clattering off by way of the service gate into the
night.
* * * *
The sisters were released from their rooms in the morning
and told to act as though nothing had happened. They knew better than to
disobey, though the family meal that evening was strained. Lorant, mercifully,
had gone back to the front. Julissa didn’t think she could have held her tongue
around him, but her father and mother terrified her into silence with their
cold expressions. She fled as soon as she was able, her feet carrying her onto
the south terrace and its gardens, where she hoped to blot her mind of her last
sight of her brother by silencing those thoughts with icy cold and prayers.
The night air smelled of winter daphne, a light scent of sweet viburnum wafting from the low shrubs
her gown brushed along the path. Clipped pillars of honeyed box trees screened
the view toward Cheda with its scores of white marble shrines bejeweling the
hills like pearls. Beyond those unseen hills, cannon fire rumbled, rolling over
the city in waves.
“What your father did to your brother was wrong.”
Julissa inhaled deeply of the crisp cold. Her father had
decreed that none of them speak ever again of Petraeus and his disgrace. Only
Adora would be so heedless of the Sebboyan king’s wrath. Through wet eyes, she
cast a quick look around the garden. The winter path was far from the house,
and empty but for the two of them, so she dared to speak.
“He didn’t want to go!” Emotions she’d bottled up all
afternoon burst from her lips as though some dam had broken. “How could a
father refuse to listen to his child? How could he subject his own son to
torture, to silence? His crime was great, but—”
From servants she had learned enough. While Petraeus had
been forced to endure the horror of seeing a close friend blinded and
emasculated in the cruelest of ways, she had been hiding in her bedchamber. Not
hiding, she reminded herself. Locked.
She’d been locked in her room, where she’d just curled in her blankets like her
sisters and been the worst of cowards.
“What crime?” Adora argued softly.
It was difficult to believe so young and unassuming a woman
had been a celebrated advocate in Uttor—until she spoke. Julissa tried to look
away, but the Uttoran princess placed a hand upon her arm, insisting on being
heard.
“Your brother shared his body with another man? It is his to
share!”
“It is a crime against god’s creation!”
“But not your god who punishes him! It will be the hands of men that blind your brother’s eyes,
remove his tongue and condemn him to live in a cell far from the kindness of
his family or the advantages of his station. Men, not your god, commit these
acts against him.”
Julissa walked away from this woman and her heresies. While
it was true the god lauded by her chosen Prophet, Garmael, was gentle and kind
and would not have punished a man for something that harmed no one, another
Prophet, Mamatas, had spoken against unions that bore no fruit, calling them
acts of theft, and therefore harm, against the creator. Thieves lost their
hands, and those who stole from a god lost their lives.
“Men, gods…women can stop neither!” Julissa realized her
words lacked the discipline of a reasoned argument and stopped to face Adora
again. At this moment, she wanted nothing to do with the young princess Lorant
had abducted and forced into marriage—acts for which, even now, Uttor’s cannons
besieged Julissa’s country. “I wish this were not so. But I can do nothing. We
are all helpless now. Petraeus is already taken away.”
Somewhere in the hills was the ridotto of the Sileres, the brothers of the Seventh Prophet of
Koth, where her brother would undergo a ritual of purification before taking
the oath of silence that would precede a priest ripping out his tongue. So that it never pleasure a man again, or
speak of the foul deeds it had performed.
She could barely conceive of the sex acts Ilona had
described to her in lurid and quite possibly imagined terms. Only Adora, said
by servants to have spoken passionately in Petraeus’ defense to Lorant, defying
his threats to strike her, seemed to have any real concept of what was
involved. To place one’s lips upon a man’s member and taste it with tongue or
suck it like a teat, or for a man to accept another man’s member into his
body…it simply escaped Julissa why anyone could wish to do such a thing.
“Perhaps, sister, if you can learn to which ridotto—”
“I’m not your sister, and Petraeus is not your brother! Your brother is attacking my country and
killing my people! I’m sorry Lorant kidnapped you,” Julissa said, angry that
she could not keep tears from her eyes, and that she liked Adora but hated
Uttor for having brought all this down upon them. “He shouldn’t have taken you,
and he shouldn’t have married you, and if he forced himself on you, he
shouldn’t have done that, either. But there didn’t have to be a war!”
