Aria of the Eclipse

This spring, I'll be a part of another pax at Amber Allure, a music-themed one. My story is all done and in, and...a little off the beaten path.

Here's the blurb:

Nothing has ever excited Tylen Merodine more than being invited by the Regent himself to celebrate the first solar eclipse in his planet’s recorded history. It’s the party of the millennium, and if he has to restrain his normal exuberant instincts to fit in, that’s what he’ll do to be a part of it. However, his good intentions vanish the moment he’s presented to the Regent. Because there, in a gilded cage, playing music unlike anything he’s ever heard, is the most beautiful alien he could imagine.

For over twenty years, Dek has lived in captivity, performing at the whim of those who see him as an animal. The Regent is just the latest in a long line of owners, and while he’s kind, he’s still blind to Dek’s sentient nature. Only music gives Dek a voice, until Tylen breaks the rules and sneaks in to see and speak to him alone.

The time they have together is stolen and precious, the minutes ticking away until the eclipse is past and they have to go back to the way their lives were before. But when the Regent shows an unexpected interest in Tylen’s future, they begin to wonder if their worlds need to remain so separate…

It's gay sci-fi erotic romance, and is probably the most romantic thing I've written since Budding Hopes last year. I already know I'm going to revisit this world in future stories, at least three, but none of those three are gay. Two are het, and one is m/m/f menage. I might end up discovering more gay stories when I do those, but at this point, I have no idea. One story at a time. :)

Another day for love

Yes, it's Valentine's Day, and I know as a romance writer I should have a soft spot for it, but...well, I don't. Because I don't think showering people in love should be restricted to a single day a year.

Life's too short for that.

People should feel special, no matter what the date is. And it's not about the chocolate or the flowers or the gifts.

It's about the connection.

Letting the characters define the story

This Sunday, my steampunk novella, Iron Eyes, comes out at Amber Allure. I'm both excited and nervous about it. Excited, because I really adore these characters, but nervous, because it was my first attempt at steampunk, and at the end of the day, it focuses far more on the characters and their relationship rather than the steampunk world around them.

I did that on purpose. 90% of the steampunk I've read has been mostly forgettable or something I couldn't finish, because I found the world-building too boring to slog through. Not that the worlds themselves are boring, but so much focus is placed on creating them that the story and characters ultimately become lost.

When I set out to write a steampunk, I wanted to turn that around. I wanted to write about seemingly normal people living in a steampunk world, people who take this technology and lifestyle for granted, people who used the technology when it was necessary but weren't ruled by it.

Ultimately, I wanted to write about the romance, not the gear. The gear is just window dressing for me.

So...I'm a little anxious. This story is exactly what I wanted it to be, the romance between a brilliant engineer and a lonely ex-soldier, both of whom have benefited from technology in a steampunk world. For me, it's about them defining the story rather than the technology doing the job.

After all, for me, that's what this particular romance is all about.

The next phase of motherhood

Yesterday, I became the mother of a teenaged girl.

How in the world did that happen so fast?!?

Sometimes, I don't feel old enough to have a thirteen-year-old daughter. I mean, it definitely doesn't feel like my husband and I have been together for sixteen years, but I've got the living proof of that sleeping down the hall. She was very quick to remind me, too, that she'll be starting high school in eighteen months.

I did not need that reminder.

My own mother is currently visiting, helping me out a little as I'm healing from my surgery, getting to spend some time with my kids, and so on. My relationship with my daughter amuses her to no end. She's told me more than once I've got a mini-me on my hands, which...oh my god, I really hope not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's smarter and more secure than I ever was so she doesn't make the same stupid mistakes I did.

Just different ones.

It was funny the other day, though, when my daughter and I got to talking about embarrassing mothers. I had said something to her in the car in front of her BFF, and when she protested, I proceeded to inform her that there was absolutely no way I would ever be as bad as my mother had been to me. Mine reveled in embarrassing me as much as she could, so I told my daughter the worst story about it.

It's the story of my prom night, senior year. I was going with a junior named Mike, who I had the hugest crush on. He was a bad boy, this honors student's big weakness, and I do mean bad. When we met during the spring play (he was playing my father, don't even get me started on how warped that all was), he was on probation for breaking into the school and trying to steal something from his history teacher's desk. These were details I didn't share with my mother, of course, but being my mother, she found out anyway.

The night of prom, Mike showed up at my house to pick me up. Mom hustled him in so we could take pictures, and as she's about to take the first one, the camera to her eye, she said, "So, Mike, how's your probation officer?"