Turning on her heel, she walked away from the garden and
Uttor’s unsmiling princess.
* * * *
Gaspar Leonnte was tired. Two weeks on the march, worn to
the ground tired. So were his men. He’d pressed his two corps of imperial
troops hard to cover the distance between Sardona and the Sebboyan city of
Nicohemas, effectively cutting the country in half. His energy had been spent
long before this campaign, however. Though the Sebboyans didn’t know it, he’d
begun his war against them on the very eve of his sister’s abduction, producing
cannons, carracks and munitions in secret, playing shell games with the
deployment of his ships and troops.
“Anything from Arrento?” he asked his aide-general,
Niarchus.
The striped command pavilion with its golden poles and
fringe afforded rustic comfort, including heat against the winter cold, and a
freedman, Gaspar’s trusted Banno, to provide food and drink. He accepted Banno’s
offer of a deep bowl of mulled wine, cupping it in his hand.
“Only his last communication, that he had joined the army
outside Cheda along with the reinforcements from Juta and Facciolo’s cavalry.
He believes he has a plan that will take the city.”
Cheda meet Darius.
His best friend could slice an army through the heart of any foe.
Gaspar dropped into a camp chair and smiled at the thought
of soon seeing his sister again. “Good. He’ll cut them to pieces, or I don’t
know him. I just hope he can reach and find Adora quickly.”
“They won’t harm her. If not the Kordeun royals themselves,
someone in the city will trade her for peace.”
“They should have done that before I invaded.”
Niarchus snorted. “You caught them by surprise. They thought
you would wait until spring to make war. Nor could they imagine you would
invade with such a massive force so soon and without warning. You caught them
before they could ask for assistance from their allies. We should still take
control of the road to the Benarri kingdom. The royals may attempt to escape
Cheda that way.”
Gaspar nodded. It would be prudent to seal off the road. He
lifted the bowl to his lips and took a deep, warm drink, confident the next
vintage he tasted would be Sebboyan. “Do it. I don’t want any of the Sebboyan
royals to escape me, especially Lorant. I want them all.”
~~~~
My Twitter: @talismania1
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3183
Resplendence Publishing: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Saturday Snark
Time for another Saturday Snark! Make sure to check out Marie Sexton's blog for the other links! This week snark comes from Nighttime Wishes.
“What,”
Shawn said pointing at his face, “the hell is this?”
“Those
symbols?
“The
ones under my eyes, yes. You know, the ones that were not there last night.
Those symbols.”
“Those
mark you as mine. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Oh,
nothing.” Shawn turned back to the counter and picked up the shaving cream. He
swung around, finger on the trigger, and opened fire at Ziang, letting him have
it. White foam covered Ziang’s face, his chest, and his head. Ziang stumbled
back against the bathroom door, his hands up.
“You
big, stupid alien! I told you not to
spring any more freaky alien stuff on me.” Shawn shook the can and started
round two of the assault. “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong! You marked
me, marked my face. Not like I can hide that. Bad enough you did this without
telling me, but you did it while I was passed out.”
“Shawn…”
Ziang gasped as he battled shaving cream.
“Don’t
you Shawn me, you overgrown octopus. You did this while I was passed out.
Passed out, you hear me? And why was I passed out? Oh yeah, that’s right, you
fucked me senseless last night, you big ole rutting alien.”
“Enough!”
Ziang knocked the shaving cream from Shawn’s hand.
They
stood staring at each other, both breathing hard. Shawn’s lips twitched and
Ziang raised a scaly eyebrow. Shawn bit his lip, but the giggles wouldn’t stop.
Friday, August 10, 2012
TGI Friday
Hey everyone and welcome to the weekend! Yay, another work week behind us. :) Hope y'all had a good week.
Check this out—did y'all know that my friend Tali is releasing a book on the 15th? It's called Captive Hearts and it's a m/f story.
I'm doing an interview on the book later so I'll go more into it then, but let me say that Tali can world build like you wouldn't believe lol. I've read the book before and I have to say, it's very good. But then, lol, all of her stuff is!