She then took the picture without waiting for an answer.

I still have it. In it, Mike looks like someone's just stuck a huge spider down the front of his pants and he's been ordered not to move in case it scares the thing and it bites. Me, I've got the most nervous smile on my face, my eyes huge with shock.

I got us out of there as fast as possible, but when we got to the car, Mike laid into me, furious that I'd told her. I argued back that I hadn't said a word, but he didn't believe me.

Needless to say, prom did not go well.

Anyway, my daughter barely registered much of that story. She doesn't even care that her grandmother embarrassed me enough to ruin prom. No, she got hung up on the exposition of the story, the detail where she discovered her mother used to go out with bad boys.

I think I opened her eyes a little bit with that one, lol.

And I'm hoping it shows her that Mom has been around the block enough so that she can't get away with anything without me finding out. ;)

Writing Update

I haven't done an update in a little while so it's probably time for that.

I just finished the first draft of my story for the upcoming Music pax at Amber Allure. It's a 35k sci-fi called "Aria of the Eclipse," and it just might be one of the most romantic things I've ever written. I had a few false starts with it. In a last ditch effort to save it, I decided to switch from limited 3rd of one hero, to 1st person of the other, and...it worked. That first chapter came out like water.

And then I made an even riskier choice.

I decided to do it in alternating 1st person. So chapter one is from Dek's POV, chapter two is from Tylen's, and back and forth like that throughout the whole book. I know it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I absolutely love 1st person. I love writing it, I love reading it, I love everything about it. And with this story? It really was the best way to serve Dek and Tylen's romance.

So with the first draft done, I'm going to set it aside for a week, then go back through it. In the interim, I have my galley of "Iron Eyes" to get through. I probably won't start a new project until both of these are done, though I have a couple ideas about what I'm going to try.

My 5 favorite new Valentine's treats

Valentine's Day isn't just about love. Or chocolate. Or...

Okay, I got distracted by the chocolate for a minute. My weekly weigh-in is this morning, so I'm a little hungry at the moment.

Anyway, the ideas inspired by this holiday are pouring into my Google reader. These are my five favorites.

1. No Bake Oreo Truffles. Ohmigod, yum. I have a friend who makes these every year and sends me a box.

2. Rock candy. So pretty! And remarkably easy, especially with this tutorial.

3. EKG cookies. Such an original idea, and very easy. You can decorate just about anything using this as a model.

4. Red velvet blossoms. A red velvet take on a traditional thumbprint. I have a son who is mad for anything red velvet. These are a favorite in my house.

5. Berry chocolate krispie treats. My son's class is getting this one this year.

What I Read

Though I live in the Bay Area, I did not watch the Super Bowl yesterday. We're not a football family, not when I have a British husband who played rugby as a kid. I ended up reading and writing for the most part, which is how I usually spend my Sunday afternoons, frankly. I read a wide variety of stuff, but yesterday, it was m/m time travel.

When Ted Ennis steps out the doors of the Criterion Theatre for a cigarette and finds himself in Victorian London, he begins to doubt his sanity. At first he thinks it's all a film set, and is sure that the strikingly handsome young man leaning against a lamppost must be the leading man...

What starts as a sordid transaction with a beautiful rent boy quickly turns into something much deeper, drawing him back again and again as he gets to know Jem and craves meaningful encounters with him.

But Ted doesn't understand the exact conditions necessary for his trips through time--and for Jem, time may actually be running out. Now Ted has one last shot to get back to Jem and save their relationship, before it's too late...

I didn't stand a chance against this one. Time travel? Check. Theater? Check. I made my choice to buy it before I finished the excerpt.

It's a highly romantic, very sentimental erotic romance. Its novella length does mean that it's a little bit of insta-love, but sometimes, that's what I'm looking for, and this one worked for me. It's told in first person, in Ted's POV, and he really benefits from this. He's a damaged, grieving man, and the vulnerability he presents is well-balanced with the glimpses we get into how he fights against it. I loved Ted to pieces. I did wish that I could get to know Jem better, especially why he fell so quickly for Ted, but I still liked him enough to be invested in their HEA.

For more information, check it out at Carina.

Because I enjoyed this one, I'd like to spread that joy! I'm going to give a copy to a random commenter on this post. I'll pick a winner on Saturday.

And don't forget, comments on this post still qualify for my giveaways for my two January releases!