Tali is doing a giveaway for Captive Hearts released by Resplendence on August 15th on her blog Brilliant Disguise. Make sure to check that out. :)
Cool cover, huh? :)
~M
Check this out—did y'all know that my friend Tali is releasing a book on the 15th? It's called Captive Hearts and it's a m/f story.
I'm doing an interview on the book later so I'll go more into it then, but let me say that Tali can world build like you wouldn't believe lol. I've read the book before and I have to say, it's very good. But then, lol, all of her stuff is!
Tali is doing a giveaway for Captive Hearts released by Resplendence on August 15th on her blog Brilliant Disguise. Make sure to check that out. :)
Cool cover, huh? :)
~M
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Saturday Snark
Hey guys! Check this out... I found this interesting exercise today done by some author's and decided to join. Now, y'all that know me know how fond I am of learning new things, so lol, bear with me while I figure this out.
This is called Saturday Snark and it's at
Marie Sexton's blog! This is something she used to do in the past and has recently started again. It sounds like a lot of fun. It's kind of like a blog hop that centers around characters being snarky.
*Gasps and points to self* I have characters who fall in this category??? LOL, you bet I do. So here is my excerpt from Priceless.
“I don’t have anything
to wear except what I had on last night.”
“Tell me what sizes you
wear, and I’ll have the concierge pick you out something and—”
“The hell you will,”
Randy said, a thread of steel in his voice.
Eyes locked as they
stared at each other, a battle of wills. The fact Garrett didn’t see anything
wrong with what he said made Randy want to beat his head against the nearest
hard surface… which seemed to be Garrett’s head. Randy had no doubt Garrett
snapped his fingers and people jumped in all directions for him.
Did he have any idea what clothes in
those little casino shops cost? Randy glanced at the jeans he had tossed in the
chair last night. Right, he forgot there for a minute. Anyone who could afford
those kinds of jeans, and was willing to pay that god-awful price for them,
could afford anything in those retail shops. Probably buy the whole damn shop
too.
“Garrett, I’m just
several floors down from here. I can run to my room, shower, get dressed, and
be back up here in no time. Forty minutes, an hour tops, and I’ll be back.”
“You really have a
problem with me wanting to spend money on you,” Garrett said. The disbelief in
his face stung and managed to trip Randy’s pissed-off switch.
“Garrett, get this
through that thick head of yours. I’m not sitting here, naked and in your bed,
because of the money you throw around.” Randy sat his coffee cup on the
nightstand with a snap. “I’m here because I’m interested in you—not your money or what you can or might buy me. Your
money makes me uncomfortable, and the fact you seem to think money can buy you
anything blows me away. Can you put that elitist, asshole attitude in park for
a while, and—”
“The last person that
spoke to me like that got thrown out of my office on his ass.”
“Well, hell, can I put
my pants on before you toss me out?”
Silence hung in the
room for several minutes. Garrett snorted out a surprised laugh, caught off
guard again by the sheer audacity Randy showed. “Okay, point made. Damn, you’ve
got a mouth on you.”
“You weren’t complaining about my mouth
last night.”
“I wasn’t complaining
now, believe me,” Garrett said as he sat back down on the bed. “Finish your
coffee and come back up here.”
Hope you enjoyed this! I'm going to try and do this every Satureday. Make sure to check out the other author's taking part too. :)
~M
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Dreamspinner Spins Me a Dream
That's right! Wheeeeee! Got the news last night lol. Perfect, the second book after Priceless, is under contract!
*Throws glitter*
I wasn't expecting to hear anything for awhile yet, so when the kiddo and I got back from McDonald's-yes, we were at Mickey-D's lol-imagine my shock to see a contract.
The release date is Jan/Feb of next year. What a way to start 2013! I'm kinda hoping it'll be released in Feb. It would fit, you know? February is Valentine's Day and Perfect is all about my little imp Cupid. ;)
And while I'm on this subject, I want to say a big thank you to everyone you bought Priceless. Guys, it's #7 on DSP Bestseller List. OMG, I'm awed just to be on the list, much less up that high! So... *big group hug* thank you all. :)
~M
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